Dust Former

By:Airborne101a

The rain came down in sheets as the wind forced the rain down like liquid bullets. Bolts of lightning lit up the sky and earth like day while the thunder clapped loud enough to turn any one temporarily deaf. None of this however, effected the young Captain as he trudged his way through the mountains of Japan. The thunder didn't bother him and the lightning did nothing to hinder his thermal imaging. Not even the rain bothered him as an umbrella made of a dust like substance hung above his head keeping both the Captain and his gear dry.

"Bravo 1, this is Recker Actual; how copy?"

"Recker Actual this is Bravo 1, I copy"

"Uplink successful, line secure, you got five minutes Captain"

"Roger, thanks Jessica"

"Keep your head down John"

"Copy"

Some where above John, above the storm, a lone sky-wax flew. The modified

C-130 not only kept a watchful eye on the Captain but it also allowed him five minutes to talk to the man he had referred to as 'Dad' for years.

"Captain Patterson?"

"Colonel"

"Damn, its good to hear your still alive kid."

"Like wise"

"Where are you?"

"Can't say"

"Hah, good man. How long do you have?"

"Storms picking up in my A.O, four minutes"

"Dust keeping you dry?"

John allowed himself to look up at the canopy above his head.

"Hasn't failed me yet."

"Good, good. I know I don't need to tell you this but be careful. You know what night happen if the wrong people find out about your… abilities"

"Yes sir"

John watched as the canopy formed into a slight dome as the wind began to blow sideways. His 'abilities' were something he had with him since birth. A strange substance dubbed by John as 'dust' was practically part of his every being. Amongst the flesh, muscles, and other organs this substance laid dormant in his being until John wielded into action. Orphaned at birth John was alone and had no idea of how is abilities came to be. Murdered just hours after John was born his parents were never able to explain his odd abilities… if they even could. It wasn't until eight years ago when John met Colonel Cole that John first started to really experiment with his powers. At the time the world had just witnessed the end of the Third Great War and entire planet saw itself in celebration as world peace was finally achieved and all radical extremist groups had been finally eliminated. John was only ten at the time when he met Colonel Cole. It had been late at night and John was walking about when he was struck by vehicle. Though the vehicle fled the scene, witnesses quickly work to save his life. However, before they could begin to help him they noticed a strange occurrence appear right before their eyes. Small particles of dust emanated from the child's body and quickly covered his wounds. One of the men in the group, was Colonel Cole. The Colonel had never seen anything like it before and decide that if any normal doctor saw this strange fenom then they'd most likely cut the boy open to see how he ticked or had him sent to some government lab. So he scooped the boy up in his arms and told the others he'd personally bring him to the hospital on his base and make sure the boy was okay. From that day on John found himself slowly integrated into a… strange battalion of men and women as he learned to wield his abilities to his digression. The battalion, was known as the historical 141st international fighting unit. John soon climbed through the ranks and became the worlds youngest Captain at only eighteen years of age. In this new way of life John earned the title of "Marine" and was placed in charge of a lawless squad of men known as,

B-Company.

"Good boy"

John continued to trudge through the mudded forest as he continued his conversation.

"However, I can tell what I'm doing"

"Shoot"

"Well I can say that I'm some where in the mountains looking for some remnants of an extremist group."

"Your in Japan?"

"Can't say"

"Damn they got you a long ways from B-Comp."

"Don't worry dad they'll be-"

John suddenly lost his balance as he took another step. He hadn't seen the rocky slope ahead of him and slipped. John tumbled down to the bottom and landed flat on his back.

" John! What the was that?"

"I'm good"

Truth was John wasn't feeling to good as he rubbed the back of his head and spat the words out through gritted teeth"

"Why didn't you use the dust to protect yourself?"

The pain subsided quickly and John thought the dust had something to do with it.

"I'm fine, really. I'm up."

As John arose to his feet he heard a slight rustling amongst the brushes. At first he thought it was the wind but a low growl soon assured him that it wasn't.

"Captain John Patterson requesting radio silence"

"Copy Bravo 1" said Jessica through a separate comms line"

"What's wrong John?" Cole asked.

"I'm not alone."

"John-"

Before Cole could continue John felt his entire body go airborne as a massive force drove itself into John's side. His dust quickly reacted and created a cushioned landing. As John fell he quickly reached for his rifle and began to search for his attacker. The moment John hit the ground he quickly sprung to his feet with his rifle at the ready. John's comms with the Colonel were gone, time was up. As John searched the area he noticed a large figure standing next to him. The figure was twice his height and stood on its hind legs. John flipped of his thermals just in time to see the lightning light up the figure. The creature looked like a massive wolf with completely black fur. It's face was white with ornate red markings and gleaming red eyes. The creature panted heavily and raised one of its clawed hands. John stepped back just as the creature began to bring its arm down. He felt himself slip again and fell backwards, the creatures claws just missing him. Sprawling, John fell backwards down the hill eventually hitting the rocky slope and rolling down it until he was airborne again. John's dust didn't have time to react as he fell hard onto the rocky surface, knocking him out cold.