Hiya everybody! I'm Pi-Face, but you can call me Pi-chan, or Pi-san, or whatever! This is my first story, so I want everybody's opinions. Don't sugar coat it: I wanna see if I'm going wrong anywhere or not. Tell me, and I'll edit it, okay? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story!
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It was a stormy day, one of those days where you want to curl up under your bed and hide. But Richard Greamer's bones wouldn't let him do that. He was sixty-two, turning sixty-three in a couple of weeks. He just wasn't young anymore. Not like back in the war. But then again, during that war he'd been fitter than most Americans. While all those hippies were doing drugs and moving off to some spiritual plane, he'd been getting shot at in 'Nam. It was a little like a dream, only the shrapnel wound in his leg sure as hell was real. He sighed. It was lonely, being a sixty-something with no grandkids. No kids, for that matter. Maybe it was time for him to get a pet.
There were a lot of pet shops everywhere, nowadays. But for some reason, Greamer headed for Chinatown. Maybe it was because it was close to his home, or maybe it reminded him of all the people he had met, and killed in Vietnam. Whatever the case, he ended up going there. And then he headed for a small corner of the town, which would have been overlooked by everyone except those who possessed sharp eyes.
It was a small shop, he could see that. It had all the decorations and fittings of all the other shops. But it didn't take a soldier to know that there was something odd about the shop. The quiet aura surrounding it didn't fit in with all the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. It almost seemed… supernatural. Greamer looked at the shop looming ahead, then shook all these thoughts away. He had been a soldier, and all soldiers knew that there was no supernatural hooey on this planet, only fools who believed in it. Still, Greamer shivered. There was something wrong with this place.
Count D was enjoying his usual afternoon tea of Oolong and cake, currently some fondant au chocolat, when a customer came inside. He turned to tell the customer that the shop was closed, except that he saw that the man was elderly, and his grandfather had taught him to always respect his elders. Count D greeted the man with a formal. "Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to this humble shop. We offer a wide variety of pets, from the mundane to the exotic-" but the man just shook his head.
"No," he muttered, " I just want a dog. Loyal, faithful animals. There was one with us in 'Nam, there was. Sniffed out bombs, and mines. Too bad he got blown up by one. Ah well, maybe this one'll make up for it. But then again, maybe it won't. Too many people died in "Nam, you know?" It seemed like he was drifting away from the matter at hand, so Count D had no choice but to clear his throat. "If you would follow me this way, sir?"
Greamer was shocked. The shop hadn't seemed large from the outside at all, but as he kept on walking through its halls, it seemed as if they were endless, and could lead him to forever, if he only had the time. Not only that, there was a faintly cloying smell in the air, something sweet and musky that took his breath away. He would have liked to walk for a bit longer, but it all came to an end too soon as Count D led him into a small room.
The room was lined with rattan, and supported with bamboo shoots. It smelled of the tropics, and gunpowder, and blood. But that wasn't the unusual bit. He had gotten used to those smells during the war, although it would never really leave him. No, it was the man standing in the middle of the room with a stupid grin on his face. Hi was wearing a standard army bomber jacket, camo pants as well as a matching helmet and dog tag. His face was unmistakable, even after all of those years. It had to be Private 1st Class Leonard "Lenny" Glenn. No, it was Commodore Glenn now. Got killed by a grenade. But… it couldn't be possible. After all, the dead can't come back from their graves… right?
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There you go! What will happen next? How did this dead man come here? And, more importantly, why? All your questions shall be answered in the next installment of Duty! It'll come up when enough people are interested, so please, put up your reviews and favorite this story. This is Pi-chan, signing out!
