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#4
JUL 12 |
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“The Gray God of the Forbidden Jungle!”
The chanting of the thousands of natives filled the sultry African night with a throbbing fever that echoed and re-echoed from the craggy mountains surrounding the valley. The bonfires from the great iron braziers roared with the voice of dying dragons as thick black smoke rose up into the sky, twisting into fantastic shapes.
The dozens of stone towers that filled the valley all glowed with arcane energies, fueled by the strange orange metal buried deep in the earth. A screaming falling star had landed in this valley ages ago and crashed into the ground. The radiations from the strange star metal had changed the people of the valley, made them strange but it had also made them strong. It had given them the strength to build the stone towers. Towers that were weapons unlike any the world had ever seen.
The people of the valley danced around the central tower. This one was thicker and taller than any of the others. It also was topped with battlements. The stonework inscribed with strange sigils that none of the people understood, but it was good they did not understand. They did not have to. This was the home of their god. Those were his symbols and it was enough.
They brandished their weapons, raised them high above their square-ish heads as their ropy, snake-like hair whipped frantically this way and that. Their splay feet stomped the already hard packed ground, which sparkled slightly as if the star metal underneath bled gold dust into the very earth.
The chanting increased in fervor as the people of the valley pleaded with their god to show himself, to come forth and give them the word they so desperately needed to hear.
And then the Gray God suddenly appeared.
Easily seven feet tall, his skin was a slate gray in color. Hairless and naked, he was also sexless as well. Around his thin neck a great golden sunburst medallion descended from a thick band of the same rich metal and a voluminous crimson cloak hung from his shoulders. He raised long, broomstick thin arms that seemed barely able to do anything, but the people of the valley had seen their god effortlessly rip the arms from a living, screaming man with about as much effort as you would pull apart a tasty fried chicken wing.
The chanting stopped. Everything stopped. The valley was as silent as the bottom of the Great Well of Gagrestria. And then the Gray God spoke in a voice of surprising charm and power. It was amazing to hear the voice of a trained dramatic tenor coming from such a thin chest.
“You have done well, my faithful ones. You have served the Soul of the Earth with a loyalty that burns with a fire rivaling that of the sun itself. We have made the petty armies of two nations fear us and that is how it should be.
“You have lived on this land for generations unto generations and you have held it with blood. None dare trespass on your land without feeling the full measure of your wrath!
“And you have proven yourself worthy to be my chosen people. It is why I have lent my power to yours. It is why I have dwelled among you for these many years. Indeed, long-lived as you are, there are many among you I knew as children. And aye, I knew your fathers and mothers in their childhood as I knew their fathers and mothers in their childhood!
“You know my godhood is not false! You know me as a great and terrible god of just vengeance and righteous rage! And I say now unto you that we must stretch forth our collective hand and strike again at all! We must secure this land and that must mean the black soil must once again be fed with the blood of our enemies!
“DO YOU HEAR ME, MY PEOPLE?”
And indeed they did hear him as they once again took up their chanting and frenzied dancing, the light of the flames striking like flashes of lightning from their weapons.
And above them, the Gray God looked down upon them and it was good.
East Africa, 1942
“So you honestly expect to send my newspaper some crazy yarn about a bunch of monster men tearing up the jungle?”
The speaker leaned back easily on his heels, hands in his pants pockets, rocking back and forth like a bored schoolboy. A lean, rangy six-footer, Mark Todd looked more like a tennis pro or a major league baseball pitcher than the star reporter of The New York Daily Globe. Not that he got back to New York much. Mark Todd hadn’t gotten the reputation he enjoyed by playing it safe, sitting behind a desk. He liked it out there in the field where it got hairy and he could smell the blood and feel the bite of the Devil right in his–
“Mr. Todd, all I can tell you is what the reports of our soldiers have stated. And we’ve captured German soldiers who have corroborated the stories our own soldiers have sworn to!” the young WAC lieutenant said in exasperation.
“C’mon, Leslie–”
“That’s Lt. Barnett to you, Mr. Todd! I’ll thank you to remember that you’re addressing the personal aide to Colonel Harrison Howlett!”
“And I’ll thank you to remember that I knew ‘Howlin’ Mad’ Howlett way before he put on a uniform and won a chest full of medals so his rank doesn’t cut any ice with me, sister!” But Mark’s grin took much of the sting out his words, words that were answered by an authoritative voice coming up behind him.
“I haven’t been ‘Howlin’ Mad’ Howlett since our college football days, Mark, and I wish you hadn’t written that story with my nickname in it. You have no idea the ribbing I get from the other officers.” Colonel Harrison ‘Howlin’ Mad’ Howlett was perhaps sixty pounds heavier than his old college roommate but to Mark’s eyes from the way he moved he’d lost none of the speed or power that had made him a star quarterback at Hudson University. “You’ll make me regret allowing you on this mission.”
“I regret it already!” Lt. Leslie Barnett snapped. A spit-n’-polish five foot package of blonde dynamite, the feisty lieutenant had made her disapproval of journalists in general and Mark Todd in particular well known from Day One.
“And just exactly what is your mission here, Harry? Not that I don’t appreciate you giving me a scoop but it would help to know just exactly what the scoop is.”
Harry threw out his arm to indicate the bustling, busy Army base around them. “Washington has asked me to investigate some recent attacks made on this base. Not only have we been attacked with considerable loss of life and injury of Army personnel but so have the Germans. They have a base some 70 miles to the north of us. From what we’ve learned from soldiers we’ve captured, they’ve been attacked as well.”
Mark frowned. “You mean to say that you know there’s a German base that close and you haven’t bombed it to paste? I’d say that’s a story right there, pal.”
“They picked a great location for their base. Better than we did, actually. There’s a ringed mountainous region that makes it difficult for bombers to get an accurate drop. Believe me, we’ve tried.”
“Okay, say I buy that. Get a team of commandos to go in and blow it up. That would work, wouldn’t it?”
“It would, but it also would be a suicide mission. You want to hear a real Catch-22? The men the Army has who are good enough and skilled enough to succeed in such a mission are precisely the men who are too valuable to send. The United States Army doesn’t mind asking a man to sacrifice his life for his country but it won’t ask him to throw it away, either. That base simply isn’t important enough to warrant asking our best men to die just to see it blown up.”
Harry motioned for Mark and Leslie to follow him to the command post. The roaring of jeeps and halftracks forced him to raise his voice as he continued. “For years this region has been plagued by weird activity and unusual seismic activities. During peacetime, scientific expeditions investigated the region. Some reported weird lights in the sky at night.”
“And then there’s the monster men,” Mark added with a snicker that drew a furious look of aggravation from Leslie. The trio entered the command post. Soldiers and staff filled the wide corridor and Harry’s right arm up went continually up and down as he returned salutes, still talking.
“That’s right, the monster men…men of such savagery and strength that one of them is an easy match for any three ordinary men.”
“Surely a bullet in the head would take care of that!”
“Our men have reported it having to take at least three or four bullets to stop the brutes.”
“Why don’t you just take in a tank division and–”
“Save your questions for the briefing, Mark. And then you’ll find out why you’re here.”
Mark certainly hoped so. A mere twenty four hours ago he’d been in Europe, doing one of the two things he loved the best. The weekend in Paris with Olivia had been one of the most romantic he’d ever have. And then the frantic telegram from his editor, Henry Fogell had propelled him to come to this East African Army base to presumably do the other thing he loved to do.
The trio entered Harry’s office to find two people waiting there for them already. The man was thin as an arrow with large brown eyes and very straight, silky hair the color of milk. “This is Dr. Archer Niven. He’s a noted archeologist and geologist back home.”
“And don’t I know it! Me and the doc are old pals!” Mark laughed delightedly as he enthusiastically shook hands with Dr. Niven, pushing back his fedora with his free hand. “Well now, this is starting to make sense at last!”
Dr. Niven grinned at the younger man. He turned to the bewildered Leslie and Harry. “Mark reported on a dig I worked on in China some years ago with the eminent archeologist Dr. Jones. That was quite an adventure, wasn’t it, Mark?”
“I’ll say! Before then I thought vampires were a load a’hooey! Much less Chinese vampires!”
“So you mean to stand there and tell me you believe in Chinese vampires but you laughed at me when I spoke about monster men!” Leslie snapped.
“Hey, I saw those neck biters with my own two eyes, sister!” Mark pointed his fingers at his eyes to emphasize the point. “I’m a trained observer and I know what I know when I see it. And until I see these ‘monster men’ of yours, I’m gonna keep on laughing.” Mark looked at Harry. “And you’re a fraud! Guess you’ve learned how to keep a secret since college.”
“I had no idea you knew Dr. Niven. He certainly didn’t say a word that you and he had prior acquaintance. All I knew was that he requested a reporter be allowed to accompany the expedition and that reporter be you.” Harry looked at the still grinning Dr. Niven. “And now I understand why you didn’t want me to tell Mark who you were beforehand.”
“My apologies, Colonel, but I couldn’t resist having a bit of fun with our friend here.”
The young woman with Dr. Niven coughed politely for attention. She plainly didn’t appreciate being ignored and Dr. Niven was quick to correct his oversight. “Excuse me, Barbara. Mark, Colonel Howlett, Lt. Barnett, this is my colleague, Dr. Barbara Plainview. Barbara is an anthropologist I’ve worked with many times before.”
Mark sized up Dr. Barbara Plainview and liked what he saw. He wasn’t partial to redheads but he sure did like her hair, dark as freshly spilled blood. Her exceedingly pale skin and lack of eyebrows would have made her stand out anywhere, as would her hourglass figure which was obvious even though she tried to hide it with her sensible clothing.
“So, now that the gang’s all here, what exactly are we here for?” Mark demanded.
In answer, Dr. Niven waved them to seats while he moved over to an easel he had set up earlier where a topographical map of the region rested, and he used a pointer to help explain what their objective was. “We are here and the German army camp is here. Now right smack dab in between us is a valley that has been known for at least four hundred years as the Soul of the Earth. Supposedly it got that name from a meteor that landed there. The natives of the region claim that the meteor brought new life to the valley, giving them new strength.”
“And you know all this…how?” Mark wondered.
It was Barbara Plainview who answered that, her wide, cool gray eyes remote and chilly. “Anthropologists have been to the region and have made studies of the natives living there as well as the flora and fauna…including my father who visited the region shortly before the First Great War. His expedition was forced to leave however. He said that they were continually attacked by misshapen ‘monster men’ who served the Gray God.”
“The what now?” Mark asked.
Barbara gave Mark another one of those looks that plainly showed she thought Mark should be off somewhere making mud pies while the grown-ups discussed business. “The Gray God protects the Soul of the Earth from interlopers.”
“You believe this guy exists?”
It was Dr. Niven who answered that question. “That’s what we want to prove once and for all. That’s why Dr. Plainview, Colonel Howlett, yourself and I, along with a sizeable amount of the Colonel’s troops, will trek our way to this valley and discover for ourselves the truth of the Gray God and the Soul of the Earth.”
Mark waved his long arms above his head. “Look, Doc, I respect science as much as the next guy and you’re okay with me, but maybe you haven’t noticed that there’s a war on. How can you justify taking valuable manpower to act as your personal escorts?”
“There’s another angle here, Mark.” Harry said. “If you’ll let Dr. Niven finish…?”
“Sorry, Doc. Go ahead.”
Dr. Niven waved away the apology. “Quite understandable, Mark. And in truth, if it wasn’t for this we wouldn’t be going.” Dr. Niven held up a glass vial containing a sliver of metal. “This is a sample of Zortium, which is four times stronger than titanium and almost as rare as Adamantium. Pockets of it are found from time to time, usually where meteors have struck.”
“Ah! So you think there’s a bunch of this super metal lying there in that valley, eh?”
“And it should be obvious even to a worthless scribbler like you that a metal of that strength is valuable to the war effort!” Leslie said.
“What is it with you, sister? You’ve been riding me since we met. What’s your beef with me?”
“The same beef I have with any able bodied man who’s not in a uniform and doing his duty for Uncle Sam! How can you stand there with that stupid smirk on your face and dare to think that your job matters when there are American boys out there dying–”
“That’ll do, Lieutenant.” Colonel Howlett’s voice cut Lt. Barnett off as cleanly as if a razor sharp axe had fallen on her neck. “Mr. Todd is an accredited war correspondent held in high regard by Washington, who has put his life on the line a hundred times to see firsthand what’s going on over here and to let the folks back home know exactly what sacrifices are being made for their freedom. He’s been in more combat zones than you’ve had hot meals. He knows exactly how many American boys are out there dying and why and he’s doing his job to make sure their families back home know they’re not dying in vain. And besides that, he’s a friend of mine and you will not speak to him in such a manner, and you will apologize at once.”
“Forget it, Harry,” Mark waved it away. “The Lieutenant did nothing except speak her mind. And isn’t that what this brouhaha is all about? So that everybody can speak their mind without the fear of reprisal?” Mark turned back to Leslie. “There’s a lot more ways to serve Uncle Sam than by toting a rifle, sister. You being a WAC should know that better than anybody in this room.”
Leslie’s mouth said nothing but the furious blush of her neck and face said more than enough.
Harry, apparently satisfied, returned to their business. “At 0500 tomorrow morning we’ll be leaving with a full battalion. Our objective is simple: we’re going straight to this valley and obtain a sizeable amount of Zortium necessary for experimentation and research. The battalion will secure and hold the valley until reinforcements can be brought in.”
“Do you think the Germans know about the Zortium?” Mark asked.
Harry shook his head in a negative. “I don’t think so. They’d have been all over that valley already if they had any idea something like Zortium exists. The problem is that once we move in and take possession of the valley they’re going to want to know why. That’s the reason for the full battalion.” Harry looked at the expectant faces looking back at him. “That’s it. I suggest you all have a full dinner then hit the sack…0500 comes pretty fast around here.”
“Think I’ll catch up on old times with the Doc, Harry. You mind?”
Harry shrugged. “Not at all. Use my office. Meet me over at the officer’s club after you’ve chowed and I’ll buy you a nightcap.”
“It’s a date.”
Leslie dutifully followed her superior officer out. Barbara saw that plainly the two men wished to be left alone so she departed as well.
Once they were the only two left in Harry’s office, Mark’s bantering tone dropped and the smile left his face. “Dammit, Archer! Just because you accidentally found out I’m the Blazing Skull doesn’t give you the right to have me sent for and act as your personal bodyguard while you traipse around the jungle looking for some cockamamie mystery metal!”
Dr. Niven held up his hands, palms facing Mark as he said, “Mark, it’s been two years since China. In all that time have I taken advantage of my knowledge of your other identity? No! I fully recognize and respect your right to have a life apart from your activities as the Blazing Skull.”
Mark simmered down, somewhat mollified. “Yeah, I guess you could have blown the whistle on me plenty of times in the past couple of years.”
“I assure you, my young friend, I would not have specifically requested you be assigned to this expedition if I did not fully believe it was of the utmost importance.”
Mark held out his hand for the glass vial. He looked intently at the shard of slightly gleaming metal. “Is this Zortium really that important, Doc?”
“I think it is, Mark. Anything that can turn the tide of this war either for or against us is important.”
Mark looked at the vial once again and extended his right hand. “Okay, Doc…you’ve been on the level with me. You’ve got me…and the Blazing Skull!”
The sounds of gunfire, cursing and sirens jerked Mark Todd out of a sound sleep. He rolled off his cot and dashed to the window of the Quonset hut he’d been allotted. What he saw made him make a mental note to apologize to the feisty Lt. Leslie Barnett the very next time he saw her.
Squat, dark men, nearly naked save for scraps of animal fur covering their loins, were attacking the Army base. But such men Mark had never seen! They were blocky and muscular, with huge broad feet and solid, square-ish heads. Their long hair was thick, like snakes and, indeed, seemed to almost have an independent life. Their eyes blazed with an orange glow, as if their heads were lit from within. They held curious weapons, long sickle-like axes made from bone and stone, sharpened with fearsome edges.
Their teeth were the worst.
The base’s solders were putting up an impressive fight. But the monster men seemed to have a partial invulnerability as Mark saw more than one soldier use up almost a clip of bullets from their machine guns and .45’s to take down just one. The monster men themselves used their weapons but many used their hands. Their fists made for effective clubs that crushed skulls and broke the bones of arms and legs.
And many used their teeth. Mark turned away when he saw how they used their teeth.
He’d seen enough…more than enough. There wasn’t anything Mark Todd, ace reporter, could do to help. Mark bent his head in concentration, his fists tightening as he once again called upon the occult forces he had been taught to control by the hyper-intelligent Skull Men. Those mystic energies swirled around him, transforming his pajamas into a bright red bodysuit, complete with thick soled calf-high dark brown buccaneer boots and flared gloves the same color. Across his broad muscular chest the emblem at first looked like an embossed white X but it really represented a pair of crossed human femur bones.
The flesh of Mark’s head appeared to disappear in a burst of mystic flame. It actually had been rendered invisible by the magic of the flame so that his skull was exposed, wreathed in orange-red flame. It was this fearsome visage that gave Mark Todd the name he was known by whenever men looked for a beacon of hope and justice: THE BLAZING SKULL!
The Blazing Skull burst through the wall of the Quonset hut. So striking was his appearance that the monster men were immediately repelled by the sight of what looked like a red demon with a flaming skull charging them…and then the Blazing Skull was in the middle of the monster men, his fists darting in and out, striking jaws, all the while laughing wildly as if having the time of his life.
And in truth he was. The energies coursing through Mark when he was the Blazing Skull felt like nothing he had ever experienced in his entire life. Every muscle felt as if it were bursting with pure power. When he was the Blazing Skull he felt invincible; it was a feeling like none other and he loved it more than anything else he’d ever loved.
He picked up a monster man, flung him fifteen feet into a group of others, bowling them over. The monster men gibbered in sudden fear. The soldiers they had ripped apart without a second thought. But this apparition was something else entirely.
The Blazing Skull helped a captain to his feet. “Regroup the troops and hit ‘em while they’re confused and scared! Go on!” The Blazing Skull gave the officer a shove in the general direction of the command post. He turned to take stock of the situation and see where he could be of most help.
That was a debatable notion. The monster men were everywhere, it seemed. They retreated from the base, dragging off as many captives as they were killing. Some of the barracks were on fire. Half-dressed soldiers engaged in savage hand-to-hand struggle, sweat mingling with blood.
And still the monster men used their teeth.
The Blazing Skull decided that it was best if he helped secure the command post. He ran in that direction, taking time to stop to render assistance where he could. A blow from his fist skewed a monster man’s head around so sharply the neck broke. He seized hold of another monster man’s leg and used him as a living club, battering other monster men out of his way as he cleared a path.
A half dozen of the monster men, braver than their brothers, attempted to dog pile the Blazing Skull. Colossal mistake. The Blazing Skull let loose with a massive double uppercut that sent monster men flying. Their cries of dismay filled the invisible ears of the Blazing Skull with a grim measure of satisfaction. His fists came down like living sledgehammers on the heads of two monster men who feebly tried to hold onto his legs. The sickening crack of their misshapen heads breaking open was horribly sickening.
Half in uniform, Harry Howlett burst from the command post, a Thompson sub-machine gun in his hands. “What the hell–?” he brought up the weapon, aimed it at the flaming, skull headed apparition heading at him.
“Wait! Colonel Howlett! That’s the Blazing Skull!” Dr. Niven shouted.
Harry lowered the weapon. “The Blazing Skull? Sure, I’ve seen you on the newsreels. But what in the Sam Hill are you doing here?”
“Plenty of time to answer questions, Colonel! Right now, all you need to know is I’m here to help.”
Female screams drew the attention of the three men. The monster men were withdrawing, many of them dragging captives by the legs, arms or hair. One of them carried a wildly struggling female form over a burly shoulder. She screamed again.
“That’s Barbara,” Dr. Niven gasped. “We’ve got to help her!”
The Blazing Skull was already in action. The monster man was already out the main gates with his prize. In a few minutes he’d be in the jungle and gone.
Spying a dispatch rider’s motorcycle nearby, the Blazing Skull leaped on board and kicked it into booming life. The finely tuned machine responded and the Blazing Skull roared in pursuit.
Both battling soldiers and wild-eyed monster men gaped in astonishment at the sight of the Blazing Skull roaring past them on a motorcycle, the flames from his skull leaving a visible trail. At least twenty of the monster men were fleeing into the jungle on either side of the wide road that had been carved out of the jungle by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Blazing Skull twisted the throttle and pursed the monster man who still kept a firm hold of his squirming captive.
The monster man turned and saw the motorcycle riding apparition bearing down on him, the fiery skull’s mouth opened in an eerie howl.
The monster man did something totally unexpected: he jumped straight upwards, propelled at least ten feet due to his powerful leg muscles. The Blazing Skull zoomed right through the spot where the monster man had been standing. He tried to turn but the bike slid out from under him. The Blazing Skull and the bike tumbled over and over, unable to stop.
The monster man landed and spat in the direction of the Blazing Skull, who was scrambling to his feet. By the time he did so, it was too late. The monster man was gone into the safety of the jungle with his prize, as were the rest of the creatures.
Soldiers poured out through the gates. “Hold it right there, buddy! You got some ‘splainin’ to do!”
The Blazing Skull most certainly did not ‘hold it’. Like the monster men, he too plunged into the thick safety of the jungle.
The soldiers made to pursue him but the voice of Colonel Howlett stopped them. “Hold it, boys! We’ve got wounded of our own to see to! The Blazing Skull will have to take care of himself! Back inside and secure the base!” Howlett waved his men back inside. He turned to see an anxious Dr. Niven standing just a few feet behind him.
“Colonel Howlett, we have to go after them! We have to rescue Barbara!”
“And we will, Doctor. I promise you. But I have a lot of injured men I have to see to and this base has to be secured. That’s my priority right now.” Harry looked over Dr. Niven’s shoulder. “Mark! You okay?”
Mark Todd joined the two men, his pajamas ripped and torn. “Damn, Harry, when you throw a party, you really throw a party!”
Harry snorted, half in relief. “Yeah, you’re okay if you can make with the wisecracks after all this.” Harry swept out an arm to indicate the dead and the wounded lying on the blood soaked ground. “Get cleaned up and get some clothes on. Come on over to the infirmary. If I remember right, you’re a halfway decent field medic.”
“I know what to do with bandages and iodine.”
“Then you’ll be needed. Get the lead out, mister!”
Harry ran off to regain control of the situation, shouting orders at his officers while Dr. Niven and Mark huddled together, walking back toward Mark’s Quonset hut.
“Why didn’t you rescue Barbara? What happened?” Dr. Niven demanded.
“That guy pulled a move I wasn’t expecting. He jumped straight up into the air. Musta been ten, fifteen feet, straight up!” Mark shook his head. “Good to know that after all this time some things can still surprise me.”
“That’s not doing Barbara any good, Mark! You could have gone after her!”
“No, I couldn’t have. Harry’s not a stupid man. If I’d gone after Barbara as the Blazing Skull, Harry would have quickly seen that Mark Todd was gone and put two and two together. Now, I’m sorry about Barbara but I like my life as Mark Todd and I don’t intend to give it up.”
“Colonel Howlett’s your friend. Surely he would keep your secret?”
“Harry Howlett is also a Colonel in the U.S. Army and that loyalty supersedes any other he has. He’d be compelled to report to his superiors that I’m the Blazing Skull.”
The two men entered the hut and Mark walked over to a locker, opened it and began removing clothes from it, a sturdy khaki outfit suitable for jungle wear.
“But why would that be such a bad thing? There are other mystery men who work with the government.”
Mark turned and smiled at Dr. Niven. “I got nothing against the government, Doc; hell, you oughta know that by now. But if I revealed myself to the government and put myself under their orders, they would send me where they thought my abilities would be needed. Working on my own, I can go wherever I’m needed and do what needs to be done without red tape, without worrying about orders, without wasting time. One day I’ll reveal myself. I honestly don’t think I can go the entire war without somebody finding out I’m the Blazing Skull. You found out, didn’t you?”
“But that was by accident, my friend.”
“If you found out, others can find out. It’ll happen again, sure as you’re sittin’ there.” Mark winked. “But until then, let me have some fun, okay?”
Barbara Plainview came to lying on a long, low bed. The stone chamber she occupied was spacious, with balconies and windows open to the early morning sun. A marble table was covered with various metal artifacts of the region, artifacts brought as tributes and offerings to the Gray God. Tapestries on the wall billowed in the breeze. He stood with his back to Barbara, his red cloak trailing behind him, held close to his back by his clasped hands. As if sensing Barbara had awakened, he slowly turned around, his golden eyes burning with intensity. Barbara sat up on the bed, her face enigmatic, her eyes searching the stony face of the Gray God.
The Gray God walked towards her with majestic slowness. Barbara threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She walked toward the Gray God with equal slowness, her eyes never leaving his. The Gray God stopped and let Barbara continue to approach. She stopped, her eyes remained staring at the Gray God with something that now approached sheer rapture. She sank to her knees and prostrated herself before the Gray God.
“My Lord,” she whispered.
The Gray God extended a long arm and said, “Arise my child. Like your father before you, you are a good and faithful servant.”
Barbara stood up, her eyes shining with joyful delight. “It is good to once more be in your presence, my lord. It has been far, far too long.”
“But you have been my faithful one, ever since your father brought you to me as a child and I baptized you with blood given to me freely by the people of this valley.”
“It was blood that tasted like the finest of wines, my lord. I have never forgotten the taste of it. Never!” Barbara knelt again and kissed the Gray God’s feet. “The ruse of having me kidnapped by your servants was a masterful one.”
“A necessary one. This way, you may resume your place among them if need be and they will be none the wiser as to your true loyalties.” The Gray God motioned for her to arise again. “Now, you must tell me of their plans so that I may make preparations. But there is something you must first tell me. My people tell me of a demon that has joined the Americans. What is this they speak of?”
Barbara frowned. “I honestly can’t say, my lord. When I was being carried off, we were pursued by what I can only describe as a man with a fiery skull for a head. At least I think it was a man. I don’t know where he came from or who he is.”
The Gray God stroked his chin. “You father told me stories of men and women in America with powers far beyond those of mortal men. Could this skull-headed creature be one of them?”
“It is possible. Many of them have joined the war effort. And considering the secret of this valley–”
The Gray God waved his hand. “If such a being is here, rest assured I will deal with him. Now, let us discuss more important matters…”
The enforced march had been a hard one but it had been helped tremendously by the fact that the army engineers had bulldozed a path halfway to the valley. It was the last 15 miles that had been the hardest and when Colonel Harry Howlett finally called a rest halt, the soldiers gratefully made themselves as comfortable as they could on the stony ground.
Harry looked at Mark and said, “See now why I couldn’t bring tanks in here?”
“And how! I thought I’d been in some jungles in my time but this one just about beats ‘em all, brother!” Mark removed his hat, useing his forearm to wipe away sweat and said, “So what now?”
“Now I scout ahead and see what I can see. Then plan my attack.”
“Why not just send out scouts?”
“My men need their rest. And anyway, I do my own scouting. Sergeant Gorman!”
“Yessir!”
“Your squad’s coming with me. We move out in five.”
“Yes SIR!”
“I’m coming along, Harry. And let’s not waste time arguing about it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Mark; matter of fact, I’d like you to come. You think fast on your feet and I may need an extra brain.”
“I’d like to come along as well, Colonel Howlett,” Dr. Niven said firmly. “You have my word I won’t get in the way or slow you down. I’d just rather be doing something instead of waiting here with the rest of the men worrying about Barbara.”
Harry sized up the middle-aged scientist. Despite his age, he’d kept up with the pace set and hadn’t once complained or lagged. Harry had to admit, there was a lot of old time tough under the scholarly appearance. “Okay, Doc, you can go, but I’ll hold you to your word.”
Several hours later, Harry Howlett, Mark Todd, Dr. Niven and the squad crouched behind the sheltering cover of huge leaves as broad as a car. They had an excellent vantage point to overlook the valley known as the Soul of the Earth. Binoculars were used to scan the valley.
“Look at those towers!” Mark exclaimed. “How do you think they built them? There’s no sign of anything more advanced than axes and clubs.”
“Let me see,” Dr. Niven asked. A pair of binoculars was passed to him by the helpful Sergeant Gorman. He examined the towers intently for a few minutes before speaking. “My guess would be is that they built them by hand. The radiation from the Zortium meteor has obviously mutated the valley’s natives. It’s given them added strength and stamina. We’ve seen that in battle. Those teeth–”
Harry hurriedly changed the subject. “But what are they for? If you’ll look to the north of the valley you’ll see there are dwellings in the natural caves. The natives live in those caves. The towers aren’t for inhabiting. So what do they need them for?”
Dr. Niven smiled. “You’ve got a scientific curiosity rivaling mine, Colonel. I hadn’t expected to find that quality in a military man.”
“I’m curious about anything I don’t understand, Dr. Niven, especially when that anything might kill me. Those towers are an unknown quantity and I’d like your insight in their possible purpose before I attack.”
“And what’s up with the big tower? The one with the fancy top?” Mark wondered aloud. He was looking at it through his binoculars and suddenly exclaimed, “Holy Moses! Look!”
Everybody who had binoculars turned them onto the huge main tower with the battlements. Murmurs of surprise and more than a few profane comments filled the air for the next few minutes as the Americans got their first sight of the Gray God.
“I suppose that answers the question of whether this Gray God of yours is real or not,” Mark said slowly. “You got a handy explanation for where he comes from?”
“Another mutation would be my guess,” Dr. Niven said slowly.
“But how come he didn’t mutate the way the others did? Or why didn’t they mutate like him?”
“Why don’t we table all the questions until we’ve captured him and secured the valley?” Harry asked irritably. “It’s a safe bet Dr. Plainview is in that central tower with that big gray guy so we–”
The monster men seemingly exploded from the jungle all around the Americans. It was incredible that they could have crept up on eighteen alert men without a single one of those eighteen being aware they were being surrounded. But it had happened. The monster men had lived in this jungle all their lives and from birth they were well versed in the ways of that jungle. This was their domain and within less than ninety seconds had taken down every single American without so much as a shot being fired.
The Americans were quickly tied with strong vines that had been braided into rope. Dr. Niven pleaded with his eyes for Mark to do something and Mark gave him back a stony glare. Mark had no intention of changing into the Blazing Skull in front of the soldiers. If it were just Harry, maybe Mark could have persuaded him to keep his secret, but there was absolutely no way that all the rest of the soldiers would have kept silent and all it would take would be for one to start talking and that would be that.
Their weapons were left where they were; the monster men had no idea of how to use them. The Americans were hauled to their feet, roughly shoved and forced to march to the valley. The whooping, hooting cheers of the rest of the villagers filled the air, causing great multi-colored flocks of birds to fill the azure sky above the valley. The Americans were marched to the main tower that was home to the Gray God and forced to kneel.
Ponderously, the huge double iron doors of the tower opened and the Gray God himself emerged, his golden eyes burning, his crimson cloak wrapped around his thin body. Still, he exuded an air of otherworldly power it was impossible to ignore or deny. At a mere lifting of his hand, the people of the valley fell instantly silent.
The Gray God turned his eyes on Dr. Niven. “Dr. Archer Niven…you have come a long way to learn the secret of this valley, sir. Know then that you have reached the end of your journey.”
“You mean to kill me?”
“Not at all. In fact, you will probably be the only one I permit to live. Your knowledge will be of great use to me.” The Gray God looked at Harry. “You are Colonel Howlett.”
“I am. And you have my word as an officer of the United States Army that if you release us now, there will be no reprisals against you or your people.”
“But you cannot promise not to take my precious metal…I believe you have named it Zortium?”
“I’m authorized to negotiate adequate compensation for your metal. The United States government doesn’t steal.”
“The history of your country I have seen with my own eyes puts the lie to that statement, Colonel, but it does not matter. I reject any and all offers you or anybody else would bring to me. The metal is more valuable than anything you could offer.”
“Uh, just outta curiosity, pal…just what is the big deal with the Zortium anyway? And while we’re at it…what the hell is the deal with you?”
The Gray God turned those eerie, glowing golden eyes on Mark. “You must be the reporter. Ever the inquisitive mind at work, eh?”
“Well, since you’re planning on killing us anyway, I’d like to have my curiosity satisfied. Are you a mutation like these natives here?” In reality, Mark was trying to buy some much needed time. His mind furiously raced for a way out of this situation. He had no intention of allowing himself or his comrades to be murdered without putting up a fight. If necessary he would change into the Blazing Skull but he’d rather put that off as long as possible. Keeping the Gray God talking would go a long way toward that.
“My origins are stranger than you could ever hope to imagine, you little man. I was birthed in a land stranger and more savage than this one and I shall return there one day…perhaps soon. But this strange metal that has provided this valley with such power is in my hands now and I shall use it to carve an empire out of this wilderness.”
“Uh…how so?”
The Gray God seemed amused by Mark as he replied, “What you call Zortium is a metal that contains an abundance of star-born energy. You have seen the many towers built in this valley, but what you cannot see is that they have all been built not just with stone but with Zortium as well.”
“In essence, the towers act as huge siphons of a sort!” Dr. Niven said excitedly. “Pulling the energy of the Zortium up from the ground!”
“A simple way of looking at it, but the simple ways are the best I have found,” the Gray God acquiesced. He looked at Mark now. “And is your curiosity satisfied, little man?”
“Not really, but I guess that you–” Mark stopped. The Gray God was now examining him most strangely, his golden eyes burning even brighter.
“There is something not quite right about you,” the Gray God murmered. “There is something within you…”
“My mother used to say the very same thing,” Mark joked, trying to throw off all the attention that was now focused on him. “Said I had the devil in me, I was such an unholy cut up in school.” Damn! Somehow he can see the mystic energy inside of me! Who IS this guy?
“I must examine you closely.” The Gray God came nearer, his hand reaching out, the fingers twice as long as a normal human’s hand. Mark toppled over on his side, tried to wriggle backwards as that spidery hand came nearer, nearer…and then it was covering his face. Mark could only lie there, pinned as he felt an alien presence invading his mind, his very being. The psychic power of the Gray God wormed inside his brain, probing and prying, digging and excavating Mark’s most deeply guarded secret.
The Gray God’s eyes opened wider. “By the Black Pool! I know who you are now! I know WHAT you are! You–”
The Gray God never got to finish that sentence. He was interrupted by a series of explosions that came from both sides. The concussions knocked a dozen of the monster men off their feet and sent the rest scurrying for their weapons. Machine gun fire poured into the monster men, slamming hot lead into their thick, muscular bodies.
“Yahoo! It’s my boys!” Harry shouted jubilantly. “I knew they wouldn’t let me down!”
Soldiers exploded from the thick foliage, ruthlessly firing their weapons into the monster men, as well as their mates and their children. And the Americans stared in dismay as they saw the true nature of the soldiers.
“Holy cow! They’re Germans!” Sergeant Gorman.
The crack German troops were everywhere, their efficient pattern of laying down fire disorganizing the monster men, who weren’t exactly organized under the best of circumstances.
The Gray God extended his hand in the direction of the German troops and a golden burst of sheer concussive energy exploded from his palm. The energy ripped through the Germans, scattering them like ants caught in the path of a tornado. They screamed as their skin bubbled and liquefied.
“You dare! You DARE to invade my home and attack my people? You think to slay with impunity and not be slain in return?” Once again another golden ribbon of living energy burst from the hand of the Gray God. Limbs were torn from the bodies of the soldiers. Torsos broke open and organs spilled out, frying in the intense heat even as they poured out into the ground, splashing in the foaming blood.
Colonel Howlett, Dr. Niven and the American soldiers scrambled out of the way as best they could. “Damn!” Harry cried. “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time!”
Dr. Niven was working on his bonds with a piece of sharp stone he had rolled over onto, cutting painfully into his hand. He worked on his bonds furiously even though he couldn’t really see what he was doing. “Tell me, Colonel…when would be a good time for this to happen?”
“The noise’ll bring the battalion, sir!” Sergeant Gorman said. He had gotten his bound hands in front of him and withdrew a slim knife from a concealed sheath inside his boot. He worked hurriedly but calmly on cutting himself free. “They’ll be here in no time and then you’ll see a show!”
The Gray God stalked toward the German troops with no fear at all. Beams of power streaked from his hands alternately, devastating in their lethalness as they cut down the Germans as brutally as the Germans had cut down the monster men.
And then, a muscular form garbed in blood-red slammed into The Gray God, knocking him off his feet. The Gray God rolled in the dirt over and over as the Blazing Skull lifted his gloved fists in triumph. “You wanna come on and pick a fight with somebody who can really fight back?”
The Gray God got to his feet, ripped the crimson cloak from his shoulder and threw it away. His lips twisted in a knowing smile. “I see that you have abandoned your pose of humanity and taken on your true aspect.”
“Don’t get all philosophical on me, buddy. Right now we’ve got bigger problems to deal with. What say we team up to take down the krauts then we can hash out our beef-OOOOF!” Energy bolts shot from the Gray God’s golden glowing eyes to take the Blazing Skull full in the chest. The Gray God laughed as the Blazing Skull spun over and over in mid-air a dozen times before slamming into the ground.
“O-kaaaaaay…I see you want to do this the hard way. Fine!” The Blazing Skull leaped into the air in a tremendous bound that covered the sixty feet between him and his foe in seconds. He came down with both booted feet, smashing into the Gray God with enough force to have broken the back of an elephant. The impact drove the Gray God into the ground, digging a foot deep trench and he slid backwards, bowling over several fighting monster men and German soldiers.
Harry and his men had gotten loose by this time. “Blazing Skull!” Harry yelled. “C’mon, let’s make a run for it!”
The Blazing Skull waved at him to go on. “Go get the rest of the troops and come on back! I’ll handle this walking-AARGH!” The Blazing Skull convulsed as the Gray God’s eyebeams hit him in the back. He collapsed to his knees, agony flooding his body. He was just about damn near invulnerable but he still felt pain. A long time ago the Blazing Skull had learned the hard way that while he was invulnerable to just about anything mortal man could throw at him, mystical and magical attacks could seriously hurt him. But that worked both ways.
The Blazing Skull whipped around, the mystic flame wreathing his head bursting into fresh life as rage filled him with renewed energy. “You’re not the only one who can throw the heat, big boy!” His right fist pistoned forward. A massive wave of intense white-hot flame cascaded from that fist, totally engulfing the Gray God.
And for the first time that anybody in the valley known as the Soul of The Earth could remember…the Gray God SCREAMED.
Harry and his men were cut off from escaping by a group of German soldiers who had the advantage of having weapons while the Americans only had knives. The German shouted at them in English and in German to surrender. Harry looked around desperately. The Blazing Skull had his hands full with the Gray God so there was no help coming from there. Maybe if they ran back to-
The Germans soldiers fell as accurately placed rifle shots cut them down. As the rest whirled about to return fire, Colonel Howlett and the others quickly leaped upon them, fists landing accurately to take the remaining soldiers down.
Sergeant Gorman shouted ebulliently. “It’s our boys, Colonel! They musta heard the fightin’ and come a’running!”
Indeed, it was the rest of Howlett’s Battalion that poured into the valley, the roaring of their machine guns drawing out the shouts and curses of the Germans and the monster men. The valley was soon one huge mass of fighting, shooting, cursing men, all struggling desperately for their lives.
The Gray God burst from the storm of flame and charged the Blazing Skull, his stony skin glowed a cherry red from the intensity of the flame. Screaming in insane rage he battered the Blazing Skull with huge fists that drove the Blazing Skull backwards, taken completely by surprise by the ferocity of the attack. Despite his extraordinary skinny frame and musculature, the Gray God was a creature of astounding strength.
The Gray God kicked the Blazing Skull’s legs out from under him and the Blazing Skull hit the ground. Yowling in triumph, the Gray God seized the Blazing Skull’s right arm, placed a foot on the Blazing Skull’s chest and, with one tremendous yank, pulled the arm right out of the socket. He brandished the arm, waving it over his smoking head in savage glee.
The Blazing Skull came up from the ground with a haymaker that sent the Gray God flying up some twenty feet in the air. He dropped the arm as he went cartwheeling away.
Fizzing, hissing blood poured from that hideous wound as the Blazing Skull stumbled over to where his arm lay. He reached down for it and pressed the arm back into place. The supernatural energy coursing through his very cells took over, repairing torn tendons and shattered bone. The Blazing Skull fought against nausea and overwhelming waves of pain as he let the arcane power that infused his body do its work. In less than a minute the arm was back in place as if it had never been ripped loose.
The Gray God had had enough of battle. He levitated, rising up into the air toward his tower. The Blazing Skull ran toward the tower and the double iron doors. He laid hold of them and, with one mighty surge of power, ripped the doors right off their hinges with a scream of outraged metal. He threw the doors away, taking care that he threw them far enough away that they would not land on any of the fighting men. So intermixed were the Americans, Germans and monster men that if he had thrown the doors at the Germans or monster men it would have hit American soldiers.
The Blazing Skull raced up the curving stone staircase. He had no idea why the Gray God had abandoned the fight and retreated to the top of the tower but he had a feeling that it wasn’t good. The Blazing Skull’s tremendous speed carried him right through another metal door at the top of the stairs, his crossed arms like battering rams, shattering the door. The Blazing Skull shrugged metals shards from his brawny shoulders.
The Gray God alighted on the balcony and hissed, “Slay him, my faithful one!”
The Blazing Skull looked around for a monster man but to his utter surprise he saw Barbara Plainview pointing a staff at him…a staff that ended in a metal claw clutching a roughhewn sphere of a silvery white metal. Barbara extended the staff and an arc of jagged energy leaped from the sphere, licking out at the Blazing Skull.
I dunno what that is but I gotta feeling it wouldn’t be good for it to hit me! As if he were made out of rubber, the Blazing Skull bounded from the floor, hit the nearest wall with both feet and pushed off, streaking across the room as the arcs of energy flew around him, scoring hits of the walls, the floor and the ceiling but not touching him.
His good right fist cracked against Barbara’s jaw, sending her to the floor. The staff fell to the floor, the silvery sphere ringing musically.
The Blazing Skull tucked, rolled with an acrobatic skill one would not have suspected he possessed, and came to his feet, laying hold of the Gray God.
“It’s over, buddy! Whatever you’ve been doing here with these people, it’s over!”
The Gray God laughed and a ripple of power burst from his body, flinging the Blazing Skull away.
“Fool! Do you think I would surrender my people, my land and the power of the star metal so easily! Your power and skill are impressive but compared to mine it is as–”
The Blazing Skull snatched up the staff and again rolled like a circus tumbler. He jammed the staff against the Gray God’s chest and sent a blast of his mystical flame through the staff that amplified the power of the silvery sphere.
The Gray God was blasted right off the balcony by the force of the explosion. Outlined in a corona of fire, he arced up and out over the valley called the Soul of the Earth. His scream trailed behind him, so loud that the furiously fighting Americans, Germans and monster men stopped and looked up in awe at the flaming comet that was the once mighty Gray God as it continued its arcing flight out of the valley to land no one knew where.
“HEY! LISTEN UP!”
The hundreds of fighting men stopped and looked up at the frightening form that stood on the balcony of the tower. The fire around the skull crackled and leaped as if alive. The Blazing Skull snapped the staff in half and, with a burst of flame from both his hands, incinerated it.
“THE GRAY GOD IS NO MORE AND I’M THE ONE WHO GETS TO SAY WHAT GOES ON NOW! SO YOU BETTER LISTEN ‘CAUSE I’M ONLY GONNA SAY THIS ONCE AND THEM WHAT DON’T LISTEN GETS WHAT HE GOT!
“EVEYBODY LEAVES THIS VALLEY EXCEPT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE! I WANT THE GERMANS AND THE AMERICANS OUT OF HERE AND BACK IN THEIR BASES RIGHT NOW!”
There was total silence for maybe two minutes. And then, slowly, the two armies did indeed begin their withdrawal. The monster men sank to their knees in worshipful awe of the Blazing Skull who stood high above them on the home of their former god, fists on his hips. His visage was grim but his thoughts were quite different:
Well, I’ll be damned! That actually worked!
24 Hours Later
“So your troops couldn’t find any sign of the Gray God, huh?”
Mark Todd sat on the edge of Colonel Harry Howlett’s desk, his familiar easy grin on his face. The base was locked down as Harry was still concerned about reprisals from the Germans. But ever since they’d returned to the base there had been not so much as a peep out of them.
“Nope. They looked high and low but it’s as if he burned up. I don’t know what that Blazing Skull guy hit him with but it might as well have burned him up completely.” Harry looked at his old friend with amusement. “Speaking of the Blazing Skull, don’t worry, I won’t tell.”
Mark made his face blank. “Tell? Tell what? What’s to tell?”
“That you’re The Blazing Skull. I’m not stupid, Mark. You’re a guy who’s always in the middle of the action. During that whole time in the valley, you were conspicuous by your absence. Then when the Blazing Skull disappeared, you showed up.” Harry smiled. “But don’t worry. In this case, I think that the Army doesn’t have to know everything. And I owe you.”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about, pal.” But the wink Mark gave Harry contained a multitude of grateful thanks.
“Dr. Niven is back in the valley and he’s already ecstatic about the possibilities of Zortium,” Harry continued. “Barbara’s with him as well.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? That Gray God may have done a number on her head.”
Harry shrugged. “She claims she doesn’t remember anything from the time she was kidnapped to when she woke up back here at the base. She was cleared by the medic and Dr. Niven insisted she come back to the valley with him.”
“And the people of the valley?”
Harry shook his head ruefully. “They’re gone. Vanished. Packed up their stuff and simply left. The tracks they left indicated they headed east, deeper into the valley. Maybe they left to find a new home with a new god.”
“You’ve become awfully philosophical all of a sudden, pal.”
“Considering everything that’s happened the past couple of days aren’t you?”
Mark let that grin slowly return to his face. “More things in heaven and earth, pal…more things in heaven and earth…”
He slogged through the jungle, his limbs trembling with weariness and fatigue. The mystic flame of the Blazing Skull combined with the energy of the Zortium sphere had ripped through his very cells, sapping much of his vitality. It would return for that was the nature of the being he was now but at this moment he was simply too weak to fight and regain the Soul of the Earth and the star metal buried there. But he would regain his power and continue his lonely trek across the world to return home.
And one day, Garokk the Petrified Man would rule not only the Savage Land but the world as well.
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The End...
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