by Dave Hazel
“I have nothing,” Finley said and kept his eyes on the slow approaching band of horses and riders. He looked slightly concerned with the information that had been shared on the approaching group.
“Yeah, let’s just make sure we’re all on the same page,” Mykal said before they split up. “Look at those cocky bastards,” he snarled in anger. His anger started to get the best of him. He knew he wanted to be reckless, but all the men were at risk if he tried to be foolish. “I honestly don’t care if there is some legend behind these bad asses, let’s see what they can do before we bow down to them and grant them supernatural, super star, status.”
“The old fighter in me says right on brother. Ooh-freakin-rah baby,” Gunnery Sergeant Ratner said and pumped his fist. “But the old man in me says, if they have some hocus pocus, heebee jeebee, mumbo jumbo magic shit about them, then let’s not let them get too close,” he added and they all laughed with him.
“I hear ya,” Mykal laughed and held out his hand for Ratner to high five him. “Well, let’s go get ready for them.”
Mykal and Towbar went to Sergeant Barry’s vehicle. Most of the men stood right beside their vehicles so they could see what was about to happen. They didn’t want to be trapped inside the vehicles without knowing what was about to unfold. Was something supernatural and unholy about to occur that would enable The Forty-Three to brush off their attack and in turn use their Zizmon-Tarl imparted special abilities to come after them? Would this be a foe they couldn’t contend with due to magic?
The men all held their weapons ready while they stared and relied on the big guns of the .50 caliber machine guns to do their work. The men all watched and waited in silence and understood if the .50 caliber machine guns couldn’t stop the magical Forty-Three, their rifles would be useless. All of them were concerned based on the well-known legend that had been passed down for years. Their last resort would be the speed of their vehicles to carry them away from the wrath of The Forty-Three.
The horses fanned out to where The Forty-Three were nearly side by side as they continued their slow walk approach. The heads and faces of all the warriors were covered with helmets and face guards. They all carried various weapons and rode like they knew they were feared by all peoples. Many of the men were shirtless, exposing all their muscles. As a group they stopped when they were about twenty-five to thirty yards away. One of them stepped forward a few feet and began shouting, but the language was unintelligible to Mykal and his people.
“Hidtotim, do you know what this guy is saying?” Mykal yelled and waved for Hidtotim to come closer.
Hidtotim rushed to his side but looked like he was trying to hide his face. Hidtotim looked more fearful than at any time Mykal had known him. “Mykal, he is declaring that he represents the Supreme Ruler and they were sent here to stop whatever evil deeds we have planned,” he whispered as if he feared being found out for helping Mykal and his people. “He says to surrender would be the best option. To resist will end in our brutal deaths. Our deaths will end in agony if we resist.”
“Can everyone see that army that’s coming up behind them?” Mykal yelled to keep everyone focused on all that was around them. After many shouts that the men were paying attention he looked behind them. “Do we have that other army in sight or are they still a long way off? I don’t wanna be caught in a vise.”
Mykal watched The Forty-Three and noticed that all the warriors looked to have battle scars on top of their muscles. Most of their faces seemed to be deformed as if scarred badly. He noticed all of them had various thick dark tribal tattoos of various shapes and sizes covering their arms, ribs, chests and probably had tattoos on their backs and legs. Mykal knew tribal tattoos were to display strength and raw power. If the situation wasn’t so dangerous he would be curious to see their bold interlocking, and attention grabbing patterns of black ink. Mykal himself never got a tattoo due to his fear of needles.
Sure, this group ‘The Forty-Three’ looked tough, yes. Obviously they instill fear to those from this side of Towbar’s world, and their myth helps makes them intimidating, but they looked as if they had been in many, bloody and vicious, battles themselves. Some looked to carry large scars, but did that mean that Zizmon-Tarl made them immortal and they lived on after their injuries? Either way, Mykal knew he would not want to fist fight any one of them. He wasn’t even sure if he would like to have a hand to hand battle with weapons unless his weapon was a firearm.
“They are not in sight,” Green Beret Staff Sergeant Pinkerton shouted from one of the vehicles. Pinkerton was one of the squad leaders. “I have a couple of men watching our back Myk.”
“Great job. Keep up the good work.”
“He is asking if we are willing to surrender.” Hidtotim declared with an anxious expression. He also looked as if he struggled to control his breathing.
“He wants an answer from us?” Mykal asked the terrified former soldier of Zizmon-Tarl. He wanted to comment on the display of fear Hidtotim displayed, but he didn’t want to make his new friend feel uncomfortable.
“Yes Mykal,” he replied and still tried to hide his face.
“I should have you yell something back to him, but I can see these guys got you all shook up,” Mykal laughed cruelly. “I’m not afraid of these bastards. If we can’t hurt ‘em cuz there is some kinda magic spell protecting them, then we’re gonna haul ass outta here and I don’t think their horses will be able to keep up with us.”
“Unless Ziggy put jet packs on them ol’ horses,” Roy Jr. whispered to be funny.
Mykal wanted to comment on Roy Jr.’s remark and add to it, but he clearly saw that Hidtotim looked terrified.
“He is shouting again and he asks if we are willing to surrender. Or do we wish to suffer their wrath instead,” Hidtotim whispered. “He again has declared that they are The Forty-Three,” Hidtotim added and seemed to gulp his words.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t wanna respond to him for me?” Mykal asked and couldn’t keep from laughing.
“Mykal, what do you want us to do?” Diaz shouted from his vehicle.
“Hold on a second. Do they speak the common tongue?” Mykal asked the terrified man.
“They should know the common tongue,” Hidtotim answered but it was almost like he whispered his answer and continued to keep his head turned to the side so he wouldn’t be seen.
“Hey Sergeant Barry,” Mykal called up to Barry in the turret. “Get on your public address system and tell them that maybe they should go home and play with their horses cuz they’re gonna get their asses kicked if they don’t.”
Sergeant Barry shouted through his PA and basically said what Mykal relayed. The men all started to laugh except those from this part of Towbar’s world, those who feared The Forty-Three.
The members of The Forty-Three seemed to be shocked. No one had ever spoken to them in such a manner. Not even larger forces dared to speak to them with such disrespect. They all stirred on their mounts and looked back and forth to each other as if to insure they heard the taunt that they thought they heard. The one who had been speaking shouted and raised his sword. He ended his reply by thrusting his sword skyward.
“He says he will only ask one more time,” Hidtotim whispered to Mykal. “Will we surrender or suffer the consequences for being insolent?”
“Barry, tell these idiots to call 1 800 BITE ME,” Mykal yelled. When Sergeant Barry repeated Mykal’s words, he used both hands to chop toward his crotch like a teenager in a shouting match. The opponents obviously had no idea what was meant by the response or Mykal’s crass actions, but Mykal’s men loved his response.
The men laughed hysterically, but Captain Diaz had been caught off guard and wasn’t expecting such a crude reply. He did his best to hide the fact that he found Mykal’s uncouth response humorous despite the potentially dangerous situation. It was clear the Gloom-ack-grime knew it was meant to be a vulgar response. The Forty-Three yelled and shook their heads throwing saliva and spittle with their yell
s and the shaking of their weapons. The literal sabre rattling looked intimidating coupled with their shrieks from hell.
The leader of The Forty-Three shouted in the common tongue. “You shall pay with your blood.”
“Sergeant Barry, ask him, ‘how is this for an answer’ and then open fire with the machine guns. Everyone else, you better get ready to haul ass outta here,” Mykal laughed. “Cuz if these freaks are supermen we’re gonna have to skedaddle quickly. I just hope these scary dudes with the magical powers can’t fly,” Mykal yelled and got most of the men to laugh with him. “Cuz we’re really poking the hornet’s nest by playing with these spooky looking warriors.”
“Hey Forty-Three,” Sergeant Barry’s voice spoke through the speaker of the public address system. “How is this for an answer,” he said just as suddenly the six .50 caliber machine guns opened fire and all forty-three soldiers and most of their horses were cut down and ripped apart. Some had limbs blown off and large portions of their heads were blown away as well. They were cut down and destroyed like any normal man standing before a .50 caliber machine gun. They cried out and shouted; they bled and flopped to the ground rather quickly. Many of the soldiers following behind were cut down just as easily. The army behind The Forty-Three didn’t know what was happening to them but when they realized their people were being butchered by an unseen force they scattered and ran in all directions. Normally they would have pressed their attack but since they saw the invincible Forty-Three get obliterated, they knew they were in trouble and moved quickly to get away from the unseen cause of death.
“Are you friggin kiddin me?” Mykal gawked. “What? They were just normal men?”
“What an anticlimactic let down,” Randy laughed out yet he surveyed the area to ensure The Forty-Three weren’t going to rise up and attack them as their guard was let down. He stood there and pushed his cowboy hat back on his head and eyed the feared ‘indestructible foes’ who lay there bleeding all over the open plains.
“Yeah, that would be just like being able to take home a hot super model only to find she’s really an old dude in drag,” Roy Jr. chuckled and pushed his cowboy hat back on his head. Like his brother he kept his eyes on The Forty-Three to make sure they weren’t going to get back to their feet. “What a shocking surprise.”
“You say that like you may have experienced that at one time,” Ratner laughed at him.
“No, not really,” Roy Jr. laughed with him. “I’m just trying to be funny.”
“Well, let me tell you,” Ratner started and hesitated. He looked as if he was unsure whether he should continue or not. “I did experience something like that at one time,” he admitted and started to blush. He laughed to hide his red cheeks. “When I was a young dumb Marine we were stuck on Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines for three weeks. We hit some of the bars in Manila and as much as I hate to admit it, I was stone cold drunk and this beautiful woman wanted to take me home. ‘Hell yeah’ I said. When we got to her place I found that her bra was stuffed, her eye lashes were fake, her makeup was a good cover-up and she had an ‘outie’ and not an ‘innie’. And I’m not talking about belly buttons brother,” he laughed which caused those around him to laugh. “Needless to say, I sobered up real quick and got the hell outta there. I was glad to hear that I wasn’t the only one that happened to. A number of the men started doing ‘package checks’ with their dates before they left the bars.”
Mykal laughed with the rest of the men. He would never have expected to hear something like that about Gunnery Sergeant Ratner, their wise older leader.
Hidtotim looked out from behind the door of the vehicle and still looked shocked. “Mykal, I do not understand. They are The Forty-Three. They are the Gloom-ack-grime. They are some of the most feared and most deadly forces the Supreme Ruler had under his rule. They have eliminated thousands with just their small numbers.”
“Well, they ain’t shit,” Mykal laughed. “They may be bad asses here on this side of the world, but where we come from we’re some serious ass kicking bad asses ourselves,” he added and laughed while he continued to watch to make sure they weren’t going to rise up and attack to get revenge. “Stay with me kid, and I’ll watch over you, and I’ll take you places,” Mykal laughed playfully and patted Hidtotim on the shoulder. Several men of Mykal’s group came by and high fived him for not backing down to the ‘scary’ Forty-Three.
Hidtotim looked over the dead littering the field before them and was pleasantly surprised. “I am truly amazed Mykal. You have just proved to me that you and your men are greater than The Forty-Three. If I may be honest with you, my mighty friend,” he paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. He continued to watch to make sure there wasn’t something he was missing. “I truly understood that your men are mighty warriors with mighty weapons. I have witnessed your mighty power before my very eyes. However, I must humbly admit that when I laid eyes on The Forty-Three, I truly believed your men had met their match. Please forgive my fearful lack of trust.”
“Damn, you thought that bad of me even after I got you all those Lucky Charms?” Mykal asked playfully, but it was clear Hidtotim didn’t get Mykal’s sense of humor and that he was putting him on.
“If I knew it would not embarrass you Mykal, I would honestly drop to one knee and bow. That would signify that I will be totally loyal to you for the rest of my life.”
“No, please don’t bow down. We’re friends and I’ll be loyal to you as well. You don’t have to bow down to me. I’m just a regular Joe Blow from down the street.”
“I am sorry Mykal,” Hidtotim replied and bowed his head. He didn’t understand what Mykal just said.
Nomorek and Soonme bowed their heads as well. Together they looked at Mykal differently than they had viewed him previously.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just yankin’ your chain,” Mykal laughed and truly felt embarrassed that they would think so highly of him.
“Yan-kin my chain?” Hidtotim asked and looked worried that he didn’t understand the meaning.
“I’m kiddin’, don’t worry about it. Fuhgedaboudit, jus’ fuhgedaboudit,” Mykal said playfully and used his hand trying to sound like a New York mobster.
Some of the men came forward and began to shout taunts to the enemy though they really couldn’t be heard. Mathis was one of the men who became very vocal and he was doing it to make Mykal laugh. “Hey Forty-Three, whadda ya think of me now dudes? Huh? Wha’ cha gots ta say now dudes?” He yelled and put his hand to his ear as if listening for a response. “Oh, dats right, you ain’ gon’ say ana thang,” he laughed and strutted like an over confident braggart which did evoke laughter from Mykal.
“Well, whadda ya wanna do?” Mykal yelled to Captain Diaz who stood atop his vehicle and surveyed the destruction through a pair of binoculars.
Captain Diaz spoke to Ratner and Ratner called for all the senior leadership to gather around his vehicle. The men rushed around to get ready to depart while the leadership held a small briefing. “Gunny, send a four man team to go inspect The Forty-Three just to make sure they are all deceased,” Diaz said while watching the army behind the obliterated Gloom-ack-grime continue to scatter in all directions. “Tell them to be cautious, but if there was supposed to be something supernatural about them, I don’t want to have any ugly surprises creeping up on us.”
“Aye aye Sir,” he replied and ran off to grab the first four men who came before him
“Any suggestions men?” Diaz asked those of the leadership group.
“We still have the army that is behind them that is in pursuit of us,” Finley reminded them and pointed behind them. “I would suggest that we continue the way we are traveling and if this army behind The Forty-Three regroups and tries to counter attack we will bust through them and take as many of them down as we need to. My concern is for the group that is chasing us. Those Things scare the hell out of me. I just have to be honest. I’m not going to pretend to play that macho warrior bullshit because those Things
will put a hurtin’ on us,” he admitted and shrugged. “I vividly remember what they did inside the Pass at the end of the year.”
“I agree,” Diaz said. “Hopefully, once we get farther away from this area, maybe Towbar will be able to try using the green fog again.”
“Yeah, it might be a time thing or maybe a distance thing,” Mykal said in response. “What I mean is, if Ziggy did put a curse on Towbar or cast a spell on our group, then maybe the spell would only be good for so long, or for a certain distance from where he cast it. At least that’s what I’m thinking. I dunno, I could be wrong.”
“Sir, I don’t mean to start any trouble,” Finley said and looked at Diaz. “But if you don’t believe in magic, how would--”
“I never said I don’t believe in magic,” Diaz cut Finley off and sounded like he was snapping back at Finley’s swipe at him. “I know magic is real. That’s why God tells us in the Bible to stay away from it. There is real power there and it is Satanic, but it is a temporary and limited power. I never once denied the power of magic. I don’t believe in the use or the trust in magic. I will be the first to say magic is real, but God is real too. And His power is eternal and everlasting. He will overcome the so called powers that come against Him. Believe me, I have no doubts about Zizm—oops, I mean Ziggy’s power. But I can tell you that Ziggy’s power is limited and temporary in the big scheme of things,” he said and seemed to bore into Finley.
Mykal seemed to catch on that there was a building tension between Finley and Diaz. He couldn’t understand it because they had always gotten along so well. Mykal thought about it and believed the attitude change started when Finley’s two Green Berets were captured and tortured by the enemy and ended up being found impaled.
“What is our plan?” Mykal asked Captain Diaz to interrupt what looked like the start of some heated tension. “It’s gonna be getting dark soon. We have this scattered army in front of us and we have that bigger army with the Things coming up behind us.”
