"Take off his shirt" Mark suggested, "Yeah, let's see what he looks like, Mark, get my scissors from the top of my desk.
The scissors were a Stainless Steel long sheer of about six inches, it's end came to a sharp and shiny point, not like the soft edged blunt kind Mike had in his room. Mike handed the scissors to Aaron, point outward. Aaron grabbed them, and then turned his attention back to the figure in his grip. The bed spring had torn a gash down the side of the figure. Through the torn shirt blood oozed, but the figure seemed not to pay attention to it. Aaron savored the feel of the captive in his grip. Warm and solid, yet fragile.
The soldiers arms were pinned by the grasp of what seemed to be a colossus. The soldier knew he was dead, such things do not happen in reality, He was dead and now his courage was being tested by the judges of honor. Under such impossible conditions he would show his warrior concentration by not losing his mind and panicking, as any peasant might, but by fighting and winning. He snarled in rage as he saw the colossus grasp what he imagined would be the method of his destruction; A blade taller than he was, no it was impossibly large scissors. If only he could squirm free of the clamp like grip of the giant.
"Look at that" said Randy, "he saw the scissors and started to panic, he went in his pants"
"He did not" said Mark , watching the struggling figure, who looked more angry than scared. Aaron drew the blade deliberately in front of the chest of the scowling prisoner. He spread the blades bit by bit slowly, holding it first between one of the dangling legs, and then bringing it up to the neck.
"I could cut your ugly head off in a second." Aaron said, menacingly, holding the figure before his face, "just don't make me mad, and I'll make it easy on you." The figure spit at Aaron's face, in defiance.
"Oh man, he's asking for it" said Randy , Mark giggled. Aaron was so surprised, he almost dropped the soldier, then he wrinkled his brow and squeezed a bit harder.
"Did you understand what I said" questioned Aaron, "do you know English?" No answer, but the soldier showed his teeth in a growl of contempt. Aaron opened the points, and stuck the crux of the blades up to the soldiers neck. The thick metal at the base of the blade was like a harness sitting heavily over both of the captives shoulders. The blades pinched his neck. His Carotid arteries were bulging.
"Off with his head" said Mark.
"Put him out of his misery" said Randy.
An unwanted image of the helpless squirrel flashed in Aaron's mind, he withdrew the blade from the neck of the undaunted captive. Loosening up his grip a bit, he slid the round edge of the blade, up the front of the prisoners shirt, the metal pressed coldly against the soldiers skin, damp with sweat, the tip of the blade was inside his shirt, and sliding up towards his neck. The prisoner looked down at the approching point. With a slow deliberate snip, the shirt was opened from the front. The soldier was as muscular as Aaron had imagined. Nothing but muscle.
"I'm going to loosen up my grip, to get your shirt off" said Aaron, addressing the hostage, he set down the scissors.
"Hey, take off his pants too" Mike chimed in, "lets see his wiener! " Randy slapped Mikes shoulder playfully, and said "you're goofy". Mike giggled more. His older brother had saved him, and now everything was under control again, and this was the best game ever!.
The soldier was looking for an opportunity, a moment to do the unexpected, and this was the time, the monster was letting loose it's grip. He would go to glory, but he must use the moment well. He glanced around the room. The landscape was alien, it was a vast space, filled with square mountains, that in the far distance resembled storage areas. Tricks of perception or just an environment created by these demons, to torment him. He would not be shamed, but he had no weapons, just his wild animal determination to do damage to the enemy on behalf of his emperor.
Aaron was pulling the remains of the shirt off the left arm of the fighter. The skin was drenched and the color of ochre, the muscles rippled across the chest and abdomen of the captive, The cut from the spring, started below the right shoulder blade, and extended down to the waist, in some places the blood had already dried. Aaron decided that he would remove the pants, once the shirt was off. He wasn't going to do it for the goofy reason Mark suggested, he just wanted to see if the soldier had any wounds on his legs. Randy and Mark crowded up close, and watched intently as Aaron continued.
"I don't think that he could.." Aaron started to say, the figure was finally able to slip out of the iron grip, and with a lunge, he charged the huge hand before him, going for the exposed weak spot, and with nothing more than his teeth, he grabbed a mouth-full of the fleshy tissue between Aaron's thumb and his index figure.
"Ow Ow Oww!" cried Aaron, surprised first, than hurt. The bite was like that of a spider, Aaron shook his hand trying to dislodge the fighter, who only clenched his grip, and held on tighter.
"Dammit, now I am mad" said Aaron, as he brought his free hand up to pull the soldier from his grip. "Let go of my hand, Let go of my hand now!" pulling the soldiers head away, between his thumb and knuckle, he felt the head start to crack, like a peanut shell under a light grip. The fighter maintained his grip, taking a mouthful of the giants skin, and even drawing blood.
"I oughta squash your head! your dead now!" said Aaron, truly furious at this defiant little moving toy. Blood flowed freely from the nose of the doomed soldier.
"I was going to kill you quickly, but now I will have some fun with you"
"Yeah" said Randy, "what are you going to do?" Asked Mark. Aaron picked up the sheers again, and holding the captive roughly, slid the point of the scissors under the belt and down toward the pants leg. The garment was sliced cleanly and peeled off. Consciousness was fading, as was his energy. The fighter was mortally wounded with a broken skull, and come what would, he fought well.
"Doesn't look like he's going to fight anymore" said Randy, see if he can stand up. The soldier felt himself being set down, and groggily held his balance, He was stripped down to his boxer shorts. He was forgetting who he was, his family beckoned him from the gazebo by the wharf. The giants came in and out of view. In his blur he decided that as a last act of defiance would be to commit hari kari by insulting the captors. They by honor alone, would have to quickly kill him.
"Take off his undies"
"You're goofy Mark" Randy said, in unspoken agreement. Once more the huge blade slipped beneath the garment.
"Ewww," said the boys in unison.
"He looks different!" Mark observed, The captive spread his feet slightly apart and emptied his bladder, on the giants hand, Aaron jerked it away as the figure collapsed.
"You don't get off so easy" Aaron growled, "Randy, get that piece of cardboard, over there and bring to me. The cardboard was a broken shoe box, lying by the closet door, a casualty of the action.
"Mike" I want you to step on this naked runt, but you gotta do it slowly, and like I tell you, OK?"
"Alright!" was the enthusiastic reply. The flattened box, was placed on the desk, which was cleared quickly.
"Get up on the desk" Aaron commanded his brother, who climbed up first on the chair, then on to the broad surface. He stood there, the broken box by his feet. The soldier was rolled onto the cardboard.
"That's so it won't make too much of a mess, and it will be easy to clean up" Aaron explained. Randy pulled up a chair,
"I wanna see this, hey, do you think we should call up Stu?"
"No, not this time, but later maybe" Randy nodded,
"but don't tell Buzz, not yet, not a word."
The figure was rolled up to Marks bare foot. He doesn't look so scary now, does he?
"Put your foot over his belly" Mark gained his balance, standing on the desk top, way up off the floor, Mark lifted his right foot and brought it over and covered the middle part of the little man, with the ball of his foot. The figure raised his arms, lying on his back, to fend off the huge object.
"now lower your foot slowly, just touching him, but don't moosh him"
"Look, he's squiggling now" Randy said in delight, lowering his head eye level with the desk top, to get a better view. Mark applied just slight pressure, and the muscles compressed under the weight.
"His thingy looks funny" Mark noted, as the two legs stuck out from under his foot.
"now, lift up your foot, and place your toe over his head, then lower it slowly" the shape of the skull flattened just a tiny bit, as the captive lost consciousness. The body convulsed.
"Can I do it now" asked Mark unable to contain his excitement.
"Now, put your foot over his head and his belly at the same time, and slowly smoosh him, the way Mom puts out her cigarettes. But do it slowly"
Mark puffed up his chest, he stood gigantic over the little man. He was in his undies, and was very excited . Slowley he bore down his weight on the squirming figure.. A spray of blood erupted from the figures chest and head, as the ribs cracked and the skull gave way, spraying a pinker substance, mixed with flecks of white and red. Blood spurted up through Marks toes, and painted a red spatter across the cardboard. The legs kicked up in helpless reaction, as the stomach and intestines , gray green in color, broke out from the shattering carcass with a pop, it was like a toothpaste tube filled with hamburger meat. Spaghetti. Mark, using all the control he had, slowly increased the pressure of his foot, The figure now felt slippery and sharp in places, beneath his foot, like a snail shell giving in. Mark just wanted to crush it more, and grind it into the hard desktop.
"lift up your foot a little, I want to see what he looks like" Randy said, fascinated and incredibly excited by the scene before him. The mangled body could hardly be recognized as human anymore. Except for the uncrushed legs and a lower torso ending in a bloody mush, where the stomach would have been. The head was a soft mass of red and white and gray, it looked like one of the eyeballs was pushed over to one side next to the ear. It looked disgusting.
"Ewww, finish the job off, and then throw the junk away." Mark smashed the legs, and satisfied, he placed his heel where the head had been, and brought it down grinding hard.
"You better hop in the shower now" Aaron commanded, wash yourself off good, Randy and me have a lot of clean up to do."
"What about the other guy? There were five, and we only got four, remember?" Aaron glanced at Randy, "We will find the other guy when we clean this place up, Jeez, it's never been such a mess, you get into the shower, now!, Mom could be home anytime"
While cleaning, a movement on the bookshelf caught Randy's eye. It was the fifth soldier. Standing in plain view, with a white cloth, dangling flag like, from his down turned rifle.
"He's giving up" gasped Aaron, "we just can't kill him now" From outside, the sound of a car entering the driveway.
"Let's put him back in the cupboard until we decide what to do with him" Randy suggested. Aaron quckly grasped the tiny figure, who didn't struggle, and he placed it onto a shelf in the cupboard, the doors were shut, and Aaron locked it, just to be sure the soldier wouldn't try to escape.
Downstairs the key clicked in the Kitchen entrance, Mom was home, though his room was better then at the height of the battle, it was still a mess. A funny thought occurred to him as he spoke it to Randy, his Mom would likely say that his room looked like a war zone.
next Chapter, Meet Mr Hitler