The woman rolled onto her back and, speaking in a language Jett couldn’t understand, and clearly begging for mercy. In response, the figure stepped into the wigwam and let out a sound that seemed part wheeze and part animal growl. Jett hadn’t even realized the man was naked until he was on top of her, forcing her legs open and tearing away her remaining buckskins.
Scraps of bloody buckskin leather were torn free, tossed into the corner where Jett was held fast as the man forced himself into the wounded woman’s body without any heed for her injuries. She let out a cry of pain sounding more like a captured animal than a human being as the man slowly and repeatedly violated her. She tried to fight the rape, raking her fingernails savagely across the man’s face and back, but the man seemed to take no note of the injuries. Instead, he grew even more violent and determined in his actions as he pinned her wrists to the floor while biting at the flesh of her neck. Then, to Jett’s horror, he saw the man start tearing strips of flesh away. The woman screamed in terror and pain, but her cries only seemed to encourage him as he held her against the ground, ripping the flesh from her neck with his teeth, rending larger and deeper strips away until he ruptured something vital and her arterial blood sprayed out, covering his head and upper body in a sheen of crimson while he continued to violate her below.
Jett turned his head away. He couldn’t watch any longer, and he desperately wanted to cover his ears as this atrocity continued to play out before him. Finally, and perhaps mercifully, the sound faded, and Jett opened his eyes to see the man climb away from her corpse. Moonlight was shining through the door as Dark Magic began to change the man... just as Jett knew it would. He knew the legends and understood he was watching the birth of the Wendigo. The unbelievably evil violation and the unthinkable atrocity of cannibalism resulted in the subsequent curse that began to deform and change the man into the creature that had killed the police officers and fought with Ursula.
The Wendigo screamed in pain as its flesh stretched and tore. Its body broke and healed as bones snapped to reform in an elongated manner, its human teeth fell out to be replaced by the needle-like teeth of a crocodile and sharp claws extended from its elongated fingers and toes, while the eyes melted in their sockets to be replaced by the red glow of dark evil energy within the otherwise empty sockets. The newly formed monster screamed and howled over and over in either pain, insane elation or both. When it finally stopped the thing looked slightly confused. It looked at its strange hands and seemed to consider its wicked claws before it saw what was left of its victim. The young woman’s body lay in a crumpled heap and the Wendigo grabbed the corpse and dragged it behind itself as it left the wigwam and disappeared into the forest.
Silence reigned once more as Jett watched the beast disappear into the forest through the open door of the wigwam. Then the wind blew the door closed once more and left Jett alone in the space, lightheaded and hyperventilating at the horror of what he had just seen. Around him the light shifted and the scene faded away with all evidence of the horrible act disappearing as the room returned the state it had been when he had first entered it.
Slowly and gently, the arms around his waist released him, but Jett still found himself unable to move. He was too shocked by what he had just witnessed to take any kind of action. His eyes burned and he found himself crying before the sound of his sorrow managed to resonate in his ears. It brought life back into his body and he found enough balance to crawl over to where the woman had died, placed his hands on the ground and chanted a prayer that seemed insignificant in lieu of what she had suffered.
When he finished he looked into the corner and could see the buckskins that had been the woman’s bloody and torn clothing once again piled high as it had before he had touched it with the silver nugget.
Jett sat on the ground, managed to get his breath under control before saying, “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”
This time he wasn’t surprised when the skins shifted and the woman rose from underneath the pile to face him. She showed no signs of her injuries, but her eyes burned with anger and hatred as she looked at Jett.
Jett looked down to the woman’s legs only to find them covered by her buckskins.
“You don’t have to hide from me. I know who you are now. You can show your true form.”
The woman’s frown shifted from anger to suspicion, but she pulled the hides aside and revealed the lower half of her body to be the legs and hooves of a deer.
Jett bowed his head saying, “Hello, Deer Woman.”
The woman’s eyebrows raised high above her head in surprise and after a moment she returned his greeting with a very slight bow.
Jett watched as antlers sprouted from the Deer Woman’s forehead as she began to reveal even more of her true form. She rose and was so tall with her antlers that Jett thought they might break straight through the top of the wigwam.
“I understand now,” Jett told her calmly. “And I know what it is you need me to do.”
Chapter 18
“What I am saying is you need to get off your collective asses and help me locate this thing! Jett is still out there, as well as a host of others whose bodies we didn’t find, that may still be alive and need our help!” Ursula was getting very close to losing the little bit of self-control that held her back from crushing the Tribal Councilman’s skull with her bare hands.
“What you need to do Mrs. Carle, is let the Tribe handle Tribe business.” Douglas Penchant was calm as he spoke, but the other members of the council shifted nervously regarding what Cottonwood had told them. “The story of the Wendigo is just that, a story. There’s no such thing and…”
“Your own council member is telling you what the thing was that attacked us. I’m not trying to sell you on anything other than the fact there are people in desperate need of help on your land and you need to…”
“Mrs. Carle!” Penchant raised his voice, “The future of the Tribe is riding on the success of this weekend’s event and we simply cannot ignore what needs to be done around here to ensure that success. What do you expect us to do? Drop everything and direct all of our efforts into tracking down something…mythical?”
Ursula suppressed the growl she felt rising up from her chest and stepped toward Penchant. The Tribal Councilman was a big man, but he stepped back when she stalked toward him.
“All right then, forget whether there is a beast or not.” Normally, Ursula would have hated the sound of the negotiation in her voice, but she was too worried about Jett to care, “There are people out there who need help. Just get a search party together, prepare them for the worst, and help find Jett and any others.”
Penchant had continued his retreat until the back of his legs bumped into a chair. The mild impact seemed to wake him from whatever fear induced stupor he was in and, as he began to fidget with his necktie, he searched the faces of the other elders in the room.
Shaking his head, he sighed as if exasperated, “We simply cannot spare the manpower right now. Let me make some calls. Try to get some outside help.”
Ursula had to shake her head to clear it of the bewilderment she felt at the statement, “What?! How long do you think it will take for any significant help to arrive? A day? Days? Death from exposure alone only takes a couple of days, less so if the person is injured! How can you just…?”
“Enough.” Penchant straightened as several members of the Casino’s security team came into the conference room, apparently alerted by the raised voices, “We regret the fact that there are a couple of people in the forest who are in need, and we will of course, help in any way we can. We will provide information as requested and certainly grant anyone access to our land who wishes to go in and try to find them but, in the end, no one in the forest is of our Tribe and, cold as it may sound, they are not the Tribe’s responsibility.”
Ursula blinked. Numb from what the Councilman had just said, “Responsibility? This isn’t about responsibility, or legality, or anything other than simple human
decency.”
Penchant’s eyes narrowed, “Human decency? Be cautious with those two words Mrs. Carle. There hasn’t been much ‘human decency’ shown to those in need around this part of the world for over two hundred years.”
Ursula’s eyes softened ever so slightly with understanding. The prejudice, the internalized frustrations and hatred, between the Native People and the Non-Native People in this area had heated to a boiling point that couldn’t easily be cooled. This “Casino”, this “white man’s” institution, was an abhorrent turn away from the tradition and culture for the Tribe, but it was also going to give them the means to secure their financial future.
“This meeting is over Mrs. Carle,” and as Penchant spoke the security personnel moved to encircle Ursula. “If I were you, I would let a doctor take a look at your injuries. After all, the sooner you are well, the sooner you can get back out there and find what’s left of your husband.”
Ursula hesitated long enough to give each of the elders a cold look, most of who did not return her glare, and instead studied their hands as they sat around the conference table.
Ursula spun on her heel and strode from the room, but not before knocking two of the security personnel to the floor in the process. Cottonwood rose from his chair and started after her.
“Edward!” Penchant yelled at Cottonwood, “Let her go. We need to…”
Cottonwood stared after Ursula as he interrupted the Councilman, “What I saw in the forest will not stay in the forest. It is insatiable and when it finishes off the ones it has already taken it will come for more.”
Now Cottonwood did turn around to glare at Penchant, “But you know that as well as I.”
“Ed,” Penchant held his hands out, “do you seriously believe it was some fairy tale beast? It was probably just a bear and in the stress of the moment you thought…”
Cottonwood waved a hand in front of him, “Fine! Say it’s a bear if it makes you feel better! It’s still a killer bear that’s hunting down and eating people. People! So, consider this, what if this ‘bear’ decides to attack again during this weekend’s event? What if one of our guests is attacked, mutilated and dragged off into ‘our’ forest to be eaten? How many of the general public will come to our fun little Casino when they hear how they might be eaten alive if they do?”
With that Cottonwood hurried from the room to catch up with Ursula. Penchant called after him, “It won’t come to that!” but the door had already closed behind Cottonwood, leaving Penchant and the remainder of the tribal council alone in their conference room.
Ursula was already outside the Casino by the time Cottonwood caught up with her. The old man was panting as he slowed to walk side by side with the still fuming woman.
“I could have killed everyone in the room in less than a minute!” Ursula growled.
“You certainly could!” Cottonwood agreed with a little too much humor in his voice that made Ursula slow her pace as the old man continued, “and it was quite an honor to witness such a supernatural level of restraint.”
Ursula stopped walking and glared at Cottonwood, who had his lips pressed together, as if to stifle a smile and his eyes twinkled with mirth.
“You’re mocking me?”
Now Cottonwood did smile, “Maybe… Just a little.”
For the briefest of moments Ursula consider twisting the elder’s head right off his body in a manner similar to unscrewing the cap on a bottle of water.
Cottonwood just smiled warmly, “You’re thinking about ripping my head off, aren’t you?”
“Twisting actually,” Ursula replied, but even as she said it she felt the infectious nature of the elder’s smile soothing her anger and she let out a very bear-like grunt before donning a smile of her own. “You’re good, old man.”
“In my lifetime, I’ve had a wife, raised two amazing daughters and can proudly boast of three beautiful granddaughters who have grown into wonderful adults. I’ve some experience with angry women.”
“But none of them could twist your head off, I’ll bet.”
“Doesn’t mean they didn’t want to… or actually try on a couple of occasions.”
That brought a quick laugh from Ursula, but it quickly shifted into an emotional sob, as the worry for Jett seemed to take over her emotions as her anger abated.
Cottonwood put a hand on her shoulder, “We’ll find him and end these things that infest our forest.”
Ursula placed one hand on top of Cottonwood’s, “Thank you.”
Cottonwood nodded, “C’mon, let’s get those wounds properly patched up.”
Together they followed a path around the outside of the Casino and Ursula couldn’t help but look into the darkness of the forest. Somewhere in the woods were people who needed her help while she was out here walking to an infirmary and helpless to act. She shivered at the memory of leaving Jett behind, even though she knew she had no choice. The Wendigo would have eventually worn her down and killed her. She just wasn’t powerful enough to defeat it, and given the way the beast healed itself she wasn’t sure if such a power existed that could.
Then the sound of rustling came from the trees and both Ursula and Cottonwood stiffened at the sound.
“Guess you heard that too?” Ursula whispered.
“Yup.”
“Right, stay behind me.”
“Not very chivalrous of me to do that,” and in one smooth motion Cottonwood pulled a large Bowie knife from one boot.
Seeing the knife Ursula grabbed at it, “Give me that!” and she took the knife from the elder and ordered, “You get out of here and find some...”
Then Jett burst out of the shadows, or more precisely, fell out of the tree-line after having tripped over something unseen on the ground. He tumbled bodily onto the path in front of Ursula and Cottonwood, then looked up at the pair, who just stared down at him in surprise with Ursula holding the tip of the knife inches from his face.
“Um? Hi honey. I’m home.”
Chapter 19
“I’m sorry but I have no choice but to report this as a suspicious circumstance,” the Physician’s Assistant said, speaking with a judgmental attitude heavy in his voice while he finished wrapping and securing the elastic bandage around Ursula’s arm.
“Suspicious as to what?” Ursula asked with obvious concern.
Without looking up the PA stood, straightened his stethoscope around the back of his neck so that it would hang in perfect unison with his silk necktie and turned a cold eye to Jett who stood in one corner of the treatment room, “We have protocols I have to follow if I believe a patient comes in with injuries that appear to be the result of domestic abuse.”
Jett had been lost in thought and only heard every other word the PA was saying until “domestic abuse” popped in his ears. Jett looked up to catch the PA scowl at him before he turned away and tried, really tried, not to laugh at what he knew was about to follow.
Ursula’s voice was so cold, the PA nearly jumped in surprise, “I’m sorry. I must have misheard you.” Ursula’s voice dropped even lower in volume, “What did you just say to me?”
The PA hesitated before answering, “I-I have no choice, it’s… the law?” The words came out more as a question this time, as the Physician’s Assistant superior-than-thou attitude was shattered.
Ursula stood up from the examination table and, at nearly six feet tall, towered over the… less than six foot PA. It was an imposing move, even with her wearing only the paper examination gown the Urgent Care had provided for her.
“Are you implying that my husband caused these injuries… or is even physically capable of injuring me in the first place?”
“Hey!” Jett protested, but Ursula just held up one finger to him while keeping her eyes on the PA.
The PA looked up into Ursula’s eyes, “Ma’am, please understand, I have to…”
Ursula extended her uninjured arm out, grabbed the underside of the examination table and lifted it several feet off the ground as easily a
s if lifting a shoebox.
The PA’s eyes went wide at the sight of the hundred plus pound table suspended effortlessly in the air as Ursula regarded him.
“My husband has neither the inclination, nor the capability, of causing me harm.”
Jett shifted again, acting offended, “Oh, come on!”
Ursula “shushed” Jett as a smile extended on one side of her face before she gently set the exam table back down.
The PA just stood there, frozen in his uncertainty of how to act in front of the smiling amazon in front of him.
Jett spared him any further awkwardness by walking over and extending a hand to the PA. The PA hesitantly accepted and Jett shook the man’s hand while leading the PA out of the room, “Thanks very much for your help. Is there anything else we need to do?”
“Just…” The PA swallowed as he released Jett’s hand and made a show of smoothing his doctor’s jacket, “just check with the front on your way out. I’ll leave a script for antibiotics and some pain killers with your chart.”
“Will do and thanks again,” Jett gently guided the PA out of the examination room and closed the door behind him.
Turning to Ursula, Jett smirked, “I could take you.”
Ursula leaned back on the examination table, and in the most patronizing way possible said, “Of course you could, dear.”
“Shush,” he laughed. “Seriously though, I appreciate you coming to my defense, but did you have to emasculate me in the process.”
Ursula made a show of looking Jett up and down before her smile turned just a bit wicked, “Are you telling me that you’re not… intact?”
“Intact?”
Ursula slid back on the exam table until only her legs were suspended, “I would bet that the very part of you, which you feel I have just broken, is working just fine. Shall we see?”
Dark Spirits of the Forest Page 13