Zen's War: Captivity

The Colonel tried to grab the spear as it was thrust forward at him. He managed to push the spear aside, but the point of the spear sliced the palm of his hand. Hector immediately grabbed the Nocturne from behind, trying to pin his arms behind his back. Keeping his arms pinned behind his back was quite a struggle. Nocturnes were extremely muscular. Physically they were extremely well-developed. This one was no exception. Hector was no weakling himself, but he still was met with much resistance. Eventually Hector was able to cause the Nocturne to drop the spear.

In the struggle Colonel Krakowski had dropped his shotgun on the ground. Pablo had then come forward and picked it up off the ground. The shotgun was already loaded. When the spear fell to the ground, and Hector had released the Nocturne, Pablo cocked the shotgun and fired it at point-blank range at the forehead of the Nocturne. This was a completely unexpected event. Pablo, who had seemed so passive, had suddenly become a man of action. Flesh, bone, and sinew had been dispersed around the immediate vicinity of the Nocturne. The face of the Nocturne had been rendered completely unrecognizable. A golf ball sized hole had been blown through his forehead. The majority of the damage was inflicted on the back of the skull. The Nocturne staggered towards Pablo, gasped for breath once, and fell to his knees. The Nocturne fell from his knees face first, leaving him lying face down in a puddle of his own blood and gray matter.

Without saying a word, Pablo handed the shotgun back to its rightful owner. The rest of the group looked dumbfounded down what had just occurred. None had expected Pablo’s sudden reaction. Derek and Hector, who had never seen someone killed, let alone in such a gruesome manner, were the most shocked of all.

Zen held the kerosene lamp up to the body of the Nocturne. He was fascinated by the tattoos on the Nocturne’s body. One of the tattoos on the Nocturne’s arm was a blood red Crescent Moon. He assumed that the designs of the tattoos had some spiritual meaning.

“We don’t have time to do anthropological research. We need to get to the Presidio before sunrise. Otherwise, we’ll be caught by Revolutionarios for sure,” Aurora suggested.

“She’s right. We don’t have time to worry about these savages,” Colonel Krakowski agreed.

“And another thing, what about your hand? Shouldn’t we wrap it to stop the bleeding?”Aurora asked, sounding concerned.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s only a scratch,” the Colonel answered, not wanting to show weakness.

“Suit yourself,” she responded.

They then continued onward, being within half a mile of the Presidio. Zen realized that the drumming he had heard, had probably only been the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. The moon continued to cast its eerie light. As they approached the Presidio, which they now could make out from where they were, the Colonel began to act strange. He began to stumble slightly. At first Zen was not concerned, thinking it to be an effect of the stress he had just undergone. As time wore on he began to walk more and more erratically.

“Are you alright?” Zen asked.

“Never felt better,” the Colonel responded, sarcastically.

“Well, you look like crap,” Zen responded.

The Colonel’s face began to look quite pale, which was not a good sign. They were dependent on his help, in order to hotwire the car they were planning on stealing. That was of course if there was even a car that would run. Just as these thoughts raced through Zen’s mind, Colonel Krakowski collapsed on the ground and turned over on his side. Foam began to bubble from his mouth. He then began to thrash violently. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. All were confused as to what the cause of his reaction was.

Aurora was the first to respond. “What’s wrong with him?” She asked, her eyes wide with fear.

“I don’t have a clue. It seems like it began after he was cut by the Nocturne’s spear,” Zen answered.

“Maybe there was some kind of poison on the point of the spear,” Derek suggested.

“Regardless of what it is, we need to do something, and quick. He doesn’t look so good,” Aurora said.

Pablo suddenly chimed in with his opinion. “There are many stories and legends about the Nocturnes. Some say that they use the poison secreted by the Colorado River toad on the tips of their spears. The only thing that may help him, may be to take him to a shaman. Once I had a dog that licked one. Immediately I rinsed out of his mouth with about a half gallon of water. This was adequate to save my dog. The Colonel’s case is different. The neurotoxin has gone directly to his bloodstream. Flushing his mouth with water will have no affect on the poison. His recovery is up to powers beyond the physical world.”