Not too long ago I was in Maine going to visit Holister in the asylum I stashed him in.

The resolution of that tale hasn't been told, not by me at least.

I was whisked back in time to the event that had shaped my life more than any other; taken back to Iraq where my squad was butchered.

As you can imagine, it isn't an easy thing for me to discuss.

It all happened again pretty much the same way that it did the first time. Only this time my actions were different. I couldn't convince my commander I wasn't crazy, I couldn't get that fucking creature to chase me, and I had to endure that soul searing pain all over again from where all the moisture had been drained out of my right arm.

Which part? Whisking back in time or draining moisture?

I have no fucking clue but I don't want to run into either of them again!

The water-sucker was my first encounter with the Supernatural some years ago. The time-thing was recently encountered in Maine.

Yeah. I'm not sure if I really was whisked back in time or if it was a repeat. I know I had my original arm but that doesn't mean anything.

Very likely it was.

I don't know Ron. I've never met Not You and I was up there in Maine as well. Whatever it was was freaky though.

I got whisked back five years, only days after I had found Karlash. Probably the second most painful day of my life. I got to watch my best friend die by the fangs of a Hellhound a second time.

Most of it happened exactly like last time. Me and Marcus cutting through an alley way on the way to campus. A little girl chasing after her stray cat. Hellhound comes out of nowhere, springing at the girl. Marcus, that heroic idiot, manages to get between the hound and the girl.

The first time I froze and watched the hound butcher my friend. If Edward hadn't shown up a few moments later, I would've been next.

This time was different. I wasn't that same scared twenty years old I had been then. While I didn't have Karlash on me, I did have a combat knife in my jacket and the Ring of Weapon Empowerment that Holister had given me (thanks man, wherever you are). It was a quick fight. I had dealt with Hellhounds before, and I was pissed. Afterward, as I knelt by the dead body of my friend, the first wound had been fatal, I came to a surprising realization. I didn't feel guilty about his death anymore. I was still deeply hurt by his loss, but I no longer blamed myself for freezing up.

At this point everything around me shattered into a billion snowflakes, as I was suddenly back in Maine. It certainly wasn't a dream, as the wounds on my arm could prove.

Goddamn... Bert, that's your second re-living of that experience. And the first time was while you were helping me. ~.~; I'm so sorry you had to go through that again...again.

Well, thanks Josh, but it wasn't your fault. This time I could act instead of blindly following orders, even if the outcome was the same.

Bert; I want my dog back.

Awwww, but we're such good buds now! Ain't that right Duke? *Woof!* Good boy Duke!

Heh. Want your bartender back too?

But seriously Ben, come on down to Atlantic City for a few days. We'll have some fun and you can take your friends back home with you.

I'm sure he would really take to gambling.

Well, the local baseball team doesn't start playing til May sometime. But we could prolly find something non-gambling to do.

What is the beach like this time of year?

Oh yea, Natasha told me that Ron told her what really happened in Maine. Forgot I was supposed to share that. She would say so herself but she is hard at work today. Me? I got some free time waiting on a few report backs.

Holister wrote:Bert; I want my dog back.

Don't make me have to repeat myself. It's bad enough I have Fate over every other day playing babysitter and going on about his ultimate evil theory.

Hell even Master Li stpped by before going to Japan to dropff the key to his dojo or something. At this point I do not really give a damn.

I am selling the house and the remaining parcels. Im keeping my cabin and my dog.
To Hell with everything else.
I lost my family, I lost my job, I lost my DOG for Pete's sake. The doc has me on anti-depresents cause she thinks I may become suicidal.
That's a load of bullshit if I ever heard one.

I just want my Molly back, I want my life back.

The doc says this all happened because I repressed all my guilt and rage. Says I need to express myself better. To learn how to vent. Think I know a way to vent just fine.

Bert; I want my dog back.

The beach and water are fucking freezing usually. If you're in to shell hunting you can find some great ones after winter storms though.

Holister wrote:

Holister wrote:Bert; I want my dog back.

Don't make me have to repeat myself. It's bad enough I have Fate over every other day playing babysitter and going on about his ultimate evil theory.

Hell even Master Li stpped by before going to Japan to dropff the key to his dojo or something. At this point I do not really give a damn.

I am selling the house and the remaining parcels. Im keeping my cabin and my dog.
To Hell with everything else.
I lost my family, I lost my job, I lost my DOG for Pete's sake. The doc has me on anti-depresents cause she thinks I may become suicidal.
That's a load of bullshit if I ever heard one.

I just want my Molly back, I want my life back.

The doc says this all happened because I repressed all my guilt and rage. Says I need to express myself better. To learn how to vent. Think I know a way to vent just fine.

Bert; I want my dog back.

I know.

Move to Nashville!

Bert_the_Turtle wrote:The beach and water are fucking freezing usually. If you're in to shell hunting you can find some great ones after winter storms though.

I have a high cold tolerance.

Don't hurt the dog.

Just come down and pick Duke up man. I'm not in a position to deliver.

His follow up song will be how he got his dog back.

Bert...you got to always be in position to deliver!

I have a few short term comittments that I can't shirk.