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More from CrashTheJackal
This is a short story. Nothing to do with the big angry lizard. I wrote this to break some writing blocks. Take this story with a grain of salt.
Thank you
nevermint for proof reading this for me.
....
War on the Island of monsters.
The rain was coming down in sheets, I had to drive slowly to avoid hydroplaning. What a night to get a PTSD call, the patient was new to the Seattle area and an hour and a half drive in dry weather; I was supposed to meet him in my office on Monday. His wife called distraught saying he had locked himself in the shed, the Police had been called when he had threatened to shoot someone.
As I turned onto the street a police officer flagged me down, “Oh Hey Doc, glad you could get here so soon.” I give him the best serous look I can manage at two a.m. after recognizing him, “Not a problem Greg, how is the marriage going since our last session?” He smiled at me, “Well it still has its bumps but Meg and I are getting better… you better go talk to the guy before he hurts someone or makes the news.” He flagged me forward to the police line were I parked, slipped into my rain coat and fedora; then walked to the house.
“Hey Doc! Glad you could get here, the captain is in the kitchen with the wife, I guess this guy is a veteran like you.” Said an officer I didn’t know. “You’re going to want a vest if you go out to talk to him.” Said officer Frank Deagan as I walked in the door, “Thanks for the advice Frank.” I stepped into the kitchen, “Good morning, I’m Doctor Cooper. What seems to be going on?” Captain Harken stands up and shakes my hand telling me what he knew.
The wife looks at me, the look of shock spreads across her expression. “You’re a… you’re a…” she starts to stutter, “A monster yes; a lucky survivor like your husband, Mrs. Gimble. Would you mind telling me what triggered this episode?” I found getting to the point gets people past the point of shock at meeting me. It worked, she blinked and said “There was a raccoon outside; it knocked over the trash cans, he went out at eleven and didn’t come back, I found him out in the shed; he threatened the neighbors with our shot gun. So I called for help.”
I nodded, “Has anyone tried to talk with Alex since?” my mind starts to play back memories; the name sounded familiar. They shake their heads and confirm they left him alone, “Mrs. Gimble do you know what rank your husband was in the service and branch?” she stood up and lead me into their living room to a shadow box on the wall and a picture. How could I forget that man?
….
11/28/2021 00:21:40 South Pacific; over Ramner Island
The Heavy Bomber was being bounced around by a bad storm, I was checking the bombardier controls before we crossed into the inner red zone; we were to drop six M.O.A.B.s to setup a forward landing base for the invasion. “Those Alien bastards won’t know what’s hit them.” Said Chuck the radar tech next to me, I shrugged but noticed something on his screen, “Hey what’s that?” I said point at a blip on the screen. Chuck swore and got onto the line to the cockpit, about that time the air collision alarms sounded. A chunk of metal slammed into and through the outside wall next to us just missing chuck, then the plane started to climb.
I rushed up to the cockpit to see what was going on, I open the door and was almost thrown back by the wind, the wind shield was gone along with the pilots I jumped in to the seat and leveled it out, Being a backup pilot I knew the controls, I had fire warnings on all but one engine I could see the wings burning on the checker cameras. The plane started to lose altitude, “Whiskey Flight 7, Mayday! MayDay! We are going down, three engines and pilots gone.” I repeat the message as I find an open field. I drop the pay load into the jungle and strap myself in; hit the station alarm button for everyone else to strap in. I kill the last engine with a tree top, I bring the nose up trying to slow the oversized bomber; the tail clipped a tree at the edge of the clearing and slammed the plane hard into the soft earth followed by blackness.
…
I stared at the photo for a long moment, I scrub my muzzle out of habit, “Well this is a shock; I knew you’re husband back then.” I give her a smile with confidence, “I’ll Bring him home, listen go get some rest. Do you have any beer or soda?” She gestures to the kitchen and sits on the couch she looked visibly relaxed, must be the pheromones I release from time to time. I walk into the kitchen and open the ice box taking out two beers and head for the door to the back yard after talking briefly with Harken.
…
I came too still strapped in, the sun was blinding me through the peeled back roof. I free myself from the wreckage of the cock pit opening the door, the plane broke apart but I did see movement from the crew. The jungle is what alarmed me, no sound; no birds singing, no animals calling; Just stillness. It happened in slow motion; a wave of smaller creatures and two ‘Dragons’ erupted from the trees and surrounded us. All twenty eight survivors captured. They tied us to the smaller ‘Dragon’; It looked like a long snake with legs and a mouth you could park a smart car in and took us to the mother ship.
The smaller creatures where hard to focus on as they never held still. Some looked like animals and others reptilian, some even looked like birds all functioned like a hive. They started to inject us with large vials of liquid. Most changed within days losing their minds to the hive, others stayed human but their mind was touched by the hive. I was lucky, I seemed to be immune to their attempts. I lasted three months before they started to experiment on me, I watched them liquefy numerous animals and inject them into me; I lost track of time as I fought to keep my mind whole. The last animal they just dropped into the room with me after giving her an injection. It was a coyote she walked up and sniffed my face; what happened next shocked me; she laid down on my lap before she melted into me, her mind wasn’t forcing its way into mine, it just touched mine and her memories became part of mine.
I woke in the dark cage they had been keeping me in, it was night outside. I pace my five foot square cell for an hour and lay down near the front bars and stare out into the jungle. Out of boredom I start to groom my fur, a sound causes me to look at the trees, I notice movement and can clearly make out the reflection of a gun scope looking at me. Trapped in a cage with no cover I drop to my stomach and cover my head. What felt like an eternity late I felt a poke of a stick. “Hey you.” English! I uncover my face and look at the human standing there.
I try to talk but it comes out un-intelligible, “Easy there big fella, I’m Sargent Gimble.” Thinking fast, I go to the back corner of my cage, move the rags of my old clothing and retrieve my dog tags and toss them to him. “Ah a flyboy, well let me open this cage and we can get you out of here Airman Cooper.” He takes a bolt cutter to the lock and pops it as I step out of the cage he slips my tags over my dog like head and leads me into the jungle.
…
I knock on the door of the shed, “Sarg? Can I come in?” I used the voice he’d remember me by, sounds like a growl. “I know I lost my dog tags but I believe I owe you a beer.” There was a sound of shifting objects inside as a face looked out the decorative window at me, I held up the two beers and gave what I hoped was a warm smile. The door pushed open and a light inside turned on. I took it as an invitation and walked in. “Airman Cooper, It’s been a while, I see your no longer growling your words.” I laughed and offered a beer, “I have you to thank for that and two years in a hospital. You saved a lot of people when you got me out that day. How about we act like old men and reminisce.” He popped the top on the beer and laughed, “So you’re the head shrink they directed me too huh?” I used one of my hard claws and opened mine, “Yeah, it helped me through my hard times, so now how about I return the favor for saving me and help you out. What’s up?”
He cleared some space and set up two lawn chairs, I picked up the shot gun and took the shells out of it and set it aside, “I never thought I’d see you again Jack, You lead us in to the hive helped us blow it apart then helped us clean up, I swear if I had known they would do what they…” I cut him off, “What happened to me couldn’t have been helped, I’m a monster even if I look like a dog man, they tried to reverse the changes that had been forced on me for almost two years, I’m Human at heart and that’s what counts. You and the 5th recon freed 40,000 changed and managed to stop the Hive from taking the planet. I owe you my life more than once if I recall.” He nodded and looked up at the gun, “I lapsed again, I saw the eyes of that coon and locked up, it was like I was back on that hell of an island looking at you.”
I held up my paw like hand, “That’s a long ways and a long time ago. Have you been back since they lifted the quarantine? They have a memorial museum there.” He shook his head, “How do you live with it? Knowing you killed people like you did on that island.” I sighed, “It comes with a price on my soul, I never told anyone, but I have a split mind, the animal and the man. When I killed it was the animal doing it with direction from the man. Those Monsters where people at one point in their lives, maybe even had families but I think the Hive stripped their souls. The ones you helped save; that came back to this world and adapted to living just outside of the human population are the lucky ones, the even luckier ones got to be human again. I weigh it as the loss of the few to save the many.”
Alex took a long drink and we sat in silence for a while, “Jack, Did they ever cure you of that virus?” I jumped, “Sorry must have started to dose off, No I am still an active case for the ‘Hero’ virus.” Alex took a sip of his beer, “I all ways wondered what it would be like to lose my human form like you did, all I got out of the virus was the no ageing crap and I gave it to my wife too, look at me, I’m stuck a twenty five.” I looked at him like he was nuts, “At least you not seven foot tall two hundred ninety eight lbs and seasonally shed or have random kids run up and pull your tail; or over heat in the summer from having a permanent fur coat. Alex listen you had a bad night that dredged up some really horrible memories, it took me almost ten years to move past my outer damage to get over what happened nearly forty years ago and I do still have flash backs.” Alex nodded.
He finished his beer and tossed it into the trash can, “Jack, Thank you… are you going to charge me extra for this?” I smiled and tossed my empty bottle in the can, “No, we are two old war buddies just shooting the breeze, now…” I looked at my watch, “It’s seven am, I hear the cops still out there, how about we go inside your house and have some breakfast, I’ll introduce you to my friend, Captain Harken. He was in the fourth wave of the evacuation. Cruise liner the hive took in the last days.” I pick up the shot gun leaving the shells and step outside into the early morning gloom. “Hey Alex, before I forget. That day on the beach… Thank you.”
…
I stood on the beech holding the bag of radio gear; as the landing craft pulled away. I watched the man that saved me get held back by two marines as he was screaming for them to take me with that I was still human inside. I looked at the massive paw like hand of mine and then held it up to wave good bye. Alex looked back, I could see the heart broken rage on his face; as if reading ‘we went through hell and saved the world and now he gets left behind.’ He waved back as the craft turned heading for the blockade. I slipped on the pack once they were a speck at sea and started back into the jungle to the plane crash site to setup camp, who knows maybe I’ll see Alex again someday and say thank you.
The End.
Thanks for reading.
Thank you
nevermint for proof reading this for me.....
War on the Island of monsters.
The rain was coming down in sheets, I had to drive slowly to avoid hydroplaning. What a night to get a PTSD call, the patient was new to the Seattle area and an hour and a half drive in dry weather; I was supposed to meet him in my office on Monday. His wife called distraught saying he had locked himself in the shed, the Police had been called when he had threatened to shoot someone.
As I turned onto the street a police officer flagged me down, “Oh Hey Doc, glad you could get here so soon.” I give him the best serous look I can manage at two a.m. after recognizing him, “Not a problem Greg, how is the marriage going since our last session?” He smiled at me, “Well it still has its bumps but Meg and I are getting better… you better go talk to the guy before he hurts someone or makes the news.” He flagged me forward to the police line were I parked, slipped into my rain coat and fedora; then walked to the house.
“Hey Doc! Glad you could get here, the captain is in the kitchen with the wife, I guess this guy is a veteran like you.” Said an officer I didn’t know. “You’re going to want a vest if you go out to talk to him.” Said officer Frank Deagan as I walked in the door, “Thanks for the advice Frank.” I stepped into the kitchen, “Good morning, I’m Doctor Cooper. What seems to be going on?” Captain Harken stands up and shakes my hand telling me what he knew.
The wife looks at me, the look of shock spreads across her expression. “You’re a… you’re a…” she starts to stutter, “A monster yes; a lucky survivor like your husband, Mrs. Gimble. Would you mind telling me what triggered this episode?” I found getting to the point gets people past the point of shock at meeting me. It worked, she blinked and said “There was a raccoon outside; it knocked over the trash cans, he went out at eleven and didn’t come back, I found him out in the shed; he threatened the neighbors with our shot gun. So I called for help.”
I nodded, “Has anyone tried to talk with Alex since?” my mind starts to play back memories; the name sounded familiar. They shake their heads and confirm they left him alone, “Mrs. Gimble do you know what rank your husband was in the service and branch?” she stood up and lead me into their living room to a shadow box on the wall and a picture. How could I forget that man?
….
11/28/2021 00:21:40 South Pacific; over Ramner Island
The Heavy Bomber was being bounced around by a bad storm, I was checking the bombardier controls before we crossed into the inner red zone; we were to drop six M.O.A.B.s to setup a forward landing base for the invasion. “Those Alien bastards won’t know what’s hit them.” Said Chuck the radar tech next to me, I shrugged but noticed something on his screen, “Hey what’s that?” I said point at a blip on the screen. Chuck swore and got onto the line to the cockpit, about that time the air collision alarms sounded. A chunk of metal slammed into and through the outside wall next to us just missing chuck, then the plane started to climb.
I rushed up to the cockpit to see what was going on, I open the door and was almost thrown back by the wind, the wind shield was gone along with the pilots I jumped in to the seat and leveled it out, Being a backup pilot I knew the controls, I had fire warnings on all but one engine I could see the wings burning on the checker cameras. The plane started to lose altitude, “Whiskey Flight 7, Mayday! MayDay! We are going down, three engines and pilots gone.” I repeat the message as I find an open field. I drop the pay load into the jungle and strap myself in; hit the station alarm button for everyone else to strap in. I kill the last engine with a tree top, I bring the nose up trying to slow the oversized bomber; the tail clipped a tree at the edge of the clearing and slammed the plane hard into the soft earth followed by blackness.
…
I stared at the photo for a long moment, I scrub my muzzle out of habit, “Well this is a shock; I knew you’re husband back then.” I give her a smile with confidence, “I’ll Bring him home, listen go get some rest. Do you have any beer or soda?” She gestures to the kitchen and sits on the couch she looked visibly relaxed, must be the pheromones I release from time to time. I walk into the kitchen and open the ice box taking out two beers and head for the door to the back yard after talking briefly with Harken.
…
I came too still strapped in, the sun was blinding me through the peeled back roof. I free myself from the wreckage of the cock pit opening the door, the plane broke apart but I did see movement from the crew. The jungle is what alarmed me, no sound; no birds singing, no animals calling; Just stillness. It happened in slow motion; a wave of smaller creatures and two ‘Dragons’ erupted from the trees and surrounded us. All twenty eight survivors captured. They tied us to the smaller ‘Dragon’; It looked like a long snake with legs and a mouth you could park a smart car in and took us to the mother ship.
The smaller creatures where hard to focus on as they never held still. Some looked like animals and others reptilian, some even looked like birds all functioned like a hive. They started to inject us with large vials of liquid. Most changed within days losing their minds to the hive, others stayed human but their mind was touched by the hive. I was lucky, I seemed to be immune to their attempts. I lasted three months before they started to experiment on me, I watched them liquefy numerous animals and inject them into me; I lost track of time as I fought to keep my mind whole. The last animal they just dropped into the room with me after giving her an injection. It was a coyote she walked up and sniffed my face; what happened next shocked me; she laid down on my lap before she melted into me, her mind wasn’t forcing its way into mine, it just touched mine and her memories became part of mine.
I woke in the dark cage they had been keeping me in, it was night outside. I pace my five foot square cell for an hour and lay down near the front bars and stare out into the jungle. Out of boredom I start to groom my fur, a sound causes me to look at the trees, I notice movement and can clearly make out the reflection of a gun scope looking at me. Trapped in a cage with no cover I drop to my stomach and cover my head. What felt like an eternity late I felt a poke of a stick. “Hey you.” English! I uncover my face and look at the human standing there.
I try to talk but it comes out un-intelligible, “Easy there big fella, I’m Sargent Gimble.” Thinking fast, I go to the back corner of my cage, move the rags of my old clothing and retrieve my dog tags and toss them to him. “Ah a flyboy, well let me open this cage and we can get you out of here Airman Cooper.” He takes a bolt cutter to the lock and pops it as I step out of the cage he slips my tags over my dog like head and leads me into the jungle.
…
I knock on the door of the shed, “Sarg? Can I come in?” I used the voice he’d remember me by, sounds like a growl. “I know I lost my dog tags but I believe I owe you a beer.” There was a sound of shifting objects inside as a face looked out the decorative window at me, I held up the two beers and gave what I hoped was a warm smile. The door pushed open and a light inside turned on. I took it as an invitation and walked in. “Airman Cooper, It’s been a while, I see your no longer growling your words.” I laughed and offered a beer, “I have you to thank for that and two years in a hospital. You saved a lot of people when you got me out that day. How about we act like old men and reminisce.” He popped the top on the beer and laughed, “So you’re the head shrink they directed me too huh?” I used one of my hard claws and opened mine, “Yeah, it helped me through my hard times, so now how about I return the favor for saving me and help you out. What’s up?”
He cleared some space and set up two lawn chairs, I picked up the shot gun and took the shells out of it and set it aside, “I never thought I’d see you again Jack, You lead us in to the hive helped us blow it apart then helped us clean up, I swear if I had known they would do what they…” I cut him off, “What happened to me couldn’t have been helped, I’m a monster even if I look like a dog man, they tried to reverse the changes that had been forced on me for almost two years, I’m Human at heart and that’s what counts. You and the 5th recon freed 40,000 changed and managed to stop the Hive from taking the planet. I owe you my life more than once if I recall.” He nodded and looked up at the gun, “I lapsed again, I saw the eyes of that coon and locked up, it was like I was back on that hell of an island looking at you.”
I held up my paw like hand, “That’s a long ways and a long time ago. Have you been back since they lifted the quarantine? They have a memorial museum there.” He shook his head, “How do you live with it? Knowing you killed people like you did on that island.” I sighed, “It comes with a price on my soul, I never told anyone, but I have a split mind, the animal and the man. When I killed it was the animal doing it with direction from the man. Those Monsters where people at one point in their lives, maybe even had families but I think the Hive stripped their souls. The ones you helped save; that came back to this world and adapted to living just outside of the human population are the lucky ones, the even luckier ones got to be human again. I weigh it as the loss of the few to save the many.”
Alex took a long drink and we sat in silence for a while, “Jack, Did they ever cure you of that virus?” I jumped, “Sorry must have started to dose off, No I am still an active case for the ‘Hero’ virus.” Alex took a sip of his beer, “I all ways wondered what it would be like to lose my human form like you did, all I got out of the virus was the no ageing crap and I gave it to my wife too, look at me, I’m stuck a twenty five.” I looked at him like he was nuts, “At least you not seven foot tall two hundred ninety eight lbs and seasonally shed or have random kids run up and pull your tail; or over heat in the summer from having a permanent fur coat. Alex listen you had a bad night that dredged up some really horrible memories, it took me almost ten years to move past my outer damage to get over what happened nearly forty years ago and I do still have flash backs.” Alex nodded.
He finished his beer and tossed it into the trash can, “Jack, Thank you… are you going to charge me extra for this?” I smiled and tossed my empty bottle in the can, “No, we are two old war buddies just shooting the breeze, now…” I looked at my watch, “It’s seven am, I hear the cops still out there, how about we go inside your house and have some breakfast, I’ll introduce you to my friend, Captain Harken. He was in the fourth wave of the evacuation. Cruise liner the hive took in the last days.” I pick up the shot gun leaving the shells and step outside into the early morning gloom. “Hey Alex, before I forget. That day on the beach… Thank you.”
…
I stood on the beech holding the bag of radio gear; as the landing craft pulled away. I watched the man that saved me get held back by two marines as he was screaming for them to take me with that I was still human inside. I looked at the massive paw like hand of mine and then held it up to wave good bye. Alex looked back, I could see the heart broken rage on his face; as if reading ‘we went through hell and saved the world and now he gets left behind.’ He waved back as the craft turned heading for the blockade. I slipped on the pack once they were a speck at sea and started back into the jungle to the plane crash site to setup camp, who knows maybe I’ll see Alex again someday and say thank you.
The End.
Thanks for reading.
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
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