Howling Dead

by M. H. Bonham

  Kira closed her eyes. She could see the outline of the Forest within her mind’s eye becoming sharper and more real. The air was colder here and slightly rarified—she guessed Spaz had made this section mountainous. And yet, she could sense Alaric’s wolf-presence nearby. All she had to do was reach out to him…

  CHAPTER 51

  A day had passed since Spaz had tried to access the Enchanted Forest. His captors had given him some water and some stale crackers, but nothing substantial. They wanted him alive for the moment, but for how long remained to be seen. He felt miserable as he lay with his arms bound in duct tape and the bloody stump burning like fire.

  Something had been nagging him about the wolf he had seen with Lizard. It had been smaller than the other werewolves and not as threatening. The werewolves he had seen in the Forest were usually huge menacing things with glowing red eyes, and blood dripping down from their teeth.

  Spaz closed his eyes and focused on the Forest. He was getting weak and his link with the Forest was tenuous at best, but he had to find help somehow. Even if it meant popping out into the cops’ computers and writing “help” across their screens. Within moments, he was galloping through a dark pine forest in the avatar of a unicorn.

  No sooner had he appeared than three werewolves materialized before him, their eyes red and their maws dripping with blood. Spaz turned on his hoof—a maneuver impossible in the real world—and vanished from sight. But the wolves already had a lock on him, and they dogged his every move.

  Spaz ran from machine to machine, faster than thought. He sent out an email to the Denver police but as the packet flew away from him, the wolves spun off daemons, smaller versions of themselves, to track down the email. The wolves were so quick, Spaz guessed that they were daemons themselves, not human-driven. They were programs set to search and destroy.

  It was then that he sensed something else. One of the daemons sent out a traceroute toward him. Spaz tried to set up a firewall, but to his dismay, he found that his priority had been lowered. The werewolves had found part of the program he was using and had modified his permissions, so that he wouldn’t have the strength to block them.

  There was nothing to do except bail. If the werewolves found out where he was picking up the signal, it wouldn’t take long before they realized it was him. Spaz pulled the plug and opened his eyes. Although he couldn’t see past the blindfold, he was back in his cell again.

  K

  Kira closed her eyes and concentrated. As much as she was afraid to let go, she was more afraid of Spaz dying. The rogue werewolves had killed too many people now, and she wasn’t going to let them kill him, too. If there were any way for her to save him, she’d find it.

  She reached out to Alaric and felt his presence at once. It was as if every nerve fired simultaneously through her body as she felt his power course through her. The She-Wolf seemed to relish in it; drinking in his consciousness as though it sustained her. Kira could do nothing except watch helplessly.

  But, as overwhelming as he was, Alaric’s presence became focused on her link to the Forest. As soon as Alaric appeared in her mind, he had disappeared.

  “Alaric?” she said aloud.

  “It’s okay, Kira. I’m in. Look in the Forest.”

  And she did. Beside her stood a large black wolf. He was looking not at her, but all around at the Enchanted Forest. Kira knew what he was seeing.

  The world had suddenly shifted for him. What had been a world of reality was now layered with something that looked like a shadow world; a world of binary ones and zeros that overlapped reality in a fuzzy image.

  Kira faced Alaric in her wolf form. Only, it wasn’t quite wolf form, but a binary approximation of such. He stared at her. “How did you do that?” he asked, and started at his own voice. It had a tinny echo to it.

  You don’t need to talk. You just need to think, Kira said.

  “Like werewolves?” He tried to think his words. How is this secure?

  Normally, it’s not, she said. Look around us.

  Alaric looked at the trees and saw flames erupt all around them. He jumped back, but there was nowhere to go.

  Easy, Alaric, it’s a firewall. Kira sounded smug even to her ears. She tried to tone it down. It’s a barrier between us and other machines and programs.

  How? Alaric was intrigued.

  Using secure socket layer to encrypt our conversation, Kira said. Spaz thought of everything. There are programs we can access that will allow us the basic security. It won’t withstand a full-on assault of malicious code, but it’s a start.

  But why are you a wolf?

  Our avatars. We can be anything here. With that, she turned into a sexy anime of herself. You like?

  I like you just fine the way you are, Alaric remarked. I don’t need a fantasy.

  Well, you’re in the wrong place, Kira remarked, turning back into her wolf avatar. The Internet is full of fantasy.

  So, what am I looking at? Alaric asked, surveying the binary landscape.

  The Enchanted Forest.

  Forest? Alaric said. It doesn’t look like a forest to me.

  Kira laughed. You’re seeing the bare bones.

  The bare bones?

  Without skin, Kira said. Alaric looked puzzled. Watch this, she added, and called up the computer. All around them, a magical forest of trees sprang up. In one view, he was standing in the sunlight with Kira, staring out into Common’s Park. But in another view—almost like a mind’s eye view—he could see a pristine forest before him. The trees were flocked with snow and he could feel the cold wind in his face.

  Feel? He looked at Kira, and she smiled. Like it?

  This isn’t real, he said.

  Kira shrugged. What is reality, Alaric? Is it what you see and feel? The Forest offers more reality than most people can imagine.

  Reality is life or death, said Alaric. No one dies here.

  How do you know that? Kira asked.

  Alaric hesitated. He didn’t have an answer for that. Could people die here, as in the real world? If so, did this make this second existence just as real? He found he couldn’t answer that, either.

  Even if you can’t answer it for certain, Kira said, can’t you see how important this interface would be?

  Alaric nodded slowly. This interface makes the Enchanted Forest more accessible to anyone who uses it.

  The ultimate reality trip.

  Alaric shut down the link. “Maybe for some people—not for me.” The Forest and all that surrounded him vanished, and he stood facing Kira in the park.

  “It’s wonderful,” she said.

  “It’s dangerous,” Alaric replied. “You told me that our werewolf senses allow instantaneous access into the Enchanted Forest.”

  “Yes,” Kira said and stopped. “The Enchanted Forest has links into everything.”

  “Financial institutions, communications—all at the speed of thought?”

  Kira laughed. “That’s pretty slow. You could get everything you want with a program.”

  “But you need to know what you’re looking for, isn’t that correct?”

  “Well yeah, unless you have some AI code which can modify its programming.” Kira looked at Alaric skeptically. “Are you suggesting that Spaz was doing more than just a cool interface for the Forest? I mean, the money on the design would be enough to kill anyone for.”

  Alaric nodded. “True, but think. The rogues aren’t interested in money. They want power.”

  Kira thought about this for a bit. “Okay, let’s say you’re right. Let’s say the rogues have found some reason to want this interface. What would it be?”

  “You’re the computer expert. You tell me.”

  Kira leaned back. “Let’s say it is power. I wonder how much access to the Enchanted Forest they have. They have at least a good portion of the backbone, through Intermountain.”

  “But do they have everything?”

  “I doubt it. I suspect that the Enchanted Forest is as large as the
Internet. There’s bound to be areas the rogues wouldn’t know.”

  “But Spaz would,” said Alaric. “He’s one of the architects of this thing?”

  “Yeah.” Kira paused.

  “Listen, what if the rogue werewolves didn’t have complete access? What if they simply had control over a few places and a few portals? Maybe there’s more to this Enchanted Forest than just trees.”

  Kira looked thoughtfully. “Well, the rogues could hack into systems.”

  “How much easier is it when you’re already there?” Alaric paused. “So the rogues might not be able to take systems that the government has not connected to the Internet, but what about other systems?”

  Kira hesitated and brought herself back into the Forest.

  Query Forest Map, she said to the command prompt after she brought it up.

  What appeared in her mind’s eye was a dizzying array of machines—many off the Intermountain backbone, but many others she didn’t recognize. As the picture wrapped itself around her, Kira noticed a small menu at the bottom, similar to the Google menus: Approximately 1,200,475 hits. Page 1 of 240,095.

  Kira blanched. Alaric cocked his head. “What do you see?”

  “It’s huge,” she said. “There’s over a million that I can see. There could be many more. Spaz’s program acts like a virus and tries to snake into any machine hooked into the Internet... which means the entire Forest is growing at a phenomenal rate.” She paused and looked at him. “I don’t know how deep it goes, but I’d wager you can get just about any information about anyone.” She closed her eyes.

  #find / – network –print | grep “Kira Walker”

  #3572 hits

  “Shit.”

  Alaric cocked an eyebrow. “What’d you find?”

  “All my bank account records,” Kira said. “Shit, I’m thirty-seven dollars overdrawn...” She shook her head sheepishly. “I thought I had enough money to cover that.”

  “Nice,” said Alaric.

  CHAPTER 52

  We need to shut this thing down now,” Alaric said. “If you can get access to bank accounts and other personal information, it means the rogues can, too. It also means that they can finance their revolution with other people’s money. So why would they still need your friend, Spaz?”

  Kira frowned. “Maybe it’s still access,” she said.

  “They can access the Forest the way we did.”

  “Yeah, but maybe they don’t have the same access. Or maybe there’s more to accessing the Forest than what we can do.”

  “Right now we have data access—what else is there?” Alaric asked.

  “Let me ask,” Kira said.

  “Ask who?” Alaric said in puzzlement.

  “Spaz,” she said. When she saw his confused expression she grinned. “Spaz created a help program that looks just like him. Let me ask it.” She slid back into the Enchanted Forest. Help program?

  Spaz’s smiling face appeared in front of her. Can I help you?

  What’s the security on the Enchanted Forest?

  Please define security level

  Shit. Command line interface.

  Ready. Command?

  Man security

  No man pages on security.

  Ready, command?

  Kira felt like smacking her head against a wall. It would take all day for her to guess what the security levels were on the Forest. She glanced at Alaric, who was staring at her curiously. She shrugged. “It’s not that intuitive.”

  “I didn’t think computers were,” Alaric said dryly.

  Kira lifted her lip in an imitation of a wolf snarling. She went back to the interpretive interface and started looking at the NIS+ yellow pages and various security levels. Slowly, she began to unravel Spaz’s design. There were protected databases on top of the various layers—most of which were encrypted in a way she couldn’t readily access. With a few queries, she was able to determine that she had fairly high permissions, but wasn’t superuser.

  No one was, save Spaz.

  Kira decided it was time to see how far she could get inside other computers. She chose a top bank on Wall Street and went in. The Forest changed from trees to skyscrapers. She was walking along what she imagined was Spaz’s interpretation of New York City. The buildings loomed over her, gray and foreboding with a cold wind running through canyon-like streets.

  And yet, Kira would’ve known in an instant that this was not real. There were no people here—no crowds, no cabs. She had been to New York City once, and this looked like nothing she had ever seen.

  Pull up account information, she said.

  Suddenly a firewall leapt up in front of her. A fiery message appeared in the flames.

  You are not authorized to access this information.

  The heat from the firewall forced her to take a step backwards. Who is authorized? she asked.

  You are not authorized to access this information.

  She rubbed her eyes and snapped back into the real world. To her surprise, it was getting dark.

  “How long?” she said.

  Alaric shrugged. “Almost an hour.”

  “An hour?” She stared at him. “And you waited?”

  “I am patient,” Alaric said. “But so are most predators. What did you find out?”

  “Spaz has firewalls on the most sensitive stuff. He’s a spider, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew if someone else got into the real important stuff, someone might just figure out the Forest and find ways to shut him out. So he firewalled and passworded them.”

  “Are there ways around them?” Alaric asked.

  “I don’t know.” Kira’s stomach rumbled and blushed. “Sorry.”

  “No, we should get something to eat,” Alaric said. “We’ll go to The Grey Wolf and I’ll have my wolves start searching for your friend.”

  “But what if they’re rogues?” she asked. “Won’t they alert whoever is in charge?”

  Alaric shrugged. “I’ll offer a reward,” he said. “Some rogues’ loyalty can be turned with a bit of money.”

  “I don’t like the people you deal with.”

  “I can’t always choose my own kind,” Alaric said.

  “Yes, but you can choose your lieutenants,” Kira said. “Cathal was a poor choice.”

  “Cathal held the Commerce City pack’s loyalty,” Alaric said. “He wouldn’t have been my first choice for second-in-command, but he held a lot of power. Still, I didn’t think he’d go against pack loyalty and betray me.”

  “I could’ve told you he would,” Kira said. “Cathal cared about nothing except Cathal.”

  Alaric smiled as she stood up. Kira found it both intriguing and disarming. “Perhaps we should discuss this over dinner. If we’re to find your friend soon, I’d better send my wolves looking for him.” He offered her his hand.

  Kira took it and he pulled her into his arms. Before she knew it, he was kissing her. Her nostrils filled with his musky scent and she was overwhelmed with the passion in his kiss.

  Alaric pulled away and grinned, leaving her breathless. “Let’s get dinner. I’m eager for dessert.”

  CHAPTER 53

  The Grey Wolf seemed darker and more ominous as they entered it that evening. Several werewolves hung around the entrance as Alaric strode toward door, Kira’s arm firmly intertwined in his own. As he approached, the werewolves took notice of him. Most were younger wolves, barely in their teens and early twenties. Many wore spiked hair and leather spiked dog collars.

  Kira glanced at Alaric, who smiled ruefully. “They’re into the rogue wolf look,” he explained. “Most of it is just rebellion against their parents. Harmless really. Few are actually into it.”

  “Like that kid who tried to rape me?” Kira said. “I don’t think it’s that harmless.”

  Alaric considered her thoughtfully. “You think I should ban it?”

  “I think you should be very careful,” Kira replied. “But we may be able to use them.” She paused as the She-Wolf inside her si
lently nudged her to act. She turned to Alaric. “Do you trust me?”

  Alaric paused, his eyebrows raised slightly. “What do you plan to do?”

  “I plan to have these kids find Spaz.” She could feel the She-Wolf in her nudge her hard. Alaric nodded. Kira turned to the pack of teens and considered them.

  She noticed one of the girls—about fifteen, by the look of her—staring at Kira. She met the young woman’s challenging gaze with her own steady stare. The girl shrunk back, and then looked away.

  “See? Harmless,” Alaric said.

  “I’m not convinced,” Kira replied. She slid her arm from Alaric’s and stepped forward. The girl withdrew a bit. “What’s your name?”

  The girl flinched and shivered, despite the warm breeze. She had crimson hair and pale white skin. Her leather top barely covered breasts which displayed tattoos of wolves running toward each other, facing her cleavage. That had to have hurt, Kira thought. Looking down the girl’s body, Kira noted the leather miniskirt and the too high stiletto pumps. “Emily,” the girl said in a hoarse whisper.

  “Emily,” Kira repeated. “Does your momma know you’re out here?”

  The girl blanched and trembled under Kira’s steady gaze. “No.”

  “I didn’t think so,” she said. “Look, you tell your friends here that Alpha and I have something for you to do besides just hang out. There’s a Normal who’s been kidnapped by the rogues...” She paused. “You’re not a rogue are you?”

  “What do you care, bitch?” The teen beside Emily stared at Kira defiantly. He was a tall, lanky boy with a mop of dirty black hair and black makeup on his eyelids and lips. Kira turned to meet his gaze.

  “I care because Alpha cares,” she said with a hint of a snarl in her voice. “The man’s name is Will Tagura. He’s also known by the nick of Spaz. Got it?”

  The teen averted his eyes. “Yeah.”

  “What’s your name, Pup?” she asked, and smiled as she saw him bristle at the insult.

  “Tom.”

  “Good. Now, you, Tom and Emily, are in charge of this lot. I want you to find Spaz. Once you have, report back to either me or Alpha.” She glanced back to see Alaric nodding slowly.