by Dave Hazel
“Yes Sir,” Currie saluted Edwards, and ran off.
Mykal and Towbar departed to join others gathered to greet Denny’s arrival. Light and Edwards held a heated debate over the way Edwards handled the shirt incident with Light’s airman.
“This is great, Towbar,” Mykal whispered gleefully. “With those two going at it, it could mean a split later. If they split up more people may follow Light than Edwards. I think Light would always do the right thing.”
“While we wait for Denny, my friend, explain to me the importance of that object,” Towbar pointed to the camera.
“Here, I’ll show you,” Mykal said and took a step back. “Don’t move. . .now smile.” He clicked a snapshot. Towbar’s expression didn’t change when instructed to smile.
The flash, barely noticeable caught Towbar’s attention, but he seemed to be fascinated by the mechanical noise the camera made as it rolled out the blank photograph. “This reminds me of a child sticking out his tongue,” Towbar said.
“In just a minute we’ll have a picture of you, just like the pictures I have of my family.”
“How, my friend?”
“I can’t explain how, but if you wanna see something really amazing, just keep staring at this,” he said and handed him the unfilled photo. “You’ll see yourself appear out of nowhere. Here watch.” The giant’s wide eyed expression made Mykal laugh.
“How does this happen?” He gasped excitedly as the outline of his head appeared. Towbar gawked and looked amazed to see his facial features take shape. “What sort of magic is this?”
“It’s alright Towbar,” Mykal laughed. “It’s not magic, it’s photography. All it did was capture your image on this paper. Now I can have it to remember you by if we get separated. See, we keep these pictures to look back at to remind us of good times or special occasions and to think of loved ones who have passed on. Sure we have our memories, but with pictures we have something to help us to remember the things we might have forgotten. Why are you afraid?”
“I am standing here, and yet, I am here,” he pointed to the photo of himself. “How can this be? Did you take my face from me?” He reached up to feel his flesh.
“Towbar, it’s only an image of you.” Mykal couldn’t keep from laughing at the genuine concern of the giant. “It’s like looking into a mirror or into water. Only this stays on this paper so you can keep it with you. Okay look, Denny’s here.”
“This indeed is a strange tool.”
“Where I come from everyone has these. It’s like having a tiny artist with you,” he chuckled. “We’ll talk about it later.”
The people crowded around the new arrivals. Questions were fired from all directions. All the questions, in one form or another, revolved around any new hope of going home or any news about the impending danger of Sosos.
“Come on, we have to get away from here,” Denny said and looked agitated. “I thought for sure you guys would be moving toward the Pass by now. We saw Sosos headed in this direction. We’re sitting ducks out here,” he said which silenced the crowd.
Boris stood beside Denny. “Myk, there had to be at least three, maybe four thousand of them.”
“We spotted them right after the fog lifted,” Denny continued. “Boris said it wasn’t the same group you guys ran into the other day,” he spoke to Mykal. “That means there are several groups running around out here. We gotta get moving.”
“Real quick, while everyone is gathered here and I have your attention,” Mykal waved his hand to get the focus on him. “This is important. I just spoke to Lt Edwards and he, Lt Edwards, just put an off limits sign on the females here.” Mykal paused and some of the younger men snickered and laughed. “We don’t need those kinds of problems especially for the parents here. And to put some teeth into his law, I’ve instructed Towbar to deny food and water to anyone who violates that rule.”
“What? What the hell did you just say?” Someone shouted.
“I said if you mess with Mr. Kraft’s daughters, you will starve to death or die of thirst,” Mykal replied calmly.
“Who the hell made you boss?”
“Lt Edwards put the girls off limits, I’m just gonna make sure it gets enforced, cuz we don’t need those headaches,” he added and the grumbling grew. “If you got a problem with that, come say it to my face. Or do you wanna talk to Mr. Kraft about it?” There was no mistaking his threat. “Are we good Mr. Kraft?”
“Yes. Thank you, Mykal.” William grinned with relief.
Grumbling continued. “Shut the hell up and listen,” Mykal barked. “If you have a problem with that one little rule, then maybe you should be out on your own.” The noise stopped.
“Agreed,” Dum Shit Dobson said. “Now what?”
“We must reach the Pass before the Sosos, and hold the Pass until my soldiers arrive. Then I will be free to help you.”
“Denny, come with me. We gotta make these idiots get moving,” Mykal said. Everyone knew who he referred to.
“Excuse me, Mr. Towbar,” Doris Holen stopped the giant. “Am I to understand that you plan to lead us to the very place where the savages are going? Aren’t these the very people you have been warning us about? Are you trying to get us killed? Don’t you care that we’re not from here?”
Towbar paused for a moment and looked at her long and hard. “What concern is it of yours? You are a woman.” He glared into her stunned, chubby, face.
Mykal fought the burst of laughter that tried to escape and continued to walk away. Denny couldn’t hold his laughter. “Oh, he’s in for it now,” Denny whispered. “He doesn’t know a damn thing about the ‘Women’s Lib’ thing or the ‘equal rights for all’ crap that we have to deal with.”
“Yeah, he’s on his own,” Mykal said and started to laugh. “I’m sure she’ll give him a piece of her mind.”
“Sir,” Denny called to the little group of senior personnel. “We really need to get a move on,” he said directly not wasting time with the pleasantries of greeting everyone.
“Glad you could finally join us Sgt Felps.” Mansfield greeted him with a contemptuous tone and smirk.
“We really need to head out. We’re sitting ducks here. We just ran away from about three to four thousand Sosos. They’re not too far away.”
“Are they coming here?” Edwards asked and color seemed to leave his face.
“They were heading this way. Sitting here out in the open will set us up for a Custer’s Last Stand situation.”
Edwards put his hand to his chin. “I’ve been assessing our situation and I rather like where we are situated. We can easily observe all directions for miles. Should a threat arise we could quickly re-deploy in any direction.”
“And then we’ll be continually re-deploying every ten minutes,” Denny said.
Mykal wanted to pounce on Edwards for his change of mind. Edwards wasted the past couple of hours that could have been used to put more distance between them and the advancing Sosos.
“Sir, going to the Pass, it will benefit us in a number of ways,” Mykal said, trying his best not to show his resentment. “We’ll be joined by many people from other towns and villages. Three of our flanks will be protected. We’ll have access to food and water. Towbar’s soldiers will arrive in a short time and then he can work on helping us get home.”
Edwards folded his arms. “If we go to the Pass, the lives of all these people will be at risk. My concern is for these people, not for the inhabitants of a foreign country that we literally know nothing about.”
“Are you as concerned for these people as you were for Finn and Miller?” Mykal said. He instilled a head turning silence over the leadership group. He regretted saying it for risk of starting a squabble, but Edwards’s flip-flop got the best of him.
“I, I don’t want to--what are you implying Sgt Graves?” Edwards’ agitated tone revealed Mykal’s words cut deep.
“Sir, I must speak up,” Denny cut in before Mykal could pour gasoline on the fire. “This idea t
o play cat and mouse--”
“Sir, quick. Come quick,” Currie rushed back to their group with his t-shirt on. “You have to hear this.”
“What is it Currie?” Light asked.
“Jake, I mean, Sgt Irwin, is on the radio flipping out. Well, look out there,” he pointed to the north. Jake’s Bronco raced back from the northern incline. The security police red lights and flashers flickered wildly. “He said Sosos are just on the other side of the rise and they’re coming this way. It was hard to understand because two of them were yelling. The other one said there are millions of them out there,” Currie said and took a breath. “Bottom line, Sir, Sosos are coming!”
“Damn it, Towbar’s been saying all along the big army would come from the north,” Mykal said with disgust as he stared into the distance. “And Denny just said there’s a group coming from the east. And we’ve wasted so much damn time.” Mykal sighed as most of the refugees joined them at the edge of the camp.
The picturesque landscape created a sense of peace and tranquility despite the hidden threat. The green grass swayed in the wind. The view in the distance looked like the start of an artist’s canvas. At the farthest viewable point, the top of the incline suddenly changed; a black line had been drawn across the artist’s canvas. The black line widened over green, defacing the relaxing artwork, deliberately sullying the artist’s piece. The darkness continued to grow over the rise like a mutating black fungus growing over the land.
Jake’s Bronco neared the camp and they heard his security police siren through the blowing wind. The repeated honking of his horn added to the alarm Jake conveyed through his warning.
Towbar joined Mykal and looked disappointed.
“What the hell are we gonna do?” Someone yelled and that started a clamor of voices.
“I’m tired of sitting around doing nothing while they come closer,” another yelled. “We gotta get outta here!”
“Hold on,” Mykal shouted. He motioned for people to be quiet. “The most important thing is not to panic,” he said but the murmurs grew. “We can get outta this easy. They’re on foot and we have vehicles.”
“What the hell do we do, Myk?” An unfamiliar voice shouted.
Mykal saw the question directed at him grated on both Edwards and Mansfield. “We need to head south and go to a town in the Pass called Gartolin. There will be other people in Gartolin and they will have plenty of food and water there.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to set up a good defensive position there,” Denny said. “From what Kotan shared, it should take the whole Soso army a little more than a week to arrive.”
“Why do you want us to fight these Soso people?” Doris Holen screeched at Mykal. “You’re going to get us all killed.”
Mykal had to take a step back. “Excuse me, ma’am, I don’t wanna fight the Sosos. But we only have so much gas. We’ve already been over this. There is safety in numbers. And we may never even have to deal with the Sosos.”
“We should try to reason with them,” Doris argued. “If they knew we’re not from around here, maybe they’d leave us alone.”
“Don’t you get it, lady? Haven’t you heard a friggin word anyone of us has said about the Sosos? They wanna kill us.”
“Don’t you take that tone with me, sergeant!” She raised her voice in a condescending tone and pointed her finger in his face. “I’m an officer’s wife. My husband is a captain and I will not be talked to that way.”
“I don’t care who your husband is! He’s not here,” Mykal snapped. “We’re in a bind and all you’ve done is complain about everything. Shut the hell up and follow us if you’re coming. If you really think you can talk to them, then go,” he pointed north.
Instantly Mykal regretted his response and got mad at himself for not controlling his emotions. He did himself a disservice by unloading on Doris. He wanted to win people over, and this would have the opposite effect. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said with remorse. “I’m really sorry, but they’re all over the place. Now we can see they’re not far from us.”
“Lt Edwards.” Doris Holen turned her attention and focus away from Mykal. “Should we at least try to out maneuver the Sosos that way?” She pointed to the north.
“And go where?” Mykal raised his voice and his eyes widened in disbelief. “Look to the north,” he pointed to the black cloud covering the ground. “How the hell are we gonna get around that? And if we do, then what? Where do we go from there? To the heart of Soso country? And what happens when all our gas is gone?”
“I say let the stupid bag go on her own,” Boris said quietly to Kurt, but the others heard him.
“Airman Traginsky!” Edwards zeroed in on Boris. “There will be no more of that talk.”
Boris looked down. “I’m sorry, Sir. I was only--I’m sorry.”
“I’m terrified for my children.” Doris started to cry.
Kurt stepped forward and spoke to her directly. “Ma’am, we’re going to protect your children as if they were our own. We’re not going to allow any harm to come to them or you.”
“And let me add,” Mykal looked at her but she refused to acknowledge him. “All I care about is getting back home to my family. So I’m not gonna be foolish and put us at risk.”
“This is not right,” she sobbed. “My husband would handle this crisis in a professional manner,” she said to Edwards as if accusing him and stormed off before anyone could respond.
“I’d like to thump her upside the head,” Boris mumbled.
Mykal sighed with empathy. “I feel for her. I can’t imagine being in her spot. It’s bad enough being stuck here, but to be stuck here with two little kids, oh man forget about it.”
“So what are we doing?” Gary Rogers yelled.
“First, Kurt, grab Miller and Finn’s GAUs,” Mykal said.
“What are you doing with those weapons?” Edwards asked. “I’m giving one to Harvey Nordwall and the other to William Kraft. They need to defend their families. They’re unarmed.”
“Those weapons are Government Issue!” Edwards argued, but he stopped when Light shook his head. “Yes, we need every available person armed. Carry on,” he said and turned away.
“I’m on it,” Kurt said and lumbered off.
“Boris, ask Roy and his sons if they would give up one of their rifles to Ted Kraft, William’s older son.”
Jake slid his Bronco to a stop. “Come on people, let’s get our rear in gear,” he barked once he joined the crowd. “We need to go. This is not a game.” The group started to disperse.
Sam looked scared. “There’s millions of ‘em out there!”
Edwards and Mansfield stopped Jake from barking out orders. Mykal saw a confused and surprised expression wash across Jake’s face. Whatever they said, Mykal knew it wouldn’t be good. Mykal called all his friends to him.
“Everyone stop and gather around. Now!” Jake shouted. His raised eyebrows and wide eyes made him appear as if he had just seen a ghost. “I need everyone’s attention! Stop what you’re doing and press around.”
“Jake, what’s up?” Larry asked. “The space between us and them is getting smaller the longer we dink around.”
“Lt Edwards has just decided that we’re not, I repeat, we’re not going to the Pass.”
“What?” Mykal rubbernecked and yelled with all the other voices. “What the hell’s going on?”
“This is getting ridiculous,” a voice shot out.
“This is bullshit,” another boomed.
“The LT wants to try a different direction,” Jake said.
“Screw this!” Mykal yelled. “Who’s going with me and Towbar? Cuz I’m leaving in a minute.”
“We’re going with Towbar!” Denny declared for his squad.
Only a few hands flashed in the air. Mykal feared the uncertainty of the leadership’s position made everyone afraid to voice their opinion.
“Sgt Felps!” Edwards smirked and bore into Denny. “So you are going to disobey my orde
rs and go with Towbar?”
“Yes Sir, I am. And we’re wasting time, damn it.”
“Then you are going on report and when we get back I will personally have you brought up on charges first.”
“Sir, you’re always on my ass for being a terrible leader and poor supervisor. Why should I change now?” He paused as some of the crowd roared with laughter. “I’m not going to allow my men to be killed because our leaders wanna make a foolish decision. This is life and death. So with all due respect Sir, you can take those charges and shove them up your ass! Cuz everyone is gonna get killed staying here.”
A majority of the crowd roared again and even Lt Light had to turn away so as not to be seen laughing.
“Come on, and let’s get this thing moving,” William Kraft shouted with tight fisted anger. “This is getting stupid now. I have my family to worry about.”
“Anyone leaving with them will be in violation of obeying a direct order,” Mansfield said.
“Jake, whatta you doing?” Mykal called over the chaos of voices. “Where you go, you’re gonna pull a lot of people.”
Sam yelled at his best friend. “Jake, screw them! With them you’ll be dead in a couple of days, and you know it. Then their charges won’t mean squat.”
Before Jake gave an answer, Light circled his hand over his head, military hand signal to rally around him and then he spoke. “Men, listen up! I’m going with Towbar, and all my men are going with Towbar. Are there any objections from my people?” He received a resounding round of applause and shouts of joy from his men. The hoopla spread over to Mykal’s Crew as well.
Excitement filled the air. Almost everyone sided with Light and Mykal. Mykal rejoiced mentally to see Edwards and Mansfield shared the same defeated look. He caught the stare of betrayal Edwards gave Light, and he saw an evil glare that Mykal didn’t think Edwards was capable of. Edwards yelled into Mansfield’s ear, but the cheering kept Mykal from hearing what he said.
Jake’s long skinny arm shot into the air. When Jake joined them it caused a joyful commotion to erupt and everyone darted off to join their teams and get to their vehicles. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Jake yelled with the authority of a drill instructor. “Move it! Move it! Move it! We haven’t got all day ladies! Franklin Perry, you’re supposed to be shittin’ an’ gittin’ and all I see is shittin’. Get your tail moving, son, or I will leave your sorry ass behind!”
