This Is Your Burn Notice

I've had restless sleep where I toss and turn all night. Where I have an issue with keeping my eyes closed as I try to rest. Most of those nights I will lay on my back with my eyes closed and try to let my mind wander. What ends up happening, most of the time anyway, is that I become too focused, and whatever I'm trying to wander off to just holds on to me. It refuses to let me go and drift off to sleep.

I wish I had that kind of rest. I wish I could have comfortably closed my eyes. Instead, I find myself twisted in an odd position resting against a hard surface, cold and wet. My head hurts just as bad as my muscles. I can feel my fingers and toes moving. I'll take that as a win. I open my eyes to get my bearings. I'm tangled in a cluster of rocks while being washed over by ocean water. I try to move but my muscles aren't that responsive.

One more try to force me up. I'm up to my waist in water as I start to move around again. Why couldn't have I washed up on a sandy beach instead of a rock face? I have to keep telling myself to keep moving otherwise I'm not getting started again. The water gets up to my chest before I see a spot where I can get up on land. I have no idea where I am. I have no idea where to go. All I do know is that if what the agent said was correct, then I don't exist anymore.

I need to check myself before I go too far. Make sure everything is still attached and all. All my fingers move. I can feel my toes and they move the tip of my boot. Knees still bend in the right direction. Nothing feels uncomfortable when I try to move it. Just stiff. That means nothing is broken. My ears are still on my head. My muzzle doesn't shift in any weird places so it's not broken. One tail. Two tails. Three tails. Four… Tails… That's a new one.

I don't know I'm surprised at this point. I know what's happening and what's going to happen. I just wish I had some warning of when this was going to happen. Every time there is a little bit of a learning curve to try and adapt to the slight shift in weight. I imagine that the more I grow, the less it will impact me. But at the same time, these tails are ungodly hard to move around discreetly. They attract attention for being unusual and the more that are there, the more unusual I become. I can deal with it later. I need to get somewhere else.

A little ways away, I find a road. There are no signs so let's hope that one of these choices is shorter than the other. I push my feet to keep me walking. One step after the next. I start finding buildings and finally a sign. I'm in… Havana? As in Cuba? How did I wash up here? At least that's close to the US. I know there will be an embassy. If I can get there, maybe I can get home. I don't have my ID or any way of identifying myself other than just having knowledge of myself.

I stick out like a sore thumb here. Everyone else is in regular clothes but I'm in a beaten uniform that doesn't match any local nation's armed forces. I look like a mess. But I arrive at the gates of the embassy where I'm greeted by some folks who look extremely unhappy to see me. Understandably so. I announce that I am a US Citizen in need of help getting back home. I try to explain that I was on a ship that had sunk. That was enough that they at least let me into the building to talk to someone who can help me.

He was a well-dressed gecko that was kind enough to greet me with a smile as I took a seat at his desk, still wet from seawater. "You look like you need more help than just what we can provide." I chuckle as I look myself over, "I'll deal with that later. Right now I need to get the process started to get home."

"I will do what I can but I have some questions we need to go over first. First, I need your full, legal name."

"Red Steven Welch."

"Social security number."

"XXX-7X-5X5X"

"Last known address where you would have received official government communications."

Would that be my parent's house or Madam Odette's manor? I know I received mail at both places. I give him both just to be safe. "Do you have any identification on you now? Drivers license? State-issued ID? Passport or military ID?"

"I do not."

"Ok. And what are you doing in Havana?"

"I was on a ship that was sunk in a storm while on a mission for the US Army. This is where I washed up." I hate to lie but I don't know what all he can know. "Any possessions on the ship are lost and it seems everything in my pockets as well."

He nodded as he took notes and filled out what forms he could. "OK, Mr. Welsch. The good news is, if you are military, this should only take a few weeks for us to get confirmation of your identity. If you aren't it could be a few months. There are a few things that I need you to sign that basically say that the information you provided is correct and accurate under the penalty of US law. We also have a provisional loan so that you can survive while we wait for the information to come back. The interest rate and payback schedule are all included in the paperwork."

He goes over a slew of items that I may or may not need. I don't have access to my funds while I'm here. I'm not sure I can access my bank either otherwise I would be ok financially. I take the small loan and sign all the paperwork that says I'm not lying and if I am I'm in big trouble. Fines, penalties, and possibly jail time. All the good stuff I already agreed to when I enlisted.

The hard part is waiting. I have to find a place where I can stay within a budget that still allows me to buy food. I let a week go by before I check in with the gecko. He lets me know he's heard nothing as of yet but to check in again. Another week and invites me to sit down with him this time. "I do have some news for you. Not good news, but news. I was unable to find your military records which means that puts us on a longer path to getting you back home. If you can give me your commanding officer's name I might be able to contact them to speed things along."

"General Parson. I can't remember the base but it was near Pensacola."

"That gives me more than I had before. I'll follow up with it and I hope I have news for you in a week."

That is not the news that I wanted. I'm starting to become concerned that they will not be able to get me back home. If what that agent told me before we left is true, then I may just not exist anymore. I don't know if they'll be able to get me home. That opens a whole new can of worries.

But I bide my time. I wait in the hotel I was able to find only emerging to get food. I walk up to the embassy after another week and find my representative, and he seems a bit apprehensive. "Mr. Welch, I followed up with General Parson and he didn't give me much information. He referred me to another agency that just told me not to worry about it and hung up. That raised my curiosity and I cannot verify your citizenship."

That was exactly what I was afraid of. "What do we do now?"

"There's nothing I can do. I cannot issue you a passport to go back to the states. I should have you arrested for impersonating military personnel and lying on official forms but something tells me that you aren't lying. My hands are tied here, Mr. Welch."

I sit back in the chair in defeat. I can't go home. I might be able to contact Madam Odette. She may be able to help but do I want to rely on her to solve all my problems? I'm an adult. I am in a difficult situation that requires… Who am I trying to kid? I am over my head. I'm going to need all the help I can get. Or do something drastic to try and get home.

The only positive thing about this was that I was allowed to keep what little bit of money I have left. I'm going to have to use that to try and get myself back into the country I should be in. Let me take some time to try and figure this out.

I head to the closest harbor to try and figure out what I need to do. I could charter a boat. But what captain would be willing to take what they will think to be an illegal immigrant? Would I even have enough to convince someone to try that? I might be able to get closer and swim the rest of the way. No. That's far too dangerous. The Gulf of Mexico is unforgiving if you don't have a boat.

As I sit by the water, looking out over the waves at where I should be going, I wonder if I'll ever get back there or if I'll have to get creative. "Quite a beautiful sight, isn't it?" The raspy voice comes from my right. I look over to see a rather ragged rat with a walking stick dressed in an old, well-worn cloak. "You look lost, ancient one." I look at him with a look that puts him on the defensive. "Oh ho, my apologies. This blind old man can't see as well as he used to. I didn't mean that you look old but you seem to have an old soul. Someone who has seen far too much in their lifetime."

I stare at the rat as he takes an uninvented seat next to me. "No matter about that observation. I do see that you are lost little one and in need of a way home."

"Yea, I am."

"Then it may be fate that we met. Need to get back to good ol' US of A?"

"I do."

"Perfect! I have a boat that leaves tomorrow. If you come here, we can get you back home."

"I don't have much to give you."

"You don't need to. I could use the good karma so consider it a gift."

Why does he need good karma? And why is he so willing to help me? If he's giving me an opportunity then I'm going to take it. One more night in this nonsense. It's a great city, don't get me wrong. I would rather be home though. Or at least in a country I'm familiar with. I've been holding on to this uniform the whole time I've been here hoping that someone might come for me. It's clear that I really have been abandoned. I toss it out and never look back.

Morning comes with the promise of a good day. I stand in the spot where I met that rat yesterday hoping that he is good to his word. Hours pass and the sun rises further into the air but he doesn't show. I start to think that this truly was too good to be true. "Oi! You with the tails!" Someone down on the docks yells for what I will assume is me. He's waving his arm beaconing me to come over. "Yea, you're the guy. The old man told me to take you across the gulf."

He came through. He actually came through. I don't care that this boat looks like it's going to fall apart if I sneeze on it wrong. It's my ride home! I listen as the engines fire up and sit back as we take off from the harbor. I was told to just relax. I am a guest on this cruise.