37 Days In A Strange World

by Dave Hazel

  Mykal opened the trunk only to disappoint them. In the trunk they found a spare tire with a jack, a box of 50 rounds for the .357 magnum, and a gym bag with under garments, socks and a shaving kit. Mykal stuffed the extra ammo in his side pocket.

  “What a waste,” Boris complained showing his cynicism. “These friggin U.S. Marshals can carry anything they want and all this jerk carries is a revolver? Gimme a break.”

  “Hey tubs, why don’t you take it easy on the guy. We can’t find his head, arms or legs,” Kurt laughed at the insensitivity Boris displayed. “I’m sure he wished he woulda been packin' some other stuff after they lobbed his head off.”

  Mykal closed the trunk and went to the rear of the military carry-all to store his new treasures. He would make time to clean the holster later.

  The others gathered around Denny to discuss what they should do next. Denny looked puzzled. “What I’m curious to know, if they were looking to get help from these people why did these people turn on them and kill them?”

  “I would like to know what they did to A1C Coon.” Nelson said. “Is he dead too? Or did they take him as a prisoner?”

  Mykal zipped up his A-bag and closed the rear doors of the Suburban. He rounded the corner of the vehicle to join his friends and his heart jerked with fright when he saw movement in the trees. He watched in shocked horror and incredulity as his friends came under silent attack. Wild looking, long hair and bearded savages dressed in rags, loosed dozens of arrows before he could shout his warning. His throat nearly ripped open with his blood curdling yell while he dove for cover under the vehicle.

  While scurrying to get under the vehicle the butt of his rifle jolted. It had been struck by an arrow. The force of the hit nearly knocked the rifle from his hands. Filled with relief and terror, he realized how close the arrow came to his body. He heard a shrieking scream, but he couldn’t tell who got hit. From under the vehicle he saw legs running in all directions.

  He heard fearful yells coming from his friends while he shouted for them to get down and seek cover. Another volley of arrows flew into the area. Some arrows stuck in the ground. Other arrows hit the vehicles and bounced off. He watched Nelson run toward the rear of his vehicle.

  Nelson stopped for a moment, looked back to the attackers, and then dove to the ground. Glancing to Nelson, Mykal realized Nelson didn’t dive to the ground, but rather spun around as if shoved violently and landed on his back. Nelson lay motionless with an arrow protruding from his chest. He didn’t move. Mykal couldn’t believe it. Nelson just laid still. Lifelessly still. Terror magnified Mykal’s own heartbeat and breathing.

  Mykal quickly chambered a round and switched the selector lever from safe to semi. He had never trembled so violently in all his life. Ready to squeeze the trigger, he froze gripped in fear and he hesitated. ‘Is this really happening? Is this a military exercise to see how we’ll perform under such bizarre circumstances?’ They were always put through training and exercises, but never anything like this. Ready to shoot he realized the serious consequences of discharging a rifle without sufficient cause.

  Another shrieking scream slapped him back to reality. ‘This is real. Nelson and someone else are hurt. Two others were killed already.’ He had examined their gory remains. “Don’t panic,” he yelled for his own sense of sanity. From all previous training that had been drilled into his head he knew he had a legitimate reason for discharging his weapon. Self-defense and the defense of others are legitimate reasons for the use of deadly force. ‘I’m not gonna get into trouble for this,’ he yelled his thoughts to convince and encourage himself since he had never fired his rifle except on a military shooting range when authorized to do so.

  He glanced at Nelson and saw Nelson’s shirt getting wet with blood where the arrow jutted from his body. The screaming of someone injured wouldn’t stop. “Screw this!” He yelled and fired off several shots. The sound of the empty casings ejecting and striking the bottom of the vehicle terrified him. ‘I really fired my rifle,’ his mind shouted as the strong smell of gunpowder pricked his nostrils. His hands trembled uncontrollably. ‘There’s no undoing what I’ve done, but this is survival!’

  After shooting several rounds he looked to see if he hit anyone, but he couldn’t tell. His hands were shaking so bad that he couldn’t hold the rifle still. His stomach tightened though he breathed rapidly. So many terrifying thoughts flooded his mind. If this turned out to be a military exercise, he returned fire with live ammunition. If not a military game there were people trying to kill them like Sommer and Taylor. He desperately wanted to run away, to find a place to hide, until this was all over.

  ‘This doesn’t make sense!’ He neared panic. “Why?”

  He heard his friends yelling different things but couldn’t comprehend anything. Suddenly a burst of automatic gun fire came from his right. Then another burst of gunfire. It put him at ease not to be the only one shooting. He didn’t lose his mind.

  Mykal saw Kurt crouched down at the trunk of the Marshal’s car spraying the trees with automatic gunfire. “Come on you assholes,” Kurt yelled, he held his M-16 at his hip and fired wildly. “Come where I can see you, chicken shits. I’ll kill ya.”

  For a brief moment of time all was quiet except for the sound of someone calling out for his father. Mykal knew that one of Roy’s sons had been hurt. During the brief quiet Mykal heard several weapons being readied to fire. The silence had been broken by a sudden thunder of gunfire much louder than the crack like pops of the M-16s. It had to be Roy Jr.’s Winchester rifle. Boris and Kurt fired off shots joining Roy Jr.’s assault.

  “Hold it. Hold it. Damn it,” Denny yelled. He sounded scared. “What the hell is going on?”

  “We’re under attack,” Kurt yelled and jumped up firing his weapon on full auto and emptied his second thirty round clip.

  “Stop that, you damn idiot,” Denny yelled louder than he had ever yelled before. “I think they stopped. Hold your damn fire. Is everyone okay? Who got hurt?”

  “My youngest, Baby Ray is hit,” Roy bellowed, tending to his son. “He took two arrows in the leg.”

  “Denny, Nelson’s hit,” Mykal yelled out.

  “How bad is he hurt?”

  “I think he’s dead.”

  “What!? No! Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t look good.”

  “Hey you,” Denny hollered toward the trees. “What the hell is going on here? What do you want from us?” There was no reply.

  “We have to get outta here,” Randy yelled from behind the Marshal’s car with Kurt. “I don’t have a weapon.”

  Mykal heard the sound of someone sobbing. It sounded like fearful sobbing, not pain induced. It came from the passenger side of the vehicle. “Franklin, where are you at buddy?” Mykal called out believing it was Franklin who broke down emotionally.

  The sobbing stopped. “I’m behind you,” his voice cracked.

  “Franklin, listen to me, whatever you do, don’t fall to pieces on us. You hear me? Everything’s gonna be alright. You gotta do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “I want you to keep your eyes on those hills behind us. You gotta make sure they don’t try to hit us from behind or we’re screwed. Can you do that?” Mykal took charge knowing if he didn’t keep his own head in this battle he’d probably die too.

  “Yeah,” Franklin sniffled. “What do I do if I see them?”

  “Let us know and start shooting at them cuz these people ain’t playing games,” Mykal replied. He surveyed the area and with all the arrows stuck in the ground it amazed Mykal only two people had been hit.

  “What the hell are we doing just sitting here?” Larry yelled frantically. “Let’s get our friggin asses outta here.”

  Randy made a mad dash from the Marshal’s car to Nelson’s body. When he reached for Nelson’s M-16 a figure took a step out from behind a tree with a bow and arrow in hand. As the figure took aim at Randy, Kurt jumped up and sprayed wildly with automatic fir
e. The lone figure sailed backward and the arrow flew upward, harmlessly, into the air.

  “I got him, I got him,” Kurt laughed out loud. “I got the ugly son of a bitch,” he yelled.

  “Kurt, quit shooting on full auto,” Mykal yelled while he watched Randy run back to the Marshal’s car. “You’re wasting ammo.”

  Kurt crouched down with Randy and showed him how to operate the M-16. Suddenly another volley of arrows streamed in at all of them. One of the arrows slammed into the ground just inches from Mykal’s head throwing small pieces of dirt in his face.

  “Damn,” Mykal spat. “They almost got me in the--here they come,” he shouted as several of the people came charging from the trees.

  From behind the trees there were at least twenty attackers charging at them. They were men who looked like wild, dirty, warriors from another place in time. Their clothing looked like dirty rags. Their hair was long and unkempt. Their faces were hidden with scraggly beards. The most disturbing component had to be their armament. Their weapons were primitive. Some carried swords, axes, spears and clubs. They charged like madmen with crazed expressions. The sound of their war cry stirred terror.

  Kurt and Randy both jumped up and attacked with full auto. They sprayed wildly at anything that moved. Between the two of them they only took down nine. Mykal on the other hand took one shot at a time, making each round count. Mykal heard others shooting one round at a time as well.

  Mykal’s first aimed shot hit one of the wild looking men in the chest, the target toppled over dead. He aimed at his second target and suddenly the bad man was slammed backward. Someone else shot him. He aimed at the face of another, he squeezed the trigger and the savage reached for the blood that spurted out as he fell to the ground. Mykal no longer cared if he crippled or killed his targets. These madmen were out to murder them.

  Within a few seconds, those left standing quickly turned and ran back to the safety of the trees. While running away Mykal shot two of them in the back. He knew there would be an intense investigation after this passed. He would omit that fact. Some continued shooting after the enemy hid behind the trees.

  “Quit wasting that friggin ammo,” Mykal yelled angrily.

  “Denny, what the hell is going on?” Boris yelled out but Denny didn’t answer. “Denny, are you alright?” He shrieked as if he feared the worst.

  “Yeah, I’m alright, but I don’t have a damn clue what’s going on or what they want.”

  “Denny, let’s just get the hell outta here,” Larry yelled. “I don’t wanna get killed out here.”

  “Alright, alright,” Denny gave in. “One at a time get in the vehicles. Roy, get Baby Ray in the car first.”

  “Thanks.” Roy’s always friendly demeanor disappeared. Roy and Roy Jr. carried the whimpering Baby Ray to the bed of the station wagon without drawing any arrows their way.

  Mykal crawled from under the vehicle and went to the rear with Franklin. Franklin’s eyes were glued to the hills. Franklin sobbed openly. Tears streamed down his acne covered face. “Hey Franklin,” Mykal whispered. “Everything’s gonna be alright. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Is Nelson really dead?” He asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” he said while he took the blood covered holster from the rear of the Suburban. He wrapped the holster around his waist and made it as tight as possible. The belt was still too loose. The weight of the revolver made it hang down on his right side. He would have to adjust it later. “Adam Sommer was a big dude,” he mumbled and pushed the bags in tightly.

  “Whadda ya doing?” Larry questioned his actions.

  “I’m making room for Nelson. We can’t just leave him here to get cut up like the others.”

  “Kurt,” Denny called out once he knew Baby Ray was secured in the car. “Get behind the wheel and be ready to haul ass.”

  Kurt reacted quickly and ran back to the Suburban where he positioned himself behind the steering wheel of the vehicle. “Oh damn, they’re coming from that way,” Kurt yelled and pointed to the direction they came from. More than two hundred savages charged from the direction they came. They were about a mile away.

  “Oh no, look out!” Franklin shrieked like a frightened school girl. “They’re on top of the hill,” he cried out. “They’re coming, they’re coming.”

  There looked to be hundreds cresting the hill. The enemy approached from three sides. “They’re gonna surround us,” Kurt yelled. He honked the horn. “Let’s get outta here, now!”

  Mykal and Larry ran and grabbed Nelson by his hands and dragged him to the rear of the vehicle. They shoved him into the small storage space. The arrow that took Nelson’s life buried deep into the center of his chest. Arrows began filling the air again. Most hit the side of the vehicle, denting it and falling to the ground. Two arrows stuck into the metal.

  The attack tightened from three sides. Arrows whizzed all around them but no one got hit. The trees seemed to come to life with an undetermined number of ‘bad guys’. Those storming down the hill behind were now at the bottom of the hill.

  “They’re getting closer,” Franklin screamed in a panic.

  “Franklin, get in now,” Denny ordered. “Boris you too, both of you get in the middle. They’re comin' from the trees again,” he yelled in a high pitched frantic cry while shooting. Denny ran as fast as he could after Franklin and Boris were inside.

  After closing the doors on Nelson’s twisted body, Larry rushed to the rear passenger door. Mykal ran to the door on the driver’s side, running into the face of the enemy coming from the trees. He shot while running and dropped one with every round. It didn’t make a difference in their numbers. They kept pouring out from the trees like an ant nest that’s been kicked.

  The wild men closed in and six of them were near enough for Randy to be in danger. They attacked Randy since he still stood behind the Marshal’s car. Randy froze in fear. “Arrows,” he yelled giving the impression he feared being struck with arrows. He didn’t move. The Crazies were almost on top of him.

  Roy Jr. jumped out of the family car to help his brother. He shot his Winchester, but it was empty after three rounds. Roy Jr. threw the rifle on the back seat and jumped behind the wheel. He raced the car to his brother and slammed the front end of the car into one of the wild men who neared closest to Randy. The crazy man raised an axe and would have attacked Randy with it. The wild man didn’t get up after being rammed by the metal beast. “Get in, get in,” Roy Jr. yelled. His father yelled too.

  Inside the vehicle Mykal fired on those closest to Randy. Many more charged from the trees and drew closer. Mykal killed seven within moments of sitting down. He didn’t realize he lost his hearing due to the extreme noise inside the vehicle.

  “Can I leave yet?” Kurt yelled.

  Mykal couldn’t hear him, but understood him. “No, Randy’s not in the car yet,” he said while he squeezed off another round.

  “They’re getting too damn close,” Kurt yelled, gripping the wheel tightly.

  “Don’t leave till they’re ready,” Denny ordered. He fired on those storming down the hill.

  Mykal shot four more that closed in on Randy and Mykal’s rifle was empty. Randy fought them off with Nelson’s rifle but it would be a matter of a few more rounds and he would be empty too. He couldn’t get up and run to the station wagon even though it was only a couple of steps away. The Crazies would be on him if he made the attempt.

  Out of nowhere a wild man attacked Randy from behind. He tackled Randy to the ground. Randy dropped the rifle. They rolled on the ground fighting for dominance. The crazy man had a long dirty looking dagger in his hand. Randy fought for his life to keep the blade from his flesh. Randy held the savage’s knife hand with both his hands. The crazy took advantage of this and pounded his free fist into Randy’s body. Roy Jr. rocked back and forth to keep as many as possible from his younger brother. His father yelled and directed from the passenger side.

  “Pull over there,” Mykal yelled once he saw Randy go
down. Kurt stopped the vehicle close to Randy and Mykal jumped out with his new .357 magnum in his hands. Mykal cocked the hammer back and shot the wild man in the side of his head. The other side of his head exploded. The handgun’s kick surprised Mykal.

  Roy got out of the car and helped his son get to his feet and helped him into the car while the others kept shooting at the more dangerous threats. There were too many and it seemed like their numbers were never ending. More of the Crazies were getting close. “We gotta go now!” Kurt demanded.

  “Where the hell are they coming from?” Larry screeched while reloading.

  Mykal stood his ground like a cocky over confident soldier. He waited for the Dosch family to get inside the car. Mykal didn’t shoot until the bad guys were almost on top of him. He shot the closest bad guys in the face at point blank range, to hopefully have an impact on the others. None of the victims would rise from a .357 magnum to the face.

  Mykal had two shots left and there were four dead at his feet. Seven were within ten feet of him. Terror consumed him when he realized how close they were.

  “Gotta go! They’re on top of us,” Larry yelled as loud as he could. “Let’s go Myk.”

  Kurt pulled the open door to where Mykal stood. He fired off his last two shots, burning holes into the faces of two more Crazies. He fired a third shot, but an empty click of the hammer falling into a spent shell was all that resulted.

  Mykal dove into the vehicle and partially landed on Boris’s lap, yelling for Kurt to drive off. “Go, go, go, go.”

  Kurt sped away with his foot pressed hard to the floor. The wheels spun in place for a moment on the grass, but jerked forward. The vehicle vibrated tremendously at the quick acceleration and as they pulled away from the wild savages, a loud crash came from the rear of the vehicle. A hand axe had been hurled and smashed one of the rear door windows.

  “Where do I go?” Kurt yelled while he drove away from the enemy.

  “Just keep going,” Larry yelled before Denny could answer. “Just get us the hell outta here as far as you can.”