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Dominant Species
Issue #12
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Fourteen
Pigs and Wolves
The sun is setting on the Big Easy. As they look out past the
city, they see the ocean. They also see that the tide is going out, which is
exposing more and more of the buildings. Further out, they can see some large
animals in the water. The distance is too great and the light is growing too dim
to see what they are. "Back in my time, I would have thought those were whales
out there. But now, they could be anything." Scott nods in agreement. "Sea
monsters, giant turtles, prehistoric sharks, it could be anything." The chief
jumps in the conversation. "I remember going to Hawaii on vacation and going out
in a boat to whale watch. When one came near us, I remember how impressed I was
by the sheer size of it. But now after seeing the dragon, I'm not so impressed
anymore." Bearslayer interrupts "Chief, what is a whale?" Chief smiles as he
thinks about how they never seen a whale. "A whale is sorta a giant fish, only
it is warm blooded like us. In the old world, they were the largest creatures on
the planet. But now they are just one of many large creatures." Bearslayer still
is vague in the whole whale watching. "So you went to this Hawaii to hunt these
whales?" The chief broke out laughing as did Derrick and Scott. Bearslayer is
put off by the laughter as he does not understand it. "What did I say?" is his
only response. Once they stop laughing, the chief answers "No, we went to look
at the whales. It was forbidden to hunt whales. They were what we called a
protected species." Bearslayer is still confused, but he understands that they
did not hunt whales and was not allowed to. Eightdigit interrupts "It is getting
dark, we better get a fire built."
Around the fire, the men all talk about their adventure in
the Big Easy. Swimming underwater was a new experience for them and they really
liked it. They also enjoyed being with the beautiful mermaids. It made them
realize how much they miss their families back in the village. They cannot help
but wonder how they are doing. Without the ettin watching over the city, they
are at the mercy of whatever creature decided to take up residence. The ettin
did a good job of keeping people out of the city. When the orc raiding parties
were sweeping over the area, they took one look at the ettin and avoided the
city. But what would happen if word spread that the ettin was dead. Would the
orcs, goblins or kobolds come in to lay claim to the city? Without the five men
there to help protect it, would they stand a chance. While there are quite a few
other men, the best fighters are in this party. And they depended so much on the
chief's wisdom. Who can they turn to now that he is gone?
As the evening goes on, the men retreat to the trees to
sleep. They keep the fire burning to ward off any creatures. It also attract the
insects, leaving less to bother them while they are sleeping. While insects
weren't as big a problem in Cleveland, they are here in the Big Easy. And some
grow very large. They saw what looked like some kind of fly that was the size of
a baseball. And dragonflies can reach four feet in length.
In the middle of the night, Derrick is awoken by a strange
sound. He hears a grunting noise below the tree he is sleeping in. As he looks
down, he sees a herd of wild pigs moving through the forest, foraging for food.
Unlike normal pigs, these have adapted to their new world. One adaptation is
they need little sleep. They spend the majority of the day and night feeding,
which allows them to grow quickly and to immense proportions. It is not uncommon
to see a wild pig that weighs as much as a ton. They also travel in herds of up
to twenty members. This gives them a better chance against larger predators. And
their gestation period is rather short with multiple piglets born. With so many
large predators, many animals like giant pigs, deer, wild turkeys and more have
adapted to having more offspring and growing faster.
Derrick slowly moves from a sleeping position to a crouching
one. He quietly pulls his dagger out of his belt and waits for one of the pigs
to move directly under him. He sees what looks like a large male coming near
him. He can see the large tusks sticking out and guesses it is a male. He slowly
moves down the branch to get into a better position. When he feels he is in a
good spot, he stops and waits. As the pig moves underneath the branch, he leaps
from it and lands right on its back. The pig squeals out loud in surprise as he
lands on it and digs the dagger into its back. As soon as the pig squeals out
loud, the other pigs run off into the woods. The first defense mechanism of the
giant pigs is to run and hide. Despite their enormous size and vicious tusks,
they are not fighters. But when you live in a world full of dragons, giants,
ogres, dire wolves and other creatures that want to make a meal out of you, it
is best to run and hide.
The pain of the wound makes the pig continue to squeal out
loud. It also shakes its large body back and forth, trying to rid itself of the
unwanted rider. This does not get rid of Derrick, so the pig tries scraping its
body against the side of a tree. Derrick quickly moves to the other side of the
pig, so only his leg is pinned between the pig and the rough bark. But being
invincible, he does not feel the impact of the half ton pig running his leg into
the side of a tree and scraping it. The sound of the pig hitting the tree echoes
through the forest and this ends up waking up the others as they hear the noise
and look down to see what the source of the noise is. Derrick holds onto the
dagger tight with one hand and some of the pig's bristled hair with the other.
The pig, which is huge, shakes its head back and forth with great force, but
still it cannot shake his off. Once the pig stops shaking, Derrick yanks the
dagger out of the pig's flesh and plunges it up higher into the hog, only this
time, closer to its neck. The pig squeals even louder as it now has two gaping
wounds. Realizing the unwelcome rider will kill it if it doesn't get rid of him
and fast, it falls onto its back and rolls around. Back and forth it rolls on
the ground, smashing Derrick into the ground as the full weight of the beast
bears down on him. This would kill any ordinary human. A thousand plus pound pig
rolling over a human would break most of its bones and rupture most if not all
their internal organs. But Derrick takes it in stride and continues to hang on
when the pig completes its roll and struggles back to its feet. He also pulls
the dagger back out and once more plunges it into the pig. This time into the
back of it's neck. Blood spurts out and covers Derrick's hands and body as the
blood jets out of the numerous wounds on the back of the pig.
As the pig struggles to get away, an arrow hits it in the
back leg, making the leg go limp. The pig leans to one side as it finds it hard
to put weight on the injured leg. Another arrow then strikes the other back leg
and the back legs give in and the pig drops to the ground. Derrick takes
advantage of this opportunity and once again rips the dagger out of the back of
its neck and moves it around and slits its throat. The pig lets out one more
loud and horrible sounding squeal before it collapses. Within seconds of hitting
the ground, it gives up the ghost and goes limp. Derrick stands up and cheers as
he holds up the bloody dagger. But before he can enjoy his kill, he is attacked
from behind. A werewolf leaps out of the darkness and knocks him to the ground.
Within seconds, two more werewolves come out of the darkness and join the
attack. He is pinned to the ground as the three beasts bite at his head and
body. He struggles to shield his face from the attacks. While he cannot be
harmed, his sense of survival takes over and makes him try and cover his face.
In this world, werewolves are similar to other wolves. They are as much a
scavenger as a hunter. They are also different as they do not require a silver
bullet to die. A beheading will make short work of them. They are pack animals
in this world as they found that individually they had little chance. But in
packs, they are a very formidable foe. A good sized pack of werewolves can down
animals as large as a mammoth. They also differ from werewolves of legend as
they can turn at will. They are no longer forced to wait for a full moon. This
also makes them prized as guards.
Derrick looks up at the large werewolf who has him pinned. He
sees the long dog snout full of teeth and thick, mangled hair. Its eyes are
bloodshot and it has blood encrusted fingernails. Most werewolves have a few
chipped or missing teeth. The beasts tend to attack just about anything and
sometimes they find themselves attacking a creature they cannot bring down. They
have been seen trying to crack the shells of giant turtles. But this one is
getting angry as it keeps biting him without causing any wounds. As it keeps up
its attack, an arrow sails into its head and sticks right in its forehead. This
makes the werewolf scream out as it looks up to see who shot the arrow.
Bearslayer, along with the others are now coming over to help Derrick. The
werewolf snarls and bares its fangs at the sight of the men. The other two break
off from their attack on Derrick and prepare to charge the intruders.
Howlingmad is the first to attack the werewolves. He pulls
out his glowing sword and charges right at the beast. Seeing the attacker
coming, the beasts abandon Derrick and go after the new foes. As one of them
clashes with Howlingmad, he finds himself knocked off balance. He tried to hit
the beast with his sword, but misjudged the speed of a werewolf. Even bipedal,
they can reach speeds of over thirty miles an hour and in short bursts, they can
get closer to forty. As Howlingmad regains his balance, he is met by a swiping
paw that knocks him to the ground. The creature then leaps on top of him and
pins him to the ground. Werewolves are heavy creatures, being built of thick
muscle and skin. A six foot tall werewolf can easily weigh over three hundred
pounds, with a good portion being muscle.
One of the other werewolves pounces on Scott. Being small in
frame, he is easily knocked to the ground by the massive beast. As the creature
tries to bite his face off with his long canine teeth, he mumbles a spell as he
tries to keep the beast at bay. The spell he chooses is one of the few attack
spells in his arsenal. Most of his spells are defensive or healing. But he has a
few spells that allow him to bring the battle to his foes and one of them is the
very dangerous, molten hands. As the name suggests, the spell turns the hands of
its caster into burning, searing weapons. The hands turn burning red and
resemble red hot coals. Like two branding irons, the hands will burn through any
flesh and melt any armor. He takes his two burning hands and digs them right
into the fur of the beast. One hand on each side of the werewolf, where he
presses them hard into the flesh of the beast and pushes as if to make the two
hands meet in the middle. The beast screams out in pain as the hands sear the
flesh and burn the fur off its body. Scott holds on as the beast tries to break
free by shaking back and forth. He keeps the hands firmly dug into the beast and
continues to burn the flesh. It finally rises to its feet and grabs his body
with its hands and rips him off and tosses him away. Scott is knocked to the
ground, landing on his back. The werewolf howls out in pain as it looks at the
two hand sized wounds. Where once was lots of thick dark fur, now is two bald
spots that bleed and burn.
The main werewolf stares at Bearslayer and growls as he
charges. Bearslayer holds his ground as he sends another arrow at the massive
beast. The arrow flies through the air at the moving target. But instead of
causing great pain as the last one, this arrow only rips a hole in one of the
wolf's large ears. Before he can load another arrow, the beast is upon him and
swipes its dangerous paw and knocks the bow from his hands. The bow flies off as
Bearslayer is knocked back by the force of the blow. Eightdigit, who is also
there, swings his axe and hits the werewolf in his side. Blood spurts from its
wound as the axe digs deep into its flesh. This causes the wolf to howl out in
pain. The loud howl resonates throughout the forest and causes any nearby birds
to take flight. The wolf turns it attention to Eightdigit, who lets go of the
axe and steps back. As the wolf stares at him with its piercing eyes, it reaches
for the axe to pull it out. It uses its great strength to yank the axe from its
ribs, despite the pain. Eightdigit steps back and pulls out his pistol. It is
the first time he has used it on this journey, but feels it is as good a time as
any to use it. He only has a few dozen bullets, so he did not want to waste
them. He aims at the werewolf, who growls at him as it prepares to charge. Blood
is gushing out of the wound from the axe and from the hole where the arrow was
lodged. As the beast prepares to rush him, he takes careful aim and shoots. The
bullet zips through the air with a loud bang. No matter how fast a werewolf is,
it is slow compared to a bullet and there is no time to avoid the flying death.
The bullet hits the werewolf right in the eye. The bullet goes through the eye
and reaches the brain. Blood spurts out the eye socket and the beast screams in
pain. It falls to its knees and tries to claw at the eye socket in a desperate
attempt to try and dislodge the bullet. Eightdigit aims the gun again and shoots
it in the other eye. This sends the beast to the ground, where it rolls around
for a few seconds before finally dying.
Howlingmad struggles with the werewolf that is on top of him.
The beast tries in vain to bite his face, but he is able to get one arm free and
uses it to cover his face. The wolf does bite into his arm, tearing the flesh
and causing a great deal of pain to him. The pain is great but he knows that it
is nothing compared to what he would feel if the wolf reaches his face. But as
he struggles with the wolf, Derrick rushes over and stabs his dagger into the
side of the wolf. The dagger goes between the ribs and hits the internal organs.
This causes the wolf scream out in pain. Derrick uses this time to move back and
look for another weapon. The wolf then turns to see his attacker. . As this
happens, Derrick rushes over and grabs Howlingmad's glowing sword. He braces
himself for an attack as the werewolf looks right at him. It then jumps off
Howlingmad and rushes at the man who injured it. Bloodlust fills his eyes as the
wolf charges at Derrick. As the wolf charges at him, Derrick is able to thrust
the sword into the wolf's stomach as it leaps at him. The force of the charge
makes the sword impale the beast. Derrick falls back as he holds tight to the
sword. The wolf is above him, writhing on the sword as it tries in vain to break
free. While not killing it, the pain of the sword makes the wolf shake back and
forth as it tries to pull itself off the sword. But as it struggles, Eightdigit
comes over and strikes the werewolf in the neck with his axe. The axe digs deep
into the wolf's neck and it shakes even more violently. Eightdigit then uses his
great strength to pull the axe out of the beast's neck and takes powerful swing
at the neck. This time he is able to sever the head completely off. The head
hits the ground and bounces into the forest. The body of the wolf goes limp and
falls down the sword. The full weight of it pins Derrick to the ground. He
struggles to get free of it and finally is able to loosen himself.
The last wolf sees his pack members killed and decides to
leave and lick his wounds. He rushes into the forest and is soon out of sight.
The men all get up and look around to make sure no other attacker is around.
Scott rushes over to Howlingmad and quickly does a heal spell. Within seconds,
his wound closes and the bleeding stops. The men all look at each other and then
at Derrick. He smiles back at them and says "We have our pig." They all just
start laughing at the absurdity of the statement.
Dominant Species ©
2006 - 2007 Tom Zjaba
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