Bigfoot in the Window

in a cabin between two ski resorts. It was at the midway point down a mountain that was once a skiing location. It was beautiful up there, and the air was clean, and that was quiet, and needless to say, us boys were excited to explore the area on our own. Going to this cabin became a tradition every year. We always looked forward to a nice hike up the abandoned ski slope and from there deep into the woods and up onto a bluff. It was a fifty foot rock

outcropping covered in pine trees, ice and snow. It was truly a magical spot. We named it Misty Mountain and it became a big point on our checklist. Every year when we were up there, we would hike and eat and hang out and maybe do a few things our parents wouldn't approve of, like drinking beer. We packed in and packed out, and we didn't destroy anything, but we would leave apple cores and some other small food items

under this one tree each time we went. We repeated that every year, leaving our apple cores and minor food scraps at that spot under the tree. One time we got up to Misty Mountain and we noticed all the leftovers under the tree were gone. Satisfied we were doing a nice thing for some hungry wild animal, we left

our apple cores by the tree again. At this time, bigfoot shows were popular, and I had gotten the idea that I wanted to try a bigfoot call from the top of that abandoned ski slope, since it was open and clear of trees. So I let out my calls and listened to an echo as it ran down the mountain. But the other boys grew tired of my sili attempts and we moved on and we left our apples as usual, and just before we left, I let out my best

bigfoot call ever. We started back on our hike, and as we came to the open top of the ski slope, I got a strong sense of unease. But I knew I had probably just spooked myself, and as we got down the trail past the slope again, I began to relax. The next day, I was the only one who wanted to hike back up again. It was a beautiful day. I made my way up and I stopped a while for some trail mix while lounging on the steep slope.

When I reached the top, I could see the apple cores were gone from beneath the tree, but that the bread crust had been moved around but not eating. I thought maybe the deer didn't like bread. Well, that wasn't anything strange, and as my thoughts went in the direction of bigfoot, I reminded myself that it was just a scary story in something that happens at night. But then the feeling came over me again, the one that makes your whole body tingling gold cold. It was chilly outside,

but this was different. It was the cool shiver of fear. As I tried to brush the feeling off, I became hyper aware of how far I was from anyone, and how alone I was. I decided I had spent enough time up there and that I would head back. I left my whole apple as an offering because I figured I could potentially use some good luck. A bigfoot were watching me, maybe i'd let it know that I had left something, so for whatever reason, I got a good

bigfoot whoop and I started on my way down. In hindsight, that was a stupid idea. When I got to the top of the ski slope to make my way down again, I felt that creepy feeling. This time though it was more intense, so I picked up my pace, and as soon as I broke the tree line, I felt another sensation wash over me, one of sheer panic. I was nearly at a full sprint in my own snow shoes going down a snow and dirt path when I hit the road and popped them off and booked it to

the house. And when I got inside, I felt silly again, like when you run up on a basement steps as a kid because you're scared of the dark. By this time, though, I was twenty one, so I got myself a beer and I put the weird feelings out of my mind and enjoyed the rest of my day. I stepped outside after my parents had gone to bed and had myself a smoke break. It was a clear night, with a full moon acting like a big spotlight over the whole wilderness.

As I smoked a cigarette, that creepy feeling came back over me again, and out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. It was a massive shadow, moving swiftly and silently through the trees. I lost sight of whatever it was, and then I went back inside and locked the door. Could have been a bear a moves or it could have been a bigfoot. I wasn't looking

to find out. Like many cabins, the one we stayed in was mainly wood and glass, and you could see three hundred and sixty degrees from any level in that house. As beautiful as that sounds, it doesn't offer much privacy. And the whole night I felt the sensation of being watched.

I didn't hear anything, and I can't say that I even saw anything, really, But when I woke up in the morning and stay out to have a smoke, and the exact spot that I had been standing the night before was a neat pile of smooth rocks neatly grouped together. I picked one up and I showed it to the other guys, and I thought maybe they had collected them. They asked if I had brought them back from Misty Mountain.

That wasn't the answer I was expecting and not wanting to tell them what I had seen the night before. I smiled and I said, yeah, yeah, I brought them back. Since then, I have come to believe Bigfoot gifted me those rocks. I'm sure apples are a rare treat during winter, and I still have one of those rocks. I've heard in the stories that in fact, Bigfoot are not fond of bread, and that stones, along with sticks and dead animals,

are sometimes left as gifts. It creeps me out to think that I was probably followed back to the cabin and observed the whole night. I suspect I got lucky. Vice to any Bigfoot fans out there is to leave well enough alone. Who knows what my yelling meant and Bigfoot language. A smile to a chimp is a threat, but to a human it's a greeting. Gifting is maybe the safest way to communicate with these creatures. I've always had great respect for nature and these things if they're

out there are no exceptions to me. I haven't been back since. Unfortunately, that's life. I suppose. I haven't told anyone about this. There's really not much to tell except my creepy feelings. Thank you for this platform. It's good to get the story off my chest to what I know will be a receptive audience. It's hard to find these days to all those skeptics. How many fishermen were laughed at for giant squid stories until everyone had a

nice piece of humble pie. I'm no expert nor a seasoned out doorsman, but I know what I felt and I know what I saw. Be careful out there, people, and always trust your gut. Okay, I'm trying to find out that. I'm trying to remember back did this monster jump out in front of this guy? It was kind of vague in the story, and there at the end he just says he just had feelings. So I don't know. I'm not sure what happened to this story. I'm going to assume he saw it, and that is pretty scary.

But if he didn't see it, maybe feelings are enough to confirm a bigfoot encounter. Maybe they're not. I don't know, but it was a pretty good story and I appreciate the writer. Thank you. Hey, y'all, Welcome to the podcast. It's been I think it's been almost thirty days since I uploaded a new podcast. I want to apologize for that, but I've just been busy. I've been loaded up with work. I still have a lot of work, but it's slowing.

The pressure's off, and the crisis on the schedule is seems to be a little bit over, so I can drop back and do some podcasts. But since I've been gone so long, I've got four stories from listeners. All four of them are fantastic. And then at the end, I've got an hour and a half long fiction action fiction story that I think you guys might like because I've missed a couple of fiction Fridays. So I almost shutting my mouth. We're gonna get into it all right,

here we go. Okay. This is a story about the little people, many people, maybe even gnomes. The story is set in the United Kingdom in nineteen ninety five in Devon, United Kingdom. My friend lived in an old quarry right on the edge of our small town where the countryside begins. He had a caravan at the time, and it was sort of an open house with people coming and going. He had a big fire pit and we used to sit around as you do, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze.

It was a nice place in the summer because the steep back quarry faced north. With all the tall trees growing on the slopes and around the edges, it was shaded and cool. Winter there was pretty bleak though, and it became dark, wet and cold, with heartily any direct sunlight. But he did make the perfect environment for ferns to grow. Large bunches of ferns were clumped about from the flat floor at the back of the quarry and up the steep slopes around the curved walls. Late one afternoon, there

was a small gathering of people there. Six of us were crammed into his new caravan, which had a large window on one end where the bench seats were. We were enjoying the time when someone in the group pointed outside, and within seconds each of us was staring out the window in disbelief. Only ten feet from the window of the caravan were little people standing around the ferns. At first there were just a couple, but then more came out.

They didn't have wings like and they didn't look particularly magical. They were just fully clothed miniature people going about their business. Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Asked the others, who had their mouths open and awe like me. Some of them murmured yes, and the others barely managed a week nod. Those little people couldn't have been any more than six inches tall, and their clothes looked old fashioned. There were

more than ten of them. I saw a tiny woman wearing a long rustic skirt and a fitted button shirt collecting sticks from the floor into bundles, and an older man with a gray beard jumped up to a sitting position on a piece of wood and started happily kicking his short, brown booted feet. We all watched him rummage in his leather waistcoat pockets, and he retrieved a pipe with a long stem and spent a while packing it

with what looked like little pieces of tobacco. He rummaged in his pockets again and sparked up an ember out of something, and as he puffed away to get his pipe going, we saw his face in more detail as it glowed in the light of the burning pipe bowl. The rest of the little people were either milling about in the open or going to and fro between the ferns and the open area by the caravan, seemingly busy with chores, picking up stuff from the ground and talking

with each other. The woman with a long skirt went over to the old man with the pipe and conversed with him for a while, and then after about a half an hour, they all walked back into the ferns. They were gone. The six of us in the caravan were speechless. One of the group members got agitated and accused us of drugging her tea. I had an easier time accepting it, and I was grateful to have an

experience such as an amazing thing as this. My friend who owned the caravan hadmitted that he had seen them before, but didn't tell anyone because he was afraid no one would believe him. I recently caught up with a friend who thought she had been drugged and asked her if she remembered those little people. Her eyes widened and she gasped yes. All these years later, she still couldn't wrap her head around it. Okay, y'all, I love this story. It reminds me of the did you guys ever see

the movie Willow? Val Kilmer was in it. It was a great movie. My kids loved it. I loved it. We watched it a hundred times. We had the VHS tape and we watched Willow over and over and over. If you have kids that are young, it's a good movie for kids to see. And it's full of it's got little people in it of all varying sizes, and it's a fantasy story. But it's a really, really well made movie. This story was just a kind of like Willow.

So that's all I can say. You know, I don't usually I usually have a lot to say, but I don't say anything, So I'm gonna quit talking about this. But I love this story. Thanks to the writer. He's a good writer, and I appreciating sending me this story. Thanks. Okay, here's a short story about a desert creature. I don't I'm reading this cold. I don't know what it's about, but that's the title. Let's see what kind of creepiness

we can get into on this one. I grew up near the small town of Oracle, Arizona, in nineteen eighty. I was working for one of the local copper mines. One night, I got off work at eleven PM and drove the hour long drive back to Oracle and arrived at a local bar. I only had an hour before closing and was trying to find someone who wanted to go four wheeling that night. I talked to a friend into going out with me. It was a beautiful full moon,

it was a warm summer night. After I had gone about a mile out of town, I tried to go through a really bad spot in the road and I got stuck. I had high centered both axles on the ridge between the two ditches of the road. We got out of the truck, got out the jack to lift the axles off the ground, and I started shoveling dirt and rocks under the tires. After about an hour of shoveling, I thought I would take a break have a beer. We were sitting in the back of the truck when

we heard something come crashing through the brush. It was about one hundred yards out and it only got louder and got closer, and I couldn't imagine what this could be. Sounded like a bull hurtling towards us, and as it got closer, I grabbed my pistol. I stood up in the back of the truck to get a better few, and I saw it come crashing out of the brush forty feet behind us. But as thick as the brush was pushed and shoved out of the way, as this thing hit the road, there was no thing at all.

We could see the brush moving as it came toward us, and we could see it moving as it went away, but we saw nothing when it crossed the road. My friend and I were freaked the hell out, and we jumped in the truck and we blasted off the jack and flew out of there. I had to go back the next day to get my jack and shovel, and when I got there, I could see where the brush had been smashed and broken by whatever had torn through it.

I've never heard or seen anything like it again, and to this day I have no idea what it could have been. Oh cool, an invisible monster crashing through the air, through the through the Arizona brush out in the desert. I guess it's a desert. I Oh no, not all of Arizona's a desert. However, I've got I remember doing a story like this several years ago, and this I had forgotten about it, but this kind of jogged my memory. I doubt I could ever find that story again. I've

done so many but this, I have this. I've heard this before, invisible things coming through the brush, and I swear I think the story was in Arizona. Anyway, this was really cool. I don't think they had too many beers. I think they were just enjoying a few drinks and going out four wheeling in their truck. It's a pretty cool story. Be a scary story if it happened to me.

I guarantee you that, thanks to the writer. It was early October in Mississippi, and my family decided they wanted to do something special for me from my nineteenth birthday. One evening, my mom called us all into the living room and told us that she had booked a cabin in Arkansas. Now, this particular cabin was located in the Ozarks, which was exciting because I love nature and the outdoors,

at least I thought I did. My dad is a software engineer, but still likes activities like camping and fishing and bonfires. My little sister, who was eleven at the time, loved the idea of God going to Arkansas just as much as the rest of us, and that brings us to the glue of our family. Our pet Yorky, He's a feisty, vocal, intelligent little thing. He hates this one commercial on TV and whenever it comes on, he'll run

around the living room barking and jumping around. Our family of five embarked on this journey to Arkansas with permission from the homeowner to arrive that evening so we could enjoy all four days that we had off. We took a four wheeler with us on an open face trailer, and we were dragging it behind our twenty twelve Chevy Tahoe. The four wheeler was a standard and big enough for two to ride at a time. There were plenty of trails around the cabin that we could ride up and down,

and we all look forward to using it. Winding our way through the steep hills and rock ledges, we finally arrived at the property and we entered through the gate and traveled down a twisting, turning dirt road until we entered a clearing and spotted the cabin by that time, it was kind of late, and we were happy to stretch our legs. When my mom turned the car off, everything around us went pitch black. You haven't experienced true darkness until you spend the night deep in the mountains,

covered by hills and trees. It was so dark that our flashlight could barely penetrate the night well. We unloaded all our belongings and placed them on the front door as we input the cabin's code. I remember thinking how quiet everything around us was. There were no crickets, bugs, or mosquitos, or any sign of life at all. It was pure darkness and pure silence, almost like a group of uninvited guests had just arrived at a party and everyone was staring at them, wondering why they were there.

I also had this strange feeling that we were being watched by something in the darkness, and I told myself it was nothing, that my mind was running wild and causing unnecessary fear, that there was nothing out there in the darkness, and that we were safe and sound. I was wrong. Little did we know that the first night was the quietest out of all the nights we stayed there. We got inside and were greeted with a welcome basket placed on the kitchen table with marshmallows and chocolates and

Graham crackers along with roasting utensils. It looked tempting, but we couldn't wait to get in bed and get ready for our first big day. My sister and I stayed in the game room, which was the garage with a few beds and a pool table and an xbox. I got the queen's size bed, while my sister stayed on a bunk bed. It took us hardly any time to turn in that first night, and the following morning, I was woken up by my sister pushing and shoving me to wake up, Wake up, wake up. You've got to

see this, she said. I couldn't tell if there was excitement or fear in her voice, but I ran to see what the matter was. Outside the kitchen was a covered, screened in porch, and I found my mother there with a strange look on her face. I glanced out the window and was greeted with a beautiful sight of autumn colored leaves resting on the trees. In the distance. We were surrounded by a sea of rolling hills that stretched for as far as the eye could see. It was

a spectacular sight. Well, what's the matter, I asked my mom, This is actually beautiful. Your sister and I found something strange outside, she said. My curiosity was peaked. It couldn't be anything too bad, right, My sister showed me out the door and escorted me to the left side of our cabin, where I was greeted by an old tombstone position on a small hill fifty feet away from the cabin. There were two cowskulls resting on either side of it,

one on the left and one on the right. It was a tombstone a little girl from the eighteen hundreds who drowned in the river, just a couple of hundred yards behind the cabin. That alone wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part was when we realized that the death occurred on the same date we arrived at the cabin, October thirteen, Just like in the old horror movies. It was a clear omen of bad things to come, and

we ignored it. On our phones, we looked up whether this actually happened or not, and found an article on the events that took place. They were unseddenly Apparently the girl was separated from her family somehow and was later found in the river. Upon discovering this unsettling piece of history, we decided it may be a good time for us to get the four wheeler out and do some riding around, just to scope out the area and get our minds

onto something else. While my dad and I drank our coffee, my mother and sister rode up the trail behind the cabin. The trail was a steep hill that led to an over white area with picnic tables and chairs that overlooked a river, and on the other side of the river there was nothing but dense forest as far as the eye could see. We were truly in a secluded area. And thirty minutes later, my mom and sister came riding down the mountain and seemed much happier. There's a big

river over this hill that stretches for miles. My mom said, your sister wants to go back and look again. You want to take her, she asked, sure, I will, I said, I took my binoculars and rode the four wheeler back up the trail to the top of the steep hill where the picnic grounds were. I looked over the side of the hill and I could see the big river that stretched all the way through the terrain. It was a massive and endless body of water. And then I

noticed another path. I went straight. There was a small opening in the woods, just big enough of the four wheeler to fit through, and I went down this trail and eventually it leveled off and we were left in an area that gave us an even better view of the river. As I brought the foreheather to a stop, I noticed something in the dirt that sparked my interests. On the edge of the hill there was a flattened

out area of dirt that was disturbed. I was able to make out three solid, distinct bear footprints that appeared to be heading down the water's edge by the river. Now, at first I thought there must be some campers walking around barefooted. Not a big deal to me, although I thought it was odd that when I was walking in the same dirt, my impressions did not go as deep

as the bare footprints did. Well. We got back on the foe with her and I looked out over the river and we could see the forest on the other side. In the bank where the water met the land, and as we were looking, a figure in the distance caught my eye. It appeared to be on the bank, just resting field glasses out looked down in its direction. First I thought it was a black bear because it was down and low close to the water, until it stood

up on two legs and looked right at us. I thought it might have been one of the barefoot campers, except that he was covered in this dark blackish color from head to toe. As it looked at me and I looked at it, I got the most uneasy feeling. And then the figure turned and walked behind the cover of the leaves, and I lost sight of it behind the tree line. And when we got back to the cabin, I asked my mother to ask our hostess if there

were any campers in the area. Well, why do you want to know, she asked, Well, I told her about the tracks and the person that we saw across the river, and it got the interest of both my parents, who wanted to go up to the top of the hill and investigate it. They took the four wheeler back up the hill, and when they got back, they had a serious look on their face. As soon as they pulled the four wheeler up beside the cabin. My mom got off and she said she had to get a hold

of the hostess. Apparently the tracks freaked both of them out. Those tracks are way bigger than your dad's tracks, my mom said, Well, my dad is six foot three and he wears a size thirteen. I knew these footprints must have been larger than his because they were noticeably larger than mine, and I wear a size twelve. Mom sent a text to our hostess and inquired about any campers

in the area. Her response was chilling. Not only were there no other campers in the area that she knew about, but we were the first family who wanted to stay in the cabin for months. As for the land across the river, it was a nature reserve and no one was allowed into that stretch of land. Now I felt uneasy. I knew there was a person or something else across the river on that bank. There were tracks in the

dirt right beside the trail where we were on. With the rain that had hit the area a couple of weeks before we got there, these prints should have been washed away if they had been made by the previous residents of the cabin. We would soon find out that it wasn't the residence of that cabin we needed to worry about, but the residence of the forest. My family and I just became next door neighbors. That evening, we decided to make good use of the s'mores kit that

was left for us. We grabbed a basket and went out the front door and over to the fire pit right in front of the cabin while it was still daylight outside. I don't think any of us wanted to be outside after dark after everything we discovered that first day. So we sat and we talked, and we made somemores, all the while listening to the wilderness. A few birds would chirp here and there and fly overhead every now

and then. And we finished up as the sun was setting, and we put the fire out and we went back inside. My mom called DIBs on getting the first shower, and the rest of us decided to go in the movie room and watch TV until it was someone else's turn to use the bathroom. As we were sitting and watching the TV, we heard a loud pop from somewhere, and we thought my mom maybe dropped the shampoo bottle in the shower, but then it happened again twice in a row,

pop pop, one right after another. Our dog came running into the movie room, curled up beside me and hunkered down like it was afraid and warning protection. For four or five minutes, we listened to the popping until we realized it was the sound of something being thrown onto the roof. Is it raining? My dad asked, hang on, let me go see, I said. As the popping continued, I looked out the window of the front porch and I couldn't see any rain or hint of any weather.

And when I got back into the movie room, the sounds came to an abrupt stop and everything went dead silent. When my mother got out of the shower, she asked us what all the popping racket was, and we told her we didn't know, and then went on watching TV a little longer before going to bed. The next morning, I made a nice cup of coffee and enjoyed it at the movie room while I waited for the rest

of the family to get ready. And once we were all dressed, we stepped outside and had to look around the cabin to see if we could see anything out of the ordinary. We didn't have to look too far before we saw what was causing all the commotion last night. All over the ground were baseball sized rocks scattered through the grass around the cabin that came from the top of the hill where the picnic area was, which overlooked the river. I knew that because I remember seeing them

up there. As we walked around the other side of the cabin, we saw that the two cowskulls sitting on either side of the tombstone were gone. I walked closer to the tombstone when I saw something by my feet dirt, the same tracks that I had seen at the top of the hill. We're now beside our cabin and the tombstone leading into the woods. Someone was outside our cabin last night. I said. This was concerning, to say the least,

and we were all starting to get worried. My dad told all of us that we needed to stay together and we got on with our day. We rode the trails again and explored some more, but this time we decided to drive down the road to the river to see it up close. It was a beautiful sight to see, and we saw fish jumping in the stream and we watched a herd of deer make their way through the woods. We had some fishing poles with us and we decided

to catch some fish, but didn't have any luck. When we got back to the cabin, we made a dinner of hot dogs over the campfire and some more some moors. After the fire was put out and we were back inside, my sister talked us into having a foosball tournament in the game room while we TV. Well. We were having a great time and it was my sister and I versus my parents. We were playing for about thirty minutes until something weird happened. We heard the front door open.

We all froze and looked at each other. My dad grabbed the remote and mated the TV and we crept around the corner to see what had happened. But when we got to the door, there was nothing out of the ordinary. I was the last one inside after our campfire, and I guess I forgot to lock it. My dad closed it and locked it right, and then told us to go through the cabin to do the same thing with the rest of the doors. We searched the cabin, locked all the exterior doors that we could find, and

decided it was time for bed. Tomorrow was going to be our last full day and we wanted to get some good rest. But in the middle of the night, I was woken up by something. I didn't know what it was. At first. It was dark in the room, but I could see a little bit thanks to the alarm arm clock beside my bed. Off in the distance, I heard a loud whistling noise. It almost sounded like

a freight train. It happened two or three times before my parents came rushing into the room with our dogs shaking with fear, and just when our mom told us to stay put, the whistles started again, but this time though, they were coming from several different directions all around the cabin, and then we heard footsteps walking around outside. They started behind us, and then they worked their way to the right side of the cabin toward the door of the

game room that led outside. My parents told us to stay put while they went to lock the dog up in the closet just outside the room so that he wouldn't get away from us. They were only gone for three minutes at the most, and I was trying to talk my sister to calm to her down because she

was scared, and I couldn't blame her. Just as I started to console her, she slowly lowered herself down and pulled the blankets up over her face, and she pointed to the square window next to the door that let outside. I will never forget what I saw in the window that was six feet off the ground. I saw a giant face with bright red eyes gazing into the room, and its mouth was halfway open. Its breath fogged up

the window as it watched patiently for movement inside. It watched and waited for nearly two minutes, and then it disappeared. We packed our belongings quickly, and we spent the rest of that night listening to whistles and rocks hit the house that were coming from every direction. We were ready to leave as soon as it was light outside. There was no way we were staying another day knowing these

creatures were out there. When daybreak started to light up the property, my dad peeked out the window of the front door to see if we could see the car or anything else for that matter. We waited for a few minutes, and then my dad said, with a heavy whisper, Okay, I think we're good. He quietly cracked the door open, and when we looked down at the front porch, we saw a giant, muddy footprint. Actually, there were footprints everywhere.

They were up against the front door and over by the fire pit, and rocks were scattered all over the place. A few had landed in the trailer with a four wheeler, and a few hit the roof of the car. Once we decided the coast was clear, we loaded our luggage in a hurry and hit the road. No one said a word for the first thirty minutes of the ride. I think everyone was so shocked at what happened that

we needed some time to process it. Our dog finally calmed down, though, and when we got home again, we decided we wouldn't tell anyone what had happened, and we never did. This experience was frightening, yes, but I enjoyed telling it to you. There will be some people out there who will say the story is face and that there's no way this could be real, And to be honest, I don't blame them. If we didn't live through it, we wouldn't have believed it either. So to the doubters

out there that say this could never have happened. Go on and find a cabin deep within the heart of the Ozarks. Spend a couple of nights out there. Maybe, just maybe you can encounter these creatures deep within the mountains and have a story of your own to tell. Just be sure to bring someone along with you to

watch your back. Oh man, that was a cool story, as a very detailed story that culminated in a visual a sighting right outside the window that would scare the crap out of me if I was If I was those kids looking out that window, I don't think I'd ever be the same seeing a bigfoot looking in at me. Oh my gosh, what a great story. This was awesome. It's a family from Mississippi took a trip to the Ozarks, get away from the flat land, get up in the mountains and the all to look at the pretty leaves,

and a bigfoot ruins their whole vacation. Damn bigfoots. They just can't leave us alone, can they. Thank you to the writer. I've had this a long time. I'm glad I finally got to it. Great story. Thanks Hawk two Niner by Richie Harris. There are too many monsters and not enough. He rose these Days, Part one, A rude Awakening. I regained consciousness in a combat field hospital to the sound of a nurse's voice talk to me, Captain Tate. I heard her say everything was blurry, including my memory.

I closed my eyes and put my brain on replay. We had been tasked with locating and capturing Omar al Kezzini, an isis bomb maker, and we found him. He was holed up on the upper floor of a building with three hodgies on the ground floor acting as bodyguards. My team took them out and we followed Sergeant Tim Ross on point up the stairs. Contact he has a vest. Ross shouted. I switched into negotiator mode and began to inch toward him. He was a fat, little man with large,

staring eyes. I recognized that look. Kazini was preparing himself to die. Aloah akbar. He began to repeat. I moved gradually closer and reminded him how the Koran addresses people of the book like me, Alua akbar. He continued to repeat, and then I watched the inner light in the back of his eyes. Go out, get down, I shouted at Ross as I launched myself at Kazini. He was standing in front of a window, and I executed a double kick in an attempt to knock him through it. The

world slowed to a crawl around me. As his body started out the window, a clicking sound rang in my ears. I fell onto my right side, my feet still in the air. A bright light filled the room. He had detonated the vest. Fire licked at my legs as I watched my boots being shredded and felt the sickening crunch and tear of skin, muscles and tendons being mangled. Then a nurse was speaking to me, asking me to talk

to her. I'm Captain Harrison Tate, the leader of Delta Force team tasked with capturing high value targets alive or dead. I go by Hawk to Niner. After Ranger School, I decided I would get a degree and apply to OCS. I was stationed at Fort Campbell at the time, and I managed to stay there long enough to finish my first year of college before being sent to Iraq. I

came home. I was sent to Fort Benning, where my commander told me about an accelerated university program at the local college that was tailored for soldiers like me, and I jumped on the opportunity. A week later, I was sitting in class with my mindset on getting my degree and internal business, when an Asian kid sat down next to me, and he introduced himself as Tomahiro Suzuki. But you can call me Tommy, he added, with a friendly grin.

We developed an immediate friendship. Tiger Tommy, as I came to know him, was sent to the US by his father to start a new motorcycle dealership. He was intrigued by the fact that I was a martial arts practitioner. I was fascinated by the samurai sword he owned and let me hold, and the mural on his living room wall that depicted samurai battles. I studied that mural every chance I got. It was a strange mix of beauty and brutality, the realities of war, and the fantasies of legend.

In some of the images, the warriors were fighting strange creatures. My thoughts dissolved when the doctor approached my bed and brought me back to the present. He was looking at my chart with a expression on his face. Am I going to lose my legs? I asked, without preamble. He glanced up at me with an appraising look on his face. I knew what he was thinking. Should I give him the whole answer or should I hold back? And can he take it? It's too early to tell were the

words he settled on. Right now, we need to get you into surgery. He hung my chart on the hook at the foot of my bed and walked over to the nurses station. I let my mind wander back to the past. My father was an alcoholic. He wasn't an abusive man or a mean drunk. He just lacked ambition. He was lazy. Mom never worked outside the home. Her job was to take care of me. We lived on the poor side of a poor community, in the shadows of the Smoky mountains on the Appalachian Trail. Everyone was

poor in Hayesville. I was ten before I lived in a house withindoor plumbing. Vision was a premium. The only channels we got were the kind that ran constant reruns of shows like Kung Fu, or showed Bruce Lee movies interspersed with Billy Jack marathons. My bedroom wall was adorned with a Chuck Norris poster. I was obsessed with karate I spent hours practicing in my backyard we were too poor for lessons, but I studied every move and every movie or television show that I watched. I even mimicked

them repeatedly for never having a lesson. I wasn't too bad. When I was thirteen, a karate instructor came to our school and gave a demonstration. When he asked for volunteers, my hand shot up so fast that the momentum nearly lifted me out of my seat. The instructor was impressed by how intently I listened and how quickly I learned.

He invited me to come for a free lesson. I knew we could never afford that kind of luxury, but he cut me a deal of a life lifetime if I maintained good grades in school and worked for him at the dojo. He said he would teach me for free. When I woke up in the recovery room, Sergeant Ross was sitting next to my bed. Is everyone okay? Or the first words out of my mouth thanks to your acrobatics, yes, he assured me. He glanced down at his hands and

did his best not to stare at my legs. I had an uneasy moment before I was able to look down at them myself, thinking I was only thirty four years old and this was how my career was going to end. I couldn't help the anger that welled up inside me. I had been at the tip of the spear in the war on terrorism since I was twenty years old. The number of hvts that my team had captured or killed was classified. I held top secret security clearances. Now what was I going to do? The doctor walked

in and broke me away from those angry thoughts. He was smiling, and I took it as a good sign. We were able to repair most of the tendons. He said, it looks like you're going to keep your legs. Relief flooded through me, and it felt as though I had been holding my breath. Fresh cool air filled my lungs, and I smiled back at the doctor. We're sending you to Germany. You have more surgery and physical therapy there,

the doctor said. Before he could say any more, Colonel Jones walked in and announced that the Army was going to take good care of me. Your days as an operator are probably over, he said, but all in all, things look pretty good for you. Some of the Grays slept back in. I was sixteen years old and getting ready to take my test for a black belt in both taekwondo and have keto on the same day. I was the first student ever to do that. Mister Tubbs, my instructor, said I was the best student he had

ever had. I was fascinated by the stories he told me about the orient. I made up my mind that I would go there one day. Dad was working at the sawmill then, and on Fridays he and a friend would get off work and take their checks and go on a weekend long drunken spree. The day of my test, Mom was there, but Dad and that friend were recovering from one of those weekends. As always, they got off work and headed to the bar, and at some point they decided to head down to the creek and do

some frog gigging. Both men were sloppy drunk by then, and they claimed they were having decent luck gigging when a booger with eyes like a snake came out of the swamps and attacked them. They went and got the sheriff, who took one look at their ineborated state and told them they were just drunk. Dad showed him the scratches he had on his back, but the sheriff accused them of fighting with each other. Dad swore those were claw marks. Mom was humiliated. I passed my test with flying colors.

Mom was there to see it, but Dad was home recovering from his adventure. And after that day, I became an instructor at the dojo, and two years later, while a senior in high school, I joined the Army on the Delayed Entry Program Part two, Fork in the Road. I had been to Germany a couple of times, but I was always working with intelligence on tracking and locating a target. This time was different. It felt like a long, boring vacation, but I was determined to come back better.

While I waited for the necessary test and exams, I spent my free time walking around town. That's how I found the dojo that taught moy Thai and Kindo. I had studied kickboxing at the Cantana, but I had never mastered the two arts, and since I knew I was stuck there for the next three or four months, I decided to enroll. Between lessons and the two martial arts, I was scheduled for physical therapy there. I met several other operators who hadn't fared as well as me. They

were missing arms or legs. I was inspired by them. Somehow, I felt I needed to do my best for their sake. The Kindo and my tie lessons helped. When the day finally came for my MRI, I was nervous. It was going to determine what type of surgery I would need. I was hoping it would be minimal. I was holding my breath when the doctor came in the room holding my report, Captain Tate. He said, I don't know what you've been doing, but I don't think you need any

further surgery. I suppressed a grin, and he went on, we can do some skin grass for the scars if you'd like, but there won't be any need for any more reconstructive surgery. No thanks, I answered, I'll keep the scars. He gave me an inquisitive look, sort of like tattoos. I added. He gave me a knowing grin. I'm still giving you two more months of physical therapy, he said. While I was happy with that, it meant two more months of martial arts lessons. My instructor, mister Yuzawa, was

from Japan. He traveled to Thailand and China to study different styles. He complimented me on being a great student, and when I told him I'd always dreamed of going to Japan, he offered to write a letter of recommendation so I could study at a secluded mountain school that was world famous for swordsmanship and sword making. Mom had passed away and I had no real reason to go

back to Hayesville. I had been studying Japanese terms and phrases, and going to Japan was beginning to feel like a reality. The morning after my PT appointment, I met with Colonel Jones and the SoC Special Operations Command. I've been offered a discharge with full pay and benefits. I asked if it was still on the table. Yes, Colonel Jones answered, but I'd like you to consider becoming an instructor. It was a thought. The earnest expression on the Colonel's face

told me he'd been considering it for some time. I molded over for a minute. No, sir, I said, there's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I need to do it while I'm still young enough. I paused, before adding, I want to see Japan. If the colonel was shocked by that statement. He didn't show it. Instead, he nodded his head and wished me luck and told me he'd have some people look in on me when

I got there. The next two weeks went quickly. I was at the end of my PTS sessions, which also meant I was coming to the end of my lessons at the dojo. Mister Uzawa helped me find a place to live by the school, and then we talked to a man named mister Akagi and made the necessary arrangements for me to study there. I intensified my conversational Japanese lessons and practiced every day with mister Uzawa. Before I left, he gave me a final exam in both my Thai

and Kindo. He brought in some former top level students for a big sind off that left me bruised but feeling satisfied. Not the hospital, my brothers in arms threw me a party. We developed a real bond during my time there. Two days later, sixteen years, eight months and five days after I first reported for basic training, I was sitting in the Army HR office getting discharged. As I sat there waiting to be called, I reflected on my military career. I remembered ranger training the Green Beret

in my application to Delta. Most people don't understand what Delta is. They don't know that Delta pulls from the best of all specops. Selectionists pulled from Seals, Green Berets, Marine recon and other elite forces. Only about fifteen percent make cut. It was the most difficult thing I had ever done, and I sat there thinking about how I'd gotten my degree and a commission. It all seemed like a pipe dream for a poor little boy from the Appalachians.

Captain Tate, a voice broke through my reverie. In two hours, I would be a civilian, something I had never been in my entire adult life. The admin clerk made her pitch to get me to re enlist. She was followed by a Green Beret sergeant from the European Command. He could see that my mind was made up, so he thanked me and left it at that. Colonel Jones entered the room next, along with Lieutenant General Jackson Miles and a few more cadre that were carrying a bit certificate,

a cake, and a plaque. It was a photo op that would be in the Army times and military times, while I fought back the emotions as I remembered all the great guys we had lost. My retirement check was scheduled to be deposited regularly into an online bank. All I had to do was collect my final paycheck in cash, and then I would be an official civilian. Part three a new chapter. I boarded JAL flight two nine for Osaka, Japan.

I was a well traveled special operator going to live in a foreign country alone, without a team to back me up. Despite all my experience, it was scary. I settled in for the flight and I began to hear chatter in Japanese, and I tried to understand what was being said, but they were speaking so fast. I picked up a word here and there and made a mental note to work harder on my Japanese and settled on

reading my English version of the Osaka newspaper. There were several interesting accounts of mysterious deaths in the mountainous area not far from where I would be studying. The deaths were attributed to animal attacks. The victims were allegedly members of the u Accusa, the Japanese mafia. A woman had boarded the plane and was now sitting center aisle for rows up from me. She was a slender and elegant woman,

and her face had both European and Asian characteristics. She caught my eye because she was beautiful and because she had something stashed under her well tailored jacket. And when she stood up to put a bag in the overhead compartment, automatically keyed in on the bulge on her lower back. It was a weapon, I thought. I watched her for about an hour, and when she displayed no unusual behavior, I dismissed her as a sky marshall. Maybe it wasn't a weapon at all, maybe it was some sort of

electronic device. After a while, I drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours, and when I woke up, I got up to find the bathroom. The woman wasn't in her seat, but as I passed by, I saw she was reading the same newspaper as me, only hers was in Japanese, and they of the strange deaths had been highlighted. My curiosity peaked, both for the woman and

the newspaper story. I stayed in the facilities long enough to hear the door across me open and slide shut hoping it was her, and as I walked back to my seat, there was the sculpted goddess back in her seat. Pardon me, ma'am, I said, I'm learning Japanese and I notice you're reading the same story. For a second, she looked surprised, but then she smiled, Yes, isn't it curious? She said. I introduced myself and told her I was a retired soldier in that I was traveling to Japan

to study martial arts. My name is akemi Estrata, she said, motioning for me to sit in the empty seat next to her. To my surprise, she knew to ask what my mos was. I told her I was in combat infantry. That wasn't a lie. I explained that I had been injured in an and nearly lost the use of my leg, and then after seventeen years, I decided to retire. How old are you, she asked, Almost thirty five. I told

her you look younger than that. She said, well, thank you, I said, your English is perfect, but you have a unique accent. She explained that her father was a Cuban American who was in the US Air Force Intelligence. He had met her mother while stationed in Okinawa. She told me she had lived all over the world and spoke several languages fluently, including English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Arabic, and

some Chinese. Well that's impressive, I said, and then told her, in my best Arabic that she was unique and beautiful, and she blushed. What line of work are you in, I asked, giving her a chance to recover, She told me that she did research for Interpol. Oh, I said, I thought you were an airmorl Marshall. She raised her eyebrows, looking surprised again. Why would you think that, she asked. I guess I thought you might be carrying a weapon, I said flatly. She changed the topic and I didn't

push it. How many languages do you speak? She asked, English, Arabic, little Farcie also fluent. He'll billy, I said, he'll billy, she said, laughing, you mean like the Beverly Hillbillies. Well, I laughed to and explained where I came from. I pointed at the newspaper in her lap and asked if she was researching the strange deaths. She could tell that I'd brought her back into uncomfortable territory, and she nodded, just the names and connections of the victims for the database,

she said dismissively. I knew there was more to her story. I glanced at the newspaper and the information about how the victims died. She had highlighted it twice. Nodded anyway. It was after midnight, so I excused myself and I told her I didn't want to wear out my welcome. I stood up asked if there was any way I might see her sometime. She smiled and wrote down the address and a phone number of the office where she

would be working, and then she handed it to me. Well, I said good night, and I went back to my seat, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep again after talking with her. Instead, I looked up the meaning of a Kimi bright and beautiful. The Internet told me it was fitting Part four. The arrival. At six thirty hours, I awoke to the sound and smell a flight attendant serving breakfast. When my vision cleared, I saw a Kimmi walking back to her seat and toasted her with my coffee cup.

She stepped over to me, smiling again. How did you sleep, she asked, Not too well, I said, I kept thinking about something bright and beautiful. Her cheeks warmed to a rosy pink. She was about to respond when the seat belt announcement rang through the cabin. See you later, she said, with a smile. I smiled too, and she had gotten inside my head. During the stampede. To get off the plane and into immigration and customs, I separated from Akimi.

She didn't go through the normal lines. Instead, she was met by a Japanese man who ushered her to a shorter line. I could barely see her, but we were able to exchange a quick wave. I handed my passport military ID to the immigration agent. Welcome to Japan, Captain Tate, he said, and then asked the purpose of my visit. I told him of my dream to study martial arts in Japan. Well, he smiled, and then in Japanese wished me save travels. If the luggage carousel, I scanned for Akimi,

but I didn't see her. A couple of minutes later, when I exited the baggage claim, I found a young Japanese man holding a sign with my name on it, waiting to take me to my new home. He was goro. It meant enthusiasm and information. Boy was that right. He spoke English and seemed truly excited to see me, and he told me he'd heard that I was a great warrior. I'm just a soldier, young man, I told him, just

a soldier. We traveled for three hours through heavy traffic in his tiny car to reach my landlord and sign the lease. I'm five foot ten and one hundred and eighty eight pounds felt like a sardine. To distract myself, I mentioned the mysterious deaths I read about in the news. Some say it's a kappa, Goro said, an evil water spirit. Do the police have any suspects, I ask, No suspects, he said, They are Yukuza. The police will not interfere,

or the yakuza common here, I asked. Goro shrugged. You only know who the heads of the yakuza are, he explained. You don't know who the lesser members are, or the people who they call enemies. He said, and then went to tell me how it was not good to discuss the subject because it makes people nervous. Finally, we rounded a corner and turned into a narrow road with a row of small traditional Japanese cottages. A man named mister

Kuu was waiting out front when we pulled up. He welcomed me and bowed with his hands pressed together at his chest. He spoke very little English, but between my Japanese and goros English, we understood each other well enough to get the least signed. The cottage was modestly furnished, with a loft bedroom and a sleeper sofa. We unloaded my bags and went to the Bushido school where I

would be studying. We drove mostly straight uphill for fifteen minutes before we came to a huge ar gate and a pebble drive that led into a circle surrounding a huge fountain. We must stop and bless the fountain, Goro said, as he exited the car. He faced the fountain and made a prayer gesture with his hands to his chin. Being a Southern Baptist boy, I loosely emulated his actions. At the porch. We pulled off our shoes and bowed and entered the school. Master Akigi was waiting for me.

He smiled and extended his hand Welcome, Gokuto harrison tate Gakudo means pupil. I gave a respectful bow and shook his hand, and then followed him He invited me to a traditional Japanese dinner and asked me questions about my military service and injuries. Seeming impressed, Where did you learn to speak English? I asked him. When I served in the Japanese Army, I worked with Americans stationed in Okinawa,

he said. I motioned with my thumb towards the door behind me where Goro had gone, and mentioned that he was a good employee. Yes, he is a good kabuko master, Akagi, said a houseboy. The next morning, Goro drove us back to Osaka so I could get a vehicle. What are the car dealers like here, I asked, thinking that where I came from. The answer was hit or Miss dealers, He asked, No, the school has already arranged a vehicle.

Apparently my car had already been selected for me. Well, what if I don't like it, I asked, If you don't take the car, it would be disrespectful for Shadoshi Shadoshi, I asked the owner of the school, mister Sumiyoshi. Goro said. We arrived at a small building with a vehicle sitting on the sidewalk in front of it, and inside we were greeted by a petit woman who handed me a set of keys. Goro said that he had to get back to the school, but that he would see me later.

When I got back to my new house in my new car, I was exhausted. Class began at seven hundred the next morning. I knew I needed to get to bed, but I couldn't sleep. It was Akimi's fault again. I decided to drive by her office in hopes of seeing her. After thirty minute driving, another thirty minute attempt to find parking, I entered the plaza, only to find that it was a PSIA Public Security Intelligence Agencies. Entry was restricted. I pressed the buzzer and a voice responded in what I

guessed was may I help you in Japanese. My name is Harrison Tate. I said in English, I'm hoping to get a message to Akimi estrata sir. If you give us your message, we will determine what to do with it. The voice responded in excellent English. It was an interesting way, I thought of. Akimi doesn't work here, so I wrote a message on a pad of paper in a box on the wall next to the buzzer and told her I had settled in and that I hoped that she was well. Then I added my number and put the

note in the box and I left. As I drove up the winding mountain road back to my new home, the setting sun cast long shadows along the road and across the forest. It reminded me of the Appalachians. By the time I arrived, I was ready for a shower in bed. Before turning in, I switched on the old television set and found a news program. Thankful there were English subtitles. The anchor was talking about another mysterious death. This one was only a few kilometers away. Part five

the Journey. I slept like a rock until five thirty hours. I quickly rummaged through my cupboards and found a variety of foods that I wasn't quite sure about, But there was some tea that looked familiar, and I managed to whip up some egg noodles and Japanese bacon. I arrived at the school an hour later. At the fountain, I stopped and bowed, and then sat down and meditated for

a few minutes before warming up stretching my muscles. At six fifty five hours, the doors of the school opened and Goro emerged to tell me that Master Rikagi was ready for me. I was fitted for the traditional karate uniform and issued protective equipment, a bamboo practiced sword called a shinai and an oak sword called a boken. A few minutes later, I was introduced to my sense, Jonah Yamamato. We spent the morning going over the basics, and then

stopped for a light ludch of fish and rice. My sense whose name means God's Grace, put his food down and nodded, you have talent gakuto, he said about in humility and thanked him. Now we go to the next level, he said. By the end of the day, I was ready to go home and crash, knowing that tomorrow I would be moving on to a more difficult class. When I got in my car, I saw a missed call and a voice message. I played the message and heard a Kimi's voice thanking me for stopping by and asking

me to call her after seven pm. At seven oh five, I was dialing a Kimi. The pleasant sound of her voice caused me to pause for a second before answering, Hello, Harry. Hello, She said, yes Hi, I said, untangling my tongue. It's good to hear your voice. She asked about my first day, and I told her that I was exhausted. I'm looking forward to seeing you at your school. She said, well, I was caught off guard. I was delighted too. I wanted to see her great. I said, what about this weekend?

We made plans, and she excused herself to go work out. I hung up the phone and I made dinner from the cabinet full of food I wasn't too sure about, and watched the news for a few minutes. There was yet another story about a mysterious death. Some of them had taken place close to me. Too close. I had a hard time sleeping that night. I couldn't stop thinking about a Kimi. When I finally dozed off, I dreamed

about my father and his famous booger incident. At four fifteen hours, I was abruptly awakened by a shrill cry that sounded like a screech owl blowing a train whistle. Instinct took over, and I grabbed the oak boken next to my bed and assumed a defensive posture, but silence filled the room around me. After looking around for a while, I went back to bed. Later that morning, at the dojo, I told my sense about the noise that I had heard.

He was interested and asked several questions, Can you describe it? What was the duration? Did it start high or go low? Or did it start low and go high? I answered his questions and asked if he had heard it himself. He shook his head. I'm only curious. Come, let's train, he said, since they taught me all the sword strikes I had learned from mister Uzawa in Germany, but with

much more precision and strength. At the end of the day, he took me to a room, and before opening the door, he paused, this is a privilege, he said, speak of it to no one. I nodded and bowed. He opened the door to reveal a room full of ancient swords and samurai armor. There were murals and drawings of samurais and ninjas in battle, sometimes with each other and sometimes with strange creatures. I was suddenly reminded of Tiger Tommy's mural. I feasted my eyes on the mural and weaponry around

me for several long minutes before Sinsey got my attention again. Gakuto, Tomorrow you will learn some advanced techniques, and then you will face a test, umble and honored about to him, it is not your proficiency, but your humble spirit that tells me you are right for this, he said. He handed me some scrolls and told me to study them. Now, go purify your body and mind, and stay in your home this night. It was a curious thing to say,

but I agreed that I would, and I left. And when I got in my car, I checked my phone. There were no miscalls from Akimi at home. I spent hours going over the scrolls. One of them contained an image of a creature I had seen in the mural. It had snake like eyes. Another image was of a brilliant blue sword. I studied the scrolls as long as my eyes would stay open, and then decided to turn in. Before I went to sleep, I sent Akimi a text

wishing her a peaceful night. At three five hours, I woke to the sound of gunfire, five or six double taps, followed by two full auto bursts that echoed down the valley from a distance. It was the first time I had heard gunfire in over four months. Japan was not a country famous for firearms, and it was unusual. At six fifteen hours, I went to my car and saw my neighbor changing out dozens of candles around her house.

I wanted to ask her about the strange events of the last two nights, but my limited Japanese kept me from approaching the subject. I checked my phone again, no word from Akimi. When I saw Goro, I told him that I wanted to talk to him after training, and we arranged to meet at my car at the end of the day, and I went inside to find Sinse waiting for me in full combat gear. I sued it up too, and we squared off for some practice strikes.

It was amazing how fast and fluid he was. We spent the morning sparring and I learned to defend and counter strike, and during lunch I told her I'm about hearing gunfire. He looked at me seriously and asked if I was sure. Well, I've heard enough gunfire in the military to recognize the sound, I assured him. Could it have been fireworks, he asked. I shook my head, and he suggested that it was probably a drug gang firing

their illegal weapons. And we continued our lessons. Sinsey would push me to attack him and then kick my ass, repeat after repeat, and after two hours of this. He told me to stop and stand completely still and control my breathing. Put yourself in a meditative state where your mind can see what you are doing while you do it. He said. I was always good at slowing my breathing down during water exercises. I once held my breath for over three minutes. I began to breathe slowly and rained

in my thoughts. With your mind's eyes, see every move you make, Sinsey said. I had never had an outer body experience, but I found myself wondering if this was how it felt. Open your eyes, Gakuto, since snapped attack me. Watch every move with your mind. I started moving in a fluid manner like my sense, and was now on the attack. My blocking and counter attacks were sharper and faster. Now, go to a quiet spot and prepare yourself, Sinsey said.

Visualize your moves and synchronize your mind and body. After thirty minutes, I discovered that my thoughts and senses were suddenly heightened. Then I heard Sinse's voice. Gakuto, get ready, he said. Stand in the center of the room and put yourself at ease. The side door opened and in walked Master Akagi. In full samurai dress day, he said, signifying the moment of contact. He raised his shine eye and came at me like lightning, and I blocked his first blow, and he came at me with two more.

See with your mind's eye, he said. I slowed my thoughts and breathed deeply, and on his next attack, I blocked both strikes. He began to approach me with fluid lateral foot movements while striking at opposite angles. I was in complete defensive mode, but I did not retreat. I began to emulate Master Akagi's moves. My mind's eye had photographed each action, and I began to counter with these same moves and strikes. And I landed a blow to his shoulder, making him pause and stare at me stone face.

Oh oh, I thought. His sober look turned into a smile, and he attacked again. He unleashed the sinpoo on me the world when I blocked several strikes as he spun and struck and then knelt and struck again, And finally he laid back like he was doing a limbo, and he struck me with an attack across my ribs. The sword was only bamboo, but it hurt enough, he finally said. I had a bewildered look of someone who had just gotten their ass kicked. When my sense smiled at me, Shiku,

he said, attention, your title is no longer Goekuto. You are now Oshigo. For the first time in the history of our school, we are bestowing this title to someone in such short time. He presented me with two bundles. I looked at Master Akagi, who nodded. The first bundle held a magnificent katana, the second held an equally impressive tantu. I dropped my head and felt my eyes begin to tear up. Harry, hold your head high, Master Akagi said, calling me by my first name. You have Musho Rai,

a warrior spirit. Now you will be welcomed as a part of the family. My sinse commented that he and Master Akagi saw my brilliance on the first day, but they had no idea that I would progress so fast. They both told me to enjoy my weekend off, but to keep studying the scrolls. Part sixth The Awakening. Goro was waiting for me with a big smile on his face. Congratulations, he said. I thanked him, but not wanting to waste time.

I explained the gunfire heard the night before. I asked for his help translating to my neighbor, and he agreed, And when I jumped into the car, I checked my phone again, happy to see a message from Akimi. Sorry worked late, thinking of you, she wrote. Goro followed me in his car to my house and we parked and walked to my neighbor's door and knocked a slight. Elderly woman answered the door, and Goro made the introductions for us. Her name was miss Hatachi. She was a widow who

had lived there for more than twenty years. She told Goro she was happy to meet me, and I told her in my best Japanese that I was a good neighbor who she could call on any time for help, and she smiled and bowed. Goro asked if she heard the strange sounds or gunfry over the past week. She looked concerned, but she shook her head, and when I tried to describe and emulate the sound, she became frightened. I tried to apologize, and Goro asked her what was wrong.

She explained that the people who grew up in this area always spoke of the mutsichi, the water spirits. That was why she kept so many candles outside. I gave her my phone number and asked her to call me if she ever had a problem. She grasped my hand and graciously bowed. As Goro and I walked back to our cars. He looked at me and whispered, she's talking about the Kappa, he said. I hesitated, wanting to show

him something, but not sure if I should. If you tell a soul what I'm about to show you, you'll regret it, I said. He nodded eagerly. I let him inside my house and showed him the scrolls, skipping the image of the creature inside Kappa. He explained, and then told me it was an evil water demon that could be controlled by a human master. That night, I studied the scrolls again, looking closely at the unusual blue sword held by the samurai who fought the creature, and then

I called a kimi. To my surprise, she answered, and I told her right away about my new titles. She was silent for a few seconds. Hello, I said into the phone. I am surprised to hear that a foreigner has earned that title so quickly, not knowing what else to say, I offered, can we have dinner tomorrow night? We agreed to meet the next night at a restaurant by the park in Osaka, chatted for a few minutes

and then said good night. The next day, I left for Osaka wearing my best dressed casual clothes, and when I entered the restaurant a few minutes early, Akimi was standing there dressed like a movie star. We greeted each other with a hug that neither of us seemed to want to end, and when the host dis greeted us, we reluctantly let go and went to our table. Tell me more about yourself, I said. As we sat down.

Akemi was twenty eight. She told me she had been recruited by Terpole from her cyber and multi lingual skills. When we both relaxed a little, I learned she'd only had one serious relationship and it did not end well. Her parents lived in Texas, and she had an older brother who was a pilot in the Air Force. And after a while I confessed to her that I had been a Delta team member. I'm not surprised, she said, you probably already knew, I said, with a laugh. And

she laughed too. After dinner, she invited me for another drink at her apartment. So are you a Cowboys fan? I asked her as I looked around the frame pictures of her friends and family back home. Yes, suh, she responded with her best Texas accent. While I sat on the sofa, she made us a drink and turned on the television. I remember a movie playing, but neither of us was watching it. Our faces were locked together within seconds. Just as the night was progressing, her phone started to ring.

She groaned and answered it, and then looked worried. She spoke urgently to the person on the other end and then hung up. Harry, I have to go, she said apologetically. I must have looked like a kid who woke up on Christmas morning to find an empty stocking, but I could respect that her work took precedence. I'll call you tomorrow, she promised. A few minutes later, at her car door, I kissed her goodbye and watched as she drove away and got in my own car. My drive home was beautiful.

The sky was clear and starry, and I was close to my place when I saw the first light over the mountain. As I got closer, I decided it must have been a helicopter using a spot, and by the time I reached my turn off, the helicopter was over the trees down by the river, and instead of going home, I turned left to head in that direction and check it out. It was a road I hadn't taken before.

On the last curve before the road dropped down to the river, I saw a car with its lights still on that looked like it had collided with the embankment. When I got closer, I realized it was Goro's car. I parked behind this car, left my headlights on and started to open my door. Suddenly, a large man appeared crouching next to Goro's door. As he began to stand upright towering over the vehicle, his face and eyes were illuminated by my headlights. His face looked human, but it wasn't.

His eyes were golden, and as my head tried to wrap itself around what I was looking at, I experienced one of those combat moments where hesitation means death. My catana was in the truck, and with my eyes on the strange man creature, I exited my car, but by the time I reached the trunk and had the cantenna in my hand. He had disappeared, with my catana ready to strike. I stood there, listening in the silence, hoping for a clue as to where he went From the

right side of my car. Something hit me and it knocked me to the ground, and I rolled and brought myself up on one knee with my catana held overhead defensively. My training kicked in as I breathed slowly and allowed my mind's eye to guide me. Standing just outside of the light, a faint figure stood motionless. I could hear it breathing. I readied myself as he charged me, and I moved laterally to my left and made a forty five degree strike to the right. He smashed into my

car and screamed. It was the same scream I had heard a few nights before. It was trying to kill me. I wasn't sure I would survive another tax, so I moved back and put some distance between us and took a defensive stance again. I could see his face better now and it shocked me to the core. It was covered in scaly skin with features that were as reptilian as they were human. Vertical pupils, split each eye into two golden half orbs. Where its hands should have been,

it had claws and blood spilled down its side. Come on, you, son of a bitch, Come on, I said, inching my feet forward into the right. When it lunched toward me, I jumped to the right, got my feet on the trunk, and struck to the left. I knew I must have hit it when it screamed again on top of my car. Now I held the high ground and the advantage. You want some more, I shouted. It looked at me and hissed, and turned away and ran toward the river, out of

sight in mere seconds. It took a few seconds for me to grasp what had just happened. Reality flooded back, and I rushed to the car to see if anyone was injured. It was sitting at an angle, with the driver's side bumper stuck in the embankment. Now rounded the corner cautiously with my sword raised, and found Goro lying on the ground with his feet still inside the vehicle. Goro, Goro, It's harry, I said, dropping down beside him. He was

a mess of blood and torn clothing. I turned on the interior light and saw claw marks where his skin was exposed. I had seen those marks before. He looked at me weakly, and I could see the life fading from his eyes. It was something I had seen many times in my career. Don't allow them to have my sword, he whispered, barely aloud enough for me to hear. I had a million questions, but this was not one of them. Goro needed help, and his breathing was labored. The air

was escaping through a puncture through his ribs. Stay with me, Goro, I said, I'm getting help. He grabbed my arm and whispered again. My trunk, get the sword, he said. I nodded and quickly went to the trunk, and inside was a bundle of old canvas material. By the time I returned, Goro was dead. I went back to the trunk and put the bundle back and hugged my head while I composed myself. Then I got on my cell phone and

called a master Akagi. He answered immediately. I managed to tell him most of what had happened, but before I could finish, five figures emerged from the trees. Instantly, I dropped the phone and was raising my katana to defend myself from what I thought was going to be five more of those monsters. I was blinded by tack lights. As weapons were leveled on me. A voice with a Japanese accent shouted to put down the sword and get

on the ground face first. The zip tied my hands behind me and turned me over, and a man asked my name, identified myself. It was the first of a dozen questions. Who was I What was I doing here? What did I see? Inspector? My interrogator shouted, come over here, this one is an American. They sat me up against the car and the inspector approached. I couldn't see his face from all the lights in my eyes. Oh no, Harry, I heard a familiar voice say, a Kimi, I said,

squinting against the blinding lights. Get those lights out of his eyes, she ordered, waving off the helicopter. What are you doing here? I scoffed. I could ask the same of you, I said. She reached down and cut my zip ties, but another agent shouted at her to stop. In their heated exchange, I learned his name was Agent euro Kanaka, a colleague of hers at the PSIA. He reluctantly relented and Akimi cut me free. Tell us what happened,

Akimi said. As I stood up, I hesitated, Promise you won't put the zip ties back on, I said, knowing what I was about to say warranted a trip to a padded room in a straight jacket. I promise, Akimi said, Now what happened? As I spit out a string of events, leaving out the part about the sword, Akimi and Agent Tanaka exchanged a worried look. Part seven myth versus reality. So inspector, what are you going to do with me? I asked? When Tanaka stepped away. I'm sorry, Akimi offered,

clearly distressed. Don't apologize, just explain. I said, You're free to go. She answered, it wasn't the explanation I wanted seeing this, she added, go home and wait for me. I nodded. She didn't give me much of a choice. When I pulled up to my house, Master Akagi was standing outside. I immediately expressed my grief over Goro. Come, he said, gently, I will make tea inside. I told him what had happened, finding the car and fighting the creature and getting the sword, and Goro dying and then

getting zip tied and blinded by psia. He listened intently in his expression, telling me that he was making a mental note of every word. You have proven yourself again, he said, when I finished. But now you are marked. The capita will come after you. Where is the sword? I went back outside and retrieved the canvas bundle from my car. Master Akagi unwrapped it, revealing a magnificent catana made of blue steel. I gasped at the sight of it.

It was a cloudy blue with a deep finish that I could almost look into, but there was no reflection. Before I could ask, Master Akagi explained that the steel came from within the earth, under the rivers where the Kappa live. There were only a few swords like it in existence. This is the sword of the scrolls. I said, yes, and in the hands of a master, it is the only blade that can defeat the kappa. He said, if you had not found Goro, the sword would be in

the hands of the kappa now. He told me that Goro was on his way to deliver the sword to the home of mister Sumiyoshi, the owner of the school, when he was attacked. Master Akagi paus for a moment, Harry, there are things I must tell you. Mister Sumiyochi is a member of the second largest yakuza family in Japan. I leaned in my interest pique. The Yamaguchi are the largest family. They want to take over the Sumiyoshi family's business dealings. Mister Sumiyoshi left that business many years ago

to buy our school and start a new life. The Yamaguchi think he is becoming weak and has because he is an easy target and all the deaths in this area were junior members of the Sumiyoshi family. They're sending a message to mister Sumiyoshi to sign over all his holdings and to persuade the rest of the family in Tokyo to do the same. They will refuse this. If Yamaguchi are caught in the act of killing a Sumiyoshi

family member, it will start a war. Someone within the Yamaguchi family figured out how to invoke the Kiro, powerful evil spirits to gain control of the Kappa. Now they want to use them to their advantage. What should I do with the sword, I asked, thinking everything he told me sounded like it was some crazy plot out of a science fiction movie. Keep it, he said, flatly. It will be safe with you. Nobody would expect you to have it. He stood up and added, Monday, we start

your training for the sword for fighting the kappa. Now come with me. I followed him to the trunk of his car, where he pulled out a rifle case and a tactical bag. He handed them to me without explaining the contents. He knew I was familiar with everything inside. Then he handed me an ID card with my picture on it. Written in both Japanese and English were the

words personal Security seg Sumi Yoshi Enterprises Japan. He left to make the necessary arrangements for Goro and I looked over the contents of the bag, an ar ten carving with all the bells and whistles, five twenty round magazines, a tactical knife, and a CZ forty five with three ten round magazines, and enough mo for an anti insurgent mission. The clock told me it was four hundred hours. I needed some sleep. At eleven fifteen hours, a knock on

my door woke me up. It was a Kimi who walked in, looking like a dream in just jeans and a polo. What no zip ties? I said. She rolled her eyes and looked at me. Apologetically. Please, Harry, can we put all that behind us, she said, holding up a bag of food. I smiled and led her to the dining table, where we sat down to eat. You've got some explaining to do, I said, bluntly. Yes, she said, looking down at her hands for a moment before making

eye contact again. I hunt monsters, I'm all ears, I said. Growing up in East Texas, there were always stories of the chupacabra, bigfoot, and dog man. I was fascinated by them, and I spent hours researching, and one day I began posting about it under a pseudonym. By the time I was twenty, I learned enough about cryptids and had taught myself enough cyber skills to hack into an obscure cover for Dulcia in the Four Corners area. She paused, like she was waiting for me to laugh or ask her

to leave. When I encouraged her with an odd she relaxed and went on. My father got a visit from an alphabet agency. They wanted to know if this was his doing. Her eyes widened as she looked down and her plate of food, reliving the memories like it had happened yesterday. He was furious with me. But the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the NSA office getting recruited. First I did research, and then I almost sent to a linguistic school, and after that I was

sent overseas to work with a variety of agencies. She looked up with her beautiful eyes. I didn't like the direction the NSA was headed, so I resigned. Meanwhile, I discovered that Interpole was operating a secret cryptid unit within its fugitive unit, so I applied. I've been there for almost five years now, so you were packing a gun on that plane, I said, and she nodded. I have been as honest with you as I can be, she said, and I hope you will do me the same favor.

I just died in my seat, rubbed my chin and nodded. I knew I could trust her. I told her everything I knew. I recapped my training and how I had fought the creature. I told her I had injured it twice. And when I told her about my conversation with Master Akagi, she nodded. She already knew about the Yukuza connection. She was unaware, however, that someone had invoked an evil spirit to control the Kappa. You're wrong about one thing, she said.

This thing isn't a kappa, it's a reptilian. They've been here since the beginning of creation. I showed her the weapons Master Akagi had given me, and then I showed her the scrolls. She examined them closely while I explained that they had been given to me to prepare me. And when I revealed the sword, she was amazed by it. I have only ever seen one of these before, she said, staring into the clouded surface, and it was locked in a secured vault. This one is better, and then she

looked up at me. I am obligated to confiscate the sword. Before I could react, she added, but my Japanese side tells me that it's better if you keep it. I told her about the mural that I had seen in the battle, with the creature depicted on it, and then I told her one last thing. The distinctive scratch marks on Goro's body were reminiscent of a set of scratch

marks my father carried on his back. I told her the story of what happened when I was seventeen, and how no one had believed my father Akimi placed her hand gently on my chest. Harry, do you understand that your being here was faded? Before I could answer, she leaned in and kiss me. Moments lay, we were tangled up in each other and the sheets on my bed, as if a lifetime of loneliness and emptiness were finally being filled. My phone woke us up a couple of

hours later. I glanced at the time before answering it. It was seventeen thirty hours Captain Tate. A voice said on the other end, this is Lieutenant Ellis with Army Intelligence. How are you, sir? Who wrote my cell number on the bus station wall? I joked, Colonel Jones gave me your number. He told me in a voice that, despite revealing a complete lack of humor, was not unpleasant. He asked that I check in on you and see how you're doing. Well. Thank you, I said, I'm still adjusting

to my new life. I glanced down at a Chmi's half covered form in the twisted sheets. Well, I'm sure you'll be able to meet all the challenges you'll face, but we're here if you need us, he said. I thought that was a curious statement. He asked if we could meat sometime and break bread. Sure, I said, let me call you when things settle down. Roger that, he said, and hung up. Akimi, who had been listening to the call,

noted the strangeness of Lieutenant Ellis's statement as well. She reasoned that the Yukuza deaths being in such close proximity to me, had put me on their radar. They were probably aware of what happened last night. At nineteen hundred hours a, Kimi told me she'd left her bag in the car, so I offered to go out and get it for her. As soon as I walked out to the door, and an easy feeling washed over me. I backed up into the house again, grabbed the CZ and

scan the yard. Akimi, I said, over my shoulder through the open door, act alert, something isn't right. It was the same feeling I'd had walking into an ambush. As I inched toward her car, I saw a movement in the foliage. Then a creature like I saw all the night before, burst out, heading right at me. I squeezed all four or five rounds as it advanced on me, but I couldn't prevent it from hitting me. It slashed at my upper arm and I hit the ground hard.

I spun around to take aim again, and from behind me, I heard the sound of the ar ten barking. It was a Kimi firing from the stoop, but she wasn't firing at the one attacking me. Another one was closing in from behind. I rolled out of the way, and the one that attacked me was now bearing down on a Chimi, and it jumped onto the stoop and slashed at her. She raised the rifle in the fence, but it knocked it from her hands. I looked to my left and the second creature was lying on the ground

next to me. A Chimi was down on the stoop with that thing standing over her, arms raised and claws bared. I emptied the cz into the side of its head. It released a horrible screeching sound and fell into the side of a house and slid to the ground. I looked at the one beside me to make sure it was dead, and then ran to Akimi and grabbed the rifle. Two more rounds in its skull, assured that it would not be getting back up. You're bleeding, get inside, Akimi said,

getting back to her feet. A minute later, she was treating my wound with a medical kit she had stashed in her car. I have to give you an injection, she said hurriedly as she rummaged through the kit. Scratches and bites from these things can cause deadly infections for humans. Part eight SUMMATAI kys a cold wind. That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen, I said. We were waiting for Agent Tanaka and his men to arrive. Akimi raised her eyebrows in question, and I elaborated, seeing you fire

that rifle, that's the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Akimi smiled. It is no longer safe for you here, she said, you should come and stay with me. Oh, I'd love that, I answered with a broad grin, but I'm obliged to stay here and finish my studies. Our conversation was cut short by a phone call from Master Akagi. Are you okay? He asked. My neighbor, Miss Hatachi had called him and told him what had happened. You must come and stay at the school where they're a security. I agreed with

that plan. I'm pleased that you have a new friend, he added, speak with her. I handed the phone to a Kimi. They spoke in Japanese, some of which I understood. A minute later, she handed the phone back to me, and Master Akagi told me that by the time the Gorutsuki the thugs cleaned up the mess, my room at the school would be ready for me. Master Akagi thinks you are some kind of a chosen one, Akimi said. When I hung up the phone. Just then a pair of headlights lit up the yard. It was Tanaka in

an su. He had three men with him and a van carrying two men and hazmat suits pulled in behind them. Tanaka was clearly angry. He and Akimi got into a heated conversation that I didn't like, and I was about to interject myself when Akimi put her finger to Tanaka's face and said something to the effect of you should

be happy now you have two to study. She turned her back on him and told me that she had to go, and I convinced her to stay long enough to let Miss Hatachi know that she would be safe now. Because I was going to stay at the school. I asked Akimi to tell her that I would stop by to check on her, to which Miss Hatachi bowed and said thank you. When Akimi left, I went to the school and found a new servant, Kenda, waiting to help

carry my things. Kenda spoke almost no English. Master Akagi and Jonah were waiting at the front door to usher me into the dining ear where the meal had been prepared for me, your favorite no Southern fried chicken. Master Akagi said, I thank them and the cook for their hospitality. As I ate, they told me that tomorrow I would learn the kanji or bushido code that few have been privy to. It was specific to fighting the kappa. I was going to get to meet the Katana sword maker.

Kenda entered the room, then bowing his head as he introduced a visitor. Master Akagi and Jonah both rose to their feet and bowed. I followed suit. The man who entered was impeccably dressed in a fine three piece double breast suit with a fine silk tie, and he greeted me in perfect English. Hello, Captain Tate, I am Alexander Asumayoshi, he said, seating himself across from me and helping himself to a piece of my chicken. He gestured to us

to sit and join him. May I ask how you got the name Alexander sir, I asked, please drop the formalities. He said, my father studied Alexander the Great, more than any warrior in history, even more than the great Samurai warriors. He wanted me to be like Alexander, but it wasn't in my DNA, and your English is perfect, I ventured, not wanting to sound too intrusive. I went to Harvard in an internship on Wall Street. That's impressive, I said, Actually,

he said, it is you who I find impressive. I've never risked my life in combat, nor have i had my comrades gata alongside me, and I certainly never fought and defeated a Kappa. I listened and made mental notes as he explained that Atsumasai Akades had arrived about six months ago. He had lost four family members in a loyal and noble koboku. He was referring to goro. When you fought the Kappa, you became an enemy of the Yamaguchi family. It makes you family. The ororo contenta is

the key to defeating the Kappa. The metal is harmful to them. It is even more harmful when forged into a sword and in the hands of a master. It is terrifying to them. The wizard that has gained control of this clan was not able to control all of them, but he has gained control of the Alpha, and at the Alpha's direction, the clan is attacking my family. There are only two ways to stop this. Either we discover who the wizard is and force him to reverse the spell,

or we kill the Alpha. He let me absorb that for a second, and then added, your new friend, Missus Estrata, is aware of this. The Psia is actively working on the wizard angle. She is researching ways to find and destroy the Alpha or the entire clan. The problem is that these creatures live in caverns under the river, and there's no way to determine their exact numbers or the exact location of the Alpha. Legend tells us that they live in groups of up to one hundred or more.

About one third of those are warriors, the rest of the females and the young. I took the liberty of asking Akimi to come here tomorrow to set up a research office. I'm sure you will be pleased that she will have a room here in the house. He rose and told me to get some rest before I started my training in the morning, and he shook my hand and he thanked me and he left. Afterward, Master Rikagi looked at me with a big smile. My name is Theodotus,

Please call me THEO, he said. At O six hundred hours, I was at the breakfast table. Kenda put a bowl of eggs, rice, and bacon in front of me and managed to say protein and carbs, and I smiled and thanked him. At O six thirty hours, Jonah found me at the fountain and told me to follow him. He led me behind the school to what looked like some sort of workshop, and inside I recognized the smell of forged hot steel. A plump old man was standing there

waiting for us. His name was Tetxgen, which means sage or philosopher. He told a story and Jonah translated it for me. There was once a noble samurai fighting against a ruthless warlord. His men were ambushed on a bridge by a ninja clan hired by the warlord. Seriously injured, he fell off the bridge and into the swift current that swept him away. The ninja pursued him on both sides of the bank and finally completely exhausted, he sunk

under the water, nearly slipping into unconsciousness. He was about to drown when something grabbed him and pulled him above the surface and into the bushes. As he came to his senses, he saw creature. There was a kappa. It had learned to speak Japanese by hiding in the bushes and listening to men talk. The kapa told the samurai that it had a cruel master who had taken his wife and made him a slave. He tried to kill his master, but he was seriously injured and barely managed

to escape. The samurai said that he was fighting a cruel warlord who did a similar thing. The kappa talked about the blue steel and the caverns that could harm the kappa. He said that this steel could cut through other metals, and then he told the samurai that he had brought some with him and that he could get more. They agreed to become friends and to help each other. Over time, the samurai healed, and the kappa taught him how to make swords from this blue steel. He forged

five swords, and he took them to his men. As he told this story, he demonstrated how the steel cut through their Samurai swords. He and the four best warriors led their men to the territory of the cruel Warlord, where they began to kill the warlord's men and cut their swords in half. Eventually, the Samurai sent a challenge to the warlord to do battle with five of his best men, and the warlord accepted. The Samurai easily defeated the warlord's men, who bowed to them and placed their loyalty.

The cruel war Lord was put to death and the Samurai was made the new leader. He recruited his best warriors to go with the Kappa and get more of the blue steel, and many more swords were made in preparation for the battle against the Cruel Kappa. Master the Kappa taught the Samurai and his men how to hold their breath so they could go into the river and

enter the cavern. He taught them the weaknesses of the Kappa and how to use blinding power from a plant against them, and when the Samurai attacked, one fourth of the Kappa were killed or injured. When they arrived at the main chamber of the cave, the Kappa told his brethren to surrender and hand over their cruel master so they could be free, and to everyone's surprise, they did. The master was handed over and beheaded by the Samurai leader. The samurai's Kapa friend was made the new leader, and

the Samurai and the Kappa lived in peace. Then an evil wizard found a way to enchant the Kappa with underground plants that had hallucinogenic properties. That's what was happening now, and I realized it. I looked around and saw that Tetsujin had forged two more blue swords. It was all of the steel he had left, save one small piece. I asked if he could make a small knife for me, and he agreed. The swords, which were made for Jonah

and Theo, would be ready by the next morning. Tetsugen said that we would practice together to learn the feel and the of these weapons. You will learn the kapa weakness and lead other warriors into their chamber to kill the alpha, he said. We thanked him and went to the dojo to commence training for the day. We rolled out the scrolls onto the floor and began reading the sketches and diagrams, and I learned that the Kappa had sensitive ears and their eyes were vulnerable to bright light.

The skin around their small ear cavities was thin and delicate, and the backs of their legs from their knees to their ankles were points of great weakness. The ribs under their arms near their waist weren't a stick, making an easier access point to their vital organs. The scrolls also contained a recipe for a fire bomb, but the moisture of the tunnels made them almost impossible to light. Another recipe for a powder made from another plant could blind

them when it was thrown directly into their eyes. When we stopped for lunch, Akimi was at the damad. I told her all that we had studied in the scrolls. She said that she had had her own copy of them and was studying them as well. And then she said Tanaka had brought some incendiary grenades. Someone tipped off the US Army about these incidents, minus the details. She warned, you should expect a visit. I took her hands in mine and looked her in the eyes. Are we in

this together? I asked? She nodded. My afternoon was reserved for practicing attacks. When I re entered the dojo, mister Sumiyoshi was there. With a life sized model figure of a Kappa on the floor at his feet. Gentlemen, he said, you will practice attacking the Kappa's vulnerable spots For the next four hours. We repeated our attacks, improving and refining them until it was time to stop and the Kapa figure was toast. Meanwhile, we were to have some dinner

and get some rest. When I went to shower, I discovered that Akimi's room was next to mine. Part nine, the task at hand. At eighteen hundred hours, I knocked on Akimi's door, Come in, she said. I opened the door to find her seated at her computer with papers scattered around her table. She looked up at me reluctantly. You know this is a suicide mission, right, she said, huh, I said. The only way for this plan to work will be for you, THEO agent Tanaka, and the Semiosha's

security force to die. According to the Plantanaka shared with me, you're going to have to fight your way into the tunnels and get to the main cavern. There, you'll be expected to set explosives and collapse everything. She hesitated for a moment before continuing, there will be no time to escape. She leaned forward and begged me with her eyes. Please don't go. I don't go on suicide missions, I assured her. Later at dinner, mister Sumiyoshi, Jonah, THEO, Akimi, and I

sat at the dinner table together. We sipped saki and toasted our health and success. The alcohol burned in our throats as we drank it down. You need another plan. You're all gonna die, Akimi said to the room. Mister Sumiyoshi and Jonah looked at her in surprise. There's a better way, she insisted. Everyone at the table began to argue with her, besides me. Damn it, she shouted. After several minutes, what good would it do for you to

die in honorable death? She stood up and ran out of the room, leaving the rest of us staring at each other in silence. After a moment, I stood up and followed her. I found Akimi in her room, furious and crying, and I pulled her into my arms. What's your plan, I asked her. She told me that they had used infrared to track the kappa that I had wounded back to the river. There they located an underwater cave.

I asked the US government to provide assistance with ground penetrating radar to map the tunnels and hopefully locate the main cavity. We can use you to lure them out, she said. They have your scent and they hate you. She explained that the US military has a type of seismic bomb that they can drop over the cave and panic the reptilians. It was the same one they used to flush out and kill the giants of Kandahar. How do you know that, I asked her. Everybody knows that.

She said, you want to use me for bait, I ask, Don't worry. There will be back up, she said. The next morning, I was back at the dojo at o seven hundred hours. Mounted on a small platform was one of the Kappa we had killed. It was almost seven feet tall and its steink like hell. A brave man would piss himself if he ran into this thing in a dark alley. Mister Sumiyoshi and agent Tanaka were there. You have this for today, only Tanaka informed us, and

then we must return it to cold storage. Tetsagen delivered our swords in my knife. Our catanas are in the scabbard, so our strikes would not completely destroy the Kappa. THEO went first, followed by Jonah. When it was my turn, I took a moment to get a feel of my sword before striking the Kappa. As we sat down for lunch, Kenda entered the room and announced that we had guests. It was Lieutenant Kobe Ellis and my old teammate Tim Ross. I sprang out of my seat to hug him, and

we both teared up. I would learn that Kobe's mother was from Kobe Japan. I heard you've been catching spring lizards, Tim said. I pointed at a Kimi. It's her fault. Tim looked at Akimi. So this is the sculpted goddess you emailed me about, he said. Both My and Achimi's face turned brilliant. Shed's afraid. I understand you have a wildlife exhibiting the dojo. Kobe interjected, First we eat, THEO told him. Then we will see the kappa. As we

ate our lunch. Kobe explained that a specialized Navy seal unit was dedicated to managing these humanoid reptiles. They would arrive in Osaka around zero dark thirty. Tim was tasked with liaising between us and the seal team. After lunch, we walked down to the dojo for a moment of truth. Kobe and Tim got their first look at the Kappa. Well, I'll be Tim mumbled under his breath, while I got back to work. Akemi explained the scrolls and the blue

steel swords to Kobe and Tim. After a couple of hours. The Katana felt like an extension of my arm. It was light, but strong and well balanced. Remembered the importance of allowing my mind's eye to direct my movements. It seemed easier to do with this new sword. I felt as though I had a personal connection with it. At eighteen hundred hours, we reconvened at the dinner table and we discussed strategies and decided on a dry run simulation

in the dojo for our attack on the tunnels. Akimi's plan started sounding better as we ironed out the details. At twenty one hundred hours, we called it a night. Back in her bedroom. Akimi clung to me tightly and we fell asleep in each other's arms. At one five hours, the dojo alarm sounded and gunfire erupted, and I sprang up and grabbed my tack vest in ar. Stay here, I told Akimi and shoot anything with scales. I entered the hallway to find Tim and Kobe already there with

their weapons slung together. We entered the dojo, hugging the walls as we moved cautiously forward and began screaming. As a hissing screech echoed through the building, I motioned to Tim to slide right while I pushed forward contact to right. Two o'clock. Tim shouted. We opened up and put one down as the other ran off screaming. I heard another scream behind me and turned to see one of those things attacking Kobe. He had knocked him to the ground

and was slashing at him. Before I could fire, Tim put two rounds into his ear, spraying brains and slime onto the wall, and Kobe was cut up badly. But before I could check him, another scream split the night. One of them beheaded a security team member at the dojo entrance. Tim and I opened up simultaneously and put it down. As the creature fell to the ground, I heard Akimi scream from inside the house. Tim and I rounded the corner to the front entrance to find three

of the reptilians. One of them had Akimi and I darted down the driveway as the other two charged us. We put rounds into their mouths and throats, and then sidestepped and ducked and rolled, and we went after Akimi, but they were already gone. Tanaka arrived and announced that two of his men were dead. Kobe was in need of medical attention and would require an immediate injection. I started screaming at Tanaka that I was going after Akimi and that he'd better tell me where that entrance was

to the cave. We will go after her. He said, calmly, but this attack was a diversion to abduct her and pull us in, to pull you into a trap. I'm sure she's still alive. He walked back inside, his words doing nothing to placate me. I followed him into the house, and a security guard lay dead in the fouryer sitting on the floor next to a dead Kappa Jonah was bleeding while one of Tanaka's men tended to his wounds.

Kenda had been beheaded. Master Rikagi Jonas said, when he saw me upstairs, I took the steps two at a time and discovered theo on the floor in front of my room. Next to him was a decapitated kappa. He looked into my eyes. We fought well, he said, grabbing my hand in his, and then he breathed his last. The window frame in Akimi's room had been destroyed, and another dead kappa lay with its feet still on the sill. Bullet wounds riddled the side of its head and neck.

I picked up the pistol next to Akimi's bed and I examined it, and my mind raised with guilt. I should not have told her to stay here. This was my fault. Memories of praying with my mother sprang up, and I grasped my hands together and leaned my head against them, and I started to pray. Show me what to do, I said, and then I stood up and grabbed my gear and headed downstairs. The sealed team is in a Osaka, Kobe said, as I walked past. They'll be here around three thirty, and in f twenty two

is scrambling out of Okinama with percussion bombs. It was two hundred hours. I'm not wasting time waiting on the seal team, I spat, before turning to Tanaka. Where is your helicopter? I can have it here in fifteen minutes, he said, then gather your men. There's no time to waste Part ten Fukushi Vengeance. I told Tanaka to gather up the carcasses of the dead lizards and have the helicopter drop them on the bank above the underwater entrance.

Texagen entered and said in Japanese, how can I serve you? Get some rope and go with a helicopter. I told him cut the kappa into big chunks and throw them in the river like bait. Jonah, bandaged and struggling, said take Master Akagi's katana and I'll join you. We can cut them up well. I turned back to Tanaka. Have your men drop flares on top of the main cavern coordinates, and then I turned to Kobe. Are we good to go? Affirmative?

He replied, you got a high band portable radio so we can talk to the F twenty two in the seals. I asked, yes, sir. He snapped, Tim, you up for a little swim, I asked, turning to him, Oh yeah, he answered. By the time the chopper sat us down, it was almost three hundred. I jumped off the skids with Tim and Kobe on my six. Jonah, Texigen and Tanaka along with three of his men were ready to join us. They had sophisticated goggles. Two of them were

wearing James Bond looking spear guns. The plan was for Kobe to remain there with the two security guards while Jonah chunked bait. Kobe, bring it, I commanded. He nodded and keyed the mic on his portable banger two to one. This is Angler. Make some noise, he said, Bang one. Roger, the voice answered, I said a silent prayer that the bombs wouldn't kill a Kemi. When Kobe yelled, cover your ears.

Thirty seconds later, we heard an explosion, and a harmonic shock wave swept under us, vibrating the ground beneath our feet and throwing us off our equilibrium. For a few minutes, Kobe's radio cracked. Angler copy package delivered Spearfisher inbound Eta twenty five. A voice said Roger that six souls to beach. Kobe answered, take a deep breath, I said, and we went feet wet. Even with the powerful lights, it was

hard to find the cave entrance. After forty seconds, one of Tanaka's men said something over the radio in Japanese that I think was several Kappa ascending. Damn they could swim fast. At that moment I got to see what those spear guns could do. The tip was a phosphorus flare that ignited on contact with the kappa. The murky water lit up, and we heard the kapa shriek. Three or four of them seemed to freeze when they came into contact with the bait lines. Tim swam over and

put his tack knife in one's ear. Konnata Tanaka shouted over the colms this way. He directed everyone to follow him where he could see a cave entrance illuminated, and at the entrance he paused and fired something out of a large tube. In seconds, the passage was lit up so intensely we had to cover our eyes. I called Kobe over the cons to have the F twenty two drop round two. I started a thirty second countdown as we entered the tunnel. We emerged into an area now

dimly lit by Tanaka's flare. When we had been under the water for a minute, I shouted brace. We covered our ears as another shockwave hit. This time it felt like our eyes and ears would pop. I turned around to take a head count and one of Tanaka's men was missing. We got on solid ground and slung weapons. We still had one man with a spear gun and one man with an intense light beam. I told them I would take point and brandish my katana to put

fear in them, and it apparently worked. As one of them approached it froze at the sight of the katana, giving me time to slide under it and sever its legs while the others opened fire. The screeches were deafening as the remaining Kapa retreated. As we penetrated further into the passage, I heard a garbled message from Kobe, but I couldn't understand it. Above the ground, two security guards had shot several Kappa that were coming out of the water.

Jonah and Texigen had managed to kill one. The combination of the bombs and the blue steel had given us the advantage. A black Hawk emerged down river unannounced, spear fisher on station. Within six minutes, six seals fast rope down, equipped with more James Bond looking type equipment. Kobe briefed them and they prepared to get wet. Below ground, we inched down the passage while pressed against the walls, using a red light. The ear piercing screeches and hissing began

to hit us. It was annoying and confusing and disorienting all at the same time. It was as if they were all trying to blast us at once. So I stood there and took some deep breaths, remembering Master Akagi and Jonah's words, use your mind's eye. I turned to Tim, who was behind me. Close your eyes and breathe. Imagine a little dot of light in front of you and concentrate and breathe. Then follow me, I said. I told Tanaka that we were advancing, and he informed me that

the seal team had entered the cave. So I directed one man go back to brief them and bring them to us. Tanaka told the man with the spear gun to fire at the first kappa we saw. We inch further under the onslaught of the hissing until several kapa rushed forward. The spear gunner managed to fire one round before one of them slammed into him. The phosphorus light illuminated the chamber to reveal dozens of the sobs. Tim opened up as I drew the katana off my back

and started striking. Tanaka threw an incendiary grenade, and Tim followed suit, and a few of them were engulfed in the flames. It lit up two side tunnels that revealed more Kappa than I could count. The Kappa who were close enough to see the blue steel hesitated. They were afraid and confused about what to do next. I raised the blade over my head as if I were about to strike, and they backed away. And at that moment I heard a voice in my head say I'm going

to kill her. I turned and shouted, Tim, she's alive. The Kappa surrounding us stayed back to avoid the flames from the grenades. Tanaka's man was dead from a deep cut to his throat. Tanaka grabbed the spear gun and started firing into the side passages as he shouted, go get her. Tim chucked another phosphorus grenade way out in front of us, and we slowly advanced. This ain't your fight, Tim,

I shouted, you can lay back and wait for the seals. Well, with all due respect, Captain, shut the hell up and move out, he yelled back. I nodded, and we moved to the edge of the phosphorus light, where the passage opened into a huge cavern. With rocks and debris everywhere, and we slowly moved forward until we could see the outline of dozens of Kappa standing around what looked like a stage or an altar. I could hear that voice again, saying,

enter inter. As we got closer, I could see the Alpha standing on the altar, surrounded by four other Kappa. He was holding Achimi with one hand as the claws of his other hand pressed against her neck. The other kappa on the stage were bigger than any I had seen so far, and the Alpha was over seven feet tall. He had an aura of pure evil about him. The air feels like it weighs a ton. Tim whispered from

behind me, I've never felt so uneasy. The Alpha had yellow eyes with vertical pupils and was difficult to look at. As we got closer, what do you want? I shouted Somewhere in the distance behind us. Loud gunfire cracked the air, followed by minor explosions and the sound of kapa suffering. Look at the kappa around the altar. They're scared, I told Tim, get ready to toss those phosphorus grenades. I'm about to do something. The voice in my head spoke again.

I want you, the Sumiyoshi family, and the rest of the worms dead. Slowly, I moved forward, displaying the sword in front of me. I know you hear my people coming there, killing all the Kappa. If you want to save your kind and keep your throne, release her and keep me. I made it to the edge of the altar. Look around you. You see the fear in the kappa's eyes. They know you're about to die. It's up to you to save them. And as I got closer, the other Kappa on the altar started to move back in fear

Part eleven a faithful gamble. The Alpha looked at me with hatred and rage. I looked around as I moved my body from side to side and displayed the sword. They're afraid, I shouted. They want to live and they know it's up to you to save them. At that moment, the gunfire from the seal team drew closer. Many of the Kapa flinched and looked in that direction. Some of them hid behind each other in this now, I said,

take me and let her go. The Alpha nodded, and the voice in my head directed me to lay the sword on the altar. I breathed, and allowed my mind's eye to dictate my next move. I heard the voices of the seal team calling out. I looked over at Tim and he was ready. I inched closer to the Alpha and he towered over me. His teeth were like razors. His claws were three or four inches long. I inch closer and pulled back my collar and exposed my neck.

His grip on a kimi loosened. She fell forward off the altar, and the Alpha wrapped his fingers around my neck. Tim grabbed a kimi. My hands were still loosening my clothes as if to offer him my neck. I looked at the Alpha and his ugly face, and I sneered. God, you're ugly, I said. His body tensed as rage flooded his face and his eyes burned with pure malice. He picked me up by my neck. I heard a chemi scream as he pulled me close and opened his big

mouth to reveal those razor sharp teeth. He was preparing to rip my face off, but I needed him to pull me just a little bit closer. His mouth gaped wider as the fetid smell of putrid breath engulfed my senses. I pulled Tetchigen's knife from inside my lapel and I thrust it into his neck. He slashed at me with his free hand, and I fell backward. The impact left me idled as blood poured into my right eye, leaving

me unable to see out of it. Roll right. Tim screamed as he threw a phosphorus grenade onto the altar. I rolled as quickly as I could, covering my head as I did, and a loud bang, followed by the most hideous screeching I had ever heard, fill the air. I regained consciousness to the sound of Akimi's voice talk to me, Harry, I heard her say. She and e Medic were tending to me. She was holding me, looking worried.

What happened? I asked. She told me that the Seal Team had secured the place and what was left of the Kappa didn't want to fight anymore. They had brought someone with them who could communicate with the Kappa and discovered the identity of the evil Wizard. Some people had died, but thanks to our efforts, many more had been saved. That's not too bad for a hillbilly, she said. Part twelve, Dream and Duty Tanaka had lost four men in this fight.

Mister Sumiyoshi had lost four family members, three security guards, and two servants, but I had found my soulmate. I was pretty sure I'd also found my new calling after mister Sumiyoshi offered me a position Master Jonas' second in command. Three days after it was all over and we had honored our dead, Achimi and I were having dinner at the Big House. Where did you get the idea to cut up the reptilian like fish bait? She asked, Vlad

the Impaler? Do you know Dracula? I told her she wasn't familiar with the story, so I explained Vlad would impale his enemies on pikes on the battlefield to terrorize opposing armies. He and his men would drink their blood so the opposing forces would see it. That was how the whole vampire legend began. Vampires aren't exactly a legend. You know that, right, she said, with a serious look. I shook my head, and by the way, she added, I've invited a few people to come for dinner, and

I hope you don't mind. Why would I mind? The sides of my face were still bandaged. I wasn't going anywhere, Abby, the new servant ushered in our gifts. It was Tim Tanaka Kobe, General Edwards of Army Intelligence and Director Smithwick of Interpole entered the room. I leaned over to a Kimi. What are you up to? I asked her in a whisper. She squeezed my arm and gave me a sheepest grin.

While Kobe handled the introductions, Doctor Smithwick spoke first, Bloody, good to meet you, Captain, he said, glancing at the General beside him. We have a proposition for you. Epilogue. What threatens us most is what we ignore. Thanks for joining me on this podcast. I certainly do appreciate it. It was longer than most. If you made it to the end, drop a comment let me know you made it to the end. I love to see those people who listened to two or three hour long podcast. You

deserve to have your name shaved in my back. I might do that if I get enough people to get my old backshaved. Does that make sense? That make any sense at all? Does it anyway? I'll shave your name in my back hairs. If you drop a comment and say that you made it to the end, it's gonna be a little hard to get my wife to do that, but I'll try. I'll do my best anyway. Thanks for listening this long. I appreciate you, and we'll see you guys on the next podcast. Thank you so