Shantago III: The Rock of Tahguhl

by Penn, Nicholas

The cluster of toggles quieted down at the reasoning of his words, and Shantago could see that the energy of their celebration had been all but crushed. Shantago thought in haste how to bring the deflated crowd back to life. There on the table beside of him sat a pitcher of boggleberry wine so he picked it up in front of the crowd and chugged the full pitcher down. “Everyone rejoice, drink, and be merry! We are rid of the Son of Nick, and soon, my plan will be completed!” Shantago then did a little victory dance for everyone to witness.

  The crowd erupted at the sight of the king letting loose and enjoying the night; all except for one. General Krylon took a few steps back into the shadows yet again, letting Shantago have his spotlight. Krylon softly grumbled these words while Shantago continued to put on a display of triumph. “Today you are the fortunate son so go ahead, Shantago, drink it up and be merry. For tomorrow is another day. I guarantee that tomorrow is a new day for you, Shantago; that I can promise.”

  T.B.A.

  The two made their way to what seemed like an abandoned military bunker, which served as their temporary headquarters. When Jordan walked inside, the first thing he noticed was an abundance of artillery, which was stockpiled there on the counter, along with a few miscellaneous items such as bayonets, machetes, and knives. A plethora of pistols, AK-47s, grenades, clips, boxes of ammo, shotguns, and shells blanketed the floor and countertops. Yes, they had enough firepower to take out a whole army with the abundance of weaponry that was stockpiled there in the blockhouse.

  “Jordan, are you hurt?” He saw some dried blood on Jordan’s elbow from his earlier incident. “Luckily I was checking vehicles for survivors when I came across you lying there in the truck. I can go search for help, or some bandages, if you want.” Hiding the venomous and seeping wound from his protector, Jordan said, “No, I’m okay. Just a bit shaken, that’s all.”

  Jordan noticed the uniform this man was wearing, which signified that he was part of the T.B.A. Embroidered on his chest was the inscription Togglekiller #2. It suddenly donned on Jordan just exactly who he was talking to.

  Making light conversation, Jordan began to say, “You know, I had a couple of dreams while I was incarcerated.” The hero seemed somewhat interested in Jordan’s last statement, but only acknowledged him with a head nod. “The first dream started out with you sitting on the patio as a togglasaur flew off with the evil one; a band of toggles quickly approached. I remember you staying calm as you charged up your delucificator, which was no match for the monsters. Wiping them out lickety-split, you headed into town, I assume to take on the rest of the toggle army.”

  The man just chuckled. “That’s some dream, kid.”

  After a moment of silence, the mercenary spoke in a sardonic way, “So what was the other dream about, monster cupcakes from Mars? I sure could use one of those cupcakes right now–just like your grandmother used to make. You know, the kind that really stuck to your ribs. Dang it, son, why did you have to mention food? My stomach’s growling like a rabid were-stroggle.”

  Jordan paused for just a moment, realizing that he wasn’t being taken seriously. “Don’t worry about it.” Jordan immediately changed the subject. “I do have one lingering question for you. Where did you come up with that crazy name for the band of toggle mercenaries Gramps called the T.B.A.?” Jordan glared at him and smiled, hoping this question would get the two back on track.

  “You can thank Ted and Bill’s Awesomeness for that one.” They both laughed heartily. Jordan felt relieved that he was speaking to Gramps’ cousin, and he was here to help.

  “Your dream took some real imagination, kid.” Aaron glared at one of Jordan’s eyes, which had turned a crimson red, like blood. “By the way, you don’t look so well. You seem a little green around the gills.” Aaron felt Jordan’s forehead, which was burning up.

  Shadows fluttered in the windows of the makeshift shelter as Jordan reassured Aaron his condition had stabilized. “I’m okay. We can worry about me later. Tell me now, why has the town been destroyed?”

  Aaron dodged that question as he began to doubt Jordan’s intentions. “First, you need to tell me why I found you hiding in that abandoned tow truck.”

  Jordan paused for a moment, as his answer seemed very enigmatic. “Zombie toggles attacked me. I mean, they were alive, but dead.”

  Jordan acted confused as he tried telling his story to Aaron.

  “Kid, I think you have a fever or something.” As soon as Aaron said this, two more men with T.B.A. patches affixed to their uniforms walked into the bunker and took off their masks. Jordan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Grant, Matt, what are you guys doing here?”

  Jordan couldn’t quite understand why his grandfather’s cousin Matthew suddenly appeared on the scene. Matt was somewhat younger than the other guys, so naturally the team picked on him when he was a child. He now stood six foot three, two hundred fifty pounds, and nothing but solid muscle. Anyone would be a fool to mess with him now, and it would probably take an elephant gun to bring this mountain of a man down. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, most likely stemming from all those years of teasing and gags that were pulled on him. His fists were the size of hammers, and his tough guy demeanor led you to believe that he would eat you up and spit you out at any given moment. The last they were told, Matt all of a sudden left Willoughby Woods to chase his Major League Baseball dreams, but that was years ago, and no one had heard from him since.

  Grant, with his eyes huge and protruding, spoke up first. “The enemy has taken out the main bridge that goes into town. We are stuck here to defend ourselves, unless we want to go through the forest and try to make our escape that way. If we go through the forest,” Grant paused for a second as he swallowed deep, “I fear we are doomed.”

  Matt, who spoke a little more shrewdly, followed up with, “I foresee that we’re doomed either way.” He took a moment to light a cigarette. “There’s still no official word on just who our enemy is. Most of the people I’ve run across suggest that it’s Vietnam, North Korea… some others, Russia. In my opinion, our enemies are probably a mix of nations that attacked the homeland. If this truly is World War III, then I’m ready.” Blowing a ring of smoke in Jordan’s face he stated, “I don’t care if it’s Ivan or Charlie, I’m here to kick some ass.”

  Jordan waved the smoke out of his face as he chuckled at Matt’s last comment. “What are you talking about? The invaders are toggles–you know, boggles, snarks, raw snorgs, and such. Why would the Russians or any of those other countries be helping out the toggles? You guys aren’t being serious, are you? None of this makes any sense.”

  The three men each gave Jordan a preposterous look while ignoring his observation. Aaron spoke first. “Since the town has been evacuated, we don’t have to worry about any more casualties; well besides us, of course. We are the only ones who stayed behind to defend what’s rightfully ours. I would lay down my life to protect our freedom.”

  “Yeah, but how are the four of us going to take on a fully armed militia when we don’t even know who we are fighting? I’ve seen them fight, and they fight like dogs. When it comes to war, I think everyone is a monster.” Just as soon as Grant said this, it suddenly donned on Matt what they needed to do.”

  Matt responded in a slow, calm, genuine voice. “Monsters… are our specialty. Besides, we need to wait until he arrives. I know he’ll already have a foolproof plan laid out for the team. He will figure a way out of this for all of us, just wait and see.”

  Matt’s show of faith in this mysterious person puzzled Jordan. Just who exactly is he referring to? I guess only time will tell.

  Turned Inside Out

  The cement blockhouse the team occupied was turning quite frigid. Jordan’s breath steamed violently in the night air and his heart began to race, pumping the poison rapidly through his iced veins. He guessed that it was all due to his aforementioned bite mark, which had now turned green like a cesspool of a sewer that had entered into his body. His lips were dry and chafed.
Jordan also had a ringing in his ears, and small red spots starting to form on his skin.

  “Jordan, you need to chill out for a minute. Have a seat there in that chair; you need to rest.” Aaron reached over and felt his forehead again. “Dude, you are burning up! I think you have the flu. We need to keep you hydrated.”

  Aaron helped Jordan sit down in a chair that was close to some of the artillery as he handed him a bottle of water. “Drink this and you’ll feel better.” Jordan remained quiet as Aaron tried to make sense of his sudden illness. “We need to get you looked at by a professional. If not, I fear you’re going to die on us, and I just can’t allow that. Besides, what would your gramps think?” Jordan sat in the chair glassy-eyed, with a ringing in his ears, trying to understand just what Aaron was trying to tell him.

  All of a sudden, the team saw headlights shining through the thick glass of the bunker. After a few seconds, a man appeared. He, too, was dressed in solid black, with a T.B.A. patch on his uniform. “The invaders aren’t far behind. I hit a few with my truck getting here, so I know that really had to rile their leader.”

  Jordan couldn’t believe his eyes when he noticed, there on the left uniform flap, the words written in cursive: Togglekiller #1. Jordan was taken aback once the man removed his helmet. There stood what Jordan thought was a ghost. “Gramps?” Jordan exclaimed as the others observed from the shadows. “But how?” Jordan’s eyes filled with tears as he lunged towards him for an embrace. “Is it really you?”

  The old man hugged him back. “Yes, Jordan, it is.” Nick took a gander at Jordan and immediately saw his advanced sickness. “Jordan, we need to get you to a doctor; the quicker the better. You are quite sick.”

  “I know, I know.”

  The concern grew on his face as Nick warned, “I told you to keep your mask on; what happened to it?”

  Jordan responded with his eyes as if to say, I’m sorry. He paused for a moment before taking a step back from his grandpa. This time, his eyes were filled with anger. “Where have you been? And why did you––?”

  Gramps interrupted as he said, “I guess I have some explaining to do. Well, you see, it all began when the powers that be decided to meddle in everyone’s affairs. Soon after, they took Cousin Aaron and locked him up. Matt did the smart thing and moved away from this place. I knew it was only a matter of time before I met the same fate, so I came up with a plan to fake my own death. I needed time to figure things out. You’ve got to understand, there were a lot of people who were also monsters, and who were looking to quiet me–for good.”

  Jordan seemed infuriated at the response as his anger rekindled. “So you basically abandoned the entire family?”

  “I know what it looks like, and for that I am sorry. But I assure you, there’s more to it than you know. Again, Jordan, I am truly sorry, but I had no choice. I did it for the wellbeing of myself and the security of the family. I know it may not seem like it, but I had everyone’s best interest at heart.”

  Grant quickly spoke up, trying to change the subject. Perhaps he was also analyzing a different situation. “How did you get here, anyways? I saw the headlights dance off the wall. When the electromagnetic pulse bomb hit the East Coast– rather close to Willoughby Woods I might add–it completely zapped all of the electronics. From cars to cell phones, the pulse destroyed everything that had a computer in it–not to mention the deadly radiation that it exposed to the millions of people who were unaware that this type of bomb could do so much damage.”

  Nick started laughing. “Technology is for the birds. I drove up in my trusty old ‘69 Chevy C-10. After some tinkering on the starter, we had it ready to go. The only computer that truck has ever had in it was still in the wrapper, sitting in the passenger seat, and headed for home.”

  Everyone looked puzzled as Nick continued. “It didn’t take long for Cousin Adam to get my trusty old ‘69 running. After the explosion happened, Adam examined my truck and determined that the starter solenoid was fried. It took him about twenty minutes to get it up and running. It would have been done a lot faster but he stopped to drink a Bubba Cola and have a Moon Pie.”

  Jordan’s forehead was drenched with sweat as he approached his grandfather, carrying with him the Toggle Handbook. “Gramps, you have to help me.” He commenced thumbing through the pages of the magical book, searching for the correct chapter. “Can you take me here? It’s very urgent, and I don’t have much time left.”

  Jordan seemed sincere with his message as he showed Nick the map of the forest and the Rock of Tahguhl. Gramps, on the other hand, started laughing. “You want me to take you to the enchanted Toggle Forest when we are right in the middle of World War III?”

  Jordan acted confused and distressed at the answer he received. He angrily shouted back, “I need to find the Rock of Tahguhl! It’s the only way to bring Piper back!”

  Jordan’s eyes told the story as he stared anxiously at his grandfather, this time anticipating a different response. Gramps just glared at Jordan with disbelief; he could see the pain that was written on Jordan’s face.

  Nick calmly said to Jordan, “Please sit down, I have something to tell you.”

  Jordan, looking puzzled yet again, had a seat beside his gramps. Gramps put his arm around Jordan as he prepared him for the dreadful news. “Son, all of those stories that I told you when you were a kid–were just that–stories. Even the book you hold in your very hands today was written a long time ago by Aaron and myself. I assure you, there’s nothing about it that is magical.”

  Gramps looked Jordan right in the eye as he told him, “There isn’t any such thing as a toggle, much less a toggle king. I thought you knew better, boy, and I’m sorry that I’ve misled you and gave you some kind of false hope. The stories written in that silly book are just fairy tales, nothing more.”

  All this time Jordan didn’t want to believe but now, after witnessing toggles and their destruction on more than one occasion, Jordan knew something stunk. He just sat in his chair, quiet for a moment, as the anger built up inside. He thought about Gramps’ last words and how they cut him like a knife, right through to his very soul; naturally, those words didn’t set well.

  Without warning, Jordan struck like a viper. “You are not my grandfather; as a matter of fact, you are just a low-down, dirty liar.” Suddenly the thought hit him–. “I know exactly who you are; the devil himself!” Jordan charged at his grandfather with closed fists when suddenly Grant stepped in between them, followed by Aaron and then Matt.

  Jordan, who was stunned by their actions, spoke up. “So, that’s how it’s going to be?” He shook his head as he slowly backed away from the crew.

  Jordan had a look that was meant to kill as he spoke these words. “You’re the reason Piper’s dead and for that, I hate you.” Nick just gave Jordan a look of pity. No response was given as perhaps there was some truism hidden in between those insensitive and spiteful words.

  Jordan, with fire extending out of each word that was spoken, said venomously to the squad, “You know what? I don’t need your help. I can find the Rock of Tahguhl by myself.”

  Nick had a sorrowful look on his face as he said, “Jordan, you are sick; poisoned. Let us help you. If you will just listen to me for a moment, I can explain all of this.”

  Jordan, who was now out of breath, leaned up against the wall as he told his grandfather, “Just go away, all of you. I don’t need your help any longer.”

  As soon as Jordan said this, the bunker shook with a loud explosion that rocked the foundation of the hideout. Glass shattered, and everyone in the bunker hit the ground. The group began taking fire as bullets commenced flying through the air.

  Nick shouted out over the commotion the command: “Everyone take evasive actions, code red! This is death–con nine!”

  The team armed themselves with mighty firepower and started reacting to the threats ahead of them. Jordan, on the other hand, filled a satchel with the Toggle Handbook, a pistol, a knife, and a few clips, and mad
e his way towards the back hallway. Jordan, was starting to slur his words as he said, “I’ll just have to do this myself.” He stumbled out the back door and into the night.

  “I never in a billion years thought I would be betrayed by my very own––” Jordan didn’t finish his sentence; in his mind, he didn’t have the need to. Instead, he just wandered aimlessly about in the chilly night air, headed into town and towards his final destination.

  Jordan decided to make a stop along the way, a stop that might help him clear his conscience. However, after walking just a short distance, his leg muscles started to cramp up, causing him to go limp. Pain shot through his body; more discomfort than usual.

  A tear formed in Jordan’s eye. His mind was still crystal clear as he thought about the things that just occurred, but only for a moment. Determined to move forward, Jordan spoke these words out loud, as he could feel the poison slowly making its way down his right leg, “So the end… is now just the beginning.”

  Never Trust a Toggle.

  “I’m going to sit back, my love, and close my eyes. I want to think of you with your hair all pulled up. Oh, how it keeps falling, and so do I.” A single tear fell from Shantago’s face and onto the ground. “A memory like you sure makes one cry.”

  There was more than one devil prowling in the audience tonight. For a moment, General Krylon pondered on a most interesting idea. I think I just might know of a way to get the crowd to turn on Shantago.

  Krylon began to put his intricate plan into action, which involved one simpleton, a pawn, who was named Negassa. Yes, if I can get the crowd to turn on Shantago, I will be in control of the entire toggle kingdom. One hard strike against the world, and the power would definitely shift my way.

  General Krylon mounted the podium. His breath thundered out of his lungs like many rolling chariots as he spoke like lightning. “Hear ye! Hear ye! I, General Krylon, announce that there is in fact a traitor set amongst us.” The toggles shushed at the sound of his devious and uncanny words.