Chapter One

As Keith tuned out his breathing until the world was silent, he was truly in his own realm. Free from anything his life was giving him to make it more difficult, this isn’t to say Keith found his life difficult he was extremely content and happy, with how his transition from childhood into manhood turned out, how all the pieces of the puzzle that was life, fell into place to create an image Keith could only describe as pleasant, this is perhaps because Keith had always had difficulty relaying emotions he felt into words he could express.
The sun shone through the tree branches it was a glorious morning, the soil was dry still, the forest was eerily quiet, devoid of all animal life, the forest had always been like this since the city sprung up at its doorstep, driving the animals away.

A movement caught Keith’s attention from the corner of his eye, so faint it could have been the wind simply blowing a fern to give the impression there is life outside the local foliage in this dense forest. It was so faint it only warranted moments thought from Keith as he carried on his exercise, Keith heard a noise come from behind him whirling around hoping to spot the culprit expecting to see maybe a hiker or dog that’s escaped the backyard of a near by home.
The surrounding was empty, Keith’s eyes scanned through the forest only to spot twigs ferns trees and other assorted foliage belonging in the picture not a leaf out of place, “must have been the wind” Keith said loudly to himself with a laugh at the cliché phrase.

Keith was walking, more relaxed now, running the image of himself being attacked by some unknown entity shortly after he said the phrase ‘it must have been the wind’ reminding him of cheesy horror flicks, as Keith stepped over fallen tree, a force knocked him to the dirt, sticks and stones found their way driven into soft areas of Keith’s body Keith felt like he was hit by a family sized car he groaned as he tried to lift himself up but his arm collapsed, agony spread like wild fire through his nerves, it must have broke on the fall Keith thought which offered little comfort, as his mind returned to the force that sent him into the ground in the first place, he felt pressure on his lower back, it felt like a horse was standing on him, Keith was a strong man, standing at just over six foot, stocky to medium build he had short grayish hair which didn’t match him as he was only in his mid twenties, Keith’s weathered but clean shaven face grimaced as he tried to move. This force that was pinning him down made Keith seem little more then a young child.

Keith tried to roll over but felt he couldn’t and had little options with his right arm having been put out of commission, realizing it was his right fore arm that was broken Keith painfully propped himself on his elbows he could hear, the animal, breathing, it only stood with its right foot on Keith’s back panting away, as a tendril of slobber dropped down next to Keith’s eye.
“I got to get up” Keith said through gritted teeth trying desperately to fight the weight on his back, the animal on Keith’s back pushed down harder after Keith said it almost as though it understood exactly what Keith had spoken, the panting turned to a huffing noise like the animal was laughing.
A deep throbbing voice spoke with vocal cords not used to being made to form words, “irts ronrily therr wrind” which was followed with more huffing like laughter.
Keith had still forced his body high enough from the dirt to move, while mustering all his might, Keith fell onto his left shoulder the animal standing over him lost it’s balance for a brief moment causing its foot to slip of Keith so it, had a foot on either side of Keith’s body, Keith turned his head to look towards his assailant, only to be greeted by a clawed black fist the size of a basketball flying towards his face accompanied by the sound of an irritated snarl.

Keith awoke the next morning in the forest, the sun was shining through the trees above, and the dirt was dry it must have been close to midday.
A middle aged Asian man and what Keith could only assume was his wife, was standing over Keith, the couple had their camera aimed at him busy taking pictures.
Keith tried to sit up but realized he couldn’t move his eyes became wild as he felt so helpless he tried to speak, to tell the idiotic pair to get help instead of taking his picture he felt humiliated, and frustrated like he was a prisoner, fear gripped his heart.
Keith’s mind was racing now with negative thoughts then as it returned to earth he could feel the horrific pain that gripped his body, Keith was so preoccupied with being humiliated by the tourists, he didn’t even notice the horrible injuries that he must have sustained, his mind was working million miles a minute, as it sped through time to the moment Keith was attacked, yes it was that – that thing.

Keith opened his eyes he wasn’t in the forest anymore the walls were a sterile white as well as the bed sheets and everything else in the room the noise of heart monitors drearily beeping away in the ambient volume, it was unmistakably a hospital. A nurse spied his open eyes and left the room in a hurry, returning shortly with a short frail looking man who must have been in his fifty’s, “Hello my names Doctor Cash Myer” he spoke warmly, “you gave us quite a scare, corporal Keith Sutherland” he spoke as he read the chart on the end of Keith’s bed, the doctor glided up beside Keith as the nurse left to attend another patient in the room.
Holding a small light into Keith’s eyes the doctor spoke again “do you know what day it is, corporal?”
Keith’s eyes were following the light with ease “of course I know its march 25th” as Keith thought about it, something seemed slightly off but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “You know you have been in a chemical induced coma for over two weeks now, and you were spot on…” The doctor looked around the room for any indication of the date, when his search turned up hopeless he left muttering words incredible and how did he know? The doctor must have left to go in search for the nurse.

Keith woke again the next day the horrible taste of cream chicken and mushroom soup lingered in his mouth, hospital food… Keith thought with borderline disgust. Doctor Myer had entered his room again “I see you’re awake, corporal” the doctor seemed to end his sentence there but as an after thought continued “you don’t mind if I call you corporal… do you?”
“Keith will do fine, doctor” the doctor made a faint attempt at a grin “well you can call me Cash then”
The doctor checked the charts again, “well two weeks ago, you were found unconscious in the base of mount thresher forest by a group of tourists, your injuries are consistent with a bear attack or maybe lion, and we contacted the authority’s to check with the zoo for any missing animals. You almost died on the operating table, and frankly I find it difficult to hide my shock with the speed you’re recovering,” he paused as he checked beneath Keith’s bandages. Muttering words under his breath, Keith could make out amazing and impossible, between breaths and scientific jargon.
“I suppose it was your immaculate physical condition that helped you pull through, any other man would have surely perished.” The doctor spoke almost as though he was a fan, speaking about his favorite super star.
Keith’s mind was burning circles in his head again as he fought to remember what happened to him, more his mind replays the event more certain he is that it wasn’t a bear attack. The doctor was messing with Keith’s I.V drip as he spoke again “we had to consult doctors who spent time in northern America to decide your treatment, as I am sure you’re well aware, our country has no bears out side of the zoo.” Keith remembered being hit in the head before waking up in the forest, but he didn’t remember anything more severe then a few cracked ribs and a broken arm, looking over himself he realized just to what extent he was injured, he looked like he had been mauled by something ferocious like a pack of wolves or a large predator.

The pain Keith had been feeling over the past few days had subsided with the exception of that hospital food taste that lingered even in the air itself, Keith actually felt incredibly well, propping himself up on his elbows then lifting himself into a upright position, he began stretching his limbs excepting them to be limp and sore they felt strong and full of energy, Keith has been awake for five days now and he is no longer such a novelty to his doctor.
Keith was feeling fantastic and reached for the needle in his arm pulling it out carefully, it didn’t bleed, Keith couldn’t help but find this strange, careful not to attract any attention Keith began breaking the casts that decorated his arms and legs, they broke apart easily, standing on his legs for the first time in weeks he couldn’t believe how good they felt maybe hospital food really is incredible Keith mused to himself, as he pondered his remarkable recovery.

Keith left the hospital with relative ease, no one was looking for him and the clothes he found in a closet near his bed fit perfectly. When Keith returned to his apartment he changed into clothes he felt far more comfortable in, wearing a white button dress shirt and blue pair of jeans, Keith sat down on his chair reaching for the phone dialing in a nine digit number.
“It’s Corporal Keith Sutherland here- no I left this morning- no this morning-
look I want to go back onto active duty- I am aware I almost died- yes it was only three weeks ago- I'm fine now I’ll do my tests when I pass then I’ll be reinstated- its not an order it’s a suggestion- okay thank you, yes thank you… good bye” Keith put the phone down his face threatening to reveal a smile.

A ring of the door bell stirred Keith from his victorious day dream over his phone battle with the army office. Who could possibly know im here… Keith wondered this as he opened the door, to his surprise was a beautiful college aged girl she looked about nineteen years old with auburn hair and sharp green eyes, her cute face had freckles dotting her upper cheeks and the bridge of her nose, they were an attractive type of freckles very gentle and cute, she had no reason to hide them behind blemish and other assortments of cosmetics, her ears were pierced in several places with assorted platinum studs and rings, her lips were painted a glossy rich red colour, and a tattoo of a wolf head on her neck right below her left ear, she wore a black blouse over a black singlet with a black miniskirt, she had black combat boots that went half way to her knee, and assorted black bands with steel spikes adorning her wrists.

“Can I help you?” Keith said trying hard to not appear standoffish or annoyed with the girl, the girl seemed to ignore what Keith said, responding like she was an old friend,
“my names Danielle but my friends just call me Danny” she said as she bounded past Keith into his home, “wow I love your apartment” she spoke like a child in a candy store, Keith could have stopped her from entering easily but wasn’t interested fighting with such a attractive looking girl,
“Can I help you?” Keith spoke again this time with more authority in his tone, the girls skipping and prancing ended immediately,
“Wow someone’s a grumpy pants” she pouted and pretended to be irritated.
Keith marched up to the girl, even if she was pretending to be irritated Keith was not and he was preparing to throw her out, when he put his arms on her shoulders she moved in close to Keith which wasn’t his intention she put both her hands on his chest and looked up into his eyes, her expression was strange it seemed to say a million things to Keith and he felt himself leaning towards this girl he didn’t know, something was wrong Keith could feel it in the back of his mind, but he felt like he wasn’t in control this girl was beckoning to him and he was going to her. Just as he felt like his lips would touch hers, she turned her head away and whispered into Keith’s ear,
“it’s only the wind” Keith snapped out of trance as he jumped back, his mind recognized that sentence and it filled him with a strange sense of fear as his brain raced back to the attack, he remembered where he last heard those words, Keith found himself unable to speak, for the moment.

“So what is it you want?” Keith interrogated; the girl was laughing,
“I don’t want anything” she said innocently, “okay I want a place to live, for a while then I’ll be gone” Keith’s eyes narrowed,
“Fine” Keith had a feeling he didn’t want to deny this strange girl.
“Great” the girl cried enthusiastically, as she bounded in long hyperactive strides towards Keith’s bedroom, Keith was still standing in his living room stunned, “you can have the couch” Danielle’s voice called from the dark recesses of Keith’s bedroom.

The phone began to ring, Keith was hesitant as he reached towards it, pushing the paranoia out of his mind he grabbed the receiver pulling it slowly to his ear,
“Hello?” there was a moment of silence “is this Keith Sutherland?” Keith didn’t recognize the man’s voice
“Who’s asking?” Keith inquired the line was silent again for a brief moment,
“my names doctor Shiraz I was consulted by your doctor…” the voice trailed off too the sound of papers being shuffled in the back ground, “…doctor Cash Myer, yes apparently you were involved in some sort of animal attack at the base of mount thresher, im here to help you, Keith.”
Keith wasn’t sure he could trust this man, he was privy to some information Keith felt wouldn’t be widely known which does help back this mans story up, but what could he be talking about?
“Look doctor I'm feeling fine now so you don’t even need to bother.” Keith replied through clenched teeth, he wasn’t interested in more doctors he felt fantastic.
“Keith it’s imperative that we talk as soon as possible, in person” The doctor’s voice seemed to be far more desperate now.
Keith conceded to the man, more to get him off the phone then out of curiosity for what the man had to say.
“Meet me at star bucks on west park avenue tomorrow come wearing green blazer with a orange hat, so I can recognize you, come alone… doctor” and with that Keith slammed his phone down triumphantly without waiting for the doctors reply.
Turning around Keith saw the strange girl standing at the door; her piercing green eyes were locked onto the phone.
“You always stand and eves drop on peoples private conversations?” Keith growled annoyed with his privacy being invaded.
“You shouldn’t go see that doctor Keith, he’s not to be trusted” the girl spoke with such a serious tone it’s hard to imagine, she’s the same hyperactive nut case that barged in earlier.
“Yeah well that’s well and good, but you’re invading my home, listening to my phone calls, and telling me who I can and can’t trust?” his voice was flowing with aggravation sarcasm.
“Keith,” she spoke slowly as if talking to a child, “I’ve come here to help you,” she walked into the kitchen, the sound of cupboards being opened and closed, “Jesus do you actually drink anything?” she called out exasperated. The girl returned to Keith a moment later carefully keeping her right hand out of sight without drawing suspicion, “Keith let me show you something” she spoke to him when he was only a meter ahead of her, with surprising speed she lunged a large kitchen knife out towards Keith, sliding the blade into his kidneys the blade cut through Keith at his side, right below the rib cage.
Pain exploded through Keith’s body as he felt his stomach convulsed blood and bile up through his mouth, struggling to breathe and even stand, his face a contorted mixture of agony, surprise, and rage. “What the fuck did you do that for you crazy bitch?!” Keith croaked out between vomiting blood.

The girl seemed to find this rather humorous or at least was thoroughly enjoying Keith’s pain, still laughing she pulled the knife out of Keith’s body and told him to relax, blood began flowing freely from the open wound, Keith could only look down at his blood soaked clothes in horror, four years serving in Baghdad, and he gets killed by this psychopathic teenager, Keith was amazed at his own foolishness, and the girl could only look down at him laughing a maniacal cackle, like a witch having a fit of hysteria. Keith’s gaze turned back to his wound that felt numb, when he put his hand to it, he could feel his hand but their was no pain, and he couldn’t feel his severed flesh, his hands franticly ripped his shirt and his eyes widened as he looked at the side of his body, there was a massive pool of blood, his clothes the carpet was all soaked with it, but Keith’s body was immaculate not so much as a scar. “Wh-what the fuck?!” .Keith stammered his words, his perception of reality of the event’s that just took placed were destroyed the world felt like it was tipping over, Keith felt light headed and his mind was burning holes through his skull trying to understand what just happened.
“You fucking bitch, what the fuck is fucking going on?!” Keith’s tone was at least 20 decibels higher then normal, Danielle looked at Keith again like he was a child, ignorant to life’s simplest questions.
“Keith, you’re fine I’ll explain it all after you’ve finished digesting that experience, im sorry for being so harsh, but well…” her voice trailed off, her tone revealed that she wasn’t sorry she probably couldn’t have had more fun at Keith’s expense if she tried.
Danielle held the knife to her arm his eyes locked on the blade “watch Keith” As she said this she ran the knife the length of her fore arm but the blade was deep, easily an inch and a half inside her arm, her face grimaced in pain, however as the knife moved her flesh sealed behind it, when the blade reached her wrist she pulled the blade out, the blood that had been flowing from her arm subsided and there was no mark left that revealed she just opened her arm up, “you heal quicker, as you get older Keith” she spoke like it was common knowledge, more as though she was mentioning hair loss or wrinkled skin.