Those of you that was around when I first came to the board know that I was helped by a PI and his friend, Serenity. After the events of that time the PI, Frank Slater, gave me a gun and told me to learn to use it. At time time I thought that I would never cross paths with the man again. However, fate deemed that I would met him one more time.

It was February of last year. I had somehow had managed to convince myself that I did not need to deal with the horrors I saw four months earlier. I had still continued the sword training because I enjoyed it, but for the most part I returned to my normal life. I thought if I did not go looking for that which was not normal, it would not look for me. I had even moved to another part of town to remove myself from all the memories of my old apartment.

At the time I was having dreams that seemed real as I always do from time to time. I made myself believe that there were just that, dreams, and was ignoring them. In them, I was in an abandoned building along the river in Nashville and was trying to get a small girl out of it and away from something chasing us. I was further unsettled by the fact that the girl in the dream was the one that recently disappeared on her way home from school. But I convinced myself that it was just my mind relating to all the news coverage on the story.

It was about then that I received the call.

I picked up the phone and answered, "Hello."

"Erik, this is Frank and we need to talk." The voice on the other end was familiar, but I could not place it. He continued, "My employer is concerned that you are not fully appreciating the opportunity you have received. He has asked me to help motivate you to get back to your training. To do this, I have arranged a situation there in Nashville for you to deal with. Consider it a progress test, to make sure you remember your lessons. I am sure that you know what I am talking about."

"What are you talking about?" My mind couldn't make the connection, or perhaps it refused to make it.

"Don't play games, Erik. This is not a time to play games unless you want another innocent like Serenity to die!"

The name hit me like lighting. I felt a rush of pain and regret run through me. The battle, my seizure, the memories all came rushing back with that name. I had caused her death. I swore I would find those responsible when I was ready, but then I had walked away. Gave up because of my fears.

"No, that wasn't.... I didn't....."

"That's right Erik, refuse to remember. Deny that it happened and deny that you know what is really happening on the north side of town. Just remember, if you refuse to act that little girl and others like her are going to die. Can you live with the knowledge that they too died because you were too weak?"

"Shut Up! Just shut up! I didn't want her to die and I didn't ask for this!"

"Well, that might be but you are here and now there is a choice to be made. You can either sit there a watch as innocents are killed, or you can do something about it. If you decide that you have a backbone, I suggest that you look along the river. There is a old abandon factory next to the rails. I'll be watching."

The phone went dead.

Yes, he is a sick one. If only I knew then what I know now....

So true, so true.

On the other hand, what is done is done.

Good luck getting this sorted out.

I hate to be preachy, but when it comes to people that have had their eyes opened, even if they were yanked open, and they want to go back to sleep... while understandable, is also .... despicable. Those of us that know what is really out there have a responsability to wake up the others and protect as many as we can.

But whatever, doesn't matter now.

Yea, but it is confusing and knowing where to go can be difficult.

Hopefully they will hear about us somehow....

I was talking about Dark... But meh... whatever. To each their own.

I guess was being too generalised...

But yea whatever

Razor wrote:I hate to be preachy, but when it comes to people that have had their eyes opened, even if they were yanked open, and they want to go back to sleep... while understandable, is also .... despicable. Those of us that know what is really out there have a responsability to wake up the others and protect as many as we can.

But whatever, doesn't matter now.

But specifically endangering an innocent just to snap someone out of it . . . that's too far. This guy said he enginnered this situation so Dark would have to help. This guy said he was goign to let an innocent die if Dark didn't do something.

That's the sort of behavoir that earns one an express trip to the same catagorization as the rest of the monsters.

I agree with you there Ron.

Yea, so do I.

This kind of thing really pisses me off.

Razor, you also have to take into account the events surrounding my awakening to the supernatural. At the time, what I thought to be my sole encounter with the supernatural to be one of the most traumatizing things I had ever dealt with. Instead of helping those I was with, I ended up being a liability that caused a friend to die. Most nights after then I would find myself uncontrollably shaking as I recalled the events. Shutting it all out was the only way my mind was able to find time to cope and possibly heal from it.

But you are right, I let my fears of what happened and could happen again turn into a reason for doing nothing. And then I put logic behind that to block what I knew. Despite the horrible methods he employed, Slater did manage to get me past those fears and blocks. I despise what he did, but to be honest it might of been the only way to wake me back up.

I will continue the story later today.

Looking forward to it.

I stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes. I did not want to believe what I just heard, but by the calm tone in his voice I knew he was serious. As I thought about it and everything that came with it, my hands started their shaking again. I think the rush of it all brought tears as the guilt and pain swept through me.

Slowly, I took a few breaths and tried to find my calm center. I had no desire to go to where he told me to, but I couldn't let someone else end up like her. I think it was that thought alone that helped get me back together, forged by the anger I was starting to feel towards Slater.

I had stored the pistol, and I slowly pulled out the case that it had been locked in. I opened it up and looked at it's contents as I remembered that day Slater handed it too me.

"A gift. I don't want you to be defenseless when I am not here to babysit you."

"Given my talent with one of these, I am more likely to shoot myself than anything else."

"Don't worry, I have an associate that will help you with that in my absence."

Inside was the HK USP 9mm along with the five clips.

"I gave you five clips, make sure two of them is always filled with silver. When you get the chance buy a shotgun and have someone teach you to make your own rounds. The rounds you will need most are the kind that have to be made."

How could he force me to do something like this?

It was getting late, and the sun had hours ago started it's decent. I heard my trainer's voice telling me to always try to strike in the last hours before sunset or the first hours of daylight. I couldn't remember the reasoning behind it, but I remembered the words.

I put the gun into the holster I bought for it, and put the clips into the pouch. Back in December I had got the permit to carry, although I had never really used it. I grabbed a messenger bag I used for work and put the other things I was taught to have: holy water, silver knife, cross, digital camera, flashlight, salt, wolfsbane. It was odd that even though I denied it all I still kept all of this. At the last minute, I picked up the bokken I had been training with.

I pulled on my swede coat and went to the car. I paused after starting it to look at my apartment. Would I come back to it, or would I be killed while in the middle of one of the fits I had back then? I knew I had no more control over my abilities now than what I had then. I pushed it aside because he had taken my choices away. He knew in the end I would not allow someone else to die on my behalf.

I drove towards downtown Nashville.

I pulled up to the place I knew Slater was talking about, because it was the place that deep down I knew I was dreaming about. It looked like it was an old warehouse/factory that used the old rail tracks along the river. It had been abandoned long before I came to Nashville, it looked like it came straight out of the 1920's or 30's.

The top floor and roof had mostly collapsed in on itself making it look the skeletal remains from some lost past. I looked up and saw that there were ravens circling the place ominously. There used to be a walkway into the second floor, but it didn't look like it would be a safe entrance, so I started slowly circling the building trying to note any other entrances and exits.

As I came along the riverside of the building, I found a doorway that opened into the building. Despite the remaining daylight, the inside of the building was dark and gloomy and I couldn't see into it more than a few feet. A few cats run yowling between my feet and I continued back to the front. I decided that I would go in through the main entrance.

I entered the gloom of the building and drew my pistol and flashlight.

I entered the building. The inside was mostly hollow with the exceptions of the support beams. There were rats scurrying everywhere, and the entire place smelled like urine and alcohol. There was a feeling of wrongness to the area, that now I would recognize as warning of evil. But then, I didn't really know better and I proceeded unaware.

I found a smaller office that seemed to be a separate room, although the doors and windows were long gone. I heard a muffled cry from within and I picked up my pace to get there. The room was small and stank of decay and death. I looked in the corner where the noise came from and saw something moving under rags. That feeling of wrongness went down my spine again, but I moved on anyways.

I used my foot to move some of the stinking rags and was surprised to see a child's foot there. I put my gun away and started removing the rest of the pile from her. She started screaming as soon as she realized the rags were being removed. The girl was dirty and bruised. Tears came to her eyes as she struggled to somehow move. It took me a few minutes to get her to calm down enough to realize I wasn't who she thought I was. I carefully removed the filthy gag and said, "It's alright, I am going to get you out of here."

It was then that I heard the noise outside of the room.

Ouch. See, this is why I secure an "unorthodox" exit with a little C4 before going in. On trigger push and I leave via wall.

Hey Bert... mouseholing is a good idea... however I wonder if you can get me something for that purpose. ... How easy would it be for you to get me some det cord?

Bert most people here do not have those kind of toys, or the knowledge to use them in that way without killing themselves. But that is why you find yourself being so useful and needed there Bert.

Exactly what Shadow said. Fortunately my training gives me at least a nodding aquaintence with explosives and their uses.

Just enough to kill yourself, ah?

Harr harr, Natasha.

I know how to level a house with a potato, two nails, a piece of copper wire, and an aluminum foil sheet. (not to mention the microwave)

I don't always need that kind of power. Some days it would be nice to just cut a hole in the wall with a well placed breach-charge or a few feet of det-cord.

Razor wrote:Harr harr, Natasha.

I know how to level a house with a potato, two nails, a piece of copper wire, and an aluminum foil sheet. (not to mention the microwave)

I don't always need that kind of power. Some days it would be nice to just cut a hole in the wall with a well placed breach-charge or a few feet of det-cord.

:idea:
Sounds like the A-Team: whatever you got laying around is fine, thanks. I am not sure how, but it has found its way on Russian television programming... although I am not sure if they bothered to dub Russian. I am so used to hearing both languages usually simultaneously that I do not notice such things.

Times like these I am happy I not own the television!

I drew the pistol again, and went into the main room. At first, everything was quiet and I didn't see anything. As I shined the light around, I caught a rat trying to pull something across the floor. I took a step towards it to see what the rat had, when I got the feeling that something bad was right behind me. I heard it's chuckle and attempted to dive forward.

It's swing still caught me and the force of it drove me sideways. I tried my best to roll with it, but I only was able to come back up in a half crouch. My flashlight was knocked from my hands, and the light let me see the outline of my attacker. It looked to be nothing more than a homeless person, but no man was strong enough to knock someone around like that.

I didn't get much time to think about it, as the thing came at me. I tried my best to get a few shots off, but with my hands starting their slight shake I missed more than I hit. Then I was diving out of the way. We danced around the room, it trying to hit me and me trying to get shots in. When the gun ran out of ammo though, the monster took advantage and knocked me backwards. The gun came out of my grip in the fall, and my vision blurred with the force of the impact. As it cleared, I felt a foot go onto my chest and pin me down.

If I had seen it at a distance, I would have thought it was just another homeless man. It was covered in rags and smelled of booze. But the face that looked at me didn't look right. As it glared at me it reached into it's rags and pulled out a large, blood stained meat cleaver. I watched in horror as it started to raise it above it's head for the killing blow.

It started it's decent and stopped almost as quickly as it started. I stared dumbfounded as a blade appeared through the monster's chest. The monster twitched and Slater's face appeared right behind it. He was holding the sword in his left hand and his odd pistol in his right. He swiftly brought the gun to the monster's head and blasted away. Then pushed the body aside.

Now instead of the monster, Slater stood over me.

I started to rise, partially with relief and partially with the fury I felt earlier towards the man. Before I even got halfway up though, the barrel of Slater's pistol turned back at me.

"You don't want to do anything you would regret now. Especially since I just saved your life."

"Why?" It was all that I could get out.

"My employer is always seeking recruits and you had potential that we look for. When you stopped training he got concerned and asked me to motivate you."

"You didn't have to do this. The girl might have died."

He shrugged, "People die all the time, and nothing short of this would have gotten you to act. Even if you won't admit it you have to agree."

He took a step back and lowered the gun a little. "Listen, I like you Erik. That's why I am giving you this second chance. See, I am not supposed to be saving your butt like this. If you died, it meant that you weren't worthy enough. I would have killed the monster and moved on. Now just get back to your training and we can pretend tonight never happened."

I stood up slowly. Every bone in my body protested, but I did my best not to show my pain to him. I saw my gun off to the side, too far for me to get to quickly. I hesitated, but then I decided that the gun probably wouldn't make that much difference in what I was about to do.

"I will not be part of a group that does this," I said as I waived my hand. "This is not right, no matter the twisted logic behind it. How can you let someone innocent be put at risk?"

He laughed at me, "No one is innocent, don't be foolish."

I shook my head, "You aren't that different from what you hunt are you?"

He laughed again, "I just don't let sentimentality hold me back from my job."

I looked at him in disgust. "Tell your boss that I am not interested. I will learn how to deal with this stuff on my own, and in a way that doesn't turn me into you. If that means that you have to go ahead and shoot me, do it."

His smile faded and he sighed. "While this is why I like you, don't go pushing your luck too far. I will give you some time for you to change your mind." He put his gun away, and started to walk away.

"You better start find someone to teach you rookie, because I will not be there to save you next time." With that he walked away into the gathering night.

I collected my flashlight and gun. The girl was still in the room, terrified by the shots and I used my knife to free her. I carried her out to the car and used my cellphone to call the police. I told them that I heard the sounds of someone screaming while taking digital photos of the local ruins. I went in, found the girl and was attacked by a homeless guy. We struggled, but he got scared when I fired my gun at him and ran off.

I have mixed feelings about that night, but it does serve to remind me why I am doing what I do.

Damn. I *HATE* humans like that.

So, if ya need training let me (or someone actually licensed to do it) know.

Thanks for the offer Bert, but remember this was a year or so ago. I found someone to train me properly a few weeks after this happened. I spent most of the rest of that year apprenticing to them. They taught me how to understand my gifts and use them within their limitations.

They also helped me work through most of the psychological damage that Serenity's death caused. These memories just came back because of the events surrounding the tome's recovery.

Psychological wounds are the slowest to heal. And among the most painful.