Written for Steemit: A love story occurs during a time anomaly. A woman from today somehow steps into an anomaly and meets a cowboy asleep on his ranch, in his bed, in the 1850's. ©Jeff Kubitz 2016 - 2017 All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 6 of High Spirits

Rephael ran across the floor of the desert with the other soldiers. The run was not easy because the soil was a little muddy and some of the sage brush and tumbleweed were large so the path was nothing close to a straight line. No, he zigzagged and faster soldiers ran by him. Several times he almost collided with the soldiers passing him.

As he ran, Rephael realized it was much farther than a half mile. Shots rang out up ahead and it looked to him like he still had a mile to go. He was on a slight rise which was maybe 20 feet tall and saw down before him.

The soldiers shot at one man, a soldier by his BDUs or battle dress uniform, what some people call camos. The man walked strangely, stiffly, and he did not stop as the defenders shot him. He was a 100 yards away from the defenders. Rephael ran as fast as he could.

"Don't touch that thing!" he yelled as soldiers far faster than he who did not carry packs reached what had to be the animated corpse of General Ricks. They didn't hear Rephael. They were too far away. At least he was now running down a very slight, long slope.

"What's that sir?" It was the corporal who told Rephael to use the commo but he did not know what commo was.

"I yelled at them not to touch that thing, General Ricks. See they are trying to tackle it. What we need is to have them grab the box and bring it over here and the corpse of the general will follow it."

"I'll tell them." The corporal stopped. He talked into a device a little larger than a cell phone. Rephael waited with the corporal while he watched.

As soon as the first soldier grabbed the corpse, it bit him and then the corpse of General Ricks fell apart. The soldier that had a hold of General Ricks fell down, still a hold of the corpse's arm-less torso.

"A soldier has the box sir." The corporal said. "They said it isn't very big anymore, hardly more than an inch square."

"Tell them to bring it over here." Rephael said to the corporal. He watched down below as the corporal relayed his order. Several soldiers assisted the soldier that fell tackling Ricks while a group now made its way over toward Rephael. There were eight of them and they jogged this way.

After Ricks bit his tackler, he literally fell apart. The soldiers who ran toward the battle stopped and waited for further orders. The other soldiers now had two stretchers. They put the parts of General Ricks on one and the fallen soldier on the other. Rephael could see he was not moving but he was too far away to see clearly and there were four soldiers carting the stretcher and one, probably a medic held an IV, while they carried the wounded.

"So, did the spawn fall down and turn into kids out here too?" Rephael asked the corporal.

"Yes they did, even the ones we had not killed yet and then they floated up and disappeared into the sky." The corporal replied. "Some of them talked to us for a bit."

"The same thing happened inside of where I was. Right after we threw Asmodeus into Hell or whatever that place was and the gate slammed shut, the spawn turned into kids."

"It looks to me like it's over, the battle I mean sir." The corporal said.

"It does but it surprises me, did you know General Ricks was ripped in half at the waist and his arms were also torn off but he walked over there."

"Hmmm..." Was all the corporal said.

"Ask if anyone is back near the other bodies and if any of them are missing." Rephael ordered the corporal. After a short conversation, the corporal said,

"Everything back there is fine sir, no more missing bodies and there are still 19 there."

Rephael watched as the eight soldiers made their way toward him. They still jogged toward him about a quarter mile off. He decided he and the corporal should start to walk back up the hill instead of wait here until the soldiers carrying the box. "Can you carry this pack?" Rephael asked the corporal.

The corporal took the pack and before they left, Rephael took a meal ready to eat out of the pack, "Let's start walking back up the hill, corporal."

While they walked, Rephael ate and he ate ravenously. They made only perhaps two hundred steps before the group of eight caught them, yet Rephael had eaten everything in the packet, even chewed the dry cool-aid.

The soldier with the box jogged up to Rephael, he was a staff sergeant and he asked, "Do you want the box sir?"

"Yes, I'll take it I guess," Rephael replied and held out his hand. He had never seen the box and when he saw it he remarked, "This thing is tiny. The decoy was huge."

"This was huge sir it was the same size as the decoy until the spawn flew out of it." The sergeant said as he handed the box to Rephael. He took it from the sergeant and put it in his shirt pocket, it was a little more than an inch square and maybe a half inch tall. It weighed next to nothing.

"Let's head back to the portal." Rephael said, "Let me get another MRE out of my pack corporal."

The corporal stopped and said while he waited for Rephael, "Most guys put some in their leg pockets so they don't have to keep fetching them out of a pack sir."

"That is a good idea. I think I'll get a couple more." Rephael said as he fetched and pocketed two more meals. Then he sealed the pack and they all started walking while he ate. Rephael was finished with his second MRE when the corporal said,

"There is something wrong with the guy that tackled General Ricks." The corporal said, "He foams at the mouth and is fighting everyone. He is trying to walk toward us."

"Tell them to let him go and just follow him, he is probably a corpse too. What about General Ricks?"

"I relayed your orders and the guy is running this way." The corporal paused while he asked about Ricks, "He is back to being very dead sir."

"Anyone else get bitten or scratched or wounded in any way by the guy that is running this way?" Rephael asked. The corporal talked into his commo device.

"One was bitten; two have cuts from being hit." The corporal replied.

"Restrain the wounded and watch them until we are absolutely certain they are fine." Rephael said. The corporal sent the orders.

"Sir, I bet that is the guy that got bit." The staff sergeant said as he pointed off in the distance at a man running in their direction.

"Okay," Rephael said, "Corporal ask them if they have any more nets where we are going and if they do not, find something to bind that guy. Everyone else start running." Rephael started to jog.

Everyone else followed.

"They have some nets left sir," The corporal yelled from the rear.

"Because I have the box, whatever that guy now is, he will now be after me." Rephael said as he ran, he estimated they had three quarters of a mile to go.

Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Previous books in the series:
Song of Angels - Books I, II, III - Table of Contents

Follow me: @jeff-kubitz Book One - Meeting is available in Paperback here: https://www.amazon.com/Jeffery-Kubitz/e/B01MXY9YHR