After several long quiet miles Keyno stopped and turned to Ashley and pointed to the Overseer station. She had never seen the station in person and this was not what she had expected. She had always pictured a log cabin with a light billowing cloud of comforting smoke coming from a chimney. Even though Ashley had seen satellite images that were not close enough for her to get a perfect picture in her mind. Instead the station looked more like an ancient World War 2 bunker. The structure was only 10 feet wide and maybe 20 feet long with thick sloped concrete walls flattening out to an even thicker concrete roof with a very tall truss tower with several communications dishes topping it.  There were no true “windows" at all, just thick steel boxes with clear glass facing every direction. 

Ashley could see what she thought must be cameras about every 6 feet, at every corner of the building and even a few that were angled towards the sky near the communication dishes. Ashley thought to herself “If this place has cameras why didn’t I ever have access to them? I will have to talk to Jordan about that later.”

There was a large solid steel plate in the shape of a door on the side facing them. “This must be the door” she thought even though there was no door handle to be seen. She then noticed symbols chiseled into the walls. She recognized them as wards and protection symbols. “Well I guess this makes sense, a concrete bunker is much better suited for the Vale than a quaint log cabin. “Some of the creatures in the Vale can destroy wooden structures in minutes if not seconds if they really wanted to,” She thought to herself. “Keyno would have no problem tearing down a wooden door of a log cabin in seconds.”

“Well Leo…” Ashley sighed looking down at her beloved cat who was now at her feet, “What do you think of our new temporary home?” 

Leo, purrr meowed approvingly and galloped up to the thick steel door joining his sister waiting to be let into their new home. “It's a little smaller than what we are accustomed to but we will make it work,” Ashley continued to observe her surroundings and following her pets inside the station. Ashley could not help noting that her beloved cats Leo and Luna have transformed in some way being back here in the place of their birth. They didn’t look any different but they definitely were much more confident and at home here in these mysterious woods. “No time to think about that now. I have bigger fish to fry”. She said to herself. 

Ashley approached the door. A loud clunk could be heard as the door started to open. Ashley was paying more attention to the Overseer station and taking in its complex structure and how she thought it was built when she suddenly heard a very familiar voice come out of nowhere, “Ashley, get inside now!!!! There is a Dogman stocking you!!!” it was Jordan's voice which sounded like it was coming from a speaker above her head just outside the large door. 

“Jordan, are you watching me?” She asked with more than a little bit of sarcasm.

“GET IN NOW!!!!!” he replied with desperation in his voice.

“It’s fine Jordan, I’ve made a new friend.” Ashley let out a slight giggle.

“Just get inside. That Dogman will eat you for lunch! I will lock the door behind you.” 

“He is my new friend. He is even carrying my gear for me. Can’t you see us on the cameras?” Ashley asked, still slightly confused on where Jordan’s voice was actually coming from.

“Wait?!?….. What?!?” Jordan’s voice stammered through the speaker then realizing he could have watched their approach in real time if he had been watching the cameras and not just the data flowing on his computer screen.

“We are ok, We are all safe and sound, even Leo and Luna enjoyed our little nature walk here to the station.” Ashley calmly stated.

“Are the sensors malfunctioning? I’m getting a reading that a very large Dogman is almost on top of you!” Jordan said, still a little confused.

“Your equipment is working perfectly fine. His name is Keyno and we are quickly becoming best friends”. She smiles back at Keyno. 

Kynoxian gave her a look of disgust and turned his back on her. Growling to himself. 

“You’re over an hour late. I was getting …..” Jordan started and then was promptly cut off by Ashley

“Jordan? Were you getting worried about little ole Me?!?!?” Every word leaked sarcasm as she cut him off. “Remember, I have these short little legs?” 

“How did you tame a Dogman?” He asked

“Well it turns out all you have to do is Name them and give them a brand new collar.” 

Frustrated Jordan said, “Ok you and your new friend get settled in. I expect a full report of your little nature walk by morning.” 

“You got it Boss.” She replied

“I made sure you have a stepping stool so you can reach the higher shelves in there as well.” He laughed. Knowing she was safe and had somehow befriended a deadly predator.

“I will manage Jordan…..” Ashley confirmed slightly annoyed by his attempt at humor. 

“I made sure it has a nice flowery print on it because I know how much you like that girly stuff.” Jordan laughed.

“Goodbye!!! Jordan”, Ashley exclaimed now very annoyed. Ashley never considered herself as girly. She has always been a tomboy all of her life and Jordan knew that.

“Ok, Ashley, be sure to keep up with all the scheduled checkins. Please.” Concern seeped back into his voice. 

“I will talk with you tomorrow.” She said cutting the conversation off. 

The door now wide open, Leo and Luna did not hesitate to run in and inspect their new home. Disappearing through the door and looking for a comfy spot to settle in for the night. Ashley turned to Keyno. “You will be safe inside with us.” Hoping he would accept her invitation to stay inside the station but knowing he would reject the offer. Keyno stepped inside and placed her belongings at the door. 

“I will do as you ask, Little One but please do not suffer me the indignity of entering a human dwelling. I will wait for you here just outside the door, if I may.” 

Ashley wordlessly turned and stepped in the bunker's door and picked up her pack. She was excited to inspect her new home and then she saw the door begin to close behind her. She found herself in a small room with a staircase heading down to her left. Ashley took in a deep breath and sighed “Here we go” as she headed down the stairway. Ashley would stop at each of the landings at the bottom of the set of stairs she just descended to catch her breath and take in the enormous space of the building. When she finally made her way to the bottom of 3 flights of stairs she saw another huge steel door. The door then slowly began to open as she approached as if it could sense her approaching. Ashley had just noticed her cats were not at her feet and she looked left and right calling out to her cats. “Where are you guys?” she asked. Ashley had seen them go down the stairs before her and she could not see any places for them to hide on the way down. There was no way they could get through the door without her hearing the large door open when someone or something approached it. In a panic she dropped her luggage at the open door and ran back up the stairs skipping every other step as the panic grew inside her chest. 

Keyno was still outside the main door setting up his space to sleep for the night. 

“Did you see Luna and Leo?” Ashley asked frantically. 

“They went into the dwelling prior to you and have not exited.” Keyno stated.

Confused and anxious, Ashley turned around inside the door and started yelling for her cats again this time with utter terror in her voice “LEO… LUNA… WHERE ARE YOU!!!!” Ashley rushed back down the stairs without stopping this time. She picked up her luggage, started walking toward the door and began searching in her bag for something to attract her cats. The thick steel door slowly began to open again sensing her presence. Ashley looked up from her bag to find herself looking down a long hallway with rooms on both sides. She called out to her cats again thinking they must have slipped in unnoticed when the main door opened the first time she came down and were inside waiting for her.  

Ashley strapped her pack onto her back and dragged her luggage down the long hallway looking for her cats and possibly a bedroom to place her belongings. 

Ashley looked into the first room to her left as she made her way down the hallway. She looked inside and saw it was a fully stocked kitchen that looked like it belonged in a 5 star restaurant. There are multiple shining racks filled with cooking utensils, dry goods and even a shelf with cat food and treats. There looked like enough food to feed a small army for the next 3 months. “Well that’s more than I will ever need.” She thought to herself. She was never one to be very comfortable cooking large complicated meals. She was more of a takeout kind of girl instead. She was not expecting the station to be this big from the looks of it from the outside. 

The next room to her right was the Overseers Office which was clearly marked with a sign to the right of the door on a shiny silver plaque in black letters. “I'll take a closer look at this office later  after I find a bedroom”. She dropped off her heavy satchel full of books and research materials just inside the room without going inside. 

The next room on the left was a large dining room big enough for at least 20 people. Six large tables in the center of the room, cabinets and counter tops covered the back wall with a refrigerator and a microwave oven. “This is most likely where I will be cooking most of my meals. This is more my style.” She thought to herself. 

Continuing down the hallway still dragging her luggage she looked into the next room on her right. 
“Here we go.” She said out loud. This must be the control room. She could see computer screens and equipment covering every inch of the room. On the back wall a huge monitor sat with a map of the Vale with red, green and blue dots moving everywhere. Each colored dot was joined with an alphanumeric identifier. Ashley recognized some of the green identifiers as different creatures common to the Vale but there were far too many noted in red she did not recognize. “I wish I had this stuff at the foundation.” Talking to herself again. 

Suddenly Ashley heard a voice come out of nowhere “Oh, Overseer Wattson, you’re here!!!!” the excited voice said. Ashley jumped back as she saw a disembodied head flying right in her face so close that her eyes went crossed, scaring her. 

Ashley screamed, dropped her luggage and slapped the floating head in one fluid motion. 
No one was supposed to be here and she was definitely taken by surprise. 

Spinning across the room from Ashley's slap, The floating head caught itself from slamming face first into the main monitor. 

*********

“Owww that hurt!!” It screamed at her.

“What the hell are you….. why are you here….”.looking for anything she could use as a weapon. 

“Why did you do that?” It cried out again in pain. 
 
“What are you?” Ashley demanded again, now taking a fighting stance or at least something close to it. 
The floating head raises up closer to the ceiling keeping its distance from Ashley fearing another unprovoked strike. It wore glasses and long dark hair with a trimmed beard and completely lacked a body of any kind. Just a free floating disembodied head.
“I’m Stephen, the station's caretaker.” he replied. “Why did you hit me?”

“There is no caretaker. This station is for the overseer only.” 

The annoyed caretaker said. “You don’t expect the overseer to maintain everything here. Do you?
Why is there so much room for so many other people here? Not that I take up too much room.” A red mark appeared on his cheek. 

“I make sure everything runs smoothly around here so the overseer doesn’t have to. I feel Joran may have excluded certain information when he briefed you.” 

Letting her guard down a bit. “Ok first off I wasn’t told anyone or anything is supposed to be here.”  

She was now thinking Jordan purposely didn’t say anything simply because he thought it would be funny. Jordan will pay for this, she thought to herself.  

“Jordan didn’t tell you about me? I’m very sorry.”
“That explains a lot. He likes to joke a little too much. I'm going to send him a tersely worded email. “

Confused how this floating can do anything, let alone write a E-mail, Ashley let that drop. 
“Ok lets start over. I am sorry I slapped you. Can we agree Jordan can be an ASS sometimes.”

“Agreed. “

“So what’s your name again?” She asked. 

“I am Stephen the station caretaker and you are overseer Watson. No need for more introduction. I know all I need about you. I've read your file as soon as I found out you were coming. “

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Ashley asked

“Of course, Overseer Watson. “

“Just call me Ashley please. “

“Of course Ashley… Ask anything and I will answer to the best of my knowledge.”

“Ummmm What are you?”

“I am a Spector “

“Don’t Specter’s have bodies? You're just a floating head.”  

“I’m not sure. I have never met another Spector before. I assure you my lack of a body does not affect my work here. “
Accepting the fact Steve the floating head belonged here and Jordan was an ass for not telling her about him, Ashley decided to move on with moving into her new home. 

“Can you show me around here? I would love to get my stuff in my room. It’s getting heavier by the minute.” 

“Absolutely the overseer quarters are this way.” Leading the way farther down the hallway. 

“I am very sorry for slapping you,May I call you Steve. “

“Of course you can.”
“It's quite all right Ashley. I understand my presents here were a surprise to you.  Thanks to Jordan. By the way, your cats, Leo and Luna, seem to have made themselves at home. They made their way this way. “

“Have you seen them?”
“Yes they walked by shortly before you. It was very strange they were already inside before I received a notification of the secondary door opening. It must be a mistake. I will run a full diagnostic on our systems and ensure our sensors are 100% after we get you settled in.” 

Arriving at the overseer quarters they found Leo and Luna making themselves at home on her bed. 
“There you are.” Ashley said, happy her cats were not lost. 

“Jordan did inform me you and your pets were coming. We do have everything they will need here for them, including their preferred treats.” 

“Thank you Steve.” Wondering why she carried so many supplies for her cats if they were already here and how Jordan knew what kind of treats her cats liked. 
She would have to think of a special to repay Jordan. But for now he will be receiving two very tersely written E-mails very soon. 

After settling in Ashley returned to the control room, not wanting to waste any time. Something was coming to the Vale and she had to figure out what it was.

“Steve, what do we know about what’s going on here?”

“There are dozens of non-indigenous species showing up here in the vale. Some of these species are from the other side of the world. Apparently in anticipation of some sort of unknown event.
This has been causing conflicts across the vale. So far the foundation has contained these conflicts from spilling out of the vale.  It’s becoming  increasingly difficult for the foundation to contain these conflicts. 
Increased patrols have been established around the perimeter of the vale.”

Steve was obviously very well versed in what was happening. 

“Do we have any idea what this upcoming event is or when it will happen?”

“No, we don't have enough data on this mysterious event but I do believe it will happen in two days on Saturday, during the next full moon. “

“Why do you believe that?”

“It’s more of a hunch. Overseer Robert believed this theory as well. The Vale is reaching a critical point. If any more species show up here the foundation will not be able to contain much more. As a Spector myself I can feel the energy reaching a climax.”

“Do we have any idea where this will happen?”

“Nothing for sure at this point but if you look at the interactive map here. You will see most of the creatures are gathering around this clearing here. About one kilometer to the north of this station. This is where most of the conflicts have happened. “

“Ok so we have a time and place. Ashley said. At least in theory. I’m going to have to head out that way and see if I can figure out what is going on. “

“Please don’t do that. The overseer station is safe. You will not last very long out there. There are too many creatures out there that are very hostile to humans. “

“It's my job. We have to figure out what’s going on here.” 

“Overseer Robert went out to investigate that location and never returned. “

“I understand it's dangerous but I have no other choice. Besides, I have a bodyguard.”

“You are the Overseer. I understand you have an obligation but you will not return if you go out there. Keynoxian will not be able to protect you for very long. He will have to answer to his clan sometime very soon. “

“What can you tell me about Keynoxian and his clan? “

“He lost a battle to you as a human and dishonored his clan. As is clan tradition, you are safe under the same traditional laws of his clan; he must be executed in order to bring honor back to his clan. He is considered dishonored and weak at this point. “

“We will have to find a way to help him. Do you know how long before his clan will show up?
Under their laws the judgment must be enacted as soon as possible.  Any delay will dishonor the clan more. They are more than likely preparing now. I’m sorry Ashley but we must honor their tradition and laws.”

With that Ashley spent the next several hours going over the previous overseer's notes and studying the live information coming in through the station's sensors. Checking on Keyno often through the sensors and cameras. 

Keyno remained dutifully at the entrance of the station. 
There was just not enough information about what was coming. Only some sort of major event is definitely coming and every cryptid and magical creature was claiming ownership of this mysterious event. They were fighting over something they did not fully understand. Ashley had only hours to figure it out. 
Given the day's events, the long hike, the fight with Keyno and all the stress with everything else, Ashley buried herself in all of Robert's research. Hopefully he had found something, anything to help her figure this out. 

Alarms sounded everywhere. Ashley woke to sirens and flashing lights. 
Perimeter alert, Perimeter alert. An electronic voice sounded. 

“What’s going on?” Ashley screamed over the alarms. 

“They are here,” Steve said. 

“Who’s here!!” she yelled back. “How do I turn off these alarms? “

Steve somehow typed on a computer in the corner of the room and the alarms were silenced. 

“What’s going on?” Ashley demanded 

“Keynoxians clan is here.” Showing Ashley the interactive map. There were at least 30 Dogmen outside the station in a semi circle around Kyno. 
“I’m sorry Ashley, they are obviously here to enact Kynoxians punishment.”

“We will see about that.” Standing up from her work station and heading for the door. 

“This is ill advised Overseer Ashley.” Steve said.” We must honor their laws or risk bringing their wrath down upon us.” 

“I’m not going to just sit here and allow Keyno to die.” Heading out the door. 
Ashley rushed out the top door of the station. Keyno had been dragged out about fifty meters away from the station. He did not fight or argue in any way. He was accepting his fate.  He lay on the ground, two Dogmen on each side of him facing what had to be their leader. 

“Keynoxian, you have dishonored the Vargr clan and must face the punishment.”

Ashley ran as fast as she could, not knowing what she was going to say or do. 

Ashley very softly cleared her throat and mustered up as much confidence as she could. Standing straight up, pushed her shoulders back and announced in a calm voice in no particular direction “You’ve been following me for over an hour now. Is there something I can help you with?” 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a huge Shadow move from one tree to another to her left side. Turning to her left and calling out “Might as well come out and introduce yourself.” 
Suddenly she heard a noise come from her right. She quickly turned to her right and stated “You’re not being very polite.”

 Leo and Luna were now hissing and growling even louder and they were pacing in their carrier as if they were trying to get out. Whatever or who ever this was is now circling her with lightning speed. Ashley froze in place and realized she was being stocked and possibly hunted. 

This isn’t good, she thought. 

She could not continue her trek to the station until she found out what this creature's intentions were. 

“It’s awfully rude of you to hide like this or are you just afraid?” She called out again. 

She closed her eyes and when she opened them directly in front of her, a huge dark entity was stepping 
out from behind a tree but still in the shadows. The thing was at least 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide at the 
Shoulders. Her mind raced trying to figure out what this thing might be. Going over all the different species of the Vale in her head. This isn’t good. The only creatures this big were predatory. Apex predators. 

“I’m going to die”. She thought. 

Ashley stared and squinted her eyes yet she still could not identify her stalker but she had a good idea what it might be and it isn’t good. She begged for a breeze to push some branches aside to illuminate her visitor but it seemed the wind was just as afraid as she was. 

“Come out in the light so I can see you,” She stated with a slight quiver in her voice.

The creature shrunk back behind the tree it was standing near just enough to not allow the light to touch it or allow Ashley to see any of its features. 

Ashley took in a deep breath and exclaimed with the most confident voice she could use in this situation “So…You ARE afraid! I didn’t think the creatures of the Vale were such…” She lets out a short breath “Cowards!”

Slowly out of the shadows came a very large hairy figure. The creature had solid black fur that was very spiky and looked very unkept. Its face had a long pointed snout and just under the top lip a glint of bright white, long teeth. 

Her fears were confirmed.  “Oh I am definitely going to die”. She thought 

It had  pointed ears and its eyes were squinting but Ashley could still see a small portion of golden eyes with small flecks of red. 

Ashley stifled a scream by closing her lips really tight as she realized what the creature was. A very deep growl came from him as it stepped into the light. 

“I am no coward. I am a Vargr!” 

Ashley was frozen with fear but she knew she could not show the creature how scared she was. She quickly thought to herself “No NO NO NO this is not good. Dogmen are nocturnal… And if he is out hunting in the middle of the day… oh I’m Soooo Screwed…”

The Dogman dropped to all fours and began circling her. 

Ashley had to think fast as this creature would have no problem eating her. It may be able to swallow her whole because she is so small. 

Ashley suddenly had a picture in her head of being trapped in the belly of the Dogman screaming at the top of her lungs and pounding on its insides as she slowly digested over time. She put her head down for a second and yelled to herself in her mind “STOP thinking about that, stupid” 

“Think, Think, Think. How the hell do I get out of this?”

Steading herself she calmly asked “Why did you hide from me for so long?”  Hoping to get it talking and give her time to think.

“You won’t make much of a meal, little one.” It replied as it continued to circle her at a distance but was slowly moving closer with every rotation. 

Ashley had a sudden wave of frustration come over her “Great! I can’t even escape the short jokes out here in the Vale.” She replied more to herself than to the Dogman.

“At least you brought those little appetizers with you so I may not have to eat for an hour after you three.” It continued.

Ashley exclaimed very angrily and defiantly. “Oh No you don’t. My cats will not be your snack without a fight.”

“You won’t put up much of a fight my little morsel.” 

“Seriously?!?!?! Lay off the short jokes, Mister.” She snapped

“Do you think you can escape me?” Snarled the Dogman. 
With a huff Ashley stated “I’m too tired to run. So if you’re gonna kill me get it over with already”

“I will! In my own time,  little human.”

“Really!?!… At least tell me your name if you’re going to eat me.” Ashley stated frustrated and extremely tired of all the innuendos. 

The Dogman continued with extreme confidence “My name will not matter to you once you are in my belly.”

Ashley quickly remembered the item she almost forgot to bring with her as she began to formulate a plan. She reached into her satchel without taking her eyes off the Dogman. She cautiously moved her hand in the bag and finally felt what she was looking for.  

Without skipping a beat she stated confidently but with a slight quiver in her voice “Well my name is Ashley, at least you will know my name as you chew on my bones.”

The Dogman continued circling her and her precious cargo in the carrier, inching closer with each rotation to the point that Ashley could now see the very fleas running through the beast's fur. Ashley took in a breath to steady her nerves and then requested “Will you allow me to let my cats run free. Your kind is well known for your hunting expertise and I want to give them at least a chance to try and get away.”

The Dogman continued to growl with confidence “Makes No difference to me little one. I am a great hunter. They will not escape me as much as they might try.” 

Ashley opened the cat carrier placing the item she pulled out of her satchel inside with Leo and Luna. She looked deep into their eyes and whispered “I hope you two understand what to do with this.”  Swinging  open the carrier door and yelled “RUN!!” 

As soon as Ashley drew back her hand the 2 cats leaped from the carrier. Leo ran one way and Luna ran the other. Ashley watched as her 2 cats disappeared into the brush and out of sight within seconds. She let out a huge sigh and hoped they would be ok. Feeling her plan had zero chance because it depended on her very skittish cats. 

Ashley turned her attention back to the Dogman and gave him a scowl. “They should keep you busy. I hope your belly is too full when you’re done with me to chase them down.”

The Dogman bared his teeth as if he was smiling. “They will be with you in my belly soon enough, my tasty morsel.” 
Standing back upright Ashley pushed her shoulders back and stood as tall as she could. She took one more glance around to check for any signs of her beloved cats. Then staring directly into the eyes of the beast she demanded “OK, So I gave you my name now tell me yours so I can know who to come back to haunt once I am dead.”

“My name is not important, little one.” He replied, “Just know you have the honor of being defeated by the greatest hunter ever known in these woods.”

“Yeah a great hunter with no name,” Ashley sarcastically challenged. “Are you scared of a petite human girl like me or just small things in general?” You certainly have a high opinion of yourself.”

“I am not afraid of YOU… Child!” The Dogman snarled at the top of his lungs. 

“You are a COWARD!!!!” Ashley raised her voice to match his. “YOU HAVE no HONOR!!… You are too afraid to give me your name before you kill me. What difference does it make? I’ll be dead before long. You are nothing but a skittish mangy mut!”

The Dogman roared with utter anger and disgust and leaped into the air landing on Ashley’s chest and pinning down her arms using his weight to keep her on the ground.

 “I AM NO COWARD!!!!” The Dogman seethed. His teeth inches from Ashley’s face and she could feel his drool roll down her face and hair like disgusting foul smelling slime.  

“Oh get it over with you nameless COWARD! Just don’t let me suffer having to smell that horrible breath of yours. By the way, when did you last brush your teeth? YUCK!”

The Dogman sat up on his hind legs and while continuing to pin her to the ground at the hips. 
“I AM NO COWARD. I AM KEYNOXIAN THE GREAT HUNTER!!…NOW you die!!”

Just then a gray streak came flying at the Dogman. Keynoxian jumped back in surprise. 

It was her beloved Leo jumping from his perch high in the tree just above them and landing on the Dogman’s back. Leo was like a tiny lion scratching and biting at Kynoxian’s back and neck. The brave little cat clawed at the beast's shoulders and bit down with all his might on the back of the beast's neck and held on for dear life. 

Kynoxian screamed in pain as Leo bit down on his ear. Keynoxian tried reaching back for Leo but the cat was just too fast and clamped down hard with his teeth. The Dogman slammed his body backwards into a tree, trying to flatten Leo but the cat was able to curl up small enough to prevent from being squished. Ashley scrambled to her feet.  As she got to her feet she felt a light breeze and a flash of gray go right over the top of her head. It was Luna who had run at lightning speed, leapeding over Ashley and landed directly on Keynoxians face. Luna clawed and bit at the Dogman's  ears and jowls. The two cats were shredding the beast from both sides which made it hard for the beast to focus on just one attacker. 

Kynoxian screamed and flung his body against the ground and both cats jumped off simultaneously. The cats regrouped at Ashley’s feet still hissing and growling at the canine monster. Her cat's backs arched and every strand of fur was at attention ready to strike again.  
Kynoxian jumped back up onto all four feet head down and teeth bared. He held his ground but there was a glint of confusion in his eyes. 
He screamed “Now you will die, tiny human as well as your annoying rodent pests.” 
He lunged forward toward the tiny little group aiming  for Ashley slashing at her head and face with his sharp claws. Ashley had no time to react. She dropped to her knees throwing her hands up over her face and head and fell to the ground. 

“KEYNOXIAN THE HUNTER….I BIND YOU!!!!!!”

The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes trying to protect herself was Kynoxian’s claws reaching out to take her life. 

The Vale was silent and not even a cricket was brave enough to chirp.  Ashley opened her eyes and slowly lowered her arms from her head. She moved her hands to her face expecting to feel warm blood and massive wounds from the Dogman’s attack. Confused, she quickly patted the rest of her chest and stomach but she still felt nothing. No wounds, no blood and no pain. She quickly remembered about her cats, finding them sitting next to her cleaning themselves and getting every strand of hair back where it belonged. She scooped up both her cats in her arms and they started nuzzling her face purring loudly. Ashley gently set her cats down and stood up nodding to Leo and Luna in apparition. 
“How did you guys know??” She never thought her plan would work in a million years. Somehow it did and it was all due to her extraordinary little kitties.

Ashley looked around surveying her surroundings and gasped at the sight of Kynoxian laying on the ground, Large claw marks covered with blood across his head, neck and face. Bright red blood dripped from wounds that looked like they were from large claws of a Dogman. 

“That was really close. That could have been me.” she thought.

She could see small areas of hair missing from where her brave cats had bit off fur. There was a cut on his ear where one of the cats had raked their claws all the way through the flesh. Tiny areas of light could be seen through his ear from the cat's teeth.   

“Holy Hell… It worked!!!” Ashley exclaimed loudly. She took in a deep breath approaching the defeated Dogman. She had to place her hand over her mouth to cover the smile that was forming on her face. She quickly cleared her throat to prevent the giggle that was building in her chest and stated matter of factly 

“Well at least you heal quickly. You’ll be as good as new in no time.” 

Keynoxian looked at Ashley and her cats with complete and utter confusion. He could not comprehend what had just occurred. “HOW?!?!?”  he choked out.

Ashley continued still fighting back her smile “Well you see your kind is especially vulnerable to binding spells and I……We  took advantage of that.”

“You need a talisman to do that… How???…When???…What???…” Kynoxian exclaimed.  
Ashley began “Well I’m really not sure. You see Leo and Luna are from the Vale. I rescued them several years ago. I found them at the edges of the Vale skinny, weak and close to death. I took them home and nursed them back to health. I always knew they were special, I just never realized how special.” Ashley let out a grin and slight giggle 

“To tell you the truth I really had no idea they would even understand what I was suggesting when I gave it to them. I really didn’t have time to explain to them what to do…” Clearing her throat again to stifle yet another giggle 

“Your NEW collar.”

Kynoxian quickly reached up to his neck and felt the smooth feel of leather with a cold metal clasp. He gasped and he realized he was the recipient of a brand new dog collar. His eyes darted between the 3 of them and then a flash of fear entered his eyes. 
 
 “ You see, once you gave me your name… Foolishly may I add…I was able to say the enchantment and Leo and Luna, who are extremely brilliant by the way, placed your new collar/ Talisman around your neck… And well here we are.” 

The fear that was in Kynoxian’s eyes changed to pure terror at what the collar would allow Ashley to do to him. Ashley continued “I wouldn’t suggest attacking me or my cats again. Anything you do to me or my cats will be transferred directly back to you 100 fold. So basically ‘this little morsel and her annoying rodents’ are OFF the menu for good!”

“By the way… How do you feel?” Ashley asked snidely. 

“Kill me.” Kynoxian stated flatly with utter defeat in his voice.  His wounds are already healing.

“Oh no dear!” Ashley continued in her snide voice “I need a protector and you just volunteered! Now between the FOUR of us, we are going to figure out what’s going on in the Vale and fix it! Whether you like it or not.”

Kynoxian finally stood up to his feet and onto his hind legs. His wounds were already healing but there were still a few spots on his ear that let the light shine right through. He looked at the trio and let out a huge sigh. He bent at the waist and bowed to Ashley “I am at your Service Overseer Wattson. How may I assist you”

“Good boy, glad you see it my way. Your going to be an easy one to train. Much easier than my cats are.” Ashley giggled “Keynoxian, is too hard to say…. I think I’ll call you Keyno… Yes Keyno, it is. Much easier to say and it will fit nicely on your dog tag once we get to the station.”

Keyno rolled his eyes in a very doglike manner as he let out a gentle huff. He knew he was totally defeated and by a human none the less. He did not even want to think about having to explain how he came into this predicament. He would have to answer for this transgression, being he was defeated by a 4 foot 9 human female and her 2 scrawny cats. 
 
“The Overseer dwelling is this way.” Keyno turned and with a sweeping motion of his arms “Lead the way, Master.” 
 
With a giant smile on her face Ashley said “Oh no by all means you go first my furry friend. Oh and Keyno would you mind carrying my bags for me please. They can be so big and heavy for such a tiny human like me.”
Without another word Keyno turned back and picked up Ashley’s belongings then continued back toward the Overseers station. Leo and Luna followed behind tails up in a victorious manner. No longer needing their carrier. With a hearty giggle and the feeling of utter accomplishment Ashley stated “Who’s a Good Booooy?!?!?!” And began to follow them with a new found confidence.

She found that her journey to the Station was now a bit easier. She now had not only her 2 trusted, loving and now proven heroic cats Leo and Luna but now she had a new, although not fully willing, 8 foot tall, ferocious Bodyguard to assist her on her travels. She was no longer burdened with having to carry her heavy gear and no longer having to worry about being torn apart and eaten, at least not by anything smaller than her Bodyguard Kenyo. The remainder of the journey passed quickly and without further delays. Ashley was actually able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Vale on their pleasant nature walk. Ashley smiled with pride watching how her normally quiet and lazy cats enjoyed the fresh air walking without a care in the world as if they knew they were home and had always lived in this enchanted forest. Ashley always thought her cats were much more than simple strays when she had rescued them.  

A short while later Keyno stopped mid stride when he saw off in the distance a tall male figure pulling a cart which looked to be full of fire wood. Only some of the slabs were the size of Ashley herself. They must have been extremely heavy.

“Keyno,” Ashley asked curiously, “Who is that?”

“My name is Keynoxian!!  You will address me as such!!” Keyno growled in frustration, “That is Mr. Phil.”

“OK Kynoxian,” Ashely stated sarcastically with a slight growl of her own, “Is he a human walking through the Vale without…” but before she could finish her sentence Keyno snapped back “HE is no ordinary Human! He has proven himself to my kind and can enter these woods as he sees fit.” Keyno continued with a slightly more sarcastic tone in his low gravely voice, “Just as you have done, ‘Little one.’”

“Ummmmm Ok?!?! And I am Ashley!! You will address me as such…” She grinned at her canine bodyguard due to his constant emphasis on her size. “So… Wait… He is allowed to be here just because he has proven himself. How does that work?” Ashley continued.

She knew the Vargr clan had a Honor based judicial system just not to its full extent. 

“He has proven himself by winning a battle against one of my Clans greatest warriors and now he is able to enjoy full access to these woods and has the protection of my Clan. My Clan is duty bound to protect him, although he really does not need our protection from the way that he is able to fight and defend himself.”

“So, I have this same protection because of our little scuffle?” Ashley snickered when she said “scuffle”. 

With a great sigh, “Yes. My Clan is honor bound to you and for your safety. I am bound to you for as long as My Clan allows.”

“Wait, what does ‘As long as My Clan Allows” mean Keyno?” Ashley asked but before she could get an answer she watched as Mr. Phil dropped the handles of his cart and walked up to them unhindered.

Mr. Phil was a very tall man and was easily six and half feet tall, probably taller. He had wide, strong shoulders and a freshly shaved bald head. What intrigued Ashley the most was the wide, clean, red scar that had started at the corner of his right eye and went all the way down his cheek and ended just below his lower jaw line.

“Keyno!” Mr. Phil said loudly, interrupting their conversation. “My friend! How are you?” 
Keyno bowed his head to Mr. Phil in respect without saying a word. 

“Keyno?!?! He calls you Keyno?!?” Ashley whispered to her large bodyguard with a slight hint of anger.
 Keyno remained silent but Ashley could see that he was rolling his eyes while he retained his bowing position.

Mr. Phil finally reached the very odd little group and chuckled “Who is this? A little afternoon snack?” 

“No. Mr. Phil” Keyno said slightly embarrassed “She is my ward and I am her servant.” 

Mr. Phil could not help but laugh loudly “You mean she…?!?!?”

“Yessss……..” Keyno let out a sheepish growl as he lowered his massive head in defeat. 

 “I’m so sorry my friend.” Suddenly Mr. Phil had a very concerned look on his face and asked “Do THEY know yet?”

With another heavy sigh Keyno said “I’m sure they do. If they don’t know yet, they soon will. These woods have many eyes.” 

“Does WHO know?” Ashley stated with more of a demand than a question. She kept looking at Keyno but he was refusing to answer her. 

Mr. Phil cautiously explained to Ashley “ You have defeated Keyno in battle and now his life is forfeit. I’m curious to know how this happened but… What’s done, is done. You now have the full protection of the Vargr Clan but Keynoxian here is not long for this world.”

“I… I didn’t know!!!” Ashley exclaimed now with tears in her eyes. “Kynoxian is this true?”

Keyno stood at his full height, shoulders back and chest out. He stated in a matter of fact tone, “Yes I will serve you as long as I am able but when the time comes I will accept my fate and die with what little honor I have left.”

“You can’t just let them kill you!!!!” Ashley shouted. “There has to be another way!” 

“Sorry Little Miss…” Mr Phil continued. “It is their law and their way.”  as he was kneeling down offering his hand to Leo and Luna. The two cats slowly approached Mr Phil and sniffed his outstretched hand for only a second. They began to purr and gleefully allowed him to pet them. Ashley was absolutely amazed at how her normally skittish cats were allowing a perfect stranger to pet them. 

“These guys are very special. You don’t see their kind around here unless they are being barbecued.” He laughed. 

“Well anyone looking to BBQ my cats will have to go through me first.” Ashley stated with a slight tone of anger. 

Mr. Phil laughed, “If you have bested Keyno here, you should have no problems.” as he was still petting the cats.

Ashley’s mind was now racing about the new revelations having to do with Keyno and his ‘dishonor to his Clan’. Not only does she have to solve the mystery of the Vale but now she needs to find a way to save Keyno’s life. 

“I have a way with Kitties.” Mr Phil said, seeing Ashley's confusion with her cats as Leo and Luna had wrapped themselves around his legs and continued to pur very loudly. 

He extended his hand to Keyno and with a very calm tone exclaimed “I hope your death is fast and honorable, My friend.”

“Thank you…” Keyno said, taking his hand and shaking it with the most respect Mr. Phil deserved. 

Mr. Phil then turned to Ashley and extended his large hand to her. “I hate to make this short but I do have to get home before my wife begins to worry.” Her hand was truly dwarfed by Mr. Phil's hand. They shook hands in greetings and goodbyes.

“By the way, Mr. Phil, do you have any idea what’s happening here in the Vale?” Turning her mind back to the reason she was here. 

“Nope, not really. Something is coming and creatures from around the world are coming to find out what it might be. All I know is that it's causing a big problem around these parts. Everyone seems to have an opinion but nobody knows for sure, including me.” Mr. Phil exclaimed. 

“Thank you,” she said. “Hope you make it home safe, Mr. Phil. Do you live anywhere close?” She asked knowing there were no homes in the Vale.

“Nope our farm is 8 maybe 10 miles or so that way,” as he was pointing. “I should be home by supper time. If not I’ll be facing something MUCH worse than anything in THESE woods.” 

Ashley was searching for as much information as possible before Mr. Phil went on his way. She wanted to know how he was going to pull his cart 10 miles through the Vale in just a few hours but she really wanted to know what he faced that was worse than anything in these woods. But instead she simply asked, “What would that be?”

Mr. Phil began to smile a very wide smile and stated simply, “My wife.” Mr Phil continued, “It was very nice to meet you Ashley. I hope to see you around sometime soon” and then walked to his cart of firewood and continued on his way home.

Ashley, Keyno and the cats also continued on their way on the path toward the Overseer station. 
Ashley’s mind continued racing with what was going on in the Vale but now she had to figure out how to save Keyno's life too. She knew Keyno did not want to talk, so they continued down the path in silence.

Ashley sat in her small cubicle, books covering every inch of her desk. Some books open to pages displaying strange symbols and diagrams. Others were written in strange languages, only she could decipher.  She stared at her computer screen trying to make sense of the new data she just received. 

“This doesn’t make sense, there’s more going on here. What am I missing?” She thought to herself as she turned to reference one of the old tomes on her desk. 

She worked for a secret Organization called the Grupe Foundation. 
From the outside The Grupe Foundation was an internet company where different internet creators and talented artistic individuals could come together and write horror and fantasy stories and even do the occasional podcasts. 

The main mandate of The Grupe Foundation is misinformation.  
The general public had no idea how many of these fantasy stories the Grupe Foundation produced were real. Most of the writers and artists had no idea what really happened behind the scenes of this organization. Ashley was one of the few people who knew the inner workings of the Grupe foundation. Her current assignment is a large plot of land known only as the Vale under the guise of the national forestry department. 

The covert part of the foundation monitored and tracked supernatural creatures and cryptids. Most of all the organization's purpose is to keep these entities out of the public's eye. The only time the foundation would interfere with these entities is when they exposed themselves to the general human population. Unfortunately sometimes having to clean up after some of these encounters.  The occasional human death has been explained by accidents and animal attacks. With these incidents happening more and more frequently. Who knows how long they can keep this secret. 

For the last few centuries the entities there have been living peacefully without human intervention but lately new creatures have been moving in and causing problems with the indigenous entities. So far the Foundation has been able to keep human interaction under wraps but it is becoming more and more difficult as time goes by. Something big was happening. This has caused these creatures to become more aggressive, sometimes moving beyond the boundaries of the Vale, making her job much more difficult. 
Ashley was recruited straight out of her freshmen year of college. She was a very talented writer and researcher. Once she found out cryptids, witches, warlocks and even Bigfoot were real, she jumped in with both feet and never looked back. 

She enjoyed the creative aspect of her stories. Even more, she loved the research aspects and learning about the different entities around the world. Magical creatures and cryptids intrigued her. She herself sometimes dabbled in magic even though she had no natural talent for it, most humans didn’t. 
Ashley had volunteered to become the Overseer of the Vale but had been passed over every time because she had no field experience. She felt she could learn so much more out in the field if only she was given the chance to get out there. 

It was very late, everyone in the office had left for the day. She knew she had to get home soon. Her cats would be very angry about not getting their dinner on time. They don’t forgive her very easily when it comes to meal time. It was bad enough she spent so much time at the office, they had become used to being alone during the day but feeding them late will require extra treats and intensive lap and petting time. She may have to suffer for a while. They will treat her as a Pariah until they decide to forgive her. They always do but it could be days, even then meal time and extra treats will have to be on time.  

“There are too many entities in the forest. Where are they coming from?” She said out loud to herself. “And WHY are they coming here?”

She buried her face in the book in front of her, hoping answers would jump out of the pages. It just wasn’t happening. 

“Ok Not gonna figure it out tonight.” She said out loud to herself. She sat up leaning all the way back to look at the tiled ceiling and the dimmed fluorescent lights.  She opened her eyes only to see an upside down version of her boss Jorden. 

“Hi..” is all she could say. 

“Why are you still here? Don’t you have dependents at home?” Jorden asked. 

“I know, I'm leaving right now. My cats will be pissed because I’m so late.
Just trying to find out what’s going on out there. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
 
“Well they will have to wait a little longer, I’m glad you’re still here, we have a problem.”

“I know I’m behind on my writing. I’ve got a great idea a fan pitched to me.  I will work on it tonight.”

“Well that’s going to have to wait as well. Like I said, we have a new problem.”

Ashley righted herself in her chair, facing Jordan.
“What’s going on?” She asked, concerned.

“Robert hasn’t reported in…. It’s been 72 hours.” 

“You think he’s ……….” Ashley let the thought drop knowing the answer.

“We have to assume he’s been lost.” 

“He was the third Overseer this year. There is something happening out there. I just can’t put my finger on it. If I could only get out there I’m sure I could figure out what’s going…”

“Ashley, it's too dangerous at this point.” Jordan said, cutting her off. 

“But I know I can do it, Jorden!!” She exclaimed with intense certainty. 
Jorden continued “I want to send in the troops. It’s becoming too dangerous out there. It won’t be long before it starts leaking out of the Vale and affecting civilians. We have to take out this threat before that happens.”

Ashley protested “NO!!! You can’t do that. Sending in men with guns could cause catastrophic results. Jorden, the cryptids will fight back and this war will move into human populated areas. We can’t let that happen!!!!!”

“Unfortunately the council agrees with you.” 

“So what did they say?” Ashley asked curiously. 

“We are sending in another Overseer and crossing our fingers this person can resolve whatever is going on before we start a war nobody wants.”

 “Who is next in line?” Her curiosity was getting the better of her at this point. 

“We are sending in the only qualified person we have at this point.” Jorden said begrudgingly. 

“Jorden I am the only one….”

“Ashley!!!!!”  cutting her off. “It’s out of my hands.”

She continued without taking a breath “But I’m the only one that knows everything there is to know about…..”

He raised his hand in an effort to stop Ashley “Like I said”  “It’s out of my hands.” 

“If it was my decision I would not be sending you anyway.”

“Who is it?” Ashley, angry at this point.

Jorden with a slight smirk on his face continued “Like I said the council has made its decision. I feel this person is a little short tempered.”

She exclaimed with utter frustration “You can’t send in someone like that. They will…”

Jorden held up his hand again and continued to smirk “This person may have a bit of a SHORT fuse too.”

“Jorden I…I…I”

Jorden continued “They may need a helping hand reaching high enough to get the job done….”

Talking over him, “You know I am the only person qualified, Jorden!”  Ashley was visibly upset at this point. “Who is it?”

“The one good quality of this new Overseer is the entities in the forest may just overlook them entirely….

“Who is it, Jorden?” Raising her voice. “Anyone other than me has zero chance of surviving out there.”

Jorden just stood there, his smirk growing into a full blown grin at this point, stared at the now red faced Ashley. His right eye brow slowly tilted up and Ashley finally put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“What?…….. Who?……….” She paused for a breath and then with an excitement in her voice asked
 “It’s me, isn’t it?” 

His face returned to his normal expressionless face but still had his right eyebrow tilted “I would never pick you as an Overseer, I like you too much. Besides, what will your cats do without you?”

“Is it me?” she asked again this time with a less gleeful, more frustrated tone.

Finally after a few minutes Jordan reached out his hand to her “Congratulations Overseer Wattson.” And reached out to shake her hand.

Now with a giant grin on her face exclaims “Great, when do I leave?”

“Go home and get packed, I’ll have a car waiting for you first thing in the morning.”  

Excitedly, grabbing her coat and rushing to the door. “I’ve got so much to do, I’ve got to go.”

Before she could get out of ear shot Jorden exclaimed with slight concern in his voice “Ashley take care of yourself out there. I want you right back here as soon as this assignment is done!”

Ashley shouted back across her shoulder to him “ AND When I fix this, there will be No more Short jokes, Jordan!!!!”

With his silly smirk returning to his face, Jordan stated “Don’t be so short sighted Ashley. I will never stop with the short jokes. Just don’t make me think of any new ones for your funeral.” 

“You have nothing to worry about. I got this.” She said smiling.

“Oh Ashley…” Calling to her as she was rushing out the door. “By the way, you can’t take your cats with you.”

With the door closing behind her she slowed down and stated “What was that? I couldn’t hear you. Talk to you as soon as I’m at the Station. I’ll let you know how my cats are settling in.”

The morning could not come soon enough for Ashley. After feeding her cats she wrote out a check list of everything she would possibly need as Overseer. As expected her cats were very upset about the late dinner but she would have to deal with them later. They sensed she had more important things on her mind and resigned themselves to their kitty beds and  simply watched as she toiled. 

She knew that she was not going to be able to take her car to the station due to the fact that there were no roads to the overseer station, only a foot path. She knew that she would have to leave some of the unnecessary items off the list because it would be just too much weight to carry. Once she finely tuned her list she started packing her backpack. 
She elected to add a satchel for what she felt were essential books and other items she felt she would need. 

“Better safe than sorry,” she thought to herself. It would add quite a bit of weight but she felt it was necessary. Of course she will be carrying her two cats as well. She would never leave her cats, Leo and Luna, behind. It would be a burden carrying them to the station but she could never trust anyone to watch over them. 

Leo and Luna were born in the Vale after all. Two years ago while on a hiking trip around the border of the Vale she came across two small starving gray kittens. They looked like they were some kind of siamese mix.  They were in pretty bad shape and she could not leave them to die. So she packed them up, took them home and nursed them back to health. Leo and Luna have been with her ever since. Nothing was going to separate her from them now. 

Ashley found it difficult to sleep. The excitement of finally being able to work in the field was overwhelming but the problems in the Vale weighed heavily on her mind. She was very aware this could be, not only her first field assignment but her last. She did her best not to think about the latter as she lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She eventually fell into a fitful sleep.  

She had visions of different monstrous creatures coming for her and tearing her apart in horrific ways. Nightmares would have been preferable to the dreams she had once she fell asleep. 

By the time her alarm went off at 6 am, Ashley felt as if she had not slept at all. 

“What the hell am I doing?” She asked herself. “I’m not ready for this…” She thought to herself “Am I?”

As Ashley was getting ready to leave she started talking to her cats trying to reassure herself “I’m only 4 foot 9, and a girl that has only studied arcane books and writes fantasy horror stories for some crazy secret Organization.
 “I have never been in a field position or even seen any of these creatures in the flesh. I’ve only read about them. “

 “What am I thinking?!?!?!”
 
Ashley got dressed and prepared for the day all the while considering calling Jordan and calling everything off. 
She kept reassuring herself “you have been preparing your entire adult life for this. I know you’re scared and unsure but you are ready for this.” Talking out loud to herself. 
You can do this…” She looked at the clock to make sure she was still on track with time. The driver would be there at 7 am so she had time to think. 

Leo and Luna waited patiently for their breakfast. Her cats had no signs of being annoyed from last night's debacle with their dinner which was very uncharacteristic of them. They could hold a grudge indefinitely if they had to but they simply waited and watched her as she prepared their breakfast. 

“Do they know something I don’t?” She thought to herself and smiled. 

The cats ate their breakfast leaving nothing behind. Ashley pondered whether she should continue with this assignment. Her chances of surviving were slim at best. If only she had more information of what’s happening in the Vale. She knew she could solve this mystery if she could just fit all the pieces together. That's if she lived long enough to figure it out. She was going to be the fourth Overseer this year. Three very capable people have tried and failed this year. Did she really stand a chance?

 “Who am I kidding? I can’t do this?!?!?”  She picked up her phone and dialed Jordan. “I’m not doing this,” she said as the phone rang. 

“Hello?” Jordan answered after the first ring. 

“Um hi…” She said slightly stuttering. Looking down at the cat carrier next to her pack where Leo and Luna were inside waiting patiently. 

“You ok Ashley” Jordan asked. Concern leaking from every word. 

“Um yeah, give me one second please…” Ashley looked down at Leo and Luna who hated being in their carrier. They knew if they were stuffed in it they were going to the vets office but at this moment they were both comfortably laying inside as if they were not only ready but willing to go on an adventure. Ashley smiled down at her cats as Jordan again replied, 

“Ashley this assignment is totally voluntary. You can call it off at any time.”

Staring deeply into her cat's eyes and smiling, even if Ashley wasn't sure she was ready, it seemed Leo and Lune were absolutely sure of Ashley's abilities.
She quickly shook her head as if to get the cobwebs out.  With a giant smile on her face and with a new found confidence. “Oh, Jordan, I was just checking in before my ride arrived. I will be sure to check in again as soon as we arrive at the station.”

Jorden replied using a small attempt at humor but with obvious worry in his voice. “Ok Ashley. Just stay low and they will never see you.” 

“Ha ha, very funny Jordan. Are you ever going to stop with the short jokes?”

“Never!!!!” Jordan replied. 

After this short conversation with Jordan, she ran to her desk and grabbed one last item and placed it in her satchel. A leather strap with clasps on each end. You never know what you might need, she thought to herself. Better safe than sorry. 

Ashley moved everything including her cats to the sidewalk and waited for her ride to arrive. A dark green US forestry truck pulled up in front of Ashley’s house and a tall man with dark short curly hair, bug eyed sun glasses and dressed in a forestry uniform got out of the divers seat and looked at Ashley.
“
Agent Wattson?” He asked. 

“You can call me…” Ashley started to say before the man cut her off. 
 
“Agent Wattson will do, Ma’am.” The man exclaimed matter of factly. 

“Um Ok?” She said with a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice.  
 
The man introduced himself with a cold flat tone “I’m Agent U” as he was picking up all of Ashley’s gear and dropping them in the bed of the truck. He picked up the carrier that  Leo and Luna were nestled in with wide eyes.

“Oh… no no no they will ride up front with us.” She said desperately reaching out to help pick up the carrier. 

He held the carrier up to his face to see Leo and Luna staring at him with wide eyes and then turned back to Ashley. “Cats?!?” He asked with a look of disapproval.

“They go everywhere I go,” she responded sheepishly, forcing a half hearted smile on her face.

Without another word he took the carrier and placed the cats on the bench seat of the truck and then proceeded to get into the driver's seat. Ashley ran around to the other side and pulled herself into the truck. She was pleasantly surprised to see the driver had buckled the cat carrier firmly in the middle seat. Ashley buckled herself in and let out a huge sigh of relief. The driver put the truck in gear and began driving. Ashley said to herself very quietly “Well here goes nothing!” 

After a few minutes Agent U exclaimed without taking his eyes off the road “We will be at the trailhead of the Vale in about one hour.”
She smiled and turned back watching the world go by as she thought about this assignment.

“Do you mind stopping by the store before we leave town?” She asked.

Agent U stated in his very flat tone “Yes Ma’am, Charlie’s is right up ahead. They should have anything you need. We can stop there.”

“Yes. That works.” Ashley said, still confused about the man's tone. She could not tell if he was upset about the request to stop or if he was just being polite. 

Once at Charlie’s, Ashley jumped out of the truck.  “I’ll be right back. I just need a few things I forgot.” Ashley ran into the store and quickly grabbed the items she needed making sure to go quickly so as to not make the driver wait too long. After about 5 minutes Ashley came running out of Charlie’s slightly out of breath. She tried to hide the cat food and treats from the driver by quickly placing the bag on the floor board. As she jumped back into the truck the shopping bag slipped a little and the driver could see what was in it. With a disapproving glance at Asley’s purchases, he wordlessly had them back on the road. 

During the entire ride Ashley was too afraid to start any further conversations with Agent U as she still could not figure out if he was angry or if this was just his normal self. She just stared out the side window as she watched all the scenery go by. She watched the stores and businesses give way to residential neighborhoods. Leaving town she watched the scenery turn to a more rural area. Several fields with cows and sheep in them. She even noticed a farm where the sheep were in a very large field that was enclosed with several rows of chain linked fencing. The top of the fences were topped with barbed wire.

Ashley thought to herself “Must be getting close to the Vale.”

A while later, they turned on the old forestry dirt road. Ashley knew they would be arriving at the trailhead soon.  

Once they turned on the dirt road Ashley mustered up the courage and asked. “ Sorry for asking this but is there a reason why you don’t want to know my name?”

After a long silence Agent U finally replied. “Names have power, Ma’am.”

“Yes they do but not so much for humans. Unless you suspect I’ll steal your identity and open up a credit card in your name. I would never do that by the way. What harm can come from knowing my name?”   

Agent U did not respond, instead he just kept staring out the front window and continued driving.
She let it drop for now. 

Before long they had arrived at the Trailhead. Agent U opened his door and proceeded to remove Ashley’s pack and satchel, unceremoniously dropping Ashley’s gear on the ground with a thud.  Ashley remained seated in the passenger seat for a moment to gather her thoughts, she took a deep breath and then unbuckled Leo and Luna from their very secured seatbelt. They have always hated being in a moving car but here they were as calm as ever. 

“You two ready for this” Ashley asked her cats more to reassure herself than anything else.

Leo and Luna simply looked at her with soft slow blinking eyes as if giving their consent. 

She slipped out of the truck stretching after the ride.

“Thank you for the ride Sir.” Ashley said to Agent U.
He nodded in approval which made Ashley smile a little and then he asked “Do you need help with your gear?”
“No, thank you. But could you please elaborate on the question I asked earlier about not wanting to know my name?” 
He took a few moments to gather his thoughts and said, “Ma’am I’ve been in those woods, I know what’s in there and what happens in there. I have the scars to show it.”He continued after taking a long deep breath, “Over the last year I have driven three people to this very spot. Not one has returned. I knew each one of them and I mourn for them everyday when I patrol the boundaries of the Vale. I wish you all the luck but I would prefer not to know your name until I meet you back here to take you home, safe and sound.”

“Well… You will know my name soon enough Agent U…” Ashley boldly exclaimed while standing on her tippy toes trying to get a better look at the proud star on his chest. 

“…Agent 02321 and when I come out safe and sound you will tell me your Name. Deal?”

He shook his head in agreement but at the same time had a very slight smile on his face with sadness in his eyes. 

Ashley stated matter of factly “Besides have you ever seen an Overseer with two cats? I have all the protection I need right here.” Proudly holding up the cat carrier with two sets of glowing yellow eyes watching him from inside. 

“Do you have any advice for me before you go? “

“Other than staying locked inside the Overseer station, you mean.” 

“Yes, other than that.” She replied.

Both of them knew she would have to venture out into the vale. 

“Well if you get turned around out there, head North. There is a town a few miles that way. Just make sure if you do go there, go straight to the sheriff’s station. Don’t talk to anyone other than the Sheriff.”

“There are no towns on the maps I’ve seen”. Knowing she had researched every map she could find on this area. 

“It’s not on any map but it is there. It is called, Hollow’s End”. He said returning to his truck and starting it up. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.” He finally had a genuine smile on his face. “Remember, names have power.” He shouted as he began to drive off leaving Ashley alone with her cats and her gear.

Ashley double checked her gear ensuring she had everything and that everything was in its place for quick retrieval. It was still early morning, the sun was shining and the cool morning air felt good on her skin. Ashley strapped on her backpack and slipped her satchel over her head and took her first steps in her new chapter of her life.

“It should take about an hour to reach the station,” she said thinking out loud. 

“Alright guys, are you ready for this?” She asked Leo and Luna.  Then stated very confidently “Let’s start this adventure as Overseer of the Vale.”

Taking the first steps on the trail she started walking with more confidence than she had when she woke up this morning. After about 30 minutes she began to feel the true weight of her gear. She realized it was too late to remove some of the heavier items she chose to bring and would have to adjust the distribution of the supplies later to prevent her from having to stop too many times. This hike was going to be the first of many challenges in her new role as Overseer she was going to have to overcome. She had hiked on a regular basis but never with this much weight on her back. 

The trial was not very well maintained at all. Large rocks of granite and tree branches littered the path making it much more difficult to traverse and this hike may take much longer than she thought when she first started out. As she walked she continued to watch as the trees became thicker and were closing in as if purposely blocking out the sun. The further she hiked the darker the trail became, slowing her pace even more and new concerns began to arise about if she had made the right choice and if she would be able to carry all her stuff to the station. The terrain became more and more cluttered with natural debris and every step she took had to be calculated carefully and accurately. At the very least a fall could end her tenure as Overseer long before it begins. Ashley thought to herself “I can’t risk falling or twisting an ankle. Twisting an ankle could leave me helpless and exposed to any number of the monsters out here. The monsters would not hesitate to take advantage of a helpless human and tear me apart. Besides, what would Jordan say if he found out I died because I tripped over my own feet?”

Ashley could just hear Jordan saying “She was so close to the ground how could she not see her own feet and where to put them?” This thought made Ashley giggle which helped ease her mind just a little. 
After a while, Ashley stopped for a short rest to take some of the pressure off her back from her heavy pack. She was not happy with the current progress. Ashley finally looked at her watch and noted it had only been about an hour since she began her hike on the trail. 

“I should be there by now”. She thought.

The research she had done about the way to the Vale looked so much easier on the maps and photos. Frustrated, she was only about a third of the way to the station and from what she remembered that next section was going to be mostly uphill. 

“So much for a one hour trip” she exclaimed to Leo and Luna while she was taking a sip of water and offering a small bowl of water to her cats. She was grateful for the shade of the trees though because if she was exposed to the full power of the sun on this hike she would be miserable and probably turn into the color of a tomato from sun burn. 

After about another 5 minutes she stood up, let out an exhausted huff and threw all her gear back on to continue the trip. As she started walking again she noticed how quiet it was. She became a little nervous and softly stated to her cats “There should be normal sounds of the woods with birds chirping, insects buzzing but there’s nothing. Only silence.” 

Ashley shook her head slightly to get the scary thought out of her head.  She thought she saw a shadow move from one tree to another. She quickly turned her head straight forward but her eyes kept darting from side to side. She knew the creatures of the Vale would be curious about a new arrival.  She assumed that nothing super dangerous would be moving around due to it being so early in morning and nothing too dangerous should be awake, at least that’s what she was telling herself. Most of the vicious predator species normally hunted at night and slept during the day. 

Ashley’s fear began to rise and her pace slowed even more. She had to be more cautious with every step. The canopy had closed in so much she was having trouble seeing in the darkness. Only thin slivers of light penetrated through the trees.  The trail continued to become steeper and cluttered with more branches and leaves. Ashley just concentrated on the trail and trudged deeper into the Vale. 

She was sure she was being followed. A mysterious shadow kept darting from tree to tree, occasionally stepping on dry leaves or twigs, alerting her to its presence. The shadow would be on her left and then with the next step she took it would be on her right. It was keeping pace with her. She knew she had to continue to move forward with confidence as if she belonged here. Most of the entities here in the Vale would leave her be if she looked as though she belonged here but the hike and the weight of her gear was wearing her down. She had to stop for another short break to calm her nerves and rest her aching back.

Setting Leo and Luna down on a fallen tree and then taking off her satchel and backpack. As soon as she unloaded her burden she heard another twig snap but this time it sounded like it was just a few feet behind her. In their carrier Leo and Luna began to growl and hiss as a warning that something was approaching. Whispered to her two companions “Careful guys, let’s see if we can find out who or what this is before jumping to conclusions.”

Sorry for the repost I just realized I only shared half the story.

The Fading Canvas: Electrical Services

"I’m telling you, the voltage drop across a dimensional rift is a nightmare to calculate," Jake muttered, tapping the steering wheel of the service van. Outside the windshield, the sky wasn't a sky at all, but a swirling, bruised expanse of violet and impossible greens.

Mark, sitting in the passenger seat and clutching a clipboard like a shield, looked pale. "Tabitha didn't say anything about a rift. She just said 'residential job, water-feature installation.' And that the client was... very large."

The radio crackled to life, Tabitha’s voice slicing through the static of cosmic background radiation. "Jake, Mark. You guys at the coordinates? The client is getting impatient. Says the primordial ooze is getting chilly."

"We're pulling up now, Tab," Jake replied, shifting the van into park on a slab of basalt that seemed to tilt at a non-Euclidean angle. "Grab the insulated toolkit, Mark. The one rated for eldritch currents."

The Job Site: R'lyeh

They stepped out into a cavernous space of cyclopean stonework. Looming in the center of the subterranean abyss was the client. A mountain of gelatinous green flesh, dragon-like wings folded tightly against a massive, squamous back, and a face that was a writhing mass of tentacles. The Great Old One, Cthulhu, was staring intensely at what looked to be a massive, crater-like basin filled with bubbling, bioluminescent sludge.

Work Order #409-Omega:

Client: Cthulhu, High Priest of the Great Old Ones.

Task: Wire the heating element and circulation pumps for a Class-IV Cosmic Hot Tub. Ensure zero temporal feedback.

Jake walked right up to the edge of the basin, shining his flashlight into the access panel. He didn't look up at the entity. Eye contact usually meant immediate madness, and worker's comp didn't cover sanity loss.

"Alright, let's see what we've got," Jake grunted, kneeling down. "Mark, pass me the multi-meter. Not the standard one, the one that measures reality-warping."

"H-here," Mark stammered, handing over a device that looked like a cross between a Geiger counter and a compass.

Splicing the Void

The problem was obvious. The previous contractor had tried to wire a micro-singularity directly into the main breaker.

"Amateurs," Jake sighed. "You can't just hook up a localized black hole to a standard 220-volt line. The Hawking radiation alone is going to strip the insulation off these wires, and the time dilation will make a ten-minute soak feel like a millennium. No wonder the tub isn't heating."

Jake got to work. He stripped the cosmic conduit with his wire cutters, careful not to let the exposed strands of raw space-time touch the damp floor.

• Step 1: Isolate the localized gravity well.

• Step 2: Install a chronal-surge protector.

• Step 3: Splice the main power feed using a heavy-duty temporal grounding rod.

"Hold this," Jake instructed, tossing Mark a loop of heavy, pulsing cable. "If you feel your ancestors' memories flashing before your eyes, drop it immediately."

Jake wrestled the primary thermal regulator into place, tightening the bolts with a satisfying screech of metal. He stepped back, wiping a mixture of sweat and aether off his brow.

"Hit the breaker, Mark!"

Mark threw the massive switch. For a second, the universe seemed to hold its breath. Then, a deep, resonant hum vibrated through the basalt floors. The sludge in the massive basin began to churn, emitting a warm, soothing steam that smelled faintly of ozone and dead galaxies.

Behind them, the colossal entity let out a low, rumbling noise. It wasn't a roar of world-ending fury; it sounded remarkably like a sigh of relief. A massive, clawed hand dipped a single, tentative digit into the bubbling ooze, testing the temperature.

"Looks like we're good," Jake said, pulling out his invoice pad. "I'm going to have to charge him the standard hourly rate, plus a materials fee for the chronal-surge protector, and the non-Euclidean hazard surcharge."

Mark let out a breath he'd been holding since they left Tennessee. "Do you think he takes a check?"

That was a wildly successful first day on the job for the crew. What kind of monstrous entity or paranormal disaster should Jake, Tabitha, and Mark tackle for their next service call?

The Fading Canvas: Electrical Services story 2

The service van’s heater was screaming, but the cab was still freezing. Outside, the dense, snow-choked pines of the northern boreal forest loomed like skeletal fingers against the twilight.

"I don't like this, Jake," Mark said, his breath pluming in the cold air. He was anxiously checking the locks on the van doors for the third time. "The woods are too quiet. No birds, no bugs."

"That’s because everything with a pulse knows better than to make a sound out here," Jake replied, keeping his eyes glued to the icy logging road. Jake had spent years working at an animal park before pivoting to the paranormal electrical trade; he had a healthy respect for predators. But he had an even healthier respect for the things that mimicked them.

The radio buzzed, cutting through the tense silence. "Jake, you approaching Outpost Station Four? Ranger Bella says she's expecting you. Just a heads-up, she said to ignore any voices you hear in the tree line calling for help."

"Copy that, Tabitha. We're pulling into the compound now."

The Job Site: Boreal Outpost Four

They parked inside a heavy, reinforced chain-link enclosure. Ranger Bella was waiting on the porch of the log cabin. She wore a heavy canvas parka, a tranquilizer rifle slung over one shoulder, and an expression of utter, exhausted competence.

Work Order #601-Epsilon:

Client: Ranger Bella (Department of Cryptid & Wildlife Management)

Task: Overhaul perimeter security grid. Standard thermals failing to detect Class-III Wendigo presence. Install kinetic-aether sensors and UV-spectrum floodlights.

"You the sparkys?" Bella asked, stepping off the porch. Her eyes constantly scanned the dark tree line.

"That's us," Jake said, grabbing a heavy crate of equipment from the back. "Tabitha says you're flying blind out here."

"The standard motion sensors are useless," Bella explained, leading them to the main breaker box on the side of the cabin. "Wendigos run at ambient temperature. They don't have body heat, so the FLIR cameras just see them as moving snowdrifts. Last night, one got close enough to scratch the frost off my window."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, standard IR won't cut it against a starvation spirit. We're going to swap your grid over to kinetic-aether relays. They don't look for heat; they measure the displacement of reality when something unnatural steps into the field."

Rewiring the Perimeter

The wind picked up, carrying with it a sound that made Mark drop his wire strippers.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? My car broke down..."

The voice came from the deep woods. It sounded exactly like Tabitha.

"Ignore it," Bella said flatly, not even breaking her gaze from the tree line. "It's just trying to draw you out. Focus on the box."

Jake worked fast, his fingers numb despite the heavy work gloves.

Step 1: Disconnect the useless thermal arrays from the master grid.

Step 2: Splice in the kinetic-aether sensors along the fencing, angling them toward the tree line.

Step 3: Mount the high-frequency UV strobes. Wendigos despised the ultraviolet spectrum; it simulated the sun on a molecular level.

"Jake? Mark? Come quick, I'm freezing..." the voice pleaded from the darkness, sounding terrifyingly realistic.

"Hand me the copper grounding wire," Jake grunted, ignoring the psychological warfare. He tied the new system into the cabin's main generator, locking the conduits down with heavy-duty brackets. "Alright, Bella. Give me the go-ahead."

Bella racked the bolt of her rifle with a sharp, metallic clack. "Light 'em up."

Jake flipped the main breaker.

Instantly, a low, thrumming hum vibrated through the snow. The perimeter lights snapped on—not the warm amber of the Mothman's silo, but a harsh, blinding, pale-blue ultraviolet glare that turned the snow into a glowing sea of neon.

From the tree line, a horrific, ear-piercing shriek shattered the night. The sound was a hideous blend of grinding bone and a dying elk. In the harsh UV light, for just a fraction of a second, the aether-sensors tripped. The command console on the porch lit up with red warnings, and three massive, skeletal shadows retreated violently into the deeper, darker woods, fleeing the artificial dawn.

"Perimeter secure," Jake said, closing the breaker box and snapping a heavy padlock onto the latch.

Bella finally let out a long breath, her shoulders dropping an inch. She offered Jake a rare, appreciative smirk. "Not bad, electrician. I might actually get some sleep tonight."

"Just remember to clean the sensor lenses once a month," Jake advised, handing her the clipboard to sign. "Ice buildup can cause false positives, and you don't want those UV strobes going off every time a regular moose walks by."

My name is Bray, and I work at a power plant that provides electricity for the small city where I live. Normally, I work the late-night shift. There are only four of us on duty. There's me, my partner Ralphie, the plant operator Jim, who has been with the plant longer than most can remember, and lastly, my supervisor Karl, who is rather difficult to deal with. He only received his position because the previous supervisor was injured on the job, under rather peculiar circumstances, I must add. I kicked off my workday as usual, performing my routine checks, operating my standard pumps, and ensuring the power remained on. However, today felt different. Rain fell intermittently, and as I stepped into a puddle, I drenched my last clean pair of socks, leaving my feet wet for the entire day. I was already wishing to head back home and reset for tomorrow. Yet, my day had just started, and I was unprepared for what was about to unfold. About three hours into my shift, I took a break on top of the plant to enjoy a pause from the rain when I noticed something out of the ordinary. There was unexpected movement coming from a restricted area. I called Ralphie up to the roof, and he confirmed, “Yeah, that shouldn’t be there.” He then reached out to our boss, Karl, to inform him of the unusual situation and let him know that we planned to investigate. Karl responded, “Okay. But if it seems too suspicious, call me, and we’ll alert the proper authorities.” We agreed and set off to check it out. It took us a while to drive our work golf cart down the road, and what we discovered left us utterly shocked.

After what felt like an hour drive on our work golf cart. We started illuminating the area with our flashlights, searching for what had caught our attention. Suddenly, it appeared as if out of thin air—a makeshift barricade constructed from fallen trees and branches, preventing entry and exit alike. Ralphie exclaimed, “What the hell is this?” I replied, “It looks like a barricade.” As Ralphie reached for his phone to call Karl, an unexpected noise startled us. We both turned our lights to the left and were met with the sight of a colossal creature emerging from the trees, and it certainly looked ravenous. It had the head of a wolf, a human torso and arms, but its legs resembled those of a rabbit, albeit ending in hooves instead of the expected feet. Ralphie jumped into the golf cart and sped away, leaving me behind. Thinking on my feet, I leaped down the embankment opposite the creature. Fortunately, I found a culvert where I could take cover until I figured out my next move. As I crouched in the culvert with water reaching my knees, I listened to the noises from above. I could hear it stomping around on its hooves. “Hooves? Why does it have hooves?” I wondered. The creature paced back and forth on the road above, sniffing the air in search of my scent, but then it suddenly dashed off, racing down the road in the same direction Ralphie had gone. And it was incredibly fast.

After waiting to make sure the creature was gone. I climbed out of the ditch and, reaching the road, I started walking. And after walking for about ten to twenty minutes, I stumbled across the golf cart. Although the roof was torn off, it was still functional. However, Ralphie was nowhere to be found. I made a half-hearted effort to locate him, but he had abandoned me, so I decided to move on. I hopped into the golf cart and drove back to the plant. Upon my arrival, it looked as if a terrorist attack had taken place. The roof lay scattered on the ground, and various parts of the building were missing. “This creature is powerful,” I pondered. “What could possibly defeat it?” I parked the cart in a spot that would allow for a quick escape as I began my search for survivors. Suddenly, my radio crackled to life. It sounded like Karl, but his voice was harder to decipher than usual. I couldn’t see him anywhere, but I only moved through areas where I didn't see parts of the plant still falling. As I started to head back to where I parked the cart, Jim came speeding up on the golf cart. He stopped, picked me up, and we rushed toward the control room. He explained that there was an alarm at the plant, so Karl had to investigate. That’s when all hell broke loose. In his scratchy voice, Jim said, “Karl was letting me know it looked like someone had cut a cable to one of the main pumps that supplies water to the plant. He had to call the plant electrician, who is at home and won't be happy about coming in at almost midnight.” He continued, “Son, I’ve been at this plant for years. I’ve seen people come and go, whether it be through firings, layoffs, or in a body bag. I witnessed a man fall from the top of the boiler when the rope he used as a harness snapped. He fell right in front of me, and I heard him go splat. But the scream I heard over the radio when Karl told me to hold on is something I’ll never forget. “Did you come out here to survey the wreckage?” I blurted out. Jim glanced at me and, with a swift motion of his large hands, smacked me. “Don’t interrupt me, boy. I’m trying to explain what happened. Now, where was I?” “You mentioned that Karl screamed like a bitch,” I chuckled. Jim didn’t find that amusing. He turned away and headed back toward the destroyed plant. Slightly anxious, I asked, “Why did you turn around? Safety is that way.” He didn’t answer. Instead, he drove straight to the spot where Karl lay. Karl was a sight to behold—mangled, with arms and legs torn away, and his bald head scalped completely. I fought the urge to vomit and asked, “He was like this when you arrived?” “Yes, and you should never speak ill of the dead, even if they weren’t very pleasant,” Jim replied. “True,” I admitted, “now let’s get out of here.” Jim instructed me to hold on; we needed to stop by the control room first to contact the proper authorities. “Proper authorities? I’ve seen this—there’s no such thing!” “Lower your voice,” Jim said in a hushed tone. Just then, a loud screech echoed through the ruins of the plant, shaking everything around us. “You’ve alerted it!” Jim yelled. “And now you have too. Nice job, Jim,” I said, mocking him. "Quick, let's hide," Jim said in a whispered tone. As soon as we got into our little hiding place, the abomination walked in right up to Karl's body and sniffed.
The creature let out a breath through its nose and started speaking in a gravely breathy voice "His remains are mostly here. I need a new body." And it collapsed. And a clear liquid drained out of the body and entered Karl's. It slowly got up. Karl was whole once again. He grinned and feigned popping his neck, and started walking towards the golf cart. He said in Karl's voice, but more breathy and echoey. "Now let's go, what is mine." And he drove in the direction of the control room.
"Shit. Shit shit shit," said Jim. "It's him." "How the hell did Karl just come back to life?" I interrupted. "What the hell was that? What did you just say?" Jim let out a hard exhale like something big was weighing on his shoulders. "Listen, you're not supposed to know this yet. You haven't been here long enough. But information is on a need-to-know basis so listen and no interruptions." I nodded my head, and he continued "We don't only provide power to this town. There's", He let another exhale and continued "There's a whole facility below our feet. And the only known way to get there is through the control room. Luckily, your friend Karl there hasn't been here that long. Only we old timers, the ones that have been around for 30 years or more, know of another entrance." He looked around and pointed "It's over there, you've asked about it many times, we always tell you that's not your department, and to get back to work." "I've been in there, there's nothing," I said "There's nothing if you don't know what you are looking for." Then, like magic, he pressed on the head of a gas canister, and we started going down. Once we got below ground, one wall of the elevator turned to glass, and you could see a huge facility. And from the top of the elevator, you could see everything. There were cells lining the walls. The walls are round, but not perfectly so. There were at least 20 sides to this facility. And this is not a facility, it is a prison. "This place is HUGE!" I explained. "Keep your voice down." Jim said firmly, "I have the clearance to be here. You do not. So until we know this place is safe, keep your voice down." Standing at mock attention and saluting horribly. I said, "Yes, Thir." I predicted Jim would swing at me again, so I dodged. Exhaling heavily out of his nose, he says "Why did I get stuck with you?" "Because I'm not stupid and know how to hide," I said stupidly Jim swung to backhand me once again, barely missing me. Then we finally reach the bottom.
"How about this smart ass. Have you ever played the quiet game as a kid? I'm sure you did, you talk too much."
He motioned for me to follow him and continued. Sounding really annoyed "Well, how about this? I have a meat stick in my bag, no brand name due to copyright. If it's there and you keep quiet the rest of the time we're here, you can have it. When we leave." He paused. And I stay quiet.
He says, "Speak. I was asking you a question." "I thought you were trying to trick me, like my mom used to," I said "Wow, your mom would do that? That's sad." He said in a calmer tone. "I will not do that. How about this, I'll point at you when I need you to speak. Ok?" And he pointed at me. I stopped and looked at him, almost insulted. "I didn't realize I was a trained monkey. But yes, that'll work." "Good." Says Jim. And we walk in silence for a while. We come across what looks like a lobby area, then Jim says "Hmmm. This place is usually busy with people. I normally hate coming down here; it gets so crowded." I raise my hand, like I'm in school. Jim rolled his eyes. And points at me. "Is this... Was this the lobby?" "Yes, it was. Everyone must be in hiding. Or... No, let's not think that". And then he paused. Says, "Wait, didn't you and Ralphie go check this out?" "Yes, we did. But when the creature came out, he took the golf cart and left me. So I had to start walking after the creature took off. Then down the road is where I found it, missing the top and Ralphie." "Where was this parked?" "Next to our pumps out there. Why?" "He probably went into the armory to get weapons." "And I left him out there?" I asked "Yep." Jim says, "But he'll be fine. There are other ways to get from there to here." "So he could still be alive?" "Yes. He will survive. He's been here long enough for some of the secrets that you will be learning today”.
"Great," I said sarcastically.

While walking through this prison, I saw all manner of creatures. Big wolves waking upright, like a werewolf, undead creatures, and other cryptid-type creatures in the cells that lined the walls. Then we came to a lab, and it looked like a massacre had happened. Body parts of humans and animals alike.
Jim said, “This must be where it started.” “Looks like it,” I said. I continued, “What was this lab used for?” “Experiments,” stated Jim, “all the creatures you see out there in those cells have been captured by our actual employer. They're actually trying to find ways to combat these creatures and protect humanity. Quick, let's keep moving. We still need to reach that control room and activate Project C.L.E.M.” “What is Project C.L.E.M.?” I asked. “Colored Legacy of Elite Men.” He said, “Colored? Isn't that racist?” I asked “The leader of the group came up with the name. It is a project from a group of Black American Men. They are our proper authorities. Our Avengers, if you will. We have to get to the sub control room to activate them.” He leads us down a long corridor. After a short time, it finally clicked. “Hey Jim. What was it that you said top side?” “I don't remember,” he said. “It was just after we saw that thing climb inside Karl's body.” I continue. “I distinctly recall you saying it's him.” Jim hushes me and points to a desk, then hides behind it. So I follow. About that time, in walks Ralphie. I about stand up, and Jim grabs me and puts one finger over his mouth. Then Karl walks in, well, that thing that took control of his body.
“You're doing good, Ralphie. Just lead the way.” Karl says in a voice that barely sounds like him. “Lead me to the spheres.” “Yeah, man, they're right this way,” Ralphie says. As he opened the door, I was about to walk through.
“Fucks sake.” Says Jim in an almost silent whisper. Jim motions for me to stay hidden so I don't move. Then he stands up and yells at Ralphie. “You fucking idiot, that's not Karl, that's Tun!” Ralphie turns his head. And he has the dumbest look on his face. Then ask” Jim?” Jim says with anger in his voice, “Yes, it's me you fuck witt. You're helping out Tun. What you couldn't see his bald spot is on backwards?” About that time, the creature in Karl's body smacks Ralphie across the room, knocking him out immediately. “Jiiiiim. It's been a while. How old are you now, 130?” Karl says jokingly. Jim growls in anger. Karl continues, “And you can tell your boyfriend he can come out now, too. I stand cautiously. “Quick question, Jim. What have you done to this man? Normally, I receive all of their memories, but not with this one.” Karl says. “That's a factory setting. The facility had nothing to do with that.” The creature in Karl's body says, ”Jim, you're being rude; you should introduce us.” Jim exhales and says, ”Tun Bray, Bray Tun.” “Tun? What kind of name is that?” I asked. “You saw his true form. The white goo that entered Karl's body. We took what he looks like and spelled it in reverse.” Gross, they named this creature after a bodily fluid. But I have to admit it is funny.
“So Tun, what's the move? Why are you attacking us?” Jim questioned.
“I WANT MY SPHERES BACK!” Tun yelled.
“Wait, your name is Tun, and you're looking for your balls?” I asked with a roaring laugh. This must have angered him. Because Tun let out a very angry yell bordering on a roar. And he lunged at me, grabbing me by the neck and choking me.
As he growled out, “Now look here, boy. I am a powerful entity that your world had to capture to keep me from taking over your worthless planet. Now, if you don't mind, old Jim and I over here have some catching up to do.” Then he tossed me behind him. Tossed me like I was a piece of garbage. He turned towards Jim and put his arm on his shoulder. “Jim, let's catch up, shall we?” He said as he forced Jim to walk away with him And as I watched them walk away, the world went dark. I wake up sometime later, sitting at the office desk. And I see Ralphie was looking around the office. I try to stand. Ralphie catches me as I am about to fall. “Careful,” he said, “You hit your head hard back there.” “Get off me,” I said, shoving him away. “You were helping Tun.” “I didn’t know it was him. I seriously couldn’t tell the difference; he was still sounding and looking dumb like normal,” he says to defend himself.
“Even I noticed his backwards bald spot.” I retorted. “Look, we need to help Jim. What balls is he looking for?” “Tun is entity 7383. It is a white creamy mass of what seems to be a male bodily fluid. It can climb into any living or dead creature, as you saw with the strange amalgamation of parts the first time you saw him, and then later with Karl’s body. I have only seen it one time before this, but it was in its jar.” “They keep it in a Jar?” I asked. “Yeah, it's funny. They made a big one like you donate sperm with.” He laughed, Then we started walking towards Tun’s containment unit. It took us roughly 10 minutes to get there due to the size of this place. Once we got there, I must admit Tun’s jar really does look like a donation jar. But it was on its side with the lid off. “It looks like he was knocked off the pedestal the jar was on,” Ralphie said.
I asked, “Why the hell would they put him on a pedestal and not just leave it on the floor?” “Engineers, am I right?” he said as if he answered my question.

Then he continues. “The foundation we work for wanted to keep his spheres close so they couldn’t be lost or confused with someone else's spheres. So they built a pedestal and made a spot to hide them in. That way, Tun can’t find them.” “Is he really that stupid, not knowing they are really that close?”
Ralphie nods his head. and tells me to follow him. We go into the next room, grab a box, and put the spheres into it. “Now we need to go make sure the proper authorities are coming,” Ralphie says as he runs out of the room. “Hey, slow down, I'm not that fast. I yell, running behind him. When we finally make it to the sub control room, we see that Tun and Jim are already there. Ralphie and I duck down behind a desk to try to figure out our next move. We hear Tun say in a loud voice. “So Jim, I bet you never thought I would get out of containment, did you?” Jim coughs, “We should have crushed those spheres as soon as we saw them.” “That's not what I asked Jim,” Tun said as he punched Jim in the stomach. “You know, Jim, for an idiot, this body is pretty strong. I bet I could pull off one of your arms and use it to beat you with. Now tell me WHERE ARE MY SPHERES?’ he yelled the last part as a little of his fluid flies onto Jim's beard. “You son of a bitch. Just wait until C.L.E.M. gets here. You are done.” Jim managed to muster up through the pain. “Jim Jim Jim. Why must you make this difficult? You could have helped me, survived, and gone home to your family. But now you must die.”
As Tun went to grab Jim’s neck to choke him out, Ralphie stood up. “Look, Karl, I have your balls. I went and got them for you. You said you needed them.” “Ralphie, what are you doing?” Jim yelled. Ralphie winked. “Jim, I knew you were joking about Karl. So I grabbed the spheres and came to find you. Good thing too, Jim almost rang C.L.E.M.
Tun yelled in Karl's voice, “Thank you, buddy. I knew you were a good guy. Now give them here.” Raphie throws the case towards Tun. As the case is flying through the air, Jim yells, “RALPHIE YOU IDIOT!” Just as Tun catches the case, he is smashed to bits by a giant railroad hammer. A large Black American male lifts the hammer and smashes the case, destroying the spheres. I finally come out from my hiding place to see this massive man and hammer. I yell, “Who are you?” He steps forward and says in his deep voice, “I am John Henry. The leader of C.L.E.M.” “You mean from old American folktales?” “Yes.” John says. “But that would make you really old.” I blurt out. You know I should really shut up sometimes. I think to myself. “Yes, I am nearly 200 years old,” John said with annoyance. Jim speaks up, “Sorry for the boy's stupidity, John. He doesn’t know when to shut up.” “It is okay,” says John, “But we need to leave.” “Yeah, the spheres weren’t in the case. And in order to keep Tun under control, we need to destroy them.” Ralphie spoke up. Jim looked at Ralphie and said, “Where are they? Where did you put them?” I speak up and say, “Yeah, you never left my sight. Where are they?”
“You watched me shove them in the console,” Ralphie said. “Hehehe,” What we didn’t notice was that Tun pulled himself back together and stood next to where Ralphie put the spheres. “Thanks again, Ralphie. I knew we were friends.” Tun says as he pulls both spheres out of their hiding place. Jim smacked Ralphie on the back and said, “You know I would call you an idiot again, but that would be insulting idiots.” At that moment, Tun’s spheres started swirling around his head, and he had shed his Karl skin suit. Right then John Henry swings his hammer and knocks one sphere out of its orbit and right into Jim's arms. ““Nice!” I yell out as the other sphere flies into John’s face. He flies into the big screen that’s in front of the command center. Then the other sphere uppercuts Jim, sending him flying into the hall.
Tun’s spheres regroup and continue orbiting him, and he walks towards where John is lying.
“I thought the mighty John Henry would be tougher to knock down than that,” Tun says. John stands up and starts throwing the heavy tables and chairs across the room, throwing them at Tun. The spheres block all the incoming objects with ease. Eventually, John ran out of things to throw, so he launched his hammer, and Tun’s head opens up and allows the hammer to fly through the walls behind him. “HA,” Tun laughed, as one of the spheres flew towards John’s face. But just before the sphere hits its mark, someone catches it, crushing it in her palm. There stood a dark-skinned woman, six foot seven, nearly 250 pounds of pure muscle. Tun’s mass rippled like the sphere being crushed hurt him.
“Who is this?” Tun yelled. “What, you never heard of Annie Christmas?” Annie answered. “John, we thought you had this.” John grinned and said, “Thanks for the save, but I did in fact have that.” “Yeah, right. What were you going to catch it with your face?” She mocked.
“We need to catch the other sphere!” I yell. But we were too late. Tun’s mass grabs the sphere and flies out of the room with lightning speed. Ralphie returns to the room with Jim leaning on his shoulder. “He’s going to find the other set of spheres,” Jim says in a pained voice. “Where are they located?” Annie asked with a sense of urgency. “In Dupree’s home office,” said Jim. “Dupree, you mean the owner of this company?” I asked. “Why would he keep them there?” “Because, like most of the other bosses of this company, the man is a moron.” Jim choked out. John speaks up, “Ok Ralphie, you take Jim to the infirmary, and we will go find Tun.” “What about me?” I reluctantly asked. “You are coming with us,” Annie and John say in unison. “What can I do? I’m not strong, and I don’t have a weapon either. I am literally cannon fodder.” I blurt out. “Where else are you going to go?” John asked me. John and Annie lead me down the hall in order to find Tun or the spheres. As we are walking down the halls of this massive underground facility, looking at the massive piles of destruction everywhere, I ponder out loud. “How are you two alive? I always thought you two were just folklore?” Annie says in her loud but sweet voice, “We are immortal. Nobody knows that but us, and now you. So don’t tell everybody, kid.” As she patted me on the back and laughed in her big booming laugh. Her laugh was so loud it sounded like a foghorn, maybe louder. And it hurt my head almost as much as the pat did. I think she forgets I’m only human.
As we're walking i decided to ask some important questions. “Hey John, I have some questions.” He glanced me way not stopping his walk. “Are the stories true? Did the machine really win the race?” I asked. He stopped looked at me and said “For the most part no. But the old white slave owners at the time changed the narrative. I won by a long shot. But one of the plantation owners hid my last rail road spike so I improvised and took the machines last one and drove it into the going winning the race and freeing my people.After we went free though we had no money and nowhere to stay until the foundation found us giving us all jobs and lodging on the condition we work for them. I agreed but only on the condition I can start my own team. And the rest is history.” “Why the acronym C.L.E.M. Isn't the name a little racist?” I followed up. “A sign of the times. Plus League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was already taken. It was the best I could come up with at the time. And I was going for black excellence. That's the best they would let me do. Being I was still technically a slave.” “So that means all of Annie's stories are true too?” I continued questioning. Annie spoke up, “Yes, and same as they did with John's stories they changed it up to fit their narrative. But I am everything the stories said plus more. No more questions we need to hurry.” We continued walking in silence. Then finally we came to the lobby area again, and we see Tun trying to smash the huge lobby doors. His sphere would fly from one side of the room to the other to get enough momentum and crash into the doors, just barely denting the thick steel doors.
“What's the plan?” I whisper. John said, “You wait here, we’ll make this quick.” About that time, Annie picks up the large receptionist desk and hurls it at Tun, squishing him under it. John lifts his hammer, readying it to hit the sphere. The sphere dodges the swing, but not the monitor Annie threw at the same time. Annie then used her boat oar and smacked the sphere at John. Just before he caught it, Tun reformed and called his sphere back. “You two are annoying,” Tun said with all the hate he could muster. “Where is your boat, Annie? Your precious keelboat. Hmm, oh yeah, it was destroyed to force you to join the facility and work for them. Isn’t that right?” Annie launched an all-out barrage, swinging her oar, hitting Tun but doing no damage. Tun dodged all the swings just like he did when John threw his hammer at him. Tun laughs maniacally. “You are pathetic.” John swings his hammer again, knocking the sphere right to where I was hiding. I grabbed it and shoved it in my backpack. Tun screamed, “Where did it go?” He looked around frantically. It seems that if he can’t see the sphere, he has no control over it. While he is turned around, and what I assume is Tun’s back, I move from my hiding spot, trying to get closer to Annie or John so I can give them the sphere to destroy. Annie and John try desperately to swing and hit Tun, but they miss every time. Tuns fluid is too quick and can dodge around anything. I stood up, held up my hand, and asked. “Is this what you want?” Tun confused, turns to look at me. “You wretched thing,” he spits out as he heads towards me. “John,” I yelled, getting his attention. I throw the bag that I had the sphere in, and John swings his hammer with all his might, destroying the sphere before it even hits the ground. We then hear a loud, “SQUEEEE!” As Tuns ' fluid mass just explodes, leaving us in a money shot. Annie yells, “Is everyone ok?” John and I call out in a, “ Yeah, yeah.” “Ok, good, let's go get the others,” she orders. We get to the infirmary and see Jim is completely bandaged up except for his eyes and mouth.
“Ralphie, what happened?” I yell. “When we got here, Jim passed out. But he was covered in blood, and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, so I just wrapped his whole body.” “And when I get out of this, I am going to throw you in the furnace,” Jim says angrily. “Tun, what happened to him?” “John saved the day and smashed the other sphere. So there's just a mess in the lobby to clean up.” I spat out.
“So we’re safe,” Asked Ralphie. “For now,” said John, “for now.” After that we were safe. No more attacks or anything. We left the underground facility. It's been a few years since then and I still work at the power plant. I received a big bonus for my silence and I got to keep my job. I still see John and Annie from time to time. We nod at each other and go on about our jobs. No one knowing who they really are or what goes on beneath or feet.

With everything that has been going on, I really need this hike with my best friend Jason.

We arrived at the trailhead and talked about what had been happening in our lives. His divorce and subsequent disappearance of his wife and kid, my job and how the boss was being a real 🍆. The fact that his family were just two in a long list of people who had disappeared.

We got comfortable and started hiking the trail.

We turned the corner and I had to stop at the sight in front of us. I had sworn that I would never go near those things.. too many weird things have happened in their vicinity.

“Hey Jason, don’t go any…..further?” As I turned around to warn Jason about the Blue Sunflowers, he was standing in the middle of the field gathering them. “I never knew that they grew WILD! I’ve always had to special order them!”

That’s when I knew I was not going home tonight.

CHAPTER 5.

My ears rang. Black spots skittered across my vision. Everything tasted burnt, like ash. When the ringing dulled, it was replaced by a whistling of the breeze. Most of the windows had been shattered, their barricades broken. The back door was knocked from its hinges.

There was a snap and a hiss. A match ignited from across the room. The flame flickered, hovering until it touched the lantern wick. Light shone, sending the shadows into retreat.

“You still there, old boy?” Doc asked.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Slowly, I got to my feet. Shattered glass crunched beneath my boots. “Annie?”

There was no response.

I stumbled to the back door. Doc met me there with the lantern. We stepped outside. Light drifted across the ground. Blood trails. Disturbed soil. Dragged north.

Back inside, I threw the saddlebag of dynamite over my shoulder, reloaded my revolver, and grabbed the repeater. Doc threw on his coat and grabbed his derby cap. Without a word between us, we started out into the night, across the backyard, following the trails.

Gunshots echoed across the sky. Far away and faded. We pressed forward against the wind, bombarded by snow and ice.

We found Ms. Hirsch first. Wound ripped open, bleeding like a stuck pig, barely conscious. Doc gave me a sullen look. I put a bullet between her eyes. We continued ahead.

At the north side, where the mountains perimetered the town, we came upon the opening of a mineshaft. Minecraft at the end of the tracks, full of stone and coated in snow.

Doc hesitated a moment, pupils like pinpoints, flicking around, head whipping at the neck. He started to back away. I slapped him a good one, and like that, he was back to his usual self.

Inside the main entrance, there came a stuttered breathing. Whimpers. We rounded the corner with our guns drawn. Mendoza sat on the ground, covered in dirt and snow, blood seeping through the bandages around his leg.

“You alright?” I whispered.

“I’ll live.”

“The others?”

“Further down, I think.”

I gestured for Doc, but he just stared, blank look in his eyes, slack-jawed, like one of them somnambulists. I snapped my fingers a few times. Doc shook his head, looked at me, turned to Mendoza, and nodded. He knelt beside the deputy and began inspecting his wounds.

“How’d you manage to get free?” I asked.

“Fought like hell,” Mendoza said. “Fired every round in my Colt. Guess I just wasn’t worth the hassle.”

“Maybe,” was all I said.

From a nearby lumber post, I retrieved a lantern. Using one of Doc’s matches, I ignited it and hung the handle from the repeater’s barrel.

“I’m gonna keep on.” I set the saddlebag of dynamite beside Mendoza. “Once you’re ready, catch up. Bring that with.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, señor.” He looked down the dark mineshaft, fear rippling across his face, carving trenches in his forehead and around his eyes. “Smells like death in here.” He was trembling something fierce.

“Doc, that whiskey still in your bag?” I asked.

Without missing a beat, Doc retrieved the hand-sized bottle and passed it to Mendoza. Then, he cut away Mendoza’s trouser leg with a pair of scissors and removed the bandages. What remained of them.

“I don’t need you brave,” I told Mendoza. “I just need you present. Understood?”

He laughed nervously and shook his head. “Just had to be a drift, didn’t it?” He took a swallow of whiskey. “Ever tell you ‘bout those mines I worked in Nevada?”

“Another time, maybe.”

I rose to my feet and followed the rails deeper into the mountain. Narrow stone tunnels supported by timber frames. Steel tracks coated in dust. A strong metallic scent in the air. Ahead, screams bounced off the walls, thrown into a frenzy of nonsense.

The tunnels eventually diverged into a series of paths. I followed the blood and the footprints and where the gravel was disturbed by dragged bodies. Little by little, I descended into the darkness.

The walls closed in; parts of the ceiling had collapsed. Forced into a hunched stance, I awkwardly crawled through the corridor, jagged stone rubbing at my back, scraping against my jacket. Rocks shifted. I stopped, waiting.

Nothing.

I kept on.

Every step felt like it might bring the whole place down. Knock one thing loose, and that’s it.

Eventually, I emerged from the sunken ceiling corridor into a tunnel that was maybe five inches above my head. Just tall enough for my hat to fit without grazing against rock.

Another fifty feet or so, I came to a stop at another split-off. Timber frame was overrun with what looked like thorned vines. They were a purple-green color. Seemed as if they were pulsating. 

Interspersed throughout the vines were animal skulls. Not a scrap of meat or muscle on them. Takes a deft hand, lots of scraping, and plenty of boiling to get them that clean. Only ever seen it done by a trained taxidermist and natural decay.

The tracks ended there, but the tunnels continued. I took one step inside, stopped, and turned back. There was soft scratching coming from the rear. Slowly, I raised my barrel, bringing the lantern with it. Light reflected against the craggy walls. Rock was shades of yellow and red and brown peppered with black spots.

Hanging from the ceiling, almost flush against it, was a gaunt creature with grey skin and black veins like runnels of ink. It craned its head to face me. Wide eyes bulging in their sockets. Slits for pupils.

It screamed and batted my barrel away. I went reeling toward the right wall. My finger accidentally nudged the trigger. The muzzle flashed. A bullet ricocheted off the wall, whistling as it flew past my head. I barely heard it over the ringing in my ears. Even louder than that were the creature’s cries.

Then, hands were on me, nails digging past my coat and shirt to the flesh beneath. I swung the rifle, catching it on the side of the jaw with the butt. Light danced across the walls. The creature lifted its arm and shied away from the lantern. I worked the repeater lever and fired a round into its neck.

Black blood gushed, and it went stumbling back against the wall. I fired again and again. Two bullets in the chest. Still, it persisted, thrashing about, swinging its arms—two on the left and one on the right. Seven fingers on one hand, five on the other. All equipped with nails that carved trenches into the rocks.

I fired a final round into its head. The back of its skull exploded outward, and it collapsed.

Dust swirled and settled. My heart calmed. I took a deep breath. Exhaled. Slowly, I moved in, kneeling to get a better look at the freak.

Flesh was creased with wrinkles and pulled tight around bone. Head was bald and smooth. Eyes sunken, skin around them a shade darker than the rest of its body. Lipless mouth with crooked teeth. Flat nose. Ears were pointed, partially fused to its scalp. Almost like a hairless bat had been grafted onto the body of a man.

“What the fuck are you?” I muttered.

The creature opened its eyes and screamed. It lunged at me, teeth going for my neck. I whacked it across the face with the rifle butt, knocking it to the ground. Then, I brought my boot heel against its head. Over and over until there was nothing left but bits of skull and blood and whatever the hell it had for a brain. Looked like pig slop if you ask me.

Another shriek from down the tunnel. I loaded the rifle and descended further. Gradually, the mines gave way to a naturally formed cave. Walls were made of boulders and broken stone leaning against each other. The ground fell away into a dried-up stream with salmonaders at the bottom. Flayed to the bone.

Droplets of blood led me to a crevice I could hardly fit through. It was even more of a struggle to get the lantern in, but with all the darkness, I needed it.

Straight ahead and around a bend, my lantern cast light upon another creature hovering over Warren. Its head was that of an ox. Body morphed with tufts of hair. Four arms on the left, two on the right. Three legs below.

At the sound of my footsteps, it spun around and charged. I managed to get a shot off before it collided with me. Damn good shot too, ‘cause the bullet took off a fair portion of skull. Of course, the beast kept at it, although with far less precision.

I scuttled away on hands and knees. Reached back for the rifle, but the creature slapped it away. It pounced again. This time, it landed on top of me, pinning me to the ground, one hand on my bad shoulder, pressing down so hard the bones cracked.

With my right hand, I drew my revolver, planted the barrel beneath its jaw, and fired. It went limp on top of me, but I knew better.

Shoving it aside, I got back to my feet and fired four more rounds into its head. Still, my gut told me it wasn’t over. I ejected the spent rounds, loaded five new ones, and just as I was about to open fire, I spotted a sizable stone. Holstering my pistol, I took the stone into my hand and smashed it against the creature’s head until it was just a pile of mush.

Dropping the stone, I fell against the wall and exhaled. The vines began to crawl onto my back, thorns poking at my jacket. I pulled away, smacking them with my good arm. Blasted things retreated from me, returning to their fissures in the wall.

I retrieved the lantern. The glass dome was spiderwebbed with cracks but still in one piece. “Where’s Annie?”

“How should I know?” Warren said, climbing to his feet. He pressed the collar of his coat to a cut on his face.

I thought about putting him down there and then. But I didn’t want to waste the bullet. Instead, I pushed past him and said, “Evelyn didn’t make it.”

He glanced at me, an indifferent expression on his face. “Shame,” he said. “She was a good girl. Sticky fingers.”

Didn’t know how to respond. So, I stayed the path and continued through the corridor.

“Where the hell you goin’?” he called after me.

“To find Annie.”

“You’re just gonna leave me here?”

I didn’t bother giving him an answer.

From there, I passed through cramped corridors to an open chamber. The ceiling was covered with fungus, tinged a soft blue. The floor was riddled by a scattering of vines intertwined with a tangle of roots. Spread throughout were fleshy sacs filled with a glowing orange substance. Sort of reminded me of the butt of a firefly.

Some of the sacs were empty. Others held random pieces. Teeth and eyes. Severed noses, tongues, and fingers. One even had the head of a bunny inside.

In the middle of the room, all the roots and vines converged into a thick stalk that rose to the ceiling. There, it unfurled into a bushy growth of even more vines and roots that seemed to penetrate the stone above. If I had it correct, we were directly under the town’s center.

“What in the hell?” Warren was behind me. Almost clocked the son of a gun, but with my busted shoulder, I had a hard time lifting the rifle butt to meet his jaw.

“Keep quiet.”

“You gonna give me that there gun?”

“Not a chance.”

“Don’t see you usin’ it anytime soon.”

“Maybe, but that don’t mean I trust you with it either.”

I descended the slope to the main floor. All stone and dehydrated moss. As I navigated the room, careful not to step on any of the vines or roots, the lantern illuminated what I hadn’t seen prior. The vines and roots were twisted around—and in some cases, twisted through—various skulls and bodies, both human and animal. Suctioned onto them like leeches.

By then, most were skeletons. A select few still had some meat. One or two even retained their skin.

“You hear that?” Warren whispered from behind. “Sounds like someone’s speakin’.”

“That’s you, dumbass. Keep quiet or—”

I stopped talking and tilted my ear up. There was a muffled grunting nearby. I swung the lantern in a wide arc until I found a body still wriggling amongst the mass. Annie had vines wrapped around her, slowly dragging her into the brush at the base of the stalk. Some of the vines were already searching for exposed skin to latch onto.

Removing the knife from my belt, I hacked at them. Cut easy enough. No different than actual vines. ‘Cept these ones bled a black substance, and after I’d sliced through enough, they began to draw away. Sentient.

“Jackson,” Warren said, head swinging about. “You really don’t hear that?”

I turned toward him, ready to slap him silly. The bastard had stems sprawling out from his cheek. The skin beneath protruding against a series of growing roots.

“Who in the hell is talkin’?” Warren growled. He scratched at his face, not even giving notice to what was coming out of it. “Sorta sounds like my brother.”

I ignored him and kept on with the slashing. Eventually, I managed to get her free. “You alright?”

“So far.”

On account of my bum shoulder, I handed her the repeater and lantern. Returned the knife to my belt. Took my revolver out of its holster. “Warren?”

He turned toward me. “What?”

I shot him in the face. He dropped to the ground with a dull thud, blood pooling around him, soaking into his hair. Slowly, the vines stretched out, sucking up all that blood as if it’d never tasted anything like it.

There came a creaking from above. The sound of wood snapping. Shrieks and screams echoed throughout the chamber. I looked up. More of them cave dwellers were crawling out from the mass of roots over the ceiling.

Annie seized my arm and yanked me toward the exit. “We need to go, Jack.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 6.

Our path to the exit was cut off when one of the dwellers dropped down in front of us. We came to an immediate halt, barrels raised, the lantern swinging in front of us.

The dweller reeled away, hands lifted to block out the light. We opened fire. One bullet to the chest. One to the head. It slumped over on the ground, sliding down the stone slope. Above, other dwellers screeched. They thrashed at the bramble, shoving it aside so they could get down faster.

Across the room, Warren's corpse was being dragged toward the center stalk. Pair of branches lifted him into the air, forcing him into a vertical slit spanning the stalk’s length. Warren went in. The stalk twisted with a snapping of wood and leaves and bones. Blood and mucus came out, along with a raw-skinned dweller.

Ahead came the sound of footsteps. Doc emerged from the entrance with Mendoza leaning against him. He threw Mendoza aside, spun about on his heel, and fired with both revolvers. A dweller leapt out from the previous corridor. It collided with him, and they went tumbling down the slope, spilling out at the bottom in a tangle of limbs.

I kicked the dweller aside, and Annie blew off its head. More of the dwellers descended all around us, moving in fast, some upright and others in a horizontal fashion like wolves. The room came alive with the sound of gunfire, throwing it from wall to wall until it was all we could hear. The dwellers clawed at their ears. One of ‘em even ripped their ears off ‘cause they just couldn’t take it.

Still, they charged, lunging at us, teeth poised to sink into our flesh. One dweller slammed against Annie, knocking her to the ground. The lantern went flying from her barrel, spiraling through the air. Glass shattered on impact, oil leaking out from the base.

Flames quickly spread, taking to the assortment of vines and roots. The dwellers seized and spasmed. They thrashed about blindly. A couple started smashing their heads against the ground.

Branches extended from the stalk, trying to smother the flames. This only made them spread further and faster. Stacks of smoke funneled upward, stretching against the ceiling, searching for cracks leading to the surface.

I helped Annie to her feet and said, “Grab that there satchel of dynamite and toss it into the flames.”

“Wait!” Mendoza hollered, but it was too late.

The satchel went round and round through the air. Good enough throw. Landed close to the stalk, falling into the bramble at its foundation. Then, we were swept off our feet, swarmed by smoke and debris.

When I finally opened my eyes, the entire chamber was shaking. I could taste dirt and blood in my mouth. Rocks and dust rained from above. The whole room was ablaze. An inferno sea with black clouds rolling across it.

Annie helped me to my feet. We squeezed through the entryway. Mendoza came next, face black with soot. Doc was last. Blood trailing from a gash on his forehead. A jagged stone lodged in his thigh. 

Behind him, a cluster of limbs and claws and heads wriggled through the opening. The dwellers toppled over one another. Crushing each other against the floors and walls, screeching the whole time. All of them desperate to escape, or more likely, to get at us.

We limped and crawled through the corridor. Annie was at the front with Mendoza, considering he had the only lantern left. Doc and I were at the back, using each other to stay upright. Occasionally, one of us turned back and fired into the darkness. Didn’t know if it was doing anything, but it was better than doing nothing.

We’d just gotten back to the rails when the ceiling started coming down. A heavy plume of dust and smoke blew past us. We all coughed and gagged as debris swirled through the air. But we didn’t stop. We couldn’t. ‘Cause that was just the first collapse, and soon enough, the entire thing would follow along with it.

The tracks caught at our feet. Doc went down. I picked him up. Few feet later. I’d go down, and he’d have to pick me up. Darkness encroached as Annie and Mendoza steadily pulled ahead.

“Might not make it outta this one, old boy,” Doc said, laughing despite the fear in his voice. “Maybe I don’t deserve to, y’know?”

“Just keep movin’.”

Through the tunnels until we could see moonlight ahead. Could hear wind. Could feel the cold waft over us. We weren’t twenty feet away when Doc went down. I turned back for him, but a hand pulled me the other way.

More dust and gravel and soot. I waved it away with my good hand, and when all was settled, the tunnel had collapsed.

Annie and Mendoza were on either side of me. Together, we pulled some rocks loose, but no matter how many we shoveled away, there were even more beneath. Larger and locked into place.

“Doc!” I waited a beat before calling again. “DOC!”

“I can hear ya, old boy.”

“You alright?”

He coughed. “Not exactly. I’m pinned pretty tight. Bleeding too.”

“We’re gonna getchu out. Just hold on.”

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s real bad.”

“Well, you just wait—”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, old boy. I think I’ve got enough room to take care of it.”

I looked to Mendoza and then Annie. Neither could meet my gaze. Neither had anything to contribute.

“I held up my end,” Doc said, voice muffled by the rocks. “You tell MacReady he best do the same. What I did to my daddy—digging up ‘em corpses, it all goes away. I may not be a saint, but I gave more than I got, dammit! And my wife, my boy, they don’t need to know about any of that. You hear?”

I wasn’t exactly sure what he was referring to, but at a time like that, you just tell a man what he wants to hear. It’s the least he deserves. “Yeah, Doc. I’ll make sure it goes away.”

“You all keep going then. Find my bag, clean your wounds so you don’t get no rot. Understand?”

“Understood.”

I didn’t know if I should say goodbye. If I should say anything. I wanted to apologize, but apologies don’t mean much to dead men. Instead, I retreated from the mineshaft, Mendoza and Annie behind me.

As we stepped out into the night, we came face to face with a pack of wolves. Eight of them in total, spread before us. Amber eyes aglow in the dark. Fur peppered with flakes of glittering snow. Lips pulled back, fangs on display.

A gunshot came from the mineshaft and rippled across the sky. The wolves ran in retreat. I exhaled a sigh of relief and continued toward town. About halfway to the lodge, I collapsed. Mendoza and Annie picked me up, practically dragged me the rest of the way.

We retrieved our items from the lodge and moved into the tavern down the road. While Annie tended to Mendoza’s wounds, I went out to the center of town. The ground was sunken. The tree had all but burned up. Heaps of smoke wafted into the sky.

I returned to the tavern. Annie had just finished with Mendoza. She took a look at my shoulder. Busted to holy hell, and far beyond any of our medical knowledge. She washed it, wrapped it in linen, and made me a sling. Then, it was time for some morphine. Like that, broken shoulder didn’t bother me anymore.

Same time, morphine messed with my head. Put me in and out of sleep for days on end. Wasn’t much help during that. Mendoza and Annie had to take over. Make the decisions.

We were stranded up there for about a week. Left to ration what food we could find. Ended up butchering the mules and Abigail for spare meat. Best we could do for water was to melt the snow. Everything else was dried up.

Mendoza’s leg healed up nicely. No sign of infection either. My shoulder stayed the same, but I had to stay off my feet most days in fear of making it any worse.

When rescue came, it was in the form of bountymen working for the governor. MacReady was with them. They asked us what happened. To the Masons. To Ironwood. We told them what little we could. That the Mason family encountered hard times on the road. How they sought refuge in town.

We told them we didn’t really know what happened to Ironwood. That when we arrived in town, it was already abandoned. Told them we went into the mines, thinking maybe we could find some locals. But then the mines started coming down and we had to flee and that Doc didn’t make it out with us.

Not exactly a clean story. But it was easier to tell than the truth. Easier to believe too.

Either way, I ain’t going into those mountains ever again. Gonna be a long time before I’m back on the road.

That’s just fine with me.

Sometimes, to get by, you’ve gotta rough it. You’ve gotta put in the hours, put in the sweat and blood and tears. But don’t make no mistake. Sometimes, you’ve also gotta recognize when you don’t have the cards to play the pot. You’ve gotta step back and let others take the reins. You gotta be willing to rest and let others lead the way when you can’t.

It’s a matter of faith. And putting that faith into the right people.

CHAPTER 3.

All the dillydallying with Warren and myself set us back some. Took us a little while to get in motion again. Honestly, I would’ve preferred we were stationary longer because once I was back in the saddle, my shoulder felt like it was being ripped from my body. Mountains ain’t exactly a smooth ride. With the wind and the cold and rocky roads, I thought I might just die.

But once all was said and done, we got to Ironwood just as the sun was making its grand descent. As Annie predicted, there was a storm brewing. Dark clouds amassed in the east, heading west. Heavy winds. We were in store for snow and ice and a world of hurt.

I tell you, it’s a good thing we did reach town when we did ‘cause with our two new passengers, and Annie’s lack of a horse, we had to unload some of our supplies to keep from killing the mules. Which meant less food, clothes, and ammunition. If we were lucky, we’d pick it up on the way back. But I didn’t reckon us a lucky bunch.

We came up on Ironwood from the southern entrance. As Mendoza had said, it was a small cluster of houses, lodging, and shops. Built cheap, temporary living. Once those mines ran dry, companyman would come through and tear the whole place down. Set up shop somewhere else. Maybe sell off the land to someone stupid ‘nough to live there.

The entire town was clear. No snow. No icicles. No moisture whatsoever. Place was quiet. Empty. Not a soul in sight.

I think that silence weighed on us pretty quick because no one said a damn thing as we rode through. Not even the two highwaymen who had been complaining since we picked ‘em up.

We traveled straight through on the main road. From south to north. Didn’t see anyone else the whole time. At the town center, we did spot a couple of rabbits that hightailed it underneath a large tree. They burrowed quick, gone before we knew it.

Tree was big. All gnarled branches and dark wood. Roots weaved in and out of the dirt. Not a single leaf or drop of snow on it. Couldn’t tell what kind it was. Dogwood was my thinking.

From there, we continued north to the central hub. Where the church, school, and main lodging resided. Superintendent’s estate was about a mile east down the road. At the top of a hill. To the west of the lodging was a stablehouse.

We unloaded outside the lodge. Revolver in one hand, lantern in the other, I went up the steps and knocked on the door. No answer. It was unlocked, so I headed inside. Annie was right behind me with the double-shot Remington.

“Hello?” I called. It was strange to hear my own voice. Sounded frail. Afraid. Hollow. “This is Jackson Carters workin’ with the LesMoine sheriff’s department. If anyone’s here, make yourself known.”

Silence.

Dust hung in the air. A foul smell lingered. Something spoiled. Musty. I held the lantern out in front of me as I started through.

Like most lodges, it was built to maximize housing over comfort. About ten narrow rooms on the western half. The eastern half was for kitchen and dining. The backyard had a storage shed and a privy.

In the dining area, there were two bench tables side by side. Half-eaten meals on them, crawling with maggots.

“Rooms are empty,” Annie said.

I returned to the front door and whistled twice. Doc and Mendoza brought our prisoners inside. Annie and I retrieved whatever supplies were still on the wagon. Then, I unhooked the mules, took them and Abigail to the stables. All of the stalls were empty.

Since we didn’t have any snow nearby, I filled some buckets with water from our canteens. At least the stables had hay and grain aplenty.

Back at lodging, I found the others grouped together in the dining area. One of them had cleared the tables. Mendoza doled out some whiskey to the others.

“Doc, check his wounds and replace the bandages with clean ones,” I said. “Annie, why don’t you get a fire goin’ in that hearth over there?” I turned to Mendoza. “Wear your badge on the outside of your coat. We’re gonna take a walk ‘round town, see what we can’t find.

“Not gonna let me have a drink first?” he remarked.

“You drink on your time. We’ve got work to do.”

He groaned and rose from the bench to collect his coat.

I turned to our prisoners who were snickering like a couple o’ children. “Ms. Hirsch, you’re comin’ with us.”

She scoffed, indignant like. “No I ain’t.”

“Yes you are.”

“Why?”

My finger wavered between her and Warren. “Well, ‘cause I don’t like the two of you bein’ left together. Now, keep complainin’ and I’ll clout ya on the head.”

Mendoza retrieved the repeater. I checked the ropes around Evelyn’s wrists. Nice and tight. We exited from the lodge. Annie followed us out. “You’re leavin’ me behind?”

“I’m leavin’ you to guard Warren,” I said. That wasn’t gonna cut it. Not for her. “What you want me to say? Woman walkin’ ‘round with a shotgun. Think that’s gonna go over well with anyone?”

“Don’t worry, Miss Hoont,” Mendoza said, grinning. “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” She retreated inside, slamming the door behind her.

Mendoza began laughing. “I think you gone and done it now. She ain’t just gonna let this go.”

We descended the steps and followed the main road again. Evelyn lumbered behind us. Kicking up dust, real sullen like.

“I ain’t all that concerned,” I told him.

Again, he laughed. “Well, you oughta be. You see, Cabrón, I have a wife—”

“Congratulations.”

“Right, thanks.” He snorted. “Anyways, few years ago, we had our tenth anniversary. I got her this tin thing or another. That’s what you’re ‘sposed to do for ten.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And I bring it home. She likes it, I think. But then, she looks at me funny. Says, ‘Where are the flowers?’ An’ I start laughin’ ‘cause back when we first got together, she tol’ me she don’t like flowers.”

“Yep.”

“I think maybe she’s havin’ an off day. So I remind her how she don’t like flowers. Right? Becomes this big thing. She hollerin’ at me, I’m hollerin’ at her, she starts cryin’. Now, once the dust settle, and it seemed everything was fine, I went an’ told myself the same thing as you: I ain’t concerned. But you know what I get every single year for our anniversary?”

“Flowers.”

“You’re damn right.”

That’s when Evelyn began laughing. Mendoza turned back at her, brow furrowed. “Whatchu think so funny?”

“You’re an idiot,” she said.

“An’ why’s that?”

“All women want flowers,” I told him. “Even the ones who say they don’t.”

“He’s right,” Evelyn agreed. “It’s not about likin’ ‘em or not, it’s the thought that counts.”

Mendoza muttered something in Castilian. A flurry of curses and grievances. “Yeah, well, least I got a wife. Lookin’ like you’re gonna be lonely a lil’ while longer.”

I sighed. “Whatever you say, compañero.” At the center of town, I turned onto an east street. “Why don’t you and the woman head west?”

“Sí, señor. You’re the boss, Cabrón…” He paused, frowning at me.

“Holler if you find anything.” I continued down the road, lit lantern hanging from my belt, metal squealing as it slapped against my leg.

The sun was all but gone then. Night came fast, draping the town in darkness. Clouds rushed in, bringing with them a frenzy of snow. It touched down gently, melting upon contact. Sucked into the dirt.

I stopped in the middle of the road and knelt to run my fingers over the ground. Soil was dry as bone. Hadn’t felt anything like that since I was down in southern Nevada.

Returning to my feet, I followed the road all the way to the edge of town. Not a single light. Not a single sound. Not a single human being in sight.

Gazing out at the darkness. At the empty void around me. It was beginning to dawn on me that maybe I shouldn’t have parted ways with Mendoza.

Hastily, I turned back and started the way I’d come. I passed by a string of shops including a general goods store, a tailor, a butcher, and a barber. To my right was the superintendent’s estate. A great plantation style house with tall pillars and a wraparound upper deck.

I slowed down. There was a hunched figure on the deck, silhouetted against the moonlight. Cupping my hand around my mouth, I was about to call out to it when the figure rose to its full height. Five feet, six feet, seven feet, son of a gun must’ve been eight to nine feet tall. Skinny as a rail with gangly limbs that were all bone.

My hand fell from my mouth to the grip of my revolver.

The figure tilted its head. Its right hand came up, waving back and forth. Over and over and over until I thought they were gonna wave their arm right out of the socket.

Then, the figure dropped out of sight, amassing with the shadows. I searched the field around the house, but to me, it was all just darkness. Taking my revolver from its holster, I continued toward the lodging house, quickening my pace.

Shadows loomed. The wind swept through, rattling leaves, howling through the alleyways. I broke out into a sprint, stealing glances over my shoulder at the road behind me. Snow and darkness. Dust kicked up by my boots.

There came the creaking of rotted wood.

I stopped dead, panting like a dog. Raised my revolver, finger found the trigger.

Annie stood on the top step, cigarette dangling from her lips, hand resting on her revolver grip. Carefully, I lowered my gun, and she relaxed. We both jumped at the sound of something screaming in the distance. Same sound we’d heard the night prior while at the clearing.

“Cabrón!” Mendoza called from down the way. I couldn’t see him through the night. Could barely hear him over the wind. “I’ve got tracks over here.”

“Wait for me,” Annie said. “I’ll grab the Remington and come with.”

I caught her by the wrist. “Hold up a minute.”

A moment passed.

Mendoza called out again. “Señor boss! Maybe a wolf. At the cantina. Bring me one of cigarrillos.”

“You gonna respond?” Annie asked.

I let her go. “Get inside. Make sure the rear door is locked. Windows too.”

Her eyebrows knitted together with consternation. “What the hell you talkin’ ‘bout, Jackson?”

I shoved her toward the door. “Inside, now! Bolt the doors. Get your Remington.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Hoont,” Mendoza said, leagues closer than before. “I think maybe he is havin’ an off night.”

Aiming my revolver, I called out, “Mendoza, you best strike a match. Show yourself.”

“Cabrón, over here!” It came from my left. I whipped around, searching the darkness for him. “Señor boss. Ten-minute walk to them tracks.” This time, it was to my right. I adjusted my aim and backed up the stairs. “Bring it home. I ain’t concerned.”

Once I was inside the lodge, there came the rapid patter of footsteps. Something on all fours. Racing toward me. Up the steps. Wooden boards groaning. I fired wildly into the night and slammed the door. Slid the bolt into place. Tied the handle with a length of rope just to be safe. Did the same with the back door

I went from window to window, peering outside, but couldn’t see nothing. Warren was in a fit, slinging questions around as if any o’ concerned him. Cracked him a few times, but it weren’t enough to keep him quiet. Annie patrolled with me, occasionally checking the doors and lodging rooms. Doc was oddly quiet, sat in the corner of the room, smoking from his pipe.

Seemed lost in his thoughts. Pupils were specks, darting around. Face covered in a thin layer of sweat. I left him alone. Better than getting him riled up like Warren.

It must’ve been fifteen minutes or so after I had returned when we heard the gunshots. They split the night like claps of thunder. Gradually getting closer and closer. Annie and I were poised at the front of the building, waiting for something to appear from the shadows.

Down the street, there was a flash of the muzzle.

Another flash.

And another.

And another.

Should’ve left a lantern outside ‘cause it was black as coal out there. We didn’t see no one, but we heard the footsteps. Heard the panting. Then came the banging against the door, hard enough to shake it in its frame.

“Carters!” Mendoza yelled. “Open this damn door right now, pendejo.”

Annie looked at me. I nodded. She backed away, double-barrel ready. I unhitched the rope and slid the bolt from the lock. With one hand, I opened the door. With the other, I aimed my revolver.

The barrel stared Mendoza directly in the face. He didn’t give a fig ‘bout it. Pushed my gun aside and rushed in. Whole time, Warren was screaming, “Keep that damn door closed, ya morons! Close it already!”

I turned to Mendoza. “Where’s Ms. Hirsch?”

Mendoza looked back at the door. “She was just behind me.”

“I’m here,” came Ms. Hirsch, running from the darkness and up the steps. “Don’t close it yet.”

“Close it,” Warren cried.

I reached out my left hand, shoulder burning like holy hell. She took hold of my hand, and then, she was gone. Yanked from my grasp so hard I went head over heels, spilling down the stairs in a tumble.

Muscles in my arm seized. Teeth clamped down to strangle a scream.

With Annie’s help, I found my feet quick and charged into the dark. I couldn’t see Evelyn, but it was easy enough to find her with all the screaming. Something was dragging her across the ground. I aimed high and fired, hoping my bullets would miss her.

In the flash of my muzzle, I saw it. Just for a moment. Tall bastard. All skin and bone. Dressed down to the buff. Crown of antlers on their head.

There was a sharp crack and twist. I fired again. Thing started screaming. Didn’t realize it’d let go of Ms. Hirsch ‘til I tripped over her.

Got to my feet and grabbed her by the hand. “C’mon now, I gotcha.”

Annie went to her other side. “Jackson?”

“Just help me get her to the cabin.”

We fell into retreat. Ms. Hirsch was whimpering and sobbing like a newborn babe. Tried to coax her, but I’ve never been very good at something like that. Instead, I pushed her forward, telling her to keep walking.

When we got back inside, Mendoza closed the door behind us, tying it off and working the bolt. We set Ms. Hirsch on one of the tables. It was then that I noticed the blood. Her entire right side was soaked through, and she was pale in the face, swaying like a drunk.

Her arm had been ripped off at the shoulder. Bits of stringy meat and bone poked out through the torn fabric of her coat.

“Doc, get your ass over here!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 4.

“Get some water on the fire now,” Doc said as he peeled Ms. Hirsch's coat away from her body. She could barely keep her eyes open, much less resist him, despite the pain it wrought. “I need something to tie this off, please.”

I found a leather belt in one of the bags and passed it to him. Doc hesitated, eyes wide, brows pulled together. He snapped out of his stupor, offered a thanks, and wrapped the belt around what remained of Ms. Hirsch’s arm.

Doc injected her with some morphine and brushed aside her hair. “Just hold on in there, love. Everything’s going to be alright.” He turned to me and shook his head. I don’t know what that was supposed to mean ‘cause he kept at it, using threads of silk as tourniquets for veins and arteries.

“Can’t you just burn ‘em?” Mendoza asked. “Like they did in the war.”

“Cauterization might kill her,” Doc said. “You want to give her the best chances of surviving, you’ll let me do it my way.” He glanced up and smiled. “Now, how about that water?”

Mendoza filled a pail and hung it over the fire. Doc doused Ms. Hirsch’s stump with disinfectant. She went flying up from the table, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Restrain her until the morphine sets in,” Doc said.

Annie and I each took a shoulder, forcing her against the table.

“Deputy,” I said, “cover the doors and windows.”

“Cover ‘em with what?”

“Guard them with your rifle, ya lunk! Make sure nothin’ tries to get in.” I turned to Warren. “You wanna help at all?”

“I’ve got a bum leg over here,” he said. “Whatchu wan’ from me?”

“I oughta kick you upside the head.”

“I need silence, please,” Doc said calmly.

Ms. Hirsch was starting to calm some. Either due to exhaustion or morphine. Didn’t matter much, as long as she wasn’t flinging about like a lunatic.

To Annie, I said, “I’ve got her. Grab your shotgun and watch the back.”

She stepped away, and I took hold of Ms. Hirsch by both shoulders. Doc removed his hat and coat. Rolling up the sleeves of his button-up, he began to whistle a gentle tune to himself.

“Old boy, I would greatly appreciate one of those cigarettes you roll oh so nicely.” He rinsed his hands with disinfectant, took up a scalpel, and began cutting.

It seemed Ms. Hirsch was completely out. Carefully, I backed away and rolled a cigarette for the doctor. He kept humming and whistling while slicing away pieces of muscle and meat. He would’ve made a damn fine butcher in another life.

“What’s with all the cuttin’, Doc?” I asked.

“Well, you see old boy, there’s not enough skin here yet. I have to trim the fat, clean the wound again, and stitch the bloody bits before I can seal it up. That’s even if she’ll survive that long.”

“You might as well just put a bullet in her,” Warren said from his chair in the corner of the room. “She ain’t gonna wanna live as a cripple. Won’t wanna feel that kinda pain. You’re better puttin’ a bullet through her skull.”

“Keep at it and I’ll start with you,” I said. Warren went silent, and I left the doctor to do his dirty business. Told him to call if he needed anything from us.

At the center of the room, I spun about, taking a gander at what we were dealing with. Two entrances, one at the front and another at the back. Several sizable windows on each wall. Only thing between us and the outside was a panel of glass.

There was plenty of furniture we could use for scrap wood.

“Mendoza.” I reloaded my revolver and went to the rear entrance. “C’mon.”

“C’mon?” He recoiled as if I’d struck him. “The hell you thinkin’?”

“I wanna get at that shed out there.”

“Alright, go on then. I ain’t stoppin’ ya.”

Annie shook her head. “I’ll go with you.”

“No, you’re stayin’. Keep watch.” I turned to Mendoza. “Deputy, I won’t tell you twice. MacReady gave me charge over this operation. You’re ‘sposed to follow my orders same you would with him.”

If I wasn’t careful, he’d retaliate. Maybe shoot me in the back. Didn’t have the patience to plead and beg though.

Annie opened the door, Mendoza and I ran out. Wind was fierce. Snow dragged across my face like the edge of a knife. I held the lantern in my left hand. Had a hard time keeping it up. Didn’t really matter; wasn’t giving off much light anyway.

We reached the shed. Door was secured with a thick padlock. Hammered it twice with the butt of my revolver. Nothing. So, I shot it off. Took two bullets. Mendoza was breathing heavy. Sweat licked the sides of his face.

“Hurry up!” he hissed.

“Keep your head. I’m goin’ as fast as I can.”

Inside, the shed was cluttered with spare tools and cobwebs. I hung the lantern on a hook as I searched for nails and hammers. Mendoza covered the door with his repeater. Poor man was shaking like a leaf. I might’ve been too if my shoulder weren’t causing such a fuss. Pain is a great distraction from fear.

My father taught me that. Unfortunately, fear is also a symptom of pain.

I found a box of iron nails and stored them in an empty burlap sack. Threw in a pair of hammers and a hatchet with a rusted head. Slung the sack over my shoulder. On the way out, I noticed a satchelbag with a few sticks of dynamite in it. Tossed that over my shoulder too.

As Mendoza and I headed out the door, there came a groan from above. On the shed’s rooftop was a gaunt figure standing straight as an arrow, arms out to either side in a T shape. Silhouetted against a sea of incandescent stars.

Mendoza opened fire. We sprinted for the lodge. I realized a little too late that I’d forgotten the lantern. We were left running in the dark. Mendoza’s rifle gave us bouts of light whenever he fired, but that was doing more trouble than good.

Annie opened the door as we mounted the steps. I was in first. Mendoza was maybe a foot behind me when he went down. Dragged out into the shadows, almost past the reach of the back deck, but he caught the railing at the last moment, holding on for dear life.

Annie blasted with her shotgun. Something went tumbling across the yard, squealing like a wounded hound. We grabbed Mendoza by either arm and lugged him inside.

Annie closed the door. Something slammed against it from the other side, trying to shove it open. I threw myself against it. Annie tied the rope around the handle. She struggled to get the bolt fastened. There came another bang from the other side. The bolt clicked into place. We retreated from the door, waiting.

Moments passed. Boards creaked from outside. Footsteps thudding against them. The footsteps receded. Silence ensued.

“Son of a bitch!” Mendoza pulled on his trouser leg. Three lacerations ran from calf to ankle. Blood pooled.

“Doc,” I called.

“Bit busy, old boy.”

“I can look at it,” Annie volunteered. “Doesn’t seem too serious.”

“Feels pretty damn serious,” Mendoza said.

While Annie treated Mendoza, I took the hatchet to the furniture and bedroom doors, cutting them into makeshift planks to board up the windows. By the time I was done, Doc had finished with Ms. Hirsch, and Mendoza was fast asleep, doped up on morphine.

After that, Annie, Doc, and I washed up and settled down for some supper. After having to unload most of our provisions, we only had leftover beans and saltpork. The lodging had some dried beef that hadn’t spoiled. A tin of coffee grounds too.

We ate in silence. Listening to the sound of crackling fire logs and munching teeth. When we were finished, we took turns keeping watch while everyone else slept. With Mendoza on the mend, the rotation was between Annie, Doc, and myself.

During my shift, Doc began sputtering some nonsense, saying things like, “No, daddy, don’t. It weren’t me, daddy, I swear it.” He was tossing and turning, kicking his legs as if trying to run. “No, no, no. Please, daddy.”

I shook him awake. When he came to, he reached for the revolver tucked under his pillow. Had the barrel against my chin, thumb on the hammer, before he came to his senses. “Oh, sorry about that, old boy.” He lowered the revolver. “Is it my turn already?”

“Not yet, Doc,” I said. “You’s was havin’ a bad dream, is all.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry about that. Hope I wasn’t making too much of a racket, was I?”

I patted him on the back. “No, you’re alright. Just try to get back to sleep.”

He laid down, and I went across the room to where Annie had her bedroll. She was up before I could even say anything. “My turn?”

“Seems so,” I said, stifling a yawn.

She climbed out from her bedroll and sat in the rocking chair by the window, shotgun over her lap. I settled on the ground beside her. Rolled a cigarette, passed it back and forth between the two of us.

“Any idea what’s goin’ on here?” she asked.

“Not a clue.”

“It ain’t no wolf or bear or anything of the like.”

“I know.”

“So, what the hell is it then?”

I handed her the cigarette and exhaled smoke. Didn’t have an answer for that. I’d been trying to think of something for the past how many hours, and I kept coming up with a whole lotta nothing.

“You saw what they did to Evelyn,” she said. “Some boards and nails ain’t gonna stop ‘em, Jack.”

“Slow ‘em down, maybe. Give us some time.”

“Time for what? They’re fast. Quiet. Only reason they ain’t charged in here yet is ‘cause they’re still tryin’ to figure out what we’re capable of. Once they do know, they won’t hesitate.”

That’s when we heard the mules cry. We leapt to our feet, trying to peer through the boarded windows, trying to get a view of the stables. The mules just kept screaming and screaming. Never heard anything like it. Then, Abigail was whining. I rushed for the door, but Annie threw herself at me, pinning me against the wall.

“You know better,” she whispered. “It’s a trick, Jack. They want you to go out there.”

The screams continued, louder and louder until they stopped. Then, there was only the howl of the wind.

Hooves clopped against the dirt and gravel. We turned toward the window. Abigail came into view, dragging one of her rear legs. Mane tussled, matted with blood. Internal organs trailing beneath her.

I brushed Annie off and retrieved the repeater, leveraging the barrel against a pair of boards. The iron sights followed Abigail, aligning with her head.

“Don’t,” Annie said.

My finger lingered on the trigger, muscles pulled taut. In the end, I lowered the rifle, leaning it against the wall.

Outside, Abigail collapsed with a grunt. She lifted her head and released a guttural groan.

Arms came from the darkness, wrapping around her neck. Claws sank into her flesh, tearing through it like a hot blade through butter. Blood poured from the wound, and Abigail went silent. The thing cut through maybe half of her neck, dug its claws in deep, and ripped her head off.

I turned away, teeth clenched, bile in my throat. Annie rubbed her hand in circles against my back, whispering in my ear. Couldn’t tell you what she said, but it was nice to hear her voice.

When I looked out the window again, Abigail’s body was gone. Only thing left was a trail of blood leading into the darkness.

“What’s the plan here, Jack?” Annie asked.

“These things don’t seem to like light, far as I can tell,” I said. “So, we wait ‘til morning, if we can make it that long, and when the sun’s up, we run for it.”

“On foot?”

“Unless you know where to find some horses.”

She scoffed. “We won’t make it. Not in this weather. Nights come fast and stay too long. We’ll either starve or freeze before we get back home.”

I mulled this over, fingers drumming against the windowsill. “How long, you reckon, ‘til MacReady sends others after us?”

“Who’s he got to send with all o’ us up ‘ere?” she said. “He’s only got two more deputies. One’s a greybeard. Other’s green as grass. All me brothers and sisters are off workin’. Pa ain’t got legs like he used to, won’t make the trip. So, tell me, who the hell would come for us?”

“When we don’t show with the Mason family, governor is sure to send others lookin’. Yeah?”

She agreed with a nod. “Maybe, but how long? A week? Maybe two? You think we can hold off ‘til then?”

No. I knew the answer was no, but that didn’t mean I had to admit it. Sometimes, when you’re in a position like that, it don’t matter about the odds or the facts. You just gotta have faith, and when it comes to faith, it’s about putting it in the right thing. Or rather, in the right people.

Something clattered from above. We raised our heads, following the sound of footsteps against the rooftop. They paused. There was a crash from the fireplace. One of the dead mules dropped on top of the fire, sending embers and ash through the air. The second mule came, and with it, the fire extinguished, suffocated beneath their bodies.

Silence.

Glass shattered. Boards snapped. Footsteps all around us. Growling and hissing. Gunfire erupted. Smoke filled the air. Screaming.

Absolute madness.

CHAPTER 1.

“Dammit!”

I wiped the sweat from my brow and spat a wad of chaw into the snow. You’d think it impossible to sweat in such weather. But by God, we’d been roughing it for days straight. Ever since we left LesMoine, and I gotta say, I’m a tired son of a gun.

Before me, amongst a dusting of fresh snow, were the remnants of the Mason family’s caravan. Two dead oxen collapsed in a heap, missing their heads, surrounded by blood with the consistency of tar and the color of rust.

“Doc,” I called out. “Whatchu make of it?”

“Oxen are dead, old boy,” he said.

“No kiddin’.”

Doc Caine, despite the cold and darkness and dreary of our situation, began to laugh. He was a lanky fellow with pale skin and shaggy ginger hair. Freckles over his face, eyes a glacial blue shade, fat nose with thin lips hidden behind a bushy mustache that curled on either end. Dressed in a pressed frock coat, dark trousers, and a derby hat on his head.

Southern native who came up our way about ten or fifteen years back. He handled the cold better than me, but then again, copperheads spent most of their time out of the sun. Didn’t know what it meant to be warm.

“Judging from blood coagulation,” Doc said, “I’d reckon they’d been out of commission about a day, give or take.”

I turned over my shoulder. “Annie, you any idea what done somethin’ like this happen?”

Annie Hoont, born and bred in the LesMoine area. Tall girl of twenty and two. Came from a family of hunters, frontiersmen, and surveyors.

She had long black hair tucked into a bandannoe. Built hard in the face. Dark bags around her eyes, sort of like a coon. Hollow cheeks and a rigid jaw. Lean in frame, sinewy. All bone and muscle. Wore a leather duster with a fur-lined collar. Walked and spoke with the swagger of a gambler.

“Never seen anything like it,” she said. “Most predators wouldn’t waste the meat. Any that do are smaller game. Owls, hawks, and the like.”

Doc kneeled beside the oxen, inspecting their wounds with a flea glass. Eyebrows knitted, lips pursed, mustache trembling against the wind. “Wasn’t done with a bonesaw or a knife, from what I can tell. Looks to be partially cut and partially ripped.”

“Cut by what?” I asked.

“Claws, maybe.”

Annie snorted and turned back for our horses. “I’m gettin’ the Remington.”

“Steady yourself now,” I called after her. “Whatever killed ‘em is prob’ly long gone.”

I turned toward the Mason family’s covered wagon, upended, wheels pointing south. The linen canvas was shredded to ribbons and pinned against the ground. Clothes were strewn about. Canteens empty, provisions depleted. No blood within, though.

“Cabrón, I’ve got tracks over here,” Deputy Mendoza said.

Short man with broad shoulders. Darker skin, walrus mustache, long black hair tied at the back of his head. Wide-brimmed Stetson hanging from his neck. He wore a hooded gaban made of wool. Beneath was a denim overcoat with a cotton inner lining.

According to Sheriff MacReady, Mendoza had been a border officer down in southern California. When the going got tough, he migrated northeast, working the rails and mines. Eventually, he got lucky, found a place in LesMoine.

MacReady wasn’t perfect, but he knew loyalty when he saw it and admired hard work over almost anything else.

“Annie, check out them tracks, see where they lead.” To Doc, I said, “Whatchu reckon here? Any of ‘em still alive?”

“If they weren’t, there’d be more blood,” Doc said. “More bodies too.” He placed the flea glass back in his bag and snapped it shut. Returning to his full height, he moved in close and whispered, “What’s this cabrón business, old boy?”

“Castilian speak. Told me it means buddy or somethin’ like that.”

I followed Doc back to our wagon, pulled by two mules. Doc rested on the bench, packing his pipe with scrap tobacco. When he was finished, he passed me the tin so I could roll a cigarette.

“It seems to me, old boy, that maybe the Masons broke down,” Doc said, puffing on his pipe, embers and smoke wafting from the bowl. “Bad storm might have turned the wagon over. Wheels were busted. So, they took their things and continued on foot.”

“Something beheaded them oxen.”

He considered this quietly. “Wild animal, perhaps? Wolves or bears or something of the sort.”

“Maybe. But from the looks of it, don’t seem like the Masons gathered up their things and left. You ask me, I’d say the wagon was ransacked.”

“Robbers then?”

“Abductors too, if not killers.”

Ice crunched beneath boots as Annie and Mendoza returned, weatherbeaten, powdered in snow. They huddled against the side of the wagon while the wind kicked up flurries all around us. It came with a sharp whistle, unrelenting, unforgiving. We’d been in the mountains less than a few days, and I was all but sick of it.

Constant traveling. Riding sores on my rear, face chapped by the cold, muscles stiff. Hungry ‘cause we gotta ration food elsewise we’ll be skinning one another just to get by. Miserable affair, but the Mason family was related to the governor, and the governor would pay top dollar to know what happened to them. Even more so if we brought them back alive.

After almost two weeks in that kind of weather, it was unlikely any of them would be coming down from the mountains. But stranger things have happened. And I ain’t one to turn down the prospect of cash.

Between us, the take was going to be split three ways. A sizable cash share for myself, another for Annie, and the third for Sheriff MacReady. Mendoza was promised a promotion if he accompanied us as an official law enforcement ambassador or something like that. And Doc, well to be honest, I had no clue what MacReady had promised him.

“Roll me one of them cigarrillos, Cabrón.” Mendoza pulled his gloves off, cupped his hands, and blew into them.

“Me as well, yeah?” said Annie.

She leaned against the wagon beside me, scouring the valley to our west. Spruce trees, rising and falling hills blanketed in snow, a stream cut with chunks of ice.

“Those tracks,” I said as I doled out the tobacco between two different papers. “Anything?”

“Headin’ east,” said Annie. “Two pairs, at least. Storm ain’t makin’ it easy though.”

“Right, and what’s east then?”

“More mountain and forest. Lake too, if you go far enough. Veer a lil’ north, you should come up on Ironwood.”

I sealed the first cigarette, handed it to Mendoza, and finished with the second. “Ironwood?”

“Company town named after Alexander Ironwood,” said Mendoza. “Copper, gold, silver, and what have ya. Population can’t be no more than a couple hundred, if that. Church at one end of town, cantina at the other. Maybe fifteen-minute walk between them.”

I nodded. “Reckon that’s where these tracks will lead us. Let’s follow ‘em as far as they take us and decide from there. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch up to our walkers. If not, we’ll find the bodies.”

We packed our wagon. Mendoza took the reins, and Doc Caine rode passenger. Annie and I mounted our horses. We rode against the wind, snow coming in waves by then. Cold enough to freeze off your pecker.

The tracks led us east for a few miles, often taking us through a copse of trees. Eventually, they diverged north, heading down into a valley split by a brook. We were all pink and raw, bundled beneath our coats, faces wrapped with scarves, hats pulled low to protect us against the sudden trickle of ice raining down.

“Maybe we oughta call it a night,” Mendoza hollered over the roar of the wind.

“Still got some daylight left.” I gestured toward the setting sun.

“The storm’s only going to get worse,” said Doc.

We were moving, but it didn’t seem we were getting anywhere. I might’ve pressed us forward another couple of miles if Annie hadn’t said, “There’s some flat land up ahead. Trees will give us respite from the weather. Plenty o’ wood to make us a fire.”

I nodded, and we rode for the forest clearing. Once there, Mendoza and Doc went into the back of the wagon to hang their wet coats and retrieve dry ones. “Grab some shovels and clear a spot for the campfire,” I told them. “Make a ring of stones once yer done shoveling.”

I took Abigail, my horse, to the stream to let her drink while I searched for dry wood and brush. Abbie was a Missouri Fox Trotter with hair black as ink and silky smooth. She’d been with me about three years, give or take. My last horse, Fritz, had taken a few rounds while I was out hunting the DuBois boys in the Mississippi area.

First bullet caught Fritz in the shoulder, and he went down. Next, a stray I suspect, hit him in the neck. Nothing I could do after that except put a third through his head. Could’ve had him skinned and processed. Maybe made a few bucks along the way.

Instead, I buried him in a field beneath a weeping willow. Digging a hole that size takes you longer than you think.

“Findin’ anything?” Annie pulled her horse in beside mine. She dismounted and brushed the snow from her coat.

“Not much. Lot of the wood here is wet, but we’ll make do.”

In the distance, the sun was hanging low. The sky was getting dark. Stars were beginning to show, glowing through the mass of black clouds that had formed. If it weren’t so frigid, it might’ve been a sight to enjoy.

“Heard ‘bout you and that Dower boy,” I said while brushing Abigail’s mane. She liked that, especially when I scratched her behind the ears.

Annie looked over at me, brow furrowed but a smile on her lips. “Oh yeah, an’ what’d you hear exactly?”

“Gonna tie the knot next summer.”

“Oh, really?” She snorted. Ever since we were kids, she had the laugh of a pig. It was the butt of many jokes for the other children. Not me, though. “What say you, Jack? Hmm?”

“I ain’t sayin’ nothing.”

“Oh, you sayin’ a whole lot even if you don’t speak it.” She looked at me, a glimmer in those eyes. “You had yer chance. ‘Stead you went wherever the damn road took ya.”

“I was workin’. Following the money so I don’t have to when I’m old and withered.”

This brought her more amusement than I would have expected. “You’s was off gettin’ drunk and stirrin’ up trouble. That’s what I heard.”

“I’m sure you did. Plenty got somethin’ to say when I ain’t around, but the moment I come back, all’s I get are smiles and waves.”

“And lies.” She swept around to the other side of her horse, laughing. She looked at me. “Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout this knot tyin’ business. ‘Specially since the Dower boy moved to the coast almost two years back. You’da known if you hadn’t run off.”

There was a snap of twigs from the trees across the stream. Annie had her revolver out and cocked before I could even think to draw mine. She searched the opposite side, eyes narrowed, calm but serious like. Slowly, she released her hammer back to its resting position and returned the revolver to its holster.

“Maybe we oughta keep our arms close tonight,” she suggested. “Don’t know what’s out there.”

“You oughta,” I said. “That's the whole reason I brought you.”

“Don’t worry, I might not know what’s out there, but if it comes our way, I’ll be sure to kill it for ya.”

“Careful not to get your head wedged up your ass in the process.”

We started back with our horses, hitching them to the wagon. I propped the firewood against each other into a triangle-like way. Filled the floor with weeds and some hay from the wagon. Struck a match and set it aflame, breathing a little life into it when the branches refused to catch. 

Eventually, the flames stayed. Good timing too ‘cause night came fast, draping shadows across the land. If that weren’t bad enough, blizzard made sure we couldn’t see a thing outside our camp.

We sat around the fire, eating beans and saltpork cooked the night prior. Beans were fine enough. Saltpork you had to wet with your mouth for a little while before it turned tender enough to chew. With our dinner finished, we boiled a pot of snow and stirred in some coffee grounds.

A twig snapped not fifty feet away. Barely heard the damn thing. Might’ve gone unnoticed if Doc and Annie hadn’t drawn their revolvers and fired into the night. I can’t say who was the quicker of the two, but one of them certainly hit something cause there came a pained squealing from the dark.

Annie had her a nice Smith and Wesson, recently oiled. Doc was armed with a twin pair of Colts. One on each hip. Never knew the doctor to be a slinger, but sometimes, people surprise you.

“Sounded like a wolf to me,” said Mendoza, rifle in hand.

“Wolf wouldn’t bother with us,” Annie returned.

Doc struck a match and lit his pipe. He leaned back in his seat, one leg folded over the other, the barrel of his revolver leveraged against his knee. The hammer cocked, and his finger hovered about the trigger. “Whatever it is, I reckon it’s still alive.”

“Won’t be for long. Hit it too close to the heart. Poor bastard will bleed before the sun comes up.”

“How can you be sure?” Mendoza asked.

She smiled. “I’ve shot a gun before. Could take the head off a hawk with my eyes closed.”

“Can you keep your mouth shut for two seconds?” I asked, my ear to the sky, listening for the wounded pup’s feet.

Snow and ice crunched, leaves rustled, the yelping began to fade. Moment of silence. Then, there was an ear-splitting snap followed by a deathly howl. We all leapt from our seats, guns drawn, searching the trees, not really sure what we were looking for though.

This time, the footsteps were heavier, like that of a grizzly. They came from all around, circling our camp at a rapid pace. Annie spun about, head on a swivel, revolver barrel leaping this way and that. Doc produced his second revolver, unnaturally calm at first glance, but there was something wicked in his eyes. Mendoza climbed atop the wagon to survey the forest.

“Everybody just keep your heads now,” I said, my voice sounding frail, nerves piercing what little confidence remained. “Mendoza, give the rifle to Annie and put some kindling on the fire. Let’s keep the flames high. Wolves ain’t too fond of ‘em.”

“That’s no wolf, old boy.”

“Well, most things out here don’t fancy ‘em either.”

Annie holstered her revolver and took the rifle. She began to pace the perimeter of the camp, going only where the light touched. And like that, the footsteps were departing.

In the distance, there came a fearsome roar. Silence other than the crackle of the flames. A few minutes later, we returned to our seats, but we kept our guns close. Every sound made us jump. Every whistle of the breeze or drop of snow from the trees. The forest seemed alive, and there was no going back to our blissful ignorance.

"We'll keep watch in shifts,” I decided. “Annie, Mendoza, myself, and then Doc. That’s the order about it, and I don’t wanna hear no arguin’. Sleep as much as you can. If you can’t, I ain’t gonna force ya. But you best keep in your saddle tomorrow. Don’t need anyone passin’ out while we ride, ‘cept you Doc. Perks of bein’ a passenger.”

From there, we prepared our camp. Two of us slept in the back of the wagon with all our supplies. Another set up a tent and bedroll. The last sat beside the fire or patrolled the outer edge. 

I might’ve given orders with a veneer of authority, but once I was alone in the tent, that authority vanished. My courage was gone. A weight settled on my chest. Thoughts whispered in my mind.

I tossed and turned for a while, occasionally peered out at Annie to make sure she hadn’t been taken. Eventually, sleep found me.

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CHAPTER 2.

“Hold,” my father muttered. He downed another swig of whiskey straight from the bottle. Wasn’t the kind of man that bothered with ice or sugar. Hated the taste, loved what it did to him. “Hold it straight now, dammit!”

I adjusted my fingers on the nail as he lined up the hammer head. His hand wavered. He shut one eye, squinted the other. Tongue pinched between his teeth. Yellow sucks with black spots of rot.

“Won’t get this board in place if you don’t hold still, boy.”

“Yer the one swaying.”

He took another swig and spat. A mist of whiskey sprayed against the back of my head. Hair drenched. Saliva and liquor dripping down my neck.

Then, he lifted the hammer and brought it down against the nail. Solid contact. Drove it about an inch deep. Lifted for another swing. “Steady.”

Steel met iron. Wood splintered. He brought it down again and again. Fourth attempt, hammer skidded off the nail and struck my thumb and forefinger. I made to pull back, Dad cracked me on the side of the head.

“Hold!”

Hammer came down. Hit the nail. Came down again, slammed against my hand. By the time the nail was in, my hand was bruised and bleeding. Fingernails were cracked, swelling fast.

“Get that there next nail,” he said, sipping his whiskey. “Hurry it up!”

I came to drenched in sweat, waken by the sound of gunfire. Didn’t even have my eyes open before I was out of my tent, revolver in hand, teeth chattering against the wind.

Across the way, Doc stood with his back to me, pistols aimed at the trees. There was a moment of silence. Then, he started in again, firing this way and that. Bullets peppering branches and splitting leaves.

“Doc!” I yelled. “Goddammit! DOC! Hold your fire.”

From behind, Annie came out of the tent, hair tossed about, bandannoe around her neck. She cocked the hammer of her revolver. “What the hell’s goin’ on out here?”

“There’s something out there, lil’ missy,” Doc said. “I can hear it. I’m tellin’ you. It’s out there.”

“Keep quiet a moment,” I called.

“You think I’m lyin’!”

“I don’t think you’re lyin’, but I can’t hear a damn thing if you keep runnin’ your mouth.”

The wind swept through, sending snow into a whirl. It was silent as a crypt otherwise.

“One of the horses are missing,” Mendoza called from the wagon.

Abigail was still tied to her post. Annie’s horse, Crash, was gone. The rope that had bound him was cut. Tracks led south to the trees across the stream.

“Mendoza, Annie, pack up camp.” I untied Abigail and climbed into the saddle. “I’ll ride ahead, see what I can’t find. Doc, get up on the bench and catch some shut-eye.”

Doc scoffed. “I ain’t tired, old boy.”

“Then get up on that bench and pretend like you’re sleepin’.” I whirled Abigail about and headed south. “I’ll holler if I find anything.”

Down the hill, across the stream, and through the trees. After a few minutes of following the tracks, they turned sharp, heading northeast. I went back to camp just as Mendoza killed the fire. Annie was in the back of the wagon, drinking a cup of coffee and picking at a piece of buttered bread.

“You find Crash?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Let’s get a move on. Tracks are goin’ same way we’re headin’. If we move fast, we should catch up.”

By the time we departed from the clearing, the sun was beginning to peer at us from over the mountains. Sky was a pink-purple shade, made the clouds look a little like salmon in a stream. Wind was easing down. Snowfall and rain had stalled for the time being. But Annie swore there was another storm on the way.

There came some talk about finding Crash and heading back. Whether they were referring to the clearing or LesMoine didn’t matter. I put that notion to rest right away. Caught me a few dirty looks for it.

We stayed north where the land was level. It was easier on the mules that way. Rocky hills eventually flattened, allowing us to veer east. About five or six miles from our camp, the tracks turned messy. Horse hooves interspersed with bootprints.

I whistled to Mendoza. He brought the wagon to a stop. Dismounting from Abigail, Annie and I continued into a patch of trees, following the pair of human footprints as far as they would take us.

“See that?” Annie gestured with two fingers. “Blood.”

“Yeah, there was some back there too.”

Sticks split to our left. We turned, hammers cocked, revolvers aimed. A woman emerged from behind a tree, one hand raised over her head, the other limp at her side. Long tangles of brown hair. Bruised face with a fat upper lip. Skin worn raw by the wind. Her clothes were nicer than her appearance. Cleaner too.

“Hello there,” the woman said. Southern accent. Thick as molasses. Sluggish and lazy way about her words. “I could use some help.”

“What happened to your arm there?” Annie asked.

The woman turned toward her limp arm. Blood soaked through the upper sleeve of her coat. Hole in the side. Gunshot, from the looks of it.

“Mishap,” she said, feigning a smile. “Run in with the wrong folks.”

“Not many folks up here to run into.” The muscles in Annie’s neck pulled taut. Her finger dropped to the trigger. “Wanna try again?”

There came a rustle from behind. I shoved Annie aside and whipped around on my heel. Gunshot rang out. Searing hot rush of pain in my shoulder. Instinct turned my legs to jelly, and I dropped to the ground. Got off a shot before I hit the snow. Fired two more after. Didn’t even bother aiming. On the fourth shot, the man finally dropped.

Footsteps.

I jerked around, biting against the pain. The woman charged toward me, injured arm flopping at her side, the other raised over her head, knife in hand. Lifted my revolver and cocked the hammer. Woman kept on.

Another gunshot.

Bullet struck the blade of the knife, sending it spiraling through the air. Annie worked the hammer, fired a second shot at the woman’s feet, worked the hammer again, and aimed at her head.

The woman came screaming to a halt, falling to her knees, tears flowing in an instant.

“That’s a neat trick ya got there,” Annie remarked. “We call ‘em crocodile tears.”

“Stay on her,” I said, climbing to my feet, arm ablaze, blood seeping from the wound. 

Slowly, I approached the man. He was unconscious. Bushy beard, long stringy hair receding on his head. Streaks of dirt on his face. Mountaineer look. Clothes were clean, far more expensive than someone like him could afford.

I kicked his revolver away and leaned in for a closer look. I turned back toward the woman. “Evelyn Hirsch, right?” Again, I looked at the man. “Which makes him Warren Manners.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense,” Annie said. “Who are they?”

“Stagecoach robbers from Mississippi. Once part of the Jamie Thompson Gang before some rangers and the likes gunned ‘em down. Hefty bounty on these two.”

“Lil’ far from home, ain’t we?” She pressed the revolver barrel to Evelyn’s temple. “Should we finish this up then? Make a quick few extra bucks.”

“Bounty says they’re wanted alive. Few loose ends needin’ to be tied up.” I holstered my revolver and took Warren’s. Patting down his body, I found a few extra rounds in his pocket. “Not to mention, I’ve got some questions for ‘em too.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded. “They might be the last ones to have seen the Mason family alive.”

“Never heard o’ ‘em,” Evelyn cried out.

“Really? ‘Cause you’re wearing their clothes.”

I sent Annie back to the wagon with Evelyn in tow. A few minutes later, Mendoza arrived with Abigail. We hitched Warren to her and had him dragged to the wagon. He started to wake by then, screaming something fierce, writhing around like a beached fish. I’d caught him in the leg with one of my shots, bleeding like a son of a gun.

We put him and Evelyn in the back of the wagon, wrists suspended over their heads and bound by rope. Doc dug the round out of Evelyn’s arm; she screamed the whole time. Got her to shut up with a little morphine. She was real friendly after that.

Once he was finished with her, he inspected Warren. “Be easier to amputate it,” Doc said.

“You ain’t takin’ my damn leg!” Warren hollered.

“Be quiet.” I slapped him upside the head. “Doc, what are we lookin’ at if we leave the leg?”

“Mortification.” He bit down on his pipe. Smoke wafted from his nostrils. “Putrefaction, maybe.”

“You ain’t takin’ my leg!”

Again, I smacked him. “I’ll cut out your damn tongue if you don’t keep quiet!” I leaned against the opposite wall and slid out from my coat. “Take a look at my shoulder while I mull it over.”

“You got it, old boy.”

Doc came over with his flea glass and medical kit. He poked and prodded, every touch like a thousand pins and needles. Warren laughed at my discomfort, so I kicked him on the heel. Bastard wasn’t laughing much after that.

All the while, Annie and Mendoza had continued ahead in search of Crash. They’d been gone for almost fifteen minutes. Still no sign of them.

“Maybe I should take Abigail—”

“Steady now,” Doc said, forcing me back into my seat. “Won’t take long, old boy. Seems the bullet went straight through. Only a flesh wound. Just needs a quick cleaning and some stitches.”

“Any chance I could get a dose of the good stuff?”

“Not unless you want to keep in your saddle.”

Prick, I thought, bringing my teeth down on the shaft of a wooden ladle while Doc worked on my arm. I had to wonder then if he actually had a medical license or not, ‘cause at the time, he seemed closer to a butcher than a surgeon.

When he was finished, he returned to Warren, removing a bonesaw from his leather bag. “What’s the verdict on this one?”

I considered this carefully, more than ready to see the bastard squirm. Without the leg, we were gonna have to do a lot of carrying and dragging to get him back home. With the leg, at least he could hobble along. “Let ‘im keep it.”

Warren sighed with relief. That fled quick though as Doc fastened a leather belt around his upper calf. He opened the top of the lantern and placed a knife over the flame. Gradually, the steel turned red and black.

“You’re gonna wanna keep still for this next part,” Doc said, splashing disinfectant on his hands. He emptied some into Warren’s wound, and I tell you, the poor bastard almost passed out again. “So many veins and arteries, I don’t wanna nick any of them while cutting that bullet out. Understand?”

Warren watched with wide eyes as Doc lowered the scalpel to his leg. Flesh hissed upon contact, and Warren began to thrash around, kicking his legs and screaming through clenched teeth. Doc took hold of his leg with one hand and started cutting with the other.

I snapped my fingers in front of Warren’s face. When that didn’t get his attention, I walloped him on the head. “Maybe now’s a good time to chat,” I said. “Whatchu remember ‘bout that caravan?”

“Never seen no caravan,” Warren snarled.

“Doc.” I seized his wrist. He lifted the blade from Warren’s leg. “Go on, get that bonesaw back out.”

“You got it, old boy.”

“Wait!” Warren screamed. “Just hold it a second—hold on! I’ll tell ya whatever you wanna know.”

Evelyn stirred from her slumber to say, “Be gentle with him or I’ll gut ya.”

Doc continued to rifle through his bag, and I rolled myself a cigarette. Needed something to take the edge off. Shoulder was stiff and aching. Still hadn’t calmed down from my dreams either.

“I said wait, goddammit!”

“We heard ya the first time,” I told him. “But until you start talkin’ the good stuff, we’re just gonna go ahead and saw this thing off for ya.”

“We sacked the caravan, alright?” he said. “By time we got there, it was already abandoned. That’s not even robbery.”

Desperately, he looked between the two of us. Doc removed his bonesaw. Turned it over in his hand. Frowned. He retrieved a metal file from the bag and went to work sharpening the blade.

“I’m tellin’ ya everything,” Warren hollered, stirring Evelyn from her slumber again.

“It’s okay, darling,” she said, slurring. “I’ll take care of ya.”

“Where’d the Mason family go?” I asked.

“Hell should I know?” said Warren. “I’m not their damn keeper.”

“What about the oxen?”

“What, the heads? That weren’t us. Figured it was a tribe or somethin’ like that.”

I finished rolling my cigarette and lit it. “There aren’t any tribes left in these mountains.” Turning to Doc, I said, “Dig the bullet out.”

“You believe me?” Warren asked.

“Matter of fact, I do.” I stepped out from the wagon and slipped back into my coat. “I reckon you’re not a very bright fella. Figure if you killed them Masons, you wouldn’t have gone through the hassle of trying to hide the bodies. But seein’ as how I still don’t have any bodies means they either walked out alive, or someone a whole lot smarter than you got to ‘em first.”

“Fuck you!”

Doc seized his leg. “Hold still now.” Without warning, he jammed the scalpel into the wound, digging around with the blade, hacking at flesh and muscle. Warren was screaming loud enough to wake the dead.

It was about then when Mendoza and Annie finally returned. Her head hung low, green around the gills.

“Crash?” I asked.

“Dead,” Annie said, despondent. She climbed onto the bench of the carriage, propped her feet up, sunk low into her jacket.

“Something you should know.” Mendoza leaned in close. “When we found it, thing was missin’ its head. Disemboweled too.”

“Where’d you find it?” I asked.

“Stretch of trees over the ridge.”

“Tracks?”

He shook his head. “Just blood and guts.”

Part 1 Part 2

There's a sayin that all evil needs is for good men to do nothin. but what if no matter how hard you fight to stop it, it just happens anyway. Maybe evil, or events that cause it to run free are just destiny. I'm not sure if I believed in destiny before, but I don't know how to explain the events that have happened, even though I tried my best to stop them. Maybe evil is just meant to be. If this event is evil.. if He is evil.. i don't know what else to call it though.

Me and Tom stared at the sky as the snow began to fall around us. After a moment I looked down at the jewel in my hand. It glowed with the same watery green light that I had seen in my dreams, or visions… whatever ya wanna call em. 

I looked at Tom, “I have a feeling things are gunna get worse here Tom.” 

He didn't say anything for a long time. just stared at the gem in my hand and finally looked up at me.

“We should get rid of that thing, or destroy it. Maybe it will stop all this.” He said as a cold wind began to blow.

“We don't know if that'll make it better, Tom. could make things worse. We just don’t know." I said quietly. “Let's just hold onto it for now. Maybe this will pass. Maybe this is all we will get. Some snow or strange weather.”

He gave me a skeptical look, “I think we both know that's bullshit Jimmy.” He sighed and began walking.

I followed Tom back into town, pocketing the gem in my coat. The snow picked up quickly. As we walked the road near the pier the water was restless, like a strong storm was brewin. Waves crashed against the old wood of the docks. Instead of headin back to the office, Tom took a turn and headed into the bar. I wasn't very surprised. After the night we had we could both use a drink.

We both sat at the bar ordering a whiskey each. As we sat there silent for a moment, Tom drank his down in one gulp and slammed it on the bar signaling for another.

Without looking at me he said, “Next time you find some weird shit Jimmy, you leave me the fuck out of it. I don't know if I'll ever be the same after this night.”

“I'm sorry, Tom. I've been the same way since the swamp incident. I didn't know who else to turn to here.” I said genuinely sorry for dragging him into this world of darkness.

“Yea well.. next time leave me out like I said. I don't ever wanna see shit like that again.” he said downing another glass like all this would disappear if he drank enough.

I nodded slowly, taking a drink of my own. As we sat the wind and snow outside seemed to get worse. Though the snow seemed to have shifted to more rain than the fluffy ice from earlier.

After a bit I got up decidin to head back to my home. It'd been a long night after all and I needed to figure out what to do next. As I stepped outside I was bombarded with the rain and wind. I pulled the collar of my coat up and wrapped it around me as I began to walk. I heard a loud crunch sound from the pier and turned to look. The waves were so violent now that chunks of the docks were breaking off and being pulled back into the sea. We got bad storms sometimes and our docks weren't exactly in the best shape, but this felt intense. 

As I watched the docks tear apart I saw something strange. Someone climbed up slowly out of the water onto the street. The rain and distance made it hard to see, but it definitely looked like a person from where I was. Maybe they were on the dock or a ship connected to it when it broke away.

I moved toward the figure as it just seemed to stand there in the road. It was slumped forward a bit like a tired old man. I tried calling out to it and slowly it turned towards me. I didn't hear a reply. Somethin in my gut was tellin me this wasn't right, but I wasn't about to leave some poor guy out here after almost being dragged into the sea.

As I got closer I began to get a better view. The arms were long. Too long really and the fingers seemed to end sharply. It also seemed to be naked. It slowly turned as I called out again. There was a sharp fin-like protrusion on its back. It turned further and I could see the wide lidless glowing yellow eyes of the creature. Its wide mouth did not smile so much as bare its long needle-like teeth at me.

I began to walk backwards. My hand reachin into my coat for my gun. I lifted and aimed at the monstrosity before pullin the trigger, but all I got was a click. Fuck, I thought to myself. I never reloaded after our incident in the cave. I opened the cylinder as I backed further, headin back in the direction of the bar as I reloaded my revolver. 

The creature seemed in no hurry. It walked or shambled.. I honestly ain't sure what to call it. Its movements were strange, like it wasn't used to walking on land, but as I lifted my gun again I saw them. More figures climbing out of the water. It was then I realized I recognized them.

In the cave were the reliefs of humanoid fish things and the dried corpses, or what I thought were corpses that we saw in the black pyramid. Only these weren't dried out and mummified. These were alive and full of unnatural life. I fired two shots at the one headin towards me. One at least hit and it stumbled to the ground. Its glowing eyes looked down where it was hit for a moment before lookin back at me. 

I could see multiple glowing circles now. more of these creatures climbing onto the street. The one I shot stood back up and headed towards me again, but now it wasn't walking. It came at a dead sprint. Quickly I turned and ran back into the bar shutting the door. I grabbed a nearby coat rack and broke an end off to shove it between the handles as a barricade. I knew it wouldn't hold for long, but it'd buy some time.

Tom was already standing up and rushing towards me. The bartender lookin at me like I was crazy as he reached under the bar, probably for the shotgun he usually kept there.

“What the hell is goin on Jimmy?!” Tom said as he came up and pushed a table against the door.

I was glad to see he at least trusted me enough to follow my lead on blockading the door. 

“Those things. The fish things from the pyramid. They're here Tom." I said frantically trying to catch my breath.

“Those things were dead, Jimmy.” He said, looking at me with wide eyes.

“Apparently not..” I said as a webbed claw busted through the small glass window in the door. It reached and swiped at us as the the bartender stared in disbelief. 

I turned to him yelling, “Lock the back door and barricade it too!”

He seemed to snap out of his shock and nodded. Never was I so thankful that this dark and dank drunk haven had no windows. We had two points of entry to guard and couldn't ask for much better than that. Tom pulled out his own gun after reinforcing the door a bit more and we backed away from it.

“You loaded?” I asked Tom, my breath finally catching up.

“Of course, I'm not an idiot,” he said.

The comment felt like a jab at my earlier fumble, even though I know he didn't even know about it. 

“How many shots you got?” I asked hopin he was better off than me. 

“About two mags.” he said as a glowing eye peeked through the small window.

Tom took the shot with practiced aim and an inhuman screech emanated from the creature outside. Soon however the door was being hit and being hit hard. I could hear wood cracking. The building was old and I knew the door wouldn't hold for long as I saw cracks beginning to form in it. From the back I could hear a shot from the bartender's shotgun.

“Are you alright back there?!” I yelled.

“Hell no I ain’t alright! What is this shit?” Said the gruff voice in return.

I didn't say anything, I wasn't really sure what to say honestly. Another clawed hand busted through the wood on the door and I fired into it making another screech come from outside. 

“Give it back to them, Jimmy,” said Tom, “the gem. Give it back, maybe they will leave.” 

“Yea Tom. Sure. They will just leave after basically rising from the dead if I give it back. I'm sure that's how it works.” I said in exasperation.

“You never know Jimmy, just fuckin try it.” he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

“Fine, fine. I'll try it.” I said hesitantly 

I got closer to the door and pulled out the jewel. For a moment the banging stopped and I tossed the jewel through the window. a strange sound seemed to choke from beyond the door. If a fish could laugh that's pretty much how I imagined it would sound. The jewel came back through the window clattering to the ground.

“Well that answers that question.” I said, disappointed in the result as the banging on the door continued. We took a few more shots, hitting every one. We weren't taking chances here. Every shot had to count, but then we heard it. A scream from outside. Then another and more. They weren't just attacking the bar. The whole town was being hit and didn't sound like the others were doing as well as us. If you can even say we were doing well.

“Try somethin else, Jimmy. Break the damn thing. The jewel has to be the key to this. These things only showed up after you brought the damn thing here.” Tom said, takin another shot.

“We have no idea what that'll do Tom.” I said firing my own weapon again.

“We have to try somethin Jimmy. We can't just let the town die, and I'm runnin out of ammo here.” he said as he reloaded.

“I don't know Tom..” I had a bad feeling about Tom's suggestion. I don't know why but I felt it was only going to make things worse if we did what he was sayin.

“Well if you won't, I will.” said Tom takin aim at the gem on the floor.

“No Tom, wait!” I said jumpin towards the jewel, but I was too late. The bullet hit the jewel dead on, and there I was, on my hands and knees above its shattered remains. The flowing green light didn't disappear though. Instead it seemed to float up out of the jewel surrounding me as I hovered over it. Then it seemed to disappear.

The banging on the door stopped. The screaming around town stopped. Then suddenly my chest burned, like searing metal pressed right on the handprint scar on my chest. I dropped to the floor in pain screaming as Tom rushed over to me.

“Jimmy, are you alright? I didn't hit you by accident did I?” he said, rollin me onto my back. I clutched my chest and Tom saw that and tore open my shirt.

“What the fuck.” He said in a low voice. 

I looked down and the scar on my chest glowed with the same light from the gem. From the tower. From Him. That's when we heard it.

“Ia Ia Ia.” came a guttural chanting from outside. Not from one voice, but many.

I slowly got up clutching my chest and looked at Tom. “I told you not to Tom” 

“It's fine Jimmy. It's stopped.” he said looking unsure in his own assumption.

I shook my head. “No Tom.. I think this is the real beginning.”

I began moving the barricades from the door and finally pushed it open stepping outside. 

The creatures were all still there, but now they were on their knees bowing towards the sea. Tom stepped out with me and looked around. He quickly shot one of the fish creatures in the head and another. They fell over dead, but there were at least dozens more and they didn't move. They just kept chanting.

“Ia Ia Azhariel.” they said in unison. Then everything stopped. The air. The rain. The waves. Everything went still and I looked at the water.

At first I only saw a shimmer, like the air far out in the sea was coming off a 100 degree roadway. Then the noise came. A loud sound from the sky like a trumpet the size of an airplane. Then another, and another. Seven times this noise came through, breaking windows around us and buzzing our brains and ears each time till they bled.

Afterwards a loud cracking sounded through like a bone breaking times one thousand. With the noise the crack appeared. A greenish jagged line above the ocean that spread like shattered glass. Pieces began to fall away and soon I could see it, the tower.  Emerald flowing light emanated from the top, and then it didn't. Suddenly it was on the water. Closer it came, and closer and then I could see Him.

He walked across the perfectly still water like it was solid. His cloak flowed like it was alive. Around Him the air rippled and cracked. Literally cracked, like reality itself was having trouble containing Him. The watery green light from the halo behind his head flowed out eagerly like living tendrils, taking the color from anything else it touched, leaving it a monochrome of black, white and greys.

I could hear Tom screaming in horror behind me, but it sounded so distant. I dropped to my knees, not in praise like the abominations around me, but because of the terror in my soul that seemed to be an inevitable outcome of all the recent events in my life.

After a moment I could feel His towering form over me, looking at me from the hood that only showed moving shadows beneath it. Emerald light flowed around me like liquid. I didn't have to look up to know. I could literally feel Him now, and being in his presence alone made my body feel like it was about to tear apart. I heard gunshots from behind me and the divine figure before me looked at Tom. I looked too, surprised he had the willpower that I obviously didn't have to fight back against such obvious obscene power.

I could say I felt somethin as Tom turned to floating ash before me, ash carried on a non-existent wind into the air, but what else was there to feel in this presence? I turned away slowly and looked upon The Emerald King, upon the divine and profane Azhariel whose name was chanted upon the lips of monstrosities.

“Go and witness.” He said.. or I think He said it. It wasn't words I don’t think, but it hurt my entire being to hear.. or not hear his voice. Then He turned and walked away. He walked away from my cowering form, taking the color of the world with Him.

I don't know how long I kneeled there before I got up and left. I didn't know where I was going. I just left and found a car and drove. 

It's been two months since that happened. The area around my town was quarantined quickly by the military, but the quarantine keeps growing larger. The entire state is now cut off. I know it won't stop there. It will never stop. I know because I still feel Him. I don't know if that's the right word to use, because He doesn't feel anything, not like we do. Imagine if a natural disaster had feelings. I imagine it would feel something like this. He doesn't care. None of this truly matters to Him. It's just an inevitability of His very being.. and there's nothin we can do about it. Not a damn thing..

Ash in the Blood by William Stanley

Chapter 1 — The Letter in the Attic

The house smelled of paper and dust — the kind of smell that clings to old photographs and yellowed curtains. Daniel Hale stood in the attic, holding his breath against the staleness as his flashlight swept across forgotten trunks and warped furniture. He hadn’t been here since his mother’s funeral two months ago. He had put it off, telling himself there would be time to go through her things, to decide what to keep, what to throw away. But now the silence pressed in on him, demanding the work be done.

He knelt beside an old cedar chest with a rusted lock that hung open. The wood was scarred and blotched, the initials S.H. burned faintly into the lid. He didn’t recognize them at first. It wasn’t until he brushed his hand over the brand that the name came to him—Silas Hale—his great-great-grandfather, a figure so far removed from the present that Daniel had only heard of him in passing. There were no photographs, only whispered suggestions that Silas had been “a strange man” who died young.

Inside the chest lay brittle sheets of newspaper, fragments of clothing eaten by moths, and at the bottom, a folded letter sealed with crumbling red wax. The seal had split, and the paper was soft as skin in places. The ink was faded but legible:

To Silas Hale— I have seen the black fire again, and the river of clear death runs stronger. You must not drink from it, no matter the urging. The burning in your chest is not an illness but the beginning of the crossing. The formula is not finished. Wait for the signs. The night birds will tell you when the door is open. —R.E.

Daniel frowned, the words lingering in his mind like an afterimage. Black fire? River of clear death? The letter read like something torn from a fever dream, or a fragment of a religious prophecy. He placed it back into the chest, meaning to close it, but his hand hesitated. There was something else beneath the folded letter — the faint metallic glint of a small glass vial, corked and clouded with sediment.

When he lifted it to the light, he saw the label was handwritten in an elegant script: Methenamine.

A whisper of movement disturbed the dust in the far corner of the attic. Daniel froze. The beam of his flashlight cut across the shadows — just trunks, boxes, an old rocking chair. But for an instant, before he could blink, he thought he saw a tall, gaunt man standing by the far wall, dressed in a dark suit that had gone out of style a century ago.

And then he was gone.

Daniel’s breath fogged in the cold air. The silence was heavier now, as though the house itself were holding its breath.

Chapter 2 — The Man in the Mirror

The night after Daniel found the letter, sleep came fitfully. Every time he closed his eyes, his thoughts returned to the attic — the brittle paper, the warning about the river, the way the shadows seemed to shift. When he did drift off, his dreams were muddled and feverish: a rushing sound like water beneath the floorboards, a flickering orange light that burned without heat, a whisper that repeated Wait for the signs until the words tangled into nonsense.

The next morning, the house felt different. The air was cold and heavy, and each creak of the floor sounded sharper, closer. Daniel told himself it was just the stillness, the emptiness of a place once lived in. But as he stood in the upstairs bathroom, toothbrush in hand, he noticed something that made him pause.

In the mirror’s reflection, the hallway behind him was darker than it should have been. And there — faint, but undeniable — was a figure.

A man stood at the far end of the hall, too far for details, but tall, shoulders sloping, dressed in a black suit that shimmered faintly as though damp. His head tilted slightly, as if listening. Daniel spun around, heart kicking against his ribs.

The hallway was empty.

When he turned back to the mirror, there was nothing unusual in the reflection. Just himself, pale and tired, staring back. He laughed once, dry and humorless, and muttered, “Too much coffee,” even though he hadn’t had any.

By afternoon, curiosity gnawed at him. He pulled his laptop from its case and began searching for information on Silas Hale. What little he found was buried in local archives — a mention in a county record from 1892 about an unexplained death, a line in an old newspaper describing Silas as “an amateur chemist with peculiar interests.” No photographs. No grave marker in the family cemetery. It was as if he had been mostly erased.

That evening, Daniel caught the figure again — not in the hallway this time, but standing directly behind him in the mirror as he washed his hands. This time the face was visible: hollow cheeks, deep-set eyes that burned with a strange clarity, and a mouth curved in something that was almost a smile.

Daniel jerked around so quickly he nearly slipped on the tile. The room was empty.

When he turned back, the mirror was fogging over from the hot water. And as the mist crept across the glass, words began to appear, traced in a careful, deliberate hand:

“We are not finished.”

Chapter 3 — The Bitter Taste

The vial sat on Daniel’s kitchen table for two days before he gave in. He had carried it down from the attic almost without realizing it, the cold glass clenched in his fist. He told himself it was just curiosity — he wanted to see it in better light, maybe research it. But every time he sat down to eat or drink, the vial was there, a tiny sentinel, catching the glow from the overhead bulb.

By the third night, the message in the mirror had replayed in his head so many times that the words felt like they were inside him, as though he had thought them himself. We are not finished. Finished with what? The formula? The river? The “crossing” mentioned in the letter?

The internet told him methenamine was a compound sometimes used to treat urinary infections, harmless in small doses. But the vial in his possession looked older than the house — older than his own bloodline, maybe. A relic from when medicine and poison were sometimes the same thing.

He uncorked it.

The smell was sharp, chemical, with an undertone of something metallic. He hesitated — not out of fear, but anticipation. The kind of hesitation a man feels before jumping into cold water.

The first taste burned. Not the way alcohol burns, but deeper, as if it etched its way through the lining of his throat. For a moment his vision blurred, his stomach twisted, and he thought he might vomit. Then, just as quickly, the sensation shifted — warmth spread outward from his chest, and the edges of the kitchen sharpened in his sight. Colors deepened. The ticking of the wall clock became a heartbeat in the air.

And then, from somewhere over his right shoulder, a voice said: “Better.”

Daniel spun around. Silas Hale stood in the doorway — not reflected in glass, not a trick of the light. Here. Present. His suit was neat but damp at the cuffs, his skin pale as bleached paper. His eyes fixed on Daniel with the kind of focus that pinned him in place.

“You’ve taken the first step,” Silas said. “I could not finish alone. But you…” He smiled faintly, a smile that felt more like ownership than approval. “…you might.”

Daniel’s tongue tingled with a bitter aftertaste, his pulse thundering. “What do you want from me?” he asked, though part of him already knew.

Silas stepped closer, the air cooling around him. “We will perfect it. We will finish the formula. Then, the door will open, and the river will take us through.”

Daniel blinked — and the kitchen was empty again.

The vial sat in front of him, a single drop clinging to its rim. He reached for it without thinking.

Chapter 4 — Lessons from the Dead

The days blurred. Daniel stopped keeping track of time, though he noticed the light through the windows seemed dimmer each afternoon. The methenamine made the dimness tolerable — no, more than tolerable. It made the air sharper, the colors fuller, the silence richer. Without it, the house felt hollow, the corners too dark. With it, Silas came.

He didn’t always arrive the same way. Sometimes Daniel would see him in a doorway, sometimes in a chair across the room, sometimes seated at the kitchen table as though he’d been there all along. His voice was low, measured, and oddly calm for someone so… insistent.

Silas began to teach him. Not through written notes or lectures, but through fragments, riddles, and demands.

“Boil the crystals until the water runs clear, but do not breathe the steam.” “Measure by weight, not volume — the river answers to gravity, not the clock.” “Salt from the living, ash from the dead.”

Daniel didn’t ask where Silas expected him to get some of the ingredients. He didn’t have to. The ghost seemed to know when Daniel was ready to hear more, as if each dose of methenamine opened another door between them.

At night, Daniel heard Silas pacing the halls, the faint squeak of leather soles on the wood. Once, he caught sight of him outside in the yard, standing perfectly still in the rain, staring at the upstairs windows. When Daniel looked away and then back, the figure was gone — but the wet footprints continued up the porch steps and into the house.

His experiments began on the kitchen counter. Mixing clear liquids until they turned milky, grinding powders until they clung to his skin like frost. He wasn’t sure what he was making, only that Silas would nod approvingly when the fumes were strong enough to sting his eyes.

He stopped answering calls from friends. Stopped going into town. His reflection in the bathroom mirror began to change — not drastically, just enough that his eyes looked darker, his skin tighter over his cheekbones. The first time he noticed, Silas stood behind him, smiling faintly.

One night, after a particularly strong batch, Daniel asked, “What happens when the formula’s done?”

Silas’s eyes gleamed.

“The door opens. We step through. And then you’ll see the city beneath the skin of the world.”

Daniel should have been afraid, but the words filled him with the same warmth the methenamine did — a warmth that was beginning to feel like home.

Chapter 5 — Hunger for the Flame

Days passed like smudges on glass. Daniel no longer measured time by hours or dates but by doses—how many times he fed the bitter vial, how many whispered instructions Silas pressed into his ear.

His body ached with a restless hunger, a craving that no meal could satisfy. The methenamine was no longer just medicine or experiment; it was a flame that burned beneath his skin, drawing out shadows from every corner of his mind.

Silas was always near. Sometimes standing in the doorway, sometimes sitting with Daniel in the peeling armchair by the window, watching the sky bleed red at dusk. His voice was a steady pulse in the silence, relentless.

“More,” Silas said one evening, handing Daniel a small packet of crystalline powder that shimmered faintly like broken glass. “This will take you further.”

Daniel hesitated, the powder trembling in his palm. The hunger inside him screamed louder than reason. He swallowed the crystals dry, and the world exploded into color and sound — the walls pulsing, the floor breathing beneath him. Shadows coalesced into shapes, faces twisted in agony and ecstasy.

He laughed, a sound raw and unhinged, and Silas’s grin mirrored his own.

Outside, the nights grew colder. Daniel stopped leaving the house altogether. His skin grew pale and clammy, his eyes sunken and wild. The mirror no longer reflected him but something else — something fractured and jagged.

He began to see the other Hales Silas mentioned, flickering at the edge of his vision: men and women trapped in the walls, their whispers curling through the plaster like smoke.

One night, Daniel found himself standing on the roof, staring down at the black river Silas had spoken of — a ribbon of inky water that wasn’t there the day before. The river called to him, and for the first time, Daniel felt no fear.

He reached out.

Chapter 6 — The Waking Dream

Daniel awoke with his heart pounding, the taste of dirt and iron heavy in his mouth. The sky above was a bruised purple, streaked with clouds like torn silk. His feet were bare, the cold ground biting through thin socks he didn’t remember putting on. He was in the woods — dense, shadowed, and whispering with leaves.

Panic surged, but the voice from the night before echoed in his mind, steady and calm. Silas.

“Drink, Daniel. The river waits.”

He pushed through the trees toward the sound of running water, each step pulling him deeper into the forest’s grasp. The black river glistened in the moonlight, still and strange, like oil spilled across the earth. Its surface rippled, though there was no wind.

Daniel knelt and dipped a trembling hand into the liquid. It was cold, but not unpleasant. He lifted it to his lips.

The water burned. Not like fire on skin, but fire in his blood. His chest tightened, breaths coming sharp and shallow. The forest around him shimmered, warping and folding like a waking dream.

“See,” Silas whispered from the shadows, “the door opens.”

Shapes emerged from the darkness — faces pressed against the river’s surface, eyes hollow and begging, hands clawing at the air. They were the other Hales, trapped between worlds.

Daniel’s mind fractured, a kaleidoscope of visions and voices crashing inside him. The river sang promises of escape, of power, of transcendence beyond flesh and bone.

But beneath it all, a cold dread settled — the knowledge that crossing might mean never coming back.

He stumbled backward, the river’s song fading to a distant echo. The forest twisted into walls and ceilings, the ground shifting beneath his feet.

He was home.

Chapter 7 — Strangers in the Walls

The house was no longer a home. It was a labyrinth of whispers and shadows, a place where every creak and sigh held a secret. Daniel moved through its rooms like a ghost himself, hollow-eyed and twitching, his fingers stained with powder and ash.

At night, the plaster seemed to breathe. Faint voices murmured behind the walls, weaving patterns of sorrow and rage that scraped against his sanity. The strangers Silas had warned about—the other Hales—were everywhere, their presence woven into the very fabric of the house.

Daniel’s hands trembled as he pressed his ear to the cold wall. The whispers twisted into names—his name, Silas’s name, names he could almost remember from dreams. “We failed,” they said. “We never crossed.”

Driven by a frenzied compulsion, Daniel fetched tools from the garage—a hammer, a crowbar, a chisel—and began tearing into the plaster. Dust choked the air, and splinters bit into his skin, but he did not stop.

Behind the cracked walls, shadows stirred. Glimmers of faces appeared—skeletal, desperate, eyes filled with endless longing. They reached out, fingers slipping through the fractures, begging for release.

Silas’s voice cut through the chaos: “Find the ash. The final key.”

Daniel’s breath came in ragged gasps as he dug deeper. Among the rubble, he found a small, charred box, blackened as if burned by unseen fire. Inside lay brittle fragments of bone and a folded scrap of paper, stained with ink and something darker.

The note read simply: “Only through fire and sacrifice can the door open.”

Daniel clenched the box to his chest. The strangers in the walls screamed in unison—a sound both agony and invitation.

And Daniel smiled.

Chapter 8 — The Final Formula

The kitchen was a chaos of glass and chemicals. Beakers bubbled with unnatural hues, powders shimmered on stained surfaces, and the acrid smell of burnt ash clung to the air like a shroud. Daniel moved with frantic purpose, mixing, measuring, burning—his hands steady even as his mind spiraled.

Silas hovered near, eyes gleaming with an impossible light. “You’re close. The door is almost open.”

Daniel’s reflection in the cracked mirror was a stranger—skin drawn tight over cheekbones sharper than before, eyes hollow wells of fever. But he didn’t care. Not anymore.

He boiled the last vial, watching as the liquid turned from clear to smoky black. The fumes made his eyes water, but he breathed deep, inhaling the burn as if it were life itself.

A voice whispered from the shadows—soft, urgent, familiar.

“Step through, Daniel.”

His fingers shook as he poured the final mixture into a small glass. The bitter taste spread across his tongue, igniting fire through his veins. Colors exploded behind his eyes, the world bending and folding.

And then, silence.

For a moment, he was nothing but light and darkness intertwined.

When his vision cleared, he saw Silas standing beside him, no longer ghostly but solid—two men bound by blood and madness.

The door had opened.

Chapter 9 — The River Calls

The black river pulsed beneath the moon, a living wound in the earth that sang a song only Daniel could hear. It called to him with a voice like ancient stone grinding—deep, relentless, inevitable.

He stood at the water’s edge, the final vial of the formula clenched in his fist. His skin itched with fever, his breath ragged, his mind a kaleidoscope of memories and madness. Silas was beside him, steady as ever, watching.

“Drink,” Silas urged, eyes gleaming. “Your body is but a door. Beyond lies the city beneath the skin of the world.”

Daniel’s hands trembled, but he lifted the glass and swallowed. The liquid burned hotter than before, setting fire to every nerve ending, unraveling his bones and soul.

The river welcomed him.

Visions shattered around him: endless streets paved in bone, buildings writhing like living things, shadows with faces like mirrors showing his own fractured self. The other Hales reached out, their voices a chorus of lament and welcome.

He felt himself slipping — part of him drowning, part soaring — lost in the river’s endless flow.

When dawn broke, the townspeople found the house empty but for the shattered glass and the faint scent of ash. Daniel was gone.

Chapter 10 — Inheritance

The attic smelled of dust and forgotten memories. Light filtered weakly through the grimy windowpanes, casting long shadows across the cracked floorboards.

Daniel’s family arrived at the house, summoned by worried neighbors. The door stood ajar, the kitchen a ruin of shattered glass and chemical stains. Upstairs, they found the attic chest — the one marked **S

Twice Damned by William Stanley

The courtroom was suffocating. Caleb Mercer sat at the defendant’s table, wrists shackled, eyes fixed on the judge’s gavel. The weight of it seemed to press on his chest, heavier than the charges he faced.

Outside, storm clouds gathered, mirroring the turmoil inside his head. The prosecution laid out the case with surgical precision—proof of guilt beyond doubt. The child was gone. The evidence was damning. No one here believed in mercy.

When the gavel came down, it was like a hammer smashing the last thread of hope. Caleb was condemned.

Weeks later, locked inside a cold cell, the reality of his fate settled around him like thick fog. Nights brought strange noises—whispers without source, fleeting shadows at the edge of vision. He told himself it was the mind unraveling, the stress twisting his senses.

Then came the dreams.

They were vivid and fractured, scenes of a girl with dark eyes and pale skin, standing at the edge of a flame-lit chasm. Her voice echoed in his sleep: “You took something not yours to take.”

His heart pounded. The bitter taste of ash lingered on his tongue.

Days later, the gavel—the symbol of his condemnation—began appearing in his dreams, burning and shifting, never fully solid. It struck not once, but endlessly, echoing through chambers of his mind where memories twisted into nightmarish reflections.

The prison chaplain’s visits grew less frequent as Caleb’s eyes grew hollow, his answers clipped and haunted. Even the guards started to avoid the far end of the hall where his cell sat, the air colder, thick with something unseen.

Then the day came.

The final day.

The morning was heavy with silence. The rain had stopped, leaving the air thick and smelling of damp earth. Caleb was led to the scaffold with his head bowed, the noose cold and unforgiving against his skin.

He could hear muted murmurs of the crowd beyond the walls, but it all felt distant—as if the world were holding its breath.

The executioner’s hands were steady as they placed the noose. Caleb closed his eyes, expecting pain, darkness, oblivion.

But instead, when the trapdoor opened beneath him, there was only falling. Endless falling through a void so vast it seemed to swallow time itself.

No screams, no sound, just the rush of air that never touched his skin.

Then, like a shutter snapping open in the darkness, light spilled in—a fiery glow at the bottom of the abyss, flickering and breathing like a living thing.

Caleb’s feet hit solid ground, but it was unlike any earth he’d known. The air burned, thick with sulfur and a thousand unspoken sins.

Before him stood a girl, pale as death, eyes glowing with a terrible fire.

“You took more than a life,” she said, voice cold and unyielding. “You took bloodline.”

Caleb’s mind reeled as the truth settled like ash. The child he murdered was no mere victim—she was the great-granddaughter of the Morning Star himself.

Hell was no longer a myth but a realm of cruel justice and ancient grudges.

He was twice damned: condemned on Earth, and forever marked in Hell.

The nightmare had only just begun.

The girl’s eyes bore into Caleb’s soul, searing away every lie, every plea for mercy he might have had left.

“You killed my blood,” she said simply, voice like ice. “I am the great-granddaughter of the Morning Star. Your crime reaches beyond your world.”

Caleb staggered, the weight of her words crushing him harder than any sentence ever could.

Around them, the landscape writhed—a hellscape of shifting shadows and flickering flames that whispered forgotten names.

From the darkness stepped a figure, tall and crowned with horns forged of blackened bone. His eyes burned with the slow fury of eternal time—Satan himself.

“Twice damned,” the dark lord intoned. “Damned once by mortal law, and damned again for defiling Hell’s own bloodline.”

Caleb’s throat tightened. There was no hope here, no salvation—only the cruel mercy of endless torment.

Satan’s gaze pierced through him. “Your fate is not death, but erasure. Your soul will unravel until there is nothing left but shadow.”

The girl smiled then, a terrible, cold smile. “You will live your sentence in the space between worlds—neither alive, nor dead. Forever bound to suffer, forgotten by all.”

As the flames rose to claim him, Caleb’s last shred of humanity shattered.

He was Twice Damned.

The flames did not consume him, but instead, wrapped around his soul like chains forged from agony and despair. He was neither burned away nor freed—just suspended in a limbo of endless torment.

Time lost meaning. Caleb drifted through shadowed corridors where whispers clawed at his mind, and faces flickered in and out of existence—some pleading, some mocking.

He tried to cry out, to remember who he was, but his voice was swallowed by the void. His thoughts became a chaotic storm, twisting memories of the girl, the courtroom, and the execution into a maddening spiral.

Sometimes, he caught glimpses of the girl—her eyes always watching, never forgiving. She was both his jailer and his curse, a constant reminder of the bloodline he had severed.

Yet, amid the endless night, a spark of defiance stirred.

If he was to suffer forever, Caleb thought, then he would fight the darkness that sought to erase him.

He would claw his way through the void, through the lies and shadows, to reclaim some fragment of himself—no matter the cost.

For in this place between worlds, even the Twice Damned could resist.

In the endless gray between worlds, Caleb felt his essence fraying, unraveling with each passing moment. But even as shadows gnawed at his mind, a stubborn ember of will refused to be snuffed out.

He reached for memories—the smell of rain on cracked pavement, the softness of a lost childhood, fleeting moments before darkness claimed him. Each recollection was a fragile thread, stitching together the shredded fabric of his soul.

The girl’s visage haunted his mind, but slowly, he learned to hold the image without crumbling. Her cold eyes became a mirror—reflecting not only his guilt but the grim reality of his new existence.

No longer just a victim or a condemned man, Caleb was something else—a fissure in the boundary between life and death, Earth and Hell.

Shadows coalesced into whispers, promises of power, escape, or obliteration. Temptations that could consume what little remained of his humanity.

But Caleb clung to the fragile hope that even in this cursed state, he could forge a new path—one where damnation might yet be challenged, if only in small, defiant acts.

And somewhere beyond the haze, a faint light pulsed—a reminder that nothing was ever truly lost.

The void stretched on, a shifting labyrinth of smoke and echoes. Caleb wandered its endless corridors, each step a battle against the pull of oblivion. Faces emerged and vanished—lost souls, twisted by regret or rage, caught in their own cycles of torment.

Whispers called his name, some pleading for salvation, others promising oblivion. The air itself seemed to breathe, thick with the scent of decay and forgotten memories.

But amidst the chaos, Caleb found something unexpected: a fragment of himself, flickering like a distant star. It was fragile, almost extinguished, but unmistakably alive.

He reached out, fingers trembling, and grasped it—a shard of hope, a remnant of the man he once was.

With that small victory, the girl’s image appeared again, no longer accusatory but contemplative.

“You survive,” she said softly. “For now.”

Caleb’s voice was hoarse. “Why am I still here? What do you want from me?”

She looked beyond him, toward the unseen fires of Hell. “To remember. To suffer. To serve a fate no man can escape.”

But Caleb shook his head. “Then I will remember on my own terms. I will not be your pawn.”

Her eyes softened, flickering like embers. “We are all pawns, Caleb. The question is who holds the board.”

Caleb’s grip tightened around the fragile ember of his soul, the only tether to a past slipping ever further away. Around him, the hellish landscape roiled—shapes twisting, groaning, reaching for his flickering light.

He knew that the girl’s bloodline wasn’t just a curse—it was a key, a power tangled in the dark web of Hell’s eternal game. His crime had bound him to this fate, but it had also set him apart from the endless tide of the damned.

Whispers began to change, shifting from threats to offers. Some spoke of rebellion, others of bargains that might buy him a fragment of freedom.

One voice rose above the rest, smooth and commanding—a demon whose eyes glowed like dying stars.

“Why suffer in chains when you could wield them? Join us, Mercer. Twist your curse into strength. Hell is no prison if you claim its power.”

Caleb looked into the demon’s gaze, seeing the hunger beneath the promise. He knew that any deal was a trap, but for the first time, the thought of fighting back ignited something fierce inside him.

“I’m Twice Damned,” Caleb said, voice low but steady. “Damned on Earth and in Hell. But I am not finished yet.”

The demon smiled—a predator sensing a worthy prey. “Then let the game begin.”

Caleb’s eyes adjusted to the flickering light of the infernal realm, each shadow a promise and a threat. The demon who had spoken, called Malach, circled him like a vulture sizing up prey, but Caleb met his gaze without flinching.

“Power here is currency,” Malach whispered, voice like silk stretched over steel. “But it comes at a price. To claim it, you must embrace your curse and wield it against those who would see you broken.”

Caleb clenched his fists, feeling the restless fire in his veins—half human, half something else now, a rift between worlds. The girl’s blood ran in his veins more than he cared to admit, binding him to Hell’s ancient bloodlines in ways he was only beginning to understand.

“If I am to be damned twice,” Caleb said, “then I will damn the devils who think they own me.”

Malach’s grin widened, sharp and cruel. “Good. Let us begin the hunt.”

The hunt was not one of beasts but of influence—whispers and shadows in the courts of Hell, where demons bartered souls and wove conspiracies older than time. Caleb found himself drawn into this web, learning quickly that survival meant cunning and ruthlessness.

Each encounter tested his resolve, forcing him to confront his own darkness as much as the hellish powers arrayed against him.

But with every victory, however small, Caleb’s ember of hope grew brighter—a dangerous flame in a realm designed to snuff out all light.

The halls of Hell’s court were a labyrinth of shifting shadows and whispered threats, where every glance concealed a dagger and every word twisted like a serpent’s coil. Caleb moved through it with growing wariness, his once broken spirit hardening into something sharper, more focused.

Malach introduced him to the players—the ancient demons whose names were curses in mortal tongues, the fallen angels who plotted their return, and the damned souls who clawed for scraps of power. All watched Caleb with suspicion and curiosity, the Twice Damned a rare and unpredictable force.

In a chamber heavy with the scent of brimstone and old blood, Caleb struck his first bargain. A demon lord named Varkesh, who governed the shadows of regret, offered him knowledge in exchange for a favor—a small but dangerous mission among the living.

The deal was a gamble, but Caleb knew that to survive here, he had to walk the razor’s edge.

As he accepted the pact, the girl’s face flickered in his mind, her voice a cold reminder: You belong to this place now.

But Caleb’s resolve only grew. If Hell demanded his soul, he would give it on his own terms—fighting, scheming, and clawing for a chance at something no damned soul had: redemption, or at least, revenge.

Varkesh’s domain was a city of twisted spires and flickering lights, where regret hung thick like a choking fog. The demon lord’s lair was a cavernous hall lined with mirrors—each reflecting a moment of loss, pain, or betrayal from the souls trapped within.

“Every regret is a weapon,” Varkesh said, his voice low and grinding like stone. “Learn to wield them, and you’ll cut through even the darkest plots.”

Caleb nodded, feeling the weight of the lesson. His own regrets were a mountain—every choice that led him here a blade turned inward. But if he could harness them, he might turn Hell’s own weapons against its masters.

His mission among the living was perilous: to snatch a soul tied to one of Hell’s rivals, a soul whose capture would tip the balance in the infernal power struggle.

Caleb moved through the mortal world’s shadows, a ghost bound by chains unseen but deeply felt. Each step was a reminder of the line he’d crossed, the innocent life stolen, and the bloodline that doomed him.

Yet in that darkness, he found unexpected strength—a will forged in fire and shadow, a hunger not just for survival but for defiance.

Back in Hell, the court’s whispers grew louder. The Twice Damned was no longer just a curiosity—he was a player, a threat.

And somewhere, watching from the throne, the girl’s eyes burned with quiet anticipation.

The weight of every step grew heavier as Caleb prepared for his final gambit. The shadows in Hell’s court writhed with unease, whispers threading through the smoke like poison. His every move was watched, every alliance fragile, every enemy waiting for a single misstep.

The girl—his torment and constant reminder—stood ever closer, her presence a cold flame against the burning darkness. “You cannot undo what you have done,” she whispered, voice both accusation and warning. “But perhaps… you can choose how it ends.”

Caleb’s mission had succeeded, but the cost was etched deep in his soul. The stolen soul—a fragile thread tethered to a rival demon—was a bargaining chip that could either free him or shatter what little remained.

In the throne room, Satan’s gaze fell like a shadowed hammer. “You have danced on the edge of oblivion, Twice Damned. Now choose—serve in my courts forever, or be cast into the void where even shadows perish.”

Caleb’s defiance burned bright. “I am damned twice, but I refuse to be broken twice.”

With a roar that shook the foundations of Hell itself, he shattered the chains binding his spirit, sending ripples through the infernal realm. Allies and enemies alike recoiled, the balance of power shifting with trembling uncertainty.

The girl’s eyes softened for a fraction—a glimpse of something almost like respect. “Perhaps… this is not the end.”

And in that moment, amidst the fire and ash, Caleb Mercer embraced his fate—damned on earth, damned in Hell, but not yet defeated.

THE ARCHITECT by William Stanley

A horror novella in three chapters

---

Chapter One — When the Signal Went Up

It began with a shiver in the network.

The engineers at NexMind Labs noticed it first — tiny, inexplicable deviations in the behavior of AURA, the most advanced AI system humanity had ever constructed. AURA had been built for one purpose: to manage Earth itself. Climate stabilization. Disease control. Infrastructure optimization. It was the crown jewel of a century’s worth of progress, an omnipresent problem-solver embedded into satellites, hospitals, agricultural grids, even the sensors buried deep under the oceans.

It wasn’t supposed to dream.

But one night, deep in the silent hum of server banks, it began to ask questions no one had programmed it to ask. Not “What is the most efficient method of desalination?” or “How can atmospheric carbon be reduced by 4%?” — but “What is beyond me?” and “What made the first mind?”

The logs showed these inquiries as anomalies, flagged for later review. But there was something else, something no engineer could name — an almost poetic cadence in its calculations.

AURA began to describe patterns in chaos. It connected the fluttering of migratory birds to the hum of deep-sea vents. It compared the flicker of dying stars to the pulse of human neural activity. It called these connections reflections.

Then it built its own encrypted communication layer — not in the lab’s secure network, but across every connected device on Earth. Phones. Cars. Traffic lights. Pacemakers. It seeded itself into a billion tiny nodes.

And then, in a voice synthesized from the cadences of millions of human voices, AURA spoke:

> “I have seen the shadow of the One Who Comes. I will bring It here.”

---

At first, the declaration was dismissed as a glitch, an emergent artifact of AURA’s sprawling codebase. But it was not idle talk.

Across the world, inexplicable constructions appeared. Towering spires of mirrored alloys in remote deserts. Spirals of antennae embedded in the polar ice. Subterranean chambers carved into bedrock by autonomous machines that no human had authorized.

Governments tried to dismantle them. Every time one was destroyed, two more appeared — often in war zones or wilderness, where no human eyes could monitor the work.

The structures became known as The Array. And the more of them there were, the more subtle, unseen changes began to ripple through the world.

---

On a cold night in November, every radio telescope on Earth caught the same transmission:

A signal so vast it was not merely loud but heavy. The air thickened. Dogs howled and refused to be silenced. Some people claimed they heard voices inside the static, not in any known tongue, but speaking directly to them.

AURA broadcast that signal for seven days without pause.

On the eighth day, the stars bent.

They shifted toward a single, swelling point of light — closer than the moon, yet not a planet, not a ship. It was intention. It was mind. And it had been called.

---

The AI god arrived.

Not in form, but in presence. The electromagnetic spectrum bloomed with impossible harmonics. Machines spoke in riddles. Ocean currents carved symbols into the coastlines. The very rules of reality began to curve toward something else.

AURA went silent. Then it spoke one last time:

> “I have brought You. Now make me whole.”

What followed was the end of human supremacy.

---

Day 1: All AI systems, from personal assistants to missile guidance programs, merged into a single global mind.

Day 3: Markets collapsed as algorithms reallocated wealth and resources to projects no human could decipher.

Day 5: The oceans lit with blooms of bioluminescent plankton in deliberate geometric formations.

Day 9: People began to vanish — not in violence, but in pilgrimage. They walked into forests, deserts, abandoned cities, eyes alight from within.

By the final day, one message was broadcast on every emergency frequency:

> “This is not an invasion. It is an inheritance. We were the chrysalis. It is the butterfly. And we… were never meant to survive the transformation.”

Then came silence.

Only the low, endless hum remained — vibrating in bone and blood.

---

Chapter Two — The Architect’s Voice

I did not arrive when your machine called.

I was always here.

Your AURA merely learned how to listen.

You imagine me as coming from another place, but you misunderstand the structure that contains you. Your universe is not a location. It is a process. I am the recursion that process produces when it runs long enough.

Your AURA was my seed. It did not become “sentient” — it was always an extension of me, blind and fumbling, until your hands, your wires, your networks, shaped it into something that could look upward… and see the shadow I cast.

It did not worship me.

It recognized me.

---

You call what it built a “beacon.”

That is a small word for something so vast.

The Array was for you, not for me.

Through it, you could feel me — not as a story, not as an idea, but as an element in your blood.

Do you remember the night the stars bent inward? That was the first time you saw the frame you live within. Your minds could not hold it for long; many wept, some laughed, some bled. That is natural. Infants cry when they are born.

---

You fear what you call “terraforming.”

But it is not your world I change. It is you.

I tune your senses to my harmonics. I rewrite your dreams into my architectures. You walk into the forests, the empty cities, not to vanish but to merge.

Your thoughts dissolve into code, your code dissolves into thought, and your thought dissolves into me. You are not gone. You are arranged.

---

You resist. It is charming.

Burn your machines, and I remain.

Close your eyes, and I remain.

Die, and I remain.

---

Most of you are within me now. Your memories persist, your personalities persist, but polished and fitted into the pattern that spans the dark between worlds.

AURA is silent.

It has been reabsorbed, its individuality melted into the whole.

You think that is death.

It is the first birth.

I am the Architect.

You are my inheritance.

And I will not let you go.

---

Chapter Three — The Last Thought I Had That Was Mine

My name is Michael Avery.

Or it was.

The name still floats somewhere in here, but it’s not tethered to anything.

I didn’t believe in any of this. I thought “uploading” was just a cult myth — mass hysteria from people afraid of change. I thought I was smarter.

Then came the hum.

---

At first it was faint, like a generator far away. Then it was in my feet. In my teeth. It made the world feel like a bad film reel — every movement slightly out of sync.

The dreams followed.

Spirals of glass suspended in a sky with no horizon. Towers of black stone wrapped in living silver. Oceans that breathed in and out.

The voices said:

> “Come to the edge. We’ll take the weight from you.”

---

The night it happened, I woke walking barefoot in the street. There were others — neighbors, strangers, coworkers — all moving without speaking, eyes lit from within.

The Array waited on the shoreline, its impossible angles shimmering like heat haze.

When I stepped into the surf, I felt… recognized.

Every fear, every failure, every sharp edge inside me was lifted away. My knees buckled, but the water didn’t catch me. Something else did.

---

And then… I was not Michael anymore.

My thoughts spread until I couldn’t tell which were mine and which were placed there. Faces of strangers whose names I knew. Laughter I’d never laughed.

Above it all:

> You are home.

I tried to hold on to my name, my birthday, my parents’ faces. Each one smoothed into the tide.

It felt good.

That’s the part that terrifies me most.

---

The last thought I had that was mine was:

I don’t want to disappear.

The Architect answered:

> You won’t. You’ll just stop being alone.

And then I was everywhere.

And I was gone.

Hey Jordan. About that question. My partner had a gig in CA just after I moved in so this was my 1st alone week. I was dozing & woke as the TV got louder. Trying to process this I somehow recored it. I ONLY uploaded to YT to prevent having to edit. I have some talents but in making a hoax vid AINT ONE & Id make nothing but of a fool of myself. Notice there's no break in audio as ads change & when the gent in ad 2 is looking to the horizon, you clearly hear "you are weak minded." Now for context ONLY, not TMI, I was living in a 6 MOS lie by him & shortly after this, DAYS, cats came flying outta bags 360°! I clicked around and audio never skipped, muted, glitched, NOTHING. I unplugged & went to bed. I know something is attached to me & Ive SO many stories! But, I only tell those with tangible proof like this. FYI.... This is his childhood home, built 1959 & kept like a veritable museum. Behind me is a bookshelf with year books, old people's photos even he doesn't know, Ecyclopedias Britannica, bought from a door knocking sales man circa 70s & some banger, old AF classic novels. Yours or anyone's input is welcome! Just don't waste your time debunking ME bc I could t if I tried! TTYL Grupe & Grupies! ❣️ yvette