by Dave Hazel
Kurt took his pistols out and showed them off as well. “This is my .357 magnum. It’s like the one Mykal has, but mime has a blued finish and an eight inch barrel. Oh yeah, and mine is bought and paid for,” he teased his friend. “Denny do you wanna hold onto it? You never know, it might come in handy.”
“I appreciate the offer Kurt, but I couldn’t stand the thought of possibly losing it.”
“How about you Roy,” he turned to the elder Dosch. “I noticed you don’t carry a rifle around much. It’d be better than not being armed all the time. I can’t shoot three weapons at once.”
“Sure. That would make my day and you boys be sure to let me know if you want to use any of our rifles.”
“Thanks, but I got my baby,” he said with a big smile and kissed his pistol when he pulled it out. “My Browning High Power 9 mil. I just love this thing,” he added and kissed it again.
“Let’s get going and get that car.” Denny broke up Kurt’s love fest. “I wanna make this quick.”
“I don’t wanna go,” Franklin pouted like a child. “I don’t want you to put my life at risk.”
Mykal knew Franklin’s difficulty stemmed from his threat and because his feelings had been hurt. “That’s fine,” Mykal responded. “You can stay here and keep Nelson company until we get back. And if something should happen that we can’t come back this way, I guess you’ll have one hell of a long wait.”
“No one’s getting left behind.” Denny stepped in. “Shut your damn mouth Franklin, and get inside the vehicle.”
“I’ll drive the car,” Mykal said. He pulled the keys from his pocket. “It’s a habit I have. I put keys in my pocket when I open a trunk. I locked my keys in the trunk once. Only once!”
“I’ll ride with you,” Boris said first.
“Me too, or I’ll end up killing Mr. Pimps,” Larry said.
“Thanks guys,” Denny replied. “You leave me with one who can’t shoot and one who’s an idiot.”
“Thanks Sarge,” Kurt frowned playfully. “I love you too.”
6.
They returned to the ambush site. The yellow station wagon lagged behind as agreed. All eyes were wide open and focused, alert to the possibility of another attack. They all held their weapons nervously at the ready. Kurt cautiously approached the U.S. Marshal’s car. If anything moved it would be shot.
It shocked Mykal to see all the bodies littering the area. The reality of the battle registered upon seeing the numerous corpses–half naked, some baring all. Weapons had been removed from the battle field. Enemy armaments were nowhere to be seen.
“Damn, the Crazies stripped their dead of weapons,” Boris whispered. “I wanted to pick up a souvenir.”
“Looks like they took more than weapons,” Larry commented. “Also looks like they left the bodies to rot where they fell. But then again, they didn’t look like the burying kind.”
After the vehicle stopped near the LTD’s driver door, fear induced nausea grew in Mykal. ‘Why did I volunteer myself for this?’ He shook his head. He opened the door eyeing the four feet of ground to make his mad dash.
Mykal looked at his comrades. They all stared without blinking. All ears strained for any sounds that would announce danger. “Everyone, keep your eyes open,” Denny warned.
“If I see the crazy people before I get the car started, I’m hauling ass back so we can get outta here,” Mykal whispered.
Mykal had to step over a dead body to get inside the car. Images of horror movies flashed through his mind. He visualized a hand reaching up and grabbing his leg while he tried to get inside the car. The rapid thumping of his heart sounded like a drum banging in his head.
“I’ll kill this S O B if he jumps up,” Mykal whispered his threat while eyeing the corpse at his feet. He knew it couldn’t happen, and realized the Crazy wasn’t faking. Half his head was blown open. Strands of long dirty brown hair swirled in the wind. The man’s eyelids were not shut completely. His parted lips exposed his teeth clamped on his tongue.
Stepping over the corpse produced the same apprehension he experienced going into a haunted house at Halloween. Getting behind the wheel of the car he never took his eyes from the trees. Half of his body sat on the seat, half his buttocks hung outside of the car. His trembling hand fumbled with the keys while his left hand held his rifle at the ready. It started with ease. He looked at the fuel gauge, right at the full mark.
“Whew,” he sighed with relief. “No problem,” he spoke into the radio. “A piece of cake. Who’s gonna ride with me?”
“Damn it, look at that,” Larry said just as he and Boris joined Mykal inside the US Marshal’s car. About a mile away from where they originally came from there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of the wild madmen traveling across the flat land from trees to the hills. The roving army blocked their path back to Lieutenant Light.
“They gotta be some kind of war party,” Boris suggested. “We must have stumbled on something and interrupted them.”
“But who are they at war with?” Mykal asked. “Denny, look over there,” he spoke into the radio and pointed. “We can’t go that way. We can circle back around later, but we don’t wanna have them follow us back to Light’s location.”
“Oh damn, good point Myk,” Denny replied into the radio. “Turn around and we’ll put some distance between us and them. What the hell are we caught up in?”
“It’s a damn mystery,” Boris answered. “And I honestly don’t wanna know the answer.”
Within minutes they passed the place where they abandoned Nelson and his possessions. Mykal tried not to look back, but kept stealing glances in the rear view mirror. He never cared for Nelson but he couldn’t believe he’d been murdered. Though impossible, he wanted to forget all that happened to them today. The new mission, same as the old mission, find help and go home.
After several miles, the forest that hid the wild savages thinned to an occasional tree dotting the wide open land. They kept a mile distance from the foot of the hills to their right. Mykal drove into wide open flat land. Still, no signs of life.
7.
“Hey, isn’t that water way out there?” Larry pointed to the north, their left.
“Oh wow, that looks like it could be a lake,” Boris agreed.
“Hey Denny,” Larry called to the other vehicle through the radio. “It looks like there might be a lake or some kinda body of water out to our left. It might be a couple of miles away. Do you wanna go check it out?”
“Denny said for you to lead the way,” Franklin answered.
Mykal beamed with a new sense of hope. “If there’s water, you’d expect civilization to be close by. Watch for people.”
Silent vigilance ruled the drive toward the body of water. They looked in all directions around them and still no signs of societal development were to be seen. Mykal’s hopes of finding help were swallowed up in the sea of grass and hills. He drove toward a range of hills and had to decide to go left toward the water or to veer right and continue in open plains. His gut told him to head toward the water. He turned left to avoid the steep mounds and hills that rose like the ribs on a starving dog.
Easy access to the body of water had been deceptive from a distance. Mykal approached a cliff, not a beach. He slowed to a stop fifteen yards from the edge. The water lay twenty feet below and stretched as far as the eye could see.
Everyone except for Baby Ray got out of the vehicles and walked to the brink of the small cliff. Looking over the rim Mykal eyed the ring of golden sand at the water’s edge forming a narrow beach. The pristine picturesque view, especially the water, reminded Mykal of the Mediterranean Sea. He did a short stint in Athens, Greece for his first duty assignment.
The wall of the cliff had been eroding into the crystal blue water for ages. The land around them seemed rougher than the plains they had been traveling. Rolling mounds and trees blocked most of the view to the east, their right. To the west the ground was smoother and flat enabling them to see for mi
les.
Mykal took in the beauty of the scenery, enjoying the watery scent in the air. No signs of human existence, not even the Crazies. The wind continued blowing, the long grass swayed. Mykal wanted to yell out his frustration, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Being the second in command, such an outburst would discourage those under him.
Without being ordered they all rallied around Denny to find out what his plans were.
Kurt folded his arms and smiled. “Now ain’t this pur-dee?”
Roy spoke first. “We need to find help soon. My boy’s leg is getting worse. The flesh around the two wounds is turning black. I’m getting scared Denny.”
“Okay, we’ll leave right away then,” Denny replied. “First, I wanna get some water. We can boil water and try to clean out his wounds. We better get as much water as we can for drinking. Boris and Franklin, I want you two to go over to that ridge over there,” he pointed to the hills to their right, “and keep watch until we’re ready to leave. I don’t want any surprises.”
They gathered six 1-quart plastic military issue canteens. The Dosch family had three empty 2-liter soda bottles. Roy gave Mykal a length of rope to string the six canteens together.
Mykal and Kurt cautiously descended the steep, slanted wall of dirt and rock to the skinny strip of beach below. At water level they took advantage of their mission and walked along the beach taking in the beauty of the scenery around them. Mykal carried the canteens like a catch of fish. Kurt carried three bottles in one arm and his rifle in the other.
Mykal started down the beach to their right. “Let’s find a good spot to fill the canteens without getting our boots wet. Plus I wanna go over there and see what’s around that bend,” he pointed down the beach. Trees and brush dotted the land above the cliff providing limited shade.
“I could go for a swim. This damn gear is making me sweat.”
“Man, I can’t get over how nice this place is,” Mykal said and paused to look around them. He noticed the cliffs rose higher and trees grew thicker the farther they walked the shoreline. “I wish Pam could see this,” he added and expected Kurt to laugh at him.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven’t seen anything as pretty as this since I left California. Man, I miss home.”
“I know the feeling. I miss upstate New York. I even miss Minot right now.” Mykal frowned, his thoughts were on his family.
“Minot? I don’t know if I’d go that far Sarge.”
“Well I do. Look at this,” he pointed to the large cliff wall that blocked their view and the water surroundings. The waves lightly slapped against the beach and gave a gentle comfort after what he had been through earlier. “This is like what you’d see on a postcard. Let’s go around this bend so we can see the whole lake,” he nodded and pointed up near the top. “Look at all the seagulls. This is the first time we’ve seen any life except for the bugs on those dead guys.”
Kurt wiped the moisture under his glasses. “I don’t care about the seagulls. I’m tempted to accidentally fall in and go for a swim.” He tugged on his sweaty shirt under his flack vest.
“Me too, but we gotta hurry up and try to find some help for Baby Ray,” Mykal said as he started to round the bend.
“I don’t think we’re gonna find him any help. It’s like the world just disappeared on us,” Kurt said and shook his head.
“Or maybe we disappeared from the world. After running into those crazy people, I’m thinking we travelled back in time somehow. It sounds weird, but how do you explain those people?”
“I agree,” Kurt said. “But back to Baby Ray, it sounds like his leg is getting infected. If it gets worse, he’ll probably have to lose the leg or it--”
“Whoa, stop,” Mykal gasped in a whisper as he pushed back against the dirt wall. He reached to pull Kurt with him, striking him with his string of empty canteens.
“What the hell--” Kurt reacted, taken by surprise by Mykal’s sudden actions.
“Shhh,” Mykal whispered harshly and slowly peeked his head around the cliff wall. “Look around the bend, quietly. There’s a friggin ship in the water. It’s a big wooden ship with sails like a pirate ship. It’s on this side of the lake.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kurt whispered. “I’m afraid to look.”
“Take a look. Damn it,” he hissed and started to tremble. The cliff and the trees took them from visual contact with the others. He allowed too much distance from the vehicles. They resembled swimmers in shark infested waters who just realized they strayed too far from their boat. “Maybe the people we fought actually came from this very ship.”
“Damn, I don’t believe it,” Kurt said quietly. “It’s a ship alright. That isn’t a modern ship by any means. Look Myk, I see a few boats going from the ship to the shore. There are men and horses on the boats and it looks like some are already on the land. They’re on the other side of the hills where we’re parked,” he looked up. “They’re pretty close to us.”
Mykal’s heart sank. “We’re not in friggin Kansas anymore Toto. Whether you like it or not, we’re in another world.”
“But how?” Kurt’s face looked as if a relative just died.
“How, doesn’t matter anymore. Now is all about survival and getting back. Let’s deal with the present situation. They’re not at a cliff like we are,” Mykal whispered after pulling Kurt away so he could look without being exposed. “They’re going right up onto the land, so these hills must taper down,” he pointed to the cliff and hills behind them. “Now that I look at them, they look different than the people we fought earlier, don’t they?”
Kurt snuck another glance. “They don’t look as dirty and grungy as the ones we fought, but they’re just as primitive. So they could be the same savages.”
Mykal stole another peek. “I don’t think they’re the same. I wonder if we’d be able to get help from them. Let’s forget the water right now and tell the others what we found.”
“I’m right behind you Sarge.”
They ran back down the beach. Behind him, Mykal heard the sound of something striking metal. He turned to see a crude axe bounced off Kurt’s head. His heart almost stopped when he felt something whiz past his face. It had to be an arrow. Kurt groaned, dropped to his knees and collapsed.
Mykal looked up to the top of the steep cliff and saw four men similar in appearance to those they fought earlier. Long hair, long beards, medieval weapons, dirty and torn clothing. No uniforms per se, but uniform in attacking without asking questions first. They fit Mykal’s description of brute savages.
One of the four strung his bow with an arrow. Two started to climb and slide down the dirt wall- one armed with axe and the other with a sword. The fourth, Mykal guessed he threw the axe that possibly killed Kurt, he drew his sword and ran to the edge of the cliff with an angry fixation. Mykal watched in stunned amazement as the crazy man dove at him from the top of the cliff at least twenty-five feet high.
At first sight of the four, images in his mind of being chopped into little pieces like Adam Sommer and A1C Taylor instigated a fear that made him freeze. He wanted to reason with them, but the sudden scream of war cries, and the sight of the savage diving off the cliff, broke any idea of civility working. The Crazies didn’t care about his situation and he wasn’t about to let them keep him from getting back to Pamela and his sons.
“Noooooo,” he yelled at the top of his lungs while jerking his rifle upward. He pointed toward the bowman and fired off four quick shots. The first bullet missed, but the second hit him in the arm near his shoulder. The third and fourth rounds slammed into his chest. The archer flew back out of sight. The bow and arrow fell harmlessly to the ground.
Mykal shifted his rifle slightly and squeezed off three more blasts. All three rounds ripped into the flying crazy man. The airborne savage plummeted to the sandy shore with a thud. Half of his throat ripped open and a fountain of blood spurted, darkening the light yellow sand around his head. ‘It’s me or them,’ he thought.
/> The two sliding down the side of the earthen wall reached the ground just as their soaring comrade thumped onto the beach. They charged at Mykal with reckless abandon showing they didn’t care about their dead companion. Their faces masked with beards still displayed hatred. Their wide wild eyes showed they wanted Mykal dead and he saw no options for negotiating.
Less than ten feet away--Mykal managed to squeeze off two rounds into the sword wielder’s face. The brute dropped his sword and spun in place, stopped as if looking to see the position of the sun, then turned and dropped face first into the sand.
The lone savage, armed with an axe--the head of chipped and marred stone--rushed Mykal like a fanatical lunatic. He seemed unimpressed by Mykal’s ability to kill quickly at considerable distances. Saliva drooled onto his long thick dark beard. For a split second Mykal wanted to understand what he had done to make these people so angry. No time to talk, only to react.
Mykal fired off two more rounds, knocking the axe and two fingers from the crazy man’s left hand. The wild man let out a surprising howl of pain, but kept charging without losing a step. Mykal squeezed off another shot while slightly adjusting the front of his barrel. The burning lead drilled into the crazy man’s left shoulder making him grimace in pain as he spun to the force of the gunshot.
The savage twirled just inches from Mykal and slammed his right fist into the side of Mykal’s head while falling. The vicious punch knocked Mykal backward. He dropped his M-16 to reach for cracking pain in the joint of his jaw. Fortunately his enemy fell to the ground too.
Mykal feared his jaw had been pulled out of socket. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and realized he desperately needed his rifle. He rolled over and made an attempt to crawl to retrieve his M-16, but he couldn’t move in the sand. His legs wouldn’t co-operate. He now understood what boxers experienced, who can’t control their legs after receiving a devastating punch.
A burning, ripping, pain coursed through his jaw line and his head throbbed with a powerful ache. In the fuzziness of his thoughts Mykal knew the pain would be minor in comparison to what he’d feel if he didn’t retrieve his rifle. He glanced over his shoulder to see the crazy man on his feet, staring at him.
