he spent weeks worrying about a thousand unlikely events that could
have gone wrong: moving to a different city and a strange house; new friends
and colleagues; and the onslaught of spirited pupils, either eager to learn or
hinder. But most of all he worried about Hannah being unable to find a job and
becoming bored whilst stuck at home. And she must have been, but never once did
she complain.
On his arrival home, he’d
insert his key and expect her to be sitting watching some brain-numbing
television show, barely able to muster up enough enthusiasm to say hello. Yet
as always, she’d met him at the door, all smiles and excitement, and ready to
launch into a thousand questions about his day. More often than not they sat up
late, eating an improvised supper, after spending the best part of the evening
in bed together.
He closed his eyes and, for a
second, he thought he could smell a trace of her sweet skin on the night
breeze. The warmth he felt in his stomach turned to pain. He opened his eyes
and was once again confronted with the terrible world before him.
“Damn it all to hell,” he
whispered, pushing his memories aside. He carried on towards the alleyway. The
loving and beloved Jacob Cain of old was left behind. Now a soldier of
humanity, he drew his weapon and stepped into the darkness.
Inside the alleyway he found
other remnants of a past life or time. However, rather than allow himself to
ponder on these items, he instead focused his attention on the things he could
not see. The alleyway was narrow, about ten feet wide and twenty feet long. At
the end it opened out into two untended backyards.
He looked up into the sky and
saw that the dark swirl of clouds had turned into a heavy grey. Another day had
broken and somewhere beyond the endless cloud of dust the sun burnt with
brilliant intensity. The slightly lightened sky offered Jacob some relief from
the darkness
Something clattered to
ground. An object fell directly in front of him. His gun pulled itself directly
towards the fallen object - just a can, rusted and empty.
“Shit,” he breathed.
He reached the end of the
short alleyway unscathed. Stepping from between the abandoned buildings, he
found himself in the centre of two neglected gardens. The gardens – if that’s
what they still were – were two simple square plots of ground, which had once
been home to lush green turf. Now, the turf under his boots had become a hard
brown scab. Running along the border of the gardens were the remains of a
fence. Most of the wood had rotted away to leave just an occasional segment of
timber.
He found both gardens empty
so turned back, deciding whatever he’d seen must now be long gone. He took one
step only though when a small object darted out from the cover of the shadows.
Vicious fangs snapped at his legs.
Shocked by the little thing
that attacked his ankles, he muttered, “What the hell ...?” The thing continued
to bite and nip at the tough leather of his boot. He reached down and gripped
hold of the miniature attacker. The fangs held on.
“Okay, that’s enough,” he
said.
He managed to pull the teeth
away from his boot. He lifted the attacker up and looked directly into two
furry brows. Two small pebble-like eyes blinked back.
“I don’t know what you are,
but you stink!” he told the matted and foul-smelling creature.
Yap ! Scratch
barked back.
Jacob tucked the mutt under
his arm and then headed back to the main street. The terrier twitched about as
he returned to the small party. He pulled the mutt free and then handed it
directly to Lieutenant Hutson.
She took the offering,
asking, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“I don’t know. You’re a
woman. Aren’t you supposed to like those things?”
“If I knew what it was, then,
maybe …” Hutson replied.
“Hey – wait a minute,” Elliot
said, moving over to Hutson. “Isn’t that Scratch?”
“Who?” Hutson asked. She was
holding the mutt out at arm’s
have gone wrong: moving to a different city and a strange house; new friends
and colleagues; and the onslaught of spirited pupils, either eager to learn or
hinder. But most of all he worried about Hannah being unable to find a job and
becoming bored whilst stuck at home. And she must have been, but never once did
she complain.
On his arrival home, he’d
insert his key and expect her to be sitting watching some brain-numbing
television show, barely able to muster up enough enthusiasm to say hello. Yet
as always, she’d met him at the door, all smiles and excitement, and ready to
launch into a thousand questions about his day. More often than not they sat up
late, eating an improvised supper, after spending the best part of the evening
in bed together.
He closed his eyes and, for a
second, he thought he could smell a trace of her sweet skin on the night
breeze. The warmth he felt in his stomach turned to pain. He opened his eyes
and was once again confronted with the terrible world before him.
“Damn it all to hell,” he
whispered, pushing his memories aside. He carried on towards the alleyway. The
loving and beloved Jacob Cain of old was left behind. Now a soldier of
humanity, he drew his weapon and stepped into the darkness.
Inside the alleyway he found
other remnants of a past life or time. However, rather than allow himself to
ponder on these items, he instead focused his attention on the things he could
not see. The alleyway was narrow, about ten feet wide and twenty feet long. At
the end it opened out into two untended backyards.
He looked up into the sky and
saw that the dark swirl of clouds had turned into a heavy grey. Another day had
broken and somewhere beyond the endless cloud of dust the sun burnt with
brilliant intensity. The slightly lightened sky offered Jacob some relief from
the darkness
Something clattered to
ground. An object fell directly in front of him. His gun pulled itself directly
towards the fallen object - just a can, rusted and empty.
“Shit,” he breathed.
He reached the end of the
short alleyway unscathed. Stepping from between the abandoned buildings, he
found himself in the centre of two neglected gardens. The gardens – if that’s
what they still were – were two simple square plots of ground, which had once
been home to lush green turf. Now, the turf under his boots had become a hard
brown scab. Running along the border of the gardens were the remains of a
fence. Most of the wood had rotted away to leave just an occasional segment of
timber.
He found both gardens empty
so turned back, deciding whatever he’d seen must now be long gone. He took one
step only though when a small object darted out from the cover of the shadows.
Vicious fangs snapped at his legs.
Shocked by the little thing
that attacked his ankles, he muttered, “What the hell ...?” The thing continued
to bite and nip at the tough leather of his boot. He reached down and gripped
hold of the miniature attacker. The fangs held on.
“Okay, that’s enough,” he
said.
He managed to pull the teeth
away from his boot. He lifted the attacker up and looked directly into two
furry brows. Two small pebble-like eyes blinked back.
“I don’t know what you are,
but you stink!” he told the matted and foul-smelling creature.
Yap ! Scratch
barked back.
Jacob tucked the mutt under
his arm and then headed back to the main street. The terrier twitched about as
he returned to the small party. He pulled the mutt free and then handed it
directly to Lieutenant Hutson.
She took the offering,
asking, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“I don’t know. You’re a
woman. Aren’t you supposed to like those things?”
“If I knew what it was, then,
maybe …” Hutson replied.
“Hey – wait a minute,” Elliot
said, moving over to Hutson. “Isn’t that Scratch?”
“Who?” Hutson asked. She was
holding the mutt out at arm’s
Similar Books
