by Angela Foxxe
“What’s that over there?” Igor yelled out as he saw a large black shadow slink between the trees when they were half way across the river. Valemon’s ears pointed forward and he moved his massive head around to search for what his cousin had seen.
“Must have been a moose,” Igor said, more to comfort himself than Valemon. Rachel’s head was still in the clouds, as she sat perched atop Valemon’s towering shoulders. They continued carefully across the makeshift bridge, keeping an eye out for any of the dire wolves from the Ironwood Clan.
A few more steps and they were home free.
Suddenly, the log began to roll beneath them. Igor turned and looked behind them and saw a large black dire wolf standing on its hind legs, pawing at the roots in an attempt to make the large tree roll and dislodge the trio. Igor grabbed Rachel from Valemon’s back and made a mad dash to the end of the tree with her in his arms. “Valemon, run!” he cried out as he leaped free of the tree.
Valemon broke into a run, using his claws to dig into the bark to secure himself on the rolling tree bridge. Bark chips flew up as he ran across the log. He felt his paws slip as the log rolled sharply from underneath him. He managed to regain his footing, bunched up, and bounded into a gigantic leap, practically flying the rest of the way across the river. The tree rolled further and fell into the river to be swept away by the rushing current.
Valemon slipped on the muddy bank and his hind end dangled into the icy water while he desperately clutched to the crumbling clay. His hind feet scrambled and dug into the soft dirt as he pushed his massive bulk up on the muddy river bank.
He lay in the mud, panting heavily from the exertion of the leap. His silver fur was coated with muddy red clay giving him a bloodstained appearance. Eventually, he pulled himself up and shook off the drying earth. Valemon noticed an intense pain in his right hind leg as he limped towards his cousin and Rachel.
“Shit, you’re hurt!” Igor said, rushing to Valemon’s side. He bent to examine the tender extremity. First, he lifted the paw to see if there were any cuts or splinters from the tree trunk, and seeing no blood, he moved on up the leg, gently palpating the large hairy limb with his broad hands to see if there were any broken bones. “No broken bones either. You probably just sprained it. Take it easy and I’ll fix it when we finally get to the house. It’s still a good clip away. I think I’ll take Rachel this time. At least you can wear my clothes while we walk.”
Valemon nodded his broad shaggy head as he began to shift back to his human form while his cousin disrobed. Igor handed Rachel his clothes and changed into his bear form while Valemon went through the agonizing change back to human. His naked body was still caked in red clay as he limped towards the catatonic woman. He took the clothes from her upturned hands and put them on. He then bent down and kissed her matted blonde hair and gently touched her face, before lifting her up onto Igor’s broad, yellow back. Igor began to shamble down the dirt road while Valemon limped alongside, keeping Rachel stable all the way to the lake house.
CHAPTER SIX
It was getting dark by the time they reached the modest log cabin that had been in Valemon’s family for centuries. Valemon’s ankle was swollen beyond recognition and his feet were bloodied from walking on the sharp stones that poked up from the dirt road. He felt it a shame that they had to leave the SUV behind, but there’d been no other choice. The wolves probably destroyed it by now, he thought glumly. The agony in his feet had turned into a numb throbbing and his arms felt like lead. All he wanted to do was to fall into bed and sleep for a while before heading off to find the rune stone that held the secret location of the Aerie.
When the trio reached the door, Valemon reached up and helped Rachel slide down from the back of the immense blonde bear before he underwent the painful process of turning back into his human form.
“Alright, the keys are in my pocket,” the naked Igor said. “Hurry up, it’s cold out here,” he nagged, while shivering in the darkness.
Valemon fished in the front pocket of the faded blue jeans and found Igor’s key ring. “I don’t know which one works, so you gotta do it.” He handed the keys to his cousin.
“Gee, thanks,” Igor replied dryly as he peered in the darkness at the key ring. “There we go, found it.” He put the key in the front door and turned it. The door opened and they stepped inside.
The musty smell of mothballs and dust filled their nostrils. Igor grabbed a nearby flashlight which he always kept next to the door and walked upstairs to one of the rooms so he could put some clothes on.
“I need to go outside and start the generator,” he said. “If there’s no gas for it, we’ll have to rough it with oil lamps and the fireplace. I have enough wood out back. I also have some camp food in the kitchen that doesn’t need much in the way of cooking.”
Valemon nodded and hobbled to a nearby couch. He put his large, wounded feet up on the coffee table and sighed with relief to be finally off them. His ankle was swollen to the size of a softball, and his feet were caked in dirt and dried blood.
Igor let out a low whistle. “On second thought, let me go get a lamp and get those feet done up. We don’t want you getting an infection. You might have to stay here a few days while they get better.”
“Not going to happen. Once I wake up tomorrow, I’m going to go find that rune stone.”
Igor nodded as he went off to the kitchen to find one of the kerosene lamps he had stashed back there, along with a first aid kit and some water. He looked under the sink and found some disposable alcohol burners and a camp stove. He pumped some water from the well into a kettle and placed it on the metal apparatus. He opened the can of fuel and placed it directly underneath the icy water and lit it with the barbecue lighter he had hanging nearby.
It took a few minutes for the water to come to a boil and he removed it from the heat. He placed the cover on the flame to snuff it out so as not to waste fuel, then added a bit of cold water to the pot to cool it off. He scrounged for a clean dishcloth and towels, gathered everything up and exited the kitchen.
“Alright. This is probably going to hurt like a motherfucker but it’s the only way to get these paws of yours to heal right.” Igor placed the bandages, ointment and hot water down on the coffee table next to Valemon’s huge bloodied feet. He then took the cloth and dipped it in the steaming water and wrung it out, and wiped Valemon’s foot gently with it; even then, it elicited a sharp hiss of pain from the older man. “Oh stop being such a big baby,” he chided as he kept cleaning the dirt and gravel that was embedded in the soles of Valemon’s feet with the hot water.
Igor finished his first aid by pouring a few bottles of rubbing alcohol all over Valemon’s newly bleeding feet and smeared them with antibacterial ointment fortified with comfrey. He then wrapped the wounds in bandages. “There you go, you big oaf,” he said as he handed him two small pills. “Take some Advil and go to bed. I’ll make sure Rachel gets to hers. I’ll get that generator or wood stove running while you two snooze. We might be here a few days, so having some light and heat would be a good thing, especially when the baby comes.”
Valemon grunted as he rose from the couch. “Alright. I’ll see you early in the morning.” His feet felt much better and his sprain seemed to go down as the Advil kicked in. He hobbled up the stairs to the master bedroom and closed the door behind him.
Igor took Rachel gently by the hand and guided her upstairs to the second bedroom. “Come on, this way.” She looked at him with confusion “You’re not Valemon?” she inquired quizzically.
“No, I’m Igor, his cousin. Valemon went to bed, now you’re going.”
“Oh, okay,” she said as she followed the large man to her bedroom. This was completely unlike her and deep inside she was screaming to be let out. Someone had control over her brain. It wasn’t the baby, the presence felt alien, yet familiar at the same time, but not infantile. She felt as if her psyche was locked inside a cage and she was railing against the bars to escape. She was watching everyt
hing go on around her and how the two men were treating her and it infuriated her, but she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
She lay down on the old down mattress as Igor closed the door. She stared at the high beamed wooden ceiling but try as she might, she couldn’t break out of the cage she was in. So she sat in the dark, alone in her own mind as whatever puppet master controlled her.
“Calm child,” she heard a soothing woman’s voice intone in her head.
“Who is that?” she yelled.
“You’ll find out soon enough, child. But fear not, I am a friend.”
“Are you the one that’s doing this?” Rachel demanded.
“Yes. You need to keep your mind separated from what is going on, or else you will go insane. I am helping with that.”
“You could have told me...” Rachel sulked.
“There was no time. Your pregnancy was...unexpected. We are not pleased with how it came about, and we shall have words with Valemon.
“Don’t fret, however, we won’t harm him. This war between the bears of the coast and the wolves of the Iron Woods has been going on long enough. You won’t be able to tell him about this conversation. I will keep you in this semi-lucid state until after the babe has been birthed.”
“Will I survive?” Rachel asked.
“That will be up to you.” With that, the presence in her mind vanished.
*
Valemon sat at the coffee table sipping the strong coffee his cousin made by boiling coffee grounds in a pot of water. He grimaced at the bitter brew while he attempted to wake up from his fitful sleep. His feet and ankle still throbbed uncomfortably in their bandages, so he elevated them on the table to help reduce the pain.
“Yeah, last night the generator was dry, so we’re stuck using the wood stove and hand pumping water while we’re here. Hopefully, it won’t be too long, since I only have maybe half a cord of wood. If we’re going to be delivering a baby here, we’re going to need plenty of boiling water to keep things clean.” Igor entered the living room from the kitchen carrying his own mug of coffee.
“That’s your job. I’m leaving today to find that damn rune stone.” Valemon grunted.
“On those feet?” Igor asked skeptically. “You won’t get very far.”
“That’s why I’m taking your boots.”
“No you aren’t.” Igor snapped at him. “You’re going in bear form; at least you can protect yourself that way if you get jumped by one of those nasty mutts. You might get fleas, but nothing else.”
Valemon laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Seriously, I don’t want you losing my boots, I think I have one more pair here, I’m not sure.”
“I found an entire wardrobe full of your boots in the closet upstairs; I think you’ll be fine.” Valemon smiled at him.
“Yeah, you have a point. You do need to get going soon. I’ll go and fill up a backpack with food and some water while you get ready.”
Valemon drained his coffee, rose from the couch, and hobbled up to Rachel’s bedroom to check on her. He found her laying on her side, staring into nothingness. “Rachel?” he asked softly.
“Mmm?” Rachel didn’t stir.
Valemon walked up to the bed and sat down. He placed his large hand gently on her forehead and caressed her. “I’m going to try and find the Aerie. I hope you can hang on until then.”
“Mmmm.” She was getting deeper into her catatonic state and that worried Valemon. Her pregnancy development seemed to have leveled off, so he might have a few days, tops, to find the Aerie and bring one of the Falcon Clan down to the chalet.
“I’ll be back soon. Hold on for me, okay?” Valemon bent down and planted a light kiss on Rachel’s forehead. He noticed that the cut had become redder and warm to the touch. He will have to get Igor to tend to the infection, somehow. He got up and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. As he came down the stairs, he saw Igor holding a full backpack. “The cut on her forehead is infected, you might need to open it and clean it out again.”
Igor nodded and handed the backpack to his cousin. “There are rations for three days in there. Hopefully, it shouldn’t take you any longer than that to get there and back. When I was poking around last night, I saw a large shadow behind the chalet. I didn’t notice it before because there was a huge tree blocking it for so long. I had to cut it down for more wood last night. The pile we had wasn’t sufficient.”
“Don’t you ever sleep?” Valemon asked, incredulously.
“I slept. I also put in some wood. I just split a quarter of it for now. If we need more, I’ll go chop more.”
“Makes sense. I hope I’ll be back in three days. If I don’t make it back in seven, try to get Rachel out of here, if she survives. If not, you’ll have to bury her,” Valemon said sadly.
Igor nodded unhappily, as Valemon put on the backpack. “Here are my good hiking boots. Try not to get them too bloody.” He pushed the boots towards Valemon.
“Thanks.” Valemon pulled the boots over his bandaged feet and tied them up. He stood back up and put on the backpack. “Remember, seven days.”
“I’m not an idiot, you know. I know how to count. Now get out of here. The thing I saw was about five hundred yards away from the back of the chalet.”
“Thanks.” Valemon opened the door. “Keep her safe, alright?”
“You know it.” Igor closed the door after Valemon stepped out.
Igor sighed and went for his first aid kit. He opened it up and saw some Betadine packets, a disposable scalpel and a few other things for minor surgery. He was glad he stashed away as much as he could up here at the chalet, he thought. He went to the kitchen and boiled some more water. Lancing Rachel’s infected cut wasn’t going to be pretty, and it would hurt her like the dickens, but it needed to be done. If it managed to reach her brain, who knew what would happen.
He grabbed his supplies and went upstairs. He found Rachel lying on her side. She hadn’t moved since he helped her into bed last night. “Hey.” He announced himself as he entered her room. “I’m going to tend to the cut on your forehead and then we’re going downstairs to get something to eat. You need to get something in you.”
“Mmmm,” was all Rachel could muster in response.
Igor sighed and hoped that, once the baby came, her mental health would return if she survived. Maybe this was just her way of surviving through the trauma and stress. It wasn’t exactly healthy, but it prevented her from snapping and him needing to confine a raving lunatic.
He sat down on the bed and gently wiped the angry suppurating wound with the Betadine wash, staining the hair of her fringe orange. He tried to keep it out of the area but the fringe kept flopping back, so he just gave up. He placed a few pads of gauze around the wound to absorb the pus that would erupt, opened the disposable scalpel blade and used it to pierce the yellowish-green area in the middle of the angry red skin.
The purulent materials erupted from the wound in a torrent of gore. Igor cleaned it as best as he could and noticed the swelling had gone down quite a bit after he was through with his makeshift surgery. He packed the wound with antibacterial ointment and sterile dressing and placed another bandage over it.
Igor got up, gathered his things and walked downstairs to cook breakfast for Rachel and himself. He found some Cream of Wheat cereal in the pantry that he’d left there in the fall. He cooked it up over the wood stove with water and powdered milk. He added some strawberry preserves he brought with him and brought it upstairs for Rachel to eat.
He put the food down on the table and shook her shoulder gently. “Hey, you need to eat.”
She sat up and turned towards the food in a robot-like motion. She shoveled the porridge into her mouth with mechanical movements, swallowing the food without chewing. She gulped down the water and lay back down again.
Igor sighed and gathered up the dishes. At least she ate, he thought to himself. That cub must be robbing her of everything she’s got, which w
as probably why she had been so unresponsive. Its growth seemed to have slowed down, at least.
As Igor turned into the hall to go down the stairs, he heard a loud crash come from the kitchen. He hastily ran down to investigate. He put the dirty dishes down on the coffee table and rounded the corner.
As he came around, he found a six foot tall, black dire wolf staring at him with baleful red eyes. Its muzzle was turned up in a snarl, exposing its yellow fangs. The animal padded back and forth growling menacingly at the man, its head low, hackles raised and the tail pointing straight back. The body language was telegraphing full-on aggression. The back screen door was torn off its hinges by the giant animal as it broke into the chalet.
Igor didn’t even have to think twice. He began the painful shifting process, not even caring that his clothing got destroyed in the process. He felt his bulk double and his hair grow. The clothing ripped from his body as it morphed into its massive ursine form. He charged towards the black wolf as best as he could, shoving it out of the house and away from Rachel.
The dire wolf landed heavily on its side as Igor shoved it outside with his massive bulk. It got up and shook off the impact before leaping towards the massive bruin with bared fangs. Igor turned his massive rump to intercept the attack and winced as he felt the dire wolf’s teeth pierce his hide. He then turned his rump towards the log chalet and pinned the attacking canine with his weight against the structure. The Ironwood Clan enforcer whined pitifully as it scrambled to escape the slow crushing death. It felt its ribs snapping and piercing its internal organs as it was mercilessly crushed by a giant bear ass. A fountain of blood erupted from the dire wolf’s muzzle as it died from being squashed like an oversized insect.
