by Mike Morris
He waited, watching his brother. Awareness slowly crept across his face. Brendan looked at Jack then glanced down at the food. His mouth twitched at the corners with something of a smile and he took the bowl. After a tentative mouthful, Brendan began to eat.
Jack picked up his own bowl and, together again, the two brothers finished their meal in silence.
The Great Hope sailed westward, the sun sinking toward the horizon ahead of them. It had been a long day but, at least, they did not have to fear the night.
"You're wrong Jack," said Brendan, his voice no more than a whisper.
"What?"
"You're wrong," repeated Brendan.
"What about?"
"Nothing's as good as Mrs Waters' stew." Brendan gave a quick raise of his eyebrows and, for a moment, Jack saw his brother returned.
"Aye. You might be right," agreed Jack
"I thought a lot about Mum while I was a prisoner. Odd really. Hadn't thought about her in years," continued Brendan. "She might not have been a good cook but you know she did her best. Couldn't be easy for her after Dad died. Hell, it probably wasn't that much better when he was alive. She just did what she had to do. Sometimes that's all any of us can do. Just survive." He gazed out to sea. "Who are we to question the means unless we've been in their shoes?"
"You know, I tried finding Mum that time I ran away. Walked back to Brixteth. Thought I could make everything perfect. Be a happy family. But she'd left. No one knew where. I wish I could have told her that I missed her and I wasn't angry with her anymore." Jack rubbed the scar on his neck. "Perhaps when you are stronger, we can travel back to Arbour. See if Mrs Waters is still around and have another one of her stews. Spend some time together, just you and me. Go to the old places."
"I'd like that, Jack. I'd like that a lot." The far away look returned to Brendan's face. "I thought of you a lot in there as well. Prayed that I'd see you again either in this life or the next. You helped keep me going during those dark hours when I questioned everything, when I asked myself if it was worth the pain. Wondered if I had the strength to survive. Because we don't fight for God or our country. That's the nonsense they tell us to make what we do seem bigger, more important than it is.
"The truth is we fight for the people we love, who rely on us to keep them safe in the bad times. And we fight for ourselves. For the chance to be free of fear and pain. To be happy."
Jack looked up and saw Lin amongst the sea of faces. She was watching them from the far side of the deck. Relief flooded into him seeing her alive. He smiled at her. He enjoyed seeing her smile in return. He'd go to her later but for now that smile was enough.
"You are right, brother," said Jack. "We fight for the people we love."
He just prayed it would be a long time before he had to fight again.
AFTERWORD
I hope you enjoyed the first adventures of Jack Frey and the Black Dogs. I’d love to hear your thoughts either by leaving a review on Amazon or by visiting my website www.mikemorrisauthor.com. You can also join my mailing list and in return I’ll send you a free novella, containing Jack’s next adventure.
The list of people who’ve helped me is endless but I must thank Rob for his endless support and encouragement, John J for his editing skills on an earlier draft and my father, Arthur, who took his son to endless comic shops and didn’t complain about his day dreaming.
Jack Frey will be back soon in CRY FEAR.
Table of Contents
Untitled
Epigraph
Dedication
1. In the year 702 Post Nostros
2. 702 Pn
3. 702 Pn
4. 702 Pn
5. 702 Pn
6. 702 Pn
7. 702 Pn
8. 702 Pn
9. 702 Pn
10. 702 Pn
11. 702 Pn
12. 702 Pn
13. 702 Pn
14. 705 Pn
15. 705 Pn
16. 708 Pn
17. 708 PN
18. 708 Pn
19. 708 Pn
20. 712 Pn
21. 712 Pn
22. 712 Pn
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25. 712 Pn
26. 712 Pn
27. 712 Pn
28. 712 Pn
29. 712 Pn
30. 712 Pn
31. 713 Pn
32. 713 Pn
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34. 713 Pn
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42. 713 Pn
Afterword
