by Dave Hazel
“How can you guys jus’ clown around with them coming this way?” Airman Jackson asked.
“What, do you want us to give up and hide in a corner, allowing them to have a mental defeat over us before they even get here?” Boris replied.
“Jackson,” Larry responded. “You deal with stress the way you want, and we’ll deal with stress the way that works for us.”
2.
Within a couple of hours the first mass of Sosos stopped at the opening of the Pass. “Oh man, they gotta be drooling,” Mykal said. “Towbar said they’ve never been inside the Pass because his soldiers have always gone out there and kicked their ass.”
“Yeah, they’re probably laughing themselves silly seeing there are only a few thousand townspeople stretched across the width of the Pass,” Denny agreed. “With Towbar’s army not in sight, they know the Pass is gonna be defended by men, women, children, and the elderly. Not soldiers!”
“They think this’ll be easy killing,” Kurt chuckled. “But we got a surr-prii-ize for them idiots.”
The first wave of Sosos, several thousand across, casually bunched together and moved to within a hundred yards of the camouflaged pit and waited. At the opening of the Pass the width stretched more than a mile and a quarter. At the area of their defensive line, the width was just under a half a mile.
*******
Not a word yelled, not an arrow fired. At the ready, the Sosos snarled and growled like wild dogs on a leash waiting to be loosed to attack. Sosos loved physical torture, now they took advantage of the opportunity to inflict mental anguish as well. The defensive line made up of intimidated women, children and old men couldn’t possibly last twenty minutes.
Behind the first wave of several thousand were multiple groups, at least six more legions inside the Pass. Behind the seventh wave, a sea of evil warriors pooled, waiting for the floodgates to open to deluge the ancient river bed. A torrent of evil would soon be cascading through the only barrier to the southlands. The Finger Mountains had always prohibited their conquering the southlands, but now all that stood between them and the other side of the impenetrable wall was a handful, in comparison, of peasants. A mouthwatering feast had been placed before the hungry Soso savages.
*******
“I’ll tell ya what,” Mykal sighed and shook his head, “over the years I’ve been to a few football games with attendances between 40,000 and 80,000 people. Maybe I’m just nervous, but that seems like a lot more than a full stadium to me.”
“How the hell could Towbar’s people allow this to happen?” Larry asked. “There should always be an army stationed here!”
“He said if we survive this, he’s gonna change that.”
“A lot of good that does us now Myk,” Larry scoffed.
All the vehicles, except the four Peacekeepers, faced the opposite direction to depart in a hurry in preparation of being overrun. “Maintain your position; Hold your ground; Don’t let them frighten you;” were some of the refrains passed down the line of the pit during the twenty minute or so stare down.
“Denny, I can hear your hair turning gray,” Kurt yelled.
“What you hear is his ass puckering up,” Larry laughed.
“That’s me alright,” Denny snickered at his own expense.
Mykal’s group joked and laughed. As a group they were appreciative they could still clown around and maintained their humor in the face of such danger. It helped to ease the stress.
“Pay attention,” Jake demanded. He fought not to be seen humored by their antics. This was his team before his promotion.
The first wave of Sosos split into two rows of archers. They stood like an interlocking zipper. Bow and arrow in hand they held their position. Their appearance looked like a bunch of disheveled savages, but they performed like a well-trained army. The bow and arrow produced the greatest fear for the defenders. A minor wound meant certain death.
A rumbling of fear started down the line. Towbar rushed up and down their line of defense with his long sword in hand, shouting encouraging words to his people. “My people, our new friends will not allow the Shay-lonk to harm you. Trust my words, they will surprise you.”
Mykal thought it odd that he saw a yellow glow around Towbar’s sword. He saw it give off a blue glow when in use and Towbar assured him it was because his sword is a magical weapon. Mykal never noticed the yellow glow prior to Towbar’s lifesaving blood transfusion. He would bring it up to Towbar should they survive this day.
Most of the people from Mykal’s world moved behind the manmade barriers for protection. All found comfortable positions to rest their rifles in order to make the most of every shot. Hitting targets would be very easy with Sosos bunched together. The dirt walls were approximately four feet high and four feet thick to stop the arrows that would be targeted toward them. The dirt barricades were staggered behind the pit.
Mykal’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the two rows of archers start advancing toward the helpless looking townspeople. They didn’t charge, they walked slowly, clearly a deliberate display of their confidence that this would be easy.
More than two thousand archers stopped about forty yards from the pit. The groups behind them advanced as well. It seemed they were going to try to take the Pass without engaging in hand to hand combat. They would either scare the old men, women and children away or they would kill them all with arrows.
Boris pointed to the leader several feet in front, armed with a sword. “That cocky simian bastard’s probably looking to pad his Soso resume by saying he took the Pass without losing a single warrior. But I’m gonna shoot him right in the damn head.”
The Sosos strung their bows with the dreaded black arrows, but all their bows pointed downward. Despite their vagrant appearance the well-trained force waited for the command to commence firing. Towbar’s assurance did little to ease the increasing anxiety of the townspeople. Some women sobbed openly.
Jake stood at the Peacekeeper with Mykal’s group and gave his instructions for the machine gunners through the radio. “When I give the word I want you machine gunners to open up on the archers. Lay those savages out with as little ammo as possible. Look at those cocky sonsabitches,” he said. “Hold your position. Be patient, they’re trying to scare us. We’re gonna give them one hellova rude awakening. Listen for my command.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Mykal snapped at Doninka when she joined him. “If I’m responsible for you, you’re gonna do what I tell you. I want you with me every step of the way. You got it?”
“Yes,” she replied and had been taken aback. “No one has ever taken that tone with me,” she said. Her surprised look showed she found his straightforwardness attractive.
‘Oh brother.’ Mykal sighed at the wrong affect. “Just do what I tell you,” he said in a softer tone.
“What the hell are they doing?” Larry asked when the Sosos moved again. The archers stopped within twenty-five yards.
“Look how happy those savages are,” Kurt yelled loudly. “They think this is gonna be like stabbing fish in a barrel. Get it? Notice I didn’t say like shooting fish in a barrel?”
Sam laughed with others while he sighted his rifle. “They probably wanna know why the locals haven’t dropped their weapons and run away. They’re about to find out real quick.”
“Steady, steady,” Jake spoke through the radio. “I’m watching the one giving orders.”
Boris spoke while sighting in his rifle on the Soso leader. “With his hands on his hips and his chin sticking out, doesn’t he look like a bearded Benito Mussolini?”
*******
A lone Soso standing in front of his army of archers, armed with a sword, eyed the terrified rodents. He seemed puzzled. Such a small defending force must know it is over. Why haven’t the fools fled in fear? He gave the command for the archers to raise their bows, but not to take aim. His goal was to prolong the mental agony of the miserable little mongrels a wee bit longer.
*******
“Open fire!” Jake yelled into the microphone. “Let ‘em have it!” The split second from Jake’s words leaving the speakers to execution seemed like an eternity. The four M-60s roared.
Mykal stood by Jake near the Peacekeeper and watched Jackson, the M-60 gunner. Though he expected the eruption of the machine gun, the noise still took Mykal by surprise. The four rapid-fire weapons spit burning pain and death, the likes of which had never been seen by the people of Towbar’s world. Many locals dropped prone covering their heads in sheer terror. The constant beating of thunder felt worse than the growl of fearsome beasts.
Doninka’s hands jerked to her ears. Her pretty face twisted in not so pretty fright. Her eyes begged Mykal for approval.
Mykal grabbed one of her arms and pulled her hand away from her ear. “Watch this. These guys are good,” he said, impressed with the marksmanship of the machine gunners.
Three of four gunners sent their first rounds into the line of Sosos and traversed the stationary targets. The last gunner’s first rounds were a little short but quickly recovered from his mistake by following the puffs of dirt until rounds exploded into unsuspecting bodies where he traversed the line as well.
Sosos were thrown violently to the ground when they were slammed by the 7.62mm rounds. The rounds ripped through flesh bursting mists of blood everywhere. Bodies were being ripped apart, bows and arrows dropped harmlessly to the grass around them. The Sosos did a strange comical twitching slap dance to the dirt. Most of them never moved once they lay on the land. Few cried out when the tremendous pain thrust upon them had been realized. Sosos dropped like a staged domino exhibition.
*******
Blood flowed, flesh ripped and flew freely. Sosos didn’t understand what happened to them and how it happened so fast. The rodents weren’t close enough to engage. How could the vile vermin devastate an entire army? It didn’t make sense how the rats also assaulted groups behind the first wave. Sosos from the second, third and fourth waves dropped and were killed just as violently.
*******
The power of the 7.62mm rounds ripped through the intended target and zipped through other bodies as well. Each belt of ammunition held five hundred rounds and when the belt neared being spent, the duty of the assistant gunner was to open the ammo can and get the next belt of ammo ready. Working together, they could reload the machine gun in just seconds. With the new belt of ammunition in place, the gunners ceased fire per Jake’s orders.
*******
The few archers still standing unscathed surveyed the area trying to understand what just happened to their leader and more than 95% of their group. Did the filthy mongrels use magic? They couldn’t possibly stand up to such a powerful magic that killed so fast. The few standing retreated, but they saw almost as many from the second legion were killed by the same magic. The third and fourth legions suffered tremendous losses too.
*******
Over ninety-five percent of the first legion lay dead or incapacitated. A loud rumble spread throughout the Soso ranks. After only a few moments, and two thousand rounds, more than eight thousand Soso warriors lay dead or seriously wounded. Many of the wounded would die from loss of blood or complications due to the severity of the ghastly wounds.
“What has taken place?” Doninka gaped, looking in Mykal’s eyes. “How is such destruction possible? Is it magic? Are you gods?”
Mykal realized he still held Doninka’s petite wrist. “No, it’s our weapons.” He smiled and let her go. Clearly she didn’t mind being in his grip. He smiled when his people jumped up and down whooping and hollering with joy and pleasure from the damage only four M-60s did to the enemy. “This is why Towbar told your people not to worry over our situation. We really are from another time and place. These are normal weapons for us.” He couldn’t hide his humor at her incredulous expression. He knew other men from his world would take advantage of the women by answering similar questions differently.
“Take that, you ugly bastards,” Kurt yelled to the fleeing few. “C’mon and get some more you dumb asses.” Playing to the crowd Kurt pretended to point at a certain Soso. “You, yeah you. I got som’fin for yo ugly ass. C’mon an’ dance wit’ me cuz I’ll make you do the gopher twitch,” he yelled and imitated the twitching movements of prairie dogs he shot in the past when he and Boris had gone out ‘ker-plunking’. “You ain’t so bad now, are you? You ugly mo-fo.”
“Want us to open up again?” A voice asked over the radio.
“No, hold your fire,” Jake replied.
Mykal stared at the rows of bodies. Four lines of bodies littered the ground. Almost the entire first two waves, a majority of waves three and four were decimated just standing still. Others in waves five and six were killed and injured also. “We’re in it for sure.”
Boris scoffed. “Myk, Denny just said, the Dipshit brothers wanted to see if we could cut a deal with them. What idiots.”
“Sosos would never honor any agreement,” Doninka declared.
“There’s no cutting any deals now,” Mykal said. “I’d never trust them anyway. This is great,” Mykal added when he realized the commotion in the Soso ranks. “Look out there. We did more damage than I expected. Make sure you stay near me,” he said. He felt awkward with the longing look she gave him.
“Jake, we oughta keep cutting them down,” Kurt yelled out. “They’re just standing there.”
“No, not yet. Maybe they’ll back off,” Jake replied. “I wanna see what they do. If they attack we’ll be able to carve them up even more as they get closer. Just sit tight.”
“Towbar, whatta ya think?” Denny called to the giant as he walked the line and neared their position. Towbar joined the townspeople in rejoicing with the Visitors.
“Amazed! I am truly amazed. I have never seen so many Sosos fall so quickly. It is beyond comprehension to think that only four of your weapons did this. I truly believe the gods have sent you people here to help us for such a time as this.”
“Don’t say that around Ski.” Boris smirked, but ignored Towbar’s confused expression. “Those four weapons are called machine guns. You can call them rapid fire thunder sticks.”
“My friends, how do these weapons do so much damage?”
“Each one of our weapons shoots a bullet, about this big,” Kurt said with his finger spread about an inch. “They’re kinda like tiny death arrows. The thing about the machine gun is they are so powerful, they can actually go through eighteen inches of wood,” Kurt explained using his hands to crudely show how wide. “That’s why you saw so many Sosos go down. I’ll bet each round went through three, four and more people just cuz of how bunched up together they are.”
“Just so you know, Towbar,” Boris added. “That first row of dead is less than twenty-five meters away. Our maximum effective range is 1100 meters. That means we can aim that far. The 60’s maximum range is 3725 meters. That means they can be killed at two miles away. That’s how powerful these M-60 machineguns are.”
*******
Sosos dashed around in a state of confused panic. They inspected the dead and injured. Clearly they couldn’t understand how such damage could have been inflicted by a few townspeople from such a great distance. There were no arrows protruding from bloodied bodies. It couldn’t have been archers. Warriors were dead or in tremendous pain. Towbar had to be using magic. Some Sosos had witnessed similar destruction a week ago on a smaller scale, but had no answer as to how it had been accomplished. Magic must be the explanation.
*******
“I wish they’d just retreat,” Jake said. “That’d give us more time for Towbar’s soldiers to arrive. Aw damn, this don’t look good,” Jake shouted over the rejoicing when he saw the Sosos raise their weapons in unison and began yelling.
“They are calling for revenge,” Towbar explained.
“Here they come!” a voice cried out, stating the obvious.
Suddenly Sosos charged toward the townspeople. It seemed a dark cloud moved rapidly across the land.
The dark cloud emitted a fear inducing roar of war cries. Thousands charged forward with thousands upon thousands more advancing in separate waves behind them. Those outside the Pass acted like violent cheerleaders.
Mykal grabbed Doninka by the wrist and pulled her with him behind the dirt wall. He wanted her to be hidden as much as possible while he lay his rifle in a stationary position so he could make every aimed shot count.
The assaulting group neared ten thousand Sosos packed tightly together. Four times as many of the first wave. They ran hard and angry, screaming wildly. They looked determined to get revenge on the small group of townspeople. Before reaching the fourth line of dead bodies, Jake gave the command for the machine guns to open fire.
The M-60s thundered. Their deadly power reverberated into the advancing and stationary ranks. Sosos fell faster than they gained ground. When they reached the second line of dead, more than half their numbers were gone. They must have assumed the larger size would ensure victory. The advancing force, packed so tightly together into the 4/10ths of a mile, made it much easier to chop down their numbers. The progress of ground taken by this assault could be measured in feet and inches. The near ten thousand had been cut down to hundreds.
*******
The few who escaped the rain of death stopped and turned the other way. Retreating as fast as they could, they ran over the remains of their fellow countrymen who had been ripped to pieces faster than they could flee. It had to be magic. It’s the only plausible explanation. They did not expect Towbar’s strange and powerful magic to be capable of inflicting damage on so many warriors. There must be a limit to Towbar’s magic. The vile little vermin with Towbar will pay for this. Great warriors are being kept from earning paradise. The little rats will be offered up to the Soso gods.
*******
The four M-60s used up two more belts of ammunition. All four machine gunners used fifteen hundred rounds each, half of their three thousand round supply. Everyone enjoyed seeing the added damage and devastation brought on the thousands behind the attacking force.
