Might have to get me one of these...

Zombie Dogs...Here is the link: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15739502-13762,00.html

I can tell you however, that my own existence is proof that this technique is just the tip of the iceberg as to what has already been done to humans...

Subway Ambush...Part 4

Staring face to upside down face with the creature I had been tracking, time seemed to stop. I can’t excatly say why, but the two of us remained frozen in place, unblinking. Perhaps we were both assessing the strange face of the other, or perhaps we were both just surprised and it took a moment or two before reaction could take place.

In my moments of analysis, I came to the full realization that whatever this creature was, it surely wasn’t natural, at least not in any world that I knew of. Its scaly skin was stretched tight over its reptillian face, its snout full of teeth resembled a cross between an alligator and a wolf. Its eyes were bulbous and wide and emitted an eery red glow that seeped forth from behind the largest, blackest pupils I had ever seen. Its forked tongue snaked out to taste the air as we remained locked into our little staring contest. Our faces were so close that we could have smelled each others breath, if either of us had the ability to do so. (I know I didn’t, I have no idea if it smelled me, but since I don’t have breath per se, I’d say that was a wash.)

Neither of us moved, neither of us even flinched as the mutual evaluation took place. Just before that timeless moment came to an end, I got the sense that there was a mutual recognition of Spirits that were in some unknown way kindred. I am sure that this thing had never before encountered a human that didn’t cower or scream in fear or terror at the sight of it.

I was just about to try something that I’ve since learned would have been my undoing, perhaps for good, by reaching out Spiritually to this thing when the moment was broken by the sudden squawking call from my pants. “Agent Bones, advise of your position please.”

Things became a blur of furious movement as each of us reacted.

The creature lashed out with both huge claws, grabbing at my one hand holding the flashlight in its face while I had decided that best course was to allow myself to fall from my current vulnerable position.

What resulted was a spinning, slow motion fall on my end that would have made any martial movie director proud. The bad part about that though was that what allowed me to spin so effectively was the beast’s grip on my hand that somehow went from its massive claws to inside its mouth in less than the time it took me to fall.

As I landed, I was swinging my baton with my other hand at one of its knee joints, which landed with a loud, thudding crack that seemed to buckle the critter momentarily. Its claws however remained wrapped around my wrist and my hand was still inside its mouth. Unable to pull m y hand out, I decided to try the other approach, throwing my weight into shoving that hand as far down its throat as possible, esepcially since I still had that small flashlight in my grasp.

That maneuver definitely caught the critter off guard as I used my much greater than normal strength and my heavier-than-it-appears bulk to push the thing back on its haunches. Unfortunately, the thing had its own hidden reservoir of strength and its own tactics.

With an awful crunching sound and violent twist of its head and jaws, my hand was severed and I was thrown past the creature to sprawl in the shallow stream of water behind it.

As soon as I landed, I twisted to get a view of the thing and bring my baton up for defense. In that short period of time, it was on me. It pounced towards me in one great leap, claws extended as it went for my head.

I was able to get my left leg up to keep it from reaching my head, while also bringing the baton up to smash one of its bulbous eyes. A spray of reddish black fluids showered my face and obscured my own optical lenses somewhat, but I was able to see and feel enough to know that its claws were in the process of tearing my leg up.

I kicked up with my other leg, smashing into the same side of the head that I had destroyed the eye on, giving me just enough of an element of surprise to knock the thing off of me, but not until it had pretty much shredded my knee and lower leg. I regained a small m easure of balance as I got on my one good knee and landed a series of blows on its head, snapping off one if it horns and a couple of fangs in the process .

It rocked back out of reach and we sat there facing each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. I was missing a hand , a knee cap and big chunks out of my lower leg. It was missing one eye, a horn, some fangs and had a gimpy leg now to boot.

I guess the creature decided I wasn’t worth the price of admission since it got up and lurched away down the tunnel, splashing heavily with each injured step. I was in no shape to go chasing after it at that moment, so I let it go, but I watched as it made a turn to the right, hopefully heading for its lair. I knew I would be coming back as soon as I could get repaired.

Now, it’s a damn good thing that I don’t have to worry about pain. The injuries I had suffered could well have killed me if I hadn’t already been dead, and if they didn’t I surely would have been in shock and suffereing from severe blood loss. Instead, these injuries were more an inconvenience than anything else. Getting my dead ass up and hopping over to the rusted ladder was frustrating, but not deathly urgent. Trying to climb a ladder with one hand and one useful leg wasn’t any fun, but was eventually manageable.

Subway Ambush...Part 3

Her home was far larger than it appeared at first glance. It seemed that the entire basement of this building was choked with metal shelving units, piles of boxes and collections of various odds and ends. An entire wall seemed to be made of stacked and bundled newspapers, most them too yellow with age to even read anymore.

I had to step over or around a number of bookshelves that had obviously been knocked over in a struggle. There were trails of blood just about everywhere I looked. I located what looked to be her bedroom, which was little more than an alcove surrounded by yet more bookshelves stacked high with yet more knicknacks. Her actual bedding was shredded in the struggle, soaked in blood.

Just past her bedrom though, I noted that several footprints in the blood seemed to lead further into the warren of shelves. I began to follow the prints until they led me toward what seemed to be the middle of the basement. The prints quickly began to get fainter, but remained visible until they stopped right at what for appearances was a man-hole cover.

Now this is the point at which my dear friend Ravyn would have suggested I stop and somehow or another get ahold of some other folks to go with me. However this also the point at which my own curiosity began to overcome any small sense of caution that I have left in this existence.

So, I reached down and pried the lid up, using my fingers to pull up on the lip of the very heavy metal cover so that I could peer down into what was revealed.

The drop beneath the cover was steep, the whole area shrouded in darkness so deep that I had to pull out the flashlight and use it to illuminate the area. The beam of light showed a drop of about eight feet into another passageway below. I could make out a couple of bloody prints from where the killer had landed on all fours, a torn piece of bloody paper that must have come from above was also visible. So, I now knew which way the killer had gone.

I grabbed the radio and tried to call out to Murphy, but no one answered. I shrugged to myself and muttered, “So much for backup.”

I slid the metal cover all the way off and then dropped it to clang loudly in the silence. I sat down on the edge, dangling my legs for moment before dropping down to the cement floor beneath.

I landed with a thud, flashlight in one hand, the other holding my usual collapsible baton. I had flicked it open in the drop, doing my best impression of an ever-so-cool comic book hero, and failing miserably.

The passageway was likely a remnant of some forgotten subterranean system in the cities distant past, as it was clearly abandoned long ago. There was a thick layer of damp dirt that coated the floor, easily revealing the two sets of tracks leading up to and away from the nearly rusted out ladder that led up to the manhole cover above. I have never been an outdoorsman, but Stevie Wonder could have followed these tracks. It also wasn’t hard to tell that these were more like claw marks than footprints.

I know, I know...with such a clearly marked trail, and such an obviously dangerous opponent, the smart thing would have been to go back up the ladder and grab some of those underpaid hero wannabes and make a party out of this affair. But would this blog be nearly so interesting if I had that kind of sense in the first place?

No, I didn’t think so. Shit, if I had half that much sense, I wouldn’t be a damn zombie and this would be another boring assed political blog. Who wants that?

So, I started following the tracks down the passageway, keeping to the right wall, just like my erstwhile prey. I followed those tracks for a good hundred feet before the first intersection occurred. Luckily, it was as dirty and unused as this passageway, so I was easily able to see where the critter turned to the right into this smaller, cozier hallway.

Now, instead open space, blank cement walls with the occassional ladder up, and echoing footsteps, I was faced with seemingly random sets of pipes and drains. I also noticed that every few feet I seemed to cross over a metal grate of some sort. This side passage also seemed to be angling downwards at a very slight angle.

The tracks were still visible where there was solid flooring, as were the spots of still fresh-looking blood where the creature had rubbed up agains one of the walls, or up against a set of pipes.

After another couple hundred feet of crawling over and around more and more of these damn pipes, I came to a spot where the grate on the floor had been violently ripped from the floor, leaving an openning that was easily large enough for a man-sized creature to jump down to the next level.

Using my little flashlight, I peered down into the darkness below one more time. This time I saw a thin stream of flowing water covering much of the floor. As I peered around, looking for where the critter might have gone to, I ducked my head down into the hole get a better view of things and pan the light. Unfortunately for me at that moment, our little friend happened to be waiting for me. I nearly jumped out my dead skin when I came face to face with the creature in this rather compromised position, but I didn’t have time to react that quickly...

Subway Ambush...Part 2

On the way to the scene, I sat in the rear of the second car, next to Murphy. Curious about this series of particularly gruesome murder, I asked him, “OK, so I see why you have some concerns that these murders are out of the ordinary, but I’ve been riding around this city over the weekend, and I didn’t see a single hint that there was a mass murderer loose here. How has that happened?”

He sighed, looked away for a moment before turning back to me. “You’re right. Under normal circumstances, the murders of even the dregs of society like prostitutes or drug dealers on the kind of scale we are seeing now with this killer would be the top story on every channel and in every scandal sheet in the city. But, the first couple of murders were very close to the secure zone near Ground Zero, so the first people to find the bodies were city workers. The NYPD called us in pretty quickly, and between the two agencies, we’ve been able to keep the clamps down on the press.”

“But how? I’ve never seen a beat cop who didn’t have the phone number of some up and coming City Beat reporter who wouldn’t kill for a bleeder story to lead the headlines.”

“True enough. But we’ve been able to lean on the the key reporters who have learned of this story, invoking some very obscure clauses of the Patriot Act to keep them in control until we authorize the stories for release. From what I hear, one reporter was going to break the story open, until he received a night time visit from some friends in Washington. They convinced him that he would have a much easier time pursuing his career if he wasn’t sitting in a cell in Gitmo. The word got around after that. This story is taboo until we release it for general consumption.”

“Wow, that’s pretty fucking scary. That’s not the America I grew up in.”

“Yeah, well until we know what the Hell it is we are facing, we can’t allow rampant speculation and fear to grip the City. Let me tell you, I have never seen anything like these killings. I’m not sure this killer could even be called human. But what the Hell else can it be?”

It was my turn to look away at that. “You don’t even want to know...” I trailed off as the vehicles pulled up next to a ramshackle building not more that 4 blocks from Ground Zero. The street was very narrow, one of those one way affairs that serves more a service drive for garbage pickups and greae dumps than actual thoroughfare.

There was a battered looking metal door just in front of our car, at the bottom of a small stariwell down. There was yellow police tap strung across the stairwell. Hung above the stariwell was a battered looking, hand painted sign that read simply, “Henna’s Hole--Tarot, Astrology, Palms.”

As I got out of the car, I remarked, “Some neighborhood.”

No one bothered to respond. Murphy lifted one corner of the police tape for he and I to pass. The others seemed content to let us look on our own.

The door didn’t really close tight, so Murphy just grabbed the rusty metal handle and pulled it open with a grimace, apparently the smell was pretty bad.

I stepped to the dimly lit interiror of a very cluttered place that had clearly been ransacked. I could make out streaks of blood and other dried bodily fluids seemingly randomly dragged across torn open boxes, torn furniture and dreary walls. The place was a veritable treasure trove of obscure books, scrolls, broken vials, overturned cauldrons and other odds and ends of an eclectic pagan shop. Papers from dozens of files had been scattered on the floor, most of the stained in blood and marked with footprints or...clawprints of some sort. The room seemed rather small at first glance, but closer examination showed that shadows and torn curtains obscured the fact that there were paths leading away deeper into the vast collection of...stuff.

I looked to Murphy. He remained close to the, breathing deep from the air outside. He saw me look over at him questioningly, and pointed towards one of the passageways behind me, “She was killed back there, you won’t be able to miss it. Her body parts have been removed, what was left of them, but you’ll have no trouble finding the spot where she was killed. She had a lot of blood, she was a very big woman.”

“Do you mind if I have a look around for myself then?”

“Be my guest, that’s why you’re here.” He toosed me a small flashlight that he pulled out of one of his jacket pockets. “You might need that, it gets pretty dark back there. She wasn’t much for electricity.”

I had noted that just about every empty surface either held a candle in some sort of strange holder or was covered in some sort of multicolored candlewax. Dozens of half burned candles lay scattered about the floor, many broken or crushed by unknown feet.

Just as I was about to head off into the darkness, Murphy called out again. As I turned, I saw a small black two-way radio coming towards me.

He called out, “Hey, I’ll be up by the car, call if you need anything.” With that he bolted out the door, letting it swing mostly shut again.

“I guess I’m on my own for a bit. It must really reek to high heaven down here. I guess there’s another advantage to being dead.”

I slipped the radio into on pocket, after making sure it was still on and the volume was set at high. I kept the flashlight in hand, but left it off for the moment. My dark vision is better than that of anyone alive I knew. But having it handy to peer into corners might be useful.

With that I began to explore the...warrens...that this poor lady had used as her home and her business....

Subway Ambush...Part 1

(I have been repaired, thanks to the spare parts that were recovered from Drake’s last hideout, and can now type somewhat normally again. I will restart the narrative where I left off before my injuries.)

I looked at the spirit of the fallen hero and asked, “Do you know anything else that might help me to find and destroy this thing?”

He looked at me directly for the first time since sitting down and replied, “We only know that it feeds on two things, fear and spiritual energy. The problem we have experienced with our Call is that the only people who can hear the Call and respond are those who are most vulnerable to this creature. We sensed something different with you. You are sensitive to the Call, but you look like you might be able to face the creature and survive.”

“Yeah, one advantage to being dead myself, I suppose. How long will you and the others here stick around this site?”

“As long as the need exists. If you fail, we will send forth another Call.”

“I see. Well I will make sure that I don’t fail then.”

“One more thing, that thing is gathering objects and is picking its victims for the objects that they possess, it looks like it is trying to build something. We don’t know what it is, but it can’t be something that is good for the city or the people here.”

“No, it can’t be good for anyone if this creature is as nasty as you have shown it to be.”

“Good luck Agent Bones, please destroy this thing so that we may pass on to the next world.”

With that, he disappeared as did the vision of the dust clouds and debris from the collapsed buildings. I sat there for a moment, marvelling at the difference in perspective and the incredbile void that remained in this spot. The surrounding buildings seemed somehow diminshed by the loss of their magnificent neighbors, the current emptiness of the place echoing the silence.

I walked back to my bike and returned to the RV park where I had parked the main vehicle. I had some work to do before the morning meeting with the Special Agent in Charge of the Manhattan office.

* * *

The next morning I rode back into the City well before 6 AM to avoid the usual traffic jams. I rode past Ground Zero again to see if the strange visions would come back, but I felt none of the same feelings as I did that first time.

I found a semo-respectable looking parking lot in which to park the Ninja and forked over the outrageous sum of money the heavily accented man barked out for the cost of a day’s parking. I had an hour before my scheduled meeting, so I took the time to take a little walking tour of the nearby Chinatown neighborhood.

New York, especially the ethnic enclaves like this one, is like no other American city. The sheer number of people crowding the streets, the constant noise of passing buses and honking cabbies, the vendors hawking their wares in half a dozen different languages all worked to create an international flavor that makes New York City unique in America, a city more of the world than of any one country.

I passed buildings that contained sweatshop factories on one floor, living quarters on other floors, and had ground floors that were crwoded with vegetable stands, restaurants and tiny little grocery stores. Since my death, and my return to action, I have rarely been in such a public place, yet I felt almost invisiible as nearly every passerby was brusquely heading about their own business. It was almost like the people of this strange city were so focused on their own affairs that they couldn’t take the time to notice what, and who, was happening around them.

It was easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the morning rush hour, but I was able to circle back around to the impressive looking, and highly secured building that served as the home to the Manhattan office of the Bureau. There was a long line of folks waiting to get through security, so I joined the line, pulling out my badge case to flash when I got closer. I knew that damn metal detector would go crazy when I went through it.

I got rather strange looks from the contract security guards as I approached the security check point. Showing my badge seemed to satisfy them though, although the looks they gave each other as I passed through seemed to reflect that I was probably the strangest looking agent they had ever seen.

The elevator took me up to the 32nd floor and opened into a quiet hallway that was carefully decorated to reflect the power and majesty of the US governments premiere law enforcement agency. A sign pointed me towards the reception area, where I found a small waiting area lined with comfortable looking sofas and a single, locked door that stood next to a small window that looked into the receptionsts area. The sofas were separated by small tables with tasteful lamps and a single, water filled vase on each table. Looking into one of those vases, I saw a small but colorful Siamese fighting fish called a Beta swimming around slowly. I moved up to the window and flashed my badge to the young woman behind the window and announced my name.

She touched two buttons in quick succession, the first one to toggle the intercom when she said, “Come in Agent Bones, the SAIC is expecting you. Please go to the conference room, the third door on the left.” The second button activated a buzzer that indicated the door was now unlocked.

Passing through the now unlocked door, I dound myself in a more spartan hallway with several frosted glass doors on each side of the hall. I counted to the third one on the left, pulled the door open to reveal the conference room, already occupied by half a dozen well dressed agents and a large table covered in open files and large, gruesomely detailed photographs.

The agent closest to me turned as I entered. He had the easy air of someone used to being in charge. His suit was the nearly uniform dark blue, his shirt crisply starched white, and his tie a nice conservative red. He held out his right hand towards me, and introduced himself. “Agent Bones I presume, I’m SAIC Brian Murphy. I’ll introduce you to the others here in just a moment, please come in.”

I shook his hand, careful not crush it in my grip. Even so, he sort of grimaced as I released and dropped the hand quickly, trying to shake the circulation back into it out of my eyesight. “Pleased to meet you Agent Murphy.”

After the initial pleassantries and introductions, we got right down to business. Just as i suspected after meeting with the ghosts at Ground Zero, I was being called in to try and hunt down a previously unknown serial killer who was haunting the underbelly of the city. Whoever the killer was, he was killing seemingly at random, and was badly mutilating the bodies. There were no signs of any kind of sexual motives and robbery had also been ruled out, since most of the victims were poor gypsy types. The common threads seemed to be that the victims were usually known for being psychic or made claims of such previously, they were being killed in some very remote locations not far away from Ground Zero, and more than one of the victims had previously contacted both the Bureau and the NYPD in attempts to get assistance in hunting for the ‘real villain’ of the 9/11 attacks. Of course these requests for assitance had all b een rejected as crackpots looking to waste law enforcement resources on wild goose chases, until the poor souls were actually found slaughtered in grisly fashion. There were a total of 9 confirmed victims and another half dozen suspected victims to date, with the most recent being a gypsy fortune teller killed in her own shop just Friday.

After allowing me to look over the files and photos that they had available, Murphy offered to take me to the scene of the last killing, which was only a couple of miles away. Soon, we were on our way, using a pair of unmarked black sedans.

quickie update

still typing one handed...should be able to type normally tomorrow andwill update fully on events in new york this weekend.

after events are updated, i will post drake's second message in its entirety...with his next damn clue...can't wait to get use of second hand again.

thaks for your patience.

limited post due to injury

i must apologize for the format of this post. i am doing this with one hand. monday, i had an encounter with the critter i described in my last post.

let’s just say that it was a bit of a draw. we wounded each other pretty bad. i ended up crawling out ith a badly damaged leg and one hand missing...i managed to hurt it pretty badly too.

i have lots to post about the encounter, but first i need to repaired, this one handed typing just won’t do.

i am waiting on a team to come up from quantico to fix me up so i can finish that thing off...

i will try to make short posts each day until i am fully operational again.

Big Apple Bound

Before I update you on new events, let me address a couple of issues from my last post and the comments I received from that one.

Thanks to Ravyn and the Professor, I have an answer to that riddle, it does appear that Rasputin is who that asshole was using for the answer to that clue. So I Google’d Rasputin and came up with enough information that I am prepared to try a couple of dates for the password to the next clue.

Second, it appears that surprises go both ways. It caught me off-guard that Drake would bother to read this blog, which of course means that I will have to pay careful attention to what is said here, particularly when I have the chance to take up the trail after him. There was also something the bastard said that I did leave out of my last post, which of course the prick used against me to try to show me as being less than honest. To clear that record, I will now provide the part that I left out of the last post, it was said after the riddle was given. I left it out because it appeared to be a purely personal message that I wsn’t sure I could trust in the first place, but also because it seemed out of place given what has so recently taken place. Anyway, here is that last part of the message:

“Finally, dear Rusty I want to offer you my assurances that our conflict, our contest if you will, will no longer involve your family members unless you or they bring themselves into it. I had specific reasons for involving your children and your ex-wife in our last encounter, which I may choose to reveal to you at a later date, but the need to involve them in our little game has now passed.

“I look forward to seeing if you are up to the challenges ahead. So many others before you have failed to rise to the occasion, but I have a feeling that you my boy, may just be the One I have searched so long to find. How ironic is it that I had to create my own best foe?” His cackling laughter ended the recording.

So there it is. I have one message to my dear ‘creator’: Fuck off. This my damn blog, you want to talk to me, you’ve got my number and I’ve got your damn PDA Puzzles.

OK, back to the business at hand. By the time I did my research on this Rasputin fellow to get the dates I needed, I had to put that issue aside for the moment. Over the secure fax machine in my vehicle, I received a very short message, essentially it was instructions to report to the Manhattan Field Office of the Bureau for a mission briefing on Monday. Apparently the Bureau has decided to put my dead ass back to work. So much for the vacation!

So Saturday I spent the day driving up to the Big Apple, trying to manuever this big honkin’ bus through the narrow streets of that overly congested city before giving up and taking the thing over the bridge and onto Long Island. I was able to find a nice RV park about 30 minutes outside of the city.

Earlier today, I spent the day riding my Ninja around the seashore and then back into the city to get an idea of where I would be going tomorrow. There is quite a lot to see in that city, I had never been there before. As I drove in though, I felt a strange pulling sensation deep inside, it was pulling me towards Ground Zero.

I didn’t try to resist that Call very long. Soon I found myself pulling up near the fenced off perimeter of that yawning maw into otherwise towering landscape of manmade mountains. The Power of that place was overwhelming. I parked the bike and began walking the perimeter. There were hundreds of others who were similrarly drawn to this place, but we were all lost in our own thoughts and feelings at what had happened at this place.

I still felt the strange pulling sensation, so I knew I was being called to do more than just see the place. I found an empty bench across the street from the barricaded area and parked myself there.

Once seated, I openned my Inner Eye to the energies of this place and was immediately taken aback. The image of the Two Towers burned brightly in that world still. Smoke seemed to burn my eye. The current sounds of the busy New York streets were replaced with tinny, almost muted sounds of sirens and screams that I remembered from watching images of this scene on television almost 4 years ago now. The ghostly images of thousands of people fleeing the building while hundreds of other brave souls, the police officers and firefighters who responded to the terrible scene, rushed in to help those still trapped inside.

As I sat there stunned by the raw emotions and the wrenching images of that disaster, I felt so small and insignificant in the face of such enormous loss. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t stop watching, I was transfixed as the scene played out, until I noticed one ghostly figure walking towards me.

He was a firefighter, his turnout coat was grimy with dirt and smoot, his helmet shattered by some fallen object. He had obviously been killed by something that had fallen from the building, but his spirit was standing directly in front of me before I realized it. He looked into my eyes, with his one remaining eye and spoke to me.
“Did you call me here?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“Why?’

He stood silently for a moment, then said, “There is something you must see.”

“But why? This was hard enough to watch on television. I was not ready for this!”

“It is never easy, but it is necessary. You must witness soemthing. Wait, it will happen in a few minutes.” With that, the figure came and sat next to me on the bench.

“Can you give me a hint at what I am watching for?”

“You will know it when you see it. Be patient. Not much longer now.”

I waited, watching the scene play out as it had that long day years ago. It was getting close to the point where the first tower came down. The emotional power of the scene began to build as I watched people fall from the highest floors of the burning towers. More people were escaping the buildings, some being helped by rescuers, others moving in small groups, clutching at each other for support.

Within a minute, the first tower began to collapse in a cloud of smoke. The plume of dust and debris quickly enveloped us as we sat there. I flinched, expecting to be hit by the force of the implosion and the debris as it hurtled towards us. The firefighter sat there motionless.

When the cloud enveloped us, our vision was obscured. I was just about to ask the man how I was I going to see anything in this, when in the sudden stillness and strange silence of the moment, a bizarre form came forth from the dust cloud.

It was a hunched form, slightly shorter than an average sized man as it walked. It was naked, revealing that its skin was more like scales, although with all of the dust covering the thing, it was hard to be sure. The feet of the creature appeared to avian like, while its arms reached almost to the ground as they swung. The hands were huge, claw-like appendages that looked very dangerous. It’s head was clearly reptillian in nature, its open mouth protruding from its skull revealing very large, sharp teeth and flicking split tongue like a snake. It had a pair of small black horns that angled back. A series of small horn like fins seemed to trail down its back towards its short, stubby tail. It appeared for all intents and purposes to be the spitting image of a...demon of sorts.

The creature walked in slinking motion past us, oblivious to us, before it found a spot of pavement just past one ghostly firetruck that showed a man-hole of some sort. It reached down with one massive claw into a hole in the large metal cover and pulled up the heavy cover withg little effort. It cast the cover aside and slunk down into the hole, disappearing from sight.

I looked to the firefighter and asked, “What the Hell was that thing?”

“None of us knows. It came from above in the collapsing tower. It killed every living person who even glimpsed it. We have been Calling for someone to come and find this creature ever since that fateful day.”

“Has anyone else come?”

“Yes.”

“What happened to them?”

“Everyone who has tried to find it has gone and never returned. So far, you are the fifth to respond to the Call.”

Drake's First Message

I entered the password into the PDA using the stylus that came with the device, careful to type out the five letter word that was the name of ‘my’ project--Omega.

When the password took, a single MP3 audio file was revelaed. I clicked on it, activating the file. I steeled myself, suspecting that his voice would be the next thing I heard. I was right.

“Congratulations Rusty. You have shown yourself to be a resourceful and dedicated foe. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have gotten this far. I know now that I have succeeded beyond my expectations with the Omega Project.” His voice broke into a brief cackle of satisfaction.

He brought his voice back under control, restarting his narrative. “You will want to keep this device after this message concludes because I have taken great pains to detail many of my most valuable secrets within it, secrets that you will not be able to discover anywhere else, but secrets that are vitally important for you to truly discover who I am and why I have done the things I have done.”

At this point, I was ready to terminate the damn message and destroy this tool that he had created, but I gritted my teeth and figured I would let the bastards voice drone on for just a bit longer...

“I know you you will not want to believe me at this point. I know that you are holding a terrible grudge against me for the things that I have done to you and your family. But I also know you too well Rusty, I know that you are too good an investigator to casually throw away the answers that you may find here, to throw away the key to your own revenge.”

Well, he was right on that point. I decided to keep listening for now, if for nothing else than to get a clue to where he might have gone after the battle.

“So, now that you will have decided to keep listening, let me tell you something you may have surmised as a result of our battles to date: I have found my own form of immortality. You may have found a way to defeat me temporarily in our most recent battle, but you will not have slain me. How do I know this? That is a secret that I am not yet ready divulge. Suffice it to say that I cannot be slain by any method that you or your allies will have thought to be prepared for at this point.

“My immortality is not without a price however, a price that to many would be too high to pay, which is why I have been looking for other ways to achieve this goal for others. The process that was used to create you was just one such way that I have tried over the uncounted years of my quest to save humanity from the greatest curse of our existence...the curse of our own mortality.”

Holy shit, I knew this bastard was crazy, but I had no idea he was this unhinged! I couldn’t stop the damn recording now, so I continued to listen to his ramblings.

“Now, I know that you have cast me into the role of a villain, a role that I am very familiar with over the years. I have no illusions that I can persuade you otherwise with any sort of recording. So I have decided to present you with a challenge, a puzzle if you will. I will let you come to your own conclusions about who and what I truly am, but you will receive the pieces to that puzzle one at a time. Consider it my challenge to you. Are you willing and able to meet my challenge, to beat me at my own game? If you do, the rewards of such a victory will be beyond your wildest dreams. If you can’t, or won’t meet this challenge, then I will be free to continue my own quest unhindered for a better foe, for a better pupil, for immortality to any who wish it.”

Son of a bitch. He is certifiably crazy. But what the Hell? If I take up his damn challenge, I am playing right into his damn hands, allowing him to lead me where he wants me to go. If I don’t take up his damn challlenge, he’s gonna continue fucking with people like he did with me and Greg and all the rest of the guys on our team.

“If you decide to take me up on my challenge, here is your first clue. In order to unlock the next piece of my puzzle, you will need to find out the identity of one of my prior students. The next password is the date of his death.

“The student to which I refer is rather famous. He was an adviser to a Court, a healer of no small skill, revered by many, but feared and reviled by a key few. He was widely known to be both a man of the cloth and of the flesh. He started with nothing in this life, but through my teachings reached the highest circles in his society. His death was easy to arrange, but extremely difficult to accomplish. His death was necessary to save the Realm, but in fact hastened it’s demise. He died less than a hundred years ago, yet it is still talked about.”

Great, I hate riddles.

“The sooner you solve this riddle, the sooner you will find the next piece of the puzzle.”

With that the recording stopped. Once it did, a second password screen came up blinking at me, daring me to take up the bastards challenge.

OK readers, help me out, I was a cop, not a damn history major. If anyone knows who the Hell this riddle refers to, it would be very much appreciated.

New Beginnings...

In beginning this new endeavor, I find myself wanting to say something deep, something pithy and worthy of a new beginning. But hope and optimism are concepts that seem so foreign to me, even now, and the best beginnings seem to brim with such things.

I can tell you though, that the events of the Everglades are several weeks behind us now. It took far longer to record those events in blog format than it did for those events to take actually occur. This allows me to be far more current, at least unless (more likely, until) events begin unfolding so quickly again.

So even as I was concluding the tale of how Drake was defeated and Papa Locks was slain, I was helping Katherine to sell her (formerly our) house and to move her and Jasmine to the Chicago area. Kenny was allowed to enroll for the soon to begin summer classes at the small, liberal arts college that the Professor teaches at in western Michigan. So the couple of weeks of free time that I was allowed before returning to work at the Bureau was taken up with packing boxes, moving vans and the other mundane aspects of moving family members across states.

After waking up from her bizarre journey, Katherine took a great deal of convincing for her to accept the idea that she had actually seen her husband’s modified corpse wandering around in the Everglades, coming to her rescue. She didn’t fully believe the truth of any of this until I actually showed up a few days later with Kenny in the car. Once she did come around, it was hard to contain her excitement at seeing all of the very real magick that surrounded her. After recovering from her reality check, she immediately asked to be allowed to study with Ravyn and her students. She also rather eagerly accepted a junior membership in the ORCs and the paid position of House Mother of the co-op where Ravyn taught many of her students.

Jasmine literally threw herself into Ravyn Fyre’s teaching. Her favorite part of the whole thing was getting to take care of the Phoenix. She easily spent more time with that creature than she did in her studies. Because of her duties with the Phoenix, Jasmine lived not in the co-op house, but with Ravyn on the Sanctuary, about ten miles outside of the town where the co-op is in.

Ravyn was just now finding out how difficult it was to keep nosy media folks away from the environs of WyldFyre Sanctuary with all of the rumours of sightings of a giant, flaming eagle flying nearby. She spent far more of her time than she would have liked on the phone with various television stations, denying them permission to film on the large tract of private land that she had acquired over the years and allowed to return to its natural state. Even the small old farm house and its associated barns and sheds seemed to melt into the now dense forests that had sprung up so unnaturally quick over the last decade or two.

After helping to get everyone else settled, I returned to Virginia to collect those few things I wanted to keep from my old apartment there. I had already determined that I would be unable to set up any kind of permanent residence, but I wanted a home of sorts of my own, a place that could be both mobile and very customizable. I settled on a motor home that closely resembled a bus in size. I had the Bureau pitch in to get the best computer and communication gear that I would need in order to be functional from anywhere in the country. They weren’t exactly happy with the costs, but a quick call to Zulu had that matter resolved within a day.

I also had the back end of the thing configured to carry my new local transportation, a supercharged Ninja type motorcycle, all black, of course.

So I now have a home that is as mobile, as transient as I am.

In getting all of this accomplished over the last few weeks, I had completely forgotten about the little present that Drake had left for me until I came across it in packing up my new home. When I found that, a very high-end PDA with the capability of recording and playing back sound and pictures as well as the normal text files, I sat down heavily in my new living room, holding the thing in my glove covered hand.

I knew I couldn’t resist the urge to turn the device one and type in the password for very long, so I didn’t bother to resist...

New Story Begins...

...tomorrow. (sorry)

Epilogue

For the past couple of days, I have been reluctant to write this post. But the time has come when I must overcome this reluctance and finish this story, because even as I write this now, it appears that a new tale is about to begin. So let me bring this tale to a satisfactory conclusion...

After taking the card from Zulu, I put it in my wallet. We rejoined the Elder and the assault team who were beginning to load the prisoners who were more easily moved into a second chopper that had descended for that purpose.

The noise and wind of the choppers pretty much prevented any meaningful conversations, so we just watched the well-coordinated team work. Within 10 minutes, all of the prisoners had been loaded into first one, then the second of the wing choppers that had accompanied Zulu's chopper. Once those two were loaded up, they left with a roar, back towards Miami.

The third chopper remained above, waiting for the unseen signal to be sent to pick up Zulu and the only other remaining member of the initial landing team, the female. Zulu spent a moment to thank the Elder for his support and help during the crisis and promised to seek out additional funding for the reservation in the next appropriations bill.

Without any further comments or conversations with me or the Professor, Zulu waved his arm, calling the circling chopper down to retrieve them.

Within minutes, the Elder, Jim and myself were standing alone on an otherwise deserted island within the River of Grass. As the sounds of the last chopper disappeared, the normal sounds of this peaceful, primordial place began to return. The Elder shuffled off without comment to get the small airboat ready that would be taking us back to our vehicle.

I turned to Jim, "How the heck did you guys get involved with a guy like that?"

Jim shrugged, "He sought us out a few years back. He asked for the utmost privacy when we dealt with him, so that his position and politics wouldn't be impacted, which we respected."

"Why would a famous, conservative, Evangelical Christian seek out a group as off the wall as the ORC's are? Don't you guys represent everything he fights so hard and so well to suppress?"

"He was seeking help, which we provided. You see, according to Ravyn, that man has a natural level of magickal talent that was manifesting itself in ways he didn't understand and couldn't control. His faith didn't provide him with an effective way of dealing with those manifestations, so he found the only group out there that could give him confidential, effective training in how to control and even to use his talent safely. In exchange for that, he has provided us resources and political cover that we would otherwise lack, even if he is unable to publicly declare that he is a Caster."

"So does he have any control over the group?"

"No, he is not even an official member. However, we do work together and cooperate when our interests go in the same direction, much as we have with you, Rusty."

"I see. Well, I'll give him a call, but I am done following the orders of mysterious men."

" I don't blame you."

By now the Elder was waiting for us to board the boat and depart this island. The loudness of the engine and the rushing wind effectively ended our conversation for the moment.

We returned to the place where our vehicle was parked, the Frau and Cerrydwen were waiting for us there. Each of us made our farewells to those warriors and Elders we knew, loaded into the van, and departed for Miami International Airport.

The drive back to the airport was quiet, each of us being lost in our own thoughts. At the airport, Jim and I said our farewells to Cerrydwen and the Frau who each had flights out within a couple of hours. Jim made arrangements to delay his flight until after he visited Herne in the hospital and made arrangements for the payment of the bills. Jim rented his own vehicle, so we parted at that time as well.

As he grabbed his own bags from the van to transfer them into his car, we clasped hands.

He asked, "So, you'll be bringing Kenny up to the school?"

"Yeah, after check with Katherine to make sure she's OK with all of the arrangements. I don't expect any problems with Kenny going to your college. She might put up an argument about selling the house and working for Ravyn, but I think she'll come around when she sees that it wasn't my idea."

Jim laughed, "Ah yes, glad I've never had to worry about that."

"Then you haven't been married or divorced."

"True enough."

"I'll see you in a week or two. Make sure Herne is OK, send him my regards, and let him know I'll make Drake pay for him as well."

With that, we parted. I got back into the van and started the long trip home, back to Michigan. In a little more than 18 hours I would be able to hug my son for real. And if he wanted to play catch with his old man again...well that just might be a little easier now. It was almost like having a second chance at life...almost.

The Omega Project Revealed

The three Blackhawk helicopters appraoched from the east and circled the island once before the middle chopper descended just long enough to disgorge five passengers. Three of those passengers were dressed in the black tactical gear of an assault team, each of them carrying automatic weapons with easy familiarity. The fourth passenger was the only female of the group. She was a tall African American woman dressed in slacks and blazer, with a badge dangling from her neck and a sidearm visible in her beltline.

The fifth passenger however, was the most remarkable. He was someone who was easily recognized from his many appearances on television newsconferences and his quotes in the highest profile newspapers. He was a long serving politician from a deeply conservative state well known for his activism in Evangelical Christian issues. This was not looking good.

Jim and the Elder had come to join me as the copters approached.

The three man tactical team spread out as the chopper lifted back into the air. The woman and the prominent politician approached us.

The Elder was the first to speak after the roar of the helicopter lifting back off had receded. “The Miccosuccee have reclaimed this land that was wrongfully occupied by these outsiders. We turn over custody of the survivors of this illegal group to you for your own action. Our Justice has been satisfied. We also lay claim to the building and its contents as recompense for our losses of life and property at the hands of these criminal intruders.”

The female responded, “On behalf of the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I would like to thank you and your people for the apprehension of these fugitives. We will take custody of them and remove them from tribal lands, as you have requested. But I need to work out some of the details with you, if you wouldn’t mind?”

The Elder and the female began walking away towards the huddled prisoners, where the assault team had gathered around in anticipation.

That left the politician, Jim and myself alone. Jim nodded towards the opposite end of the island from the gathered prisoners and we began strolling.

Jim said, “Rusty, this is our contact within the government, we always refer to him as Zulu. Zulu, this is Agent Rusty Bones.”

Zulu held out his hand, which I took. “I am pleased to meet you Agent Bones. I have heard a great deal about you, both from Jim and from the man you just faced down, Drake.”

“How did you know Drake?”

“Let’s just say that I had intimate knowledge of the original Omega Project parameters. Unfortunately, Drake pulled the wool over a lot people’s eyese before he went rogue, including mine, I must say. Had I known what he was actually intending to do, and the depths to which he would sink to accomplish his goals, I would have terminated the project long before you were ever...created.”

“I see. How the hell did someone like you ever get involved with either the ORC’s or with Drake and his post-mortem projects? And where the Hell does it leave me now? If you had your way I wouldn’t exist.”

“Easy there Agent Bones. Your questions will all be answered in time. But I can tell you that the choice is yours.”

“What choice is that?”

“As of this moment, you are still a Special Agent in the FBI. Drake and his whole crew of miscreants are the individuals who are deemed to have abused the trust of the People of the United States. By helping to bring some of those folks to justice, you have performed admirably. The choice I am referring to is whether or not you wish to continue your employment with the Bureau.”

“Are you serious? After everything that’s happened, you still want me in the Bureau?”

“Absolutely. You have have some very valuable skills and some even more valuable contacts that will allow you to take on missions and assignments that others simply could not take on. However, given what you have gone through, I could not in good conscience, or in good faith with Our Lord and Savior, force you to stay in service to our nation.”

“So I could walk away right now and you and your people would let me?”

“Absolutely.”

I looked to Jim, who had remained silent, but had continued walking with us. He shrugged. Big help there.

“Look,” I started up again. “I have a lot to learn before I can track down Drake, or whatever the Hell his name actually is, and destroy him once and for all. I would like to remain with the Bureau, but I need to be free to follow the clues that bastard has left, wherever they may lead.”

“That is good. Mr. Kampmann has made himself a very wanted man, our records show he has absconded with many millions of taxpayer dollars and assets from the Omega Project and has demonstrated himself to be a security threat of grave concern. I can think of no one I would rather have on his trail than yourself. If you would like, I can see that you are assigned to a secret operational unit dedicated to just the sort of mission that you completed today, finding and neutralizing threats of this nature. Would that interest you?”

I thought that over for a moment before responding, it sounded almost too good to be true. “I could see that working. But there is something here in all of this that I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around.”

“What’s that Agent Bones?”

“You. I mean I recognized you the moment you stepped off that chopper. By all accounts you are a hard-core Evangelical Christian and very conservative in outlook. How the heck did someone like you get involved in any of this business in the first place?”

He smiled at that question and glanced at Jim before answering. “I have gotten similar questions from nearly every Caster I’ve met. Let’s just say that my faith and my politics are genuine. But let me also say that the Lord has blessed me with many things in this life, and I feel that those blessings have been bestowed upon me for a reason.”

I looked at him, stunned. “Are you a Caster as well?”

He looked out over the flowing River of Grass as he answered. “That’s what some would call me, yes.”

“And that isn’t in conflict with your faith?”

He remained silent for a moment before looking back at me. “I use my talents in humble service to God and Country, never for personal gain. It looks like we are needed back with the others.”

With that we started walking back towards the others. As we were doing so, Zulu looked over at me one more time, handed me a business card. “Contact me at this number in two weeks and we will set up a meeting where we can finalize the arrangements for your assignment.”

I took the card, saw that it was just a DC phone number and a Yahoo e-mail address that appeared to be random characters, no name, no address was listed on the card. “I will. I appreciate the time to get ready.”

(To be continued....)

Loose Ends

Ravyn and Jasmine returned to the ground shortly, although neither looked happy about being grounded. Once they were on the ground, they found themselves busy in attending to the Phoenix. Her magnificently flaming plumage had been damaged in a number of places. She preened herself and enjoyed the attention of the two humans immensely. Amazingly, the flames that seemed to emanate from her subsided wherever Ravyn or Jasmine went to touch her, like the Phoenix could actually control where she was flaiming and where she wasn’t.

Meanwhile, the Professor had wandered off into the building, presumably to gather more data on Drake’s group and any other secret projects he was involved with.

Cerrydwen, who was even paler than normal, was sitting near the place where Herne and our other wounded had been placed, keeping a sort of low profile guard over them in case any of Drake’s men decided to get take out any revenge on the helpless.

John Red Bear’s body had been gathered up and wrapped in a ceremonial blanket and had been place respectfully near the dock, waiting transport back to wherever he had asked for his body to be disposed of.

The Frau was busily moving among the now gathered dead and wounded from among the enemy, stabilizing those that she could, easing the pain of others, and making notes on which individuals would need hospitilization.

Many of our Native American allies, both Miccosuccee and Navajo were dealing with minor wounds, but only the worst off were laying near Herne. Most of the walking wounded were up and about, policing up dropped weapons and ammunition and otherwise cleansing the site of signs of the battle. They were remarkably efficient in their tasks, moving about silently as they completed their tasks.

I stood near Katherine’s unconscious body, watching all of this activity before deciding to find some of my own answers. I picked Katherine up, brought her over by Cerrydwen, and put her down as Cerrydwen nodded assent to my unvoiced question.

I then made my way to the entrance to the building and looked in. Inside, three of the younger Native American men and the Professor were busy turning on the various computers in the main chamber. They then hooked up small boxes and appeared to be dumping data from the hard drives of those computers as fast it showed up on the monitors.

The Professor saw me standing in the doorway and waved for me to join him. “It looks like Drake even considered the possibility of losing this battle. He left a present for you.” He was holding out what looked to be a small, expensive looking PDA that had a note attached to it out towards me.

I took the proferred device and glanced at the note. It was written in a beautiful, elegant script that was rarely taught anymore, it read: “Dear Rusty, I continue to be impressed with your resourcefulness and determination. Please accept this device and the information it contains as a token of my appreciation. You will find many answers to your questions inside. The password to access this information is the name of your project. I look forward to our next gathering. --Drake”

The Professor asked, “Do you know that password he is referring to?”

I looked up from the note, “Yeah, I do.”

“Do you want to keep that, or do you want me dump the data and give you a breakdown of what it contains? It might be safer, just in case he has any nasty surprises for you.”

“Nah, I’ll keep it and read it later. Once I’m done, I’ll get it to you for analysis.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“No, but it’s something I need to do. No matter what the bastard has to say in here, I’m not going to rush off into any traps. But I do feel a certain sense of responsibility. I’m going to have to hunt that monster down and destroy him, eventually.”

Jim reached out his hand and clapped me on the shoulder, “Just remember, you’re not alone in this world anymore. You’ve got friends and allies, as well as your family. Don’t forget that.”

I pocketed the device, note and all, and returned the friendly gesture to Jim, “Don’t worry, I’m in no hurry to meet him just yet, I have too much to learn before I can expect to destroy him.”

Jim looked up from the computer he had continued to dump data from, “Oh, that reminds me, Ravyn and I discussed this before we came down for this battle. We’re gonna have to bring your family into the organization, relocate them so we can keep an eye for any danger. Drake knows you’ll respond to them being in danger, so we need to protect them as best as possible.

“I know your son was excited to receive the offer from the University of Miami, but that was set up through Drake. I’ve spoken to the admissions office at my school. They’ll accept him as an incoming freshman. The ORC’s can cover his tuition.”

“Wow, that would be great. I’m sure Kenny would do better at a smaller school like that anyway.”

“Ravyn called me while they were still flying, she wants to take on Jasmine as one of her students, she says Jasmine has the spark of very powerful Caster within her. Your ex-wife could join her and help run that massive house of Ravyn’s.”

“Well, I’m not surprised that Jasmine has that spark of talent. I think I can convince Katherine, once she comes around and gets her wits back.”

“Good.” Jim’s wristband beeped, he looked at it briefly before pushing a couple of buttons, cancelling the alert. “Looks like we’re down to five minutes. Go let the Elders know that they need to get moving. OK boys, leave the rest to me, we need to get you guys out of here.”

I followed the young warriors out of the building, amazed to see how clean the battlefield now was. I walked over to one of the Miccosuccee Elders and gave him Jim’s instructions.

Our wounded, and John’s body, had already been loaded onto airboats, with all of the weapons as well. I noticed the Ravyn and Jasmine were already back on the Phoenix, apparently getting ready to take off again. There was a long bundle laying at the Phoenix’s feet.

I approached and asked them where they were going.

Ravyn grinned at me, obviously eager to get flying again. “Jasmine, Katherine and I are returning to Chicago the fun way!”

I looked around, didn’t see Katherine, “Where is Katherine?”

Jasmine pointed down at the bundle, that I now noticed was wrapped in an extensive set of straps that led to a large metal dowel of some sort from which the bundle could be suspended. “Mom’s down there, that older woman can and put her into a deep sleep. She’ll be alright Dad.”

I looked at Ravyn, curious.

Ravyn grinned that mischievous grin of hers, “Don’t worry, she’ll be safe. This is the quickest way back.”

Without further chance for me to say no, Ravyn said something into the bird’s ear. It hopped a couple of times, flapped its massive wings and launched into the air. It grabbed the dowel on the way up, lifting poor Katherine into the air like a sack of potatoes. If she only realized what was happnening...oh boy, glad I wouldn’t be around to take the blame for all of this.

Within moments, there was a bright flash where the Phoenix had been flying, then nothing.

The Frau and Cerrydwen were also waiting on a nearby airboat, that was now starting up. The only folks left on the island were the dead and wounded of Drake’s forces, Jim (still in the building), one of the Miccosuccee Elders and myself.

Just as the sounds of the last of the airboats faded away, I could make out the distant sounds of helicopters coming this way.

Finale...Part 3

I was extremely relieved to know that Jasmine and Katherine were safe, but the sight of them stumbling out of that building froze me in place. I simply hadn’t thought of what I would say to either of them if they recognized me.

Instead of noticing me however, all eyes were drawn to the blazing shape in the sky that was quickly growing larger than the curious oddity that it was now. The spot grew brighter and brighter, until we could all make out the exhilerated but scared stiff form of the Frau riding Ravyn’s Phoneix. She was clutching the plumage of the strange bird so hard that tendrils of smoke were coming from that part of the giant birds neck.

Just as the true nature of the Phoenix became unmistakable, that it truly was a giant flaming bird hurtling out of the sky towards us, Katherine fainted dead away into the arms of one of her Miccosuccee rescuers. My duaghter however, proved to be a bit more unflappable, as she called out, “That’s so cool!”

Ravyn, even though she was dirty, bruised and obviously tired, stood up striaght now and was bouncing on her tip toes, eager for her lifelong companion to complete its task. “It sure is darling!”

As soon as the giant bird fluttered to stop and landed, the Frau practically fell off the bird, landing half in the arms of the waiting Ravyn, half on her knees. She grimaced, kissed Ravyn on her unbruised cheek and said, “Honey, next time send a car. As amazing as this friend of yours is, I’ll prefer to stay on the ground, thank you very much!”

The Frau then limped off on her cane to see to the various wounded folk, starting with Herne.

Ravyn was gently straightening the very ruffled feathers of her friends neck and was cooing in her ear in a language only the two of them seemed to understand.

Cerrydwen and Jim had gathered around the landing bird as well. Cerrydwen was looking a little unsteady herself as she stood next Ravyn, almost tuned out of the excitement of having won. Jim was steadying her and trying to talk to someone through his wrist communicator at the same time, the bloody, dented bat lay forgotten near Papa Locks dessicated body.

I approached Cerrydwen, “Are you alright? What happened?”

She turned to look at me slowly, still obviously dazed, “I...uh...had to release the Spirits of those that that foul man had trapped in order to keep himself young and vibrant.” She shuddered at the thought. “I don’t think I would have had that chance if the Professor here hadn’t come along. That foul man was stronger of Will than I had thought. He was on the verge of trapping me when Jim broke his concentration with that bat of his.”

Jim looked up from his wristband when he heard his name, “Yeah well, I couldn’t very well let him have you, you know. He was concentrating so hard on you though, I was able to walk right up behind him and take my best swing to the back of the head.”

I interjected, “You hit him as hard as you could upside the head? I’m surprised he lived through that, you’re pretty damn strong!”

He grinned at the compliment, “To be honest, I was pretty suprised as well, he just kind of stumbled forward, fell to one knee, and then Cerry here planted a big ol’ kiss on his lips and some weird shit started happening.” He held up his hand as Cerrydwen opened her mouth, “I don’t need to know, I’d rather not know what the hell kind of power or spell that was. I’d never be able to kiss a woman again!”

Lost in the banter of the moment, I had lost track that Jasmine was still around. I heard a small, familiar voice right behind me, “Dad, is that you?”

Before I realized what I was doing, I turned around and said, “It’s OK honey, everything will be fine now.”

Her eyes grew wide as saucers as she looked at my face surveyed the rest of me. A host of questions all flooded out at once. “How is this possible?...Why?...What happened to you? I saw your body at the funeral! Everyone said that you were dead! Kenny told me you came to him as a dream, why haven’t you come for me when I needed you?”

I looked into eyes, saw the hurt and the pain that was there. I stepped forward and hugged her to me, whispering into her ear, “Oh Jasmine, I don’t know what to tell you, so much has happened. I love you so very much!”

She was trembling as I held her, but I couldn’t tell if it was with fear or anger, or perhaps a mixture. She whispered back, “You’re so cold.”

I pulled back tolook into her eyes again. I saw a mixture of fear and hope. “Jasmine, things are not really as they seem. This body that you can see and touch is not really who I am. It’s going to take a while to explain, but you have to believe me that I never meant to hurt you or Kenny, or even your mother. I loved you all, and still do. I was involved in something so big and strange that if I had tried to reach out to you before, I was afraid of the danger you would have been in. Everything that’s happened to you just now, is because these bad people wanted to get to me by taking you and your mother captive. I came to Kenny in a dream to stop him from coming here because I knew he was being led into a trap.” I looked down at my feet, shuffled the dirt around a bit. “If I would have tried to save you and your mom sooner, I wouldn’t have had all of these wonderful people to help me out, I probably wouldn’t have been able to help you by myself.”

Jasmine was looking up into my eyes now, “Dad, I am just so glad that you are still here.” She suddenly grew very stern and glared at me, “You better be around a lot more when we get back home.”

I laughed, “I will honey, I promise.” I hugged her again.

We both heard her mother’s voice call out her name and looked to in her direction. Katherine was up and moving towards us tentatively, but looking only Jasmine, eyes blinking and her gait a bit unsteady. “Jasmine, what are you doing? I was so worried about you when I woke up! Why were you hugging that brutish looking man?”

She got closer. Just as Jasmine was about to say something, I said, “Hello Kathy.”

This jolted her, she looked from Jasmine’s face to mine. Her eyes grew wide and then rolled into the back of her head as she fainted again. This time I reached out to catch her as she fell forward, and laid her gently on the ground.

I looked up at Jasmine, “Help me with your mother. I guess she hasn’t changed much, huh?”

Jasmine rolled up her sweater and used it for a pillow, placing it under her mother’s head. “No, you know Mom, she doesn’t deal with change or stress very well. She’ll be alright though once she’s in a more normal environment.”

Once Katherine was seen to, Jasmine looked up at the forms of Ravyn and her Phoenix. Ravyn was now moving around the profile of the bird checking for injuries and missing feathers.

Jasmine looked over at me mischievously, “What do you thnk my chances are of being able to take a ride on that bird?”

“I don’t know honey...” I started before Ravyn’s glance shut me up.

“Pretty darn good sweetey, I was just gonna take her out for a spin around the area, do you want to go?”

“Oh boy, do I? Of course!” Jasmine jumped up and ran over towards Ravyn and the bird, eager for the offered ride.

I stood up and started to say, “I don’t know if that’s such a great id....”

The withering looks I got from both Ravyn and Jasmine shut me up. Ravyn helped Jasmine up onto the birds neck and then bounced up herself in one easy motion. The Phoenix looked back at me, sniffed derisively and then took a bouncing leap into the air. The thrilled shrieks of both riders accompanied the birds own raucous cry.

I stood there shaking my head, wondering what Kathy would think of me for allowing this. Oh well, she shouldn’t have fainted, then she could have told her ‘no’.

Jim ambled up to me, “Hey Rusty, according to the Frau, all of our people survived. We’ve got a couple of wounded folks, including Herne, who will need to be hospitalized. I’m glad your family is OK.”

I looked over at him, “Can you tell me what the heck happened to Drake and to El Diablito?”

“Well, I saw Drake drop Herne and then get on top of you. I was gonna try to get over there to help you, but the wind picked up all of a sudden and we all heard the drums and chants before we saw John Red Bear’s form materialize. When he pointed at Drake, a great big bolt of lightning came down from the clouds and knocked him off of you.”

“Yeah, I heard the chants and music too! I thought that was maybe our allies here.”

“No, our friends here were all too busy fighting to be drumming. That was John Red Bear, I saw him. Anyway, Drake was stunned at least, cause he wasn’t moving much to begin with, but I don’t think he was dead. The little guy who was dueling with Ravyn in that ring of fire and energy that they had erected got all worried. His half of the circle came down real fast and he used some sort of device or magick to move quickly over to Drake’s body. He touched Drake’s smoking chest and then they both disappeared before any of us could react.”

Just as he was finishing his tale, his wristband beeped loudly. He looked down quickly at it, saw some message that must have flashed on it, and looked up at the small number of Miccosuccee and Navajo who had gathered around to hear the story and to watch the flying Phoenix and its passengers. “Hey everyone, we’re going to need to get the scene sanitized as quickly as we can, law enforcement is on its way. We have less than 30 minutes”

He motioned for the others to start their work, and then looked to me. “Zulu will be here shortly as well. He’s going to want to talk to you in private.”

Before I could ask any questions, he looked back down at his wristband, pushed a couple of buttons, and spoke into it, “Hey Ravyn, you’re going to need to cut it short. State and Federal Law Enforcement will be here shortly. We need to send your Phoenix away soon.”

Ravyn cursed then replied that she would be down in a minute.

“So who is this Zulu anyway?” I asked.

Jim looked around uncomfortably, “You’ll know soon enough.”

Finale...Part 2

(Author’s Note: Before I finish this storyline, I need to take a moment to dedicate this post, this blog to the one person who means more to me than anything else in the world. She is my inspiration, the love of this life and beyond, an awesome mom to my daughter, a beautiful bride, a powerful witch, and the best damn writer I know. She is also the inspiration for the character of Cerrydwen. Since I lack the ability to capture her true beauty in words, I chose to showcase her strength of will and character and to find beauty in that. Pat this is dedicated to you, for now and forever. This red rose is my answer forever to that question you asked lo those many years ago. –Doug)

As the boat roared through the River of Grass in the dark of night, I was struck by the beauty of this strange, alien landscape. There was just enough light from the sliver of the moon and from the bright stars to reflect off of the slow moving water and in the red eyes of the nocturnal denizens of this place.

Ravyn was silent in her own thoughts next to me, her arms wrapped around the duffle bag that I now knew contained some sort of egg for her Phoenix to hatch into this world, for however long it could do so.

We had lost sight of the other boat, but we also knew that they were headed to a slightly different jumping off point for the assault.

The pilot of the boat was a skillful as he was quiet. He manuevered through the myriad of channels, canals and around the occasional islands in the dark as if he had a computerized guidance system, which he most assuredly did not.

After about 30 minutes of travel at what must have been close to full speed, the fan slowed perceptibly and then sputtered to a complete stop. We continued to coast along silently, first looking up to the pilot, then following his pointing arm towards a lump of land that seemed to loom up out of the surrounding grass fairly silently.

The air boat coasted up to the island silently, the boat coming to a gentle stop as the front end beached itself on the rushes and slope of the island’s coast. The pilot climbed down from his seat, held his hand to his lips and motioned for us to follow him. We leaped out of the boat and onto the soft soil of the island. He used a rope to quickly tie the boat to a nearby tree to keep it from floating off.

We followed him in the dark as he led the way down a now obvious trail in the othrwise thick foliage of the island. It seemed to be a fairly large island since we followed the trail for nearly ten minutes before he crouched down, motioning us to to do the same.

He turned to whisper to us, “Just beyond those bushes, you will see the island that the interlopers have taken. There is a small canoe for you to use when the time is right to move. I have more to do, so I will leave you now.”

He left as silently as he brought us. Ravyn and I were left to our own devices to wait out the remainder of the night. She sat down and started openning up the bag that she had so lovingly brought with her. Once the bag was open, she carefully peeled layer after layer of old towels and other linens from the open end. Soon, I could see the outline of a what would be the largest egg I had ever seen. She reached in and pulled out the large shape.

The surface of the egg gleamed like polished stone, which is what it most resembled. She settled the egg/stone in a nest of the old linens that she had used to protect the thing and caressed it with obvious love.

“What is that thing made out of?”

She looked up at me, beaming with pride, “It started as a small obsidian egg no larger than the palm of my hand. Over the last few years, I have been channeling energy into it, with the help of my companion, and it has grown. It is now ready to hatch, and when it does, Syreena will be here in the flesh, for as long as she is given to act. When her time is up, I will have to find the egg that she lays within her own ashes, and nurture that one until it is ready again.”

“How long do you think she will be around for?”

At this, she looked a little sad. “I’m not sure. But I don’t expect that it will be for long, she will consuming lots of energy just by being alive. But that short time will be wonderful.”

“I’m going to go get into position, it will be light soon.”

“I’ll be right here, let me know when you see anything.”

“OK.”

With that, I started to move towards where the pilot had pointed, brushing back tall reeds and looking around the small trees that seemed to line the island coast. I could hear the water lapping up against the shore and the small canoe that was there waiting for us to use.

I could just make out the shape of the island across the stretch of water and was immediately struck by the perspective of the building…this was the viewpoint that I had seen in the Pool beneath the Tree. The Convergence was going to happen soon!

As the first rays of dawn began to break over the horizon, I began to see some activity stirring on the island across the way. I hunkered down further into the concealing rushes, waiting for my family to brought out. Unfortunately that moment didn’t come for another couple of hours.

Just as I was beginning to lose patience, I heard the sputtering of air boat motors, and the scene I so vividly recalled from the visions of the pool began to play out. I could see Jasmine and Katherine being escorted from the air boat as it docked, and they were escorted off of it and towards the building. Papa Locks and the monster he controlled were there, as was Drake, just like the vision.

“Ravyn,” I called out in a whisper, “it begins.”

In response, I heard her chanting in a soft whisper of her own, I looked back briefly to see her swaying and moving her hands along the surface of the egg before getting up and moving back a bit. I turned my attention back towards the building, just in time to see my daughter and ex escorted into the building by Drake and his henchmen.

Papa Locks and the monster remained outside for a bit, but were just about to go inside, when they heard the rattling hum of another air boat approaching their island. They must not have been expecting this one, because they moved towards to docks to get a better look at the approaching boat.

I heard a crackling voice over my wristwatch/communicator thing, it was John. “I will be leaving my channel open from this point, Jim please terminate it when it is no longer necessary. Farewell my brothers and sisters.”

I could now see him standing at the back of a smaller air boat, one meant for very few passengers. He was alone.

Papa Locks stood laughing as John approached. He called out when John was within hearing range, “What is it that you want Red Man?”

“I have come for Rusty’s family.” John called out. I could hear him both across the water and over the wristband, although it was clearer over the wristband.

Papa Locks threw his head back and laughed again. “You fool, all that you will find here is your doom! I will finish what I started before!”

“I am giving you one last warning Locks, return the women to me and you will be allowed to live, I will merely turn you and your comrades over to the authorities.”

John’s boat drifted up to the dock now. He easily looped a rope over a pole and leaped lightly to the dock.

“You think I fear you Red Man? I showed you before who was the greater Shaman, are you so eager to walk the Worlds Beyond? Where is Rusty now? We are expecting him anytime now. He is so predictable.”

John appraoched Papa Locks, who stood waiting at the base of the dock. The monster moved as if to intercept John, but Papa Locks waved it back, fingering the wicked looking knife at his belt.

“Don’t you think you should ask your master before you make such a choice for everyone concerned?”

Papa Locks snarled at that, “How dare you? I have no master! I make my own choices in this life!” With a single motion, he drew the knife and slashed it across Johh’s throat. John never made a motion to resist.

John staggered with the blow, red blood fountained up in a spray that covered the now smiling Papa Locks. Before he collapsed though, John managed to say one last thing. “Remember, the choice was yours to make. You have brought this upon yourself..”

It was beyond hard to see and hear John be slain like this. Even knowing what would happen in advance, it took every ounce of my newfound reserve of patience to not callout and try stop it from happenning.

The link at my wrist grew silent as Jim followed John’s wishes, then sparked to life again with Jim’s hushed and strained voice. “All marks go. Remember the plan, protect the prisoners.”

As I moved down towards the canoe, I could sense several things happening at once. There was a thunderous crack behind me as I presumed the egg hatched. The roar of flame and Ravyn’s war cry confirmed the hunch. I saw Papa Locks’ head snap up from looking down at John’s now still body as he looked over towards me. The monster seemed to sense the danger, and stepped in front of Papa Locks as several bullets from different hidden locations rang out towards the Haitian. All thudded harmlessly into the monster’s armored body. He used the beast for cover and moved back towards the doors.

The wind seemed to pick up all of a sudden as well. There was a faint sound of drumming and chanting in the rush of the wind. I wasn’t sure if it was the Miccosuccee hidden far away, or if it was some spiritual tribute to John’s passing that I heard.

As I slipped into the canoe, calling out for Ravyn to join me, I looked up to see a very large, very bright bird of almost pure fire diving towards me. Sitting improbably on its enormous back was Ravyn, grinning like a banshee! Its claws were extended, before I knew it, I was scooped up in its giant claws and was being transported towards the island.

The chaos of the moment is difficult to describe. From my now elevated vantage point, I could make out several canoes advancing upon the island, most containing one or two warriors bent on exacting revenge. On Drake’s island, I saw several armed men emerging from doorway, firing shots almost at random.

The space between the place I was picked up at and the island disappeared within three beats of the Phoenix’s mighty wings. But in that time, several things happened. I saw Drake and El Diablito emerge from the doorway to join with Papa Locks and his creature in their own miniature Axis of Evil. I also saw the blue streak of what could only be Cerrydwen racing across the water as if it were dry land! I noticed Herne’s figure emerge from the water off to the left beyond the sight lines of Drake and his group, who all seemed transfixed by the surely improbable sight of a giant flaming bird with a zombie in its claws and the now screeching Ravyn on its back heading straight towards them!

As I bore down on the suddenly worried group of evil men, I noticed that Papa Locks was trying to direct his own pet zombie into some form of action, but it stood there transfixed, as if he could no longer directly control the beast. He was waving frantically at the thing by the time I was being dropped like a bomb towards the creature!

I instantly lost track of everything else going on in the battle, as my vision was focused solely on that brutal monster who had killed so many innocents. I crashed into it and we both went rolling. The collision sent earth flying and would have easily crushed the bones of living beings. Instead we both got up relatively unharmed, but focused on each other. I dropped my baton into my palm and clicked it open as I came up to a crouching position. It did the same.

We faced off against each other. This time, I wasn’t caught by surprise by its strength and speed, having faced it before. Having spent a lifetime fighting against others who were bigger or stronger than myself, I found I could use this creatures’ own strength against it. Unlike it me, it didn’t have much experience in fighting in this form against an equal or nearly equal foe. Its experience could only be measured in months at best, and only against normal people.

The battle seemed to last forever, but it could only have taken a few minutes at best. Using all of my skills at hand to hand combat and my years of experience as a beat cop and as a scrappy street fighter before that, I was able to disarm the beast by first crusing his weapon hand with a well placed series of blows as it attacked recklessly. Then once it was without its own baton, I focused on crushing it’s knee caps with repeated blows as I dodged away when it tried to bull over me. Once the first knee was useless, the second came easier. Circling behind the crippled beast, I used all of my strength to land a two handed blow to the base of its neck, shattering the weakest vertebrae there.

Using my weight to push the beast down, I was able to reach my hand through a shattered rib to reach the Chakra buried deep in its chest, right where my own had been. When I yanked that out, the creature slumped and remained still. I could make out the smoky spirit shapes that had given the beast animation leaking out from its still form to return to whatever world they had come from.

The crushed Chakra still in my hand, I looked up to see what else was happening.

Papa Locks was locked into a pure battle of Wills with Cerrydwen. They were within a couple of feet of each other, Cerrydwen using her dark glare as I had seen her do before, with Papa Locks returning her glare with one of his own. The muscles on each of their faces were contorting with effort, sweat pouring from their pores.

Ravyn and El Diablito appeared to be locked in their own kind of magickal battle. Ravyn was on the ground now, with no immediate sign of where the Phoenix had gone. Instead she and El Diablito were throwing blasts of fire and energy at each other, deflecting some and absorbng or being hit by some. There was a blazing circle that surrounded the two of them, which no one seemed willing or able to break through.

Herne and Drake were involved in a much more physical confrontation, each moving blindingly fast. Herne had his knife out, while Drake seemed to be using only his hands as weapons, to very good effect, as it was clear that Herne was on the defensive in this battle, being the slower of the two.

I grabbed my baton and rushed to Herne’s aid. I came up quickly behind Drake and tried to pummel the bastard, but he was too quick, somehow anticipating my attack and dodging just in the nick of time. Herne took the opportunity to thrust with his knife, plunging it into Drake’s chest. Unfortunately the blow didn’t seem to faze Drake who merely took the opportunity to reach out and snap Herne’s wrist with one hand and land a bruising blow to the temple with the other hand, dropping Herne before he could call out in pain from the broken wrist.

Drake dodged backward, pulling the knife from his chest and smiling at me as we circled each other warily. “I see I underestimate you Rusty. You are proving to be quite the formiddable foe.”

“You had better leave my family alone you bastard!”

“Oh don’t worry, I have much more useful things to do with them than harm them my dear Rusty.”

“I’m not going to let you experiment on them like you did those poor souls in Auschwitz, von Graffen!”

That name brought up Drake short. He stopped smiling at that. “So you know someothing of my past do you. Well, you’ve got more work to do, if you think that was my first name.”

I lunged at him with my baton, hoping to catch him offguard, but he was too fast, sidestepping the thrust and spinning around behind me before I could recover. Before I realized what happened, I face first in the ground, with my arm being twisted behind me. He was so fast and so strong!

He whispered in my ear as I struggled to regain a position to resist from, “I think it is well past time to end my experiment with you, dear Rusty. Enough of this foolishness.”

I couldn’t tell what he was doing, but there was a sudden blast of wind, with the slightest hint of drums and chanting, then a second blast, this time much more powerful as a bolt of lightning struck Drake full on the chest and blew him off of me. More drums and chanting wafted by in the sudden silence of the moment, then faded.

It me a moment to recover from the energy of the blast, but when I did, all of the action had come to a stop.

I looked up to see Drake gone. I looked back to the others, and couldn’t believe my eyes. Cerrydwen was locked into what appeared to be a kissing embrace with Papa Locks, however Papa Locks’ body was now shriveled and decayed looking, Jim was standing next to her, trying to pry her from Papa Locks’ now dead body, his bat dented and bloody from his many victims.

Ravyn stood, barely, in the burned out circle where her battle had been taking place. Her face and her costume were battered and bloodied. There was no sign of El Diablito.

I could see that all thugs were down, either dead or severely wounded, many of them by nasty burns. Several of the Miccosuccee were coming out of the building, trailed by the dazed looking faces of Jasmine and Katherine.

(Author’s note: Wrap-up on this storyline will come next weekend. Many questions to be answered then.)

Finale...Part 1

It wasn’t long after we left the hustle and bustle of the airport that the roads became dark and deserted. Part of it was the time of night, which was late for most folks, so traffic was light. But part of it was also that we were literally in the boondocks of far western Dade County, where civilization ended and the Everglades began.

Soon there were no streetlights at all, no other vehicles on the road. We were driving in an alien landscape on a small, elevated road surrounded on both sides by trees, tall reeds and stretches of open water illuminated only by the headlights of the van. The only sounds now were the hum of the engine and the thwack and splat sounds that the droves of large bugs made as they hit the windshield. Even Ravyn had grown silent as we drove, her normal chatter seemingly forgotten as we pushed further into the vast swamp.

A half hour after entering the Everglades, the van slowed. John was watching the left side of the road carefully. Finally, after seeing an unlit, hand painted sign and the small driveway that followed it, he turned down off the main road and onto the rough, rutted dirt road that seemed to swerve back and forth through the canals and open pools.

Another fifteen minutes found us parking in an unlit dirt lot filled with about a dozen old battered pickups and junker vans. The lot was surrounded by several ramshackle mobile home trailers that had definitely seen better days, each home sported a tin sided shack or two as attachments.

As we exited from the van we were met by a group of rough faced men who were obviously of native american descent. They were, in general, taller than the students and men I had met on John’s reservation, but the demeanor was very much the same. All of the men were armed, most with rifles, but some had large knives sheathed on their belts as well.

John stepped forward immediately and began speaking a language I didn’t recognize to one of the older men. Their conversation seemed formal at first, then turned friendly within a couple of exchanges. John turned to the rest of us and said, “We have been welcomed by Leonard Davis, an Elder of the Miccosuccee Indians. He has offered us the hospitality of his hearth. He also has told me that Herne and the others have already moved into their positions for the morning. He has a pair of air boats waiting to take us to our positions. We should make ourselves ready, we need to leave within the hour.”

That set off a flurry of activity. Ravyn and Cerrydwen grabbed their bags and were shown to one of the mobile homes to get changed in private. Jim plopped back down inside the van, popped open his computer case and began pulling out pieces of strange looking equipment and checking them for functionality.

Not having much else to do, I took a little walk around the compound. It wasn’t long before I found the edge of the dry land, I was amazed at how quickly it came. Looking around, I saw the a wooden dock jutting out into the water with two large, flat bottomed boat bobbing next to it. Each boat had several rows of metallic seats in front, but was dominated by the towering, lifeguard-like seat that sat just in front of the equally dominating fans that comprised the back end of each boat.

John came up behind me, I heard his approach when he scuffed his boots on some pebbles, more than likely because he didn’t want to surprise me. “Soon my Brother, your family will be safe.”

“Are you sure about this whole thing John? Do you really need to die to accomplish this?”

He reached down and picked up some of the pebbles and stood back up. “I am as sure of the plan as I am that these stones will sink if I throw them into the water.” He picked one out and tossed it towards the water. It landed with a splash, which must have surprised some nearby creature, as a second, louder splash followed. The water rippled outwards.

“But I still don’t understand what purpose will be served by your death.”

“Death is a vital part of life. My death will allow me pass beyond the veil of this world and to access powers and skills I cannot yet wield because I am tied to this earthly shell. Once those ties are severed, particularly by the one who will do it, I will be free to act in ways that he cannot counter. I will be able to summon allies and call upon aid that is not available to the living.

“Do not trouble yourself over me, over what must take place. Concern yourself with stopping that monster that has been created in your image. Only you have the strength and the knowledge of how to stop that thing. I have seen the wards that have been placed on that creature, no magick any of us possesses can harm that beast.”

“I don’t know about that John, I’ve Ravyn do some pretty amazing things with that fire of hers. Can’t she destroy that thing?”

John looked back from the open water to me, “No. Even Mistress Fyre cannot truly harm that beast. The energy which fuels the fire she wields would only strengthen it, that was the work of the one you call the Little Devil.”

“What about Drake, why do I get the strangest feelings around him that lead me to believe he is more than he appears to be? I’ve never seen him do anything like what I’ve seen El Diablito and Papa Locks do, or even Ravyn, Herne and Cerrydwen for that matter.”

“The Professor has done some extensive research on this Drake, he was able to find some information and photos of him from the 50’s, when looked pretty much the same as he does now. There were references to him being a war refugee from WWII. However Jim’s research into the archives on the Third Reich lead him to believe that Drake went by another name in Germany, and appears to be very similar in appearance to a little regarded scientist who was a very active member of the early Nazi party in the 30’s called Klaus von Graffen. This von Graffen was accused of some very serious crimes in the Nuremburg Trials, mostly involving experimentation he did on captured Allied soldiers and on prisoners in the death camps. He was tried and convicted in absentia, and was never confirmed to have been captured or killed in the war.”

“Wait a minute, if that’s true, he would have to be pretty damn close to hundred years old by now. If this is the same guy you are saying he is, anyway.”

“Yes. I have looked at the Professor’s files, or as much as he would show me anyway, and I can say that I believe the two to be one and the same. It appears that he has found a way to at the very least extend his life beyond that which is considered normal. I can tell you this also, I have searched the Three Worlds to the best of my abilities, and I can find no trace of him anywhere within the Realms of Spirit. I have been unable to locate him on this world while in Spirit Form as well.”

I told John of my own experiences seeing Drake while in Spirit Form and how Drake always seems to be able to see me when I am there.

“In all of these incidents you describe though, you did not go looking for this man, but he came to where you already were in Spirit Form, so I still think he has found a way to block any Spirit from locating him or affecting him in some way.”

“I have also felt how he is much stronger than he appears physically,” I said as I looked back out into the darkness. “He has a number of secrets that he refuses to yield.”

We heard the footsteps of a number of individuals approqaching behind, so we turned to face the newcomers. Ravyn, Cerrydwen and Jim joined us, another half dozen of the Miccosuccee hung back, just out of easy earshot.

Ravyn was dressed from head to toe in a close fitting outfit that was most distinctive for it’s vivid colors of red and orange. It was a combination of a wetsuit and costume of some sort. The only skin that was showing was her hands and her neck and head. Her hair was pulled back into a very business like pony tail. Amazingly, in one hand she was easily carrying that strange duffle bag that I had strained to carry with two. It was still packed to near bursting, but must have magickally lost all of its weight! Her Phoenix was glaring, brighter than usual, and for once, shifting and moving about almost impatiently.

Cerrydwen was a vision in dark leather and some sort of blue dye or paint on all of her exposed skin, which was more than her usual style. She was wearing large, clunky leather boots, tight fitting pants that appeared to be either leather or some sort of plastic, and sleeveless leather vest that showed more than a little blue cleavage and some of her midriff as well. Her hair was pinned back by an assortment of bone-colored pins and combs. At her belt hung two sets of weighted balls connected by thin cords, bolos, I think they are called.

Jim stood there in the same clothes he had come from the airport in: jeans, sneakers, t-shirt and a well worn baseball cap. He did, however, have several devices hanging from his belt and a handful of gizmos in one hand, an aluminum baseball in the other. He held out the gizmos to the rest of us, each taking the one he directed us to.

“These watches are the latest in communication technology. They have built in tracking high-frequency radios, they’re all set on the same frequencies. They also have chips that will allow me to track where you are in case we get separated, and most important, these puppies are waterproof to a level deeper than you’ll find in these swamps. Put it on and I’ll show you how to use them.”

We did so. As he finished his spiel and demonstration, John pulled out necklaces for each of us, made from multi-colored beads and animal-like charms made of various stones or bones. He said, “These have been given to me by the Miccosuccee elders. They have been charged to give you the protection they can provide against the creatures of this wet world we are now in. Wear them with thanks to the people and the Spirits of this place.”

We each put on the necklace given to us and then were led to the airboats.

Cerrydwen, John and Jim were shown to one boat and were joined by three of the Miccosuccee, one of who climbed up into the pilots seat and fired up the giant fan.

I climbed into the other boat, and turned to help Ravyn in by reaching for her bag. Her Phoenix positively glared at me, so I drew back my hand. Ravyn laughed, “It’s alright dear, I can take her. She doesn’t like all of this water one bit!”

With that she leaped lightly down into the boat, bag cradled in both hands. I reached out to steady her, she gained her balance quickly and settled into one of the middle seats. We were joined by only one man, a tall, older man who only carried a knife at his belt, how climbed into the pilots seat without a word and fired up the engine.

The fans were quite loud as they were fired up, the boats were freed from the moorings, and we were off, roaring into the vivid living darkness of the Evergloades, without so much as a flashlight to guide our path.

Riding these boats was unlike any other boat I had been on. They glided over the water and grass effortlessly, almost sliding with each turn before the speed of the fans managed to push the boat forward again.

As the wind was rushing by, I leaned over and asked Ravyn about the bag, “So what’s in that thing anyway?”

She leaned over to me, almost laughing with joy, “It’s an egg!”

“A what?!?”

“An egg for my Phoenix to hatch from!”

“I didn’t think there was any such thing as a real Phoenix!”

“Well, it’s a little something I came up with, with Her help of course.” She nodded her head back towards the spiritual Phoenix that was her constant companion and guardian.

It glared at me, almost smug in its satisfaction, if such a mythical being can look smug.

“You meant that thing, I mean, she…will be able to manifest in this world?”

Ravyn giggled in glee and nodded, “Isn’t that just too cool?”

I nodded and sat back in my seat…this ws going to be a strange day ahead of us.