Once again, I've disappeared for far to long, after my second career change since I've last updated a fic, I'm finally starting to stabilize a little more, hopefully I can take some of that momentum and produce some work.
Jack woke up with a rather sore back, having spent the night in the bed of the F-250. He had been about to try the door of the farmhouse the night before but thought better of it. He knew his father was gone, buried in the ground not far from where he was, but Jack was unsure of what happened to the property.
Judging by the state of things I hope to Christ no one lives here Jack thought to himself with a grimace, seeing things in the light for the first time in years.
Much of the barn had rotted away, the boards no longer bore the red paint that he had spent so many summer days applying. The doors lay ajar, but spiderwebs bridged the gap between them, making it seem more like a scene from a horror movie than a homecoming.
Looking towards the farmhouse that he had grown up in, he realized he wouldn't have needed to worry about the door, no window on the house had any glass left in it, they had all been either knocked out by a local teen or by flying debris, he'd have to get inside to get a better look.
Only one building on the property didn't seem to be completely falling apart, a small shack that had been occupied by the Jack's fathers best friend, Takakura. It wasn't a good looking building, but if Jack recalled correctly it never really was.
Easing himself out of the bed of the truck, Jack worked his way over to the shack's door. His knock went unanswered and Jack decided he would need to do something with his day, standing around wasn't going to do any good.
Wandering back to his truck, Jack caught a glimpse of himself in the side mirror and he found himself quite a sight.
After being discharged from the Corp, Jack took all that he owned, a pair of fatigues, a few white t-shirts, a pair of combat boots that he had worn through his tours of duty, about $1000 in cash (the pay from his last few months), a few nicknacks, and a rucksack to carry it all it. He bought the Ford before he left 29 Palms for about $200 and left for Forget-Me-Not Valley, his true home.
Traveling almost nonstop Jack hadn't had much time to wash up and it showed, he was still wearing his fatigues from when he left base and they were now covered in dirt and oil from the journey. His face wore smudges from wiping his hands during the summer heat while working on the Ford and camping by the side of the road every night. He smelled of body odor and stale cigarette smoke. All of this would have been perfectly normal on deployment, but now that he was in something that resembled civilization he felt self conscious.
Jack decided he needed to spend a little time in the pond just north of the farm, wash himself off just a little bit. He changed into his jeans and put on a fresh white shirt for the first time in what felt like a lifetime and wandered up the dirt road to the pond. He saw some people he had never seen before, a blonde girl in a red dress stood on the bridge he had crossed just the night before, a man and boy jogged past her, waving hello was they passed. Another man, whom Jack thought must be around the same age as him but was...different, with long hair, a beard, and a tall green hat that made him look like a wizard from a child's tale.
Jack continued up the dirt road, happily unseen, to the place known as the Goddess Pond, slipping past the boulder next the waterfall he slipped into the alcove he remembered from his youth, stripping down he slipped into the water, the cold morning water shocking him fully awake but also washing away much of the grime from the road.
He stayed there for a few minutes before catching a glimpse of a brunette head of hair down the dirt road, he jumped from the pond as the girl whose hair he had seen came into view, thinking he had escaped her gaze, he slipped back into the alcove and hurriedly dried himself.
He had not escaped he gaze however, and the brunette, Celia, moved closure to the waterfall, unsure of who, or what she had just seen. Peaking past the boulder, she saw Jack, who had only managed to get back on his jeans, the scars on his torso seemed to be highlighted by his tan skin. On his shoulder was a tattoo, something Celia had seen few of since she had moved to the valley. She recognized what the tattoo was however, it was hard not to after the events of the past few years, it was the symbol of the United States Marine Corps, the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.
As Jack turned towards Celia, she involuntary let on a shriek, he looked as terrified as she felt. As she turned a ran back down the road all she could hear was his voice shouting "Wait! Please stop!" but she couldn't, her feet just seemed to carry her away, back to Vesta's farm.
"Great" Jack said out loud to himself, "first person who sees me and they yell and run, at least the day can only get better".
Jack slid his t-shirt over his head and went back towards the old farm, not yet knowing how wrong he was.