Awakening

By T. A. Walk

To an uninformed reader, Awakening is a fictionalized action story built on a retired Army soldier's fight to protect his loved ones. To those readers who dig deeper into the story, this is a unique and cleverly hidden message about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Andy, like many veterans today, was wounded in combat and has since left the military. With the support of family and friends, he struggles to find his place in the world. Plagued by nightmares of werewolves and fantasy between bouts of sleeplessness, he struggles to find the meaning of it all, as well as his own purpose.

As time goes by and Andy seeks help, he begins to remember the truth. Unfortunately, the truth is something the military doesn't want remembered. His family, along with friends from his past come to his aid as the confusion and chaos of a military cover-up gone wrong unleashes itself in full force.

With family and friends on the line, and an inner turmoil affecting his every decision, Andy must find a way to win an epic battle against the very forces that he worked so diligently to serve. Will he succeed in winning the battle against his enemies and his own demons? Will he save the lives of those around him that he holds dear? More importantly, what is the secret that everyone is willing to kill to protect?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468536768

T. A. Walk

T. A. Walk lives with his family in North Carolina. He has always been head strong and straight forward. When he puts his mind to something, he more often than not, succeeds. He served his country for ten years, during which he spent a year in Iraq. Since he came home he has had to face up to several different problems, both physical and mental. After a very long road, and several attempts at getting help, he has been diagnosed with PTSD. In order to help himself and hopefully others to deal with this problem and learn to live as normal a life as possible he has written this story. He had to face up to his own deep down feelings and work them into an interesting and attention grabbing metaphor that others with the same problems may understand. Mr. Walk hopes to continue this story with more exciting adventures while also using it as a form of therapy.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

Author’s Note

This is for my family, my friends,

And all those who serve in our armed forces

Thanks to my beautiful wife for supporting me,

My Mom for helping me get published,

Samuel Cruz of Lady Dragon’s Broken Ritual Tattoo Shop, Fayetteville, NC for cover art

Introduction

The beast stood in the cold, steady, falling rain. The wind blew lightly between the surrounding buildings. Blood dripped from the tips of his claws as he fell to his knees next to the three bodies laid out in front of him. He had no choice but to finish them, but he hated the feeling inside of him. He raised his head and let out a low, remorseful howl. Why did it have to come to this? All he had intended to do was use this gift, as he had come to view it, to help people. They didn’t have to do this. There was still work to do, he couldn’t lose his focus. He got back up to his feet. He listened closely for any signs of movement. There were five more soldiers closing in on him. He leaped straight up with all his strength. The soldier on the rooftop gasped in surprise as the beast landed next to him. If the soldier had reacted immediately he may have had a chance to save himself, but he hadn’t. Claws reached out swiftly and tore at the soldiers flesh. The beast pounced on him like a kitten on a ball of yarn, slashing and tearing with both sets of claws. Once the soldier was dead, the beast threw him down from the rooftop onto the growing pile of bodies. He ran and jumped to the next building and headed toward the sound of the next enemy.

*     *     *

The soldier was slowly moving down an alley in the center of town. He was part of an Ohio National Guard unit that was alerted about some small town with a wild animal problem and dispatched. Since when did army units get sent in to deal with wild animals? The guys were all talking about what could be going on while they were traveling here. Some guys thought maybe it was something normal, and they were being sent because a bear or mountain lion was just too much for small town authorities. Then there were the training exercise theories, which actually seemed plausible. It wasn’t unheard of for the entire population of a really small country town to play along with military exercises for the benefit of training. Of course there were the really crazy ideas, you always had a few of them in the mix. Alien takeovers, a nest of vampires, or a rabid werewolf on the loose, were just a few of them. Where did guys come up with that shit? A noise caught his attention from behind him and he spun around. Some crazy guy had already caught him by surprise just moments ago, and asked a bunch of questions before he literally disappeared. Damn small town weirdoes. There was no sign of anyone or anything, but he was sure that he had heard something. He scanned the area through the sights of his M16 rifle. He heard the same sound again, and this time he caught the movement. A shingle hit the ground from the rooftop to his front left. He brought his weapon up in an arcing motion to set his sights on whatever was on the roof. He got his weapon raised just in time to see the large, muscular, humanoid wolf in his sights for but a moment before its weight forced him to the ground. The soldier tried to scream, but the weight of the wolf was crushing the life out of him. Darkness swallowed him.

*     *     *

The beast quickly moved to the end of the alleyway. The only light was coming from a few dimly lit street lamps along the far edge of the street. Two soldiers were walking down the center of the street scanning both sides as they moved. They were moving slowly, very methodically in fact, searching. The beast had the impression that they had no idea what they were searching for. They were probably told it was an animal or something, maybe even just an exercise. The military did that sort of thing. He waited until the two soldiers were about to enter the alleyway entrance. One of them turned sooner then he expected and yelped in fear. The beast was on him in a second, tearing the very life from him, but the second soldier had stepped back and raised his rifle quickly. Three shots rang out in the darkness. One hit the beast in the right shoulder, one grazed his left forearm. He had no idea where the third went, but he thought to himself, how lucky they don’t practice on the firing range much in the Guard. He leaped left and away from the downed soldier as three more shots rang out. They missed him completely this time, and as he landed on the ground, he immediately leapt for the firing soldier. He went down quickly and easily, but the beast could hear the footsteps of the last soldier running towards the sound of the gunfire. He ran back into the alley on the opposite side of the street and slid into the shadows to wait.

*     *     *

The soldier ran towards the sound of the gunfire. They were told to maintain radio silence, but with the noise from the rifle echoing throughout the town, he didn’t see the point. He keyed his radio and yelled, Can anyone hear me, what’s going on? No answer. Either the other guys were taking the radio silence thing seriously, or they were all too busy to talk. He ran faster, towards where the gunfire came from and, as he did, three more shots rang out. Just as he was approaching the area he thought the sound had come from, he slowed his pace. He leaned up against the wall of a building and slid his way towards the street. He peered around the corner of the building to get a view of the area. In the dim lighting he could see someone lying motionless in the middle of the street. He couldn’t tell who it was from where he was, but he also didn’t see any movement. He waited a moment and then slowly went around the corner, staying low and close to the building. He kept scanning the area around him for any signs of anything, but saw nothing. He wondered where the other guys from the squad were. Why weren’t they moving in on this area? That was clearly an M16 firing, so it was one of them. He kept making his way towards the body in the street. He needed to know who it was. He reached the end of the building. He peered around the edge to look into the alleyway next to it. He saw nothing that he felt he needed to worry about. He turned back towards the street. From this vantage point he could see a second body lying on the sidewalk, hidden from a distance by the dark. Both of the bodies were soldiers, men from his unit. He slid around the corner and crouched into the shadows of the alley. Maybe the attacker would show himself.

*     *     *

The beast sat motionless as the soldier backed closer to him into the alley. He could smell the fear radiating from the man in waves. As the soldier found the position he wanted to wait in, he crouched down and watched the street. The beast reached out and killed him before he had even realized there was an attack coming. He moved from the alley and into the street. He could no longer hear the sounds of any more soldiers, but he heard something that he couldn’t place. It was something that he kept hearing in the background all night long. Now that he had time to concentrate, it sounded like something running, but barely touching the ground. Wait a moment; he thought to himself, is that what I think it is. He started to back away from the street lamps, back into the mouth of the alley, but it was too late. The impact came hard and fast from his right side, sending a burst of pain from the gunshot wound in his shoulder. He hit the ground and rolled, kicking at his attacker as he did so, enabling him to free himself and get back on his feet. He stood staring at a mirror image of himself. He was right about what he thought he was hearing, just too late to prepare for it. They had sent another werewolf to try to bring him in. They stared at each other for a moment, and then the other wolf spoke to him.

You can hear that there is no one around here sneaking up on you, so I’d like to ask a favor. Let us change back and greet each other as men before we go any farther. A rest, so to speak. the wolf said.

You change first and I’ll follow. There’s no way I’ll trust you otherwise. he said.

The other wolf began to change. He had never actually seen the transformation before. It looked horrible, but it was almost instant. The other wolf stood before him and stepped forward in order to catch better light.

You! he gasped in surprise. I can’t believe it’s you!

Chapter 1

He was covered in a cold, light sweat. His head felt heavy, foggy, as if he were drugged. His eyes scanned the darkness. He could hear the low guttural moan of the wolf. Where was he? He wasn’t sure of the answer to that question but he was aware of the danger that was present. He sensed cover to his right, a temporary hiding place. He rolled towards safety as quickly as he could manage in his current state.

The nightstand provided no comfort as his head bounced off its corner. His head immediately cleared and his eyes adjusted to the ambient light of his bedroom.

Damn not again, he whispered to himself. When are these dreams going to stop?

He leaned up to see if he had awoken his wife. She lay sleeping comfortably, no sign that she had noticed at all. That was good since he lied to her about how well he was almost constantly. She had no idea how bad things really were and that’s how he wanted it. He felt as though he was protecting her in some way. Besides, he assumed that she, like so many others, would smile and nod and inevitably not believe him. Who would anyway? It’s not often someone says to you Hello, I’m a werewolf, and you just take them at their word.

He was downstairs now, at the dining room table with another cup of coffee. Best medicine when you are a semi-insomniac. Eventually he would have to commit to the fact that this was a serious problem and seek help. Probably not today he figured. A man can only be told not to worry and there’s nothing wrong so many times, after all, before he begins to question whether or not what he feels and knows is real or not. What was he going to do? Things were getting worse and he had no idea how he was going to come up with the strength to keep control. His emotions were like a hurricane inside of him. Building force and beating against his insides as if they were going to tear him apart one day. Happiness turned to anger in a moment over nothing and his own voice echoed warnings within his head to hold on and gain control but it was useless. Once his anger was unleashed it could not be recaptured. His marriage was struggling to survive because even though their love was strong his unrest was pounding against its foundation. If only there was someone who could tell him what to do. Give him some miraculous answer to make the turmoil go away. In the beginning of his career in the army he believed a soldier could overcome any obstacle. Now that he was retired he wondered if they just kind of cheated their way around all those obstacles and then succumbed to the crushing weight of them all at once one day. He wondered how close his ‘one day’ was.

Andy, honey, is that you? a voice whispered from the top of the stairs.

Yup. Officer Andrew Peters at your service ma’am. he replied.

Even at this hour you’re still silly honey. That’s a good quality you know. the voice said, closer now, heading for the dining room where he sat.

I try bunches. Anything to put a smile on your face. What you doing up?

Well Officer I wanted to know if you could help me find my husband. I woke up all alone and I can’t find him anywhere. I’m afraid he’s missing and since I can’t file a report just yet I thought you might be able to come up and take his place. With that his wife wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned around from behind him to kiss him on the cheek.

She was a wonderful wife. Always supportive of everything that he decided to do. The best he could ever hope for actually. That thought scared him more every day though. If he kept going the way he was she’d eventually leave, and if she’s the best he could find how could he hope to replace her. The thought had been growing inside him like a tumor.

I’m not sure your husband would approve of that Mrs. Peters but I’ll come up there shortly to tuck you in and help make you comfortable as I can.

Sure wish there was something I could do to help you sleep babe. It’s been years since I can remember you sleeping a whole night. Not since you came home from Iraq. Are you sure there’s nothing else bothering you honey? Is it really just the sleeping?

She was always so sweet. She always wanted to fix everything for him. Anything she could do to make him happy. That was one of the things he loved about her the most. It was always him before her and for him, her before him. He knew that she knew something else was wrong but she wouldn’t come right out and say it. The mood swings, the distance between them. It was impossible to miss. He loved her for letting him lie to her and he hated her for not knowing how he felt inside.

What would he say to her anyway? Well you know I served in the army and I did time in the war zone, but what you don’t know is that I’m going insane Samantha and I can no longer control it. I was bitten by a werewolf in Iraq while my squad was on patrol. The wolf inside me is clawing away at me to get loose and I’m pretty sure that once I’m weak enough it will and it’ll kill you and our beautiful children. Also you should know that the military doctors say it’s all a figment of my imagination and that nothing is wrong. That means that if they are right I’m already insane and not just headed there which means you and the kids are already in danger. Everything that you do makes me angry for no reason and while I try to make myself understand that it’s my emotions and not your actions I secretly hate being near you because you’re my trigger so that’s why I’m distant. One more thing before you pack your things and evacuate the asylum, I really love you so can we pretend you didn’t hear any of that?

Nothing else bunches, just can’t sleep. Come on, let’s go to bed.

He stood and reached for her hand which she gladly offered and they headed towards the stairs. They climbed to the top and looked into each of the children’s rooms and exchanged quiet smiles before going into their own bedroom and closing the door. They took their places, his on the right and hers on the left, and he embraced her gently because that was her favorite way to fall asleep. She said she knew she was safe in his arms and that way she could sleep peacefully without any worries. He lay there quietly smelling the faint scent of fruity shampoo and mountain breeze soap that she used when showering. He imagined their life together as old people and how happy and still in love they would be. Then the darkness was disturbed by the soft, low growl of a wolf and his happy wonder gave way to fear and anger and the darkness engulfed him into a restless sleep.

He awoke the next day as usual, feeling exhausted and tired. He was always irritable in the morning