There, displayed on my screen is a text message. I stare in disbelief at the words printed on the screen:
“Are you still alive? I need help.”
Epilogue
The bright light is out again this night, causing a slight tingle on his skin where it is exposed. Not enough to cause any discomfort or pain but like a small, barely felt itch on the back where you cannot reach it. Not close to the pain of the ball of light during the light hours but noticeable if thought about.
His pack is out again this night like all of the others, the sound of their feet striking the street behind him echoes off of the silent buildings as he runs searching for food. He has gained numbers over the last few nights making him the leader of a medium-sized pack. They have needed to range further from their lair each night to find food as it has become scarcer around the buildings and the lairs of the two-legged ones. The food lying freely about in the buildings has been taken and their meals now consist of having to chase down live prey. They will have to move their lair soon.
These ‘thoughts’ do not come as words in his mind but more as images and instinctual reactions and knowing. He hears distant shrieks throughout the night as other packs find a scent or food; too distant for him and his pack to respond in time. He stops and sniffs each passing breeze for a scent that will lead them to food. They have eaten some this night but there have been other nights when he and his pack have had to retire to their lair, with the failing night, hungry. He runs on, searching the area in patterns hoping for the elusive scent that food is near.
There have been moments, when running in this fashion, when objects appear on his search that trigger a sense of recognition, but the hint of recognition is forgotten almost immediately. His awareness of the other night runners around him fades when these triggers occur, leaving him confused as to why he cannot detect them or why they fade from his mind. But even that confusion is forgotten with the moment passing. He has remained the leader and added to his pack because of his ability to find food and keep the pack relatively safe.
He has only his instincts; keep fed, keep his pack whole and growing, and to mate with the females when they give off their irresistible scent. An image comes to his mind that he needs to add more females to his pack. That will prevent a rivalry with the males that are following him down the darkened street. He does not register the additional fact that his sight has improved in the night. What does register is the fact that the two-legged ones, that are favored for food and creates an anger within, do not show themselves in the night anymore. They keep to their lairs that are becoming increasingly hard to get into.
Some of the places where the two-legged ones live are still relatively easy to get into but are becoming harder to find. The boards are sometimes easily torn from the sides and the pack can eat. Sometimes though, they try for hours to get in before leaving to find other food or depart because the lightening in the sky forces them to retire back to their lair. Few of any other food roams at night or hides within the buildings; fewer each night and the competition for food between packs is building. They have not had to defend their food when they have found it as yet but he instinctually knows that they may have to.
A scent reaches his nose, carried on the night breeze as they pass a side street. A small scent but food nonetheless. The instinctual shriek rises from his throat mimicked a second later by the others running behind him. They all turn in mid-stride toward the scent hoping to fill their hungry bellies before the night is over. They run down two more streets before catching sight of a smaller, furry creature darting off the street and into a yard. The pack shrieks louder as they catch a glimpse of food. The striking of their feet on the road grows quicker as their legs pick up speed.
The chase is short as their prey has run up a tree and sits trembling on a limb. Many in the pack take running jumps at the lower limbs in order to get at their prey but find that the lower limbs are too high to reach. They start ramming into the tree trying to dislodge the creature. The tree does not have a thick trunk so each hit shakes the creature slightly but not enough to send it to the ground. Their shrieks turn to howls of frustration as they continue to jump up toward the lowest limb or ram the tree. Finally, he finds himself standing on the hood of a car parked underneath the tree and jumps, managing to grasp a limb overhead. He is now able to pull himself into the tree.
He pulls himself agilely onto the limb and starts toward the trunk. The creature darts further up the tree with him leaping from limb to limb behind it. The creature he is chasing is agile as well and he finds himself just not quite able to reach it. He climbs higher. The creature attempts to jump onto another limb to the side and he is able to snag it out of the air. The creature twists and snarls and turns in his grasp. He throws it down to the ground to his waiting pack and the hisses and screams of the creature are short-lived as his pack tears into it. The sound of flesh ripping is short but they have a little more food for the night. Not much, but some.
They finish their small meal and continue on their hunt. A rumbling sound comes from behind him in the sky. He stops in the middle of the street as this foreign noise grows louder. Uncertain of what to do or what it could be, he warily edges over to the side of the street and into the shadows of the building there. The tingling sensation on his skin leaves as he enters in total darkness. The sensation once again is not really felt and barely registers when it leaves. The sounds grows louder and he considers darting into the protection of a building if he can find one open but his curiosity, if that is even what it can be called, gets the better of him so he waits and watches.
The other members of his pack follow his lead and stand agitated and uncertain in the shadows next to him. His mind fills with their nervousness. He tells them, again with images, to settle down but this does little good. The noise overhead grows louder and suddenly, an object appears in the night sky overhead. It appears over the edge of a building and darts through the night sky in a thunder of noise before disappearing behind another building. Confusion reigns in his mind as his nose cannot pick up any scent of what was heard and seen. The noise diminishes as quickly as it began and then fades entirely. He waits a few moments, waiting to see if the sound or object returns; or if his mind picks up any idea as to what it was. It was something new and that is all he knows.
He cautiously creeps back out onto the street. Nothing happens. He turns and begins his nightly search for food once again.
About the Author
John is a former Air Force fighter instructor pilot who transitioned to Special Operations for the latter part of his career gathering his campaign ribbon for Desert Storm. Immediately following his military service, he became a firefighter/EMT with a local fire department. Along with becoming a firefighter, he began a career in the Information Technology industry starting two large casinos in Washington as the Information Technology Manager and becoming the Network Manager for the Washington State Legislature, the Northwest Information Technology Manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Network Systems Manager for Hollywood Video. Currently, John is self-employed with his own Information Technology consulting company, consulting and managing various businesses with their information technology needs. He also volunteers for a local youth center managing their computer lab.
As a former marathon runner, John lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and can now be found kayaking out in the waters of Puget Sound, mountain biking in the Capital Forest, hiking in the Olympic Peninsula, or pedaling his road bike along the many scenic roads.
