ZWD: Hidden Things

Some of the things that didn't make it into the book but are referenced in a strange way on occasion are that our hero kept having prophetic dreams of his two best friends. Guys he grew up with in Colorado. They were adrenaline junkies who were always off doing something stupid and had died during the "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq. As teenagers they were always dragging him out on "pussy trips" trips that were  not as dangerous as the ones they went on alone. Mainly they would take him on hunting trips that helped develop his shooting skills.

Because of these hunting trips and adventure outings our hero is a much better shot than he realizes. Although I never say it in the book he really likes guns but not for the firing, it's more for the mechanical beauty of them. His mind loves the way the parts interact with each other more than anything else about the guns. That is partially why he never was very good with the bow and arrow, the mechanics of it just didn't appeal to him.  

In the dream that didn't make it into the book his friends are trying to help him and at the same time kill him always hunting him or driving him to a certain point in his dream world. Naturally it's just his mind trying to figure out the problems of his waking world manifesting themselves in ways he can understand but with many dreams everything is not just spelled out and he stays confused.