CHAPTER 1

GEORGE
My eyes flit open, and there is no one around me, or so I think. The moon peeks rudely at the
stark-naked brunette laying by my side and my own half-naked body, running its nosy light
on the scars around my chest and my arms, ugly scars I think to myself. The boys at Fort
Braxton do not seem to agree with me. The scars, they say, are medals of honour, a proof of
valour, a signature of fire and blood that showcase the indomitable spirit of mankind, or
something along those lines. I snap out of my silent reverie and look to the clock on the
mahogany table beside me. The time is 3:33am, and the air feels like it was imported from
Russia smack in the middle of winter. It has been like this for two weeks now, me meeting a
new broad at some fancy club or mall and trying to lose myself in her for hours. More often
than not, she cannot match my energy and eventually climaxes multiple times and then pleads
with me to allow her sleep while I remain unsatiated and attempt to sleep for all of 3-4 hours
only to be awakened by the sound of machine-gun fire, static radio talk and the bodies of my
nation's enemies and sons scattered around me. Every day, the scene changes. The voices and
the faces are barely recognizable, I find myself in different warehouse or battlefield or
wherever the hell my unit and I have been ordered to. This was always the norm throughout
my fifteen-year military career. However, one thing remains unchanged. I am always the last
man standing, I am always alone.
Stepping out of bed, I hurriedly put on a black sleeveless top, black joggers and a pair of
running shoes. I grab my headset from where it is on the table beside me and go out on a run
into the woods not too far from my compound. I am usually alone at this time in the woods,
the soles of my shoes continuously pound the earth at the same speed at which my heartbeat
hits my ribcage. Besides being on the war front, this is the only time I feel alive, the only time
I am truly myself. I run down the path that leads to my usual sniping spot where I prey on
unsuspecting wolves and bears, after which I take great pleasure in skinning them and
hanging their skins in my trophy room. These are the medals of strength I recognize, proof of
my true personality, ‘not a hero but a predator, the predator,’ I think to myself and smile as I
keep running towards my hunting shed. Grabbing my gun, I creep towards a fallen log,
positioning myself like the experienced sniper I am. My breath is perfectly still, beads of
perspiration roll down my skin as my fingers seductively wound their way up the slender
barrel and my index finger caresses the trigger of my Barrett M82. I wait for the wolves in
view to continue down the path which they were already traversing. Just as my index finger
slips into the trigger’s chamber once more, I hear a chilling scream. On pure instinct, I take
aim towards the direction from where the sound came from and I see two young men
attempting to force themselves on a lady.
‘’What are they doing here?’’ I muttered under my breath as I dropped the sniper rifle and ran
down towards their direction. Upon seeing me approach, they stopped what they were trying
to do, turned to me and in a flash, they were both upon me. One of the guys yelled as he
threw a big right in my direction. I almost laughed as I stepped back slightly and in split
seconds hit him in the guts making him repeat the yell, this time in pain. In the same breath,
his companion’s chest was introduced to my sneakers most painfully. They doubled back,
and I knew I was going to enjoy this. Less than a minute later, the young men were out cold,
and my sights turned to the girl in front of me – torn clothes, glasses on the floor, messy
blonde hair and running shoes. My eyes flitted over my surroundings once more as my
instincts switched from attack to normal. There were two sports backpacks on the ground, a
smashed camera and the boys were in running gear, then it all made sense to me. They were
probably out running together when they decided to do more than just run. She was staring at
me as though it was I who had attempted to force myself on her a few minutes ago. I untied
her and asked her to come with me, yet she refused to move.
‘You can come with me or stay here with them, it’s up to you,’ I thought as I kept walking
back towards my initial position. Apparently, this snapped her back to reality and she soon
followed behind me, her feet dragging in the dirt.
Grabbing my rifle, I started towards the shed, and she followed after me wordlessly. As soon
as we reached the shed, I beckoned her to come in, but she eyed me warily, there was that
look again, a mixture of suspicion and fear. Ordinarily, I liked inspiring fear in others, but
there was just something about this girl from whom I had not heard a single word that made
me want to protect her. I did not want her to be afraid, I wanted to tell her she would be fine,
but I did not. I was not a hero. I was thinking of the best way to help her out with her injuries
since she obviously didn’t trust me, and then she passed out.

ASHLEY
My lungs burned. They were touching me, strangling me, holding me down. It didn’t feel
right, there was nothing remotely nice about it, scratching, biting, clawing, I did everything
my instincts said to do and then the man in black appeared in the same vein they ceased to
exist, I heard him say again, in a low baritone voice, too deep for someone with such a sad
look ‘’You can come with me or stay here…’’ and I instinctively stretched my hands towards
the man, we had never met before but there was something about him that made me want to
truly go with him. As I stretched my hands, I heard an unfamiliar voice
‘’she’s awake’’.
My eyes darted open and I surveyed my surroundings, a white room, blinding lights and men
and women in lab coats, I gathered that I was in a hospital and began wondering what had
happened. Did I pass out? My eyes adjusted to the lights again and in about an hour I was
released. The time was 11am and I was on my way home with a prescription for some pain
killers.
As I made my way home over a hundred questions must have gone through my mind. What
happened earlier today? Why did the Smith boys attempt to rape me? Didn’t they always
claim to not be attracted to me? Where did I go wrong? All these and more ran through my
mind as I made my way home. The twins were one of my very few friends who my mom
knew about, probably the only males at whose place she would let me pass the night. I
wondered what got into them. And who was the knight in black that rescued me from them
with such ease?
I kept asking myself these questions as I got home and went upstairs almost immediately,
only stopping for a few seconds to greet my mother who was in the kitchen without getting
much of a reply from her. Darting upstairs and shutting the door closed behind me, I dropped
on my mattress and faced my ceiling picturing his frame in my minds eye. I stopped myself
and allowed myself to mull over the events of the previous day and the wee hours of this
morning.
Martin and Matthew had convinced me to go jogging with them after I slept over at their
place sometime around 4:00am, they said they had found a perfect spot for one of our
pictures and we had to catch the sun rising. This was not a particularly unusual request. The
boys came up with all sorts of concepts and I had always been their model for silhouette shots
because of my small frame and curvy body. I knew this, but I also used to think I knew that
they were not attracted to me sexually, as things were however, I obviously thought wrong. I
packed some clothes, put on some running gear and by 4:30am we were out of the house.
When we had jogged and walked for about thirty minutes, Matt had stopped the hike and
brought out his camera, we were only a few shots into the session when Martin started getting
handsy, it was uncomfortable and I had told him off to which he complied. I didn’t know the
specifics but then I saw him argue with Matt only to come back a few minutes later and
attempt to force himself on me with Matt watching, when I struggled and he called his
brother, Matt reluctantly came over and helped him hold me down while he fondled me,
apologizing as he did so, I felt disgusted, betrayed, afraid! And I screamed, then he appeared!
The man in black, built like a roman statue with the face of a Hollywood star. He saved me
and gave me his jacket. The realization hit me, the jacket was here, I pulled it out of the paper
bag I got at the hospital and inhaled it deeply, allowing the unique scent to overwhelm my
senses in the same way he overpowered the boys, then I drifted into sleep.
By the time I woke up it was lunchtime I had missed a day at work but I would make up for
that tomorrow I thought to myself as I disposed of the clothes I came home with completely
and stepped into my bathroom for a good long cleansing bath. The lavender scent wafted
around my nostrils as the water played with my sensitive skin and I closed my eyes, picturing
the man in black again, why did he look so sad?
Stepping out of the bathroom I dried myself up and picked out some clothes to wear. A white
chiffon top, blue skinny jeans and sneakers were carefully laid out on the dressing table. I
applied my body lotion, brushed my hair and put them on before brushing my hair again and
packing it into a ponytail. Then one more time before leaving the house, I pull out the jacket
and inhale and just as I am about to put it back in my locker, my hands stumble upon a
brochure of a gym and I smile inwardly, ‘’perhaps I will get to thank him after all’’ I think to
myself.

CHAPTER 2
GEORGE
It’s almost 4:00am, this is the third week of sleeplessness and about a week since my
encounter with the blonde. My inability to sleep is becoming more annoying and my nights
are riddled with meaningless dreams and meaningful nightmares. The voices of the hundreds
I have shot down crying out for my soul break through the barrier of the underworld into the
land of dreams where reality and illusion are closely intertwined, the grim reaper looks at me,
hollow eye sockets and I stare back, I am not afraid! I refuse to die until I have made one
thing clear, ‘you are the greatest’ my inner demons whisper to me and I cannot help but
agree. I take two tablets of aspirin and swallow slowly, drowning the tablets with a glass of
orange juice, I instantly rinse the glass cup and take a shower. By the time I am done, the red
head in my bed is still in between my blanket. I write a note and drop it on the table beside
her, promising to give her a call when I get back home, she probably would get the message;
I do not expect to see her by the time I get back. I get prepared for my daily run, this time
certain that I would not fail to bring home a trophy, with that thought in mind, I get out the
house and into the forest.
Down on the ground again, my breath is ceased, my mind is empty and all I can see is what’s
at the other end of my scope. I caress the trigger as the pack of wolves come into view,
certain that they cannot sense my presence, unfortunately for them however, the lack of
awareness is not mutual. I am patient, my breath on hold, even my heart seemed to wait and
then ‘bang!’ the wolf at the front of the pack goes down, thrashing wildly and all the others
scurry for safety, yet not completely leaving, I can feel them searching for where the shot
came from, not as predators now but as survivors. A wolf then two appear slowly out of a
clearing, approaching the thrashing wolf, by the manner in which they approach, I quickly
surmise that it must be the alpha, I grin wickedly as I fire another shot into it this time killing
it for sure. The two wolves disappear, howling as the gallop and I approach the dead alpha,
gun in hand, jack knives in my back pockets and a look that could make frosty the snowman
freeze in terror. I can feel them watching me from the shadows. Part fear, part resentment and
I love it! Upon reaching the dead alpha, I stab him for them to see and pick him up, strolling
back towards my protected position and the wolves can only stare.
Over an hour has passed and I have successfully skinned the wolf and incinerated its body,
taking the skin into a hunting bag I start on home, along the way appreciating the calm I feel
from my hunt. Getting home I fix the head on my trophy wall and its skin I put on a drying
table, I should have it fluffed up later I think to myself. Staring at the head on the wall, my
inner demons come out again, ‘there can only be one alpha’.
Upon doing that, I shout down my instincts and get into the showers to wash away my sins.
When the shower is over, I put on some gym clothes, the boys and I had an important
meeting at the gym. I had received a sealed letter from the governor’s office and a
handwritten letter from Col. Bradley Fisk, my own commander and something of a father
figure to the boys and me. Every time we got a new member, he was there and every time we
lost someone we gathered, he would make it from wherever he was and we would all
workout and drink to stupor in honour of our fallen brother. Fisk was effectively our
commander and father and a summons from him was something none of us dared refuse. I get
on my power bike and start off for the gym, I wondered who was joining the unit today or
worse still, who had left as the wind blew past me and the buildings appeared and
disappeared in a blur.

ASHLEY
After the sad incidence with the man in black, I resumed to my daily duties as though nothing
had happened. The twins had stopped coming to work here and my boss had hired a new co-
worker, Vera. She was blonde like me, green eyes and a little taller with a pretty figure. Vera
was chatty, and she seemed to enjoy every moment of everything. She was the kind of person
who said the things you thought in your head and did the things you said you’d do but
constantly postponed, although, she was a devout catholic and this did to an extent rein in her
exuberant personality with a touch of morality. In the one week that Vera had been here, we
had become friends and we occasionally walked home together after working double shifts.
While she seemed unbothered by the fact that we were putting in extra hours of work for a
static pay, I knew better. We were working to cover the third vacant spot left by one of the
boys, it sickened me, but I would have to deal with it I thought to myself.
My shift today was over around 2:00pm and I decided to use that opportunity to head to the
gym. Stepping out of Mo’s Pizza, I took a taxi to the location, appreciating the scenery as we
zoomed by. On getting down, I began to contemplate what I would say when I saw him as I
took the short walk to the entrance. I peeped through and did not see him. So I stepped in, I
felt like a hen that had been thrown into a den of wolves, the men all seemed to stop and stare
and I felt my skin flush and my palms heat up and then cool down in their own sweat. I
surveyed and to my disappointment he was not there. I had planned out an elaborate speech
to thank him before returning his jacket, alas it was not to be. I turned around and my face
was met with a barrel of a chest. Picking my glasses and apologizing, I corrected my sight
defect and my eyes were greeted with his face. I almost died of embarrassment! I was
mortified! ‘why was I so clumsy?’ he stared me down as though he had never seen me before
and my palms instinctively covered my face.

GEORGE
A white top wearing blonde had just crashed into me and I could not resist the urge to stare
her down. However, looking at her flushed skin that had turned completely red in
embarrassment, I felt satisfied. She donned her glasses, and I recognized her immediately,
only she was different, petite, slim with curves that looked like they were drawn and not
grown. Her blonde hair in the sunlit room looked like the product of a flashbang, her lips
parted in surprise, right before her palms went to her face, preventing me from continuing my
scrutiny. She could not cover her body though as she turned her back to me in what seemed
like embarrassment. My gym shorts were suddenly too tight ‘’goddamnit’’ I cursed under my
breath, she looked like she was made on a day when whoever was up there was in a very
good mood. She again turned to look at my feet, holding my jacket up.
‘‘thank you… sorry… uhm… your jacket said you’d be here.’’ She blurted out and I could
not help but keep at it.
‘‘My jacket spoke to you?’’ I asked mockingly.
‘‘No… uhm… there was a brochure, I came here to thank you and return this.’’ She said,
finally regaining her composure.
I smiled accepting the jacket, I was satisfied at the deference and I said nothing as she turned
to go, walking as fast as her legs seemed to be able to carry her.
‘’What is your name?’’ I asked.
‘’Ashley’’ she said and scurried out of the gym.
The way she left, it was like a little rabbit running from a pack of wolves, or a pack running
from me, ‘pursue, hunt!’ my inner demons urged but I stayed fixed to the spot. I had saved
her once; I should not devour her myself.
The gym was owned by Col. Fisk and it was where most of us had been recruited into the
military from. We made our way into a backroom where we read the contents of the letter
with dread, we had been invited to a dinner hosted by the governor and we had to be in
attendance, Col. Fisk’s orders, and they were absolute. We all agreed to be there, and I read
the second letter which sent the boys whooping and made them forget their momentary
gloom at the prospect of a dinner. I was the honouree, and for me, they would walk through
fire.

ANGELA
That went horribly wrong, I thought. Why was he so intense? I was jerked from my
innermost recesses by Vera, who appeared out of nowhere. It had been about two hours since
my little adventure to the gym, and we were halfway through the second shift when Vera
proposed something to me. She had received an offer to work a side job over the weekend as
an usher. It would be an overnight job, and she had gotten me a spot. She squealed excitedly
and kept talking as my mind drifted back to the man on black, then she tapped me again.
‘What?’’ I asked, half annoyed that she distracted me from my daydreaming.
But she didn’t seem to notice as she asked me in her excited manner whether I was in, I knew
better than to argue and going over the details again, it was quick money for little work, yet it
seemed off. We were going to make over two weeks’ worth of wages overnight. But it was
Vera, and I knew she would not be involved in any work that did not sit with her moral
standards which quite frankly were probably higher than mine.
‘’Alright, let’s do it!’’ I said and we went back to work.
Immediately we were done, we made off for my home to convince my mother to allow me
sleepover at her place the next day. Mom put up little resistance. She barely spoke since my
sister committed suicide last year after my father and her fiancé died in a car crash. It was a
colossal tragedy, but instead of retreating into a shell like my mother, I threw myself to work,
to novels and to studying. I had already been accepted into a university abroad and I had
promised myself I would be happy, I would live for myself, as long as I kept moving, I would
be fine. With her permission obtained, we packed some stuff and set out for Vera’s the night
would be a long night.

CHAPTER 3
GEORGE
I stared at him in his ceremonial jacket, well-knotted tie and neatly cut hair, the perfect
jawline and lips that told many tales of silence even as they were closed together. He adjusted
his watch and fixed a side arm into the holster underneath the jacket and he stared back at me,
black eyes into mine as though he could see into my soul, as though he knew that the person
standing before him was a façade, it was as though he knew that I was a beast, and he did
know, he was me. Closing the large folding mirror, I set out into my black sports car and
zoomed off towards the docks. Tonight was going to be one hell of a night.

ANGELA
Miss Brooks was an elegant woman in her late thirties, she had some sort of panache about
her, and her voice was low, soft and in some strange way commanding. She informed us that
the job would be atop a cruise ship which would return to land at 3:00am. From where we
would have the option of following the agency home or going off on our own, all we had to
do was look pretty at the party and smile at the guests as we welcomed them. They might
make passes at us, but we were not required to do anything untoward. We were here as eye
candy, nothing more, she explained, and I understood. We signed forms stating that we were
not being prostituted and that whatever choices we made with the guests at the party were not
within the knowledge of the company. At that point, I got a little scared, but Vera assured me
that it was standard practice. She had done this a couple of times, and in some instances,
some ushers got carried away with a V.I.P. The company had to ensure that it was clear, they
were not asking us to do anything with the guests, but ‘neither are they forbidding it’ my
mind retorted.
By 9:00pm we were aboard the vessel and the evening had begun. The event was being held
inside a hall on the ship, the inner décor seemed like it was in built, like nothing was attached
or imported and the people here fit in the décor like they were made inside the ship. Even the
ushers and the servers and waiters in our cream, gold and army green colours respectively
looked like some part of the master design of some almighty planner watching somewhere.
But on the inside, I felt like I was imported from my world and dumped in an experimental
paradise. No matter I thought, I had a job to do and I would do it perfectly. I curtseyed where
I had to, smiled at every guest and stood still when others did.
Around 11:45pm we received instructions that we would walk with the guard of honour and
stand on either side of the rostrum before the governor gave his speech. By 11:55pm we were
walking, a dashing military officer held my arm in his as we walked to either side and stood,
them at alert, we were smiling, chins held high and then they called for the guest of honour.
‘’Ladies and gentlemen please rise as we welcome His excellency the governor of our great
state of California, Mr Samuel Tanner!’’
There was a loud applause and the governor came on stage, we did not turn to look and had
received no orders to leave when he gave a speech at the end of which mentioned that he
would like to present the evenings’ award personally to his friend and brother, a soldier who
had distinguished himself in the military, receiving the nation’s highest award.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Major. George David!”
And I saw him emerge! The man in black, the one in my dreams. How did I not see him
throughout the evening? Had he seen me? Did he recognize me? All these and more
wandered through my mind as he pecked the ladies and shook hands with the men on the
honour guard column which I was standing in. He was coming closer, and my heart kept
leaping, higher and higher until it was in my throat. I felt cold beads of sweat run down my
back, and my breathing got hitched, ‘not again’ I begged myself. As he moved closer, images
of that night and the embarrassing afternoon at the gym flashed through my mind. I was
anxious, grateful to him, but anxious. He appeared before me as I held up my hands, grabbed
it slowly and looked into my eyes. My heart stopped leaping, time stopped, everything stood
still as he looked at me. The moment I looked back into that black pool, I felt the clothes on
my skin being slowly peeled away, then I felt my skin itself peeled off. His eyes peered into
the very depths of my soul, sensing all of my my deepest fears. In his presence, I was
powerless, and his roughish smile said he knew it. My instinct kicked in as his lips drew
closer. I wanted to pull my hands free and run, then he frowned, gripped my hands tighter and
I immediately lost my resolve. He brushed my hands with his lips, and I was certain he was
related to some god of thunder somewhere. The static electricity in the air seemed to use his
body as a conductor to pass into mine, opening blocked paths in my body and soul, making
the hair on my skin stand and causing reactions in other places. Again my heart started
racing, and he raised his head and walked off. Instantly I calmed down, my breathing
stabilized, but in truth, I did not want to be normal anymore. I wanted to feel the way he
made me feel. The slow walk ended, and he gave a rousing speech about the troops on the
frontline and how they were in constant danger of death for the freedom we were enjoying in
this very room. There was a standing ovation by the time he was finished, and the dinner
returned to its original state.

GEORGE
On my way to my seat, I felt my inner demons screaming at me ‘Hunt! Hunt!’ I tried to
suppress this instinct alongside the erection that had built in my loins. I got to the table and
downed some champagne when one of my lieutenants laughed, together with the boys. They
had noticed, and I chuckled nervously when the compere announced that it was time to
dance. I disliked dancing, and I took my excuses to breathe in some fresh air. Stepping
outside, I saw her standing there, talking to some officer and a possessive rage came over me.
This girl appeared in all the wrong places, and it would be her fault if I gave in to my
demons. As I marched over, I did not recognize the man, so I got there, looked at the
decorations on his chest, and he instantly saluted me. I saluted back and said
‘’I need to borrow her for a second, captain, I am sure you don’t mind?’’
‘’Not at all sir’’ came the reply.
With that done, I stretched my hand, and she graciously took it, obviously thankful to have
been saved from his advances.
‘’Ashley, if I remember correctly?’’
‘’Major David’’ she said nervously, and I laughed,
Then replied, ‘’You can come with me or stay here, the choice is yours.’’