Shadows of Sorrow
What you're about to read is a story I wrote roughly a few years ago when I was still in the army. Since I'm currently busy with work, school, and preparing for the baby, I don't have a whole lot of time to write. This I actually discovered by complete accident while backing up my computer. This is one of my earlier works so, enjoy.
Chapter 1
Silent Running
The rain was pouring hard on that frigid, dark winter's night in northern Montana. The wind blew strong throughout the whistle giving its slow high pitched whistling sound like death's piccolo. It poured and pounded on the cold, hard asphalt highway while the thick fog blanked the drops in the sleepless night. The only light was the occasional lighting striking down from the heavens like spears. The nearby forest was silent as a grave but full of activity. The rolling thunder was mixed with the howling of the wolves and the hooting of the owls filling the night with their demented song. The dripping of the rains drops got heavier as the storm rolled on. On the lonely ghostly highway, suddenly came running of a young man. His name was Jared Raize Kennedy. He was twenty-seven years of age and rather handsome with long greasy black hair that was dampened by the rain and crystal blue eyes that practically glowed in the darkness. He also had a thick five o'clock shadow whiskers on his chin. He was pretty well fit despite being on the run for several days. He wore a dark camouflaged U.S. army jacket with an American flag badge stamped on the right shoulder. He had black combat gloves on his hands. He had a matching pair of pants and combat boots. He also was carrying a standard issue U.S. army backpack. On his left leg he had a sheath which carried a large Gerber Mark 2 military knife and on his right thigh he had a pistol holster buckled to his pants. The holster contained a Kimber Custom .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. His pistol also had a flashlight attached under the barrel. Also attached to his backpack was a large sheath which carried a huge machete. From a regular stand point, he looked like an average Caucasian American with a little bit of Lakota Native American blood. This was true on his father's side of the family. Jared was born in Denver, Colorado. He joined the U.S. Army right out of high school and was so good that he passed Ranger training and became a ranger in the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment when he was only eighteen and would serve several combat tours in Afghanistan and North Korea. He would remain a ranger until he turned twenty-five. But what most people didn't know was that he was part lycan from his mother's side. Very few people knew about his "heritance" and he preferred to keep it that way. Because of this, he had very quick reflexes and great flexibility of his muscles. He also had very keen senses of smell and hearing. Even though he had the ability to transform into a wolf, he preferred his human side more. But he still had his keen senses and quick reflexes even as a human. He was panting like a dog from exhaustion for he had been running for several miles without stopping. His quick sprint turned to a slow jog until he stopped completely close to some steel rails on the highway. He leaned forward in pain and exhaustion. His panted heavily and he took in several breaths of the cold harsh air. After a few seconds of deep breathing, he looked up to see if his pursuers were still after him. It was extremely difficult to see in the dense fog and the pounding rain as the storm was blowing. Jared looked all around his environment for any signs of shelter. There was a forest nearby with thick trees and fauna. But he didn't know the layout and his chances of getting lost where too great. But Jared really needed to find shelter and fast for he was shivering from the cold and he was wet from the rain. Suddenly his nose tickled and burned as a very violent sneeze popped out of his mouth. A cold was coming on. His stomach was also growling with hunger for he hadn't eaten anything for several days and his sides where cramped from the point of running. He had always been pretty strong and he past SERE training at the top, but he was reaching his breaking point. He had a little water with him but that was starting to run out. He decided to walk down the highway a little further hoping to find a directional sign pointing him to a nearby town or convenience store. He walked in the pouring rain occasionally sneezing violently. Every step took a lot of his used up energy. He was exhausted and lost. Overcome with weakness, he dropped to his feet and sat down on the edge of the highway. By now he was soaking wet and covered with mud and dirt. The storm showed little signs of stopping any time soon. Jared knew in the back of his mind he had to keep on moving though. He was violently shivering and he couldn't keep warm. He knew through SERE training that this was an early sign of hypothermia. Contrary to what the average human believe, lycans are not immortal. They can die and be killed through conventional means and it didn't require silver to kill them. A regular bullet would do just fine and exposure to the elements was no exception. Jared knew that if he didn't find shelter soon, he would freeze to death. He sat still to gather his thoughts. He had remembered seeing a sign pointing to a nearby town. If only he could remember what it said. But as he gathered his train of thought, he heard something in the distant wind. A normal human wouldn't be able to hear it through all the wind and thunder but his lycan senses caught it. It sounded like a loud whirling sound with increased wind pick up.
"Oh this is just fucking great!" Jared signed through frustration. Even through frustration however, his voice was calm and soothing. Even if he was cussing his mouth off.
Suddenly a bright flash of light flooded his proximity. The whirling sound was even louder through the shining light. Squinting, Jared jumped to his feet and looked up to see a the origin of the light was coming from the nose of a medium sized helicopter. Shining on the sides of the helicopter was the logo for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The helicopter was flying so low that Jared had to fight to keep the up draft from knocking him off his feet. It whirled through the pouring rain and its blades chopped through the gusting wind. Jared then heard a loud buzz of static coming from the helicopter's built in megaphone.
"JARED R. KENNEDY!" the pilot yelled through the speaker, "THERE IS NO ESCAPE! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND LIE ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!"
Normally any ordinary criminal would surrender to the FBI right there on the spot. But Jared was no ordinary criminal. In fact he wasn't even a criminal.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS I'm innocent!" Jared roared back. A little bit of his lycan side showed through the sound of his voice.
Pretty pointless though. Jared knew that the FBI wouldn't listen to him. No one would.
"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" the FBI pilot yelled through the loud megaphone.
Jared froze in the silhouette of the search light. Just then he heard the sounds of police sirens in the distance. The sirens were coming closer and closer until eventually Jared saw the flashing red and blue lights of the Montana State Patrol police cars. Jared had to act fast! His heart was beating as the adrenaline soared through his body. He sprinted to his feet and ran to the edge of the highway's cliff. The cliff wasn't very steep and he could easily roll down with little to no injury. Just as the police cruisers got close enough and came to a stop, Jared positioned his body to a bracing position and rolled down the cliff. Not a very pleasant experience though as the cliff was still very rocky and the rolling feeling was making him fill nauseous. He finally came to a halt as he reached the bottom of the cliff. Dizzy and disoriented, Jared staggered to his feet and looked up the cliff. The helicopter was moving and hovering to face Jared while the two highway patrolmen ran toward the edge of the highways steel cliff rail pulling out their Glock pistols and pointing them at him.
"Put your hands up!" one of them shouted in the howling wind.
Jared didn't even hesitate as he quickly took off toward the forest. He hoped to lose them in the trees and the fog.
"Open fire!" one of the patrolman shouted.
Soon Jared started hearing small pops as the patrolmen fired their pistols at him. He heard the small whizzing sound as the nine millimeter parabellum rounds zipped past him and struck the soft mud at his feet. Fortunately because the heavy rain made the mud very soft, the bullets didn't ricochet. Jared desperately tried to sprint away in a very erratic pattern to make him less likely to be hit. The bullets kept flying as he made it into the forest through the thick brush. The bullets eventually stopped and Jared knew that the patrolman had run out. But he had to be quick as he knew that they would soon reload and would open fire again. However, he was already through the really thick brush of the forest and he couldn't see the patrolmen. He continued to head deeper into the forest. Just then the helicopter appeared over the trees and shined its searchlight on him filling his proximity with light again. Jared put his hand up to his eyes to cover them from the blinding light. Just then he heard a very loud crack coming from the helicopter and a loud whizzing sound as a bullet narrowly missed his head and struck the tree behind him. Jared immediately knew that they weren't bullshitting around this time! Judging by the loud crack the rifle made it sounded like a fairly large caliber sniper rifle, probably a 30-06 but Jared couldn't tell for the helicopter was covered by the trees. He continued to run as fast as he could through the forest jumping through brush and dead logs. Occasionally he would hear another loud crack from the helicopter's sniper. The bullets would whizz by and strike the ground below his feet. Jared was experiencing a huge adrenaline rush. His lycan reflexes took over as he dodged every obstacle the forest had to offer. The trees got thicker and thicker and sooner or later the helicopter was nowhere to be seen. Jared breathed a big sigh of relief. While he was still very cautious and would glance at the sky every now and then to check for the helicopter, he was calmed down and not worried. However, the storm was still raging and he was still freezing. The adrenaline in his system was wearing down and he was starting to feel incredibly tired. He continued to march on through the thick woods. Fortunately, the trees were blocking some of the rain and the storm scared most of the dangerous animals he might encounter along the way. He was on his own now. Tired and out of breath he sat down on a dead tree hunch to get some rest. His breathing was very heavy and his legs were throbbing with pain. But he had to suck it up. Until he found the truth, this was going to be his life. Until he found his father, he would be on the move. Everyone was after him. The local and state police departments, the FBI (obviously), and even the United States government was after him. This wasn't his first close call, and it wouldn't be his last. Jared gave another deep sigh.
Am I forced to live like this for the rest of my life he thought to himself.
He began to recall his life.
As far as Jared could remember his life got messed all up when his mother mysteriously left him and his father when he was seven years old. His father was heartbroken and Jared was stricken with grief. She didn't even kiss him goodbye the night before she left while he was asleep. The next morning she was just gone. Her clothes were gone, her car was gone, she just took off. All she did was leave a note on the refrigerator door apologizing for her leaving. Jared at first thought she would return but after several days and no sign of her appearance it became clear to him that she wasn't coming back. All Jared remembered about that day was nothing but misery. That was very odd of her because a lot of memories he had of his mother were pleasant. She was a very beautiful woman. She was kind and very caring to Jared. He had memories of her singing him to sleep when he was a baby. She drove him to his very first day of school when he was five. He also remembered that one time when he was seven and he caught tuberculosis. He was sick in bed for over a week straight. She stayed by his bedside every night feeding him his medicine and singing him to sleep. Not only that but his parents got along very well together. His mother and father almost never fought with one and other but when they did, after an hour or two they had kissed and made up. They were a very happy couple and both did their share of raising Jared when he was a kid. It bothered his head. Why would his mother leave him and his father when she was leaving such a good life. But thankfully his father was around for a little longer. His father was very kind to him but also very stern when it came to discipline. Right away his father taught him right from wrong and he always took Jared on hunting and fishing trips every year in Alaska, call it a family tradition. Despite his father also being like a best friend Jared never actually did know what his father did for a living. He never talked to the young Jared about what he did. Jared had known that his father had served in the army but that was all he knew. His father always kept to himself and often would never share too many private stories with him.
"FREEZE!" a loud female voiced shouted waking Jared from his train of thought.
Jared immediately stood up and put his hands in the air. He then proceeded to turn around and get a good look at his capture. It was just the last person he wanted to see. The policewomen who was after him since day one. Her name was Jenna Redfield. She was a fairly attractive thirty year old with long brunette hair that was wrapped up in a ponytail. She had brown eyes and a very masculine face for a women. Her skin was a darker color than Jared's and Jared had assumed that she must have part African American but he never really asked her. She was wearing a dark blue police uniform with a platinum FBI badge shining on the left bosom of her jacket. She was also wearing black gloves and sliming police blue pants. On her head she had an FBI police cap. She also had a taser, a bottle of pepper spray, a walkie talkie, a couple spare clips for her gun, and a couple pairs of handcuffs strapped to her belt. In her hand, Jared was staring down the barrel of a Sig Saur P226 nine millimeter. There was also another officer behind her, however he was dressed in more SWAT-like attire. He wore a very bulky looking Kevlar vest with the large acronym SRT printed on the chest. He too had an FBI badge on his chest. He was also wearing knee and shoulder padding on his arms and legs. There was a communicator wire going from his helmet to his belt where a P226 was resting in its holster. The heavy rain drops were splashing and dripping off his tactical helmet. Jared couldn't really get a good look at his face for he was wearing a balaclava over his face but judging by his physique and the way he talked he sounded like he was in his thirties. In his arms he was holding a Bushmaster M4 carbine.
"Long time no see Officer Redfield," Jared said with a smirk.
Jenna was not impressed.
"Don't start using your boyish charms on me!" she yelled clutching her pistol tighter "we've been chasing you for far too long! Now put your hands behind your had and lie down!"
Jared was not impressed with her. He noticed that even though she was a professional federal agent, she really failed in the combat department. For one thing she was shaking the pistol noticeably and she looked a little hesitate. Jared tried to use this to his advantage.
"Or what? You'll get your personal bouncer to shoot me with his cheap air soft rifle?" Jared sneered.
The SRT guy jerked his arms up at this remark but Jenna calmed him down.
"Easy there," she told him.
The SRT guy still didn't lower his weapon though. He kept it aimed at Jared's head waiting to pull the trigger in case he tried anything stupid.
"Enough with the small talk!" Jenna demanded as she cocked her pistol "you're coming with us dead or alive! Pick your choice!"
Jared knew he was in a pickle. He was outnumbered and outgunned. What other choice did he have. He put his hands in the air and stood his ground.
"Okay, you've got me," he said.
Jenna, still pointing her pistol at him, carefully approached him. She was very cautious as she had been tracking Jared for over two years and she knew what he was capable of. She carefully removed a pair of hand cuffs from her belt and prepared to cuff Jared up. She tiptoed to him holding her gun at his face while carefully opening the cuffs. The SRT guy without removing his hand from his M4's trigger, he turned on a communicator.
"Alpha One to Bravo Two," he said into the communicator "suspect is in custody repeat suspect is in custody."
Jenna finally approached Jared and grabbed one of his arms. She immediately took one end of the cuffs and closed it around his wrist real tightly.
"After several close calls, we've finally got you," Jenna snickered as she prepared to cuff Jared's other arm.
Jared was disappointed. He knew what was coming for him now. He had to find a way to escape he just had to. Suddenly a loud crack broke the silence as a bright flash of lightning temporarily flooded the area with light. The flash caused Jenna and her SRT partner to flinch. That was just what Jared needed. Within a fraction of a second, Jared kicked the Sig Saur out of Jenna 's hand then followed up with another kick to her chest.. The pistol went flying through the air and hit against a nearby tree. Luckily it didn't discharge. Jenna also dropped the handcuffs and fell on her butt on the soft dampened ground. What Jenna and her partner failed to remember was that when Jared was in the Rangers, he learned tae-kwon-do, CQD, and Israeli jujutsu known as Krav Maga. Jenna's partner immediately raised his Bushmaster rifle which Jared quickly responded to. He knocked the rifle to the side then bashed him in the chin with his elbow. The SRT guy dropped to the ground instantly. In the process his finger accidentally squeezed the trigger of his Bushmaster. Fortunately the rifle's barrel was pointing to the sky shattering the rainy air with lead. Jared wasted no more time and immediately took off deeper into the woods. Jenna immediately got her feet and quickly reclaimed her P226. She also check her partner. He was dazed but he quickly recovered.
"Come on! He's getting away!" she shouted to him.
Her partner quickly reloaded his emptied Bushmaster and quickly joined Jenna in the pursuit. Jared had already gotten a good head start but the storm was still raging and he was still very exhausted. He ran for several more yards until he came across another cliff. This was a little steep and at the bottom was the river. During SERE training, Jared learned how to tell if the water was deep enough to be safe enough to jump in. This river did look deep enough and there were little to no rocks too. However, it had a very fast flow and it practically looked like water rapids.
"Hurry Up! He's over there!" Jared heard Officer Redfield shout in the distance.
Jared knew there was only one way to test to see if the river was safe. Jenna and her partner immediately ran through the thick brush to Jared's location with their guns drawn. Jared immediately braced his body for impact and jumped off the cliff. He fell for several feet before he landed feet first in the frigid river. Jenna and her partner immediately opened open fired with their weapons. The bullets slammed and skirted across the surface of the river creating several splashes. Jared was under the water and saw the bullets streaking past him. One round missed him by a few inches. He was fighting and swimming as the strong current tossed around like a child's play thing. He had to swim deeper into the water. Jared had dived with Navy SEALs while he was in Ranger training and he was a damn good swimmer. Hell he could almost put Michael Phelps to shame. He was also excellent at holding his breath. The water was cold and very murky and he couldn't really see through the surface. That was good though, if he couldn't see them through the water, they couldn't see him through the water.
On the cliff, Jenna and her partner were looking down at the river looking for the body of Jared to float to the surface. The rain and fog were not lighting up and it was very difficult to see through the murky water.
"Do you see anything Jenny?" Jenna's partner asked as he looked at the river's surface through his Bushmaster's red dot sight.
Jenna could only shake her head.
"No Nathan. Nothing," she answered back.
She was feeling a great sensation of anger and frustration. For over a year she had been chasing this lycan all the way through the Midwestern part of the United States. For two long years of following leads and a five state man hunt she had been tracking him. But every time she and the FBI got close to him, he always found a way to slip away. She had been in the FBI for over nine years and not once had a drug dealer nor a killer had escaped from her but he was giving her quite a run for her money. And to be honest, she was starting to get extremely pissed. How come this guy was different? Nathan was looking down out the river and started to lower his weapon.
"Well I can't say for sure if he's alive or not," he said shaking his head.
Nathan then looked up at Jenna. He was cold and wet.
"Jenna, I think we should get the hell outta here!" he practically begged.
"NO!" Jenna almost immediately shouted back. She was not going to let Jared go. Not after all this effort. Nathan face palmed his helmet.
"Jenna! I'm soaking wet and we can't see jack shit in this weather!" he pointed out "Look, I'd doubt he'd survive out here in this weather too. We'll report back to HQ and come back with more men to search the area and the river for any signs of him. Okay!"
Jenna scowled at this request. When it came to catching fugitives, she had always been really stubborn. She just didn't know when to give up a chase.
"And give this murderer another chance to escape again like in Colorado?" she demanded in a heated voice.
She had remembered that time in the Rocky Mountains where they had Jared pretty much cornered yet he still escaped and was out of sight.
"I don't understand why you're so obsessed with catching him?" Nathan shouted through the pouring rain and the whistling wind "But we can't operate in this weather!"
Despite her stubbornness Jenna had to admit he was right. The winter rains had been pouring heavily as the month of November was coming to an end. The past few months hadn't been very good for anyone with what the country was going through.
"I guess you're right," she shrugged as she swallowed her pride.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God!" he said with relief "I gotta get out of this wet uniform."
Jenna stared at him with an awkward expression. Sometimes she wondered why the Bureau assigned him as her partner. Don't get her wrong, Nathan wasn't that bad of an officer and in fact prior to joining the FBI he served in the Marine Corp. He had a very bad habit of being very immature at times. But even then in this weather it was no wonder. Before leaving she looked down at the river.
"I swear I'll get you one of these days you lycan filth," she murmured to herself.
"Jenna! What the hell are you waiting for?" Nathan shouted at her "I'm soaking wet over here."
Jenna just tilted her head at Nathan's complaints.
"I'm coming," she practically growled.
They both headed out of the woods with their boots squishing in the wet fauna. Nathan had just lifted the visor of his helmet to reveal his white face. He then started grunting as he rocked his nose from left to right checking to see if it was broken. There was no blood however and he seemed okay. But it was pretty arrogant of him though to try to fight a cornered animal as the old saying goes. He then took off his helmet revealing his dirty blonde hair. He then proceeded to wipe the rain drops off his helmet's visor.
"Jesus, it sure is one hell of a night," he said sarcastically while trying to make small talk. This was something he wasn't really good at doing. Especially with Jenna. She typically just ignored him most of the time. They proceeded to head back to the highway. With the heavy rain and cold wind, it wasn't a very easy task. When they finally reached the highway, the two Montana state patrolmen were there.
"What the hell happened?" one of them shouted "Where's Kennedy?"
Jenna shook her head.
"He got away, AGAIN!" she exclaimed with anger.
The patrolmen where just as upset. They knew about the animosity between Kennedy and Redfield. They also knew that it was best not to mess with her in this kind of attitude.
"Well what do mean he got away?" the patrolman shouted through the gusting winds.
"Jumped in the river." Nathan immediately responded.
The patrolmen couldn't believe their ears. He jumped into a river? Had he given up? No. Kennedy was smarter than that.
"We got a call from the National Weather Service," one of the patrolmen said "This storm is supposed to clear up by morning. We'll contact the local law enforcement of the nearest town and we'll call for more reinforcements from state police to search the forest for any sign of him or his body if he's dead. With any luck we might get a few National Guardsmen."
The plan sounded full proof and it looked good on paper however Jenna was not in the least impressed. She knew what Jared was capable of.
"You can call the entire damn army if you want!" she growled at the patrolman "He'll still get away I just know."
Nathan started shaking his head.
"Come on, let's get in the car," he said as he opened their car's doors.
Jenna and her partner finally step into the warm vehicle safe from the hard rain. The rain dripped against the windshield making tapping sounds as Nathan put the keys in the ignition. Jenna got in the passenger's seat with a very hard scowling look on her face. Nathan turned on the wind shield wipers as he drove on the highway. Jenna just kept on staring out the window at the woods scanning the area like a hawk. Nathan didn't understand her behavior. In the past they captured and chased many criminals like Kennedy before. Maybe it was because he got away so often. He'd doubted it though. Despite what a lot of people see on TV, there are plenty of times when the bad guy gets away. It happens and it has happened before with them. Although he will confess never had they encountered a criminal like Jared who had successfully evaded them the way he did. But still even when the average criminal got away, while Jenna was upset, she was never pissed off. Not only that they were only chasing Kennedy for only two years. It wasn't like she was chasing him all her life. The only clue he had about what might of caused a grudge against Kennedy was that he was part lycan. Ever since the United States government passed the Equal Treatment Amendment a couple years ago, all of these "mythical creatures" as you would call them came out of their hiding and became more accepted into society. Now some of these creatures are just myths but there are plenty of real ones like lycans and vampires. Also thanks to the help of synthetic blood developed by Japanese scientists, many vampires chose to "come out of the coffin". Also the lycans and other creatures admitted their existence too. And that's what was bothering Nathan. Every time he and Jenna were assigned to capture a criminal who was a vampire or a lycan, or etc, she often took it very seriously. More seriously than it needed to be. He didn't know though and for the most part, neither did anyone else. The few that did know where under strict orders not to tell anyone about Jenna's past.
I'm her partner and I'm not even allowed to know about her he thought to himself as he drove through the foggy, rain covered road.
He quickly glanced at Jenna who was still gazing out the car's window. She seemed to be in her own little world. Nathan didn't know what to do. He tried his very best to cheer her up.
"You know, we'll get him tomorrow," he said desperately trying to focus on the road as the windshield wipers swished the raindrops off the windshield.
Jenna simply made a grunting sound. She was in a very bad mood. Nathan could just stare and feel sorry for her. She always looked like something was eating away at her emotions sometimes. Like she was trying to repress a memory that she wanted to forget. Nathan pretty much gave up. He turned on the radio and listened to the news reporter talking about the usual, politics, the economy, the weather, everything. He just drove off to the nearest police station hoping to contact headquarters as the storm raged on throughout the night.
Jared desperately tried to swim for his life as he gasped for breath on the surface of the river. The current was stronger than he thought the water was frigid. He knew that if he didn't get out of the water and find some place warm to stay, he would sub come to hypothermia. He quickly saw an opportunity as a low tree branch came just by him. He quickly grabbed the branch and held on to it for dear life. Luckily the branch was very sturdy and he was able to pull himself to shore. Jared collapsed on his knees gasping for air and trying to control his violent shivering. He was soaked from head to toe and he was freezing. He quickly checked to make sure he didn't lose any of his equipment. His backpack was strongly secured and while several items were soaked, none of them were missing. His gun, knife, and machete were also still with him. Jared then got on his feet and limped into the forest shivering like a sail blowing in the wind. He didn't know where the current took him and he was now lost like a boy scout. He kept on walking, every step seemed to take a huge toll on his depleting energy. He was just about to give up hope when he suddenly came across an old cottage up ahead.
"Thank God!" Jared exclaimed with excitement.
The cottage looked abandoned and in disrepair, a perfect place to hide out for awhile. He slowly approached the cottage with caution hoping that no one was around. His lycan sense of smell however told him that no one had settled there for quite a long time. The cottage itself definitely looked like no one had taken care of it in awhile. The wood was completely rotten in some areas. Traces of whatever colored paint were starting to chip off. There were cobwebs and holes all over the place and all in all, it just looked glooming. It wasn't your average cozy log cabin, it looked like the set of a B-rated slasher movie. But it was what he needed. He climbed the creaking steps and knocked on the door. Obviously, nobody answered but he always took precautions. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it to open the door. Because the door's hinges were rusted solid, Jared had to practically kick the door down. The inside of the cottage was just as miserable as the outside. There was little to no furniture and everything was covered with dust or cobwebs. There was a small, tiny fire place covered with cobwebs and still had a few ashes rested at the bottom. There was a very small and very dusty table with a few chairs. around it. There was also no bathroom or bedroom. He noticed couple of other doors and headed to them. When Jared opened them, they turned out to be utility closets for housing tools. There was a really large lumberjack's axe and couple of machetes, but they were so rusty and dull that they were useless. The cottage also had several small shelves where several useless knick knacks were resting gathering dust. There were also a few portraits on the wall but they were so worn out that it was impossible to tell what the picture used to be. There was also a large rusty and useless stove resting in one of the corners. The whole place was a huge mess. Jared just shrugged his cold shoulders.
"Well, I might as well make myself at home," he said to himself.
He quickly walked over to the fireplace. The floor boards made a loud creaking sound underneath his boots. The fireplace still looked usable and he looked like he could set a fire in there. He grabbed one of the chairs and smashed it into tiny pieces on the floor of the cottage. He placed the wood in the fire place. He also found from really old magazines to use as kittling. All he needed now was something to light it with. The matches he had brought with him were soaked and rendered useless. His only hope was his cigarette lighter. While Jared never smoked in his life, when he was in the army, several of his buddies bought him a lighter as a good-bye present from when he got honorable discharged. He set down his army backpack and emptied it of water. He then dug in and pulled out his lighter. It was wet but hopefully it would still work. He flicked the top open and flicked the ignition switch. He only got a little spark.
"Come on!" he demanded.
He flicked the switch again. Again, only a little spark happened.
"God this is unbelievable!" Jared shouted to himself.
He gave it another try. This time luck was on his side. The little lighter produced enough flame to start a fire in the fireplace. He finally made a fire and the cottage now felt warm and cozy. He took off his uniform and tried to dry them by the fire. He also found a poker. It was rusty and worn but it worked. He occasionally turned the burning wood making sure the fire had enough fuel. Soon his uniform was dry enough to be put back on. He covered his naked body with his uniform and got himself more comfortable. Jared took out his water canteen and checked it, unfortunately, it was empty. He would have to find more in the morning. He would also need to find where he was. He also needed to find some food too. After about several minutes, the fire started dying and he felt extremely tired. He carefully extinguished the fire and rolled into his jacket. He felt a lot warmer in the cottage he placed his backpack in an behind his head, not the comfiest pillow, but it was something. He also checked his .45 making sure it was clean, dry, and loaded. If he had any "unexpected" visitors he wanted to be prepared. The raindrops kept pounding on the roof and the wind was still howling. A tiny trickle of rain splashed against Jared's face which woke him up. It was then that he realized that the roof was leaking.
"Beautiful," he said with his voice full of sarcasm.
He would have to suck it up. After all, at least it was just a few little drops rather than a downpour. He just looked up at the ceiling gathering his thoughts again. He tried to forget his situation and think of a more simpler time. He remembered his days of training at Fort Benning. Even though most of his fellow soldiers knew about his lycan side, they treated him as a fellow combatant. They always covered each other's back. Especially Trenton. Trenton really understood Jared's situation. Trenton was a foxlink (an anthropomorphic fox with human characteristics). He too also for the most part disguised himself as a human even though everyone knew what he was. They met each other during Ranger training. He was the type of guy (or fox whatever you'd prefer) that always knew how to brighten a situation. He would often make jokes and he also knew just how to piss off the sergeants and NCOs. Now most of the commanding officers at Fort Benning were too bad, but there was one that he remembered clearly. Colonel McNealy was the one of the biggest assholes in the entire U.S. military. He was loud, strict, and always greeted you with his bullish face. If you dared talk back at him, it was a twenty mile run and two weeks of toilet cleaning duty as punishment. Trenton was one of McNealy's least favorite rangers. Trenton was always the one that McNealy really seemed to suspect every time a practical joke was pulled on him. But he had every right because Trenton was the one who did it! Now Trenton was a good soldier and a damn good one. He was a team player, was an excellent rifleman, and for the most part he did listen to the commanding officers without question. It was just McNealy he didn't like. They would always go after each other. One day McNealy would make Trenton march nonstop because he claimed Trenton didn't know how to march. The next day a picture of McNealy's face shows up on the targets on the shooting range. Jared smiled to himself at the memory. Trenton was a good soldier and a good friend. Sadly he lost his life in North Korea.
May he rest in peace Jared thought to himself.
Jared let out a big yawn. It had been a really rough day for him. He soon drifted off to sleep in the old cottage.