Their pause gave their pursuers the opportunity to attack. Wright fired the shotgun into one of the charging beasts, and moved aside as it crumbled into the snow missing part of its skull. Beryl shot the flames out, engulfing one beast and causing it to screech as it rolled in the snow.
“Up the tree!” Tepic shouted to his compatriots as he went for the closest oak, near a group of pines. Beryl climbed swiftly, offering a hand to Tepic as they passed him. Wright stayed at the base of the tree as he switched to handguns, no longer having time to reload the shotgun.
Beryl reached down and offered Wright a hand. Wright was heavier than Beryl expected, but he held his grip and Wright ignored the pain in his chest to reach the high branches. The three continued to climb, as the lapines jumped several feet into the air biting and scratching at them. The branches could not support the horse sized monsters, and so the beasts prowled below as Wright picked them off with his rifle.
Eventually, the lapines retreated leaving their dead behind. Wright let out a sigh of relief, he had not run out of ammunition. Most of his bullets were back with his other supplies. “I’m certainly earning my keep. Took six or seven bullets to bring one of them down if I didn’t get a headshot.”
“Just ter be clear, we is definitely never, ever telling no one this story neither!” Tepic stared and waited till they nodded noncommittally. He realized that it was easier to see the mill now, and the snow was not falling so hard, though the wind was still howling. “Right, so we has ter get down or freeze soon.”
Wright raised his paw to forestall Tepics motion, ”They could be lurking nearby. Wait a few minutes and let the storm clear a little more.”
The weather was starting to clear, but it was a full hour before the blizzard passed. The entire area was covered with snow including most of the bodies. The mill was still standing with a fire going, a good sign their companions were safe. They could see the frozen gulf stretching out into the distance, the light reflecting off the distant surface. The area was made even more surreal by the brilliantly clean light of the almost completely full moon.
Wright looked at the orb with dread, unable to believe he had lost track of time that badly. The sky had been obscured for days, but that was no excuse for his oversight. The last three days of the full moon had been when Beryl showed them the spider cart near the end of December. The next three day phase would be tomorrow night, and he hadn’t prepared a contingency plan yet.
Beryl had also noticed the moon, and had turned to Wright while Tepic was using the clearer sky to search for signs of nuts or fruits. Beryl shrugged sympathetically to him, “What should I tell them?”
“Tell them?” Wright asked, then realized Beryl expected them to run for the safety of the others. “Tell them nothing. I have a contract to see you all safely through the mountains. I’ll figure something out by tomorrow night.” He hoped that was true. Already he could feel his blood warming when he looked in the sky.
“Whatcha talkin ab-” Tepic had begun to ask, but he suddenly gasped in delight. “Miss Avariel! Up here! Up here! We’s in a tree!!”
Beryl and Wright sat upright and turned to where Tepic had been shouting. In the distance, coming over a ridge, was the black horse figure only distinguishable because of the white frost covering the ground. It did not appear she heard Tepic as she was being pursued by a strange antlered creature that used its horns to trip her.
“Oi!” Tepic shouted as he reached for his pistol and shimmied down the tree. Wright leapt down, leaving Beryl to very cautiously descend on their own. Tepic fired wildly at the creature as a distant warning shot. The beast disappeared into the foliage before another shot was fired. Within seconds the only evidence of the Koudra was powdery snow floating in the air.
“Cor! That thing were fast!” Tepic cried back to Wright. “Think that were one of them Kuba’s?”
“Lets not wait to find out,” Wright said, knowing that the creature had not been scared by Tepic, but simply choosing to take its prey unawares. He placed a hand on Tepic’s shoulder. “Get back inside where its safe. I’ll get Dr. Falcon.”
Tepic grinned, believing he had chased off the dreaded Koudra alone. He joined Beryl and the two made their way back to safety. Wright went to meet Avariel halfway, who had gotten back to her feet and was somewhat surprised to find other Babbagers here.
Bookworm welcomed Tepic and Beryl back warmly, but she had a stern lecture prepared for the lad going out alone. While she tried to chastise Tepic, Beryl warmed themselves and their feet by the fire. With Loki constructing a mobile sleigh they had no intention of going back for their snow boots. When Ms. Hienrichs was satisfied Tepic would not depart alone, if only to avoid hearing another lecture from her, she asked if he had really seen Dr. Falcon.
Her question was answered when Wright called out to inform them that he was coming in with the Professor. Bookworm helped open the path for them and then closed it again.
Trust me. You do *not* want to hear me deliver one of these types of lectures. *grin*
Tepic looked shamefaced and contrite during Miss Book’s telling off speach, and promised faithfully he would not go off alone again, as well as saying sorry for the worry he had caused and the danger he had put Mr Wright and Beryl in due to his thoughtlessness. After she had finished, he hung his head as he trudged to the kitchen.
As soon as he was out of sight, his step changed to a bounce in his eagerness to show Loki the pine cones he had found, all nicely closed. All they had to do was break them open and there would be a feast, albet a small one, of pine nuts for his friend, and what pleasure he would get from recounting how he singlehandedly drove off the fearsome Kodula monster! The promise not to go off alone? Well, he would keep that to the letter, no going off alone….
“Hello there!” Avariel mumbled, her mouth occupied with holding a rather bedraggled and soggy white bunny by the ears. “Oh, let me just…” She carefully placed the bunny on the snow where the trembling creature looked about with wide eyes at the new people.
Avariel motioned towards the bunny with her head “Everyone, meet Bunny XXVI”. The bunny continued to tremble as the unicorn continued “Normally these clockwork bunnies keep away from people but once Bunny gets to know you it will be fine,” Avariel nodded.
“Hello,” Bookworm said awkwardly to the tiny clockwork, though it hid behind Dr. Falcon again. Book turned back to the Professor. “What happened after we lost contact? There was heavy interference with your last message.”
Avariel proceeded to tell the story of the attack and what happened after. That she had been following a strange glowing light for several days. “It would come from the sky and lead me to new places every night, though it sometimes felt like I was traveling in a circle.”
“You likely were, Ms. Avariel, ” Yang said as he served a bowl of rabbit stew to Beryl and Tepic. “Those were not lights, but Will o’ the Wisps. They lead travelers astray, deceiving them into believing they are helping when they are intentionally confusing them.”
Beryl added, “You were completely turned around. The telegraph station you visited a week or more ago? That is ahead of us.”
“Boo!” Avariel stomped her hoof angrily. “I could have been back home eating apples by now if I hadn’t trusted those lights! But then I saw that giant flare and after a bit of digging made my way here. All the gunshots really helped too.” Looking over at Yang she sweetly asked, “Do you have any apple slices? Or really anything to eat besides sticks? I’m really tired of eating sticks.”
Everyone enjoyed their meals, though Avariel was disappointed by the lack of fresh fruit. Canned beans were just not as tasty and she refused Loki’s attempt to share pine nuts. Bunny had almost joined everyone, but Loki asked if he could open it up. It was now trying to unsuccessfully hide in Avariel’s mane.
“Oi, guess it don’ wanna,” Loki said dejectedly as he looked up at Avariel respectfully. “Wasn’ gonna break it or nuttin. Jus wanna see ‘ow it worked on thu inside.” He continued on a more cheerful note, “The mobile sled’s engine is ready, but the frame moight take more n’ one nite if it ‘as ter seat Ms. Avariel.”
“That will be much faster than wandering in the snow chasing floating lights.” Avariel nodded cheerfully, as the bunny held on to her mane terrified. “I’ll help with the construction so it could seat an army if we needed it to!”
Bookworm considered that a moment before she turned down the proposal, “I’m sorry Loki, but we’ve lost enough time and our supplies are running low.”
“If I may, Captain,” Wright interjected suddenly. He waited for her nod to continue. “I think a break would do us good. We pushed ourselves hard and some of us are hurt. With the rabbit meat we can stretch our supplies a few nights to recover. We have a defensible location and enough ammunition to last. We could press on but there’s a full moon coming.” Wright stressed that last point to the captain. “With everything we have seen in these mountains, I think we should stay put. We don’t want to encounter whatever that may draw out of hiding.”
Bookworm considered Wright carefully a moment, catching the meaning and concern behind his words. “Alright Mr. Wright, if you are sure we can take the delay I think our feet and wounds would appreciate a brief delay.”
Wright went missing the next day. The compatriots searched for him, but found only his dustier in his sack hidden within a tree. They could hear a wolf howling in the distance, accompanied by other horrifying songs from feral creatures. Mariah turned to Bookworm on the second morning to inform her Mr. Wright was either dead or had abandoned them. Book told her that Wright would return soon, and she hoped that was true. She was not sure that even he could resist the Kona Snaer or combat the other creatures in his transformed state.
There were several attacks in the night, but bullets and flamethrowers kept the beasts at bay. On the third night a massive wolf monster was seen stalking outside, far more bulky than the Koudra Tepic had seen, but was sent away when Mariah unleashed her flamethrower. It turned instead to feast on fleeing rabbits.
“Not here” Wright said to no one. The wolf clutched his chest tightly as he fell to his knees. He had run three miles before he felt the burning in his blood, before he felt the call. But he wasn’t far enough away, he could still smell his travelling companions back at the old mill. He had run so far, but time had run faster. He leaned back and looked towards the tops of the mountains as the last pink rays of sunlight vanished from their tops, replaced by a cold, purple twilight. There were only minutes left now.
As the light of day vanished the wolf felt a sudden cold wind blow through the clearing, it danced in the bare fur of his torso and through his mane. He felt something else too. The fur on his back slowly rose on end, as if it had been electrically charged. His breathing slowed and the wolf took a moment to relax before agony overwhelmed him and sent him pitching forward into the snow.
Wright writhed and thrashed about in the cold white powder, eventually managing to turn himself over. Above him the silver moon rose into the night sky, full and bright. He extended a paw towards it also trying to stand. Another jolt of pain, this time partnered with a loud crack sent him tumbling back onto all fours again. There was another crack and Wright’s spine began to rise all along his back. His flesh tightened, or so it seemed, the reality was that everything beneath was growing and his skin and fur hadn’t quite caught on yet.
Wright’s body continued to pop and crack, his bones were always the first things to begin the change, always the most painful part and after twenty years he knew what would come next. Wright gasped and arched his back straight as a loud series of snaps emanated from his chest, his entire ribcage had just simultaneously broken. He kneeled there, gasping for breath like a fish out of water until his chest suddenly surged forward and he began to cough violently, his spit staining the pure white snow scarlet.
There was another crack from his back which sent the wolf forward again, the entire bone structure looked to be stretching longer, again it looked painful. There was another pop, this time from Wright’s boots as his paws burst through the leather, thick black claws crowning the tips of each toe on the now massive paws. More pain shot through the wolf and he gripped into the ground in front of him with his changing hands.
The growth spread down his arms from his thickening shoulders to the fingertips on each hand, his muscles stretched and grew with each pump of his rapidly beating heart. Every cycle sent more fire coursing through the transforming wolf’s veins. Wright clenched his teeth and shut his eyes against such overwhelming agony. It didn’t help, it never helped. The wolf could feel everything. He could feel his legs forcing the seams of his pants apart, He could feel his face changing, his teeth growing. He could even feel his fur coat growing longer and shaggier.
It took several minutes before the wolf was certain everything had stopped changing. He could sense the beast’s instincts taking root in his mind, It didn’t completely take him over like it used to, and wright was thankful for that. But there was still enough monster inside his head to make him wary of going back to the others.
Slowly, Wright stood, he wobbled a bit, even after all this time it was still hard to adjust to going from six foot five to nearly thirteen feet tall in under ten minutes. The monstrous Lycan stumbled towards the tree line, tripping in the snow. He caught himself against a tree, his claws digging into the bark and leaving deep gouges. He looked up at the moon with glowing eyes and let loose a cursing howl of anger for what he had to endure before making his way back towards the mill.
He could smell the predators that stalked the region converging on the campsite and only one completely clear thought raced through his massive head as he dashed onwards. “Protect”. He spent the night intercepting the giant creatures as they made their way towards the mill, killing each one with tooth and claw, driven by his urge to protect.
There were a few times Wright caught himself enjoying the hunt. He even smiled as he lifted one of the overgrown local bears up by the neck and snapped it like a twig. It reminded him of fighting Prometheus, except it was the way he had wanted to face the bear. The hunt kept him busy for nearly all of the three days but on the third night he could hear gunfire from the Mill, a few of the beasts were encroaching his territory, and he wouldn’t let that go unpunished.
Wright dashed towards the mill, and right into a jet of fire. The heat singed some of his fur, though the wolf brushed it off like it was nothing as he turned towards one of the gargantuan fleeing rabbits and bit into it’s neck. Wright howled as the rest of the creatures fled, he had proved his point and they would take some time to regroup.
The werewolf took the opportunity to sit and rest. he carved off some rabbit haunch for himself and sat cross legged in the snow eating his meal, his eyes transfixed upon the small mill, displaying to all that this area had a protector. By morning the beast had gone, and Wright in his less monstrous form hiked wearily out of the woods, his clothes torn and ragged, and his fur wild and unkempt before stumbling into mill.
Wright Sat by the fire and did what he had been trained to do, spin a believable story. His explanations of capture and daring escape seemed to wow the urchins, Beryl and Book nodded, and played along, Yang and Professor Falcon went about their business, but Mariah seemed unconvinced. She didn’t trust Wright, and He didn’t trust her. The wolf was certain he could have told her the truth and she still wouldn’t have believed him.
Yay!
Wright returned on the third morning after his disappearance looking haggard and his clothes torn apart. Mariah and the others demanded to know why he had gone off alone which he denied doing intentionally. He told them he had been taken by the Koudra and had only desperately escaped later. Mariah did not believe his tale, but Bookworm tried to move forward quickly.
Loki had undergone a transformation of his own in that time. The grime and soot that had matted to his fur had come out revealing his natural tabby fur. A part of him was disappointed to lose his Babbage soot, but it could not be helped when traveling so far from the city.
The urchin and Avariel had proudly completed their sleigh, which she assured everyone was almost safe. It was made from thick beams of wood and metal bits that had been spread about and would support even her weight. Dr. Falcon, having spent some time with Loki, had also realized he would need to be barred from the Power station in the future.
When it was time to set off early in the morning they returned to the frozen gulf to be horribly reminded of a forgotten detail. The ice floes in the ocean caused the ice to form lumpy.
“We’h, ‘old on tight ter sumfin!” Loki said as he lowered a pair of goggles for the trip. “Gonna be a bumpy flight for shore!” Loki set them off as they banged, bounced, and jumped over the ice, threatening to break apart until he slowed down a bit. The ride was still uncomfortable but they began to make good progress.
*End of Part 2: The Frozen North*