Schneider's Tale: The Awakening

By Zachary Sperling

Jack is just an ordinary college senior on a trip for winter break with his friends when his life changes forever. After a skiing accident, Jack gains the powers of a wolf, joins a government organization, and now fights with a new group of friends to rid the world of wrongdoers—that is, if what he is doing actually is the right thing. Jack must uncover the secrets hidden within this new world of superhumans while trying to balance what truly is right and wrong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662477096

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Schneider's Tale

The Awakening

Zachary Sperling

Copyright © 2022 Zachary Sperling

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-7708-9 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-7709-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

A Happy Accident

Orientation

The First of Many

Wilbert

Contradictory Conclusion

Secret Mission

Back to School

A Day with New Friends

The Prince and the Frog

Introductions and Reconnections

A Nasty Brawl

Getting Over It

The Rest of the World

An End and a New Beginning

Blessings of Destruction

Hometown Hero

Ruler of All

Who Is Kara?

Wait! A Wedding?

The Rest of the World

Actions Have Consequences—Part 1

Actions Have Consequences—Part 2

Thanks for your support, James, Jerry, Peter, and Nick. The biggest thank you and dedication goes to my best friend, Matt, who without your help, I could not have finished this book.

Chapter 1

A Happy Accident

It was 8:15 a.m., and the song You Make My Dreams Come True started playing through Jack’s phone. As he slowly rolled over to reach for his phone on his nightstand, he was confused as to why his alarm was going off, until he read the date on his phone. It was News Year’s Eve and time to go on vacation. He jumped out of bed, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to meet his parents for breakfast. As he walked into the kitchen, he greeted his mother and father with a hug and kiss and walked over to the stove, where he began to cook two eggs. As he ate, his parents started to ask him, Are your clothes packed? Do you have your toothbrush? Toothpaste? Extra underwear? Your bathing suit? I hear the resort has a pool. Oh! What about your skis? Where are they?

Don’t worry, Mom, I have everything. I’m set to go. I just need to brush my teeth, and I’m out the door, Jack replied.

Okay, okay, I’m just worried about my boy, his mother said in a worried but excited tone.

Jack finished brushing his teeth, grabbed his things, kissed his mother goodbye, hugged his dad, and ran out the door. He packed his things into his SUV and texted his friend Jimmy and Joshua that he was on his way. Jack drove from his house in Eastern Long Island to the middle of the island, where he arrived at Jimmy’s house. He walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. Jimmy’s dad answered the door and invited Jack in. Jimmy was finishing up getting ready, so Jack and Jimmy’s father started to talk. As they talked, to Jack’s surprise, Jimmy and his girlfriend, Michelle, walked out and were ready to go. Jack asked Jimmy, Aren’t we going to Michelle’s house?

Yeah, why? Jimmy replied.

Then why is she here?

Umm, I can hear you, Jack, Michelle chimed in.

Well, if you’re here, then who is setting up for your New Year’s party? Jack said with a smirky remark.

You’re awful, Michelle said while laughing.

All right, let’s go! Jimmy screamed with excitement.

With that, the three jumped in Jack’s car and proceeded to western Long Island. Near JFK airport in a very Jewish community. The three arrived to pick up Joshua. Joshua couldn’t wait to get out of the house and hurried to the car, threw his stuff in, and told Jack to go. With complete excitement, the four drove upstate to Michelle’s house, where they would spend New Year’s with three other friends, Kim, Shannon, and Shannon’s boyfriend, Pauli.

Jack woke up the next morning not remembering the night. He looked over to a table where there was an empty handle of Captain Morgan. He stared at the handle, turned over, and saw Josh, who looked at Jack, and said, Yeah, you drank most of that. You were destroyed last night.

Jack and Josh just laughed and Jack asked, Wait, where’s the third J? We’re the three J’s, what happened to him?

He’s sleeping in Michelle’s room, what do you think? Josh replied in a sarcastic tone.

Jack and Josh got up and woke the rest of the crew up. They ate a quick breakfast and jumped into Jack’s car, where they headed up to a mountain in Vermont. The ride up was long and boring, but eventually after five hours of driving, they arrived. They were staying at a condo about twenty minutes from the mountain. As Jack pulled up, he saw the marvelous building glistening in the sun as the snow on the roof was piled up, and the icicles inched their way from the shingles. Jack got out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air and smiled. He was excited for what the next few days would entail.

The room looked magnificent. It was two stories with bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs and the living room and kitchen on the ground floor. The living room had a ceiling twenty feet high and fireplace with a fifty-inch flat-screen TV above it. The kitchen had granite countertops and mahogany cabinets with a lush rosewood dining table. The rooms were furnished each with two full-size beds. As the gang got settled in, Jimmy reminded everyone that they should get a good night sleep because tomorrow they would all have to get up early and go to the mountain for a day of skiing and snowboarding. With all in agreement, they decided to have dinner and go to bed. Jack cooked a dinner for his friends. While eating, they all laughed and talked in excitement about what tomorrow held for them. With full bellies and a warm bed, the group went to sleep ready for tomorrow.

The sun shined blissfully down upon the peak of the Vermont mountain, where someone passing by could see hundreds of people pool in and out of the parking lot, loading and unloading their cars, ready to take on the freshly groomed snow that flowed down the mountain from the peak to the base. Jack and his friends walked onto the slopes ready for the day ahead. They bought their lift tickets and raced each other to the nearest ski lift. There they waited patiently for their turn to get on. Once on, they talked and chatted about small things until they got to the top.

At the top, Jack turned to look at the view. The view was breathtaking, as he could see for miles and miles. He was overwhelmed with the beauty that he saw and how every mountain around was covered head to toe with trees, and the only thing that separated the mountains from each other were the roads that wrapped around them like decoration on a Christmas tree. Gazing with awe, Jack didn’t realize that his friends had already left without him.

Jack thought that since they were all snowboarding, he could catch up to them because he was skiing. Jack found an easy trail that he thought they would have all started on and jumped right in. After getting warmed up, Jack switched and followed a blue square down to make up for lost time. While going down that, for a while he realized he wasn’t going fast enough to catch up to his friends, whom he only assumed were already at the bottom waiting. Jack then changed and went down a double black diamond that was a steep straight path back to the base of the mountain. He carved back and forth, slowly gaining speed, and in no time was at the bottom of the hill. He looked around near the ski lift and couldn’t see any of his friends. After waiting for about five minutes, he looked up the slope to see Jimmy, Michelle, Josh, and the others making their way down the easiest path. Jimmy asked in shock as to how Jack made it down before everyone else. Jack just laughed, smiled, and said, Let’s go again.

The group skied all day on all kinds of slopes. After hours of skiing, the group decided to call it a day and headed back to the resort. Once they got back, everyone ate dinner together. At the table, they began to talk.

So who’s ready for tomorrow? Jack asked with excitement.

Guys, I am so glad we all came together. I love you all so much, Kim said without answering Jack.

Oh my gosh, I know! You guys are like my best friends, Shannon exclaimed.

So tomorrow? Jack asked again.

Hey, everyone, I’m not sure about you, but I’m ready to sleep in and relax tomorrow, Josh said with exhaustion.

Yeah, I could really use some sleep. Today was crazy, Pauli answered.

Hello? I came here to ski, so that’s what I’m gonna do, Jack said with frustration.

Gosh, Jack, not if you’re gonna be mean about it, Josh said sarcastically.

Okay, well, I’ll see you all tomorrow. I’m going skiing tomorrow, so I need to be up early. I’m going to bed. Good night, Jack said with frustration.

The next morning Jack woke up at six o’clock, cooked eggs and bacon, took a shower, put on his ski cloths, and was about to head out when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Jimmy and Michelle.

Hey, man, don’t think you get the mountain all to yourself, Jimmy said encouragingly.

Yeah! Count us in, buddy, Michelle said as she gave Jack a friendly hit to the chest.

The three then went to the car and drove to the mountain for another day of skiing.

At the mountain, conditions were not as good as yesterday; in fact, conditions were exceptionally poor. Visibility was so bad that you could not see five feet in front of you. The temperature dropped ten degrees at the base and twenty-five at the peak of the mountain. This rapid change in temperature brought about harsh winds, especially at the peak. To make matters worse, there was freezing rain. This didn’t deter the three, however, since they were excited to take on this challenge. It seemed more fun than hurtful to the three. They skied for hours, carving up the mountain one slope at a time. By midday the rain had stopped, but the other conditions remained. By two o’clock, the three had decided to take one last run down the mountain and race. They went to the top, decided on a rather long easy trail, and began their descent. As Jack, Jimmy, and Michelle raced, they were neck and neck, weaving in and out of each other. Jack then decided to use his advantage of skiing over snowboarding by squatting down and bringing his skis in tight to his body. He bulleted down the mountain and blazed past Michelle and Jimmy. As Jack flew by them, he realized victory was at hand and began to cheer. He looked back to see if the two were in sight, and expectantly enough, they were not. As Jack turned back around, he saw a little girl skiing with her dad right in front of him. He immediately turned as sharp as he could without hitting them. In doing so, he flew to the left and headed into the trees. He tried to control himself as much as he could in the trees but lost control. He was now building speed and could not control himself. He began to hit into loose branches and eventually hit a large one, sending him flying off his skis and down a small cliff. As he tumbled, he smashed his back into a boulder, twisted his arm, and snapped his leg at the knee joint since his ankles were stuck in place with the ski boots. He finally landed on a mound of snow surrounded by light brush and trees.

As he lay there cut up and unable to move, the only thoughts in Jack’s head was whether he was going to die or not. His breathing became heavy and quick. His consciousness went in and out, and his vision became blurred. Upon regaining consciousness, if only for a brief time, Jack saw out of his blurred vision a shadow slowly approach. As the shadow got closer, Jack thought it was a bear. When the shadow got close enough for Jack to distinguish it, the shadow revealed itself to be a big wolf, black as the night sky. The wolf walked up to Jack, sniffed him, and left Jack’s field of vision once more. Jack felt a sharp pain and lost his consciousness again.

Jack regained consciousness only to find himself in a hospital room. As he looked around and saw that he looked perfectly fine, there was nothing on him but a pulse oximeter. He took it off and sat up to continue to look around. He was in a single room, and the hospital looked similar to the one his family used back on Long Island. After a few minutes of looking around the room, Jack thought to himself, I must’ve been rescued in some way and then sent transferred to this hospital all while unconscious. The only thing I can’t figure out is why I don’t have any braces on or feel pain. I mean, I know I took a bad stumble, and I’m pretty sure I snapped my leg—

Oh, someone get the doctor, he’s awake! Jack’s mother said as she opened the door to visit him.

Hey, Mom, Jack replied.

Oh, honey, I was so worried about you, but the doctor really needs to talk with you. It’s important, she answered with both excitement and worry.

Okay, I guess. But what happened? Jack asked in confusion.

You took a pretty bad tumble, Jack’s dad said as he walked in the room with the doctor.

Excuse me, Jack, I am Dr. Zhang. I’d like to talk to you about the predicament you’re in.

Predicament? Jack asked.

Yes. You see, when you fell while skiing, you were in critical condition. You lost an extreme amount of blood, had three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, your left knee blew out, and you had a massive bite wound on your right trapezius that looked like it was given to you by a dog. The doctors in Vermont were able to stabilize you, but to do the work needed to save your life, they sent you here. It just so happens we have some of the best surgeons in the United States working here. The issue is when you arrived. You see, when you arrived— Dr. Zhang explained before she was cut off.

Thanks, Doctor, but I’ll take it from here, some man said, dressed in an Army uniform.

Um, who are you? the doctor asked.

It’s a need-to-know basis, and you, Doctor, have been relieved of duty on this patient. To make things easier for you, you have been given a $2 million stipend for your exemplary work, and all the information on your patient has been erased, the Army man replied.

How dare you! This is groundbreaking work! I will not just leave my patient like this. And who are you to do that? If you don’t mind, I’ll be calling security now, the doctor replied with anger.

Oh, that just won’t do, Doctor. Sorry, but this is for your own good. Boys!

Just then, two Army men walked into the room and injected a syringe into the frantic doctor’s neck and carried her out. Then before Jack or his parents could get a word in, the strange Army man cut them off and began to speak.

Before you say anything, let me introduce myself. I go by the name General. As of right now, that is all you need to know about my name. Yes, I do work for the United States government, just a part of another branch of our wondrous military. You see, there is the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and my branch. My branch is known as the specials. We take in and train those with unique abilities. And your son, Jack—you have unique abilities. You see, when you were bitten, it wasn’t by some dog. It was a wolf. Our analysts determined that your wound was made by a wolf based on size of the bite, teeth marks, and other details, but that’s not the important part. The important part is that when the wolf bit you, its saliva got into your body. Unlike other people, your body didn’t reject the saliva and send white blood cells after it. Instead, your body’s DNA fused with that of the wolf’s DNA. In short, you were in a coma for the past several days because your body was essentially rebooting itself. The cells with the new DNA started to overtake the regular human cells until every single cell in your body was made up of your new cells. To make things simple, you are now a superhuman.

Okay, no. There is no possible way that I am a superhuman, Jack replied with uncertainty.

Well, you are now. To prove it, I would like you to jump up and touch the ceiling for me, the general explained with confidence.

Jump and touch the ceiling? I’m five-foot-eleven, and standard hospital rooms have eight-foot ceilings. I can already touch the ceiling without even trying.

Then show me, the general egged on with confidence.

Fine! Jack yelled as he got out of bed.

Jack, what are you doing? The doctors said to stay in bed, Jack’s mom exclaimed with worry.

Mom, it’s fine. I’m just going to show this guy that I know how to jump and then get back into bed, Jack replied with a snicker.

Jack slowly climbed out of bed as if he was sore. As he stood up, his parents said nothing but were in awe over the fact that Jack had no visible injuries left or casts on at all, even after being in a life-or-death accident just a few days earlier. Jack began to stretch by lifting his hands up and leaning back like he had just woken up from a long sleep. Then he crouched down ready to jump. As he jumped up, he reached his hand for the ceiling, but his hand went through the ceiling, and his head smashed against it. Jack fell down on one knee and asked the general, Are you serious? There’s no way. This is awesome!

I know, I know. And there are more in this world like you. We would like to invite you to work with us so that we can train you and have you learn how to control your powers. Of course, we will pay you, the general offered.

But I am still in college, it’s my last semester. I’ll be student teaching! Jack replied with a worry.

Don’t worry about any of that. I’ve already taken the liberty of letting your school know that you will not be able to finish out the semester due to your injuries. All of your friends up at school assume that your injury is very serious. In addition, you will still graduate with both degrees like you had planned, and you will be certified as both a New York State teacher with a professional certification and as a teacher for the Department of Defense Education. All of this is, of course, contingent on the fact that you accept my offer, the general replied with a grin.

I just have one question. What’s the pay like? Jack said with a smile.

Wait, wait, wait! Jack needs to finish his degree. Education is exceptionally important. You can’t just give him one without Jack actually finishing, Jack’s mother chimed in.

Oh, isn’t that exactly what the school does for him anyway? He pays a school thousands of dollars each year to take remedial classes that mean absolutely nothing in the real world only to be awarded with a piece of paper and the hopes of finding a job in a very niche field that the school and society made him choose simply because it is easier to make him specialize in one thing rather than many. I’d also like to add the fact that while working for us, he will be educated in at the bare minimum of seven languages, three martial arts, world history, current issues, sciences, and mathematics. In order to bring his full abilities out, we must first put his brain on superhuman mode instead of normal human mode. I would also like to add that he will be paid $1 million every six months until his schooling is complete. Then he will be paid in accordance to the contracts that he completes, the general retorted.

I’m down, Jack instantly said.

I guess that could work, his mother replied.

Now wait just a minute. Will there be a contract for him that I can see? And these contract completions. What type of work is it? Jack’s dad asked.

I’m glad you asked, the general said with a smile as he pulled out the contract from his uniform. Here it is. It clearly states that if he denies the contract, there are no hard feelings. We leave but will maintain to watch over him in the event that he chooses to use his powers that would aid him in the regular world. If he does accept the contract, everything I said earlier will go into effect. However, the job that he gets after being tested—academically, physically, and combatively—will determine the work he will be doing. Some examples are researchers, teachers, instructors, surveillance on other superhumans, combat squad, defense squad, or even secret forces. Hell, he could end up as the highest paid janitor in the world, the general explained.

Hmm. I see. Thank you, Jack’s dad answered.

So when can I start? Jack asked.

I’d like to start with a simple trust exercise. Walk over to this window here. As the general pointed to the window, Jack then walked over as instructed. Good! Open the window. Punch out the screen, the general continued. Jack opened the window and hesitated but then did as he was told and punched out the screen. Marvelous! This is going great! Now, jump out the window, the general explained both excitedly and seriously.

Wait, what? We’re on, like, the fifth floor! Jack said, surprised and scared.

You’re a superhuman now. Five stories should be nothing for you. Just jump. This is a trust exercise. I need to know that I can trust you to believe in what I tell you. Now please jump, the general reassured Jack.

I don’t know, I mean, we are five stories up. There’s no way I won’t break at least one bone, Jack muttered.

Oh, just jump! the general screamed.

Fine! Jack screamed back.

Jack looked down and jumped out of the window. As he flew down, he realized that he was still in the hospital gown, so anyone below him could see his genitals. He immediately covered himself like Marilyn Monroe. Jack braced for impact the closer he got, expecting to break a few bones. His feet smashed into the asphalt, and his knees bent to absorb the shock of impact. His body bent forward a little bit, then Jack stood up completely unscathed.

No fucking way! Holy shit, that was awesome! And it didn’t hurt at all! Jack screamed with excitement.

Jack’s parents looked out the window with fear as Jack had jumped. Once he landed and screamed back up to them, his parents let out a big sigh of relief. The general turned to them and said, Wow. I am so glad I wasn’t wrong. Jack’s parents just glared at the general. As Jack’s parents looked back down at Jack, they saw a limousine approaching. The limo stopped in front of Jack, and the driver exited the limo, walked around and up to Jack. Jack’s parents couldn’t hear what was being said, but the general reassured the two that the limo was only here to drive Jack back home, help him pack, and get him on his way. The general then quickly followed up with the fact that they would be flown home in a helicopter, and the car that they took to the hospital would be towed back home as not to get any miles on it. With that arrangement, Jack’s parents couldn’t argue and let things be.

Jack asked the limo driver who he was going to meet, and the driver simply replied, Hahaha! I’m only bringing you home and to the airport.

Whoa, cool! But why the airport?

Because you have a flight to catch.

Wow. Thanks, Jack said sarcastically.

Jack was driven home and was instructed by the general to pack up his things. The general explained that they operated much differently than the other branches and allowed for recruits to remain in a civilian mindset by bringing all their belongings. Jack packed up as fast as he could and was helped by his parents and family. Within the hour, Jack was ready to go.

Well, I’m all set to go, General. Can I just say goodbye to my parents?

Of course.

Thanks, I’ll be right back.

Jack walked over to his parents and looked at them. He stared at them with love so that nothing needed to be said. However, he still began to say, Mom. Dad. I’m gonna be the greatest superhero ever!

You never grow up, do you? We’ll miss you, honey. Good luck.

See ya, dude. Enjoy yourself.

Will do. Love you guys.

Love you too. Both of Jack’s parents said with sincerity and warmth as they brought Jack in for one last long hug.

I’m off! Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad!

Be good, son!

With that, Jack left his house with the general, got into the limousine, and proceeded to the airport. After a long flight, Jack arrived at the military base.

Chapter 2

Orientation

Jack stepped out of the airplane to find himself in a military base in the middle of a desert. There were large warehouse-like buildings that resembled hangers but without large doors. There were no fences in sight or regiments of men. Jack saw what looked like an obstacle course and an exceptionally large TSA tower. As Jack took the time to soak up the view, he couldn’t help but feel how hot it was, yet it didn’t seem humid but rather a dry heat. Jack turned to the general and was about to ask him a question, but the general started talking to him before he could get a word out.

Welcome to Area 51! Groom Lake Nevada! Where all those pesky alien hunters come to get arrested! Haha! Well, let me show you around and tell you about the facility!

Wait. The Area 51? So are you guys really holding an alien spaceship? Or some crazy superweapon?

No, the general stated and proceeded to walk Jack around. He then continued with, Everything that people thought were aliens were just mishaps and accidents by our superhumans. Let me explain. Everyone you see here is a superhuman. They all possess some sort of ability. For instance, one of our superhuman scientists was researching a way to create artificial gravity on spaceships for a two-man spacecraft. That was the flying saucer incident in the fifties. The whole green man alien with a weird head is also a result of that same science team. They thought that their green space suit they designed could not only protect the astronauts from the cold of space but also be a self-sustaining suit through photosynthesis, hence the green suit. Obviously it was a failure. But instead of telling you all about superhumans, take this book. It explains everything. Plus, you need to finish it by tomorrow for your first class.

Whoa. That’s really cool. But wait, I have to finish this book by tomorrow? It’s, like, five hundred pages!

Deal with it. You’re a superhuman now. Now if you’ll come this way, I want to show you something.

Aw, man. I thought I was going to be leaving school.

On the contrary, you’ll be learning more than an average human would in their entire lifetime in the matter of six months.

What!

The general led Jack into the largest hangar, which had no hangar bay doors. There was an above-average door on the side of the building to enter, which the two walked through. Upon entering, Jack bore witness to something completely different from what he was expecting. Inside the large hangar, there was an arena set up with two people in the center squaring off along with a group of people on the sidelines watching and two additional people in lab coats that resembled scientists. The floor where the two people were squared off was of a turquoise color with lines along the outside to indicate the out-of-bounds mark, along with a line stretched across the