The Mighty Jungle: BloodBorne

By James Keith

William J. Harper was one of many who had their lives ripped apart when the bombs were dropped. A happy family man, William is torn from the life he loves by the demands of war.  

 

Flanked by his platoon, William embarks on a mission into the heart of the jungle to retrieve a beacon that could lead the enemy straight to them. Yet, what they find instead unleashes an unworldly entity torn straight from their nightmares. 

 

Can the band of soldiers reverse what's been done? Or will the consequences of their actions be fatal?

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Keith
• Release date: Jun 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393861669

Book preview

1

William J. Harper had twin daughters he hadn’t seen since the day they were born. A First Lieutenant in the United States Army, he was five foot nine with short blond hair, and brown eyes. When someone looked at him, they wouldn’t find anything special. Well, except for his wife Christine. She was a knockout. His two kids were safe at home with her.

His life changed forever the day bombs rained from the sky and burned cities to the ground. Every able-bodied person sprang into action and signed up to fight for what was right, Harper included.

In the beginning, he was overcome with fear. As much as he had the urge to fight, he didn’t want to die. He had a wife and two beautiful baby girls waiting for him. It was their faces that kept him going, pushing him to be stronger, smarter, faster.

After a year of being waist-deep in shit, he was selected to go to specialty training. He wasn’t told what it was, where he was going, or how long it would even take for him to complete. The only thing he did know was if he passed the training, he would be among the second group to ever do so. Like any obedient soldier, he followed blindly, hoping that he wouldn’t regret it.

When the classes first started there were over a hundred candidates. On the very first day, they were all given basic supplies and sent out into the jungle. Their only objective was to make it back in three days.

There were no rules, no guidelines. Nothing. Harper knew that he wasn’t the biggest, strongest guy there. He would have to find at least one other person that would complement his strengths. He watched and closely observed the small group that was dropped near him.

He found two men.

David L. Petty, Second Lieutenant he was six foot even but didn’t look it. He always hunched a bit and explained that it was because of the house he lived in and that he couldn’t help it anymore. His brown hair was still cropped high and tight.

The other was Wallace B. Cramer, Second Lieutenant, who was five foot eight with black hair; he was allowing it to grow out a little bit. He wanted to see how close he could get it to touching his ears before someone yelled at him and forced him to shave it.

Both men were fresh out of advanced training. Harper only chose them because he saw their skill in making quick decisions when called to, and the ability to sense and work out the most complex of problems. They were already working closely together as a close knit unit which was important.

It took them two days and ten hours to get back to the base camp. The only reward they got was a hot shower, before everyone showed back up and took all of it.

Over the course of those two and a half days, the advanced training they had lost twenty-five people. Initially five had been rejected for failing to follow orders and being unsafe so they were shipped off home. They couldn’t have a risk of unruly and undisciplined men. Then there was the question of the others and what had happened to them.

Now the official line was that ten of them had been on an extended exercise when they went into the red line boundary. This area was sectioned off due to military equipment being buried. For some reason the boundary wasn’t there that day. The people wandered into the red zone not knowing and then the carnage began ... with one step they were blown to pieces somersaulting through the air one by one, if the mine had not got them the rapid fire did. Unbeknown to them they had triggered the trip wire, the sky was alight with fire and the air thick with the smell of ammunition. The recovery unit had been out as soon as they realised the boundary had been breached, there were no survivors. This couldn't get out so the official line was that they were just awol.

Rumour spread quickly that ten of them were never found again and were written off as necessary losses so the training couldn’t be shut down.

The entire training was intense as it took six months to complete. Within that time they learnt which plants would provide food and water, if their rations ran out. They learnt how to identify the many creatures within the jungle, some that could kill them with a single bite, and others that could cause an agonising and slow death. They needed to know what was friend or foe! The jungle food had to be prepared and handled a certain way, venomous animals had to be skinned and prepared in a specific way as to not cause poisoning.

Next was being able to build a dry and safe hideout away from the predators, they needed to be highly skilled in all elements of bush craft. It was an art and not something that took a small amount of time. They learned how to live and breathe the jungle. Their beating hearts had to match the one that thrummed deep within the trees.

The team dubbed themselves Jungle Cats and they lived up to the name. As the Jungle Cats they were trained to be the predator in the night, ready to strike when the moment was right. They were taught how to kill and more importantly to survive. Old identities were shed, disappeared and they became the next killing machine of the United States Army.

On graduation day they were all flown back to the States. There were only thirteen of them left after the awol men and those that had been sent home. Standing in front of their loved ones Harper’s chest filled with pride as with the others. He was one of a select few who had ranked up. They had made him a Captain and he felt the weight of it immediately.

As the ceremony came to an end, they all stood and did their chant filling the field and standing in with their booming voices. Fight for the weak. Fight for the strong. Fight for life. Fight for the jungle! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Everyone was dismissed and Harper ran off to find his wife Christine. The girls had to stay home, because the trip would have been too much for them and Christine even by plane. Harper dragged her over to meet Cramer and Petty.