“What. Why so few. After all these years there should be millions of you”
“Muraiins have a great love of life. We engage in sexual activity whenever we can, but only with selected individuals we choose. Even taking that in account with our need for warriors, our birth rate is still very low. There are only a few hundred babies born in Muraii every year. That is not enough births to build up a race fast but it is growing. Just very slowly”
A thought I couldn’t quite grab was nagging me in the back of my mind.
"Do you have a Hall Of Records or some such office in the village?"
"Yes we do. There is the Woodspirit History Center on the far side of the central pavilion plaza. It is there where all records of what happens in Woodspirit is kept from its history, brewing processes, plantings, exports, to every child birth and death"
Then it hit me. Child births. Children. I had seen no children in the village at all since I arrived.
"Why haven't I seen any children in the village?"
A look of confusion first appeared on her face and then understanding.
"I am sorry. I thought you had been informed. After the fourth murder, we discussed the matter with the villagers and they all agreed that the children would be safer if they were send away for their protection, until the creature was caught. They are being cared for at the USOA police headquarters base located near Pacifica Santum"
Pacifica Santum is the mega city located in the middle of the Northwest Sector off the pacific ocean and was the second largest of the mega cities. It was located around four hundred and twenty miles from Woodspirit. Okay that explained the lack of children around the village. Now I needed to do some research over at the History Center.
"Have you finished with your questions?"
I was thinking so I absentmindedly nodded yes. Then the Eurola hit me. Full blast. I fell back somewhat off of the chair before I realized what had happened. When I looked over at Sessa, she was again fully naked and was advancing on me. So strong was her attraction, I was completely at her mercy, if she had any. Which she didn't.
Chapter Eight: What Am I Missing?
Three hours later I surfaced and I was drained to a level I had never experienced before. Sessa was curled up on top of me and was sleeping soundly. I maneuvered myself from under her softly and attempted to stand and could not. I was weak in the legs and had to sit for a few minutes before I could stand. I was stunned. This type of draining had never happened to me before. If I kept this up Sessa would seriously be bad for my health. Concerned I may have missed something important, I commed Hennings to see what was up.
"You're alive. I was beginning to have my doubts"
"Seriously, I have never met a woman like Sessa"
"No one human has ever met anyone like Sessa or any of the other ladies. but to answer your question, everything is quiet. Too quiet. You know that old saying, The quiet before the storm. Well I can't shake the feeling something bad is coming."
"How are the Muraii guards doing?"
"The Giants? Solid. They have been at their posts since arriving and haven't moved since. I sent over some food earlier for them to eat, only to be told they don't need to eat. What kind of Muraiins are these guys that they don't need to eat?"
"Giants?
"Yes that's what we are starting to call them”
"It's as good a description as any. I have some info on the them and will fill you in later. Right now I want to go over to the History Center and do some research"
"You think you will find something over there that might help or explain what's happening?"
"I don't know. I just can't shake the feeling something very important is missing and it is something I should have seen. Something I should have saw or known"
"Okay have fun. I am going out to check the patrols of the village. Things are quiet now, but if I need you I'll comm you"
I got dressed and geared up. Hopefully I wouldn't need it here in the village, but the creature had already shown that would not always be the case. Yet unless we found some way to kill it, we all would be in for a very deadly ride. I know the Ladies did not want us to use the power torches, but Hennings and I both agreed that it’s use may be the only viable weapon we have against the creature. Checking on Sessa before I left, I could not help but feel the intense desire to just get back in bed with her and give in to the animal sides we both seem to have. I was amazed. Even asleep I could feel the strong pull of her Eurola on me. Fighting it off I left the cottage. Outside everything appeared quiet, but you could see the tension being reflected in the faces of the villagers as well as those of the soldiers who by now knew our weapons were useless against the creature. If it attacked, the plan of action was to hit it with as much concentrated firepower as can be brought to bear on it and hope it would overpower it’s ability to regenerate, or at least keep it hampered enough that it would retreat from the village. Since my report on it’s regenerative ability, the plan was to relocate all the woman in the village to police headquarters at Pacifica Santum for their safety. There was some resistance to the idea from a lot of the woman, but after being informed on the latest events they saw the need to get them all out of reach of a possible attack. The central pavilion plaza was over a quarter mile wide. The walk to the History Center was uneventful, but it was the first time I got to see more of the village in more detail during the daytime. Trust me the daytime did not take away any of the village’s magic. The colors and design of the assorted homes and other buildings was simply beautiful. The colors was unbelievable especially under sunlight. I truly mean unbelievable. There were colors I simply couldn’t identify. They must have been created by the designers of the village. Later after this matter had been settled, if it could be settled considering the creature’s regenerative ability, I would be very interested in the history of the village and it’s building and design process. These were the brightest and most beautiful assortment of colors I had ever seen. They just simply glowed in the sunlight, but in no way did they overpower. Again I was struck with the image of a glowing beautiful fairy tale village.
I arrived at the History Center, which was a medium size building beautiful in it’s own right. I stood there for a few minutes just soaking up it’s beauty and color. Shaking myself I went up the few steps and entered the plain but beautiful wooden doors. Inside it was as if I had entered someone’s living room. Lounges and chairs was spaced around the main central room and could have handled around fifty people at one time if needed. At present there were only four men and two woman working on some documents over by the right wall. The lighting in the room was provided by a beautifully large skylight in the ceiling, which somehow lit up the whole room with daylight. There was no need for any internal lighting at all, even though I saw placed around the room smaller glow lamps similar to ones out on the streets if they were ever needed. In the center of the room was a circular counter, which was the main station in the hall. Walking over to it, at first I thought there was no one behind it, but as I got closer I could see there was someone behind it leaning down attending to something under the counter. As I got closer the person behind it must have heard or saw me coming and stood up. I stumbled as I saw her. She was all of five feet high, beautifully proportioned and was without a doubt one of the most beautiful human woman I had ever seen, and believe me I had seen quite a few. For a human, and it was plain to see she was human, her beauty rivaled that of the Ladies. My shock must have shown on my face because as I came up to the counter she was smiling broadly.
“Surprised you didn’t I?”
"Huh..Excuse me?
"I have seen the surprise that showed on your face before as people first see me. Most recently from the soldiers stationed here"
"I'm sorry. There was no disrespect meant. It just...well to be honest you are extraordinarily beautiful. The only women I have ever seen with such beauty are the Muraiin Ladies"
"No offense taken. I love it when a sexy man notices me"
&nb
sp; I don't know why, but this woman's openness has caught me by surprise and has put me off balance. It wasn't just her exceptional beauty. In the few minutes I have stood here her openness and flirtatious manner was mesmerizing to me. She also instilled a moment of guilty feelings in me due to Sessa. Even Sessa when I first met her, if it hadn't have been for her Eurola powers, wouldn't have had me so off balance. She must have known how off balance she had me because even though she was still smiling she got down to business.
"My name is Carol. How can I help you"
"My name is Conrad. I understand a complete history of the village is kept here, is that correct?"
"Yes it is. It has been sectionalized into five year segments for research purposes"
"Great. Can I see the history for the last five years"
"Of course honey. Step over to the comm terminal there and I will forward the records to you"
She was being business like, but her body movements and eye contact was being flirtatious as hell. And it was getting to me. Smiling and saying thanks I moved over to the comm terminal she had pointed to. I couldn't help but notice it was the closest comm terminal to the counter and there was others open. A few seconds after I got there the screen lit up with the data I had requested on Woodspirit. I figured there would be a lot of data and I wasn't disappointed. Settling down I started reading looking for I knew not what. Anything that might show a clue to why the creature was here.
Around three hours later I sat back rubbing my tired eyes. I had started my search about a year ago looking for anything unusual or anything that may point to what was going on today. That search provided no results, so I searched two years ago and continued until I had gone back a little over the whole five years. There was nothing I could see that related to events going on today. I did however find that there were more people living in Woodspirit then I previously thought. There were about fourteen thousand people living here, with roughly forty seven percent of them women. Rubbing my eyes I was getting convinced I wasn't going to find anything in the records. On a whim I was getting up to go ask Carol a question when she was suddenly there at my side.
"Not finding what you are looking for are you?"
"No, but to be honest I don't really know what I'm looking for"
"Really. Tell me about it, Maybe I can help"
"You've been working here long?"
"No. I was approved on the last selection process of individual to relocate here to Woodspirit about six years ago. I have been working here in the History Center for the last two years, but I do know the system inside and out. If there is something in there about what you want I can find it"
So I outlined to her that I was looking for anything that might explain why the creature was attacking this village, and sticking around even though there was a heavy military presence here on site. She sat down next to me and we spent the next few hours checking different avenues of data but coming up with nothing. During the whole time I was intensely aware of her sexual attraction, and thought to myself that any man she decided to go after was done because I couldn't see any way any man could resist her.
Me included, and for some reason that scared me a little. Finally we both gave up and concluded there was nothing in the records to explain the creature or it's attraction to Woodspirit. It was late afternoon and I needed to check in with Hennings for an update. Excusing myself I commed Hennings.
"Anything new happening?"
"No. Everything is amazingly quiet. That is why I am worried. You know shit happens when you think everything is okay. We have started air lifting the woman out sending them to Pacifica. We should have all of them out of here my tomorrow. Did you find anything in the records?"
"No. and believe me I have dug deep. There is nothing there."
"And?"
"And what?
"Come on. You did meet Carol, right?
Now I know what he was getting at.
"Yes I did"
"Well?"
"You knew there was something unique about her didn't you?"
"Yes I did. She is the only woman any of us have ever met that could compete with the ladies in beauty and attraction. In fact in the attraction department, she is winning because she has no Eurola to influence men with. Only her natural attraction"
"Don't you find that a little strange. Finding a woman here with the Ladies like that"
"No I didn't. You think there is something there?"
"I don't know. Look I have had a lot of relations with some beautiful woman in my life. None of them have affected me as she has"
"Well I suggest you get out of there and fast. Sessa doesn't appear to be a particularly
understanding woman if you get what I mean"
"Major, I'm not married to the woman"
"Maybe. But it appears she has made claims on you though"
"Why is that?
"Has Yessal made a move on you yet?"
"No.
"There you have it. That woman has no restraints on her desires. She goes after anyone she wants, when she wants. The fact she hasn't made a move on you yet shows Sessa has staked her claim"
The way he had described Yessal gave me a thought
"Yessal huh?"
He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he started laughing.
"I am only human. We weren't trained to deal with woman such as these"
"No we weren't"
"Gotta go. Again if something comes up I'll comm you.
Disconnecting, I turned to see Carol behind the counter staring at me. I walked back over to thank her for her help.
"Carol, thanks for your help. You narrowed down a lot of details that greatly reduced the time I would have spent checking out. Which reminds me. Can I have a copy of the records sent back to my office. My associate there is an expert on research. In addition she has the computing power to check multiple data paths at one time and just may come up with something"
"I will have to check with the Administrator, but I see no problem. Give me your comm link and I will send over the complete file if approved by the administrator"
"Here's the link and thanks"
"If you really want to thank me, how about dinner later. I am scheduled for evacuation
tomorrow afternoon, so tonight is the only time I will have"
"I cannot say right now. Give me a couple of hours to see what's happening and I will get back to you"
"Okay"
She made that statement as if she knew about my recent relationship with Sessa and knew the uncomfortable position I was now in. To make matters worse I suspected she was enjoying it.
Promising to get back to her I left the hall wondering what I was going to do. I was almost back to the central hall when all of a sudden I heard screaming and then gunfire. I started running full speed to the plaza. Getting there the soldiers had the main building surrounded, and the Ladies were just running up.
"Don't shoot. You may hit the woman" shouted Sergeant Danvers.
Reaching the front of the building I was horrified to see the creature standing there in the entry foyer of the building with a woman in his arms and another on the ground at his feet bleeding, but hopefully just unconscious and not dead. The woman in his arms was screaming her head off. Behind the creature we could see other women trapped behind it running back deeper into the building. About a few feet off to the side against the wall were two soldiers badly injured, but alive as they could be seen moving. A few feet from them was Sheriff Connelly. I could tell from the angle of his legs that he was in bad condition. The head wound he had didn’t help.
"How the hell did it get in there" shouted Hennings running up with some more soldiers.
"We don't know. Everything was quiet, then the women started screaming. The creature was just there" shouted Danvers.
About that time one of the giant Muraiins ran up and charged the creature before anyone could do or say anything. For a giant he could move fast. As he reached the creature it tried to slam him with
it massive arm. The giant ducked the blow, came up and hit the creature with one of the most powerful punches I have ever seen or heard.
It was like a large battering ram hitting a large side of beef. The creature was actually knocked off its feet backwards a few feet and it went down on its backside. What was amazing was that after hitting the creature, the giant was able to snatch the woman from its arms as the creature fell back. Picking up the woman on the ground it retreated back out of the building. I noticed then that the woman on the ground was one of Connelly’s deputies. The creature was just getting up screaming that scream of his when the other three giants arrived. Running pass the one taking the woman out they ran up to the creature and the most astounding battle I had ever seen took place. Two of the giants jumped on the creature grabbing its arms and the third one delivered a crushing uppercut to it chin. The blow completely deformed the creature's head. After the uppercut the giant delivered a series of machine fast power blows to the creature's body, each blow horrific sounding. The creature for the first time howled in pain. Then it lurched backwards and reversed it direction rushing forward into the third giant. Colliding all four fell apart. The creature delivered a powerful backhand blow to the giant on it's right knocking it half a dozen feet into the wall. It tried to stomp the third giant who fell in the collision, but it rolled out of the way. This gave the giant on the creature's left time to deliver a powerful blow to the left side of the creature’s head, again causing it to change shape. The head immediately started regenerating back to normal, but it's was too late. All three giants was back on their feet and closed in. The beating the creature took at that point was terrible and amazing to see. It didn't get a chance to throw another blow because the three giants worked as a one in delivering tremendous blows to it. The creature went down and they piled on top of it beating it mercilessly. All of us standing there figured it could not survive such a beating by these giants. The creature stopped moving and the giants stopped and stood up over it. It was a mass of pulverized flesh, with it shape the only indication that it was once a man shaped creature. Then before everyone eyes, it started sinking into the ground. It sunk so fast that it was gone in seconds. The giants made a few attempts to grab it and pull it back up but it like grabbing plain soil. The creature's flesh just ran out of their hands. In seconds it was gone. We all stared where it disappeared and then looked at each other in amazement. All of a sudden the giant that had rescued the woman and had stood guard outside while the battle raged inside took off and grabbed one of the street lamps and ripped it out of the ground. Running part way into the street he drove the lamp deeply into the ground. There was a tremendous subsonic scream and then the head and shoulders of the creature rose up out of the street, partially impaled by the lamppost. The giant then delivered a tremendous kick, which partially tore away the creature's head from its shoulders. The creature immediately started sinking back into the ground. The giant started to pull up the lamppost and then stopped. It stared at the ground around it for a few seconds before declaring
Manhunter Revelations Page 17