Location Unknown, Former United States Of America, 2215.
I was struggling to crawl through the snowy wasteland, feeling pain and agony as I was slowly dying in the freezing cold from my brutal injuries. Finally, I slumped to the ground and rolled over on my back.
"It's over Jack...you've lost everything and they're all fucking dead, so why are you still pushing on?" I thought to myself as I recalled how my life turned out this way.
Freeze City (Formerly Los Angeles), Former United States Of America, 2214.
"Mom! Dad!"
"Oh fuck no! Mom, Dad, it's all my fault,"
"Don't worry, they are already in Paradise, now wake up Jack!"
I gasped awake as I sat up suddenly, breathing heavily, my heart racing from the same nightmare I'd been having for years.
"Son of a bitch, I'm really tired of this shit," I thought bitterly as I got out of bed, took a pack of cigarettes, and lit one up to calm myself down as I headed in to take a shower.
Once I was done, I got out of the shower, brushed my teeth, gelled the front of my short black hair into a spiky style, and I assessed myself in the mirror.
My refection showed a 42 year old white male, athletically built, cold dark blue eyes, and five a-clock shadow. But what was really noticeable about me, was not only many scars on my torso and a large tribal tattoo of flames on my right arm, but also that there was a large scar on the left side of my face that ran down from the top of my forehead, crossed over my left eye, and ended at my jaw. Looking at my scarred face brought back horrifying memories of that night and I quickly buried them, not wanting to remember.
I left the bathroom and went to my dresser, took out my usual clothes. I put on a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, then added a black belt, dark brown work boots, and a black leather jacket. I put on my sunglasses and grabbed my keys, phone and wallet as I was leaving my apartment and headed out to my antique black 1967 Chevrolet Impala.
I started my car and the engine roared to life. As I drove to the station, I thought about last night's nightmare and how the deep voice and the large black dog with two different colored eyes hadn't been there before, which made me wonder if it was either a warning, or a repressed memory I had blocked out since that night. I shook my thoughts away as I pulled into the parking lot, found a space and headed into the station, passing my fellow brothers and sisters in blue as I entered the mens locker room. I headed to my locker and opened it, took off my jacket, put on my shoulder holster, handcuff pouch, and badge. Retrieving a lockbox from the top shelf, I unlocked it with a key from my ring and took out my Sig Sauer P226R, secured in the holster, put the box back up on the shelf and put my jacket back on. Closing my locker, I headed out to the office I shared with my partner. As I opened the door to our office, my partner and childhood friend, Hubb Lebowski looked up and greeted me with a nod.
"Well, looks like Detective Jackson Michael Walker decided to join the land of the living," Hubb teased as I took off my jacket and slung it on the back of my chair, sat down, took a bottle of whiskey out of my desk drawer, and poured a glass.
"Shut the fuck up, Hubb. My head is pounding and I haven't been getting any good sleep for the past few weeks now, so can it with the jokes 'cause I'm not in the mood," I snapped in irritation as I took a sip from my glass and lit up a smoke.
"Jesus Jack, excuse me for wanting to lighten the mood," Hubb retorted.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, I said, "Shit...sorry Hubb, I didn't mean to snap at you, I just haven't been getting any good sleep for a few weeks now, and combine that with the workload the Captain's been throwing at us lately...can you blame me for feeling a little on edge?"
"You have a point Jack," Hubb agreed.
"So, has anything happened while I was "Not among the living?" I asked and took a sip from my glass.
"Well, another supply train was looted last night by a gang," Hubb explained and I grumbled irritably in response.
"Fucking kids, thinking they own these streets. Well, it's not like the Goddamn Nobles are any better," I growled as I dragged on my smoke.
There was a knock on the door and Hubb yelled out, "Come in." A uniformed officer entered our office.
"Sorry to bother you Detectives, but you're needed in interrogation room 1," the officer stated as he rested his hands on his duty belt.
"For what?" I questioned, my cold stare and gravely voice making the officer swallow nervously.
"A drunk was brought in after firing a loaded weapon in a crowded street and killing a large white dog, but the weird thing is that the perp keeps saying that it wasn't a dog," the officer explained.
"Odd...did he say anything else?" Hubb asked.
"No, nothing after that," the officer clarified as Hubb and I stood up.
"Well, lets see what our perp has to say," I stated as I snuffed out my cigarette butt in my ashtray, put on my jacket, and Hubb and I left our office.
Hubb and I walked down the hallway and into the interrogation room. The officer inside, guarding the door nodded to us. As we entered the room. I got a good look at our perp.
The person that was cuffed and sitting at the table was a man in his mid-fifties with gray hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a tan trenchcoat that concealed a holster for the rifle and ammo that was on the table, along with a fedora hat. I wrinkled my nose at the heavy smell of alcohol that was coming off the man and I could see from his glassy eyes that he was intoxicated.
"Hello sir. I'm Detective Hubb Lebowski and this is my partner Detective Jack Walker. We would like to ask you some questions about the shooting," Hubb said, but the man didn't reply.
"Did he have anything else on him?" I asked the officer that was in the room with us.
"Yeah. He had a wallet on him, and he seems to be a cop. Take a look," the officer stated as he gave Hubb a wallet and we looked through it, seeing the man's ID and a badge that bore the rank of Sheriff and said 'Kyrios Sheriff's Department'.
I'd heard of the destruction of Kyrios a few years ago. Apparently, someone accidentally started a forest fire and it grew out of control until it burned the entire town to the ground and killed nearly everyone in it.
"Quent Yaiden...so tell us, what brings the Sheriff of Kyrios to our humble city?" Hubb questioned, but Quent didn't respond.
"That's some heavy firepower you have there Mr. Yaiden, but we doubt you came all this way for hunting," I said and Quent started speaking.
"What did you do with it? Where's the animal I put down?" Quent inquired.
"So, he finally speaks. As for the animal, it's dead apparently," Hubb stated, causing Quent to look up in shock as Hubb continued, "The carcass will be disposed of here."
Suddenly, Quent slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "That's impossible! There's not a fucking chance in hell that thing is dead! I have to see it with my own eyes! Don't either of you get it?! It's a wolf!"
"Are you fucking serious? You really think that dog is a wolf?" I questioned skeptically, wondering if this man was a little off in the head.
"It may look like a dog, but it's not! It's a wolf! Detectives, neither of you believe that we wiped those things from the face of the planet, do you?!" Quent exclaimed.
"The last sighting of a wolf was over 200 years ago, just before the world was destroyed by nuclear warheads when World War 3 broke out. Just how do you propose that they survived all these centuries? The mountains and forests had been stripped bare before the world was destroyed, there's nowhere on Earth they could live or hide-" Hubb stated, but Quent quickly stood up and knocked the chair to the floor.
"They're all around us! Those fucking demons have just put us all under some kinda spell! These wolves exist and we have to destroy them all!" Quent exclaimed in fury.
"Okay, first of all, sit the fuck down! Second, lay off the hooch because you are clearly drunk and have no idea what the hell you are saying! I believe in evidence, and there is none that proves any part of what the hell you are saying! This is my one and only warning. If you ever fire that gun again, you are looking at prison time for discharging a firearm in a public place," I threatened as I leaned in close and glared coldly at the clearly drunken man.
Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling of wanting to tear Quent's throat out with my teeth, and I quickly left the room, taking out a smoke and lighting it up.
"What the hell is going on with me? It's like I almost felt like a wild animal in there," I thought quizzically just as Hubb left the room.
"Are you okay, Jack? You looked like you wanted to tear that man's throat out," Hubb asked in concern.
"I'm fine. I've just been feeling on edge these past few days," I dismissed with a wave of my hand.
"C'mon, we need to go see Cher and have her take a look at the dog," Hubb said as we started walking down the hallway.
"What about Mr. Yaiden?" I inquired.
"He'll be spending time in the drunk tank and will be released since no one is pressing charges," Hubb explained as we approached the lab.
"Fucking hell...there's our justice system for you," I spat out bitterly as we entered the lab and saw Cher working with her other colleagues.
Cher had long blonde hair up in a bun, and glasses, but not even the lab coat could conceal the fact that she was a beautiful woman. When she saw us, she walked over.
"Hubb, Jack, it's good to see you," Cher greeted as we approached her.
"It's good to see you too, Cher," Hubb said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Cher," I greeted with a nod and looked at a large tank behind her that had a woman dressed in a jumpsuit, floating inside.
As I looked at the woman, I felt a strange pull that seemed to be drawing me to her and I walked over to take a closer look. The woman's red eyes and soft peaceful smile seemed to wake up something inside me.
"Jack?" I heard Cher speaking to me and I quickly snapped out of it.
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked in confusion as I looked back at Hubb and Cher, who were staring at me in concern.
"I was just saying that we were going to take a look at this dog that everybody is talking about," Cher clarified.
I nodded as we walked out of the lab and headed to our destination.
"I figured that this sort of thing was in your jurisdiction," Hubb commented to Cher while we were walking down the hallway.
"So, it's alive?" Cher asked us.
"Just barely, but it's only a matter of time," Hubb remarked.
"That sounds like the two of us," Cher stated as I lit up a smoke.
"We're not over yet...all we have to do is keep trying," Hubb tried to reason.
"I'm not so sure," Cher said doubtfully as we entered the room where the dog was caged up.
I tensed up when I saw someone standing in front of the cage and I announced, "Hey! You there! This is a restricted area! Identify yourself!"
The person jumped as I called out, and he turned around to look at us. The stranger was a 18 year old white male with curly hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a collar around his neck that was a bit big on him, a black-striped, mustard colored, short-sleeved hoodie with black stripes, over a black long-sleeved shirt, gray sweatpants with black stripes, and sneakers. The man smiled sheepishly and started speaking.
"Oh, uh, heh, sorry. I was looking for cleaning supplies and I guess I must've gotten lost," the man explained as he rubbed the back of his head.
"A janitor, huh? Just go out that door next to you and the place you're looking for is on the right," Hubb pointed out helpfully, and the man nodded gratefully.
"Oh, is it? Uh, thanks!" the man said as he waved once and started to leave.
I didn't know if it was just me, but as the man left, he looked at me briefly and it seemed that in just a second, confusion, shock, and realization crossed his face. Cher, Hubb, and I walked over to the cage and Cher leaned forward to examine the dog. The dog was large with snow white fur, and I could see that there was a graze on its left hind leg, along with a bullet wound in its right shoulder.
"So, do you really think it's a wolf?" Hubb asked Cher curiously.
"I don't know, I've never seen a real one before. But if it is a wolf, It may be what's causing the sudden reaction in Cheza," Cher stated thoughtfully, causing Hubb to roll his eyes and I knew what was coming next.
"Oh God, not Cheza again," Hubb groaned in exasperation.
"What the hell does that mean?" Cher questioned in slight offense.
"It's because of her that you and I separated," Hubb grumbled bitterly.
"Stop acting like an idiot Hubb. You and Jack bring this up to the lab," Cher said sternly.
"We'll have someone else do it later. Dogs and I don't get along all that well. I'm kinda allergic to them," Hubb admitted while he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
Cher let out an irritated sigh and said, "This is the reason why we'll never work."
"I don't know, maybe it is just a matter of time," Hubb stated as he and Cher started to leave the room, but they looked at me when they saw that I was still standing in front of the cage.
"Jack, you coming?" Hubb asked me.
"In a minute...I just wanted to get a good look at the dog Mr. Yaiden was so worked up about," I replied as I dropped my cigarette butt and ground it out with my shoe. I knelt down, and examined the animal more closely.
"Okay, I'll meet you later," Hubb said, and he and Cher left the room.
"Hmmm...I wonder if you are a wolf? Oh God, what the fuck am I saying? You're probably either a husky mix or an Alaskan Malamute with wolf traits," I mumbled under my breath as I stood up and left the room.
Hige waited until the man with the faint scent of a wolf left the room and he walked over to the cage, kneeling down and grinning at the white wolf that was locked up.
"Damn, you really screwed up. I mean, I've seen one of us get caught before, but never this badly," Hige stated as the wolf opened its eyes and looked at him.
"I can get the hell out of here whenever I feel like it," the white wolf grumbled dryly.
"Uh-huh, so then why are you in there?" Hige asked inquisitively.
"No reason, I just...needed a place to rest for awhile, that's all," the wolf stated and Hige let out a slight chuckle.
"I'm Hige, it's nice to meet you," Hige introduced himself.
"Why are you in here anyway?" the wolf questioned.
"Eh, no reason, it smelt like something interesting was going to happen and I just followed my nose, you know? Besides, I've got nowhere else to go," Hige explained.
"That's not your true form, why do you hide yourself?" the wolf pointed out in confusion.
"So I don't end up where you are. These people are terrified of us, so if we look like them, they pretty much leave us alone," Hige said, but it didn't sit well with the white wolf.
"You're living a lie, just so you can die a shitty death in this fucking city?!" the wolf snarled in fury.
"Gotta do what you can to survive, right? Keep lookin' like that and you'll be back here in no time; it draws too much attention," Hige remarked, causing the wolf to sit up quickly and bare his teeth.
"Have you given up your damn pride as a wolf?!" the wolf yelled in frustration, causing Hige to blink once until he smiled slightly.
"You're a strange one, all right. But having pride doesn't count for much if you're dead, you know?" Hige stated, which made the wolf stare at him in surprise and realization.
Suddenly, loud alarms broke out, prompting the white wolf to latch his jaws on the bars and bend them enough so that he could slip out.
I kept moving quickly to the armory as other officers moved past me with MP5A2s that had surefire flashlight attachments, M4A1 Carbines with trijicon acog scopes and tactical flashlight attachments, and Mossberg 500 shotguns. I reached the armory where officers were fitting themselves with dark navy blue jumpsuits, black elbow and knee pads, black combat boots, black gloves, black balaclavas, black tactical vests with the word SWAT on the front and back of the vest in bold white letters. The vests had ammo pouches, flashbang grenades, cs gas grenades, and zip tie cuffs on them. The SWAT team was putting on black tactical helmets with military goggles on them when they saw me quickly approaching.
"Walker, good to see you," the SWAT Captain I knew as Frank greeted me.
"Hey Frank, suiting up I see?" I inquired as I took off my leather jacket, grabbed a black vest that said police on it, put it on, and put my jacket back on before I took a Mossberg 500 and loaded it with four 00 buckshot shells.
"Yeah. That gang that has been looting supply trains and Noble provisions hit again. We just got the call. So, what do you say Lieutenant? We gonna do this like old times?" Frank asked in anticipation.
"You don't have to call me by that rank Frank, I'm not with SWAT anymore. Though, I wouldn't mind working alongside my former SWAT Captain," I said as I racked the pump and left the armory, heading to the entrance.
While I was rushing through the hallway, I nearly bumped into the young man I had seen earlier in the room with the dog, but now he wasn't alone. The second man looked to be about 17 with long dark shaggy brown hair and steely blue eyes. The man was wearing white long sleeved shirt that was covered by a black/grey jacket with the sleeves rolled up, blue jeans, and black converse sneakers.
"Oh...Detective, I wasn't expecting to see you again," the man with the hoodie greeted me in surprise.
"You again. Listen, you and your friend need to evacuate for your own safety," I instructed seriously.
"Sure," the man in the hoodie agreed as he and the second man started to leave.
As I started to exit the building, I heard someone calling for me and I looked to see that it was the second man.
"Yeah? Can I help you?" I asked the second man in confusion.
"What's your name?" the second man asked in a smooth calm voice.
"Jack. My name is Jack Walker," I replied as I turned around and left the building.
As I left, I met up with Hubb and Cher, who perked up when they saw me.
"Jack, there you are. Do you have any idea what's going on?" Hubb asked me.
"More Noble provisions have been looted again by that fucking gang that has been causing a lot of trouble lately," I explained and looked to see Frank and his SWAT team getting into a armored Bearcat truck and driving off with the lights and sirens on.
As I looked out into the distance, Hubb suddenly started scratching like crazy.
"Hubb, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I questioned quizzically.
"Ugh...my allergies are acting up for some damn reason," Hubb complained and looked to his left to see the two men I encountered earlier, the man with long shaggy hair staring back at us coldly for a second before looking forward and walking away.
Suddenly, an officer came running up to us with a look of panic on his face.
"Detectives! That big dog, it just disappeared!" the officer exclaimed to us
"What?! How the fuck did that happen?!" I yelled in disbelief, and Hubb, Cher, and I quickly ran into the building.
We ran into the room where the dog had been locked up and we were stunned when we saw that the cage was empty, containing only a bloodstain. I could see that two of the bars of the cage were bent enough for the animal to escape.
"It's fucking gone...do you think someone stole it?" Hubb asked Cher.
"Maybe...or maybe it escaped on it's own," Cher theorized thoughtfully.
"Something doesn't make sense. If it escaped, how did it get out of the building without someone noticing it? We're talking about a large white dog that's injured for Christ's sake, someone would've noticed something like that wandering the building," I stated as I knelt down and examined the bars, seeing the teeth marks on it.
"Look at this, teeth marks. Our animal definitely used it's jaws to bend the bars to escape, but where did it go after that?" I wondered as I stood up and lit a smoke.
"Where did you go, my large furry friend?" I thought in confusion as I inhaled the tobacco and felt the nicotine calm my nerves.
"Your wounds, have they healed?" Hige asked while he and the white wolf were resting near a ledge.
"Yeah. After all, it's a full moon tonight," the white wolf said.
"So, why did you come to this shitty town anyway?" Hige asked curiously.
"I smelled something, the scent of lunar flowers. It's here in this city," the white wolf explained.
"Yeah, I know. My nose can tell when a dog is taking a shit 10 kilometers away," Hige stated proudly.
"Yeah? That must really suck," the white wolf remarked dryly and Hige chuckled sheepishly.
"Yeah, sure does," Hige agreed and saw the white wolf smile slightly, making him grin in response.
"So why the hell did you escape with me?" the white wolf asked.
"Eh, I don't know, I just felt like it, I guess. Besides, you seem kinda interesting. So, what's next? Where are you heading?" Hige questioned.
"To Paradise...there isn't any moonlight in this place," the white wolf stated which caught Hige's attention.
"Paradise huh...that sounds like fun," Hige said.
"My name is Kiba," Kiba introduced himself as a breeze appeared.
"Well, it's good to meet you Kiba," Hige said and he frowned as he thought about the cop he and Kiba encountered earlier.
"You're thinking about that cop we saw before, right? Did you catch his scent?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah...I did...It was weird. He had the scent of a wolf but it was really faded and covered with the smell of tobacco and humans," Hige replied thoughtfully.
"What do you think? Could he be one of us?" Kiba inquired curiously.
"The scent coming off of him was too consistent, so I have to say yes, but he didn't react at all when he saw me. Maybe he doesn't know who he truly is, and was raised by humans all his life," Hige theorized thoughtfully.
Kiba didn't say anything and started thinking about that cop, Jack Walker. He most certainly had the scent of a wolf and the man didn't seem to be able to tell that he knew they were wolves, so it was quite possible that Jack didn't know what he was.
Kiba started to drift off to sleep, wondering when he would be able to find his next clue that would lead him to Paradise.