The River Structure - Episode 10

I found Lou in good condition, but surrounded on all sides by a pack of brutalwolves. She looked supremely concerned but the brutalwolves made no motion toward her. As I approached her the brutalwolves parted and I embraced her. Then I stared at what appeared to be the leader of their pack and it seemed as if we had a mutual understanding. They somehow grasped that Lou was my mate and they should treat her as part of the pack as I now understood they were doing to me. I sat down with Lou to describe to her what had happened to me and how my sense of smell must have been mutated by the brutalwolf blood. Apparently my DNA had been altered and I had taken on some of the characteristics of these seemingly ferocious creatures. The most welcome of those traits was the ability to heal from minor wounds in a fairly quick period of time. Major wounds were recoverable as well but as in the case of my ankle had taken much longer to recover from. By this understanding it may mean that I never truly killed the brutalwolf that had attacked me weeks ago. It seemed as though dismemberment was the only way to truly kill them and some of parts of their body did not heal fully. This was evidenced to me that same day as the brutalwolf that had attacked me joined the group now encircling us. He panted heavily and seemed to be missing the eye I had stabbed, or I assume so as I never saw for certain because he did not open the eye but merely kept it closed all of the time. They stood and turned as if to beckon us to follow. Lou and I got up, grabbed a few bites of apple we had in our pack and joined the group. They led us to the most beautiful place I can ever remember seeing. Lou and I had been to so many destitute places in the world, seeing this kind of beauty was awe-inspiring. The river was exceptionally wide and we sat high above it on the south side on a tall cliff. It must have been a good 100 yards down to reach the water’s edge. To the east of us we could see a huge waterfall and directly jutting out from it was a huge structure. The structure gleamed in the sunlight and was a brilliant chrome color. It was fastened against the west bank of the river and seemed to make a low humming sound along with a few mechanical clinks here and there to go with it. The brutalwolves again motioned for us to follow them and we walked toward the waterfall. All sorts of plants and fruit bearing trees lined the riverbank. Not knowing whether we would be welcomed at this structure we occasionally grabbed a piece of fruit here and there and stowed it into our pockets and pack. We reached the waterfall and followed one of the wolves on a narrow path that led along the cliff face and behind the waterfall. Birds circled the waters below us that were crystal clear. We could see creatures under the water that did not fit any definition we had previously known of water creatures. Then as we proceeded from behind the waterfall to the other side we could fully grasp the enormity of the structure. The building was immaculate and without seems. As we walked further the brutalwolf in front stopped and turned to watch me. I cautiously approached the eastern face of the structure and reached out my hand to touch it. When I did the face of the structure shifted and a door opened. It wasn’t as if the door hadn’t been there before, it was just that it was so perfectly constructed that it blended perfectly with its surroundings. Having lived in a society where mechanical devices were mostly banned this structure defied all of the logic my mind possessed. Once Lou and I entered the brightly lit hall of the structure the door immediately closed and sealed behind us. We proceeded forward until we saw the door at the opposing end of the hall crack open slightly to let in a slender figure. He raised his hand in a gesture of good will and beckoned us inside. Upon entering through the door the room opened up into the most beautiful science lab I had ever seen. The room was enormous and was filled with all manners of gadgets and tools and science equipment. The man who had motioned us in introduced himself, “Welcome, I am Bruce Dickson, and this is my laboratory. I will make up a room for the two of you. I have been watching you as you have performed your deeds across the country and I must say I am impressed. You see, I too had been working on a solution for freeing the Truth’s, but had never found anything that was caustic enough, yet safe enough to use. I am interested in seeing your formula, but you must be tired. Rest now and we will talk in the morning.” I thanked him and, feeling incredibly tired and weary, took him up on his offer.

Fear and Consequence - Episode 9

Our journey continued for more time than I can comprehend at this moment. We had decided to follow the path left for us by the brutalwolves. Since the doctor had used his odd remedy it seemed as though the brutalwolves gave me a wide berth as if I had dominion over them. They could smell the remedy and maybe they feared their own mortality. Whatever the reason they would now only stare at me with their soulless gaze and keep their distance. We lived directly off of the land somehow finding the right amount of food at the right time to always keep us alive. We were traveling more slowly than ever before due to my wounds which now were beginning to finally heal. This morning I woke before Lou, my head in a bit of a haze. This had been occurring quite frequently, either since the blood remedy was applied or since my injuries, I am not sure which had caused this side effect. I smelled the cool morning air and caught wind of something that smelled good. Without allowing my vision to clear I followed my olfactory nerves and stumbled toward the origin of the scent. My vision blurred with light and colors, but depth perception was foreign to me at this point. My ankle was healed now so I could walk without pain, but I usually made sure to step cautiously to avoid reinjuring it. Not this morning though, I merely stumbled blindly on. It was then that I immediately felt all of my senses reawaken in a mad rush of adrenaline and fear. I had just stepped over the edge of a ravine. Water had cut the earth to a depth of about twenty feet below me. My body twisted as I fell and my hands made a mad scramble for anything on the ledge. I caught a small but thick root extending toward the ravine from a nearby oak tree. The soil had been washed free from this root just enough to afford me a handhold. Since I had come upon this predicament in such a hurry I lost all wind in my lungs and was now struggling with fighting the new pain in my wrist from holding the root and finding the air to yell out for help. Before I could ever make a sound I looked up at the ledge and a brutalwolf stood there looking at me. His demonic eyes stared directly into mine. Now I knew I could not yell for help. I was terrified. He inched toward me still gazing directly into my eyes. My mind was rush with ideas upon how I would be eviscerated by this terrifying creature. I began to loosen my grip on the root struggling with the idea that I would be better off trying to land inside the ravine than to face this animal. As I loosened my grip he lurched forward and grabbed me with his teeth. They pierced me in the left shoulder. His strength was amazing as I could feel his jaws bearing down into my shoulder. I screamed out in agony as he set his feet and pulled on me. I grabbed him by the nape of the neck with my right hand and he immediately pulled me from the ravine. He loosened his grip on my shoulder and backed away from me. He had saved my life, but now my shoulder was bleeding profusely. He came towards me and began licking my wounds. This action still disturbed me regardless of his intent. I struggled to get a look at my shoulder. The wounds closed almost immediately and the bleeding stopped. The pain in my shoulder remained, but at least I was not going to bleed out now. The brutalwolf merely lay in the grass staring at me. I did not know how to react toward the beast. It has saved my life, but my thoughts now turned back to the well-being of my partner and I ran to check on her…

Our Next Mark - Episode 8

We rode on trembling with fear at the thought of what might happen next. Lou sternly pulled me back toward her and said, “Who… who is next?” I spoke louder than I cared to for the rushing sound of the wind attempted to drown out my voice, “His name is Bruce Dickson and I am not confident he truly exists…” I started when suddenly something happened. All I remember is seeing something black from the corner of my vision and then nothing. I do not know how long I was out but it must have been quite some time because the mid-morning sun blared into my eyes as I began to open them. I was in horrible pain, and from what I could tell I had been bleeding for quite some time from just above my left eyebrow. When I looked around I noticed that I must have been dragged for quite a distance by the horse. A trail of displaced soil told the tail. My immediate worry was for Lou. Was she hit by the same thing as I was or had she lost control of the horse, or worse yet, had she been caught? I attempted to pick myself up off of the ground when a piercing pain shot through my leg originating at my ankle sending me directly back to my knees. Having it caught in the stirrup and being dragged had obviously done its damage. I was so scared for Lou that I grabbed a loose tree limb and used it to prop myself up with no regards to the status of my wounds. I had pain pulsing through my body with such force that I nearly passed out immediately. But, my ears caught a sound that made me forget all of that at once. I turned slowly and deliberately towards the origination of the sound, though I knew what was making it. There standing just to the side of the road in the shadow of a large thicket he stood with his eyes glowing with intensity. During Hitler’s reign many of his generals had toyed with different kinds of sickening tests and experiments. One unfortunate byproduct of those tests were the breeds of animals that we had to deal with in this region of the country. They were a result of gene-splicing and genetic experimentation from what I am told. This particular creature confronting me is known as the brutalwolf. These ferocious creatures are a cross breed of mainly wolf and other extremely fierce creatures. He could smell my blood from miles away and I am sure I appeared as an easy meal. He lurched forward heading at me in a full sprint. I attempted to turn and run but my body wouldn’t have it. The second step I made immediately dropped me to the ground in agony. I tumbled forward and turned to use my stick on the creature as I could sense his proximity to me closing quickly. By luck or miracle as I pulled the stick up from underneath me as I rolled to turn towards him, the beast leaped for me and the stick drove directly into his eye. His body fell immediately limp on top of me. I struggled from beneath him as quickly as I could. His blood poured out upon the road. I was saved again, for a reason, a purpose, to continue my journey. I knew where I was, but I felt lost, so lost, without Lou. I had none of my possessions with me. Just then I heard hoof prints in the dirt. They were coming from behind me and as I turned my spirit lifted. Lou had gone for help. She explained that she had attempted to find some way to take me with her, but that she just didn’t have the strength to lift me. She had a doctor with her and he motioned for me to lie in the grass. He began to treat me as Lou filled me in on the details. I saw her eyes trace over to see the carcass of the brutalwolf as we spoke. She froze her thoughts and changed subjects immediately. “You know those things travel in groups don’t you?” she stated. The doctor looked over at the carcass and said, “No, this is good! Something in the blood of the brutalwolves carries a healing power for humans, though most are afraid to try it.” I was in so much pain, and if there were more of the wolves on the way, we would need to get out fast so I agreed to let the doctor try it. He ran to the carcass and filled four vials that he had with him. He immediately corked them and ran back to me. He began, “I know this sounds disgusting, but I have to rub this on your wounds.” I motioned for him to continue. The blood smelled horrible and my ideas about its usefulness were quickly wavering, until I heard more growling in the verge. I caught their glowing eyes and as soon as they met mine they began to quiet themselves. The doctor ran as soon as he understood our predicament and took off on our horse. Lou was too concerned with my well-being to go after him or the horse. She merely stayed with me and appeared as motionless as a statue. They moved from the hedges and walked directly toward the dead brutalwolf, never once taking their demonic eyes off of me. They dragged the carcass back into the bushes and appeared to vacate the premises as quickly as they could. They were gone, and now it was time for Lou and I to try and travel, daylight or not. We definitely couldn’t stay here. We had to search for Bruce Dickson, whether he existed or not.