37 Days In A Strange World

by Dave Hazel

“Of course not, or I would never have taken the position I did. I don’t think any of you would have reason to, and I don’t think any of you are homicidal maniacs. I believe the LT is a little disturbed right now because of all the pressure he’s under, so we all have to pull together and try to help him.”

  “Let’s take this day by day and see what happens,” Mykal said and most people dispersed. Mykal looked at Kurt, touched his own head and shook his head to tell Kurt not to do anything, especially play a prank, with Mansfield’s severed head.

  “I’m fearful of what’s going to happen when we get back to the world,” Jake sighed and looked up to the sky that started to gray. “After today, I don’t know what to think any more.”

  “Don’t worry about what’s going to happen back in the world.” Kurt smiled. “The real problems won’t make it back.”

  “That’s why they call us the fixers,” Boris laughed. “Cuz we’ll fix this little problem we have.”

  “I don’t wanna hear what I think you’re gonna say,” Jake threw his hands into the air. “I really don’t wanna hear or even think what I think you may be getting at.”

  “No problem, Sarge,” Boris said. “But don’t you worry your pretty little head over this,” he added with a smirk.

  Jake started to walk away. “I’m outta here. Things have gotten way too crazy around here. When Rob shows up, please get me so I can get the LT to calm down.”

  “You got it Sarge,” Kurt laughed.

  “In the meantime,” Mykal changed subjects. “I want you guys to go through the stuff of everyone who died. See if there is anything we can use. Boris, get Denny’s and Franklin’s stuff.”

  7.

  Mykal divided the ammo he collected from the dead and the wounded with only his closest friends, Boris, Kurt, Larry, Rich and Sam. He made sure he kept fifteen thirty round magazines for himself and gave the rest to the others. Boris, Kurt, Larry and Sam all had eight magazines and Rich had six. The others from his world had between one and three magazines. Most weren’t very concerned about ammunition since Towbar’s soldiers arrived. Mykal felt differently.

  The Dosch family had plenty of ammunition for all six rifles. There were a couple of Air Force personnel who were out of ammunition and instead of asking for others to share they armed themselves with discarded weapons of dead Sosos.

  “I’m telling you guys, be careful with the ammo I gave you,” Mykal warned his friends. “Since the ammo is limited and dwindling, I think some people might try to steal from us.”

  “I think you’re a little paranoid, Myk,” Larry said.

  “No, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “If anyone tries to steal from us, they’ll pay dearly,” Boris promised. “We shouldn’t tolerate any stealing of ammo. We should treat it like horse stealing back in the old west.”

  “Dat’s righ’ y’all,” Rich laughed. “We’ll string ‘em up from the nearest tree.”

  “No, we’ll shoot ‘em in the friggin head,” Boris argued.

  While they finished discussing possible punishments for potential ammo thieves, Towbar’s mounted soldiers returned. They suffered few casualties. Being mounted on very large horses they primarily chased the savages away from the inside of the Pass.

  Sosos retreated to regroup and set up their camp a mile or so from the opening of the Pass. Towbar explained to Mykal and his closest friends that it would only be a matter of time before the Sosos attacked with a much larger force to overcome their fear of the cavalry. The good news was that it gave more time for Towbar’s foot soldiers to arrive on scene.

  Upon returning the soldiers immediately went to work along with the townspeople to remove the dead from the area. They would eat when time permitted. The bodies were removed to ensure another sneak attack couldn’t take place and more importantly to keep the bodies from rotting under their noses. Sosos who were still alive but too injured to retreat were killed swiftly where they were found. “It’s like taking out the trash,” Boris smirked.

  “What’s the matter Towbar?” Mykal asked when he noticed an unhappy almost worried concern on the giant’s face.

  “The worst is yet to come, my friend,” he replied watching soldiers carry off bodies from the battlefield and placing them on wooden carts.

  “Whadda they gonna do with all the dead?”

  “The dead will be carted outside the Pass along the east wall. We do not want the bodies to decay in our presence. If time permits my soldiers will set the bodies ablaze.”

  “Why’d the Sosos give up the Pass so easily?”

  “I can only guess. My belief is they were still building their force. When they drew near the Pass and saw my army not at hand, they knew they had taken us by surprise. Their plan to strike a couple of years early worked. They saw the numbers clearly in their favor and tried to take the Pass. Our small defending force made up of men, women and children looked easy.

  “In normal war time battles, my armies would meet their armies out in the flats before they could ever advance on the Pass,” Towbar said and nodded to the plains beyond the opening. “My armies have always been superior and we would always be victorious, though it cost thousands upon thousands of great warriors. As I explained to you when we first met, the Sosos would attempt to take our lands every seven or eight years, after they had time to regroup and rebuild their armies.

  “This time, however, I believe the Soso nations are being pressured by Zizmon-Tarl, the evil ruler from the other side of the world. If my concern is true, I believe they will build a force bigger than we have ever seen. That could include allies from around the world. It will be the war to end all wars and we will fall as a free people.”

  “You mean like Armageddon?” Mykal asked.

  “I do not know that term. If we get lured out into the flats as in wars past, it would be devastating for us now that they have the force they are building. However my friend, you have taught me a valuable lesson by allowing the Sosos into the Pass. Their mighty force would be limited due the confining walls of the Pass. Because of what has happened here today I have come up with a new tactic if the Soso nations are in fact set on building for the war of all wars. What was the term you used? Armagon?”

  “Armageddon. It’s something to do with end of the world type stuff in my world. Ski, the religious guy from my world is an expert on that stuff.”

  “Well, I have seventy thousand horse soldiers here now. The army of ninety-five thousand foot soldiers should arrive soon. Another force of more than two hundred thousand should have been dispatched as well. One of my generals informed me the later force did not depart. I need to get to the bottom of this.”

  “How many Sosos do you think are out there?”

  “My generals estimate their numbers to be over three hundred thousand. Many more are to come from the north.”

  “Why weren’t your other soldiers sent? You need them.”

  “I do not know, my friend. I intend to find out,” Towbar said and his quiet anger rang clear.

  “So whatta ya plan on doing now that your army arrived?”

  “First, tomorrow I will take a party into the mountains to investigate the strange odor we discovered. This must be resolved first. I intend to ensure whatever is there is not in an alliance with the Sosos. A surprise attack from behind could be our undoing. It may be only a single creature, possibly a small group living inside the mountain walls. I can not take any chances. When I am satisfied, and now that I know my foot soldiers are close at hand, I plan to go to Beramus, the Great Walled City.”

  “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

  Towbar nodded. “Yes, I would greatly welcome your company. Beramus is where my friend Nidious resides. He is the one person I think may hold the answers to help you return home.”

  Suddenly a loud scream of a man broke through all the busyness of the camp. Mykal’s first thought was the Sosos were conducting another sneak attack, but darkness had filled the sky. Mykal and Towbar both turn
ed to the sound and ran as fast as they could like everyone in the area. The panicky, crying, moan sounded different than anything they heard before.

  When they got to the large circle, Edwards stood at the center. Edwards yelled like a mad man and openly sobbed. When Edwards realized he was surrounded by hundreds, he had dropped down on the ground and wrapped his arms around his head as if fearful something would happen. Jake pushed his way through the curious circle.

  “What’s going on?” Jake took charge while eyeing Edwards’s blubbering. Edwards curled up into a fetal position on the ground about fifty feet away from his vehicle. “What happened?”

  “I told you they killed him,” Edwards jumped up and pointed his finger in Jake’s face. “But you wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “Sir, what are you talking about?” Jake tried to calm him.

  “They did it!” He shouted. “They killed Rob.”

  “How do you know that Sir?”

  “Because his head is in my vehicle.” His hysterical cry came across like a teenage girl in a slasher movie.

  Jake gulped hard. “Okay, let’s go see.” Jake trembled as he approached the Ford Bronco.

  “You, you did it, didn’t you?” Edwards bawled at Mykal once he saw him standing in the circle of people.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mykal yelled back and couldn’t believe Kurt would be so foolish as to put the severed head of Mansfield in Edwards’s vehicle. He wanted to wring Kurt’s neck. He couldn’t keep from trembling in fear. He knew he should have forced Kurt to leave the severed head behind.

  “C’mon Sir,” Jake said. “Tell me what happened.”

  “This girl, some girl, one of the townspeople brought me a tray of food,” he explained while they walked to the Ford Bronco. The entire crowd followed. “The tray was covered with a piece of cloth. I had her set it down. I wasn’t ready to eat just yet,” he started blubbering again. “When I lifted the cloth there was Rob’s head staring at me and there was an apple in his mouth. It was an apple that had already been eaten. It was so horrible,” he gasped and sniveled. “They cut his damn head off, Jake,” he whimpered. “Those murderers,” he howled. “How could they?”

  *******

  Jake stopped at the open door of Edwards’s vehicle. There sat a tray of food covered with a piece of cloth. Jake felt sick to his stomach. Not only would he have to look at the severed head of Rob Mansfield, but he would have to take sides with Edwards against his friends.

  Jake pulled the wooden tray out slowly and set it on the hood of the vehicle. His trembling hand shook his entire being. All watched to see if Soso like actions had taken place inside their camp among their own people. Jake couldn’t believe his friends could commit such a despicable act. Jake’s thoughts raced to the possible investigation. He would have to find the girl who delivered the food and find out who put her up to it.

  *******

  Mykal took a deep breath watching Jake grab a corner of the cloth and slowly pulled it back. Edwards turned away and refused to look at his friend’s severed head again. “Are you friggin kidding me Sir?” Jake’s hostile tone zeroed in on Edwards. “I’m not in the mood for your damn paranoid games. This is getting ridiculous, Sir. Damn it, you have a friggin problem.”

  Edwards turned when everyone started to laugh. On the tray was a pig’s head with a fresh apple in the mouth. There were plenty of vegetables and slices of meat on the tray. “I, I, I don’t believe this,” Edwards mumbled in disbelief. “It was there,” he yelled. “Jake I’m telling you Rob’s head was there with an eaten apple in his mouth. This is not what I saw. I swear it,” he huffed when the laughter began to rise.

  “I know Mansfield is a fat pig,” Larry laughed. “But this is going a little too far, don’t ya think?” The laughter grew louder. “C’mon LT, you can’t tell the difference between Mansfield’s head and a pig’s head?”

  “This is not right! This is not right!” Edwards hollered and grabbed his head to block the laughing voices.

  “Sir, you need to get some rest,” Jake suggested and looked relieved to see it wasn’t really Mansfield’s head. “Yes, it would have been sick to think someone would put a severed head on a tray of food, but I think it’s just as sick to imagine and accuse people of doing that very act.”

  “I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Edwards said. “If it’s the last thing I ever do I will find out what happened.”

  “Sir, I’m going to ask you to go get some rest,” Jake said quietly so as not to make a scene. “Or I am personally going to relieve you of your command.”

  “I, I, I…” Edwards bolted in anger away from everyone.

  “Break it up,” Jake yelled to get the crowd to disperse. “Go back to what you were doing. Sorry about that, guys,” Jake sighed at Mykal and Larry. “I wanted to slap the snot outta him. He’s really losing his mind. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

  Boris and Kurt joined Mykal, Towbar and Larry who gleefully joked about the break down Edwards suffered. “Was that funny or what?” Kurt laughed when he joined his friends. “He was crying like a little girl. When he took off screaming like a little wuss, I switched trays. Am I good or what?”

  “That was funny,” Mykal acknowledged. “I thought for sure when Jake pulled that cloth off the tray that his head was gonna really be there and then I was gonna have to slap you upside the head for being so stupid. But that was a good one Kurt. Make sure you get rid of that head.”

  “But what was with the eaten apple?” Larry questioned.

  “I dunno, just my artistic touch.”

  “We’re getting too sick. What the hell has become of us?” Mykal feared they were all beyond recovery as far as returning to normal. “What is gonna happen when we go home?”

  “We’re just changing with the times, Sarge.” Kurt winked.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN – Day 13

  1. Tuesday, July 5th 1983

  0134 hours, The Pass- location The Pit.

  Sometime after midnight something woke Mykal. Uncertainty startled and terrified him. He didn’t dare move. His first thoughts imagined Sosos creeping about the camp. ‘A Dream? Maybe.’ All seemed quiet and still. He remained motionless and listened intently. No, not a dream, he could sense it. Something wasn’t right. He clearly heard the hushed whispers of two. Mykal knew they were rummaging through his personal belongings. ‘Not Sosos. Friggin thieves!’

  The thieves were behind him. They cautiously snuck around, but for Mykal’s increased hearing, they were far too noisy. The intruders ignited a fiery hatred inside his being. ‘How dare these scumbags try to steal from me?’ With clenched teeth he imagined the most severe punishment.

  His eyes adjusted to the dark. He visualized the layout of the situation. Kurt slept about ten feet away with Boris, Larry and Sam not much farther from Kurt. Quietly he pulled the .357 magnum from the holster that he kept near his chest. Mykal’s movements were hidden under the cover of a light blanket.

  With the heavy revolver firmly in hand he rolled over throwing the blanket off his body. From a kneeling position he thrust the barrel of his weapon into the thieves’ faces while cocking the hammer with his thumb. He had seen this move so many times in old western movies. He got the jump on the prowlers, but his anxiety soared. Would they attack? Was he about to be shot or stabbed?

  “Move and you’re both dead,” he growled. The hammer locked back and the noise exaggerated in Mykal’s mind so that it mimicked a gun shot. He startled them more than they had frightened him. The two men were from Light’s group. He never met them before coming to Towbar’s world. Sgt Monk had his rifle slung over his shoulder. The stripe-less Airman Basic Bryant carried his rifle, but it didn’t have a magazine in the magazine well. “Get your hands in the air and turn around,” he ordered loudly.

  They did as they were told. With their back to Mykal he backed up until he felt Kurt’s body. He nudged Kurt with his foot, amazed his threats didn’t wake anyone. “Kurt!”

&nbs
p; “Huh? What?” Kurt mumbled trying to stir. He, like all the others, was in a well-deserved deep sleep, exhausted from the events of the long hard battle, the day before.

  “Kurt, get up. Look what we got here.”

  Kurt sat up. “Huh? What the hell?”

  “What is it?” Larry stirred.

  “What’s going on Myk?” Boris jumped up when he saw Mykal’s handgun and two black men with their hands in the air.

  “These friggin idiots were going through our stuff. They had to be stealing,” Mykal accused.

  “No man,” Monk replied and turned. “We weren’t stealing.”

  “Shut the hell up,” Mykal snapped. “Kurt, get the others up. We’re gonna settle this justly,” he barked in anger.

  Within moments Larry, Boris, Sam and Rich were standing with Mykal and Kurt. “What the hell are you stupid idiots doing?” Larry raised his voice. “What the hell’s the matter with you? You dare interrupt my sleep with this nonsense?”

  “We got a couple of thieves,” Mykal sneered. He desperately wanted to make an example of them.

  “It doesn’t surprise me,” Sam said while yawning. “We just talked about this earlier and you said you thought there might be some fools who’d try to steal ammo.”

  “We weren’t stealin’ man,” Monk protested.

  “Then what were you doing going through our stuff?” Mykal asked and kept the weapon leveled on them. “Did you get confused and think you were going through your stuff? Near my head?” He asked sarcastically. “Oh wait, your camp is way over there.”

  “You’re friggin thieves,” Larry snarled loudly.

  “Na man,” Monk spoke nervously. “We heard the giant talkin’ to some of his generals and they said something about not having enough soldiers here to stand up to the Sosos.”

  “Yeah, so what?” Mykal asked. Angry thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to shoot both of them dead to make an example of them. He wanted to make a powerful statement that he wouldn’t allow anyone to take advantage of him. He knew, however, if they returned to the world, anyone in camp could ruin his life for good by mentioning that he killed fellow Air Force Members for attempting to steal. He was torn. “I want the truth, why are you guys going through my stuff?”