by Dave Hazel
Denny lay on the ground cut into two pieces. It wasn’t a question of whether he was dead or alive. There could be no doubt. His supervisor and close friend--dead and gone. He had been cut in half when Jackson lost control and ‘freaked out’ on the machinegun, shooting anything that moved.
The upper half of Denny’s body lay on his back. His eyes, half open, looked lifeless. His mouth slightly ajar, making for an eerie sight. Denny’s lower half turned away from the top half resembling a twisted and broken mannequin. He didn’t seem real.
“Denny was like a father to me,” Boris sobbed. “I was like a part of his family.”
“Aw man, why?” Mykal moaned. He suddenly felt sick. This was the worst he felt since being lost in Towbar’s world. “It can’t be,” he groaned and wanted to cry with Boris.
“I can’t friggin believe it,” Kurt gawked. His rifle fell from his hands and tears started down his cheeks. Kurt clasped both hands atop his head and stared at Denny’s remains in disbelief. “He’s like my older brother, man. I love him like family,” he admitted and choked on his words.
“He was like a father to me,” Boris repeated and wiped his eyes. “They always had me over for the holidays. What am I gonna do now?” He wept and continued his ramble of shock. “He can’t be gone. He always knew I’d be alone at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Denny made sure I’d spend the holidays with them every year.” Boris looked at the broken body of Denny and new convulsions of sorrow rolled through him.
“Oh man, what about his wife and kids?” Mykal asked and shook his head at the thought of their reaction to the news.
Kurt rubbed his eyes. “He’d take me and Boris fishing with him and his kids.”
Mykal never saw his two friends broken like this.
“The last thing Denny said to me was, ‘Boris, you make sure you keep your butt low. I don’t want you getting hurt’. That was the last thing he ever said to me. I don’t want him to be gone,” Boris cried out like a child. “I don’t wanna be here,” he broke down and cried heavily. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Mykal couldn’t speak. He wasn’t sure what to do to help ease Boris and Kurt’s pain except be strong. “Kurt, why don’t you get Boris outta here? Tell Jake, Larry and the others to come here if you see them.” He then sat down beside Denny but faced away from him and covered his own eyes so not to see him.
“Alright,” Kurt replied and wiped his eyes. His face went pale and his expression revealed his head had fogged over with overwhelming sorrow. “Come on, Boris. Let’s go get some fresh air.”
“Fresh air? Where!? Everywhere I friggin look all I see is dead bodies. All I smell is blood and death and piss and shit from all these dead bastards,” Boris snapped while he walked with Kurt.
Mykal couldn’t help it and glanced over at the grotesque corpse of Denny. Stunned with disbelief, ‘Denny can’t be dead,’ he thought. He buried his face into his hands. “It just can’t be,” he mumbled and tried to get the image from his mind. Despite all the movement around him, his world stopped. His focus settled where Denny lay.
“Myk, where is he?” Jake’s frantic voice called out. He and Larry came running. Their faces shared the same shocked look.
“Right here,” he pointed and got up off the ground. Mykal wasn’t sure if he heard their words but he saw their body language and facial expressions as they eyed Denny. “Franklin’s dead too.” They didn’t seem to hear him.
“No, no, no, frickin no. No!” Larry’s voice rose with each word. He tried to deny reality. Larry closed his eyes, balled his fists and stomped his feet and turned his back as if that would change anything. “Not Denny,” he yelled and stomped his foot in an emotional temper tantrum. “Please tell me this didn’t happen,” he begged. “He’s one of my best friends,” Larry cried.
Jake looked broken emotionally. “What happened? I was here most of the time.”
“It was that damn Jackson on the machine gun!” Mykal said and pointed to the Peacekeeper. “He got scared and freaked out. He shot at everything in front of him.” Mykal waved his hand to all the bodies around the Peacekeeper. “Look at all the good people he killed,” he said and blamed himself. If he’d have stopped Jackson sooner Denny might still be alive.
“Where’s the rotten sonovabitch,” Larry snarled and raised his M-16. “Denny was a great supervisor and my close friend.”
“He’s inside the Peacekeeper,” Mykal replied.
“Larry, no!” Jake yelled when Larry turned for the vehicle.
“He’s already dead,” Mykal announced. “I shot him in the head when he freaked out and killed a bunch of townspeople. I didn’t know he killed Denny till just a few minutes ago.”
3.
Others from Mykal’s world came to see if it was true. Those who came by to verify the report were disturbed by the sight of Denny’s body cut in half. His remains hadn’t been moved, his eyes were still half open and his mouth slightly ajar revealing the gap in his teeth. Denny’s flesh paled to a lifeless grey.
Mykal walked away when others gathered. He didn’t want them to see his sorrow. He wanted to grieve alone and felt he had to show himself being strong. Mykal needed to clear his head and went behind the Peacekeeper to hide from the others.
Face down against the dirt wall some twenty feet away from the Peacekeeper laid the body of Sr. Airman Davis, Jackson’s assistant gunner. Davis had three death arrows protruding from his back. The rifle he clutched in his dead hands didn’t have a clip in the magazine well. Davis ran away with an empty rifle. Mykal feared his threats to Davis made him run away and that exposed him to the Soso archers. If Davis would have stayed in the Peacekeeper he might have survived and still be alive.
“Aw man,” Mykal moaned and felt more swallowed up in guilt. He easily blamed himself for another senseless death. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled barely above a whisper while he stared at the back of Davis’s head. Suddenly Mykal blamed himself for so many things that went wrong that affected the lives of so many people. He couldn’t even entertain the idea of the positive things he did during the battle.
Mykal left to find Towbar. The giant stood with some men who looked like leaders standing beside their horses. They conversed while watching the cavalry continue to ride past the pit toward the fleeing Sosos. They had to be Towbar’s generals.
Mykal turned away since he didn’t feel he could talk to them. He knew Towbar would want to introduce him to these warriors. Mykal didn’t think it would be possible to hide his sadness and feelings of guilt. He feared he’d come across as a puny and weak man in funny clothes.
A familiar, soft feminine voice called his name. Mykal knew Doninka’s voice, but he didn’t want her to see him upset. He pretended not to hear her and continued to walk toward townsfolk who were dancing and rejoicing despite their losses. ‘Maybe she’ll go away. I just wanna disappear,’ he thought.
“Mykal, please stop for me,” she called again.
He turned to her and gave an obvious fake smile.
“I heard what has become of your friend Denny.” She frowned and tried to sympathize with him. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I appreciate your concern, but I just need to get away and clear my head,” he replied and started to turn away. Mykal knew her sadness fixed on his grief and not Denny’s death. Her hand gently grabbed his arm and stopped him. Inside he wanted to let loose and pour out his heart, but no! Men must stay strong.
“Are you sure you would not like to have someone to talk to? It may not be good to be alone when you feel the loss and the hurt you are feeling.”
“Please don’t take this wrong Doninka,” he paused. “But I really need to be alone right now. Can I talk to you later?”
She smiled. “Yes, of course. I will be waiting for you.”
Mykal forced another phony smile and left. He couldn’t believe the rollercoaster of emotions he felt in less than one hour. He experienced fear, anger, hatred, excitement, happiness, hurt, sadness, devastating loss
, guilt and shame. He laughed, he panicked, he raged and he cried all in less than an hour.
Townspeople he passed by were joyful and dancing. Some were singing but all were thankful and showed their appreciation to him as he walked by. He saw others who were crying and grieving over lost loved ones. Overall, the air filled with a sense of joyous celebration and relief.
Mykal joined Boris and Kurt who sat against a dirt wall. Looking at his friends, he realized he must have looked as bad as they did. They were covered in dirt and blood. Their faces carried the heavy appearance of deep sorrow. They looked like they had aged years. Boris’s dirty face bore streaks of tears.
They didn’t talk; they just sat deep in thought. Mykal stared beyond the pit and watched the soldiers on horseback strike down slower Sosos while they fled for their lives. For the most part, the Sosos appeared to be leaving the Pass. The mounted soldiers seemed to be herding the Sosos out of the Pass like cattle.
Mykal broke the silence. “I still can’t get over Denny.”
“Me either,” Kurt sighed. “That crabby lady, Doris Holen, with the two little kids, she’s dead. I watched her get killed.”
“How?” Mykal asked with surprise. “She was inside a Peacekeeper.”
“When I used up all the ammo on the M-60. I turned back to get my rifle and I saw her running over there,” he pointed to the middle of the Pass. “Out of nowhere this Soso pounced on her and slammed an axe into the back of her head. I don’t know what she was doing outside of the Peacekeeper cuz she woulda been safe inside it. Then one of Light’s men killed the Soso. I didn’t care for her cuz she was such a witch with a capital B. But I feel terrible about her two little kids.”
Boris shook his head. “Damn, that’s gotta be screwed up for them if they’re still alive. Lost here, with no parents.”
Kurt frowned. “It’ll break my heart if they’re dead. I’m worried for them cuz their situation is so screwed up. Now with their mom gone,” he paused to hide his emotion. “If they’re alive, I’m gonna take care of them till we go home.”
“Don’t go getting yourself attached to them kids,” Boris warned and sounded annoyed. “You don’t need to be bogged down with someone else’s problems.”
Kurt looked ready to argue but kept to himself.
“You know what I was thinking.” Boris changed subjects. “Do you remember that Alice Cooper album a couple of years ago?”
“You mean, ‘From The Inside’?” Mykal knew which album Boris referred to because Boris always loved it when Mykal played the cassette at work. “It actually came out in ’78.”
“What about it?” Kurt looked surprised. “How could you bring up an album at a time like this?”
“Every one of the ten songs on the album is a story about someone in the crazy house, an insane asylum. When we get back we oughta see if we can get Alice Cooper to do an album about us. See if we can get him to do ten little stories about what happened here, cuz this is like a friggin nut house.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Alice Cooper would be all on board about doing that,” Kurt mocked and rolled his eyes.
Towbar joined them. “I heard, my friends. It is sad news indeed. I ache for your loss. I will miss Denny.”
They thanked him in unison.
“The good that resulted from this battle, is we lost much fewer people than I expected to lose.”
“Yeah, that’s good news,” Mykal said only to be polite.
“Indeed, it is thanks to you, my friends. The weapons you possess are great and mighty weapons. It is hard to comprehend what my eyes see when I look at all the death and destruction those few weapons brought upon the Sosos.”
“But they’re no good anymore,” Kurt said. “We don’t have any more ammo for the 60s. The four big guns are useless now.”
“That should matter no more.” Towbar said. “Some of my soldiers have arrived. My foot soldiers are not far away. We should have little trouble with the Sosos from this point on. After I place the control under my generals, we shall make our journey to Beramus, the Great Walled City. As sad as I will be to see you leave, I believe my friend called Nidious may be able to help you. You deserve to go home and more. You have done great things for my people. Words can not express my gratitude and I will do all I can to help you return to your home.”
“That’s if there is a way to get home.” Kurt pouted.
“And that’s a big friggin if,” Boris said sounding just as negative. “Don’t get your hopes up. We’re never leaving here.”
“You guys and that negative-Nancy attitude might not be going home, you friggin goofs, but I am!” Mykal allowed a smile to crowd the gloom. “I’m going home,” he vowed. “Watch, you’ll see. Cuz if I don’t go home, I’ve got nothing to live for.”
“Mykal has the right view of things, my friends,” Towbar said. “Kurt and Boris, if you give up now, you have given up far too soon. Do not give up after all you have been through.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kurt sneered. “I’ll probably be staying here the rest of my life. I don’t wanna die here, but when I’m old and gray, about fifty years from now, I’ll probably just keel over and drop dead in one of your bars or something.”
Boris cracked a smile. “Well that’s not really a bad way to go. If you’re gonna go, you might as well go out shit-faced drunk. I’d really like to tie one on right now.”
Suddenly Mykal straightened up and snapped his fingers. It was as if someone had whispered something into his ear. “Hey, I really think we outta go around collecting all the ammo we can get our hands on. I just got one of my gut feelings. I want us to get all the extra ammo before others grab it.”
“Why, what’s the big deal?” Kurt asked. “Towbar’s soldiers are here. We shouldn’t have anything else to worry about.”
“Kurt, listen to me, you know every time I get one of these gut feelings, I’m never wrong. If we do end up staying here a while I’d rather we have the ammo than the others around here getting their grubby hands on it. Just trust me on this, alright?”
“Gotcha Sarge.” Kurt gave a mock salute.
“I agree,” Boris said. “We might have problems with those people on that side,” he said and nodded in the direction of Edwards and Mansfield side of camp.
“Speaking of them, one of them jerks, maybe both of them, shot at me over there,” Mykal said and pointed. “I stopped them from taking off in the vehicle and those little weasels shot at me while I was with Doninka. They almost killed both of us.”
“Towbar! Towbar!” Lt Light yelled out while running as fast as he could. “Come quick. Please. Lt Edwards needs you.”
“Speak of the friggin devil,” Kurt whispered.
“Towbar, watch yourself,” Mykal warned quietly.
“Thank you for the warning, my friend. I do not think they would be so foolish as to try to harm me,” he replied and appeared angered at Mykal’s news. “I would like nothing more than to--”
Lt Light stopped before him breathing heavily. “Towbar, it’s very important,” Light gasped. “That’s why I came myself and didn’t send one of my men. Please, follow me,” he requested and took a deep breath. Clearly he didn’t want to reveal his concern in front of the others.
“I’m coming with you,” Mykal said. Light didn’t object. “You two go do what I said,” he ordered them in reference to gathering ammunition.
The three of them ran to the far side of the Pass. They broke through the circle gathered around SSgt Fisher’s vehicle. Edwards knelt on the ground beside Mansfield. Mansfield sat on the ground with a death arrow sticking from his flabby belly. The black shaft protruded from the side of his stomach, similar to where Mykal had been hit. He didn’t look to be in much pain, but his trembling hands spoke volumes of his fear.
“Towbar, please, you have to help me,” Mansfield begged as soon as the giant entered the circle. “I don’t want to die.”
Towbar paused and looked closely to ensure the arrow shaft was black, Shay-lonk, a death
arrow.
Mykal stopped Towbar just as he started to speak. Mykal knew Towbar would tell Mansfield the truth, that his chances of surviving the poison were nonexistent. “Towbar, wait a minute,” Mykal said as a brilliant idea came to mind. “I think we need to explain a couple things to Sgt Mansfield here,” he said with a quick wink to Towbar. He hoped the giant understood that he wanted him to play along. “Let’s get everyone outta here so we could have a private talk.”
“Everyone, please leave,” Mansfield requested. There was no response. Clearly some didn’t like Mykal calling the shots.
“Time’s your enemy.” Mykal nonchalantly checked his watch.
“Please, leave,” Mansfield howled. “My life is at stake!”
Towbar gave Mykal a quizzical glare while the group dispersed. Mykal discretely held his hand up to stop Towbar before he said anything that would ruin his plan. With his back to Mansfield Mykal put his finger to his lips as to silence him.
Mykal waited until everyone departed from their hearing, especially Lt Edwards. Mansfield leaned forward to pay close attention.
“Right now, it looks like you need something from me real bad, right Rob? You don’t mind if I call you Rob, do you Sgt Mansfield?” Mykal deliberately sounded snotty.
“Not at all Mykal. We both know my life is in your hands.”
“Good, let’s cut to the chase. Without me, Towbar’s not gonna help you, which means without me, Rob, you’re a dead man. As a matter of fact, you’re dead right now just waiting to drop over and stop breathing. Let me make myself real clear. Towbar will do anything I ask him to do, and he’ll not do anything I ask him not to do. Right Towbar?” He asked and winked at him.
“That is correct, my friend,” the giant agreed.
“I understand,” Mansfield said. He breathed a defeated sigh.
“I’m glad you understand, cuz if I ask Towbar to save your life from the poison, you’ll live. But if I ask him not to do anything, which will be easy cuz of how busy he is, then you’ll most certainly die,” he declared. “You know that Towbar’s the only one who can save you. I’m living proof it’s possible to survive a Shay-lonk, a Soso death arrow.”