Cougar's Roar

By Jim Mohr

At eight years old, the only world Cougar Reed has ever known is one where nations defend themselves through expatriated military contractors. But these contractors have begun to wage war on one another. Orphaned in the ensuing violence, Cougar is yanked from his home by The Resistance, a union of European and Asian countries whose goal is world conquest. As they work to mold his awakening psychic abilities, Cougar learns that he's not the only one with mind powers—and that there are others with darker, more evil intentions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543990423

Book preview

©All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 978-1-54399-041-6

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54399-042-3

Part I

Chapter 1: Cougar—Near the Perimeter of the Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 2: Cougar—Near the Perimeter of the Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 3: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 4: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 5: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 6: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 7: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 8: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 9: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 10: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 11: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 12: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 13: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 14: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 15: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 16: Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Part II

Prologue

Chapter 17: Cougar—On a Plane Nearing Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 18: Cheetah—Atlanta Base

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 19: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cheetah—Atlanta Base

Chapter 20: Cheetah—Arriving at Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 21: Cheetah—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 22: Cheetah—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 23: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 24: Cheetah—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 25: Dove—San Francisco

Chapter 26: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Dove—San Francisco

Chapter 27: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Funnel Web—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 28: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Dove—On s Transport East of Topeka, Kansas

Chapter 29: Funnel Web—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 30: Dove—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District; Atlanta, Georgia

Chapter 31: Funnel Web—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Nada Dvorak—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 32: Funnel Web—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 33: Cheetah—Atlanta Base

Chapter 34: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 35: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 36: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 37: Dove—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cheetah

Chapter 38: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cheetah

Chapter 39: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Sergeant Carrie Montclair

Chapter 40: Sergeant Carrie Montclair—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cougar

Chapter 41: Falcon—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District, Atlanta, Georgia

Part III

Chapter 42: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 43: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Residence 63A1: Home Of Colonel Kell Zahn; WI/IL Spc Ops Commanding Officer

Chapter 44: Falcon—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District; Atlanta, Georgia

Cougar—The Next Day, Saturday

Chapter 45: Dove—Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, Louisiana

Cougar—The Next Day, Sunday

Chapter 46: Dove—New Orleans, Louisiana

Chapter 47: Cougar—Enroute to Wisconsin Illinois Base

Chapter 48: Dove—Transport Station: New Orleans, Louisiana

Cougar

Chapter 49: Falcon—Outside the Perimeter of the Wisconsin/Illinois Base

Cougar

Chapter 50: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Part IV

Chapter 51: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Cheetah—Atlanta Base

Dove—Atlanta, Georgia

Chapter 52: Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

Carrie Montclair

Cougar

Cougar—Room 53B10

Chapter 53: Cougar—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District, Atlanta, Georgia

Chapter 54: Cougar—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District, Atlanta, Georgia

Chapter 55: Cheetah—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District, Atlanta, Georgia

Cougar

Chapter 56: Cougar—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District, Atlanta, Georgia

Chapter 57: Dove—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District; Atlanta, Georgia

Cheetah

Cougar

Cheetah

Owl

Cougar

Cheetah

Falcon

Chapter 58: Cheetah—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District; Atlanta, Georgia

Cougar

Cheetah

Owl

Dove

Cougar

Chapter 59: Cheetah—On a Transport Jet Leaving Atlanta Base

Cougar

Chapter 60: Victoria Martin—Geelong, Australia

Nonhumans (In Order of Power)

Part I

Chapter 1

Cougar—Near the Perimeter of the Wisconsin Illinois Base

His hand twitches ever so slightly, his fingers quiver in the dirt. Maybe he is still alive, maybe I did not kill him. A river of thick, semiclear red liquid runs from his head to his outstretched arm. He isn’t moving, the twitching has ceased.

The screams around me wake me from my trance. I am covered in his blood and I can feel its warmth in the sunlight. I drop the baseball bat I have been clenching. My hands ache because of the tightness of my grip. The gore burns into my memory.

April stands from her seated position. Her eyes are wide with terror. She fears me, she hates me. I see in her mind the damage this has done to her. Her memories of me, of Todd Vance, all are now connected to this moment. She backs away from the scene of the murder, eyes staring unblinkingly at me. She turns suddenly and sprints away, her long brown hair bouncing with her steps.

I look down at Todd’s body, still unmoving. Todd? I ask. He does not respond. Todd? I say louder, still no response. I gently kick the boy in his ribs. Stop faking, Todd. I feel warm, hot almost, with shame. I kneel to him, this bully, this kid who moments ago was teasing my dear April. I touch his shoulder and shake him gently. A sick slurping noise comes from the back of his head, where the first blow from my bat landed.

Sirens sound around me as a metallic smell invades my nose; I think it is his blood. Is the siren from the police? Maybe it’s an ambulance for Todd? What do I tell them? Should I lie? Should I tell them it was an accident?

COUGAR! A shrill voice calls to me. I look up and I am eye to eye with April’s little sister, Dena. Cougar, the sirens! We have to go home!

Dena, maybe it is the police or the ambulance, I reply.

Cougar, it is the sirens for the base. Remember in school? Remember what the sirens mean? Cougar, Todd is dead. The little girl’s words seem cold, even as I kneel in the bloody mud.

The siren’s wail seems to get louder as distant explosions fill the empty spaces between the horn blasts. I look back at Todd and then stand. Dena, he was hurting April. I couldn’t stop myself.

Little Dena walks to me and places her hand on my arm. I had dreams that told me I was a predator. I don’t know what that is. I think you had those dreams too, didn’t you?

I am confused, Dena. Is this a dream? Where is the mountain lion? My dreams had a mountain lion in them, I reply.

Dena’s arm drops and her lips quiver. She does not fear me, not like her sister does. You did have those dreams. My dreams were about those fast, spotted cats. Cougar, you need to go home. The sirens mean that we’re supposed to go home. Her sensibility strikes me; she has never been like this before. She has changed.

I look again at Todd, lying on the ground. I hate myself, I hate who I am. I want to die. Worse yet, what will my dad do when he discovers what I have done?"

Chapter 2

Cougar—Near the Perimeter of the Wisconsin Illinois Base

The hot pavement offers no resistance to my feet as I sprint toward my home. Neighbors grab their children out of their yards and haul them inside as the sirens continue to wail. I have never heard the sirens before. The war has never been here, at my home near the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.

In no time at all, my home comes into view. My mother’s car sits idling in our driveway. A small cat carrier rests next to the driver’s door. Mother must be taking her cat, Sable, in for her checkup. My mother emerges from our small house. I run to her and I can see she is shaking, with fear, sorrow, and something else.

Mom, I…. I sob as we hug.

I know, honey. She answers before I can finish my sentence. She does not ask about the blood on me.

Mom, I couldn’t stop myself. What is happening to me? I cry as I cling tightly to her. Her hand gently touches my hair and I feel her tears rain down on my neck.

Cougar, I wish I had time to explain this. I do not. Your dreams have changed things, changed who you are. Honey, by the time I saw your life, I couldn’t stop it. I am sorry, but I must go.

Go? Mom, you can’t. The sirens…

My dear, it is fitting that the sirens of this war pull us apart. It is this war that will give you what you need. This war will be your future. I love you, my dear son. She squeezes me, causing loving pain to move through my body. I sent a letter this morning. I sent it to someone who will be able to help you when you are older. Cougar, go with your father. I love you. She releases me and grabs the cat carrier, enters her car, and pulls out of our drive. She is out of my view in seconds.

Explosions sound from the base as the sirens continue their onslaught on my frantic thoughts. Why does it feel like I just saw my mom for the last time? Why would she leave me like this?

I open the front door of our small house and the smell of alcohol wafts over me. Never have I been able to smell my father’s drinks. For some reason, today I can.

I think about the scent registering in my head. I hear the crack of my father’s fist striking my face. I see stars, I taste blood. Fear grips me as the monster of a man towers over me, his eyes are wild with hatred. I cringe hoping it will not increase his anger. I am shocked by the fact that I am still standing. His punches usually put me on the floor.

Why is your shirt bloody?! He screams at me, fists clenched.

Dad, I hurt Todd. He’s dead.

My dad stares at me as his eyes roll in the way drunk people’s eyes do. I have seen it often before, especially when he had beaten me, or my mom. He lurches from side to side, staggering and breathing heavy, losing his balance. I think that he is confused that his punch hadn’t floored me, or he sees something in my face.

For a moment, I regret dropping the bat back at the field. I look at the man and consider for a moment paying him back for the years of abuse. Payment for what he subjected me to, but more so for the hurt he has caused mom. I loathe the man towering over me. I hate his breath, his voice, his life…

I look at him and he sees something in me, in my eyes. Maybe it frightens him because he is no longer striking me. He is a coward. I can see it in his eyes, he fears me now. I read it in his thoughts.

Are you okay, son? His manliness seems to wilt before me as he now shows a shallow concern for me.

Yes, dad. I should go to the hospital though. I don’t feel right. I answer.

He nods as he struggles to get the keys off the small brass hook by the door. He pushes past me and the sirens wail again.

Dad, the sirens! Not now! We can’t go now!

He staggers to his car, the nicer of the two that our family owns. He opens the car door and scowls back at me. Get in the car. The words are slurred and almost unrecognizable.

Why did mom leave now? Why did she take Sable now?

He shrugs his shoulders. I have no fucking idea why she took her damn cat to the vet now. He says as he lowers himself into the driver seat. He loses his balance and he falls into the car. His chest slams against the steering wheel. He moves with the grace of a loon walking on land. I chuckle to myself as I walk to the car. The small bit of enjoyment in seeing him in pain brightens this dark day. Mom always told me you cannot escape the consequences of your actions. I hope her saying comes down double for dad.

Dad regains his composure and adjusts himself in the driver’s seat of the car. He turns as I sit. Your mom told me to tell you that she loves you. His slurred speech is mixed with grunts of pain caused by the steering wheel.

He starts the car and we back out of the gravel driveway, more explosions sound from the base. My dad mumbles something as he puts the car into drive and accelerates down the road.

Even being only eight years old, I know that we are heading in the wrong direction to get to the hospital. The interstate is void of cars and blue hospital signs. I dare not say anything to dad about going the wrong way; it would be a painful lesson if I did. A child in an abusive home should never question his parent. I hold my tongue as I watch the billowing smoke grow larger ahead. Copters and jets pass by over us. We are heading toward the base, toward the explosions, toward the war.

My dad is quiet as we approach the exit for the main gate of the burning Alliance base. I look at him to see if he is still conscious. Dad? I say as he takes the exit, barreling toward the destroyed gate, the fires, and the fighting. His eyes and mouth open, no sound comes from him.

The car plows through the half-melted steel fence of the gate. The ground is black with burnt fuel, shrapnel, bodies and whatever else. Even with the air conditioning on I can smell the fires, the death.

Suddenly I am jerked in my seat as the car comes to a sudden halt. I feel the pain from the seatbelt holding me back. My dad grunts as the belt gives slightly to his abrupt stop. His head snaps forward and it weaves from side to side. He moans as I look at him. He looks back at me as a small drop of blood runs from his mouth. I read his mind. Even in his drunken state, the man is afraid.

I detect the approach of four men. I can tell they are not friendly. I do not know how, or why, I can sense them, I just can. These changes in me scare me more than the man seated next to me.

Chapter 3

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

The four men, the soldiers, approach our crashed car with their guns aimed at us. My dad moans and pushes himself back from the steering wheel, which is buried in his fat chest. I can sense these men are not like me, they are like my dad.

I watch the men as they talk amongst themselves. I can hear and understand them. They are not speaking English, but their words are making sense. I think that I am learning their language by hearing them speak. Their thoughts seem to open to me as if they are drawers in a file cabinet. My mind seems to copy the information; I am gaining their intelligence, their knowledge.

My dad opens his car door. I reach for him as he exits the car. Hey! You damn Resistance fucks! he yells. He staggers as he stands in the churned, blackened earth. I exit the car, to stand with him against these men.

The soldiers talk amongst themselves as they each chamber a round. I understand that they are speaking in Russian; how I know this I cannot say. I understand vodka, child, and civilian. The Russian words connect to the English words; I am learning their language.

The ground under my feet seems to hum and I sense a fifth person approaching. He is not like the men aiming rifles at my dad. He is not like me, or Dena Smith. The fifth man feels… evil. He emerges from behind some burning wreckage and he looks at me. I can feel hatred beyond what my dad has for me. One of the four men speaks to the evil man.

Captain Sebrev, they crashed through… They are still speaking in what I think is Russian. I do not understand every word.

One of the other men says something followed by … They have not provoked, and then he says prisoners.

The evil man, the one they call Captain Sebrev, looks at me and he says: Kill the man!

Immediately shots ring out, my dad is torn to pieces right before my eyes. He twists and bends as he’s ripped apart by the bullets. He falls facedown into the burnt black soil. I see blood running from his back as the lead has pierced his body through. I no longer sense the drunken thoughts of my dad lying before me. His mind is quiet, like Todd Vance’s.

Captain Sebrev continues looking at me, not even flinching from the gunfire. I stare back at him as the soldiers clear their assault weapons. Why are you here, mind reader? he says in English.

I look at the corpse of my dad lying in the dirt. I do not feel sorrow for him, only anger at these men. We were going to the hospital, I reply in English.

The soldiers point their guns at me as I look back at the car, wondering if I could hide within the wreckage.

Sebrev clears his throat and I turn to face him again. Do you know what I am, mind reader? he says again in English.

I enter Sebrev’s mind as I did with Dena. He immediately grabs his head as if he is dizzy. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. Sebrev screams in anger as his eyes roll. Get out of my head Psychokinetic! he says. Then, in Russian, he says something else followed by a word I have never heard before: Timere.

A pain tears through my head. It drives me to my knees. So, my little mind reader. You like to read people’s thoughts! Sebrev yells in broken English. How do you like my power? He says in Russian. His rage is causing the change in languages.

The pain in my head feels like a drill behind my eyes. I’ve heard my dad complain about his migraines and what they feel like. I’ve never had one before, but this must be what they feel like. I gasp for air as my knees sink into the earth blasted up by some great explosion.

Behind Sebrev I hear a shout. My mind can’t grasp the language. Sebrev’s painful power is stopping my language learning, halting my understanding.

Suddenly, I feel the defense of God’s hand around me, the protection from harm. Whatever Sebrev is doing to my head seems blunted. Not entirely gone, but easily cut in half. My mind searches for an escape from the pain. I sense beyond the crater that I am in, a twisted metal pole. I feel the metal in my mind, it is warm. The pole seems to move at my will. It responds to my need.

My mind grabs the pole and pulls it toward Sebrev at a high speed. It strikes its target, Sebrev’s back, with incredible force. The dull thud of the pole striking flesh instantly stops the pain in my mind. Sebrev collapses to the ground and the pole drops free of my control. I gasp for air and inhale smoke and the smell of death. The ground seems to move, to twist as I stumble to stand.

Another man, the sixth in this group of strangers, says in Russian, Pick Sebrev up and bring him. The soldiers grab me and force me to stand straight. They grab me in ways that my dad does, or how he used to. I try to reach for my dad’s body, to hold him, to apologize to him. The soldiers push me away as they guide me out of the small crater and onto solid ground. Behind me, I hear Sebrev moaning. Jets scream overhead and, in the distance, I can still hear the civilian sirens. If only I would have left the baseball field when they started wailing. Had I only done what we were taught to do.

Chapter 4

Cougar—Wisconsin Illinois Base

I am taken at gunpoint to a small area outside the destroyed perimeter of the base. A small troop copter picks the seven of us up: me, the four soldiers, Sebrev, and the leader who had stopped him from killing me. In no time at all we are in a troop transport with other soldiers who all look like mercenaries. They are rough, evil-looking men and women. The women look nothing like any women or girls I know. These women are fighters, soldiers.

They handcuff me to the cargo hooks inside the jet as the leader of the group, the one who had ordered my capture, sits across from me. The man is gruff looking and has a weather-worn face with small scars on it like he had been hit with shrapnel years ago.

I think that he is Russian. He isn’t like me, or Sebrev, he seems normal. You are a Psychokinetic? he asks in broken English.

I look at the man and am confused, not knowing what a Psychokinetic is, or if he is even speaking English. I’m afraid, I say.

You have nothing to fear from us.

My dad is dead, your men killed him. Hatred burns in me as I look at him. He pauses and glances at Sebrev, who is lying on a cot and is being attended to by a medic.

The man speaks Russian, Do you understand me?

The translation in my mind is slow and clumsy; my mind seems to pull the language from him. The grammar, verb tenses, and dialect are rough as I grasp for the words. I nod to the man.

We are taking you to Prague. You will be raised there and trained. We need Psychokinetics.

I answer the man in English. What is a Psycho… thing?

A Psychokinetic, it is a being like yourself. He answers in English. They read minds, they can move things. When did you get your powers? When were your dreams?

The jet reaches its cruising altitude and my ears pop. This is the first time I have been away from home without my parents being with me.

I had a dream last night. It was about healing, I reply.

The man nods slowly. He understands English well; it is as if he were taught it at a young age. How many dreams have you had? Was there an animal in it? A cat, dog, or bird? He asks.

Yes, a mountain lion. I’ve had five dreams.

The man leans back, a smile on his face. Good. That’s good. You dreamt of cougars. You are powerful for a little boy. We can make you stronger. He pauses as Sebrev rolls over to face me. He has heard our conversation.

Lieutenant Colonel Mikhailov, the boy... Sebrev says in Russian. I don’t understand the last words.

The man, Mikhailov, turns to Sebrev and says something. I catch the words: command and you will stop.

Sebrev glares at me. I feel hatred for the man and I can see he hates me.

Mikhailov speaks later into the flight. What happened to you before your dreams? he asks in English. How did you get the hormone?

What’s a hormone? I reply.

It’s something your body makes. It causes changes in you, like testosterone or estrogen. When did your dreams start?

I think about the question. When did my dream start and what brought them alive in me?

Two weeks ago, I went in for a shot. It burned and I told my mom, I answer.

Hmm…, Mikhailov rubs his chin. Nine days later you had your first dream then?

Yes. I told my mom and she helped me with the dreams. She told me what telepathy and telekinesis are.

Do you think your mother is like you, a Psychokinetic?

I think about Mikhailov’s question. In the five days that my dreams happened, I sensed a change in my mom. She seemed sad as if dreading some fast-approaching event. How she spoke was different, it was as if she knew we would be separated. Sir, I think my mom is like me.

Mikhailov smiles as the jet begins its descent. Sebrev looks at me from his cot and says one word in Russian: Animal. I look at the wounded man and I feel the hatred again, I should have killed him. I did worse to Todd Vance for a smaller crime.

Sir, I ask Mikhailov. What is Captain Sebrev? I can tell that he isn’t like you, or me. What is he?

My boy, Sebrev is what is called a Timere. They are different than Psychokinetics. They have different powers. Where you have telepathy, telekinesis, healing, and defensive powers, they have harm, psychosis-inducing abilities, disease-causing powers, and can cause fear. Stay away from them, at least for now. I look back at Sebrev, who is still glaring at me.

Animal he called me. My dad used to call me worthless. Does an animal have any more worth than me? What did I do to deserve this? Where is my mom? How do I get back to her?

Chapter 5

Cougar—Resistance Installation: Prague, Czech