"Pains of Fire~~Ch. 1" by F. David Schultz

It was a dark night. The sky was clouded over and it was nearly pitch black except for a small place where part of the moon's light pierced through the clouds. It was like knife cutting a small hole in the dark sky. However, the moon didn't help much here. In the open plains, perhaps, but here, it was a thick forest. The kind where anything can be lurking in the shadows.
 Wolves howled, owls screetched and a faint wind blew through the trees making an eerie rustling. The forest floor was damp and the scent of death hung in the air. It was a bad place to be, yet, at that moment, three men walked about the forest.
 The three of them were by no means companions. Well, two of them were. They wore light armour and held rifles in their hands, they were soldiers. They crept around the branches and bushes, trying not to make a sound. They weren't doing a good job of it. They stepped on twigs and rustled leaves as they went along.
 One of the soldiers whispered to another, "I'm sure I saw him go this way. Where is he?"
 "Keep on going. He must've gotten farther ahead of us than we expected." replied the other.
 The darkness drew as the wound in the clouds began to close. What little of the precious light was left was now depleting. The darkness was growing and so was the fear and anxiety of the two soldiers.
 They kept on walking, deeper into the woods. As they did, they felt as if they were being watched. A wolf howled, it was closer than any of the other howls the two had heard that night.
 The first soldier turned to the second again and spoke, "We should have caught up with him by now. Something isn't right."
 "I know. We need to keep moving. The Lord only knows what would happen if we tried to rest." the second said, quietly.
 Although, the two were only human. After another hour of travelling in the forest, their legs grew weary and they couldn't march any more. They decided to camp in a tiny clearing that night. They gathered together some wood and started a fire. It was greatly welcomed to have light and heat. The fire crackled and snapped and sent a warm, red glow into the clearing.
 As if out of no where, a figure appeared. It stood behind the two soldiers. It stood at almost seven feet tall. It wore black from head to toe, had long, tangled hair and in it's hand, held a long, slender sword. It brushed some hair from its eyes and then spoke, "Idiots."
 The two soldiers jumped and turned around to see the dark figure. It's eyes reflected the flame. He wore a black trenchcoat that reflected the red light of the fire.
 "It's him! Get him!" The second soldier exclaimed.
 The two grabbed their guns and were about to fire but it was too late. The dark figure quickly moved one and with a mighty slash, nearly cut him in two. The soldier fell to the ground in a lump of flesh and blood. The other soldier watched the gory display, dropped his rifle and ran. He didn't get far. The figure in the coat pulled a shotgun from its hiding place within the trenchcoat and shot the soldier in the back of the head.
 The figure walked over to the body of the man he had just shot, dark red blood poured from the wound. He began talking to the corpse for some reason, "Pathetic fools. I've been following you the whole time." The man let out a sinister chuckle. "By the way, you may want to remember my name. Kaiser Inferno. Wouldn't want you having to call me 'he' or 'him' all of the time."
 At that, the dark figure, Kaiser, turned and walked out of the clearing, leaving behind the corpses to burn. Kaiser left the small flame burning and it soon spread causing a mild forest fire until the next rainfall.