| Most people are unaware there is a set of artificial islands between the west coast and Hawaii. Five of them are in a string. Four have fresh water supply. I would guess they are in the neighborhood of being at around five thousand square acres each in size and may be much larger. I don’t know if the islands are constantly floating or perhaps at times their bottoms rest on the ocean floor. I can say it is an area where the ocean is not extremely deep. The weather was almost always sunny and warm but not what I would have thought to be tropical. My name is John McCantry. I found these islands purely by chance. I had survived a fight with a big man on a ship going from Portland to Maui. I had to stick a knife in his shoulder which didn’t kill him but sure did piss him off. He swore revenge would be swift and severe. I left the ship with an inflatable boat, some length of rope and a treble-hooked anchor, a bag of food and a jug of water. I had a knife and machete for protection and to help me cut my bed sheets into some sort of cover from the sun. The tide carried me for days until I came to the islands. I only discovered the one at first. To my amazement there were people living on the island. They were friendly and welcomed me in. I even took a mate and everything was better than I could have hoped until the first full moon happened, almost a month into my living there. My mate was called NightSong, when translated. She was of native American background. I also became friends with several of the men, one of which was quickly becoming my best friend. His name was something I couldn’t pronounce but that meant “Dancing Cougar”. Translated it roughly meant “for the way the big cats would dance when testing out the water before finally deciding to cross a stream or river”. I said their language sounded like the words “Doubting Thomas” in my language, like from the bible. After that I started calling him Thomas and the name just kinda stuck. He was NightSong’s younger brother. Both of us liked to fish so we quickly became fishing partners. There was a beach and ocean floor for about fifty feet into the water and then the ocean floor dropped off to considerable depth. As such it was very good fishing to stand on the shallow side of the drop-off because much bigger fish would cruise along the edge looking for a quick lunch. We would be standing in a depth of about four and a half feet with our spears ready. It was much safer to go fishing with a partner because large sharks were common. Thomas once confided to me that he would not allow himself to be afraid of anything including the sharks. Then he added that just because you are not afraid of something doesn’t mean you are a fan of it. He tolerated the ocean for the many needs it satisfied in our situation but made no secret that he would be quite happy if he was to get back to the mainland and never see the ocean again. Thomas had a saying about that. “You will never see any canine worth its salt, lost at sea, and you will never see flipper in a western movie. There’s a reason for that.” At the time the mention of canine meant nothing to me other than I thought it was a strange comparison to our situation. Of course later it made perfect sense. We spent my first three weeks on the island mostly fishing together and discussing philosophy. When you are trapped on an island and your able to satisfy the base needs while still having daylight left in your day, it leaves time to ponder those things which separate man from beast. What I did not know was that I was not nearly as separated from the beast as I had thought. I think Thomas tried to warn me beyond his mention of canine. “There’s some things which are different about the people here than where you came from. I hope you can adapt.” I replied. “I guess I will if I want to live here. Don’t ya think? “Its liable to be a bit of a culture shock.” Thomas said, stopping to look me in the eye when he said it. “Human beings are very adaptable. I’m sure I will come to terms with whatever is thrown at me. Thomas laughed. “I hope so.” There is probably few things in this world which a man would find more frightening than seeing the woman he had been shacking up with for almost a month turn into a wolf-woman before his very eyes. I didn’t know if she was going to eat me or lick my face so needless to say I didn’t hang around to find out. I started running for the beach and hit that ocean swimming not knowing there was another island ahead. As far as I was concerned I was ready to swim to California before I was ready to entertain thoughts of returning to what I began to call Wolf island. After I began to get tired and some of the adrenaline wore off I realized I didn’t need to be swimming. I could stand up. The water was only about four feet deep where I was at. It was a sand bar. I began to walk through the water. Every fifteen or twenty steps I would stop and listen for a while. I wanted to see if I could hear anything coming after me from behind. When I was satisfied nothing was chasing; I would begin walking again. This went on for a good part of the night. Finally I began to notice the sand bar was getting shallower and eventually I could see the second island because there was a light coming from it. I then began to see more lights. They were rescue fires. Ahead of me were what I hoped were human beings like myself. If they were more wolf people I feared for my continued existence because I was exhausted. There was no chance I would have the strength to swim past this island. I had to rest. Lucky that it was there, otherwise I might have drowned. However the island would prove to be not much better of a friend than the one I had just left behind. I could see I had been spotted as I got closer and closer to the island’s beach. Men, and some women, were standing on it pointing at me. Almost immediately as I approached them I could sense something was amiss. Then it dawned on me what was wrong. Their movements were too fast. Men shouldn’t have been covering as much ground in the time allowed as what I was witnessing. And their movements were not only faster than expected but also for lack of a better word, smoother, than one would expect. In other words when I watched them coming and going along the beach they should have had moments where they stumbled, walked up over a log, something to make their progress seem like it had encountered obstacles. Instead the scene made me think of a skating rink at Christmas time. They took long, elegant strides when they walked. As strange as their movements appeared; they were completely nice and perhaps not as dynamic as the wolf people back on wolf island. That seemed like a good thing considering what I had just experienced. I was ready for some laid-back people. However that is not quite a correct way to describe them. They were not so much laid back as they were injured. The two islands were much alike, in that they seemed to lean towards tropical though I doubted we were quite in the tropical region. True I had floated on the currents a long time but I didn’t think I had went south far enough to find the tropics. In any case both islands featured a jungle of trees and plants. Both had streams with drinkable water. But the island I came to call Blood island lacked one thing that Wolf island featured. A large cave. That wouldn’t have been so important to almost any other creature but these humans were not human at all. At least not any more. I called the second island, Blood island, because its inhabitants were vampires. They were all sick because their island despite having plenty of plants and trees to provide shade, did not have a place where they could go during the daytime to get completely away from the sunshine. Despite being sick, they were still faster and stronger than myself. I wondered what must they be like when healthy? You might be wondering to yourself why I wasn’t freaking out being on an island of vampires. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see how many vamps were around and that there were no other humans beside myself. I was afraid to ask but they could see I was wondering. They explained to me that they were brought to this island by helicopter and that they were supplied plenty of blood in once a month shipments. It was human blood and it came from a blood bank most likely. I was shown the plastic bags in which it comes. If it wasn’t a blood bank then it was some type of collection service. Georgio was one of them that became my friend early on. He said he had hated killing in order to feed. He liked this much better. He also said it was the first time in his vamp-life that he could look a human in the eye without feeling either guilt or hunger. He was the first vamp I would call a friend. We enjoyed a lot of adventure together. I found out that the vamps knew about the wolf people. Apparently they are natural enemies so communication was non-existent. The vamps though knowing about the existence of the wolf people, did not know of Wolf island’s cave. The vamps needed that cave so they talked me into going back to Wolf island. My mission was to find out if the wolf people had any interest in trading islands? Blood island had the taller viewpoints and the vamps were hopeful that it would be enough to make the trade happen. A lot of negotiation went on. I stayed with the mate I had taken on wolf island when I was at that location. Nightsong and I talked for the first time since I witnessed her turn into a wolf person. “I hope you can understand that I was totally shocked and in fear for my life. All the movies and stigma …” Nightsong cut me off, laughing as she did, “Its okay baby. I’m sure it did shock you. I was going to tell you but I happened upon the change sooner than expected. There was a factor I did not take into consideration. I am pregnant. Having another wolf inside me caused me to change over sooner than normal.” “I’m glad I had reason to come back. I know trading islands will not be the end for need to communicate with each group. So I may prove useful as the go between.” I replied. You see if they did trade islands, the monthly drop-offs would go to the wrong island. The wolf people for the most part ate a diet like any human being. Therefore that was what was inside their monthly drops. The vamps on the other hand were strictly blood drinkers. So the food for one was basically worthless to the other and vice-versa. It was determined, largely being my idea, that two boats would be constructed which could transport the monthly drops to the other island. They would load up the boats, so that one was coming from each island. They would meet halfway and then switch crews, taking the respective drops into the place where it was needed. During all these talks I learned more about the place which according to some that I spoke with, had more than just the two islands in its string. There were possibly as many as three more. The two islands I named Wolf and Blood were in the middle. On each side of them were two more islands and there was possible another one … or more, beyond. Of course nobody had ever checked out the other islands for fear of drowning in the case of the wolf people and the vamps were terrified of getting caught out on the water when the sun came up. In fact there was a minority among them that was so afraid of getting caught on the water when the sun came out that they were not so sure it was worth the risk to reach the island with the cave. Time would tell what they would end up doing but if they stayed they would have to live with the wolf people being around. I learned that the drops for the wolf people had two things in them. Food, and essentials. That included clothing and shoes. Surprisingly they also included baby formula. They apparently encouraged reproduction. On an island where your food is supplied I would think they would not need to encourage it but the good old military complex of the USA takes no chances. The wolf people only force-changed during the fullest of the full moon. I mention force-change because it turns out that they achieve different levels of control to their … affliction(?) … ability … whatever term you care to use. In respect to them changing into their wolf side, some can change at will and some lack that control. Some can do it but it takes them any number of lengths of time. Each one is different. I’ll tell you something else about the wolf people. When they are changed over they are not like you see in the super hero movies where you can still treat them like they were still the humans you knew before they changed. They inherit more than just the look of the wolf. They also inherit the whole canine approach to life. God help us all if one gets started howling and there are others within earshot. They cannot help themselves, though I am told there are some exceptions. For the most part if one starts howling and another hears it, they will be crying back and forth all night. All the better if another happens to join in. Their sense of smell mimics the hound dog. They fear the same things a dog fears which is basically only bigger canines. The wolf pack hierarchy is always in effect. As such they would take on something non-canine that could be as big as a Kodiak bear. Their courage fueling the confidence to take on something so much bigger being naturally inbred. However just as hard-wired is their respect for the canine hierarchy so once they recognized the alpha male they would accept their place unless of course they had more ambitious goals. In which case the alpha would be challenged with all the bitches and position of leadership at stake. My thinking about the baby formula is they are hoping the wolf people will reproduce at as high of rate as possible. Captain Obvious says reason for this would be they want the population of them to increase as fast as possible. Why? My best guess is that if these islands are man-made, then something this big and involving these kind of creatures, has got to be a government military operation. Most likely the USA. If that is the case then the most plausible reason I can conclude is that those scumbag pricks are keeping these creatures alive here so that they can be used in war at some time in the future. The more the merrier. Apparently since vamps don’t reproduce, they don’t get the baby formula in their drops. I did some reconnaissance on both islands when spending time on them. One of the first things I became aware which previously was unknown was that there was no sandbar connecting the two unexplored islands the way there was between Blood and Wolf island. In other words to reach those unexplored islands you would have to swim or use a boat. You could not walk there using the sand bar. Keep in mind none of the ocean is extremely deep where the islands are located. Diving down I was able to find the cables which were keeping the islands from floating in different directions. I could not dive deep enough to see how they were anchored. Understand both islands had a beach which surrounded them. But in most spots if you got out more than fifty or sixty feet the beach /ocean floor would drop off. Except where the sand bar existed. It was the bridge between the vamps and the wolf people. I was the human version of that bridge. Neither side was eager to talk with the other but with me as a go-between they were both quick to agree to anything that benefited both parties. Three boats were initially built. Moving the vamps to the wolf’s island and vice-versa was going to take some time. Most of the living (and the non) could walk using the sand bar to get from one island to the other (strictly at night in the case of the undead) but anything which they wanted to keep dry, had to be brought by boat. Two of the boats were boats designed to haul the drop-offs that would come every month. The third boat was designed with a sail on it. The boats designed to haul the drops would be floated down the sand bar, so they didn’t need to be nearly as sea-worthy as the sail boat and the latter wouldn’t be carrying supplies so it didn’t need to be as big. It did however need an area which would allow no sunlight to reach so the boat could carry a vamp during the daytime hours. A representative from each group would join me in the exploration. We decided to check out the island closest to Wolf island first. It was a little farther but from what I knew about the ocean currents combined with what we had come to expect from the wind, that would be our easiest island to get home from: and after what we had seen during the last drops, getting home might be important. It took time to build the boats. During that time we began to try and see what was going on with that unexplored island during the drops. It was definitely getting attention from the helicopters. We could see them on the horizon carrying something which was about half as long as the copters, and it was in the shape of a rectangle. The copter carrying the rectangle would drop it over the center of the unexplored island and then head home. Usually it was joined by the copters which dropped off supplies to Blood and Wolf islands. We timed our journey to the unexplored island so to correspond with drop day. We caught a good wind and were almost to the island when the copters came in. We sailed the boat to the far side of the unexplored island so the helicopter wouldn’t see us. Two of us were just climbing onto the island’s beach when the copter became close enough we could see what it was carrying. It was a rectangle shaped box made out of what looked like plywood. The box was extremely poorly constructed. Inside it I could see what it was carrying. People. Screaming! Some looking down over the edge of the plywood. Some were clearly praying. They were mostly men, but there were some women too. The box was cut free from the copter about ten feet over the ground. Suddenly we could hear something big, moving fast through the jungle. I could only conclude that it was headed for where the box had been cut free to touch down. The screaming became louder, more fear in the screams could be heard. The vamp rep was called Georgio. He stayed on the boat out of the sunlight. The Wolfman was my friend Thomas. We looked at each other and took off back for our boat. I said we could get back out to sea and come around the island viewing its other side while heading back toward home. We didn’t want to meet whatever it was that was so big, crashing through the jungle. What had crossed all our minds at the same time was what if one or several of those people left in the drop, was to find our boat. We would be trapped on the island. We knew at that point we were still closer to the sailboat than those that had been left during the drop. We also recognized that it was probably the only time we would have that advantage. Georgio was waiting for us when we returned. We began to hear something new. The screaming had taken on a new urgency. The new sound was a combination of growling, bones crunching under tremendous power and we began to see bright red being flung throughout the sky. I shuddered thinking that it was likely the shrapnel of human flesh and bones still dripping in the bright red blood that gave the color to the spectacle. We could hear the screaming and the growling the whole trip out around the remaining part of the far side of the island. When we got to the other side so that we were now headed back toward home (Wolf island) it was horrible. On this side of the island there was a somewhat steep decline down to the water. All along this stair-stepped shelf which led down to the water were bodies. Actually they were parts of bodies. Some of which actually did reach the water and now sharks were accumulating, happy to take part in an unexpected bonanza of blood, flesh and bone. I could see the rectangle-shaped box the helicopter had dropped onto the ground. All four sides had been knocked or fallen over exposing a number of torsos strewn around the inside floor of the box. Bright red blood was stained everywhere, not only all over the plywood which made up the box but it was also apparent on all the plants and trees in the area. Clearly what had happened was the copter had set down the box by cutting it loose and letting it fall roughly ten feet. Far enough to cause severe havoc among the inhabitants. As they struggled to find their feet the thing that killed all of them must have first struck. It must have come out of nowhere and from the looks of the bodies it must have been able to get a hold of quite a few of them in the first attack. I would guess one of those rectangle-shaped boxes carried about thirty to forty people. I couldn’t help thinking to my self: a human a day keeps the doctor away. Is that what it required as a daily minimum? As I am viewing the attack area suddenly we are all surprised when a couple of the torsos move and out from under them comes a woman running at top speed covering the ground between where she was at and where we were floating past. She leaped from the island’s rocky shelf and splashed into the water just in front of us. Our sailboat was not designed to carry more than the three of us comfortably but we easily made room for her. The same cannot be said about the next six men and then another woman joined us, making it a total of eleven, counting the three that arrived on the boat. Keep in mind while we are now relying on the currents to get us home, screams are still being heard coming from the interior of what I began to call Monster island. It was obvious people were still being killed back there. By the time we had become eleven strong the boat was ready to float past Monster island and find its way back to Wolf island. Which by now seemed like a trip to Disney compared to what was waiting at Monster island. I suppose I should have mentioned that the Dogman, Thomas, had transformed into his wild self at the first sign of trouble. He was one of those that could control his ability. So when the humans came on board they were freaked out once they saw Thomas but nobody gave a second thought to leaving the boat to return to Monster island. During the float back to Wolf island I had plenty of time to explain to the humans what I knew and thus what they were about to experience. The sailboat was so small we had to put four people on each side of the boat, in the water, floating along with the three of us that occupied the sailboat. Myself, the vamp, and the wolfman. So I explained to the humans in the water on each side of the boat what they were about to experience. About how the blood for the vamps was more than enough for a food supply, so they had no reason to worry about becoming their prey. I also explained how the wolf people worked. How some could control when they changed and how some were at the mercy of the moon calendar. In case I didn’t note earlier, all the wolf people change when the moon is at its fullest. However some can change whenever there is not a full moon. Personally I suspect they are at their strongest when the moon is fullest but that is just theory and conjecture on my part. When we arrived back at Wolf island it was necessary to decide where the humans would stay? Either island could easily support the entire population of both islands so it was really just a matter of where the humans would be safest? The final decision was to house the humans with the vamps due to the fact that there was some worry (mostly on my part) that the wolf people could control themselves around the humans during the full moons. Time passed. Decisions were made that concerned getting off the islands. Nobody likes to have their fate determined by captors. Yes we were having all our needs met but all three groups, the humans, the vamps and the wolf people, were all too aware what would happen if our captors ever went to war. The other groups would be used in warfare. The group of humans most likely killed either by lead or by being fed to whatever was on Monster island. If our captors were destroyed things got a bit stickier. At least for us humans. Oh yeah, we’d be killed. Only question would be whether as food for the vamps or the wolf people? While time was passing the boats were constructed. During drop off days I would take the little sailboat out around Monster island. I was usually able to save a few people each trip out. That island just got worse and worse. You could smell the decay just sailing near it when downwind. On calm days was when I hated going there the most because there was no wind to keep the stench moving along. That wasn’t the worse of it for me though. It was the sound of the billions, perhaps trillions of flies flourishing there with all that shredded flesh and bone, covered in a sticky layer of drying blood. I stayed as far away from the island as possible as still be able to spot anybody swimming for it. On a side note: how flies are able to find their way to artificial islands located by themselves so far from any other land mass is a statement in itself about them. Of course I attributed it to the drop-offs but it just shows how well-equipped nature is at moving its equipment to where it is needed. To get back on point what I am saying is that it must have been beyond terrifying to have been forced into that rickety rectangle box made of plywood. Then flown quite a distance to end up being dropped onto Monster island where the real scary part begins. They would have had just enough time to have smelled the rotting flesh, heard the overwhelming buzz of the flies, before seeing the floor drop out and crashing into a heap on the ground. Almost immediately the sound of the plywood being crashed through and then the growling, screaming, splatter of blood, crunching of flesh and bone, hearing bodies being torn apart in a ravage of onslaught. No idea where to go? What is attacking and killing your fellow human beings? Some of the luckier ones are able to get their senses about them during the chaos described above. They stumble-fall out of the box and immediately slip in the thick layer of dried or drying blood that surrounds the usual drop-off spot. They get up quickly, not paying attention to the cloud of flies that surrounds everything. Most if not all, begin running. None have any idea of where to, but they definitely know where they are running from. As they are racing through the jungle their minds begin to clear some of the panic. You would think that would be a good thing, and perhaps it is from a survival point of view. However the amount of terror that replaces the panic is nearly unbearable as the runner realizes they are only prolonging the inevitable. There is no where to go. Quite possibly no water which is drinkable. Your worst possible nightmare is out there somewhere trapped on the same small island. And the flies! While coming to this conclusion they are still running. Those not found and killed, the ones that make it to the beach, they swim for it. By the time they get to the beach they have concluded that anything is better than what is going to be found on that island. The lucky ones are the ones picked up by me. I know now, what it takes to earn a ride on the rectangle box. The people I have saved are either criminals or political prisoners of the good ol’ USAW which I have been informed now stands for the Unified Sectors Around the World. If you’ve been living under a rock the last few years you may not know the states changed the name of the country. Not a day goes by that I am not left to wonder where things went so wrong? Was it Trump? Biden? Before then? I can’t put my finger on it. I can say it seems to have started the worst of the turn about the time the woke people started up. In any case what I was told was that if you were someone who was not on board with whatever the PTB (powers that be – the rich scumbags pulling the strings on puppets like Biden) or if you were someone that was a vagrant, someone that nobody else would miss that would cost the government money to keep around, then they would end up in the rectangle box. Enemies of low-level politicians and LEOs were very common. That particular group usually had family, including kids, and all they did was to stand up to the wrong rich scumbag, or one of their lackeys. As time passed the human population was growing faster than the other two populations combined. The wolf people reproduced at the same speed as humans and the only time the vamps added to their group was when one got sent out in a drop. In which case they landed in the middle of the wolf people’s population due to the two cultures changing islands. Which because of the communication between groups, no longer meant it was a death sentence. Now they were simply helped to reach their people. It is my belief that such courtesy was extended because the wolf people, or for that matter, the vamps, wanted to see the truce continue. I imagine that beside the obvious perks for working together, there was also the same thing in the back of their minds as was in mine. That some day we may need each other if that thing from Monster island ever made it over to one of the inhabited islands. That was the biggest incentive for building a big sail boat. One that could transport all of us, or at least most of us, to the states. Sure we would risk being sunk by their air support but if that thing ever got over to Wolf or Blood island, we would need to evacuate quickly. A plan was put into place for emergency if that creature ever made it over. Wolf island was the one closest to Monster. It was also the island where the humans took up residence because it was the one the vamps needed due to it having a cave which allowed them to get out of the sunlight completely. It had an amazing effect on their health. They became even quicker than they were before. You may have heard they can fly. That isn’t true. It is just that they can come on the scene so fast it seems like they flew in. Vamps are in many ways like a cat. Getting them to all do the same thing is not easy. I have often wondered if they might not be capable of taking on the monster by themselves now that they are in peak health. The biggest problem with that idea is what I just mentioned. Getting them to agree on something and to do it is akin to herding cats. They probably have the best chance of avoiding being killed by the creature. That is assuming it doesn’t come after them during the day when they sleep. It is hard to guess whether any of the groups have any chance against it since nobody knows exactly what it is? Survivors that I picked up out of the water all said the same thing. They never looked back. They all described hearing the thing growling and biting and of course all the screaming which eventually stopped. Then there would be more screaming as the creature found another human to kill. Most likely because I had a monthly reminder of how gruesome that creature was, along with how awful the island had become on which it lived: I was adamant about getting the big sailboat finished. It was being built on Wolf island because between the humans and the vamps, there were more available workers. By choosing to build it at Wolf, it meant only the inhabitants of Blood island would need to commute to contribute to the boat completion. What made this project such a thorn in my side was the thought that if the government was in charge of all this then two things were evident. The first being that it is SOP to keep any animal which is to be used as a weapon: hungry. It makes them easier to control and readily aggressive. When I keep that in mind it isn’t hard to imagine the creature has been kept on the side of starvation since it was first brought to the island. The second thing was that the creature has likely been under-estimated which means that it might be capable of swimming. All the work on the big sailboat is done at night to keep the satellites from seeing what we are doing. The boat is a big pontoon which right now if they did see it from above they would likely think it is just a dock we are building. The mast which will hold the sail has been constructed to appear as a lookout for fishing / shark spotting. Adding to the illusion is the fact that we are now having our smaller boats dock to the side that faces the ocean. As the building of the big sailboat continues, the three groups have pushed to explore the island which is furthest away from Monster island. It is either a ways further to travel, or the island is smaller than the other four. We are unsure at this point and one of the things we lack is a good long distance viewing mechanism. I’d kill for one of those old cheap telescopes that probably every boy in the nineteen-seventies got under the tree at around the age of ten. Once again I will be sailing with one representative from each of the other groups. We will be relying on the wind to get us back and riding the water current to get there. Most often the winds do blow back this way from that island, when they are blowing. None of us are confident of what to expect from mother nature? Two more days have passed. Tonight we will sail for the unknown island. Perhaps just to keep things interesting, my mate in the wolf group; told me a little while ago she is pregnant. I am told in the case of a human-wolf baby, the wolf genes usually win out. There are usually only a couple babies born in a “litter”. On a side note: They say that if a human is bit by a mother wolf right before, right after, or while she is giving birth; that is when a human can get the curse. So for the most part they are birthed into this world from parents who had the wolf genes. That said, it is also possible to be bitten and transformed. Our sailboat has been modified so to allow the vamp, which is again Georgio, to have a place to be able to get out of the sunlight if we find ourselves caught out on the water during daylight hours. Extra water and food has been added to the usual supplies because we are not certain how long it may take to get there and then back. Really the only thing that is known about the island is that it is the only one to not receive any drops from the helicopters. Once about every three months the same jet that does a fly-by to both Blood and Wolf islands, also does a fly-over to that island. We assume that if there is anything on that island, it must be either something that doesn’t eat, or it is self-sustaining in which case it must survive on fish and other things caught from the ocean. It was nearly dawn by the time we arrived at unknown island. We had no idea of what to expect to find on the island, and since we were working by firelight, the short time before sunup was spent just digging a bunker into the beach sand deep enough to allow Georgio to get out of the sunlight. Once we finished that we were all exhausted and two of us fell asleep quickly, leaving Georgio to take first watch while the sunlight was still very weak on the horizon. I took the second watch and was surprised to see that there were deer on this island. I also saw some rabbits and I thought I heard the sound of turkeys. How crazy is that? We would later find it was not crazy. There was at least one flock of them. The island was like you would expect any tropical island paradise to be. We found running water and some nice view points but nothing else. So what was on this island that was so important? Perhaps it was just an island where they were accumulating wild animals. That was all we could figure until it was almost evening and time for us to head back. We found a footprint that was like a human foot print. I say like, because this barefoot print was about twice or maybe even three times as big as a big human foot print. It had to be bigfoot! They had probably been watching us all day long while we stumbled around their island looking for clues. The night coming on was a blustery night but it was blowing in the wrong direction to get us home. It seemed like there was little point in trying to get the sailboat out on open water if we couldn’t catch a wind in the right direction. We decided to overnight in a small cave and it was one of the best decisions ever made. If we had gone out on the water that night we would surely have not made it anywhere but maybe to the bottom of the ocean. Shortly after the sun had set we finished getting our camp set up. A fire was made and the wolf and I ate and enjoyed some coffee after dinner. It was then that the storm clouds rolled in. An hour later and we were in a full-fledged typhoon. I don’t know what the myths or legends claim, but I know first hand that the vampire I was with had every bit of respect for mother nature’s fury as this puny human and of course, the wolf, who was transformed even though it wasn’t a full moon or any kind of eminent danger from another animal or two-legged threat. Or so we thought. As the storm grew from an annoyance to the point it was going to be a really bad night, we retreated further into the cave. It turned out that was a good thing because I think if we had met them before that next morning, they may well have killed all three of us. The storm was unrelenting. It was one of those nights which you truly think may never end or at least if it does it will be when you end, not the storm. However the storm did reach a point where it was almost calm. Most of us know that to be the “eye” of the hurricane. What it means is you usually have about an hour or two before mother nature plays her dirtiest trick. She surprises the ignorant and the unaware with the second round which in our case was the straw that broke the island’s back. When that second round hit it was worse than the first. I don’t think anybody had any idea that we were floating loose in the Pacific ocean. Well I shouldn’t say loose because our island and the other three known islands were still attached to each other by their cables. It wasn’t until the storm had passed which was another day and night: that we were able to come out into sunlight and see what had happened. It was a terrifying conclusion to what I thought was the worst being over. First of all once the storm finally started to subside we naturally started to come out of the deep parts of the cave so we could see what was what? That’s when we discovered the bigfoot population used the cave to avoid storms such as we just endured. They outnumbered us by so many I can’t offer odds but I was reminded of that movie “Quigley: down under” at the very end when the Aboriginals showed their numbers by appearing on every horizon. They had fierce long fangs and muscles akin to a horse’s rear legs. When you survive the most powerful of the many powerful things mother nature can throw at you everybody and everything is in a state of shock. It was like that. So both the Sasquatch and the Wolf and the human being, all stumbled out into the morning light to see what changes mother nature had made. Of course the vamp hung back inside the protection of the cave. The rest all held back any astonishment toward seeing each other for what they were seeing beyond their new acquaintances. Where there were once four islands stretched out in a line to the point you could only see one island from the view point of another, now could be seen not only the four islands I had mentioned up until now: Blood, Wolf, Monster and this, unknown island, which I will now call Bigfoot island from here on. There was a fifth island which looked to be even smaller than Bigfoot island, by a considerable amount. If we found Bigfoot on bigfoot island what was likely to be on the fifth island? There were never any drops to that island or we would have seen the helicopters making the drops. So if there is anything on that island it is most assuredly self-sustaining by means of the ocean. Or it almost never eats and the rats in charge of this nightmare are keeping it very, very hungry. In the end it turned out to be none of the above. It was much scarier than any of that. ———————— Part 2 ——————————— The vampire’s name was Georgio. Apparently he had a penchant for gambling. Talk was that he was lucky too. Word was not to get into a bet with him because you’d likely lose. I hollered back into the cave at him. “Can you see what we are seeing? That there are four islands attached to this island. One of them is Monster island. The other two are our islands. The fifth island is a surprise to both myself and Thomas. Or so I assume. That right Thomas?” “A complete surprise.” Thomas replied. Georgio agreed with Thomas. “I’d be willing to bet that nobody was aware of that island.” “What could be on that island? I mean considering what’s on the other islands.” I said trying to sound like I was laughing. It was a pale effort but I don’t think the others noticed because just then the screams started. They were coming from what I was pretty sure was Wolf island. The easiest way to describe our situation would be to say imagine the island where we were at currently, being the pitcher’s mound at a baseball game. The other islands would be the bases around the pitchers mound. There was a small stretch of water between each island which was met by fifty or so feet of sand beach that sloped down into the ocean where it enjoyed an artificial ocean floor for a short distance before dropping off to the real ocean floor. Each island was like a giant pontoon boat which prior to the typhoon, had been anchored to the ocean floor via cables. Georgio cried out to both myself and to Thomas. “The screams are coming from my island. They are most likely the humans but my people will be at their most vulnerable now. Please remember them when you try to save your own!” It was clear Georgio wasn’t going to be any help until the sun had set. Both Thomas and myself took off at full speed for Blood island. Sure I wanted to save my fellow humans located on Wolf island, but remember I had a mate that was a wolf and she was just about due to give birth. Thomas had his own mate that he wanted to save. The second reason for going for Blood island was because neither of the two of us was capable of taking on and killing the creature from Monster island by ourselves. Nor did we stand much better chance as a team. “We’ve got to get to our families and get them to safety. Then we will go and try and help the others. Do you agree?” Thomas asked. “Completely. Let’s go!” I replied. We splashed into the water between the two islands and quickly crossed over to Blood island. Neither of us stopped when we hit the cover of the jungle once we were past the beach. The screams could still be heard echoing among the artificial islands. They spurred us onward to our loved ones. The morning was bright and smelled fresh from the recent rain. We raced down the path cutting through the jungle not slowing down until arriving. The encampment which housed the wolf people was complete chaos. There were several reasons. The first and foremost was the sound of the screams. Second was that it was the beginning of what the wolf people called the moon time. It meant that when the sun set the moon would come out in full. For the wolf people the change came on before the moon was actually full in the sky above. The earliest stages start coming on the morning of the beginning of the moon time. Some actually change before they ever see the moon. Then there was the third reason for the chaos. My mate was having our child. When I entered the little hut we lived in she was already changed over. The labor was in full peak. I tried to comfort her and was bit for my trouble. A short while later she gave birth to two, a boy and a girl. I know some would have called them pups instead of babies but never in my presence if they cared to see the sun rise again. I was told they would lose their fur at the same time I did, once the full moon was gone. When I came out of our hut to get some fresh air Thomas was there waiting for me. “Congratulations! You will be a good father. But now we must address the situation.” Thomas said first excitedly and then finishing in a very sober tone. Of course I knew what situation he was talking about but to be fair there was a lot going on. First we needed to either kill the monster or figure out a way to be safe from it reaching us / our loved ones. We moved everybody to the beach along with anything they could find that floated so that if the beast found them they could go into the water. “It is my experience that the creature does not swim well. If it becomes necessary that is your best chance for escape. You may have to tread water for a while but it won’t be able to swim so it will come back to shore and try to wait you out. If that happens then half of you swim along the beach in one direction and the other half go the opposite direction. Then once half of you are out of sight, split into two groups and do the same again. It can only follow one of the two groups. You keep doing that until there is only the one person left. They will have to figure out how to lose the monster from there. Godspeed and good luck!” Second we needed to find out what was on the fifth island? It literally could be anything from the Lochness monster to the bubonic plague or a worse variant. The only thing I felt confident about was that it was something that was very good at killing. We needed to know what we were up against? “As much as I fear finding out what awful thing awaits on that island, it is far better we find out about it before it finds us. There is every reason to believe that if there is something on the fifth island that it is capable of feeding itself since we have never seen a copter flying over it during drop times. If that is the case then it is doing so by means of the ocean which means our loved ones may not be safe at all on the beach. That’s why we need to get over there, explore as stealthy as possible, then get back and formulate a plan.” Thomas nodded in agreement, “Lead on my friend!” Third was we also needed to have a plan for what the captors were going to do about the islands having floated into a completely different arrangement than the straight string they started out. It meant there was a possibility the captors could decide the experiment wasn’t going to work. Often times military posts / experiments like this: are simply used as bombing practice when they decide to cancel a program. “Which situation are you thinking we handle first my friend?” I asked with as charming of a smile as I could muster. “You’ve done well leading us so far. As such I choose to back your play, whatever it might be. I know you are aware of what we are facing in the coming days, perhaps even hours.” Thomas replied with no fear apparent on his fur-covered face. “I do know I am not wanting to leave my family unprotected.” I answered, “Copy that. I’m grateful your sister has the wolf blood in her. She would be in much worse situation if she were a human right now. She will probably heal twice as fast in wolf mode. Lets hurry along! Just talking about them is making me want to be there.” “Hear that! I think anybody that has seen the creature’s handy work would feel the same way.” Thomas replied. “I will take great joy in killing that mistake of nature.” “Just be careful it doesn’t get you first. Or take you with it.” I said in concern. “As long as it died with me I would consider it fair trade.” Thomas replied with a sincere smile. It was something I admired about the wolf people. The vamps were not so courageous. Cautious was more the right word to fit them. “I think since they are now all in the same vicinity that we should quickly go to the fifth island and see what is there. Then we get back here ASAP and start preparing to battle the creature from Monster island. There is a chance that if what is there is also some scary kind of monster that we could get them to kill each other. No sense in fighting two terrible monsters if we could get them to kill each other.” I suppose I was letting my optimistic side show. “I have doubt we will get that lucky. However the first exploration I went on with you revealed the creature. So we should have evil out of the way. This trip we are due to see something good. Right?” The tone in Thomas’ voice didn’t quite sound like it believed the words coming out of his mouth but that didn’t stop him from following me as we began our way to the fifth island. The island which would come to be known as Future island. “Yeah, I’m thinking this next island is full of stuff to make up for how bad the other islands have been. We just got unlucky and ended up on the crappy islands. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a roller coaster and a concession stand with free everything. Served to us by very friendly females that believe in their men having a harem.” I shook my head. “That is wrong on so many levels. The most concerning to me is what kind of brother wishes that sort of situation on his sister?” I was in front so I didn’t see his face but I am sure that Thomas was smiling when he said, “The kind that wants to have more than one woman taking care of him.” I replied, “Considering how passionate your sister can get, especially on moonlit nights, I think I will be happy with just one. Don’t worry, I won’t tell her you were willing to trade her husband having extra wives just so you could have them.” Thomas laughed and said, “What makes you think I was including you?” “So that’s how it is?” The screams had stopped. I didn’t hold out much hope it was a permanent fix. They fell off about the time we crossed over to the unknown island. The fifth island turned out to be a mystery for what purpose it existed? We gave the island a quick once over, expecting to see some sort of life-threatening entity around every bush and tree. Our search turned up nothing. To help understand; each of the islands, if they were perfectly square, would be about a three mile walk before hitting a corner. So the best way to search was a quick once around the perimeter and then bring in the circle and search again. We had decided that maybe they hadn’t gotten around to putting anything on the island when we found the doorway. It was on our walk back to Blood island. Thomas was the one to spot it. “Hey look at this!” He said in an astonished and excited shout. “Should we take time to go in?” “Hell yes! This is the only doorway that we know about on any of the five islands. There might be something in there that will help us kill the creature.” I replied in nearly as much excitement. The door was locked so we began beating on it with the largest rock we could pick up but the door was solid with what appeared to be steel reinforcement. We were just about to give up when the door suddenly opened just after we had hit it again with the big rock. To both of our surprise there was someone or something, standing on the other side. Once the steel door had opened, sliding as opposed to opening in or out, I could see clearly for the first time what was waiting for us on the other side. Once I saw what was there, I was still shocked when it spoke. “Greetings. I am A.I.R. I am programmed to update every five years. That is 1825 days. According to my data it has only been 1584 days. Why are you here early? Will I be going to war? Please input mission data before we can begin.” A.I.R. didn’t seem to want to let us inside the doorway. What I could see behind it was row after row of robots just like it. None of them appeared to be animated. It blocked any chance of getting past it. Rather than force the issue we just backed off and let the robot come out and join us. I don’t know which of the two of us was more shocked? But I do know I was the first to reply. “Hello AIR. Yes you will be going to war. However the data will not be input because the war has come to us. Longitude and latitude are the same as where you are located currently. Do you understand what I am saying? Why were you named AIR?” A.I.R. is short for “Artificial Intelligence Robot”. It replied in a voice which sounded like Ashton Kutcher. It was about five foot tall. Built like a human being except where the joints were located. AIR was capable of moving any limb in any direction. Air looked like a short version of a very generic-looking man except the left arm had a box on it and a barrel where the hand should have been. “What are you capable of doing to protect us?” I asked sincerely. So far this little robot didn’t look like it could do much more than maybe mow the yard or make dinner. However that barrel for a left hand said it was armed for something. It was not a small barrel. Again it replied in that Ashton Kutcher-tone. “A.I.R. has many different attachments / apps which can be applied to provide solution for any situation found in a wartime setting. Simply state the expected parameters which should include the number of the enemy, their firepower and terrain where the battle will be fought. All that kind of information will be helpful. I will have a suggestion for which attachment to place on me in just a few minutes. Please note we are ready-equipped with grenade launchers or flame throwers. Anything else will need to be attached. Please be patient while I compute. You may proceed with parameters.” “Okay. We’re facing an army of one which we do not know what it looks like, what sort of weapons it might have at its disposal, what if any weakness it may have, or even if it can be killed?” I took a breath and continued, “Here is what I do know about the enemy. It will not be using conventional weapons of any kind. Brute strength, viciously long claws and sharp fanged-teeth are to be likely. What sort of “app” do you have for that dear friend?” AIR did a half-turn away from us and seemed to fall into some sort of trance. When it did I motioned for Thomas to move over out of range of the robot. I whispered as low as possible fearing the robot would be able to pick up what I was saying. “Thomas you need to remember this in case I don’t make it through the battle. That robot is our friend right now. Do not let it hear you talk about anything related to escaping the islands. Don’t mention the big sailboat. What I am saying is that right now it is our friend. If it isn’t already, it will at some point begin transmitting information back to the captors. They could even have it turn against us at any point in time. So what I am saying is that yes, use the robot to kill the creature. But as soon as that task is completed you have to completely destroy the robot. Then bury what remains after it is destroyed unless you blow it up or some other means of completely taking it out. Do you understand?” “Sure. Why bury what remains?” Thomas asked. “Simple. They have a camera in everything these days. often more than one. Burying the remains insures that the captors cannot view what we are doing through any cameras that exist on the robot.” Thomas grabbed my forearm where Nightsong had bit me. I cried out from the pain. “That wound from her bite doesn’t look too good.” Thomas said. “Don’t want it getting infected.” “It will be okay until we are finished fighting the creature. It may not matter about the bite when that is over.” I replied. Suddenly AIR turned back to face us. “I have computed the parameters you have provided. The rocket launcher attachment will provide adequate firepower to destroy any creature as large as an elephant or more. It is already attached and ready for use.” “AIR, do you know what type of creatures are located on each of the islands here?” I asked, already knowing the reply. Of course it didn’t know. Placing that kind of information inside a robot would be ruining some jerk in a military general’s uniform the fallback of deniability. “That data is an example of what should be entered for me to compute.” AIR stated. “AIR, are there more like you in the bunker where we found you?” Thomas asked. “Good question.” I said, unhappy at myself for not thinking to ask that sooner. “There are nine hundred and ninety-nine more like myself. All await being made operational on my signal.” AIR replied. “Do you have to return to the bunker to make the others like yourself operational?” I asked. “Yes. However there is another A.I.R. that will auto-charge and become functional if I am not to recharge myself every twenty-four hours. Getting the entire unit ready to go is not long or difficult. It is just a matter of turning on the power to their charging units and they will be given a quick re-charge which requires a sixty-minute down time.” “AIR please wait here while I speak with Thomas alone for a minute” I requested. Thomas and I walked a fair distance away from the robot. Even then I was not comfortable speaking for fear of being overheard but I had little other choice so I said in the softest of whispers, “Thomas you must remember in case I do not make it back that it is paramount that as soon as the monster is killed then AIR must be destroyed. Then all of the other robots because the captors can take over their programming at any time. The only reason AIR is working in our interest is because the captors are unaware that AIR has been awakened. I have wanted to ask it if it was in touch with a home base signal but I fear asking may also trigger it to reach out. As such we need to avoid any conversation concerning radio transmissions.” Thomas replied, “Should we destroy it now before there is any chance of the captors becoming aware of the robot becoming active?” “It may come a time when I regret I didn’t say yes. The creature being so unknown in how powerful it may be is the only reason I am holding back on taking out the robot. As it stated it will be very effective at killing almost anything up to the size of an elephant. I don’t think we can afford to ignore such a powerful tool when facing unknown forces.” We rejoined AIR and were about to begin our trek to kill the creature when we came face to face with a group of bigfoot. They came out of nowhere. They were not there one second and the next there was a group of them. It was like when you open the front door to go somewhere and there is somebody there about to ring the bell. We took a step back. None of us, of either party, made a sound for about a minute. That is a long time when you are in a jungle meadow surrounded by trees and seemingly behind every tree is a seven to ten foot tall apex predator. The swamp ape. Several of the biggest of them had stepped out away from the trees blocking the direction we were headed. When the sixty-seconds of silence had begun a second lap, it was the robot who stepped up and not only saved the day, but surprised the crap out of myself and Thomas. It turned out that the Sasquatch could talk. They didn’t speak English but AIR was able to learn their language in just the short time of hearing them chatter among themselves after the silence had ended. It was maybe another minute before AIR announced first to one side in their language, then to the other in their language, that he could act as interpreter. My first impression of the bigfoot after speaking with them for a few minutes through the robot was that they were not stupid, but also were a very rough cut. They reminded me of what it is like dealing with someone who is slightly retarded but way stronger and bigger than you are; therefore you are forced to try and reason with them because if you can’t get them to swing around to your viewpoint they cannot be stopped. Certainly not by using brute strength anyway. To be one hundred percent clear however, (in case one of them is reading this some day): they are not retarded. I merely used that as an example to better describe my experience. I realized just how smart they actually were when the interpreter spoke about why they had chose to come out of hiding and make their presence known. True they weren’t going to sit down with us and discuss politics, or what kind of fuel to use to reach light speed, but it became obvious to me they didn’t miss a whole lot when it came to what is real, here and now, and cannot be ignored. They wanted to talk about the creature. The screams echoing through the islands. The elephant in the room. Probably the only thing that could have coaxed them out of their preferred unending hiatus from all things human. Screams were now just on occasion. Often times they came in duos or trios. I sadly concluded the ones we hear screaming / dying – had run off in pairs or more, and were then tracked down and killed in whatever numbers they were found. Sometimes we would hear a little of the creature’s growling. I was grateful to be out of earshot of the sound of the flesh being torn and bones being crunched. It was hard not to stay focused on the question of how long the creature would stay on one island before making the transition to the next one? Bigfoot not being human, or anything even close in the way that the Wolf people, and even the vamps, were kin; had a dislike for the robot which I think was natural. After all, it was the furthest thing from natural and mother nature as can get. So they kept their distance from it but at the same time obviously appreciated the fact it made communication possible between two groups which previously had no chance of happening. The best and really only plan we could come up with involved using bait to lure the thing out into the open. Once in view the robot would open up on it with that rocket launcher attachment. Our biggest problem then was what to use for bait. You can imagine that made for some nervous standing around. The bigfoot time-proven approach apparently forces the weakest to take the most risk. That briefly caused the conversation to point out that the strongest of the humans was still far weaker than any of the other groups. To that I countered not true when you factored in our technology. “Which I might remind everyone is the very thing we are going to use to get rid of the creature. So don’t go pointing at the humans as being the weakest.” I said folding my arms so that my body language matched my attitude. There was more chatter among the swamp apes which the robot relayed as a split in perspectives among them. Apparently about half agreed with me and the other not. “Interpret back to them that I said to put it this way … if they want AIR to do the dirty work then the humans do not fall into the weakest category.” I kept my arms crossed and stared back at the giants. More chatter among them and finally AIR interpreted that the Sasquatch wanted to know if a deer would suffice as bait? “Funny none of you big hairy cruds came up with that idea when you thought it would be the humans that had to be the bait. Yes, a deer should do nicely. A living deer, of course. We don’t know if the creature would be interested in something that it didn’t kill.” Two of the bigger swamp apes left the area. I assumed to go catch a deer. Meantime we reached the spot where the beach from Bigfoot island was nearly touching the beach from Blood island. We crossed over and then cut through the jungle to the beach facing Wolf island. We made the jump over to there with intent to stop and pick up Georgio. It would be close enough to sunset by the time we arrived. We were not on Wolf island for very long before the screams started again. This time we could tell they were not echoes. They were coming from the same island which we were on. It was myself and Thomas, and a couple of the female bigfoot that had followed us. Actually I was pretty sure a lot more than two were following but it was only the two that we could ever see. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the two bigfoot which had left us to get a deer; had come back with a live one. It was kicking and squirming but it obviously wasn’t getting away. I had some rope brought along with other such supplies. We made a leash out of it and the bigfoot was able to set the deer down and let it walk. The sun was at the far edge of the horizon and would soon slip below it. We heard the screams again. This time not terribly far ahead. I felt relief when we arrived at the cave where the vamps were living. They were in an organized chaos. Males and females were hustling this way and that. There was a pile of empty plastic bags all harboring at least a hint of the blood that had formerly inhabited them. I couldn’t help notice that despite the lighting they had strung up to make the place more … homey; that the cave had taken on a certain hint of copper in the air. Actually it wasn’t copper. It was the scent of blood. The cave was echoing conversations from all direction. While no two were exactly the same, they did all have the same subject. Who was going to help kill the beast? Who would be running? Where would they run? What were the vamps going to do to avoid the sunlight come morning if they no longer could use the cave? We none of us any longer had the luxury of taking no action. The beast now had access to all the islands. We either fought now, while it could be on our own terms, or we could run. If we ran then it would eventually catch or find us. When it did it would be much less chance that we would be ready to fight. The higher odds for survival demanded that the best chance would be when we as a team took on the creature. We had AIR. As long as the captors didn’t animate it and take control of it from their home base we should be okay to use it to exterminate the creature. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen when the satellites showed the islands had lost their shape and now were in a very different pattern. They obviously wanted to keep us apart. Otherwise there would have been just one big island. It is apparent to me that they never expected humans to inhabit the islands. Unless of course they were expecting them to share with the vamps or the wolf people. If only I knew how much time we had before the captors satellite was going to fly over again? What action would be taken when the captors become aware of our situation? I had to believe one of the first things they will do is to activate the robots. When they go to do that they will see the caretaker robot has already been activated. They will see what has happened through its video capture. And we were stupid enough to let it see us talking as a group. I am starting to wonder if we are not better off to destroy the robot now, before it has the opportunity to transmit its video memory? I looked around at the many vamps which were doing that slide-thing they do when they choose it over walking. Perhaps the vamps were more adapt at surviving this situation than any of the rest of us. The vamps had been getting more blood than they needed every month so they were stockpiling the extra. Apparently whatever form it was coming they were able to keep it from spoiling. I never bothered to ask the details, maybe it came in ice? In any case they were good beyond the end of the month if it came to it. None of the rest of us had supplies to last beyond the next drop date. Suddenly I began to feel funny. It wasn’t the ha-ha kind of funny. I was sick. I’ve always been the kind of person that doesn’t like for others to know when I am not at my peak. Even though I do not perceive it as so when others tell me they are ill, I worry that others take it as that you are a potential burden or that you are too weak to protect what is yours: if they find out you are ill. As such whenever I am ill it is my nature to find a place I can be out of sight and fight my way through the illness alone. If it kills me well so be it. I have not been afraid of dying for a long time now. I am however afraid of how much it is going to hurt to do it. My vision became blurry and when I was able to see again everything was in black and white. Between the time my sight went blurry and that i was able to see again I experienced the feeling of my hairs growing. Every hair follicle felt like the hair was growing out of it at an unbelievable speed. I fell to the ground because my feet no longer felt like they could hold my body. I would have buckled at the knees but they suddenly felt like if they were going to buckle it would be the opposite direction. Like a dog’s hind legs. The bite! Of course, my woman bit me during giving birth. She must have passed on the curse. I think I may have even heard something about this from one of the elder wolf people. I remember he mentioned it was possible but we both laughed because he said “but how often is a human going to get bit by a wolf while its giving birth?” Little did I know. Next I felt my face changing. Suddenly I could smell everything but nothing was offensive to me. It was just an odor. The odor of blood coming from the vamps was intoxicating yet there was also an odor which I cannot place a word but it was not an odor which was inviting or anything I would have associated with being alive. It was enough to put me off them and I began to wonder through the jungle experiencing what it was like to be canine. Now I felt like I was indestructible. Where once the jungle had caused me fear, especially at night, I now felt completely at home. I could see everything, though in black and white. I felt capable of defeating any challenger, except perhaps a stronger canine. It didn’t mean I feared seeing a stronger canine. Quite the opposite in fact. I had a built in knowing that when the time came, I would know my natural order. Should I want to see my place increased, I merely needed to challenge the one currently holding that spot. This was all known by instinct. It was a very safe and secure feeling to know I would be welcomed and that if I wanted a higher ranking that it would not be a reason for the ones not involved in the challenge to have any ill feelings toward me. All that was for another night however. This was my first time of the moon in full and I was experiencing the part of the curse which was what made it bearable. Whoever said it, was correct, when they said that it is an awesome feeling to embrace one’s animal side without the regret or guilt that comes with being human. It was still too soon for me to know whether my human side would regret things my wolf side did; but I did know my wolf-side did not carry the baggage of regret or guilt from my human time. I was completely indifferent to my mistakes which a creature not human, would not find significant. For instance I didn’t care the slightest that my bitcoin I bought at thirty thousand was now only worth half that much. Sadly I fear it is still headed in the wrong direction. Admittedly since having been lost at sea, bitcoin’s value was not the top of my list of worries. I had gone maybe a mile when I picked up the scent. I didn’t know what it was but it too shared that off-color odor that I associated with the undead. The vampires. Only this odor was stronger, more animal than human as opposed to the vamps. Definitely more dead than alive. I didn’t need to be a wolf for very long before I figured out that little tidbit. As I continued running the scent was getting stronger so I stopped. I moved ahead slowly. Then I came within earshot of it. It was crunching bone and flesh in a ravenous effort which kept it oblivious to my presence. There was low-growling and slurping and then more of the bone-crunching as I could see it was eating the remains of those it had killed earlier. I gathered from this that it killed as many as it saw first: and then went back and ate them at convenience. That last descriptive word might have been poorly-used because to say convenience would convey it was taking its time. It was not. It seemed to not be able to get enough flesh in its mouth fast enough, to satisfy its hunger. The thing was an offense to nature. It had antlers like a deer and the face of a rabid looking predator. It was the long serious face of a moose but the skin was all shrunken and drawn and the teeth were not the teeth of a grazer but the teeth of a meat-eater. A predator. They dripped blood. Its eyes were sunken in their sockets and had an illuminated effect to them. Had I not been in wolf-mode I would have been able to tell you they were glowing red. Its body was completely emaciated and flaps of skin hung off of its arms and legs. Shoulders were wide and you could see every single rib protruding from its starved body. Its legs were that of a human but it had feet which were hooves. The thing was fast in movement but it was a drunken motion all the same. It wasn’t hard to imagine why some of the humans survived but most perished. I was still lost in thought when I finally realized it had somehow taken notice I was watching and had hypnotized me in some manner into not noticing it was charging straight at me. When I came out of the trance the sound of its growling, chomping of teeth and general ruckus of trampling through jungle, was like opening a car door to the sound of a lawn mower as it just comes around the corner of a house. One second I hardly noticed it in the background and the next second it sounded like it was right on top of me. It was only due to one of the Sasquatch that I was able to avoid the creature getting me. Just as that awful combination of sounds went from muffled to screaming, came the feeling of a very powerful, very hairy arm circling around my waist and pulling me into the trees. I was swiped up and carried away into the jungle. The creature searched for us but the Sasquatch had taken us behind a tree. We spent probably an hour moving around the trunk of that big tree all the while the creature just on the other side. I now know why the bigfoot are seldom ever seen. If someone comes in their area, instead of moving through the forest or jungle, which would offer a much bigger chance of being seen, they simply keep a tree between themselves and whatever they are trying to keep from seeing them. It was terrifying knowing that certain death was just on the other side of a tree trunk but also such a learning experience in how those animals have so much faith in their ability to stay hidden. For instance we humans often feel like we are safe from something if we are behind a locked door. That is how the bigfoot feel when they have a big tree between themselves and possible trouble. They know they can move around the tree trunk faster than anything else. Further is they don’t think it will ever come to that because they are so good at hiding. Only when the creature had moved on did we come out from behind the tree. For the first time I wished that AIR was with us. I would like to have used the translator to thank the bigfoot for saving me. She let me go and I made my way back to the cave where Georgio, Thomas and AIR would be waiting. They would be surprised to hear I had already met the enemy. When I got to the cave everyone I had said would be waiting were there and a few more. Quite a few more actually. After talking it over about half the vamps had decided to fight the creature. While the other half were going to try and stay hidden during the day in the cave. They would post guards at night so to be forewarned if the creature was to get close to the cave. Almost all the wolf people had come. It was a full moon night and they were all feeling their courage and strength. Only a few of the humans had come. I understood. They were the most vulnerable. The many vamps, wolf people and Sasquatch which had shown up were beginning to get restless. I had to address the crowd of … inhabitants. “Thank you all for coming. Some if not all of you probably do not recognize me because before today I was completely human. It is a long story but suffice to know I am now one of the wolf people. Earlier tonight I was out exploring my new identity. I happened upon the creature and I learned some things about it. One thing I learned which should be important to everyone is this… before I say it understand it may not happen to you in the same manner. I am just telling what happened to me. I happened upon the creature which was eating the dead it had killed earlier. Somehow it became aware I was watching and it turned to face me.” At that point I was forced to stop and tell them what it looked like. I explained about the antlers, the moose-shaped head, the flaps of skin, the emaciated way it looked and the way it ate like it could not get enough flesh into it fast enough to ever be satisfied. About how it was over seven feet tall when standing on two feet, or hooves as it were. I explained about the meat-eating razor-teeth that dripped fresh blood. “But its eyes are the thing to beware. They will hypnotize you into not being aware that the thing is coming to eat you.” The crowd was turning into a mob. I didn’t see any good coming from us marching through the jungle because really the only one that was going to be needed would be AIR. It had the grenade launcher attachment which was in place and AIR was ready to use it. Someone in the back asked how I was able to get away from the creature? I told them about the Sasquatch saving me. Then I said, “At first we had thought it was best to go at the creature as a mob. But that was before we found AIR. The robot is really all that is needed to exterminate the creature. On a side note – you may be aware that there is a fair share that have heard its description who say it is a Wendigo. That is a creature which is said to be able to shape-shift into several different animals including the wolf, bear and mountain lion. The legend goes that it is a medicine man from a native tribe that fell for the lure of black magic. It is said to have wanted the extra power to defeat tribe enemies. However once that was done the medicine man did not want to give up the power. To teach him a lesson the medicine man was changed into the Wendigo permanently. It has a hunger for flesh that cannot ever be satisfied. There is one other thing. The legend says the Wendigo cannot be killed. We’re going to test that theory by blowing the thing into a million pieces.” The crowd let out a sigh. “In any case we now know it kills as many as it can and then goes back and eats them. So my point is that if that thing was to get among the crowd the robot could not fire the grenade launcher without killing a bunch of you. If only a couple of us go then collateral damage should be much less. The elders or leaders of each group have sat down and discussed with me what needs to be done immediately after the creature is killed. That job is just as important and is one that can use as many hands as are available. The leaders that remain behind will explain once we have left. I wish us all luck. Be brave and most of all be smart.” Georgio, Thomas and myself led the way with AIR behind us and the two big Sasquatch, one of which was carrying our bait, the live deer, bringing up the rear. We didn’t get far before Thomas asked about my transformation. “Did you fight it?” Thomas asked. “No, not really. I didn’t realize what was happening until it had already begun. If I was to describe it I would say it happened almost immediate. There was no chance to fight. It took maybe three seconds where I went from feeling funny to where I was seeing the world in black and white. What I lost in colors I gained a million times in sense of smell and I also gained a lot of muscle and much better balance. I haven’t felt the urge to howl yet.” I couldn’t resist a quick glance in the direction of Thomas. “Don’t get us started. Worse is that we are close enough to the wolves that stayed behind for them to hear us. Once they start howling the secret hiding place in the cave will no longer be a secret.” Thomas stated, looking a little perplexed. “Please refrain from that.” Georgio asked. “The last thing we need is for the Wendigo to find its way into the cave.” “Did you have a talk with the leaders about what to do after we had left?” Thomas asked me. “They’re clear. They are to go and all of them will enter and destroy.” I replied. “I just hope we don’t end up being sorry we didn’t wait until we were sure the Wendigo was dead.” “It will be light in a couple of hours. There is a good chance we will get a fly over from the captors about mid-day. As soon as the satellites are able to see the islands they will want to come out and get a closer look. I figure no later than mid-day. ” Georgio said matter-of-factly. “Which means the things we don’t want to animate may well do so by late afternoon.” “I don’t know of a faster / better solution.” Thomas said, brushing a plant out of the way of the path. “I think we’ve gone far enough. Lets get the deer staked out here in this little clearing just next to the path.” I said snapping a little more than I had meant. I didn’t know if it was something due to my becoming a wolf or just plain old human intuition but I could feel the hairs standing up the back of my neck. “Lets be quick about this. AIR why don’t you get yourself into a position to launch as soon as the creature attacks the deer.” The big swamp apes held the deer down while I tied a stretch of rope to its leg and the other end to a small tree. The deer must also have picked up the scent, bad vibe, or whatever it was it caused the deer to start crying as it pulled on the rope struggling to get free. Next we could hear something moving in the darkness. It either could not see well in the dark or it did not care that it made enough noise to sound like an elephant was lumbering through the brush. Then we heard its breathing and could tell it had come to a stop not terribly far from both us and the crying deer. In wolf-mode my eyes could see in the darkness far better than they ever could when I was human. Back then I would have been able to see the creature’s red glowing eyes but I would not have known they lay in sunken eye-sockets which stared over blood-stained razor sharp teeth with absolutely no mercy or desire to restrain. It was sizing up the deer and its situation. Did it recognize a trap? The creature quieted its breathing to such a level of silence that I was able to hear somewhere not far from me was a Sasquatch breathing. “Stay completely out of sight.” I whispered as lightly as possible. Then before I could say anything more the Wendigo raced across the small clearing and attacked the deer with such force it literally died of fright. Or that was my perception. The Wendigo had its throat ripped open so fast I couldn’t be sure which killed the poor animal first. All of us turned our attention from the deer to AIR. Why wasn’t it firing? Then I could see what had happened. AIR was standing alongside the path that the Wendigo took to reach the deer and when it raced past the action knocked AIR on its butt and it was struggling to stand up. As this is happening suddenly Thomas stands up from his hiding spot and starts yelling at AIR to launch the grenades. Meanwhile the Wendigo has looked up from its kill and has seen Thomas. It began to lurch at him and the only thing I could think of to do was to come out of my hiding spot and get its attention. “Hey over here! Yeah you the ugly one. So ugly your parents probably claimed you were the family pet instead of a child! If you were smart you would cut off that ugggly head and strap a basketball where it used to be and draw a smile on it with a magic marker! Then get you a shirt that points at your head and says I’m with stupid!” I said the last part of that long sentence while running for the ocean as hard as I could go at canine-speed. Oh good! It worked. Thomas is safe. Now all I have to worry about is this seven foot tall eating machine with a chain saw for teeth and the disposition of a teen-age girl that was just informed her phone service is turned off. I glanced behind me to see how close it was to getting me and almost tripped due to sheer fright! It was right behind me. I began to be able to feel the saliva flying from its razor-sharp teeth as it chopped them at the back of my legs. Ahead was the beach. I flew past the last of the jungle fauna and raced into the water like I was on fire. Behind me I could hear the chopping of those teeth and the growling of frustration for just missing me as they chomped shut causing the beast to stutter in its stride giving me a little more breathing room. I reached the edge of the artificial ocean floor and realized though the islands had floated into one another, upon hitting they bounced backwards a little bit which left the artificial ocean floors not touching each other. That caused there to be a drop-off of considerable depth before you reached the artificial ocean floor jutting out from the island which was trying to be reached. Another way to describe it would be to say there was a stretch where you could not put your feet down and touch bottom and when that spot is reached you either swim or sink. Naturally when the floor went out from under me I began swimming. It wasn’t but a couple of body lengths before the other artificial ocean floor was reached. As soon as I was able to put my feet back down under me I turned again to see; half expecting there to be the monster lunging for my neck with blood-lust in its glowing red eyes. Instead what I saw in the darkness with my newfound canine abilities was the most anti-climatic ending to a monster as ever has happened. The monster was indeed racing at me, those sharp-teeth barred and dripping blood, and then it suddenly just sunk into the water and was gone. Problem solved! I walked back over to the edge of the artificial ocean floor and tried to peer down into the water to see what had happened. I couldn’t see anything. Apparently my night-vision canine eyes don’t work under water. If I had been able to see down into the water I would have seen something that would have caused me to not leave because the job was not finished. A claw hung to the fake ocean floor and began to slowly pull itself and its burden back up to where good footing waited. Meantime I had swam back over to the island I had been on when the Wendigo attacked us. I walked back onto the island feeling safe for the first time since knowing that creature existed in the same world as myself. The Sasquatch greeted me at the edge of the jungle. They followed me back to where I had first encountered the Wendigo. Georgio and Thomas were there waiting. “We thought you were a gonner.” Thomas said in a somber voice. “We were going to give you another twenty minutes and then run for home.” Georgio said smiling. The sun had begun to show itself and I could see more than shadows for the first time that morning. “Its dead. It sunk into the ocean.” I replied with a smile of my own. “You better get home. You have a heck of a hangover to set in.” Thomas said, and for the first time I could see his fur coat was thinning. He saw me noticing and said, “It’ll be gone by the time the sun is actually visible. After that we need to sleep so lets hurry up and get back.” “Not too mention I need to get out of the sunlight.” Georgio added. “No argument from me.” I replied feeling very satisfied, despite feeling my strength failing and a heavy sleepiness coming on. “Lets do hurry back!” AIR followed and the Sasquatch behind it. They began chattering in their exclusive language and AIR began to translate not knowing they were not talking to anyone but themselves. AIR began to translate in that weird pronunciation. “We need! to kill the creature. It may not be dead. What if it is still alive? Are! we safe?” I cut AIR off before it could say anything further. “Tell them!” I said a bit too loudly, so I made an effort to bring my voice down. “Tell them, that the monster died when it sank into the ocean. They have nothing further to worry about.” More chatter. AIR translated in that voice made to mimic a human’s voice but because it didn’t always know the proper places to use pronunciation it didn’t always sound right. “It isn’t! dead.” “I saw it! climb out of the! water.” “It might! be right behind us as we are talking.” “AIR! Ask them if they are certain?” I already knew the answer. It explained why they looked so unhappy when I was coming up the beach. AIR responded quickly. “Yes!” “Yes!” “Yes!” “Okay everybody calm down. I will go back and check our trail, the rest of you figure out a plan.” Thomas said sprinting past us back down the way we had come. ‘ “Thomas! Be careful! That thing can hypnotize you into not seeing it come at you. If you see it do not wait or watch it. Just come back immediately. Please heed my words!” I called after him as he raced back down the path. “Georgio you had better go straight back for the cave. AIR tell the big hairies we need to make a trail that leads away from base camp. Then somehow figure out how to get back their ourselves.” I said, sitting down on my haunches. No getting around the fact I was tired. AIR translated what one of the Sasses was saying to me. “You! look tired. We can make the! trail. Go with your human! friends and rest. We will! find a way back it cannot! follow. You! were brave. So will we be! You look better with all your fur.” I nodded agreement, too tired to do much of anything else. Georgio and I waited for Thomas who rejoined us in a short time. The three of us started down the path back to the base camp not talking much. Instead we enjoyed the coolness of the morning as it caressed our faces before evaporating into what would become another sub-tropical day. It was a lucky thing for Georgio that we were in the jungle where there was enough shade to allow him to get back to the cave safely. He would have burned from the sunlight otherwise. The three of us went right to sleep as soon as we got to the cave. We were lucky we had the Sasquatch to lead the Wendigo away or it would have tracked us back to the cave and attacked while we were still exhausted. It wouldn’t be until later that we would know just how lucky we were that morning. It was another beautiful sub-tropical early evening in the pacific when I awoke. The sun was just a whisper of orange on the far western horizon. A soft breeze caressed my cheeks and played gently with my fur which was again back in its full luster. My acute canine hearing picked up an uneasiness among the Sasquatch chatter so I found AIR and had it translate. In that all-too-human sounding voice with the bad punctuation AIR translated: “They still have not come back yet!”, “They may have been eaten! by the Wendigo!”, “Does anybody! know where the monster is now?”, “We’ve got to do! something before it finds this camp!”, “What do the humans want to do?” It got quiet as AIR realized the big swamp apes had stopped their chatter and there was nothing left to translate. They were all looking at me and waiting patiently to hear what the robot was going to translate back? “Thomas! Georgio! Are you ready to go back out there hunting the creature again tonight?” They both arrived at my side at the same time. Both shook their heads in agreement. I could see that like myself, my friend Thomas was also in full wolf mode. Georgio looked much better than that last time I had seen him. He was once again moving around in that sliding motion. “Everyone! Thank you for gathering and for remaining calm at a time when I know is stressful for us all. I have heard your concerns and cannot offer news as to what has happened to the decoy team but we must push ahead with our plan to destroy the Wendigo because it will not stop hunting us. The three of us eh, ex-humans, and any Sasses that want to go, will take AIR out to hunt the creature again tonight. We will try to pick up the trail the decoys set down and follow it to see what happened to the decoy team. Everyone that is going, be ready in ten minutes. Right now I need to speak with some of the humans who stayed behind last night.” The Sasquatch began chatting among themselves while I stepped as far out of hearing range from AIR as I thought necessary. Several of the wolf people and several of the vampires followed me and we formed what was probably the only time that vampires and wolves made a huddle like a football team. “Okay.” I said lowering my voice to a whisper. “Did you go to the fifth island and destroy the army of robots?” Zardas, one of the oldest of the vamps said, “When we arrived at the location the doorway was closed. We could not gain entry.” Many of those that had joined the huddle shook their heads in agreement. I whispered, “I understand. I’m sure AIR could open the doorway and I guess it will have to be after we’ve killed the Wendigo. Everyone remember to not say anything around the robot about our plans because it might set off some sort of defensive posture. I’m thinking once we kill the creature that I can commandeer the grenade launcher while turning off AIR’s power pack. We use the grenades to get the doorway open and then complete the mission. Oh before I forget: did anyone see a flyover today?” There was talking among the group and then they confirmed that no, there had been no planes or copters while I had slept. “Likely then we will see them tomorrow, or for sure it will be sooner than the drop-day. I imagine when they see the satellite photos they will want to send out air support to see things for themselves. Who knows what they will decide to do with this place now? You have to figure they don’t want it floating into the west coast, and I doubt the southern countries would be too thrilled to find out there was a handful of floating islands, each one filled with something more terrifying than the one before it, about to wash up on their beaches. No, I don’t think the captors are going to leave us alone. As such if we want to survive we need to take some drastic steps, sooner than later.” “Are you sure it isn’t wasting time to spend it hunting the Wendigo when our real enemies aren’t even here among the islands. Maybe we should be preparing for them instead? First thing is to take out that army of robots just waiting to be animated.” Thomas asked. “Words right out of my own head. I don’t know the correct answer to your question. I just know that the creature has access to all the islands. Therefore we are probably going to have to deal with it. Admittedly I had originally thought we would be able to take care of the problem in one night.” I held up a hand and continued, “We can take a vote. If you all think we should be spending our time getting ready for what the captors are going to do, then lets do that!” Georgio asked, “What do you all think the captors will do?” It was the first time the entire group was silent. It was rather a surreal moment because literally everyone had their own idea of how this would turn out. There were a few optimists who had themselves believing we would all get a ride back to the mainland. Another group thought that nothing would be done. The military would just let us fight it out and if/when the time came when they actually were going to use us as weapons, they would use whatever or whoever remained. Yet another group was less optimistic. They thought the military would choose to shut down this version of bastard weaponry by means of using it for bombing practice. Personally I figured that it could go on indefinitely or they might stop sending the food supplies, but other than that, just let us fend for ourselves. Unless of course we were to float too close to the mainland. In that case I suspected they would definitely bomb us until nothing was left. “Hey lets talk this over after we’ve taken out the immediate threats. With any luck we can get out there and kill the Wendigo in a short time. Everybody just stay close to the camp tonight and those that are hunting monsters please follow me.” When we had walked back over and joined the rest of the group which included AIR, I asked AIR to translate to the Sasquatch to bring along the deer that they had caught while I was sleeping. Off we went, the merry band of monster killers. __ Chapter ___ We let the Sasses lead the way once we got into the jungle a ways because they could more easily find the trail the decoy team had made. The trail led toward the beach as the cave where everyone was staying was located toward the middle of Wolf island. Well done my big hairy friends, keeping the creature not only away from base camp but also near the water where I suspect it cannot swim. It hasn’t any fat on it. Fat floats. Muscle and bone sink. It is that simple. And a Wendigo has no fat. I’m not sure how it managed to survive the last dip in the ocean but it was unlikely to fare so well next time. First we had to find it before it found us. Then we could lure it back out into the water or AIR could just fire those grenades. When we came upon a proper clearing in the jungle the deer was staked out in its middle. The Sasses disappeared into the jungle fauna while Thomas, Georgio and I stood next to AIR at the opposite end of the clearing from where we thought the Wendigo might attack. Canines are not known for their tree climbing abilities but both Thomas and myself were proving we could do it. We joined Georgio on a stout branch that overlooked the staked-out deer. Nobody wanted to spend time on the ground because of fear the monster would sneak up on us. This despite each of us having superior night vision. Something was coming and moving fast. It was not worried about giving away its location. We heard branches breaking and the muffled sound of what might have been conversation but I did not recognized the language. As the disturbance grew closer to us we could almost feel the arrival as much as hear it. Everyone gave a sigh of relief as we realized it was the decoy team. It was a very short-lived relief however as the arriving Sasquatch announced (via AIR, to those of us needing the translator) that the decoy team had been on the run the entire time with the Wendigo not far behind and never giving up. When I heard it was coming and not too far behind, I said, “Everyone get where they feel safest. Nobody be near the deer or the direction from which the decoy team arrived. AIR will be launching grenades very shortly.” AIR translated to the Sasquatch and they disappeared once again into the safety that mother nature offered. AIR moved to a strategic position close to the deer. Then we could hear something coming through the jungle. Next we could hear the growling, hissing and licking of its lips as the Wendigo began to appear from the darkness. I was shocked to see it stick out of its mouth, a forked tongue which slid past shriveled, shrunken lips and blood stained razor teeth to vibrate in the air. It stood looking at the terrified deer struggling to get free of the rope used to anchor it to that spot, tasting the fear in the air. The creature shocked me further as it let go what sounded like the creepiest, most evil of laughter. Then complete chaos as AIR began launching grenade after grenade. All of us, including the sasquatch and even AIR, began to retreat. AIR firing the grenades as it backed up in our direction. There was little point in searching the area AIR had rained the grenades. It was dark and more than likely the Wendigo was in so many small parts that they would be lucky to find them in the daylight. Hunting for them at night would be a waste of time. Besides that, nobody was much excited at the idea of searching for the Wendigo in the dark. Everybody was sure it was dead however. How could it not be? All those grenades. Nothing living could have survived that shower of grenades. Even something that cannot be killed, can be blown into a million pieces. Let us see it kill someone after that. We were back in camp before the night was half over. That was a good thing because we still had stuff to do. I had set aside two grenades from AIR’s launcher. I’m not proud of what I had to do, but I did it. When we got back to the cave just before getting close to the campers: I hooked one of the grenades onto AIR’s back and pulled the pin. AIR was blown to pieces while we all watched from behind the safety of tree trunks. I am completely aware that it was just a machine. One which could have turned on us at any time. Regardless the act felt cowardly and I hope I never have to do anything like it again. Hope and dream all you want but do it while you are getting your work done. That’s what my pa always said. Most of the crowd at the cave camp followed as I made the way to the island where the army of robots was waiting for some tech geek back in Cal or somewhere along the west coast to press a button which would animate an army one thousand fold strong. On top of being out numbered we would be literally cave men throwing stones against grenade launchers with digital aim. It was vital we take out the army of AIRs. The doorway allowed entry after the grenade gave it a change of attitude. Once inside it was discouraging in several ways. I had hoped to find some supplies which would suffice to supply weapons to my army. Sadly there were only two launchers available to us, each with a dozen grenades. All the others were already attached to the robots and in order to get the grenades free we would have to turn on their power. The two grenade launchers would suffice. The grenades were freed of the launchers and we spread them out among the many robots all lined up in rows. The underground room was huge and we would have liked to have kept it to live in but that would have meant getting each of those robots out of there without the use of power. Plus there would be the chance the captors could animate them while we were in the process of getting them carried out of the underground room. No, we were better off to get rid of them while we had the chance. A quick search of the place (by the vamps since working outside was impossible unless they were under the canopy of the jungle) revealed that there were no extra attachments for the robots. I concluded the military had figured to add any extra weapons when they came to pick up the bots. The vamps discovered the charging station for the robots was solar powered and were able to unhook and move it away from the blasting area before that took place. Two grenades were saved and the rest used to blow up the army of robots. The sasses very much disliked the explosions. They disappeared leaving just the humans/vampires/wolf people. The crowd of humans and former humans began their way back to the cave campsite. It was shortly after mid day and the walk ahead would take most the rest of the day due to having to stay to the thicker parts of the jungle so that the vampires didn’t get burned by the sunlight. It turned out to be a mistake because taking that route was perilous. Up ahead sat a swamp which forced the group to attempt to go around. The group bottle-necked down to forming a single line where each participant followed the person to their front. After the majority had already slipped past the bottle neck spot there was word that came up the line that one of the vampires had been attacked and eaten by a pair of giant salties that came out of the swamp’s brackish water with no warning whatsoever. Nature’s current largest living reptile grabbed the vamp by his leg and dragged him into the water where the other saltie clamped down on the other leg and they proceeded to rip him apart like a wishbone. The two salties were as long as a school bus but they easily disappeared back under the dark water. The single line kept moving past the spot where the big crocs had fed. Each hiker taking their turn getting past the killing spot. That wasn’t the worst of the day. The group returned to the campsite at the cave to find those that had stayed behind were all dead. It was obviously the work of the Wendigo. How it could have survived that hail of grenades was anybody’s guess? At that moment the question took second place to getting those still alive to some place safe. The real question was where was that at? Thankfully for the vamps sake, it was nearing sundown by the time the group arrived back at the the campsite. A few of the vamps had survived the Wendigo attack, along with a few of the wolf people, my mate and child included. No humans had survived. The handful of survivors explained that the majority of the group that had been attacked by the Wendigo had moved in the same direction away from the campsite. After feasting on those it killed with its initial attack, the monster had followed their trail. The few talking to us had hidden in the back of the cave climbing through narrow crevices which the Wendigo could not navigate. They had stayed there listening and being witness to the ravenous evil as it killed again and again. They said the humans were hit first and hardest. None were surprised to find out there were no longer any humans alive except for the few that had been at the robot extermination. All the non-humans, myself now included, were much faster and stronger. The monster would not find us such easy prey. Never the less, there were dead vamps and wolf people too. Lightening flashed on the western horizon. It announced a storm, possibly a typhoon, would arrive by morning. Soon after came a soft thunder. The scent of rain filled the air. Those that had been destroying the robots, gathered to decide what they should do? There was much to discuss. If a typhoon was coming there was really only two or three spots which offered protection. The cave, which the creature was now aware, and in all likelihood would return to when trying to escape the typhoon. The underground building that we had just blown up. The place was still on fire and falling in on itself when we last saw it. Perhaps the cave where we met the bigfoot if we could find it again. We no longer had the luxury of unleashing an army of grenade throwing robots, my fault I suppose, so the thought of defending the campsite cave against the Wendigo was not one that deserved much attention. We decided on the robot building. The Wendigo was still unaware of it. Hopefully not all of it had fallen in on itself. Maybe there was part that still offered protection from the high winds and maybe could even keep us dry. Since it was not day time we could walk straight for the island which housed the robots. Our other choice beside that was that there was a minority who wanted to go looking for the group which had led the Wendigo away from the cave campsite. None of them had returned. Many, including myself, thought them dead. Anybody that had seen it in action would have thought the same. Personally I understood those going to go look for a mate or child, regardless of what the others decided. On a not-so-personal note I urged the others to not stay and to not hunt the creature. There would be time for that another day. We had just seen a few days prior what a full fledged typhoon could do to the artificial islands. Now that they were no longer tethered to the ocean floor, who knew what they were capable of doing, including capsizing. Stories about Atlantis sinking into the ocean came to mind and offered little comfort in the late morning hours as we watched the storm come ever closer. When we crossed over to the island with the robots we were met by two of the male Sasquatch. Sad that we no longer had the translator, still we now knew we could communicate with one another, even if it was only on a very limited basis. They managed to get us to follow them instead of heading for the blown up underground building. We were greatly rewarded. They took us to their homes which were caves hidden by heavy jungle fauna. I think we were all surprised to find out that there were many more of them than we had thought. That explained why their island was so full of deer and other wild life. They required a lot of food. I imagined the military flew some new livestock, so to speak, in every once in a while to replenish the supply. Or perhaps the deer population kept up. I wasn’t certain how that worked. One thing that was clear was that the big harries were taking a real risk to invite us, to their homes. We were after all, loud (by comparison to their species), not well camouflaged, (at least in the case of the vamps), and if the creature found their caves, it would likely be due to one of their guests. They were experts at staying out of sight as long as they didn’t have others to give away their secret. The storm was upon us almost as soon as everyone had concluded who was going to stay where? It was another heavy-hitter which lasted the rest of that night and to the next evening. When we came out of the hidden caves, they weren’t so hidden any longer. Perhaps you’ve seen footage of what a place looked like after a hurricane has hit. The really bad ones leave almost no leaf remaining on any plant or tree. It is quite a striking image to see the land stripped bald in such a manner. This was the case after the second storm hit. There wasn’t going to be any place for the vamps to sit out the daytime sunlight if we didn’t take back control of their cave. There was plenty of time to kill while waiting out the storm. We talked, and the Sasses chatted among themselves. Sometime during hours of listening to the wind slam the sheets of rain against the rocks which lined the cave openings, one of the Sasses produced a satchel which had official documents from the government. They were written in English. I held them up to a torch for closer inspection and saw they were a treaty. It promised that in trade for land located in the northwest parts of the continent the Sasquatch would receive an island which was brimming with deer and wild game. Plus the promise of the government there would never be any human beings bothering their island. There was a lot of double-talk lawyer-words which took about ten pages to explain, if you read between the lines, the reason behind the trade and treaty. It was because the government did not want it to get out that the Sasquatch actually exist because then they would have to set aside the environment which would mean huge amounts of land would no longer be eligible for cutting down the trees or for building more houses or many other things. The government knows they would never win convincing the people it was okay to rape the land which was needed for the Sasquatch. By sending them here their existence is kept quiet. I could not help but wonder why the government made the island for them. My best guess is that they figured out they could not catch the Sasquatch so when they had an AI which was capable of translating they approached the big harries with this deal. Even a government goon is smart enough to figure out that the bigfoot do not like being around humans. So it was an easy enough carrot to dangle once they had AI to translate the deal for them. The Sasquatch probably knew not to trust the humans but thought the risk was worth the reward. To finally be rid of man’s materialistic, plastic, polluting, loud, selfishly ignorant ways, was just too attractive of a possible future to refuse. I also imagine they kept their word since they could weaponize the Sasses, or attempt to; at a later date. Of course any native American, or citizen which had ever been in any sort of intimate business with them or any government, could have told how the rules are changed whenever the government sees fit; and that no document will save you. On a side note: there was nothing in the treaty which mentioned what would be inhabiting the neighboring islands and nothing about them ever being used as weapons in a war. It seemed there was a problem which solved all the other problems. Our situation after the storm had its thirty-six hour’s worth of fun with us was that we no longer were sure which island was which? The storm may have placed the island string in a very different pattern than before. We didn’t even know where the islands had been taken? We had no idea where the Wendigo was currently located? What we did know was that the island and most likely the surrounding islands had been stripped clean of every leaf on every plant. That it was going to be much harder to stay hidden without the cover. We had to assume that the military was now or very soon would become aware that the island chain was no longer in the same location. Another assumption was that if we were free-floating that the military was going to take some drastic action before they allowed our islands to wash up on some beach along the west coast. They wouldn’t want it to get out that they had created an island chain to house monsters so they could be used as weapons. That meant the closer we came to the west coast the closer we were to getting an air strike. Really the biggest question was how long did we have before the U.S. military became aware of our situation and what they were likely to do about it? Talk turned to the big sailboat that had been created back on Wolf island, which although not completely ready to sail, could be made close enough if everyone pitched in. Assuming it was still there of course. It should be, it was tied up all along the beach side. “More than likely we won’t be on these islands long enough for the vamps to worry about housing. I suggest everybody puts their energy into finishing the big sailboat. We need to set up an area where the vamps can get out of the sunlight. It won’t be hard to create that sort of cover if we split up and send a team to the underground building. They will find enough sheet metal to create a dark room that can house all the vamps.” I then paused before adding, “Our biggest problem now is figuring out what we will use as a sail?” Thomas replied, “After the storm there’s only one thing on these islands that will serve as a sail, and you’re not gonna like it.” “What’s that?” I asked. Thomas smiled and said, “The big gators. Skin ’em and sail ’em. That’s the plan.” “Probably take us all day and several lives to get those things out of that swamp and skinned. That an acceptable price?” I said, looking around the crowd. Nobody wanted to look me back in the eye. Zardas, the leader of the vamps, said what we were all thinking. “That is the only thing on the islands which will serve as a sail. There is not much choice in the matter. We are short on time. Risks must be accepted. Most of all is we must all be dedicated to doing what it will take to survive. That may include having to give up one’s life for the survival of the rest. I think everyone should take a moment and think about things. Make peace with the fact that we are most likely already dead so sacrificing one’s self to save the rest should be viewed as something you do while on your way to being dead anyway. You can either leave this world doing nothing to save the others or leave it being a hero.” He was right. After the storms there was not a leaf to be found on any plant. If we would have still had some jungle plants with leaves on them we could have fashioned a sail out of them. Now the big salties were our only chance. Killing them was not going to be easy. It would possibly cost several lives in the process. Discussion concluded we could use the treble-hooked anchor I had brought in my inflatable boat, to hook them in the mouth where we would drag them onto solid ground and kill them. The sasses were sent to bring back another deer which we could use for bait. This one would be killed and just parts of it used to lure the crocs. Two teams were created out of what was left of the survivors. The storms, the Wendigo, and then dealing with the thought that at nearly any time a squadron of bombers could appear on the horizon coming to wipe the islands out of existence; took a toll. Everyone was on edge. Neither team could feel safer than the other, not having any idea where the Wendigo was currently located. Zardas and the bulk of the vamps went to work on the sailboat while the rest of us headed for the swamp to catch a pair of salties. Both teams had an errand to run before they could get started. The vamps headed for the underground building to get the proper amount of sheet metal to create the dark room. We discussed using the sheet metal as a sail but in the end decided it was too heavy and that our mast would never be able to hold up the weight. Worse yet would have been if we got into a heavy wind which caused the boat to tip enough where it became top heavy in one direction, it surely would turn the boat over. Weapons already existed for various reasons. As such they were not needed to be created, just sharpened. An extensive choice of knives, machetes, a couple of swords and many spears were available. It was a mob of mostly wolf people which armed themselves and headed for the swamp. The treble-hooked anchor was given a three foot leader of chain before the rope I had brought with me was tied to its last link. We hoped it would be enough to keep the rope from being snapped by those big white teeth. A different section of the swamp was chosen than the spot where everyone was forced to bottleneck into a single line. It would allow enough room for us to get on the rope and pull the creature out of the water once we had it hooked. However getting to that spot meant everyone had to once again go past the bottleneck spot which was so vulnerable for the hikers. There was a partial full moon providing some light as it filtered down through the barren limbs of the jungle trees that just days before would have made it completely impossible for human eyes to see and very hard for our canine and vampire eyes to do much better. Now however there was enough light to see where the water ended and the solid ground began, providing the path which had evolved to look well traveled. Every fourth or fifth hiker held a torch providing extra light. Unfortunately it was probably what tipped off the big salties to our arrival and one of the last of the group was picked off by their lightening fast attack out of the brackish water. The big saltie dragged both the hiker and his torch into the black water, the torch extinguishing in the splashing water from the hiker as he sunk below the depths screaming until the water drowned out all sound and then the water was again still. Everyone moved further away from the swamp as I and Thomas prepared the treble-hooked anchor and its chain leader for catching the crocs. We had to wait about an hour before the sasses showed up with the deer. They already had this one killed so all that was needed was to cut off a leg and stick it on the treble-hooked anchor and throw it into the water. That was done and then the rope was first anchored around a nearby tree so to take the initial brunt of the croc’s blow. Once it had some time fighting the rope it will get tired, That is when we will pull it on in because the rest of the length will be manned by the group. They stood ready to pull the croc out of the water once it bit the bait. When the big croc is pulled out we will have men ready to puncture its head with our weapons. “Okay everything and everyone is in place. I am now going to throw the bait into the swamp so be ready for the fight!” Next I threw the anchor with the deer leg stuck on it down toward the swamp and it only went in a few feet. I started to pull it back in for another throw when the water suddenly splashed outward as one of the big salties came like a torpedo out of the water and it grabbed the bait which then straightened out the line catching my legs and taking them out from under me. I hurried to get my feet under me so I could run away from the spot which would very soon be occupied by the big croc. The group manning the rope gave a big pull and forced the saltie to slide onto the solid ground where it was stabbed repeatedly by the wolfmen holding spears. The big saltie wasn’t giving up easily though and it thrashed around into what is known as the death roll and managed to get ahold of one of the men using the spears. He was snapped in half as he let out a blood-curdling scream. Next to our complete surprise the second big saltie appeared! It came out of the water and grabbed another one of the men using the spears and took him screaming back into the black, brackish swamp water where his screams became no more. It was all happening at the same time. Some of the wolfmen were killing the big saltie which had the hook in its mouth while the second saltie was dragging one of the group down into the murky depths of the swamp. It was total chaos as the only light available besides moonlight was provided by torches which were being swung all around in an attempt to see what was going on. The big saltie died in sync with the last scream made by the man being drug under the black water which caused a scene of total havoc to become silent and still while the only thing left moving was the ripples of the water. “Okay! We knew this was likely to happen. That we would lose people. Lets get this big croc dragged out of the way and get baited again so we can get the second one. Everybody get back into place.” I hollered while sticking the second deer leg onto the treble-hooked anchor and throwing it back into the swamp. This throw was better but it took a few minutes before the big saltie hooked itself. This time around the group was more experienced. Those using the spears made sure to stay clear of the big saltie’s mouth and it was killed without further incident. The ones manning the rope drug the croc right up to where they could get at it with the spears. No one else was hurt. Next everyone pitched in skinning the two big dinosaurs. Back at the sailboat things weren’t as good. Georgio and his group were attacked while bringing sheet metal back to the boat. Only Georgio and another were able to get away. They waited at the boat with the remaining vamps that had stayed with Zardas to work on the mast. A short while later my group arrived carrying the skin of two big saltie crocs and their heads. We decided to place the heads on the front of the boat with mouths open like they were getting ready to bite something. Morning arrived to find the darkroom finished on the sailboat. They had found the metal door that we used the grenade to get through. It was still in one piece although bent. It served as the centerpiece for the roof of the darkroom. As it turned out we wouldn’t be needing near as much room since many of the vamps were lost in the journey bringing back the sheet metal when the Wendigo attacked. Final count for the trip back to the mainland was twenty-two vampires, forty six wolf people, seven humans and one hundred and fourteen Sasquatches of which about seventy-five were infants or children. The big pontoon sailboat was pushed out beyond the artificial ocean floor. It was kept anchored there by two of the big Sasses, one on each end of the port side of the boat, standing just on the edge of the artificial ocean floor, I had stayed on shore awaiting Thomas to get back. We had been busy getting the place ready to burn. We hoped if we burned the island perhaps it would cover our escape. I went around with a torch setting fire to everything. He did a last check around the island looking for any of the lost members who might have survived and not been able to find the group. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the wind was blowing but not so hard it made the sea angry. I was gazing out across the water wondering what we were going to encounter if we survived the float to the mainland. Suddenly I could hear the sound of Thomas’ voice becoming louder as it got closer. At first I thought I was hearing , “when we go … SWIM FOR IT! It wasn’t until he was almost past me and I heard the growling and the chomping of the teeth that I understood what he was actually saying. Thomas flew past me into the ocean water and once again screamed, “Wendigo! … SWIM FOR IT!” He wasn’t saying “when we go”. He was saying “Wendigo!” Suddenly I understood. I turned and began running into the water following Thomas, as it chased behind me growling that awful noise and grinding its blood-stained razor teeth. I screamed at the Sasses to get the boat out into the deep water and they either understood what i was yelling or they acted out of fear. Either way they pushed the sailboat out away from the artificial island’s beach and ocean floor and then jumped on with Thomas right behind them. I continued to race for the boat with the creature just behind me. I could hear it splashing through the water desperate to catch me. At the last bit of artificial flooring I began swimming to the boat and the creature raced right behind me. Its outstretched arms with their razor-sharp claws could not quite reach me. The Wendigo sank as soon as it ran out of artificial ocean floor. I was taken aboard the sailboat by the very Sass that had saved me from the monster not so very long ago. I turned and joined the others as we all watched the Wendigo sink to the bottom of the ocean where it did not die. That was when we learned the legend was true, it could not die. But it also, could not swim. We gazed at it through the clear pacific sea water while the sails were raised. The ocean breeze caught the big saltie sails, and took us quickly away from the spot where the Wendigo would begin its walk back to the mainland on the ocean floor. Assuming it wasn’t eaten by something under the ocean which was nastier than it. The next few days were as good as anyone could hope. No storms or choppy water. We were going through supplies faster than we had expected. The Sasses consumed more than we predicted. Shouldn’t come as a big surprise. The person in charge of getting supplies figured for humans, not for creatures nearly twice their size. We would be fine in any case. Ocean breeze stayed consistent enough to keep a distance between us and where the Wendigo had went into the water so I had no worry about it catching us. Then we saw the jet. It may not have seen us on its way out to check on the islands but on its way back the thing flew right over us. There was no way of knowing whether it took video or photo evidence of our existence but we were certain the pilot had seen us. The second flyover removed doubt from even the most optimistic of us. They had seen the sailboat. Most likely they had seen the bigfoot. We had them in four groups. One group on each corner of the boat. Hey they weigh a lot. We decided to spread out the weight. They may have just looked like four hairy patches on the boat, but eventually the upper echelon would figure out what the pilot had been seeing. Our time was now more precious than ever before. If we could finish out the day which had a fair chance of happening, we could take some actions which might allow some of us to survive. The truth of the circumstance is that we were due to get bombed by the U.S. air force. The only chance to survive the attack would be if you were somewhere else when the bombs hit. I had an inflatable boat which would hold maybe eight or ten people. The rest would have to remain on the boat and take their chances. Of course we hoped it would not play out the way we feared. A lottery was made. The Sasses and the vamps were not invited to participate. We couldn’t explain to the big harries and the vamps couldn’t survive the sunlight and there was no darkroom available. I got a ticket because it was my boat. So did my mate and two children. The wolf people were a courageous bunch and did not flinch at my demand since I was after all, saving three of their people too. It was determined that after making room for water and food, there was enough room for four more adults and two kids. When the lottery was through, I was very sad. I had hoped Thomas would be joining us. He actually did win a seat in the boat but gave up his seat so that another family could go with us. By giving up his seat they got to stay together. It was a noble gesture which gave me even more reason for pause, but in the end I had to go. It felt like it was the smart move considering the boat had been spotted. We were probably lucky to have gotten the night to say our goodbyes before being bombed out of existence. “Take care of my sister and do not trust the mainstream world to accept your situation. Stay quiet about the wolf stuff.” Thomas said to me as we exchanged goodbyes, knowing it might be the last time we would ever see the other again. At least in this life. “You know I will. Take care of your sister that is.” I said smiling. “You know me, I’ll probably trust somebody, like the way I trusted you when we first met, and end up being sorry. Just like now.” I smiled again and it was returned. We shared a look that said all the things that we didn’t have time or truth be told, the courage to say. “Love ya man!” “Back at ya!” Thomas replied. I thought about all that we had shared, endured, conquered together since first meeting. About how freaked out I was when I first saw Nightsong change over. About changing over myself. About killing the big salties. About his flying past me into the water to escape the monster, all the while yelling and crying out about the “when we go ..” And finally to my friend giving up his seat to be with his friend and family, so that another family might be together. He was there through it all. I paddled away in silence into the darkness of what remained of the night ahead. It was not a happy night but we kept paddling away from the sailboat, which had long left us in its wake. Morning arrived without a cloud in the sky. a couple of curious sharks had begun following us but after all I had been through it had me about as worried as the roadrunner is of the coyote. We kept paddling toward the mainland. About an hour after sunup we could see a bunch of planes on the horizon to our north. They were headed in the direction of the islands. Later there were several explosions back towards where we left the islands. We watched and kept hope but a short while after the big explosions there was another smaller, single explosion on the horizon ahead and to our north. They had seen the boat and kept enough bombs to take it out on their way back from the islands. It was a sitting duck. No defense at all and the rotten military didn’t hesitate to blow it into a million pieces. Great sadness filled the rest of that day though the sun never took a minute’s rest. It seemed determined that if it couldn’t burn us out, then it would simply refuse to go away and bore us to death. Even the sharks seemed to lose interest and at some point left our party. The day passed completely without event. That evening as the sun was dancing on the horizon of the opposite side of the world we were met with two big surprises. The first was expected, though we didn’t know when it would arrive. Land ho! That’s right. We had made it to the coast. The second was completely unexpected. A total surprise! It was the kind of thing you can’t plan for. There was no chance we could have out-raced them in an inflatable boat loaded down with all of us and only having two paddles. They were there in numbers too many to count. I felt the air leave my lungs as I watched it and even as I saw it I could not believe what was happening. We had no choice but to paddle along side them in the water. The ocean water was splashing everywhere as I saw a whole bunch of Sasses swimming for the shore. And to my greatest pleasure I spotted my friend Thomas holding onto the back of the very Sass that had saved my life. We paddled up along them, tears in our eyes. We learned that when the planes came in to drop their bombs, the vampires had stayed on board giving the impression we were all up under the steel door and in the dark room, because they knew the boat was going to sink and they could not survive the sunlight. The rest of us slipped into the water. The only ones strong enough to survive both the sunlight, and the swim back to the mainland would be the Sasses. And the one that had grabbed me saving my life from the Wendigo, grabbed Thomas when the bombs started going off and swam him back to the shore. Looking out over the water I could see a few humans had also survived and it looked like all the wolf people had made it. They were clinging to the backs of the Sasquatch. I won’t say where we are now. Suffice to know that we are out there. We desire to live in peace. Our army isn’t as strong as it once would have been but I pity any group of average men that come around seeking trouble. One last thing you military experts should know. The last time we saw the Wendigo it was walking the ocean floor back towards California. I don’t know how long it will take to arrive but am pretty sure you will know when that time comes. The End | |