The ambulance stopped and I heard every dog in the neighborhood howling. I should be feeling safe. I should be feeling comfort that Natalie was getting the help she needed. I glanced at the Doc Edmunds checking the fluids and patching her up. I could hear the soft rumble of his voice and he squeezed her hand. She smiled.
But the sound outside kept drawing my attention. Apparently every dog in the area was out and upset about something. I recognized it as a cry of danger. It was a warning howl. I felt a mish-mash of emotions, fear, anger, excitement all racing through me. It was as if they could something that they could smell was setting them off and my stomach dropped. I felt a wave of fear and nausea wash over me. I desperately scratched at the door trying to catch the latch.
Arlene noticed my struggles and popped the back door open for me. Just then the combines thundered once again to life. I jumped out the back of the ambulance and looked back at the field. My vision was swimming a little bit. The combines had just now begun to move and I couldn't see across the derby field because of the dust and exhaust smoke. I searched the stands, but most of the people seemed to be looking down near where we had crashed through the fence.
Some of the people on the hillside were shading their eyes and getting to their feet. I saw some children pointing at something, but I couldn't see anything.
"What now?!?" I heard Shiny Teeth say on the PA before the microphone cutoff.
Suddenly the combines cleared and I saw what the people in the stands were looking at. Two of the silent black ATV's were parked outside of where we had crashed through the fence, what scared me the most were the three Mazikim skittering over the wreckage of the truck like cockroaches. The way they moved didn't seem right, like some strange cross between human and insect. Sheriff Green was walking back towards the bronco with his head cocked to the side his hand resting on his holstered pistol. I could only guess at his expression.
The speakers blared again with the booming voice of Shiny Teeth, "Warning combine drivers we are again under the YELLOW Caution Flag! Caution, Yellow Flag."
The dogs in the audience were still howling up a storm, the combines rutting with badly tuned engines, and over all of it, I imagined I could hear the heavy footfalls of the sheriff as he neared the Mazikim. He raised his hand I couldn't tell if it was greeting or a command. A collie dog broke free from his master and bounded through the slats in the fence and headed straight for the Mazikim barking the whole way. The sheriff saw the dog and made a face.
The next few moments seemed to happen so slowly as if the spinning of the earth had rumbled to a stop. One of the Mazikim's heads swiveled and in one smooth moment it stood and it's arm extended out with a weapon of some sort. The end flashed and the collie spun in the air mid-bark, hitting the ground dead. There was a momentary pause as time returned to normal.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd. And then a weird silence as all the dogs stopped at once - as if they were somehow shot as well. The Sheriff pulled out his gun and yelled something, running towards the Mazikim.
The Mazikim on top of the car jumped into the air towards the Sheriff. The sheriff began firing at the airborne Mazikim striking him at least once. The airborne Mazikim drew a sword and sliced the sheriff in two with a downward stroke as it landed onto one knee in the freshly turned mud of the ring.
Suddenly the there was what sounded like machine gun fire coming from the crowd. The Mazikim were jerking with the combined force from being pelted with bullets. One bullet shot true and found a chink in the armor because one Mazikim spun to the ground spraying blood from it's neck.
The Mazikim aimed at the crowd and began firing.
The combines roared, the Mazikim didn't recognize the threat until too late and one was crushed in the combines arm. The other Mazikim hopped the combines front arm and blew a hole in the glass and splattering the top half of the driver over the intact two side windows.
The crowd was in an uproar. Men and women yelling, children screaming and dogs once again barking their warnings. Men and women taking firing positions behind fence posts and bales of hay continuing to return fire on the Mazikim. Others herding the children away. The last Mazikim was taken down in the hail of bullets, it's face mask shattering and gouting dark blood. I heard the deep rumble of an approaching plane. And two more Mazikim on ATV's jumped the fence on the far side of the ring. They were already returning fire at the crowd in mid-air. Doc Edmunds was racing into the crowd with bag in hand.
Arlene wrapped her arm around my neck. "C'mon" she yelled into my ear, "We've got to go!" I turned and ran for the Ambulance. I hopped inside ahead of Arlene. The moment she stepped on the bumper the ambulance lurched forward, scrambling Arlene fell forward on top of me tearing the skin from her elbow.
The EMT in the back was yelling "Go! Go! GO!" and trying to hold onto Natalie and her fluids. We drove away just ahead of the tide of people heading out of the stands and off the hillside. The door on the back of the ambulance banged crazily. I glanced back to see more people hunkering down behind trees and returning fire.
Then I heard what sounded like a cross between an eleven year old trying to belch the alphabet and a semi truck air horn and the sky in the ring filled up with streaks of flame and flying dirt. And then there was smoke everywhere - we turned a corner and the back door slammed shut with a click.
"Holy fuck!?! What was that?" the ambulance driver yelled.
"That was the angel of death reaping souls for hell! Haven't heard that shit since Iraq. But you never forget the sound of those death machines." The EMT was white as a sheet and sweating.
"Should we go back? See if anybody needs our help?" the driver wondered fearfully.
"No" The EMT swallowed and turned back to Natalie, "They're all dead anyway. Code 3 to Lewiston - we gotta get her to a real hospital... And you can damn well bet your ass, I'll be calling my congressman and senator to ask exactly why the fuck the military is operating on American soil in direct violation of the Constitution."
"I don't know why you waste your time with that shit. It never makes a difference, they'll just do whatever they want to anyway. But go ahead, you write your letters and they'll just round file it. And it just gets you on their naughty list, get far enough up on that shit list and they'll round file you too."
"And it's apathy just like yours, that makes sure it won't make a difference." He said to us conspiratorially with a crooked smile. "Just drive will you," He yelled at the driver.
"I would, but we got some cop behind us with his lights on. And I can tell from the way he waving his gun out the window that he wants us to stop."
"What the fuck are you talking about?!?" The EMT handed a bandage to Arlene for her elbow and hunch walked to the back to look out the windows as Arlene and I slid to the rear. Sure enough, there was a cop car full lights and sirens, with a gun waving out the window. I hadn't heard it over the Ambulance's sirens. My stomach tensed involuntarily. "Just pull the fuck over, we don't need some shit for brains cop shooting out our tires. And call this in - now!"
We pulled to the shoulder the gravel crunching on a small turnout on the two lane highway. The moment we stopped the EMT was out the back door and striding towards the cop car.
