37 Days In A Strange World

by Dave Hazel

  “I agree, but we’re wasting time,” Mansfield said hastily.

  “We’ve had our differences, me, you and your buddy Edwards. And I understand that you guys are planning on nailing me to the wall, or as I heard, and I quote ‘stringing me up by my balls’, once we get back to the world.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Myk.”

  “Don’t friggin jerk me around,” Mykal snarled with clenched teeth and pointed a threatening finger in Rob’s face. “And don’t you friggin lie to me or I’ll walk right now and let your ass rot,” he threatened with a hostility that took both Towbar and Mansfield by surprise. “You guys have been threatening to screw us over almost the whole time we’ve been here. If you guys get your way we’ll spend the rest of our lives behind bars after we get back to the world,” he said with a burning glare that forced Mansfield to avoid eye contact.

  Mykal suddenly changed his tone. “To be honest Rob, with all the threats I keep hearing, it’s really in my best interest to walk away and see to it that you both die here. You’re this far from death right now,” he said using his fingers spread an inch apart. “Do you see what I’m saying? It’s not beneficial for me or for my friends to help you. You can see that, can’t you Rob?” Mykal asked and deliberately tried to come across as overly dramatic.

  “I promise I won’t say anything Myk. I swear it on my wife and kids,” he begged and terror disfigured his face. Mansfield swallowed hard and looked defeated. “I give you my word to forget everything that happened. I’ll talk to the LT and I’ll have him forget everything as well. I don’t want to die. I just want to go home to retire. Mykal, I shouldn’t even be here. I’m supposed to be out of the service right now. My retirement date has passed already. Mykal, please, I have a family back home, just like you. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I give you my word. I’ll talk to the LT.”

  “How the hell do I know that you won’t screw me over after I have Towbar save your life? And no, I don’t want you talking to Edwards about this, cuz then it will be like I’m blackmailing you. The two of you would have something else to come after me with. All I care about is getting home to my family. I can’t have you or him screw me outta that.”

  “Mykal please, I’m asking you to trust me on this,” Mansfield begged. “I won’t screw you over. I’ll put it in writing.”

  “Whadda ya mean put it in writing?” He smiled. This is what he wanted. This idea came to him as soon as he saw the death arrow, Rob Mansfield’s death sentence.

  “I’ll put on paper, like a last will, something to the effect, if I die I want it known that Lt Edwards was out to get you and the people on your squad and that he tried to get me to go along with it. He always exaggerated, and completely made up false charges, et cetera, et cetera, and he forced me to go along with it. I’ll say that you showed him he was wrong in the situation with Finn and Miller so he was out to get you. I’ll put on paper whatever you want. I’ll write he’s threatened me and I was afraid for my life. I’ll state the reason for such a last will is to have the truth known.”

  “You’ll do that?”

  “Mykal, my family is everything. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Rob, let me tell ya something, I’m not a bad guy as you guys may think. I’m a family man and I have a conscience. That’s why I would like to work something out with you,” he lied. “As you know, I could easily have Towbar tell you there is nothing he could do for you and you would die a most horrible death in the next two days or so. And I mean it’s horrible. I could also have Towbar’s soldiers just kill all the people who are a threat to me. Just like that,” he said and snapped his fingers. “But I’m not like that. If I was cold hearted do you realize how easy it would be to take care of my problems?”

  “Yes, I can see that,” Mansfield swallowed hard again.

  “I’m not like that,” he said. “Now if you’ll put all that in writing like you said and give me the assurance that I wouldn’t have to worry when we go back home then I’ll have Towbar help you.”

  “I fully understand. I swear I’ll write a statement that will make Lt Edwards sound like a crazy man out to get your team. And if he won’t change his thinking about you, then it will be him against us. Please Mykal, save me from this poison.”

  “Alright, but let me ask you one more thing to satisfy my curiosity,” he paused and looked hard into Mansfield’s eyes. “Who was it that shot at me during the battle?”

  Rob couldn’t avoid the penetrating glare. “I’m not going to BS around. There’s far too much at stake. It was the LT,” he confessed without hesitation. Mansfield held up his right hand. “I swear it on my wife and kids. I didn’t have anything to do with that. He was furious you stopped us from leaving. I didn’t want to--”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Mykal cut him off. “You don’t have to explain. Just write it down in the statement you’re going to prepare. Just make sure you put it in there that he has been out to get us even before we came here. After you write it, sign it and if it works for me I’ll have Towbar save your life. If not, well,” he paused for affect. “I’d get on it now if I were you.”

  “Agreed,” Mansfield said and gave a sigh of relief. “I’ll gladly sell out the LT to save my life,” he admitted. “He screwed me over by not letting me have a few days to start my pre-retirement. I shouldn’t be here. Without going overboard I’ll make you an angel and him the devil himself.”

  “I don’t want Edwards knowing anything about this at all. If I even suspect that he knows what you’re doing, all bets are off and you will die. Don’t try to play both sides.”

  “I promise Myk, he won’t have an inkling what’s going on. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Get working on that letter. We’ll be back,” Mykal said. He and Towbar walked away.

  “My friend, I do not understand what you are doing,” Towbar said. “He will not survive the death arrow poison. It is much too dangerous for me to attempt to save his life. I will not risk my life for another person, especially, one such as him.”

  “I know that.” He smirked. “But he doesn’t know that. Don’t worry about it big guy. I got everything under control.” Mykal’s smile broke into a chuckle. “I don’t want him to know you’re not gonna save his life. Not yet anyway. If he thinks you’re gonna save him I can get something from him that I need. The letter that I’m having him write will be very important to me back in my world. I’ll really need it if Edwards makes it back. To be honest I hope they both die here, but I can’t take the chance that Edwards makes it home.”

  “Give the word. I will have my soldiers strike him down.”

  “I really appreciate that,” Mykal said. “But I gotta be careful it doesn’t look like I had anything to do with it.”

  “Edwards is a coward. He has caused the death of several people, my friend. He does not deserve to live.”

  “I agree with you.” Mykal nodded. “But people back in my world wouldn’t see it that way. Now, when I have this written statement from Mansfield it’ll be his last word of what a low life Edwards is and that would really help me if Edwards tries to get me in trouble back in my world.

  “See, back in my world I could get into a lot of trouble for standing up to them the way I have, but the only reason I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing is to stay alive and try to get everyone back home. Obviously you seen what kind of a leader he’s been, but it would be his word against mine and because of his rank they would take his side. Now, with this statement from Mansfield, it’d be tough for him to argue. We both know that poor Rob isn’t gonna be around much longer cuz of the poison. I just gotta play the game and let him think you’re gonna save him. You know what I mean? I know I haven’t been perfect, but to be honest, I’d rather be a live bad boy, than a dead good boy.”

  “I agree. The people of your world should never have put those two in charge of anything. They are terrible leaders and should have no followers.”

  “Great minds
think alike,” abruptly his smile ceased.

  “Noooo!” Towbar suddenly yelled with anger.

  “Oh nooo!” Mykal yelled simultaneously. “Sosos!” Mykal tried to warn others. For some unwary the warning came too late. Mykal caught sight of the attack just as the second volley of death arrows had been loosed upon them.

  It seemed as if more than ten thousand Sosos just suddenly appeared. How they made it past the cavalry was the mystery at hand. Mykal concluded during the last battle they dropped to the ground and pretended to be dead, with the purpose of catching the defenders and Towbar by surprise after the last retreat.

  *******

  The Soso plan, The New Tactic, entailed waiting until the defender’s guard let down, to catch them when they would least expect a sneaky tactic. The surprise attack had been hatched in response to the surprises thrust upon them. The plan had been devised without knowledge of the mounted soldiers arriving. The cavalry helped by adding cover to those who would lie down pretending to be dead.

  *******

  “Fight! Fight! Come to arms my people,” Towbar yelled angrily. “I was careless,” he groaned to Mykal.

  Mykal knew Towbar blamed himself for not having checked the dead. Mykal raised his rifle and began picking off archers. He saw dozens of unsuspecting townspeople struck by death arrows and fall to the ground. “You friggin scumbags,” he growled. He moved closer to the pit with every shot he took.

  The townspeople and Mykal’s people ran around preparing to do battle. Another volley of death arrows filled the air. Many brave people died while waiting at the edge of the pit, expecting the Visitors to protect them from the archers and their dreaded Shay-lonk.

  “Kill the archers!” Mykal squeezed off rounds quickly and accurately. He heard the volume of gun fire pick up now that the people realized they were under attack. Mykal dropped them as fast as he could get them in his sights. “Kill the archers!”

  It amazed Mykal to see the level of bravery, dedication and commitment among the locals. Some struck by death arrows, got knocked to the ground only to get back up and they stood there waiting for the Sosos to get closer. Wounded, they knew they were handed a death sentence yet they still prepared to fight in order to help those who might survive. They were the walking dead. As far as Mykal was concerned they all deserved medals.

  Mykal cracked a smile when he saw Kurt rush into the scene with his GAU slung over his shoulder, firing an M-203 grenade launcher. He had taken the weapon from a dead grenadier.

  Kurt lobbed 40mm rounds into the Sosos as fast as he could load the single fire weapon. With every explosion of the HE rounds, dirt and body parts flew in all directions. Kurt impressed Mykal with his speed and accuracy using the M-203 since their Crew had little training with the weapon.

  While sighting in on a Soso, Mykal saw Boris run up behind Kurt firing two rifles at once. Mykal guessed one of the two rifles belonged to Denny and though he died Boris used Denny’s weapon to kill Sosos. Boris had two pistols stuck in his web belt. Mykal feared Boris might do something foolish in his emotional state over the loss of Denny. Mykal hoped Boris wouldn’t use this opportunity to go down in a hail of gunfire, making Boris’s earlier premonition of dying come true.

  Mykal fired expertly but a large number of Sosos continued to climb from the pit. Far too many were still armed with bows to turn on those climbing out of the pit. Most of the Soso archers fired a couple more death arrows and then dropped their bows to run into the pit. Sosos preferred a hands-on approach to killing verses using bow and arrow. Some Sosos had been shot in the back with death arrows. Soso archers were either not very good or not taking time to aim.

  Mykal watched Harvey Nordwall, the newlywed country boy, run to the edge of the pit to shoot a couple of Sosos in the pit. Armed with the GAU, Harvey jumped on bodies in the pit, he shot another Soso and then climbed out on the Soso side of the pit. The courage of the young country boy astonished Mykal.

  It inspired Mykal to see Harvey try to climb out of the pit on the other side under the glare of a waiting Soso. The large Soso raised his heavy battle-axe above his demonic smile. The Soso must have thought he had an easy kill. Mykal sighted in the bearded sneer and squeezed the trigger. When the round drilled into the Soso’s face, several other rounds ripped into his body and head, creating several bursts of red mist. Others shot the Soso at the same time to protect Harvey Nordwall.

  Mykal wasn’t sure what Harvey planned to do, but he wanted to protect him from the grave danger he put himself in. Now on the enemy side Harvey fired two more rounds and had to reload. Harvey continued his one man assault on the Soso army amid their ranks. He shouted obscenities, and killed Sosos who came near him.

  Mykal assisted Harvey by shooting Sosos Harvey might not have been aware were closing in on him. At the same time Mykal tried to stop any who looked like they were going to get out of the pit.

  Mykal watched Harvey drop the empty magazine and reach into the ammo pouch for another clip but came up empty. Harvey was out of ammunition and on the wrong side of the pit, but that didn’t stop him. He grabbed his rifle by the barrel to use as a club which he discovered was too hot to hold. He threw the rifle down and picked up a discarded sword. With the sword in his hand he moved to a wounded Soso and chopped the blade into the injured Soso’s head killing the Soso. Another charged at him but Harvey side-stepped and hit the Soso in the back when the Soso rushed past. “Come back,” Mykal yelled.

  Harvey ran to another wounded Soso but caught a death arrow in his side just under his ribs. The force knocked him to the ground amid all the dead Sosos. Harvey jumped up and tried to pull the arrow out with his free hand, but he couldn’t budge it.

  “Damn it,” Mykal yelled. He was angry at himself for not seeing the Soso with the bow. Mykal aimed while the same Soso raised his bow on Harvey a second time. Mykal stopped the archer before getting a second death arrow into Harvey.

  Harvey tried to run, but the arrow slowed him. He stopped and tried again to pull the arrow out. With a howl he ripped with all his strength and yanked the Shay-lonk out, but the arrowhead had been snagged and pulled internal organs out with it. Harvey yelled and his face expressed palpable pain. The North Dakota farm boy tried to continue on, though now, he moved at a much slower pace, gasping and grimacing. Mykal hoped Lillian Nordwall wasn’t watching.

  Suddenly a Soso came from behind Harvey. Mykal didn’t see the Soso until too late. In an instant a massive scimitar came through Harvey’s stomach just under his rib cage. The Soso had plunged the deadly weapon through Harvey’s back and out the front of his large beer belly. For a moment Harvey tried to look over his shoulder to see what caused such a devastating pain. A sizable spewing of blood drooled out of Harvey’s mouth as if he tried to keep from vomiting. After he looked back to his killer, Harvey’s body fell limp. As an act of vengeance, the Soso caught four or five shots all at once from different angles.

  When Mykal saw there were no more archers he ran down the line again and tried to take out any Sosos who were getting out of the pit. He also killed any Soso who over powered or outmatched the townspeople. Though most of his shooting occurred while running he didn’t miss one target.

  “Crud,” Boris yelled out in anger.

  Mykal looked back to see Boris followed him. The extra M-16 Boris carried had jammed when he reloaded it. “Look out!” Mykal yelled and raised his rifle to save his friend’s life. A Soso with a battle-axe advanced on Boris. Before Mykal squeezed the trigger he felt as if he had been hit by a truck. The wind had been knocked out of him while he soared to the ground.

  A Soso tackled him from the side. Mykal hit his head hard on a rock or discarded weapon when he landed. It dazed him and almost knocked him out. In the dimness of semi-consciousness he felt his arms were pinned to his side. Someone wrapped tightly around his body. He couldn’t break free of the grip. The sound of his own heartbeat thumped in his head.

  Suddenly, a sharp burning pain shot through the area of his right sh
oulder and arm pit. He knew immediately he had been stabbed. Mykal let out a howling yelp while rocking his upper body forward in an attempt to escape the sense of piercing pain that penetrated deeply. It jolted him wide-awake and alert.

  Mykal managed to roll the Soso off his body. He saw a long ice pick like dagger sticking out of him. He was stabbed just under his right collarbone. It entered at an angle so that the pointed blade drove through his armpit. The sight of the knife handle protruding from his body panicked him and suddenly shot the pain level to excruciating. He couldn’t pull it free.

  His rifle had been knocked from his hands. Before he could get back to his feet the Soso had latched onto him again. Mykal tried for the pistol holstered at his side but the Soso pinned his arm.

  With his bearded face pushed into Mykal’s midsection, the Soso reached for the dagger with his free hand in order to continue stabbing him. Mykal wanted to use his right hand but felt numbness and pain shooting down his arm.

  Like a quick wrestler, the Soso re-positioned himself on top of Mykal. The Soso grabbed a rock from the ground at his side. Mykal frantically tried to squirm from under the bulky Soso who hefted the softball-size rock.

  Mykal’s world moved in slow motion. He feared he’d watch the rock crash down into his face and not be able to stop it. The Soso’s raised arm, rock in hand, started downward. Mykal saw a long glowing blue blade come from nowhere and slice into the side of the Soso like a hot knife through soft butter. The sword cut through the Soso’s chest and out the other side in one fluid motion while Towbar let out a savage growl. It seemed impossible but the Soso had been cut in half before striking down on Mykal’s face.

  The top half of the Soso fell as if it had been pushed or kicked. The bottom half of the body fell forward on Mykal spilling all the insides of the corpse onto Mykal’s chest, neck and face. Mykal felt as if he had been dunked into a tank of warm goop. Organs slapped his chin and face. The putrid odor didn’t matter! Blindness from the blood splashed into his eyes didn’t matter!! Gagging and choking on warm blood that gushed into his mouth didn’t matter!!!