By Tooth & Nail

The place to meet and greet the Factor 8 community!
Anonymous

By Tooth & Nail

Postby Anonymous » Tue Oct 15, 2002 5:48 pm

My Novel I was working on.....


[align=center]<font size=6>By Tooth & Nail</font>
<font size=5>Story by Justin Hunter Blake I</font>
<font size=4>Base on the Dynamix World of Starsiege</font>




</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub18.ezboard.com/ublackwolfviii.showPublicProfile?language=EN>BlackWolf VIII</A> Image at: 10/15/02 4:49:09 pm
Anonymous

Chapter 1 - The Chambermaid's Plan

Postby Anonymous » Tue Oct 15, 2002 5:50 pm

The door swung open as a harsh wind rushed into the dimly lit room. The candles scattered around for “atmosphere” flicked wildly; most did not survive to cold blast of air, and smoke was all that remained to prove of their meager existence. Without the candle’s golden glow on the room, the few colorful generator powered lights near the bar could not cut through the smoke and haze of a busy night at The Chambermaid. All the patrons could tell was that someone big was standing in the door. The huge figure stepped in and closed the door behind as quickly as it was opened. The stranger began across the room to the back corner, the darkest place in the Chambermaid.
The Chambermaid’s Plan was a civilian bar on the outskirts of Callen-9 in the Delta Sector. It was in the rough area of the Callen-9 colony, and even the locals avoided it due to its bad reputation. The Chambermaid’s infamy reached across Mars, and stories had even reached Earth a few times although most did not remember the name and it simply became “this dive or Mars” or something of that sort. A rather large place, compared to the other few businesses that were in this part of the colony, the Chambermaid was erected using scrap and pieces from who knows where: one wall was comprised of mostly metal from old hercs bolted together with a silicon film over the cracks to hold the cold Martian air at bay. A single fluorescent light hung from the out stretched leg of an Apocalypse bathing the “graveyard” as they called it in a flickering white glow as the fixture slowly swayed back and forth. There were a couple of wood beams scattered throughout the room, one had been carved into a half nude woman-half fish, another was in the image of a Earth animal called a bear.
Tables littered the room with the only reprieve being a space of near two meters around the bar. Chairs of metal and wood circled each of the tables; the Chambermaid’s patrons had already taken most of them for the night. Across the room from the graveyard, the room grew dark quickly, and the stranger made his way through the crowd to the back corner. Meerina, the waitress, stood taking an order as the stranger passed close to her, so silently that she only the passing breeze told her that someone had moved passed. She turned to see the cloaked figure, who seemed to double her tiny 4’8” height, stride boldly to one of the few empty tables in the ‘maid that was left.
The stranger sat down, back to the corner, facing the room. The stranger’s cloak was a dark gray and seemed to absorb the feeble light. The hood was drawn low, and even though it appeared as if the stranger was looking at the floor, Meerina knew quite well that she was being watched and closely. She went to the next table, cleared a couple of empty bottles and glasses, and took them to the bar. The barkeep filled her tray with glasses and bottles, all filled with colored liquids of red, green and gold. The lights around the bar, which was the brightest area of the Chambermaid even though more than a few shadows fell across the dark wood, amplified their colors as Meerina moved between the tables back to where the stranger passed her. She served the three men there and began to turn away. The largest of the three, a big and quite stout man, grabbed her free wrist and pulled her roughly back to him. She fought against his roaming hands with the skill of years of practice and looked back as she walked away from the table and smiled coyly. The stranger watched the scene, watched as she squirmed away, watched as she turned to them and smiled, and watched the coy smile fade abruptly as she turned back, rolling her eyes.
Meerina walked towards him. Each step seemed to grow heavier as she moved. Thoughts raced through her mind. There was something about “him”. Yes, it had to be a “him”! Only men were that big. What if it wasn’t? Damn that would be a big woman! Impossible! Had to be a guy, but man he was huge even for a “he”! She awoke from her daydream and noticed that she had actually stopped moving and was standing in the middle of the ‘maid, just staring at this stranger. Meerina had never been known for being rude, actually quite the opposite. Once she noticed that she had stopped, she started across the floor very quickly till she stood at “his” table.
“Hiya! Whattle it be?” she squeaked, while making a mental note to calm down and sound more human than mouse.
“What do you suggest?” It was a man, she knew it! His voice was low and guttural; it seemed that he had growled the words, having some trouble with the language.
“Well, let’s see…” her voice returning some to its normal tone, “most round here drink the local ale. Its an…”she searched for the words, “…acquired taste, kindda rough if you ain’t used to it.”
“Your local ale will suffice then.” He reached out and tossed a golden coin on the table, “Will this cover the tab?” Meerina looked down and had to stop herself from staring, a Venus Galdoon! Very rare form of currency and rumored that only the Emperor himself had these coins. She wasn’t sure of the change rate, they didn’t see many off planet visitors, but she knew that the stranger had shown her more in that coin than she would make all month from the local thugs. She swallowed hard.
“Yes, that will be…plenty” There was something about the stranger that made her uneasy, but yet also trust him fully; which in this part of the planet simply did not happen. Perhaps that is why she was so uneasy. She did trust him even though she had never seen his face. His hands were even covered! She remembered the black glove come out of the cloak and toss the coin to her. What was that symbol? She tried to remember the quick movement of the man, but she could not recall the silver symbol on back of his glove. What was it about this guy that made her so uneasy? She had dealt with the worst scum of Mars and at most she had been fondled a little, but this guy was way out of place. She walked back to the bar and ordered the strangers drink.
“Here ya go!” She said as she slid the large glass in front of him when she returned. He remained silent, but nodded his head in thanks. She looked at him, hoping that he would remove his hood to drink the pungent brew; but he did not. The hood of his cloak fell completely over the mug and hid his features perfectly from view.
“You…um…ain’t from Mars are you?” she asked timidly as he sipped from the mug. Clearing his throat with another growl and feeling the liquid warm his gullet, he took a deep breath before answering; the exhale stirring the dust on the table.
“No, I am not from Mars.” He began to take a second drink, but was cut short by a second guess.
“Venus!? I bet from Venus, that is the reason for the Galdoon!” her voice trailed at the mention of the coin, not wanting prying ears, of which there are many in the Chambermaid, to know of her newly acquired treasure.
“I...” he began. Meerina wondered if the pause was due to his trouble with the language or him trying to decide what to say. “…was on Venus…for a time.”
“Really! Hmmm, then where are you from originally?” He cocked his head sideways to look at her, but even that deepened the shadows within the hood. She was curious, he told himself, as was most on these planets. He thought to himself for a moment and slowly took another drink of ale. She was a tiny thing by comparison, in perhaps her mid-twenties. He figured that most found her attractive. She was slender and athletic, probably from evading the clientele of the Chambermaid. Her dark red hair was pulled back, tied with a bit of green ribbon that she had found on an old doll. Her face was smooth despite the undoubtedly harsh condition of this planet, and her features were well defined. Glossy green eyes looked at him as she waited for an answer.
“No where of consequence; a small colony that you have probably not heard of.”
“Doesn’t surprise me; I have not really been anywhere to know much about other places. So what brings you to Mars?” He though of asking for her to leave him, but was saved by the barkeep yelling at her above the general noise.
“Coming,” she replied, but then turned back to the stranger, “Well, enjoy your drink! I’ll come back and check on you in a bit.” With that she turned and crossed the room to set her try back on the bar. The barkeep scolded her about something or another, most likely her standing around and talking, and then filled her try once again with drinks for the patrons. She made a few more trips to the various outlying tables of the ‘maid and returned to the bar with more orders. She ventured back over to the table next to the stranger and glanced his way; seeing that his glass was still half full, she returned to the bar again.
“Meerina!” the large man’s voice easily carried across to her, “Are you just going to let us run dry or what girl!? Another round for me and my men!” Once again Meerina rolled her eyes at the man, this time a little less hidden. She dropped her most recent load of drinks off and returned to the bar for the trio’s next round of cocktails.
No sooner had she sat the bottles on the table, she was pulled roughly into the large man’s lap. Struggling fiercely to break free, she fought hard against his advances, but his sheer strength won the battle, and her movements grew smaller. The stranger watched as the coy smile returned to her face.
“No reason to be so rough, love! If you want me all you have to do is ask…” she began turning in his arms to face him, her fiery green eyes locking to his glazed orbs, “and I’ll give you more of me than you can handle!” With that her knee came up and rested between his legs on the chair.
“You like that?” she cooed.
“Very much!” he replied.
“Then you will simply love this!” She move her knee forward into him and then dropped her weight pinning his manhood to the metal chair, and sending him into shrieks of pain. In a vain attempt to lift her knee, he let her go, trying to free himself. Once free, the coy smile was replaced with sheer hatred and her voice dripped of venom.
“Never touch me again, or ya ain’t gonna need to worry about getting laid again!” She forced down on him and twisted as she turned to walk away, bringing him to a new level of cries. His two friends, who had sat there in shock, suddenly howled in laughter at the big man. Holding his hands over himself to guard his recent injuries, the man began to recover all but his pride, and that was the deepest wound.
“Shut up!” he yelled at his two companions; his face red with rage. He lunged at the small woman, grabbing her roughly and spinning her to face him. His hand raised across he barrel chest and balled into a fist. If Meerina was afraid it did not show in her jade eyes as she again locked stares with him, matching his rage with her own. Her defiance fueled his rage further and he unleashed his powerful backhand that dropped her to the floor at his feet and sent crimson across a nearby table.
Staggering to try to rise to her hands and knees, Meerina, half conscious, looked upward at her attacker. Her jaw was shattered from the vicious blow, and her shirt already showed the tint of the blood flowing from her nose and mouth. Her eyes teared in disbelief.
“I don’t need to worry!? I don’t need to worry!? You bitch, the only thing I would worry about if I were you is if I will ever be able to walk again.” His fist rose into above him to deliver another blow to the prone woman. She could only stare blindly as his fist came at her again. She wondered not if she would walk, but breathe again. She managed to turn away and wait for the blow.
All seemed to be moving in slow motion, memories flood back to her in her last few heartbeats of life. Her family, her mother, her regrets of dreams unfulfilled. A table exploded across the room, and Meerina could hear glass shattering as the mugs and bottles hit the floor. The sound woke her up from her memories and she dropped to the ground shivering in fear, covering her head from the lowering blow; but the blow never came. She slowly gained the courage to look up, and there stood the stranger above her, cloak flowing behind him as it tried to keep up with his quick movement. Meerina looked for her attacker, and saw him, thrown through air, patron, table, and glass to rest, like her, sprawled out on the floor across the room from where she now laid.
“Leave the girl be!” the stranger commanded, “She has only defended herself the best she could!”
“I don’t know who you are,” the large man began as he regained his feet, “but you just sign your ass over to me!” He nodded at his two companions and they turned on the stranger. The smallest of the three drew a knife from his boot and began moving in. The stranger stepped between Meerina and the men to shield her from further harm.
“I have no quarrel with you men, be off and no one will get hurt!” the stranger growled.
“Don’t worry…we won’t be the ones hurting!” the knife barer said as they moved in. The two men began to circle the stranger, each heading to one side slowly, pinning the big man between them. The stranger stood motionless, watching the men’s movements.
“There is no reason for this! I am not your enemy, nor have we ever been!” The stranger’s voice began to shake with anger. It rang clear in his words as he continued to speak. “We do not wish to fight you!”
“Then ‘you’ can just stand there and bleed!” With that, the little man lunged in blade leading the way. The second man also lunged in trying to tackle the stranger. The gray cloak flashed before them, circling and flowing in the air. The larger man landed on the floor, holding nothing at all, and when he looked up the blade of the knife was inches from his face! He jumped back as his comrade also discovered the empty space where the foreigner once stood and pulled back his attack. The stranger crouched low, six feet away from them, completing his backwards roll and preparing for the next attack.
“Heed my warning fools! There is no need for this!” His voice was no longer words, but snarls of unbridled rage. The two men did not answer, but charged in again. They came at him side by side, in a dead run. The stranger waited for them to draw close then sprang into a flurry of motion. The left dark glove came forth again, easily catching the wrist of the smaller man, controlling the knife hand with a twist. The second man rushed in, punching wildly at the outsider. The stranger ducked low, dodging the blow. He turned into the smaller man and pulling his arm over him. With the knife-man’s momentum, he easily flipped over the stranger and hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from him, but the stranger still held firmly onto his wrist.
The second man’s drive took him past the stranger. He watched as he friend’s feet flew through the air beside him. He stood in awe that his friend had been taken down so quickly. The awe lasted for only a second, but it was far to late. Returning to his full height behind the stunned man, the stranger kicked the back of his knee, dropping him down to the floor. He tried to regain his footing, struggling to his hands and knees, but the stranger was already there. The stranger’s free hand grabbed him by the hair and pulled him upward. The man only saw a flash of light as the stranger’s knee drove into hit face, knocking him unconscious.
The smaller man quickly regained his breath and began to struggle against his capture. The stranger lifted him into the air by his arm. The tiny man dangled strangely and tried to free himself by flailing vainly at the outlander’s arm. He stopped as he noticed the stranger glaring at him; red eyes burnt with rage bore into him from under the dark hood. He imagined he could see a smile on the large man’s face, even though it was well hidden in the shadows. He hung there, lofted by the stranger’s single arm and brute strength, for what seemed to be en eternity before the second gloved hand struck him in the chest and sent him flying several feet. He hit the ground hard, but was determined not to be beat. He began to stand, but then his stomach gave way under the powerful blow and the man fell, vomiting on the floor.
The beam seared through his shoulder, flesh and cloth melting, burning under the intense heat. The stranger rolled again, to gain some cover from the blaster aimed at him.
“Hahahaha! You’re quick! To bad you are not fast enough to dodge a blaster!” the large man stood across the room, recovered from his recent flight, with a blaster aimed at the stranger. The remaining brave patrons that had not ran for cover from the brawl, now dove behind tables and a few escaped out the door of the Chambermaid. The stranger looked around, assessing his current surroundings, then charged the man.
Surprise crossed the gunman’s face for a brief second and then was replaced by a smile as he tasted victory. The blaster fired again, but it missed its mark and sent sparks flying off the metal in the graveyard as it scorched in, leaving the light swinging by a single chain. The stranger continued to bob and weave as he darted towards the man. A second blast destroyed most of the bear statue, but the third found its mark, burning deep into the foreigner’s chest and dropping him in a heap at the large man’s feet.
The big man chuckled to himself, silently relieved that the outlander did not reach him. He strode forward proudly in his victory and stood proudly, one foot on the fallen man.
“Get up you loafers!” He yelled at his fallen comrades, “Send a couple of boys to do a man’s job and see what happens!” He laughed loudly at their moans of pain as they tried to stand. The big man looked down at the cloaked figure.
“Hmmm…let’s see who you are mate.” He reached for the hood and began to pull it back. The prone stranger spun instantly, hooking the big man’s legs with his own and sweeping them outward. The shocked man fell hard on his back; a rush of wind exploded from his lungs at the hard impact. The stranger turned on him, and with his good arm, he knocked the man’s blaster hand out wide, keeping it away from him. The stranger dropped his weight on the man, further knocking the air out of his already burning lungs.
The dark hood came over the man’s face blocking the view from the remaining patrons in The Chambermaid. The man could feel the stranger’s hot breath, as the figure got closer. Suddenly the man’s throat burned with pain, a burning agony washed through him. As the man tried to gain his breath, the stranger’s grip on him only tightened, crushing his throat and stopping the incoming air. The man dropped the blaster and reached for his throat to fight away the stranger’s firm grip on him. His hands did not find the black gloves as he had expected; what he found horrified him even further than knowing the he was fighting for his life. He felt his way around his throat to discover it was the stranger’s mouth around his esophagus. Sharp fangs dug into his throat further as the man’s hands searched desperately for a way to pry the large maw off of him. The stranger began a low guttural growl, as he bit deeper into the man’s throat. Thick crimson liquid could be seen flowing from the two men; pooling a few feet away at a low spot in the Chambermaid’s floor. Burning for air and beginning to loose consciousness, the large man began to fight wildly trying to free himself. He punched at the stranger’s head repeatedly to no avail. The stranger’s strong jaws closed even tighter with each blow.
In a last attempt to liberate himself, the outsized man grabbed the stranger’s hood and pulled desperately. The hood came off of the strangers head revealing the gruesome scene as fresh blood rushed from the man’s throat. The patrons gasped in horror in unison as they realized that the huge stranger was not even human, but a dog like creature that reminded them of the old legends of earth about a half man/half wolf creature. Curiosity to watch a good fight quickly gave way to fear and many of the clientele ran for the door; they ran for their lives.
The man’s efforts became less and less as his life slipped away. Slowly his hands released the hood and fell to the floor lifeless. The stranger stood, battle lust rushing through him, he looked for the next attacker. He turned on the two men who had attacked him before. A single look at this wild creature, covered in blood that was not his own, told these men that they were about to die and they froze in fear. As if sensing their horror, the creature’s maw drew back into a vicious snarl as the growled at them. The two men collapsed in unison, curling into little balls, covering their heads from the oncoming death. The creature roared as he rushed them, but the eminent death never reached them. The creature stopped, turned and bent low. Meerina could only stare in shock at the beast as he scooped her up and ran from the bar. The pain of her broken jaw, the fear of this massive creature, and the cold Mars night air was simply too much and her blurry vision faded into blackness….


Image
</p>
Anonymous

Chapter 2 - Nightly Illusions

Postby Anonymous » Tue Oct 15, 2002 5:52 pm

Meerina awoke with a start, shooting up in bed as consciousness flooded back into her. When her eyes focused in the darkness, she looked around at familiar surroundings. She was sitting on her bed, with her tan sheets pulled into a tight ball in her fists.
        Damn, it was only a dream! She thought to herself, but it seemed so real! She got out of bed and walked slowly to the kitchen.
        “Light!” she commanded and her environmental control system responded; the room began to fill with a white glow as the lights warmed up to full power. She walked over to the cold storage and pulled out a pitcher and poured its green liquid into a clean glass. She drank slowly as she remembered the events of her strange dream. She could see everything so clearly. She remembered the Galdoon, she remembered the men grabbing her, and she remembered the fight. She was sore all over, and her hand instinctively went to her jaw. No, not broken…sore as hell, but not broken…funny how the mind can play tricks on ya. She laughed quietly to herself, even that caused her small frame to groan in pain.
        Stupid dreams! Even with her disgust for dreams, her thoughts floated back and there he was, the stranger, a horrid beast that had torn through the patrons of the Chambermaid like a gorgon through a goad! She could see his eyes clearly, and she could see the rage at the men who attacked her, the men he saved her from. What did it mean? She remembered her grandfather telling her of a ‘werewolf’ that came out at a full moon on earth. The old man had told her stories of such beasts. “Most people,” he would tell her, ”think that werewolves is a wild beast send to kill people on a full moon. They ain’t! They are the protectors of earth!” Then he would go off into some adventurous story about the wolf-men or some other crazy tale. She remembered fondly on the time she spent with him; he was always telling her stories. Perhaps that is why she dreamed of the werewolf coming to save her. That must be it! She what you did Grandpa!
Meerina despised dreams, and hated thinking about them whether they are from night or day. People were fools for thinking of far off lands, better lives, or whatever stupidity floats in their mind. It was a shield she put up, this hatred, to defend herself from these thoughts. She had once held many dreams or thought of far of places or wished for “Prince Charming” as he Grandfather had called him in their stories. She had cherished these silly images, but reality had stolen them from here on this prison called Mars. She despised this planet. Cold, dust, and nothing else! She wondered what trees looked like or an ocean that the stories often spoke of.
“Stop it!” she scolded herself. She poured out the remainder of the glass in the sink and commanded the lights off. The only clock in her apartment blinked at her: 4:18! 4:18! 4:18! 4:19! Damn, I need to get some sleep! She didn’t remember exactly what time she had gotten home from the ‘maid, but it must have been 2:30 or so…same as every night of every week of every month…. She sighed loudly at her pathetic life on the rock. She began to think again, scolded herself again, and then walked back to bed.
She crossed the room and pulled the sheet off the window, allowing the streetlamps below to softly light the room. She touched the window and it was extremely cold to the touch. Don’t even know why I check… She turned to crawl into bed and stumble over her shoes in the center of the room. She bent to pick them up. Her breath froze in her throat. She ran to the far corner of the room and curled up, stricken with fear.
In the center of the room laid the cloaked stranger….

***********************************

Meerina watched in fear, as the stranger lay there, motionless; she could not even see if his chest was rising and falling with a breath. She waited what seemed to be an eternity, watching, thinking, wondering how this creature found his way here. She presumed that the sun would rise soon after her long wait in the corner of the room. She gathered her wits and leaded forward. She locked her stare on the beast as she leaned forward, once she cleared the doorway to the kitchen her gaze broke away from the stranger, and quickly glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It flashed back 4:24! 4:24! DAMN! She dropped back into the corner and began to plan; still the werewolf did not move.
The dream she had scolded herself for just moments ago was not a dream at all, but now a live werewolf that her grandfather had spoke of. He had saved her; perhaps her grandfather was right about them protecting people. An image of this large figure standing above her, protecting her from her attacker came into her mind. She remembered the hits he took from the blaster and thought again about this creature still being alive. She slowly crawled forward on her hands and knees towards him.
“H…he…hello…” her voice shook with trepidation. She stayed low trying to sneak up on him as best she could. “Hello…” She said again softly. Inches from him, she could hear his breathing, labored and strained. He is alive, but barely by the sounds of it! She slowly sat up next to him. The front of his cloak was covered in blood, as was his right shoulder. She carefully reached for his cloak, lightly pulling it open.
He wore some sort of armor; it was a glossy jet black and seemed to be molded just for him as it fit every muscle of his huge frame. It seemed to be a blend of metal and a plastic. She ran her hand over the contours and came across something damp. Meerina pulled her hand back and looked at it. Even in the soft light coming from the window, she could plainly see it was blood. She looked back to the massive chest and found the breach in the protective layer. The blaster had hit him square in the chest and Meerina had no doubt that if it wasn’t for the armor and the creature’s large size that he would have been dead long ago. She quickly crossed the room and ran into the kitchen. She returned with a rag and began to press down on the wound to stop the bleeding.
Meerina held the rag in place, applying pressure, hoping to return the favor to her savior. She was so concentrated on her work that she did not notice the stranger watching her, nor did she see his hand slowly start to move towards hers. When he grabbed her wrist, she jolted back in surprise, screaming in fear. She fought against his grasp, but even in his weakened state, he held her fast. Other than hold her in place, he made no other move; she was unsure he even could. Meerina calmed down after tiring her already weary body.
“Are…you…well?” The werewolf asked. The words seemed so foreign coming from the canine maw. The sound startled her and she stopped fighting all together to try to understand him. “Are you well?” he repeated.
“Yes...” she said, just barely over a whisper.
“Good” replied the stranger. The words taxed him greatly and he began to cough violently, blood rolled from his mouth to the floor as he rolled to his side in pain; his grip relinquished its hold on the girl and she backed away defensively. She watched as he coughed up more blood.
“C..can you get to the bed?” Meerina asked.
“I don’t know; perhaps with your help.” He said between outbursts. She thought twice about getting close to him and the scooted forward and tried to help the creature. With his injured arm holding the rag in place, he put his other arm around her and began to stand. Meerina was sure that he was holding most of his own weight, but the remainder was all that she could handle, and she struggled under his mass. Together, they got him into her small bed. His feet and most of his legs hung off the end of the bed. The strain was too much for the stranger and it was his turn to lose consciousness.
Meerina watched as the creature’s breathing- slow, raspy, and labored. The rag grew crimson as the stranger’s life flowed out. Meerina ran to the kitchen again and got a couple more rags. Then a quick trip to the bathroom brought back the only supplies she had to heal the injured werewolf- a couple of bandage rolls, some tape, and a antibiotic cream. Resisting the urge to look at the blaster wound on his chest, she placed the antibiotic cream on the rags as best she could and positioned the remaining clean rags over the already saturated cloth and taped them down. She knew well from the bar room brawls that if she would have lifted the first rag, she would have removed any clotting that had already occurred and the wound would start bleeding all over again. The hybrid armor held the tape firmly in place. The shoulder wound, even though just as bad, had cauterized from the intense heat of the blaster. Meerina extended his wounded are slowly and gently, but even then the big beast groaned in pain even in unconsciousness. She gently smeared the cream over the injured limb. Then, she wrapped the bandage around his shoulder, lifting it as little as she could to slide the shrinking roll underneath.
She crawled to the head of the bed beside the creature. She slid her hands under his huge head, and his long black ears twitched as she touched him, but he gave no other notice to her. She slowly raised his furry head and slipped her legs underneath him. She sat, stroking the dark hair on his head gently, till she fell asleep.

***********************************

The sun blazed through the northern window of her apartment, straight into the bedroom, and straight into Meerina’s eyes. She looked down at the werewolf, her hand still on his brow, and wondered about him. Questions flooded her mind more brightly that the sun through her window, but the sun was more pressing. She quickly slid out from under the creature’s head and slid over him, careful not to disturb him at all. She tip toed to the window and replaced the sheet over the window, dousing the bedroom in darkness, hidden away from the morning light. She returned to her position beside the huge wolf-man and once again fell asleep.

******************************************

10:43! 10:43! 10:43! Meerina yawned sleepily as she began to stir. She rolled over and looked directly into his eyes.
“Good Morning!” His low guttural voice seemed almost cheery to her somehow.
“Ahhh…morning!” she mumbled. Shocked to be so close to him, face to face, she sat up quickly. She wiped her hand across her face and yawned again as she stretched her arms skyward.
“Thank you for your assistance.” He said, waking her up further. She looked back at him, the questions of her early morning flooded back in to her mind, but she could mange only one…
“You’re a werewolf, ain’t ya?” She asked bluntly, trying to create a façade of otherworldly knowledge. His eyes closed narrowly, and his head dropped slightly, thinking of the words, attempting to place meaning to her question.
“Were…wolf?” he asked questioningly, “I am not familiar with this word. Define please.”
“You know. A werewolf! You are human most of the time and then turn into a half-wolf/half-man. Just like this!” She said, pointing out his current form.
“No, my lady I am not a werewolf” He said with a chuckle, “I am Garou. What your people would consider an alien from another system of planets much like your own.” She paused for a long moment thinking about his answer. She slid to the end of the bed and stood up. A second question came to her, and she turned and fired it at him suspiciously.
“Why did you help me?” Meerina blurted out, the distrust, so common on Mars, flared across her face briefly.
“There is no reason for one human to hurt another!” He said gruffly and with much disgust in his voice, “especially a female. My kind has struggled in a civil war for more years than I care to remember; fighting amongst my people has become more of a way of life than an actual war. I did not come all this way to see another race do the same to themselves.”
“What are your people fighting about?’ she asked curiously, dropping back to the bed to listen.
“It began many years ago. My people are divided into groups called Korlevs. It is what you might call a clan or family, I believe. It is unsure now, but legend tells that two rival Korlevs argued over territory and began fighting. Then they enlisted the help of other Korlevs to fight with them. Soon all my people were involved in what started as a simple dispute. The leaders were quite hidden in their true motives and pacts arose and fell as well as deceit. Friends in the battle soon became enemies, and each Korlev began to fight for itself for justice of some wrong done to them and no one seemed to remember why the fighting started anyhow…” he shook his head and sighed loudly and painfully, “All anyone cares about anymore is fighting, and I grow tired of it all.”
“So you left because you thought it would never change?” She asked curling up with her back against the bedroom wall, readying herself to continue the story. The Garou seemed to be lost in memory, thinking about the past and his homeland. It all seemed so far away.
“No.” he finally broke the silence, “I was cast out of my Korlev because I wound not murder innocents.” She sensed that he did not want to continue his tale, but when he looked at her, he began once again. “I led the warriors of my Korlev. They called us Lorchar Kea Torgeth. I have not even translated it to human yet…did not see the need to.” He sighed once again, then sat up and held his injured shoulder as he moved it slowly around in a circle.
“Torgeth is a darker color than this.” He pointed to her red robe she was wearing. “The rest is simply don’t know yet.”
“Oh,” she said, “I think I know what you are talking about, but there are several names for red, so that would be tough.” She slid out of the bed again and began to walk away. She stopped and turned back to him. “Would you like something to drink or eat? I really don’t have much, but I can make something.”
“Perhaps something to drink; water I think would be acceptable.”
“Apparently you have not had the water on Mars!” She turned to walk away again and once again she paused, turning to face him.
“What is your name?” He paused thinking to himself.
“That too, is unknown in your tongue.” He finally replied.
“Well what do I call you?” Meerina asked.
“I do not have a name in your language.” He paused for a moment in thought, “What would you like to call me?”
“Don’t really know…Never named someone. Hmmm…” She though for a second, then continued into the kitchen. Soon she returned with two glasses, one of the same green liquid and the other was clear. She handed him the clear glass. He took a sip of water and grimaced.
“I understand your meaning about the water here.” He said as he cleared his throat. Meerina smiled a little as she sat back down.
“BlackWolf.” She said firmly as she came to her decision. “You name can be BlackWolf here on Mars!”
“BlackWolf...” He thought out loud. “I like the way it sounds, but what does it mean?”
“Black is the color of your hair.” She noted, holding his had and rubbing the dark fur down his arm. “Wolf is the Earth animal you look like…well sort of. They don’t walk around on two feet like you, and they are much smaller.”
“BlackWolf…” He began rolling it around to hear it out loud, “I am…BlackWolf! Yes, I think I will enjoy this name you have given me…funny I do not know your name either.”
“Oh, Meerina.” She said, smiling coyly. He took another sip from the glass, forcing himself to stomach the pungent liquid, and then handed the glass to Meerina to place beside hers on the small table beside the bed.
“You were telling me about your home.” She said after a short pause, in his eyes she could see him traveling to a place far away.
“As I spoke of before, I led the warriors of my Korlev, but the leader or chieftain, was a Garou called Gamarok. He had gotten reports of a nearby raiding party of an enemy Korlev, and my warriors and I were sent to dispatch them. When we arrived at the complex, we found no true defenses, which surprised more than one of us. These raiders were known for their cunning, and to leave themselves unguarded would be unheard of. Still we moved in cautiously. When we ambushed the main room of the complex, we found only females and pups. There was no raiding party, just a hideout of the victims of this war. Gamarok ordered everyone in the complex executed to show the enemy our ferocity. I refused and told my men to stand down. I told him that neither my warriors nor I were murderers of innocents. For my defiance I was branded a Jongee, a traitor. My armor and weapons were striped from me as well as my family name.
I was released into the forest alone; and being known as the leader of a rival Korlev, I would be hunted by all Korlevs, not just my own. He then ordered my warriors to execute the females and pups, then to hunt me. By luck, the leader of the raided complex heard of my actions and aided me. Being hunted, I could not stay with his Korlev if I wished it so, so they supplied me with a small ship to escape into space and find my path from there. “ He sighed again and fell back on the bed in thought, finally to break the silence again, “I cannot go home, and have journeyed through several systems and planets to find a place I could call home.”
“And you think Mars is it?” She asked, the cheer in her voice was easily discernable.
“Not quite sure. I have not been here long, and already the locals don’t like me!” His lips curled tight, exposing his front fangs. Meerina assumed this was a smile and laughed at his attempt at a joke. “It is quite different than what I’m used to.”
“Mars is different than everything…or so I have heard.” She rolled her eyes, disgusted once again with this planet. “Well, you are welcome to stay here. You saved my ass, that is the least I can do.”
“Thank you, Meerina.” He said softly. “You are the first person that has not hated me because of my appearance.”
“Don’t give me too much credit!” She spoke with a stern look on her face that quickly softened into a warm smile. “I wasn’t exactly conscious when you brought me here. Hey, How did you know where I lived? And how did you get in here?” She thought she saw the smile return to his face.
“Your perfume” he said plainly.
“What about it?” She asked, quite confused at his statement.
“It is unlike anything I have even smelt. It was not easy to follow the trail from your establishment to here. I would wager that you put it on mere moments before you leave this place.”
“Is that bad?” She asked shyly, her face turning slightly red.
“No, not at all. I said I had never smelt it before. This statement is neither good nor bad…just different. Actually I like it. It is quite sweet to the nose.”
“Thank you.” She said, slowly returning to her normal color. “But that still doesn’t explain how you got in here!”
“You pass card was in your pocket.” Once again the answer seemed too simple for him. She sat there in thought for a moment.
“Oh.” was the only answer she could come up with at the moment.
“So, tell me of this ‘Grandfather’. Is he an elder in your Korlev?”
“No!” she said laughing at him. “Sorry, but I didn’t expect that. No, a ‘Grandparent’ is the parent of your parent. Like you are third generation, your parents are second generation, and your grandparents are first generation. You see?”
“Not quite, but you are speaking of the ones who sired you?” He turned his head sideways a little as he thought about it.
“Yes…I guess that’s one thing you can call it. My parents sired me, and my grand parents sired my parents” she explained.
“I see, but if grandparents another word for grandfather?”
“We, like your race” she paused”…I assume, you need a male and female to sire a baby.”
“Yes, this is true.”
“Good then this will be easy. The male that sired you is what we call ‘father’ and the female is ‘mother’. Together they are your ‘parents’.”
“Ah, I think I understand. So your ‘grandfather’ is the ‘father’ of one of your parents?”
“Yes! That’s it!” She bounced with joy at teaching him something new. She enjoyed showing others things, but her limited experience in the world dramatically shortened her teaching subjects list. She was truly enthralled BlackWolf’s company, and it surprised her. She had not had an actual conversation with someone in so long; it was hard to forget the last time.
“So of which is he?” He asked.
“Which of what of….what?” The puzzled look returned to her face.
“Of which…parent is he a…grandfather of?”
“Oh! He is my mother’s father.”
“I see. So tell me of this man.” In his excitement, it came as more of a command than a request. He quickly added “Please?” Meerina was not the only one on that bed that had been alone for some time, and the conversation flowed as they enjoyed the companionship of another for the first time that either of them could remember.

***********************************

“...and then I was on my way to this Hell Hole!” she finished her story of how she had gotten to Mars.
“Hell Hole? This is another phase I am unfamiliar with.” He reached over and grabbed the glass off of the table. Downing the remaining water, he shook his head in reaction, trying to get the foul taste from his mouth.
“A bad place that I don’t like. A Hell Hole!”
“Your language is full of interesting phrases. I will try to remember some of them.”
“You want some more water?” She asked smiling at his discomfort.
“No thank you. One glass is quite enough!” he shook his head again for good measure. She took the glass from him and grabbed hers. Meerina slid out of the bed and walked into the kitchen to put up the glasses. On her way back she glanced at the clock. 5:15! 5:15! 5:15!
“Shit! I’m late!” She ran back in the room and dropped to the floor. She grabbed he pants and laid back on the floor as she slid them on underneath her robe.
“Late for what, Meerina?” He asked.
“For work! You know! The bar! Waitress! That stuff!” The robe dropped to the floor and she reached for the nearest shirt in a pile of clothes on the edge of the room. Out popped a blue sleeveless shirt. Meerina quickly smelled it, and then slid it over her exposed chest. She turned to look for her shoes and then noticed him watching her.
“Shit, sorry I didn’t mean to change in front of you.” She grabbed her shoes and began to put them on without her socks.
“I did not mean to intrude. You just…”
“No worries. You’re not the first guy to see me topless and I hope not the last. You are welcome to stay here; actually I suggest it. Lay low after that fight. I will be back in a few hours.”
“Do you think it wise? You were hurt badly last night!”
“I’m fine. Plus if I miss a shift someone else will get it. I’ve worked in that dump far to long to give up the good tips.”
“But do you not feel that it would be wise…”
“See you in a few hours!” With that she ran out the door and slammed it behind her. He sat there alone wondering about the strange little girl, and he smiled.
"No Worries?" he laughed to himself.

***********************************

Meerina ran full force into the door of The Chambermaid’s Plan. It swung open, and it’s sheer momentum swing it back closed again after it bounced off the wall behind it. The slam echoed sound throughout the empty bar.
“Meerina?” a voice came from the back room. She recognized the voice of the Chambermaid’s owner.
“Yea Jon, it’s me.” The sound of her voice brought Jon out of the back room and his daily count of liquor.
“Are you OK? Jerin told me that you were in a fight last night; something about an alien. Sounded like he had been hitting the sauce a wee bit to thick again. Any truth to that?”
“Some, I was in a fight. Caleb and his gang got a little handsy. They paid for it, and they wanted to give me some change back. This stranger came out of nowhere and protected me.”
“Meerina, Caleb is dead! His throat was…. gone!” Meerina gasped at the news. Jon continued, “Are you OK? They said the killer carried you out of here like a rag doll. More than one person said that it was some sort of a big dog. Where is this guy now?”
“He is gone.” Meerina searched for a good believable story. “He sat me down about a block away, I remember that much. I guess I wandered home and I woke up twenty minutes ago and came in as quick as I could.
“Sorry about being late!” Meerina tried to steer the conversation away from BlackWolf, but Jon stayed on the topic.
“And you have no clue where he is now?”
“No”
“Are you sure?” he pried further.
“No Jon, why?”
“I just don’t want this thing back in the bar!”
“If nothing else, he saved me!” Meerina protested.
“And it killed one of my regulars! You’re right Meerina, what was I thinking, let’s get out the red carpet.”
“I really don’t need your sarcasm right now.”
“Well I’m sorry, but…awhhh Screw it!” Jon stormed off into the back room again to begin his count a new.
Meerina began with her normal pre-open duties. She cleaned up the red Mars dust that had gathered on everything from the day before. The crimson dirt and grime seemed to find everything on this planet. No matter how much you cleaned it will be covered within a few hours. She mindlessly went through her tasks, thinking of the large creature back at her apartment. If he had killed Caleb, she was sure it was in self-defense, or even more important, in her defense! He wasn’t the cold-blooded killer that Jon was trying to make him out to be. She wondered how he was doing and if he had gotten into trouble with the foreign things he would find around her apartment.
As she finished her chores, she went over and unlocked the front door again. Almost instantly the Chambermaid’s regulars started to flow in. Most acted normal around her, either to drunk the night before to remember the event or to drunk now to care. A few, however, looked at her, stared at her, and a few were fairly scared of the young woman they had known for years.
As the night progressed, the rumors got wilder with the loosening of well-liquored tongues. Meerina heard them, whether they meant her to or not, and she heard the story of the huge bloodthirsty, killing stranger time and time again. Their words danced images in her mind. What little she did remember slowly mingled with the intoxicated words, and she began to doubt her own thoughts. For reassurance, she sat down her tray and ran to the back room and sat down at the video screen there. Here fingers shook as she entered the numbers on the small keypad. She heard a repeated beeping, but the screen stayed dark. Perhaps it’s best he doesn’t answer…if he even knows how! What am I thinking, he may have never even seen a computer before. As her finger slid over to end the transmission, the screen flickered to life, and there stood the mighty BlackWolf in her apartment.
“Meerina? Is that you?” BlackWolf asked.
“Shhhh! Stay quiet; I don’t want Jon to hear us.” She scolded
“As you wish my lady.” He conceded in a whisper.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“I will be OK, as you state it; but my concerns are not with myself. Do you think it wise to go back to that tavern so soon?”
“Yes, but never mind that. Did you kill Caleb last night?”
“The large human?” he paused feeling the tension in her voice “Yes Meerina, he pulled out a blaster and I had little choice…I would have let him live if I though the battle could have ended differently. I wanted to make sure that you were safe. Are you…” he search for the human words he had just learned.
“Yes I’m OK. Just people are talking about last night and I wanted to be sure. Stay at my apartment, and I will be there later. We need to get you out of her before people really start asking questions.”
“I will stay her till your arrival. Meerina.”
“Good, see you in a few hours.”
Meerina touched the screen and it faded to black once again. She stood up and quickly exited the back room, hurry to return to her duties before she was missed. In her haste, she did not notice the small orange glow behind the dark glass of the main office.
Jon listened to the conversation as he finished his cigarette. When Meerina ran out of the storage room with the computer, he exhaled loudly, filling the small office with a haze.
“Thanks Meerina.” He stated dryly as an evil grin snaked across his face.

***********************************
Meerina worked quickly, trying to keep her mind on work and not the stories that circled her in every conversation. She followed her same path around the ‘maid as she did every night, running the colored glasses for the bar to the table and the returned them soon after.
“Meerina!” the call from Jerin shook her from her daze, “I’m out of S&S. Can you grab me some from the back room?”
“Sure Jerin,” Meerina sat her tray down on a table she just cleaned and walked to the back. She noticed a glow as she entered and slowed. Jon sat at the computer talking to someone, but Meerina could not see the screen from the door.
“Yes, I am sure he is there!” Jon said rather testingly, apparently not the first time he had answered that same question. “You mentioned something about a reward? Just how much of a reward are we talking about?”
“We will worry about that when this matter is settled,” said an older gentleman on the other end.
“Well, I would take more than a few men. He is some sort of big dog thing!”
BlackWolf! Meerina’s heart raced. She ran out of the back room, and tripped over a case of bottles. She got up quickly and ran out of the Chambermaid, knocking over patrons as she went. She raced down the dust cover streets as fast as she could, arriving at her apartment building twenty minutes later. Her short legs ran up the two flights of stairs and down the hall to her door. She quickly looked for her key in her pocket and pulled out the thin card. She reached up to slide it down the reader when she noticed that the door was ajar. She opened it slowly, looking around. Her apartment was a mess, even more than usual. In the living room, stood two armed men in red and silver armor. One was talking on his radio.
“Imp Lice!” She gasped unable to believe what she was seeing.
“Yes sir, I understand completely,” the soldier stated into the mike. He looked up at her slowly. “It appears we do have one loose end to tie up and then we will be back at the base on the bounce.”
“Understood Captain, and no loose ends on this one!” came the voice from the other end.
“Yes sir!” With that the two Imperial Police turned towards here. Meerina stood, locked in fear. Their pistols rose slowly in her mind and she saw a red flash. A strange burning sensation ripped through her. She fell to the floor in slow motion, seeming to watch it come towards her for minutes. Her mind raced, unsure and questioning. She could not recall the tales her grandfather had told her of angels, or a magical place called heaven, or any other grand story. She did not think of trees, or lakes, or mountains capped with a white frozen water called snow. As the floor met her, she thought of only one thing. Her eyes glazed over as her own crimson blood flowed freely and mixed with her dark red hair. Her mind screamed… BlackWolf help me! Please!
Her green eyes teared and closed. Then all was black…

***********************************

A withered old shape watched a lone video monitor. It displayed a medical room of some sort, with a huge table in the center. In the darkness, the image showed eight of the armored Imperial Police carry a large dark figure to the table. They strapped him down, chaining each wrist and ankle to the metal table. They also crossed his chest and legs with several other straps to hold the big creature in place.
“We have him sir!” a voice said behind the ancient man.
“Good, I want him in perfect shape before the tests begin. Put your very best doctors on this, Michael!”
“Yes Sir!” the second man turned and left the dark room.
“Finally my large, hairy friend, we shall meet!” his old voice crackled with glee.


Image
</p>
Anonymous

Re: Chapter 3 - Faces in the Window

Postby Anonymous » Tue Oct 15, 2002 5:54 pm

Never writen....but maybe some day....

Image
</p>
User avatar
Kyril =VIII=
Command Sergeant Major
Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 3019
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 12:00 pm
Location: Vermont

Re: Chapter 3 - Faces in the Window

Postby Kyril =VIII= » Tue Oct 15, 2002 6:13 pm

Someday should be soon Bro!!

</p>

Return to “Public General Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 50 guests

cron