by Dave Hazel
“My dear, there is too much chaos and disorder here,” Fronpar answered his wife with a tender concern. “We will look for Baby when all this is over and there is safety in the streets. I will enlist the help of soldiers to help find Baby when this is completed. Please my dear, be patient until this madness is over.”
“Yes my dear,” the older woman agreed and kissed her husband and then he turned away.
“Please my lady,” one of the two soldiers turned to Larna. “Follow me. You too my lady,” he added and turned to Mullday.
Doninka had a fearful look as if she was waiting for Mykal to tell her to run. She hesitated which seemed to cause the two soldiers to rear up in anticipation. They knew their lives were on the line concerning their control of the girl. They looked ready to take her by force, though they knew they were responsible for her safely being held under guard.
“Go with them,” Mykal whispered ever so quietly into her ear. “I will get us outta here.”
“You do not intend to be difficult with us, do you?” The second soldier said and pulled a length of rope from his belt.
“No. No. I was awaiting orders from you,” Doninka replied and humbly lowered her head. “I do not want to do anything without your permission. I desire to have no trouble with you.”
“She is a good girl. We have had no difficulties with her,” Larna said to the two young soldiers. “You will not need to bind her. Her name is Doninka and she will do whatever you instruct her to do.”
“When her first guards abandoned their post she had the opportunity to escape,” Mullday said as a character reference. “Yet she did not escape. She came to warn us that we were in danger of the fire. She is a good girl,” Mullday added to back up her mother’s assessment of Doninka.
“Very well,” the first soldier said and nodded. “We do not wish to incur the wrath of Commander Fronpar.”
The three women walked in between the two soldiers, and Mykal walked directly behind Doninka. The two soldiers were both armed with swords and carried them to show they were ready and about the Supreme Ruler’s business. They carried shields in their left hand and as other soldiers would run by them they would nod to acknowledge them.
The street they walked down was a block away from where the real damage occurred. Mykal looked in between homes and buildings and saw a chaotic blur of movement. He saw shadows being cast from the flickering of flames and knew they were still struggling to put out the fire. Mykal heard the distant sound of a horn blast several times and a roar rose up among the people. There was a sudden loud excitement. He heard cheerful voices rise above the chaos. Something happened or someone special arrived on scene and he didn’t want to be there to see who it was.
They came to a four way intersection and there was the width of the street so he could see a much larger scene than what he was able to see between the homes and buildings. Mykal’s heart skipped a beat and he suddenly panicked when he saw two of the Things walk by the opening. The Things were over ‘thirty feet tall and as big as a house’ he remembered as he had once described them. They had long thick chains attached to metal bands that wrapped around their wrists and around their necks. They were used on the attack in the Pass just before the end of the year and they were very destructive killing both allies and enemies without discriminating.
Mykal heard the calls of the peculiar megaphones from the two men riding on strange creatures that looked like a mix of an elephant and a camel. The odd looking creatures rode behind the Things with the two eccentric looking men who spoke from megaphones to guide and direct their actions. The two Things were probably being brought in to help end the fire since the enemy was long gone. Even though he was invisible he didn’t want to face those creatures again.
Mykal looked for the right location to kill the two soldiers so he and Doninka could escape. While being invisible he felt his rage and hatred growing. He now thought of killing them for the enjoyment of killing these soldiers of the One, not just for the necessity of getting away and getting back to the Pass. He knew it was the ring and he had to fight the bad urges. There were still too many people out and about, and he really didn’t want to kill the mother and daughter. He watched the two women beside Doninka and decided he would do his best not to harm them, but he wasn’t going to allow them to be a threat to their escape. It pricked his heart that the woman was a dog lover and she was going to discover her Baby was dead. He really wanted to make her understand that he put her dog out of its misery, but he knew that wouldn’t help. He wished he could show her what her two bastard sons did to her Baby.
While they continued to walk a group of about forty soldiers on horseback rode toward them causing them to get closer to the buildings and out of the road. The soldiers rode hard and fast which kicked up a little dust storm behind them. These soldiers on horseback were all carrying spears. The cavalry rode past them hard and fast and didn’t even look their way. They seemed to be on a mission.
Mykal suddenly had a fear they were sent to retrieve the ‘special treasure’ which would be Doninka. He wondered if these soldiers knew of the attack earlier which had been an attempt to rescue her, or was their timing just by chance. He watched the two soldiers look at each other and speak quietly among themselves. He was suddenly filled with an anxiousness that wasn’t being helped by the power of the magic ring to play games with his mind. He would rather have to deal with these two soldiers than a group of forty or so soldiers on horseback. Mykal feared this was the group of ‘officers’ that were going to take possession of the captive princess from the other side of the world. He didn’t want to fight that many all alone, but he would.
Mykal tried to think through the entire predicament he was in and tried to make sense of it. The husband of the lady who lived on the floor beneath Doninka was Commander Fronpar which meant he was an active duty soldier or a retired soldier, but either way he seemed to be involved in the possession of and guarding of Doninka. The date of the swap of Doninka for her father King Loankore III was about a week away. It appeared a group of soldiers were rushing to the scene of the recent battle, probably to take her to a more secure location.
‘Damn it, I’m gonna have to do something soon,’ Mykal thought as he contemplated all that was happening around them. ‘As soon as those soldiers get to the house, Fronpar, or rather friggin Commander Fronpar, will tell the mounted cavalry that the two soldiers on foot have her and are taking her somewhere out of the way from the chaos that is unfolding at the building where Doninka was staying. Damn it,’ he thought with a sigh. ‘Should I shoot them now and get Doninka outta here? It’s not gonna be long before the horseback platoon are told Doninka was brought this way and then I’ll have to fight that friggin army on horseback. Shit, what the hell am I gonna do? Damn it, I can’t kill these two here cuz there are too many people out and about right now. But wait a minute,’ he paused in thought and mentally snapped his fingers. ‘Fronpar told these two guys he would personally come and turn Doninka over to the soldiers or rather officers that would be coming to get her.’ Mykal’s mind eased slightly.
Another group of about twenty soldiers on horseback followed by a carriage drawn by a pair of horses approached them at a slower pace than the forty or so soldiers who rushed past them. The twenty or so soldiers on horseback rode past them slowly, but the horse drawn carriage stopped. The two drivers of the carriage spoke to the two soldiers guarding Doninka. “Can you tell us if a group of riders had come past this way?” The lead driver asked.
“Yes, they rode past here at a quick pace,” the first soldier answered. “There has been some mayhem that had erupted at the end of the row here,” he added and turned to the direction where the fire and the battle had occurred. “Some buildings are on fire and the soldiers are working to extinguish the blaze. I assumed they were going there to assist in battling the fire.”
“Not so,” the second driver said to correct his assumption. “We are in pursuit of a criminal to add to the criminal we have with
us by order of the Supreme Ruler,” he said and nodded to the carriage.
“We are under the rule of Commander Fronpar,” the second soldier said. “We are taking his wife and child away along with a visitor. The situation seemed very dangerous and Commander Fronpar thought it best they leave the area. When you get to the midst of all the tumult, ask for Commander Fronpar and he will be able to direct you to where you need to travel.”
Mykal guessed the two soldiers didn’t make the connection that Doninka could be the prisoner they were looking for. Or they were doing their part to disguise what they were doing since Commander Fronpar said he would come and take custody of the girl personally so he could release her to the officers. It made him realized if his team would have delayed their attempt to rescue Doninka by just one day, she would have been taken away and they wouldn’t have had the chance to rescue her. He was suddenly grateful Captain Diaz told Mykal to speak to Towbar per God’s message to Diaz.
“Is there very great damage done?” The first carriage driver asked. “I am originally from this area.”
“I do not know,” the soldier replied and looked to his partner. “We were pulled away from the disaster before we actually arrived there. Commander Fronpar’s wife may have a better answer for you,” he added and looked to the older woman.
“It looked like two of the smaller shops would be totally destroyed,” Larna replied and pulled up her handkerchief. “Other homes including our building seem to be at risk of being destroyed. Please, if you go there, I am looking for my Baby who I think may be lost there in the confusion,” she moaned and looked close to tears.
“Your baby is lost in the fire?” The second driver gasped and looked shocked that she would be walking away so casually.
“We do not know where he is,” Larna said and started to sob.
The two carriage drivers looked at each other and then turned their glare to the older heavyset woman as if they couldn’t believe she would have left the area if her baby was missing while a fire was raging out of control.
“Baby is a dog,” Mullday quickly explained when she caught sight of their accusing glares. “Baby is the name of the dog. It is not a baby,” she laughed nervously.
The two drivers looked at each other and a slight laugh escaped when they realized the miscommunication. They were relieved to know the woman wouldn’t have left her child behind when a fire was raging out of control.
“However, Baby is my baby, yet my husband felt it was important for us to leave the area due to the danger of being injured,” Larna said and sobbed into her handkerchief. “If you see my Baby, please be careful with him. He will look mean, yet he is a gentle loving…”
Since Mykal was invisible he used the distraction of their conversation to step up to the carriage and looked to see who was riding along with them. Mykal’s heart almost stopped. There were three guards on one seat and a prisoner with another guard in the second seat. The prisoner sat with his hands bound behind his back. The prisoner’s head hung forward as he nodded in and out of consciousness. The prisoner’s head was balding and looked as if he had been abused. There were several minor cuts and scrapes on his exposed flesh as well as some bruising.
The prisoner wore a shirt that any of the locals would wear but he also wore a pair of camouflage trousers. The prisoner and one guard sat in the front so they faced the rear of the carriage. The three other guards sat in the rear seat facing the front of the carriage so they could keep a watchful eye on their prisoner. Mykal clearly saw the right leg had a large hole and there were dark stains that could have been blood. Mykal knew it was Captain William Roberts. The Goblins had shot him in the right leg with a crossbow before he had been taken captive.
The prisoner definitely looked to be Captain William Roberts. “William?” Mykal whispered to see if it really was William Roberts his one-time friend who murdered his best friend Robert ‘Boris’ Traginsky. His breathing almost stopped as his thoughts raced out of control. His thoughts turned to vile hatred as he thought back to William’s plan to kill Mykal after he murdered his best friend. Mykal allowed the Goblins to capture him under the mountain when his group became the Lost Patrol in the hopes the foul evil Goblins would torture William for his crimes against Mykal.
William lifted his head and looked up at the three soldiers seated across from him. His breathing almost ceased in disbelief. Mykal knew it to be true; Captain William Roberts was alive and well. Fearfully, he now knew Captain William Roberts was in the hands of the enemy, the Supreme Ruler, Zizmon-Tarl.
“What do you want?” William asked the soldiers seated across from him. He heard someone whisper his name
“I do not want anything,” one of the soldiers replied to William suspiciously as if William was trying to pull something. He looked to his two other guards and they also shook their heads that they too didn’t request anything.
Mykal was filled with an intense hate filled wrath and wanted to jump in the side boards of the carriage and pump several rounds into William’s head. He had always promised to shoot William dead if he ever saw him again, but he didn’t want to put Doninka at risk. Mykal struggled mentally at a tremendous level. William really was alive and he wanted William dead. Mykal knew both groups of mounted soldiers were on their way to pick up Doninka and now he has seen with his own eyes that they in fact also had William, Captain William Roberts, in their possession. He wondered if they knew William was from the Pass, the same place Doninka was from.
Mykal stood ready with his weapons should either of the two soldiers give up Doninka. ‘Hopefully these two soldiers won’t say anything that would give Doninka away, at least not right now,’ he hoped earnestly. ‘Fronpar said he would turn Doninka over to the officers coming for her,’ he thought and eyed the two soldiers intently to see if they would spill the beans on the special guest. But the two soldiers said nothing that would point Doninka out as the person they could be looking for and the second band of soldiers moved along. As he stood there Mykal realized it was a good thing that he didn’t use the green fog to take Doninka away yet. He now had confirmation that the evil Zizmon-Tarl actually had custody of William and not the Goblins he left William with. This created a very real problem for Mykal. William could be used by the bad guys to attack the Pass.
Mykal was torn as the carriage slowly rode away. He wanted to run after it and climb on the back of the horse drawn carriage to shoot William in the head. At the moment Mykal didn’t care if he shot William in the face, the back of the head or the side of the head. But then, due to Mykal’s invisibility, William would never know it was Mykal exacting his revenge for the murder of Boris. He toyed with the idea of flashing himself visible just so William could see it was him taking his life, but he feared what that would do with all the soldiers present.
‘Damn it,’ Mykal fumed hatefully as the horses and carriage rode off. ‘I wanna kill that piece of shit,’ he huffed in thought. ‘And I want that scumbag low life to know it’s me who is gonna take his miserable little life away,’ he snarled in thought hatefully. He imagined his eyes glowing fiery red with black smoke floating up from his nostrils. He knew that his imagined appearance would look demonic. It made him chuckle how angry he became. ‘But I gotta be careful with Doninka,’ he added in a mournful thought. He stood there and watched the carriage ride away with his most hated enemy in it. He felt like he was going to explode. ‘God, if You are real like Diaz and Ski say You are, please help me,’ he yelled out in thought and looked heavenward. ‘Cuz I’m about to lose my mind and do something stupid.’
Mykal stood in the middle of the road and watched the carriage ride away. His heart seemed to beat a million times a minute. No one could see him and no one knew he existed, but it troubled him he allowed William to continue to put space between them. The temptation was so great just to run after the slow moving vehicle and end him once and for all.
“Let us continue,” the second soldier said as the group of five continued to walk away.
/> The soldier’s voice brought Mykal back to his senses. He ran ahead of them with a wild plan in mind. He believed the soldiers were on a quest to take possession of Doninka and add her to their catch of William so they could present both to the Supreme Ruler, Zizmon-Tarl, ‘the Ultimate bad guy’. He hoped he wasn’t about to allow his emotions to get him in trouble, but his plan felt good to him.
He ran to a side building and took a deep breath. Mykal made himself visible. He stepped out from between the buildings and walked toward the group of five despite the shocked look of Doninka. He knew his appearance would be very strange to these people. His camouflaged uniform and his camouflaged face paint would be like nothing they had ever seen before. He knew he would have to communicate with confidence and that would be half the battle, or he would shoot them dead. He nodded and thought it was humorous that everything was going to be one way or a bullet to the head.
Mykal walked to the group with a confident boldness. He held his sword in one hand and his Glock 17 in the other. His .357 magnum rested at his side and his rifle slung over his shoulder. He was ready to go to war to take Doninka and get out of here. “Hold up good soldiers,” Mykal said with a smile though he looked strange with his camo face paint. “I am here to take possession of the prisoner,” he said and pointed to Doninka with his Glock 17.
“Who are you?” The first soldier asked and raised his sword not as a threat but to hold it in a defensive manner.
“I have been sent here by Commander Fronpar,” Mykal replied. “I know that you also have his wife Larna and his lovely daughter Mullday here with you,” he said with a smile and nodded to the two ladies. I am sorry that my soldiers rushed passed you. The first group of mounted soldiers did not even stop to see if you were who we were searching for. The second group with the horses and carriage should have announced themselves to pick up the prisoner, yet I see they continued on without asking who you had in your possession. Commander Fronpar will be furious. I am sorry ma’am,” he added and looked to the wife of the commander. “I know they are searching for your pet Baby, and they have not found your lovely dog as of yet,” Mykal lied to the woman. “I believe they will find Baby before the night is over. Commander Fronpar has many soldiers searching for both Baby and your two sons, while others are battling the blazes. There is so much that is going on at this time. So please be patient while they handle all the strange things that have happened,” he added and he realized he just blew them away with all the information he seemed to know.
