by Dave Hazel
“I think they were just feeling us out,” Boris answered. “I think they saw an opportunity with us all sitting out there and wanted to see what we would do.”
“They took heavy losses just to feel us out?” Sam asked. “That’s friggin crazy.”
“We’re talking about friggin Sosos,” Larry scoffed. “Whadda ya expect?”
Boris smirked. “This time instead of being cut down by the magic of our weapons,” Boris used air quotes for the word magic. “They found we have a different weapon. The Dwarven army. The Dwarven army is supposed to be a myth, but now the Sosos found out they’re as real as we are.”
“They must really be pissed,” Mykal said. “They thought there were forces working from behind the throne to make the soldiers stand down. They gotta be thinking something ain’t right. They’re probably gonna do some re-evaluating to put up a different strategy before trying to take the Pass again.”
It surprised Mykal three of his Quecktarbs made it back without being injured or killed. It saddened him that one died. His emotions were all over the place. He sat with Doninka and wanted to express his thanks but he feared she would make more of it than he would mean. He didn’t want to lie to her. His heart longed for someone else, but if Doninka wouldn’t have risked her life he might be dead right now and he wouldn’t be going home anyway.
“Doninka, I owe you so much,” Mykal said. His tone seemed laden in aching emotion. “I want to thank you and I don’t know how. You saved my life, while putting your life at risk.”
“You do not have to thank me.” She smiled but still seemed foggy. “I must thank you. You have done much for my people. We owe you much. I know that I should not have told you I love you because I know I can never have you. I know your heart is with a woman in another world. I would do the same thing all over again even if I should lose my life the next time.”
“Doninka, you’re something else,” he said and took her hand into his. “I think the world of you. You’ll always be special to me.” Mykal gently kissed her hand. “I’ll never forget you.”
“You will always have a special place in my heart Mykal.” Doninka turned her head and wiped her eye.
Towbar ran to them and looked like a panicked parent. He heard that Doninka had been injured and he feared the worst. The splattered blood on her face made the giant gasp. “This is why I did not want you to return to the Pass,” Towbar said. Relief washed over his scowl seeing her sitting upright.
“Towbar, leave her alone. She got hurt saving me. I owe her my life. She’s okay, but she’s got a knot on her head.”
“Hey, can you two come with me to find Kurt?” Boris asked. He stared at the last of the Sosos being chased away. “I think he might be dead,” Boris said, choking on his words.
“Nah,” Larry disagreed. “I think the big galoot is hiding with them kids over by the mountain wall keeping them safe.”
“You stay here and don’t you dare move.” Mykal pointed a threatening finger playfully at Doninka. “Will you watch my Quecktarbs until I get back?”
Jake joined them and they looked over to see Roy Jr. and Randy tending to their father who had blood running down his arm. “Is Roy alright?” Jake asked before they walked off.
“He’s hurt,” Randy replied. “He got hit with an axe. I hate these damn Sosos!”
“It’s just a nick,” Roy yelled out. “I’m fine. Sometimes these boys of mine be acting like they’re girls of mine,” he joked to rib their concern. “Just a little gash.”
They walked across the battlefield littered with bodies and kept their weapons at the ready in case any Soso just happen to be playing dead. They looked at each body suspiciously. They came across the body of Stinky Feet Smith. He was sprawled out where he finally collapsed and bled to death.
“Oh man,” Boris moaned and revealed his fear. “Kurt was the best friend I ever had. I can’t imagine losing him,” he said with trembling hands.”
“He’s too damn ornery to be dead,” Jake said in attempt to comfort Boris
“Boris, don’t worry,” Larry reassured him with his Boston accent. “Like Jake says, he’s too onry to be dead. He defied death when you guys were lost all that time. I don’t believe he survived all that just to come back here and get killed. He’s probably sitting there waiting for us to come find him and he’s gonna say, ‘what the hell took ya so long?’ Ya know what I mean?” Larry chuckled but Boris wasn’t listening to him.
“Hey, is my father dead?” Ted Kraft asked. No one answered him. “Is my father dead?” He asked again. “Please tell me. I’m afraid to look.”
“I don’t know,” Jake replied. “Come with us,” Jake offered. “We’ll look for him with you.”
“I’m afraid to look,” he sobbed but he followed them. “I watched my little brother and sister get killed. I don’t want my father to be dead too. Please God, don’t let it be,” he cried and looked toward heaven.
They came across William and Lisa Kraft and Jake wished he wouldn’t have asked Ted to come along. William had picked up his daughter and got about fifteen feet. Both were chopped into many pieces. Body parts and blood were spread all over. Ted broke down and turned to run back to his mother and sister waiting behind the pit. This had to be the worst day of his young life.
“Aw damn,” Jake said. “I didn’t mean for him to see that.”
“This place is really getting screwed up.” Larry said and shook his head. “What’s wrong with these freakin’ Sosos?”
“They’re friggin scumbags,” Jake said and turned away from looking at the Kraft’s remains.
About thirty feet away they found the body of Airman Basic Bryant. He had almost been shot by Mykal for trying to steal ammunition. The one magazine Mykal gave him had been used up. He died with a spear in his hands. Bryant didn’t kill any Sosos with the spear. The Sosos killed him first.
They didn’t have to go much farther to find what they feared the most. There were eight Sosos dead grouped together and then five Sosos on the ground and all shot in the head. The last Soso had the killing sword in Kurt’s stomach while Kurt held the Soso by the throat and the 9mm pointed at his head. The eight must have been killed with his automatic gunfire. Then four had been shot in the head with the 9mm. The fifth must have charged in and stabbed him. Kurt grabbed him by the throat and shot him in the head twice so as to protect the children. Kurt and the Soso lay on the ground frozen in the dance of death.
“You friggin bastards,” Boris yelled out and started to sob uncontrollably. Boris ran and kicked the dead Soso in the face.
“He died saving them kids, but where are they?” Larry said. They all had tears in their eyes. They looked at their friend. “Do you think the Sosos took them?”
“I sure the hell hope not,” Jake shook his head and wiped his eyes. “But where are they?”
Mykal heard the faint sound of a little child crying. “Shissh Ricky,” Debbie whispered ever so softly. “Kurt said we have to hide and be quiet.”
“Here they are,” Mykal said gently so as not to frighten the children any more than they were. They were hiding in a cleft in the rock wall hidden by a tree and some bushes. “Hey guys, it’s okay,” he said softly and gently pulled aside the bushes. His heart broke to see the two little children sitting there holding each other. Their dirty faces had streaks where the tears had washed away the dirt. “You can come out now.”
“Whey-ar Kut?” Ricky asked sobbing in fear.
“Guys get over here, I don’t want them to see this,” he pointed to Kurt’s body. “Come on, it’s okay,” he offered his hand to help pull them out of hiding. His friends made a wall with their bodies to block the view of Kurt.
“Kurt said to stay here till he came for us,” Debbie said. Her straight dark brown hair made her appear older while she cared for her little brother. Others gathered to block their view.
“It’s okay darling,” Jake said and his voice started to crack. “Kurt told us to come get you.”
Boris gave an an
gry yell that startled the children.
“Boris, calm down,” Larry called to him. “You’re gonna scare the kids.
“I don’t give a shit!” He yelled back in hateful anger. “It’s their friggin fault. Those rotten little bastards,” he yelled and wanted to take his anger out on anyone.
“Shut it, right now!” Mykal yelled and moved to grab him by his shirt. Jake took over to pull the kids from their hiding spot. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“He’s dead, Myk,” he sobbed and broke down in Mykal’s arms. “He’s like my only family. I told him not to mess with them kids. First Denny and now Kurt,” he continued to cry.
“Look Boris,” Mykal said as he hugged his friend. “I know this sucks. It hurts all of us but he cared for those kids and he died to save their lives.”
“So what?” He sniveled angrily.
“If you really cared about Kurt then finish his work. Don’t let his death be in vain. Make sure those kids get back to their father. Kurt put them above everything, even his own life.”
Boris pulled away from Mykal, he wanted to yell, but stood there with tears streaming down his face. Without saying a word he turned and ran back to the pit.
Mykal recognized Boris’s emotions were getting the best of him. Though Boris didn’t care about children Mykal knew Boris really didn’t want to see any harm come to them. Mykal understood Boris felt his heart had been ripped from his chest.
Larry took the children back to the pit and walked as close to the rock wall so the children would see as little of the battlefield as possible. He tried to play and talk with them to keep them from looking at the dead bodies.
Mykal, Jake and Towbar and the others walked through the battlefield to see if there were any survivors they could help. They also collected the weapons and ammunition of their fallen friends Kurt, Stinky Feet Smith, Gary Rogers, Brian and William Kraft. Airman Basic Bryant didn’t carry a modern weapon, he had no ammo.
When he returned to the battlefield, Mykal stopped and stared at the body of Kurt. It didn’t seem possible one of his closest friends laid there deceased. So many thoughts flashed through Mykal’s mind of his friend. So many comical memories popped into his mind but it brought about sadness that Kurt was dead. He remembered the day they got lost, he thought back to the morning when Kurt chewed a mouthful of raw onion and peeled garlic to blow in Edwards’s face during the morning inspection. The same day Kurt struggled desperately to save the victims of the helicopter crash. Kurt was a complicated character that he loved like a brother and he would ache for a long time over his demise. He would greatly miss his close friend.
After they returned to their normal living area they all sat in silence. Boris tried to hide his tears but continued crying over the loss of his best friend. Karen, Ted and Annette Kraft cried together as a family. They lost half of their family in a matter of minutes. A heavy somber gloom seemed to hang over most of the Visitors. Mykal thought their fighting would have been done when Towbar’s soldiers arrived.
“Ain’t that something?” Mykal shook his head in disbelief to Jake. “Kurt and Smith survived all that shit out there, walked all those miles, only to get killed here cuz they were too tired to move back one more mile to the pit. I wonder if any of us are ever gonna make it home,” he sighed. “I wonder if it’s just meant for all of us to die in Towbar’s world.”
“I don’t even know anymore,” Jake said and his shoulders slumped as if he gave up. “Counting the helicopter escort for the convoy, eighty-five of us came to Towbar’s world. Almost fifty have been killed since we got here.”
“Yeah, maybe we’re not meant to ever make it back,” Mykal said with a heavy sigh in response to Jake’s words.
“Why d’ya think that Myk?” Rich asked.
Boris answered first. “Since this world doesn’t exist, it may be that God may not want us to return. Our disappearance and loss will just be another mystery like the Bermuda Triangle and mysterious stuff like that.”
Mykal shook his head. “Maybe it’s meant to be that none of us ever get back to the real world to prove another world exists. It’s not really looking good for the rest of us going home.”
“Well you’re the one with the hand that will tell us when that green fog is here,” Jake reminded him.
“I guess we’re gonna have to wait on Nidious to get here. Hopefully he’ll be able to generate the green fog.”
“Based on this list I have here,” Jake said and looked at the folded piece of paper he pulled from his pocket. He crossed off more names from the attack. “There are thirty-seven of us left. That total includes the two little children. Out of eighty-five people, there’s only thirty-seven left,” he sighed.
Boris broke his silence. “I think it’s time to make it thirty-six,” he said hatefully.
“Edwards?” Jake asked. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“Screw you Jake,” Boris said and jumped up. Boris had never shown disrespect toward Jake. “He left us for dead out there and he’s killed other people. He shouldn’t be alive when people like Kurt and Denny are dead. He’s gonna die before I get killed.”
“Yeah, that friggin weasel needs to die,” Larry hissed.
“Who’s coming with me?” Boris started to walk off in the direction of Edwards’s vehicle. “It won’t bring Kurt back, but it’ll make me feel a whole lot better.”
“I’m with you,” Sam laughed. “I always hated that spineless piece of shit.”
“I’m in,” Larry laughed.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Rich said as he jumped up and joined them.”
“I’ll wait here,” Jake said. “I don’t wanna know anything about it. So don’t tell me.”
“C’mon Jake, grow a pair and quit acting like a little girlie-man,” Larry teased with a sense of true loathing.
“Yeah Jake, who’s gonna know?” Sam laughed. “You know he’s tried to nail you before and if he gets back to the real world you know he’s gonna do you in. He already said so.”
“We’re gonna make sure he doesn’t do anything,” Mykal said. He understood Jake’s concern over the possibility of this getting back to the real world. They would all face charges of premeditated murder and mutiny.
“C’mon Jake,” Larry tempted once again. “What difference does it make if we do it or if Sosos end up killing him?”
“I’ll be waiting here,” Jake said and turned his back on them. “I know nothing, I see nothing and I hear nothing.”
“Towbar, do you wanna come with us?” Boris asked. “I’m gonna kill that worthless friggin piece of garbage.”
“Yes, I will come.”
They were all of one mind to kill Edwards but they were not sure how it would take place. Larry had suggested they have an old fashioned firing squad. Boris countered with just using his .44 magnum to shoot him in the head. Rich wanted to hang him from a tree but that seemed like too much work. Sam wanted everyone to hold him down so he could smash his head in with a large rock. Mykal suggested arming him with only a club and chasing him into the arms of the Sosos, but then they wouldn’t really get to see what the Sosos would do to him.
Mykal saw none of them became nervous when they approached Edwards’s vehicle. The Ford Bronco became everything to Edwards despite two tires being shot out. It was his sleeping quarters, his office and his hiding place in times of trouble. The two tires were flat from when Mykal stopped their escape. Edwards had others push it to his side of the Pass. Edwards rarely strayed from his hermit like hideaway especially since his three closest subordinates and allies Mansfield, Black and Putman were dead.
Edwards watched the small group approaching his vehicle. Mykal heard there had been talk lately Edwards feared for his safety among his own men. He stepped out of the vehicle so they couldn’t sneak up on him.
“You’re just the person we wanted to see,” Larry said as Edwards stepped out of the Ford Bronco.
“Me, Sgt Weston?�
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“Yeah you.” Larry sneered.
“I suppose that you heard from some of the others about my visit to the big city,” Mykal said. “Did you hear that I was able to get some good info on getting back home?”
“Yes I did,” Edwards answered. His hands trembled.
“With all that has gone on between us do you think it would be wise for us to take you back with us?” Mykal asked bluntly.
“Excuse me?” Edwards asked and looked like his heart sank.
“You know, all the threats you have been making about nailing us to the wall and putting us behind bars and all that kind of stuff. Would it really be wise of us to take you home?”
“Well yes,” Edwards gawked. “If it had been the other way around and if you have been the ranking officer I would never have disobeyed you.”
“So you’re saying there are some problems between us. Good, then you’d agreed I’d have to be outta my friggin mind to let you go back to the real world.”
“No, Sgt Graves. I’m sure we could negotiate this between us. Between all of us,” he said and looked at all their angry faces. “I thought you were going to offer me a deal to keep quiet to allow me to return home with you,” he suggested. “I’m willing to agree to some sort of terms.”
“Are you for real?” Boris hissed his hatred of this man.
“Coming here to this place has really opened my eyes,” Edwards admitted. He eyed them all carefully. “I’ve realized I’m not a very good leader. I have difficulties facing dangerous situations. I understand that. I would like to go back to our world so I can resign my commission in the Air Force and return to civilian life,” he said. “There is a part of me that wished I could be more like you men in some ways. Going back to our world, I would drop all charges and nothing would ever come up about all that has occurred in this strange world we are in. I would like to forget this time and place ever happened to me.”
“Forget?” Boris raised his voice. “Forget Kurt and Denny? Forget Miller and Finn? Forget all the friggin lives you’ve screwed up? Just forget them? Forget that you left us to die?”
