Hacksaw

    Hacksaw worked the slide and ejected the spent shell; it clattered to the ground but before the Angel's blood could reach it he picked it up and stuffed it into a pocket of his duster. He glanced around to be sure that nobody had come running thought at five-thirty in the morning it was unlikely. He grunted as the body of the angel began to dissolve and float upwards as a cluster of dust motes. He'd only been in town for a few hours before he made his way back to the monastery before he came under attack. The dead one in the alley was the last of the three that attacked him. He stepped out of the alley and lit a cigarette.
    "Shit," He muttered feeling at a scrape on his side. The wound wasn't deep but it hurt and was seeping blood onto his shirt. A man looked at him and blinked while Hacksaw slung the shotgun over his back.
     The man's mouth gaped, fish like, before he turned and raced off.
    "Lovely," Hacksaw said as he pulled the door to his truck open and slid the weapon inside.
    He turned the key and the truck roared into life. He rolled down the window and rested his arm on the sill while he listened to the engine's idle. Smoke trailed from the cigarette and out the window into the French sky. Finally after sitting in his space and watching the sun rise in the sky he put the truck into gear and rumbled out into the street.

    The truck ate up the miles as he headed out into the wilderness and finally he turned off the road and through an ancient barrier before pulling up to the monastery. The massive complex was surrounded by thirty foot stone walls with a leviathan steel gate emblazoned with the eye and sword emblem of the watchers. Hacksaw chuckled as it split down the middle. He'd never understood why an eye that was being stabbed was the symbol of the order. He rolled the truck into a spot he'd reserved for himself near the gate and hopped out. He reached back into the bed and pulled his duffel bag out.
    "Welcome back," One of the younger Watchers at the monastery that supported Hacksaw's approach over the older ones. His brown hair was tousled and his brown eyes smiled. He was a little shorter than Hacksaw and leaner but it concealed phenomenal strength.
    "How's it been John?" Hacksaw asked.
    "Same as always," John said shrugging. "The council is still ticked at you."
    Hacksaw barked a laugh, "They're always mad about something."
    John laughed, "This time its about your escapade in Germany."
    "I'm surprised they even know where Germany is." Hacksaw grumbled. "Since they never leave the barrier."
    John smiled bitterly, "I wish they'd let us go out and fight back like you do."
    "Believe me," Hacksaw said, "So do I."
    "Let me come with you next time."
    Hacksaw glanced at the other man, "I can't without you getting permission from your council member."
    "He's never going to grant it." John muttered.
    "Well the old man is your father. You can't really blame him for being worried." Hacksaw said calmly. "But I do wish we had more of us out there."
    John grimaced and the two walked in silence toward the massive main building. Off to one side was the barracks where most of the Watchers lived while on the other side were the training grounds. Several watchers were practicing against each other in the hopes to be deemed worthy to enter the fight outside.
    "Will you be training with us tomorrow?" John asked idly as they approached the huge double doors.
    "Probably." Hacksaw said. "I'll need to work off some irritation after the council meeting."
    John smiled as they pulled the door open.
    "Daddy!" A howling whirlwind shouted as it smacked into Hacksaw's leg.
    "Kiddo!" Hacksaw crowed dropping his duffel to the ground and scooping up the child. He swept her up and around before resting her on his hip.
    "Maria," John said in greeting to the woman who was standing in the hallway. She was a lithe woman with long brown hair and a concerned expression on her face.
    "Maria," Hacksaw said nodding and smiling.
    "I drew a picture!" The little girl said.
    "Really?" Hacksaw said, "Let me see it."
    Her big blue eyes lit up as she handed him a piece of paper. Carefully he unfolded the paper and looked into a near copy of his own face. "Its brilliant kiddo." He letting a shade of awe touch his voice.
    "What happened to you?" Maria said gently touching his side.
    Hacksaw winced at the touch. "Nothing major just a small scrape."
    "It doesn't seem minor," Maria said, "And your coat is torn."
    "Its nothing."
    The look she gave him said that she didn't believe him. "Please," she started.
    "I know where you're going with this." Hacksaw said smiling, "and it isn't going to happen. We need someone out there doing what they can to protect people."
    "I'd be happy to do it id they'd let me." John said.
    "I'd love to have you watching my back kid." Hacksaw said. "But if it ain't in the cards it ain't in the cards."
    "Besides," He continued, "I always come back safe and sound don't I?"
    "It only takes one time." Maria responded softly.
    "I'd never do that to you." Hacksaw said pulling her into a one-armed hug. "I couldn't leave the two of you alone."
    She smiled up at him uncertainly but didn't say anything as he hefted his bag in his free hand still balancing the child in his other. He nodded back at John while he took the little girl back to his home within the monastery. He spent much of the remainder of the day sleeping.
    He opened his eyes and glanced around the great hall that he found himself in. "Well shit." He muttered tugging a cigarette free of its pack and lighting it. "How the hell did I get here?"
    "Who are you?" Someone asked.
    Hacksaw turned to face the speaker. He was shorter than Hacksaw with eyes that shifted between ice blue and black. His short hair was white and as Hacksaw locked eyes with the young man he knew who he was.
    "The fourth rider." Hacksaw whispered as the cigarette drooped. He saluted the man. "Sir, its an honor to meet you."
    The man shook his head, "I can't hear you. What's going on? Who are you?"
    "My name is Hacksaw." Hacksaw said. "I believe that you are the fourth rider. As for what's going on. The world is running full-tilt toward a final confrontation and we're going to need you to help lead us."
    The man shook his head again. "I still can't understand you."
    "Shit." Hacksaw muttered while the world faded and he found himself staring up at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of his wife washing dishes.