The Wurdulak (Complete)

[DalekSec]

Part 1.


The Wurdulak.

?So you witnessed her break the law then?? The inquisitor?s eyes were locked on those of First Citizen Durgan. ?Yes Your Worship. So did my eldest son Goss.? Though he had done nothing wrong, in fact having done his duty to report the crime, Durgan fidgeted in his seat. Nodding as he turned to face the accused, Inquisitor Bale drew a deep breath. ?Rea, daughter of Fomar, I put you to the question before all here in body AND spirit. Have you committed the crime of which you are accused?? If she denied the overwhelming evidence, Inquisitor Bale would make a point of taking her to the place of reflection to consider her plea as pain was applied to purify her soul.

Lifting her young face to glare at the older man who embodied all she had come to hate about her life and her people, Rea cleared her throat. ?Aye. All true. Every word of it and more.? Her calm tone covering the butterflies that grew wings of razors to tear at her guts. At least the punishments would be hers alone. Her mother and father having passed two seasons earlier without any other children. Seeing the grin spread across the thin lips of the Inquisitor, she forced her face to hold a look of disregard for his lofty appointments. ?So you deny none of the charges. Not a single one.? he asked with a calm and deadly tone. ?None Inquisitor Bale. I deny nothing brought before the court this day.? she replied in a firm yet soft tone.

Turning to the Bench, Inquisitor Bale spread his arms before the one who would decide her fate. ?Legit Narmon. From her own lips you hear her admissions. She has committed crimes against the very first articles of faith! She has taken the fruit of the most forbidden of trees and not only savored it but now speaks boastfully of having flouted some of our most precious tenets. I beg the court to show no mercy in this instance. Would we suffer the wrath of the very heavens for this ill born girl? It is clear now why her parents met such untimely fates. Their seed is cold with the sins of the very worst of womankind. Hear me oh Lord High Legit. Save us from the most blackened soul of this vile creature!? Lowering his head with his arms out in the traditional pose of courtroom decorum, Legit Bale?s face took on a deeply somber expression. Execution of one form or another was the only possible outcome. The more public and shameful the better. Knowing Legit Narmon was of the old guard when it came to such pressing matters of social morality, Inquisitor Bale forced the smile that sought to cross his lips to remain hidden until after he was alone.

The face of Legit Narmon turned slowly as if made of stone to regard the prisoner. ?Rea. Daughter of Fomar. For the crimes you hereby confess, I sentence you to exile in the Wastelands. Your transgressions endanger all of the people daring the wrath of the one true God! You will be removed from the presence of those you put in such divine jeopardy to carry the burden of your sins alone. May GOD himself have mercy on your soul!? His unexpressive face belying the harsh nature of her sentence, Rea knew she was to go forth into the land of demons just as cattle were driven to sate their appetites in hopes that the Wurdulak would spare the good citizens of Borum.

Rising to meet the jailors who would return her to her holding cell until sun fall, she stared at the young man who had claimed undying love for her. After his advances proved little more than lustful games set on taking her flower without commitment, he had told his father her most precious secret that she had entrusted to him. Though only eighteen summers old, she knew the young man?s motivations all too well. If she would not be his bed mate without benefit of law, he would see that her eighteen years ended in terror and misery.

Seeing him move slowly towards her, she tried to match his treacherous gaze. ?I warned you Rea. Not only have you overstepped your lot in life as a woman, you have damned yourself and your family name for all time.? His tone that of a child used to getting his way and while he was two years older than she, Rea could recognize how base he was now more than ever. ?Enjoy your life in the eyes of God.? she responded using the high form of a farewell as a verbal reminder of the stains on his own soul. Though his crimes against her were far less in the eyes of those like the Legit and the Inquisitor, she was certain he had a debt to pay when his own soul was weighed. Being such a dull witted man child, his blank face spoke volumes of his ignorance before her velvet covered insult.

Feeling the weight of the manacles around her wrists as they were put in place by the jailors, she saw the other women of the village peeking in from the now open doorway. Their faces a mixture of disgust and puzzlement, Rea was tempted to smile, to shout out that they were all damned to unending ignorance. Pushing her aside to address the women of the village, Inquisitor Bale beamed with pride and then took on a look of solemn concern. ?She will be removed from your midst for all time. Her name is to be forgotten and let her punishment serve all of you to see that we of Borum look to your safety and blessed innocence in all matters. She has confessed to the crime of reading and will know the terrors of her desire for forbidden fruits. Tend to your hearths, homes and men. Tell your children how important your purity of thought is! Put from your minds the names Rea and Fomar but never forget the price she paid for her sins!? Wrapping his thick cloak around his frail body, the Inquisitor strode past the women of Borum in the reverence of having done his job flawlessly. Only the lack of being afforded the chance to make the sinner suffer at the hands of his professional associates giving him any cause for regret. Still, once Rea found herself in the realm of the Wastelands after nightfall, she would suffer more horribly than anything mere pokers and fire could elicit. All in all, a good day?s work and his efforts would gain him favor not only in the halls of God, but in a most tangible way with the Guild of Legits. One day, the crimson robes would be his and his worth to the Realm would be fully recognized. For now, home and a bath were in proper order and if his wife did not have it ready as well as his meal, he could make use of the crop upon her back. A slothful woman in his eyes, she required guidance on a regular basis. Not as satisfying as the smell of burning sin or the sound of its screams, but a pleasant matter for Bale all the same.

As the sun sank into the mountains, Rea heard the key turning in the lock. Refusing to play out the terrified prisoner condemned to the most horrible of fates, she kept her expression neutral. Pondering the images of the women?s faces in her mind over and over again, she could have wished that someone would have had the courage to speak out on her behalf. She knew full well which of the other women could read simple words and had she been of a mind, she could have had others share her fate. Even possibly lessening her sentence for having turned on others who read in secret.

?No.? she whispered softly in her own thoughts as the jailors yanked the chains that dangled from her manacles. They too had the right to suffer their own destinies and it was not as if she had not begged her late father to teach her the forbidden skill. Even the texts he gave her to memorize in secret had warned of how knowledge always leads to peril. Adventurers certain of glory over the next mountain so often found their doom instead.
Now, she would be led with the cattle as just another offering for the Wurdulak. Stories whispered in the dark to scare children and remind adults of how much worse their lot in life could be told of the Wurdulaks taste for flesh and most of all, blood. The ancients wrote of the bodies of cattle found drained and butchered and the occasional traveler who wandered too far into the Wastelands. Never returning or coming back addle minded with tales of giant monsters. Demons that were hated by God himself and forced to remain in the ruined lands so the people might thrive. The only price, a few animals for them to feed upon and now, Rea as an offering to demonstrate the people?s adherence to the law.

All faces turned from her as she was led out of the village in the cart. The smell of the other animals as thick as the buzzing pests that kept them all company. Only three members of the priest class and the Inquisitor himself rode with her. Their purpose to make sure that not only the gifts made it to their intended but that the heretic would not forget that the people?s divine justice was not to blame. ?Your own sins my child and now you reap the reward of your sins.? an elder priest admonished her lest she rage against the village in a last act of evil. Far from it, Rea was content to try to think of the happy stories her father had taught her to read. The comforting smell of his breath after he would indulge in his pipe. How his hands, so rough from the forges of his Smithy held the ability to be so gentle on her shoulders. His sad face as he saw her become more disenchanted with the world she had been born to.

Glancing at the Inquisitor, she saw his thin face go pale as the markers announced they had entered the outer realm of the Wurdulak. His mount bucking gently under his saddle, the crop came down on the sides of the frightened creature without any hint of mercy. ?Be still Eo. Keep this up and I will send you along with the other offerings and find another beast when I walk back alone!? he shouted. His voice cracking as he shared the fears of his mount. ?At least he will turn back soon and I will be spared that VOICE.? Rea mused silently as a faint smile crept across her face. Being dragged to certain doom in the back of a cart for all to see was one thing, being annoyed by Bale?s self indulgent chatter was quite another.

Having never seen this part of the world, Rea was naturally curious. The huge metal gate that greeted them stood taller than even the spires of the faithful. Had it been a cloudy day, she was certain the clouds themselves could not vault over the doors. As the three priests stood before it with their arms outstretched, their voices rose in chanting. ?We the sons of the one true God have no fear of you. We bring this offering in accordance with the law. Accept your banishment oh dreadful Wurdulak as we rejoice in the comfort of God?s grace.?

As their voices grew still, the huge metal gates groaned and slowly crept open. More nervous than ever, Inquisitor Bale beat upon the side of his mount. Rea, having raised many such animals and being an accomplished rider could see the subtle movements of his foot and thigh directing the beast to point its body and nose back to the safety of the village. Making a show of his willingness to chastise the seemingly wayward animal, Bale shouted an apology as the creature began dashing towards home. ?What point to life with men as he leading us.? Rea whispered out of earshot of the priests.

Watching them unshackle her wrists to bind them once more with more easily replaced leather, she found herself being dragged from the cart. Her bare feet hitting the cool grass as they hurried her along to join the cattle already past the gate. Turning to see the priests hurry back to the cart and the path back to the village, Rea offered a wide smile. Though scared at a level she had never known before, she wanted them to know she was not as fearful as they.

Seeing the mighty gates grind slowly shut, she finally let a tear escape her eyes. Soon enough she would join her father and mother as she could never accept the vengeful nature of God. While the priests screamed warnings and the Legits unleashed the fury of the Inquisitors upon the people, was such a hateful God worth paying homage to? In hushed voices late at night, her mother had assured her that mere mortals can not bind God and define him. Padding along in the ranks of the cattle, she heard the scrape of claws on dirt. In the waning light, glowing eyes, red and fierce surrounded her on all sides as trees afforded the owners of those eyes cover. Shaking and saying her prayers, Rea waited to meet her fate.

Watching out of the corners of her own, she saw the glowing red eyes emerge from the woods. Short stocky bodies on four feet moved in unison from both sides of the parade of offerings to herd them along. Howling and snapping at stragglers, their sharp fangs caught what little light was left to gleam menacingly. Like the dogs of the village, their form was similar but Rea knew their name. ?Wolves.? A hate so old to any who kept cattle or other livestock, wolves took on the mantel of pure evil in so many tales. Feeling one walk directly into her from the side, Rea cried out. Its fur so coarse and yet slick at the same moment, glancing along her body. Soon another came to stare at her and then growl as if to remind her that she was not like the other gifts the village had sent. Forming ridges at their backs and offering their fangs, the wolves made it clear she was to be separated from the cattle.

Whimpering a little now that no other people were around to see her fright, Rea stepped out of the line of cattle and found herself encircled by five of the wolves. Being nipped at with fangs that caught on her simple homespun dress, she let herself be guided in another direction. Blinding lights burned from above to strike her in ways as to cast the most troubling shadows. Rea bit her lip and obeyed the bodily commands of the wolves.

Stumbling over an unseen lip in the dirt, Rea fell to her knees and shook as the company of wolves snarled at her. Feeling the largest of them grip her right forearm in its jaws to yank her forward, she was stunned that the creature?s fangs did not break the skin. Drawing her knees under herself, she rose with the aid of her bound hands and limped along in the direction the wolves drove her. More lights came to life from high above until she found herself before another cyclopean metal gateway. Here the lights grew even more intense and took on a blue hue. Stunned to consider the nature of creatures able to work metal on such a scale, Rea fought to study the nature of the structures. Shutting her eyes tightly against the blazing illumination at last, she felt her skin grow warm. After what seemed an eternity, the stinging of her eyes ceased and though she saw a multitude of spots, she could open her eyes without pain again.

The wolves seemed unfazed by the process and made a point of pushing her on after the second metal door way had slowly opened. The smell of thunderstorms and the tingling of her thick auburn hair made her think of more pleasant evenings around the hearth with her parents. Tall stories and jokes only family would understand as some storm passed by always eased her natural fear of such weather. Looking down, she could see the floor had changed as well. While thick with dust and giving evidence of her progress with the line of footprints that she left, she could see that it was made of a shiny metal now long neglected. Unlike the products of her father, the village Smithy, it seemed almost flawless under the thick blanket of dust.

Having been stopped by the wolves and it being very clear that she was to stand where their muzzles pointed, Rea took a moment to push more of the dust aside with her foot. No seams or rivets met her eyes and she could only wonder how such objects were fashioned. Her eyes darting around the great hall she found her heart beating at a pace more rapid than she could ever recall. Looking up she saw the pillars that stood before her were actually chair legs of such proportion as to be all but unimaginable. The high back of the chair only barely visible after craning her neck. ?Giants!? she hissed as her fingers and toes grew numb with fright. Were the rambling words of the few who had ventured into the Wastelands and returned true? Was the area populated by demons of such amazing stature?

Pondering the more unpleasant aspects of her fate as the captive of such mammoth beings, her ears picked up the loud scrape of leather on grit. Feeling the vibrations under her bare feet, Rea?s first thought was to hide. Moving back from the enormous chair she met the growls and stares of the wolves. Here they meant for her to stay and her choice was apparently a simple one. Face the monster whose footsteps were now making her body quiver beyond the trembling brought on by fear alone or, take on the jaws of her guards.

While what a giant might make of her and what sport it might see in tormenting her was not an appealing thought, the shining fangs of the wolves were an all too familiar threat. To be torn asunder by those snarling jaws was a powerful enough image to keep her from breaking into a desperate race she knew she could not hope to win. Forcing her eyes to move to the source of the sounds, she saw the being enter the great hall. His eyes glowing with a red flame matching those of the wolves. His hairless head almost beyond the reach of her visual abilities as he strode it to take his place in the chair. The pale and deathly pallor of his skin making him look more like a corpse than one of the living only seemed to reinforce the doom he promised her. Sunken cheeks, now more prominent as he sat, made the bones of his skull stand out with greater menace. Leaning forward from his perch, he silently stared at her.

Howling erupted as though the wolves were reporting the find to their master and while she could not understand the conversation of growls and twitching fur, she could garner its basic meaning. She was being presented as an anomaly among the usual delivery of cattle to their master and he would decide her ultimate fate. His expression unchanged until the curling of the edges of his lips, Rea screamed. As his mouth opened in a grin of long sharp fangs, she embraced the horrible truth. The old tales were correct. Drinkers of blood like the bats that fed on unsuspecting cattle, his teeth left little doubt as to their intended function. Seeing his nostrils flair. Rea wondered if death by lupine jaws was such a poor choice after all.

Turning to run and make some vain effort at escape, Rea felt the jaws of the wolves gripping her wrists and then her ankles. Making quick work of the single leather lash that tied her wrists, the wolves demonstrated the power of their jaws. Her wrists sore, in a blur two wolves had each of them in a grip of iron. Tugging her to the ground, forcing her to fall flat on her back, she could see the face of the demon looming above her. His fangs bared as the fifth wolf began snarling in its own rage. The largest of the creatures seeming to take pleasure in her helpless struggles, it gripped the front of her dress at the neck line and tugged with its jaws. Hearing the fabric rip and feeling the cooler air embrace her exposed bosom, Rea cried out in abject terror. Trying to pull free of the grip each wolf had on her limbs, she could only scream as her dress was torn apart. Laying on the rags that had been her garment her sense of danger found a new apex. The largest of the wolves, standing above her took on a look of hunger that went far beyond food. Feeling its fur covered body press down on her from above, she came to dread its intentions most of all. As impossible as it seemed, she became convinced it intended to ravage her in the way of a male.

Fears as old as the first warnings from the first mother to her first daughter came flooding into Rea?s mind. Was death not enough? Would shame and complete humiliation be part of the punishment for her sins? Feeling the warm fury hips of the wolf rub along her bare thigh, she was tempted to beg for a quick end. Looking up into the grinning face of the demon, she saw his expression change ever so slowly to one of puzzlement and then almost that of sorrow. His thin lips trembling, a voice that sounded like the grave itself on a scale beyond consideration offered one word. ?Patrol.? The glowing red eyes of her giant captor closing as if to try to erase what they had seen, Rea felt the jaws slip from her wrists and ankles as the male on top of her bounded away to join the others in their duties.

Drawing herself into a tight ball, she sobbed. All of the bravery that had held her steady in the face of her more mundane oppressors now spent, her mind retreated into the realm of a child?s inconsolable tears. Shutting the world out, she never noticed the hand moving towards her or the silken cloth it placed upon her. Rumbling gravelly words from high above were mere sounds to her thoughts as they drew deeper into her private shells. Her body twitching as sharp breaths were drawn in only to escape as wracking tear soaked cries, Rea could still sense the huge eyes above her.

After a period she could not grasp in a measurement of time, she found the strength to pull the silken cover around her body. Sitting up, she forced her eyes aloft to meet the unyielding stare of her captor. His face once more a mask of emotionless inquiry, she drew her legs under the cloth. ?What is your name and why have you come?? With a sound like gathering storm clouds in the distance, the giant posed the simple questions. ?Rea. Daughter of Fomar. As for why I am here, you should know better than any.? Feeling her wits return to steel her resolve, Rea felt she had displayed enough terror for one night. Still shaking under the cloth, she decided her tormentor?s pleasure would not include any further offerings of panic on her part. Waiting for some measurable effect that her words would have on her captor, Rea glared into the glowing red eyes above her. ?I have no idea why you are here. Are you lost?? Moving his fang laden jaw in a way that made it look as if he was trying to recall how it functioned, Rea scowled. If this was some game on his part it was not funny and he would not elicit any more fear on her part.

?Get it over with!? she screamed at last choosing to force his hand no matter how large it was. Far worse that her dreadful fate was being made to wait for its implementation. A simple lifting of his boot to bring it down upon her would end both her life and the more terrifying images her own mind could use to torment her. Rising to her feet, Rea clutched the cloth around her shoulders with one hand as she beat upon the toe of his left boot. ?Hear me demon? Make it quick!? She howled no longer willing to play the helpless prisoner of her cruel fate. Seeing the toe of the boot turn to grind the grit under its sole, Rea caught her breath. Whispering prayers she felt the pounding in her chest as she anticipated what she hoped would be a swift end. As the boot grew still once more, she looked up ready to press her case of a merciful death only to find the face of her captor above her with an expression that made her jaw drop. Comical in its confusion, his face now wore a furrowed brow and his menacing eyes seemed to scan her as one might an unexpected duck in one?s chicken coop.

Giving into the temptation to express her own feelings, Rea laughed expecting her open disrespect to stoke the ire of the giant demon. ?Don?t want to muss your fine boots LORD?? she shouted before turning to retrieve the torn remnants of her dress. Striding back to his boot, she began using the ruined dress to wipe away the dist and grime that clung to the leather. ?I promise not to make too much of a mess on your fine boots LORD and I am sure a simple scrape of the sole across the floor will see the last of me. Come now! Show me how terrible you can be DEMON LORD! Wurdulak! See I know your name! Now you have to end my life! WHAT ARE YOU WATING FOR?? Cackling mockingly on the edge of a complete loss of self control, she dug into the seam welt between the boot and its sole. Pushing the accumulated filth from the space, she cut her hand on a particularly sharp thread. Screaming out, more in frustration than pain, Rea looked up once more as the scent of the acrid leather overpowered her nose.

Now the giant?s face took on a look of hunger that made her shudder in spite of herself. Tempted to back away, she chose to smear her bleeding wound along the side of the smooth leather. ?There. See now I am of flesh and blood. Yes BLOOD! I and all my people know you thirst for blood! Take your fill from my body and set me free of your foul presence!? Holding her injured hand up before him as he leaned closer to inspect the wound, Rea was certain she had crossed the threshold of his patience. At any moment one of his huge hands would swoop down and she would know the fearsome bite of his terrible jaws. A gruesome fate but immediate and that was a blessing of a sort.

Closing her eyes, she felt the pressure of his fingers as they gripped her tiny body as a child might carelessly scoop up a worn and familiar doll. The sensation of vertigo as she was lifted high in the air, making her stomach drop. Her legs dangling and the silken cloth pressed to her body, she kept her eyes closed. Fearing her bravery would crack at the sight of his sharp fangs, surely the last image she would know in this life, she wanted to leave him with nothing to savor except her blood. The echoing sounds of his boots stomping on the metal floor to echo throughout the hall left her confused. Chancing a quick look, she saw she was now being carried to another part of the cave. Angry that he had upped the stakes to make her await her certain death, Rea beat upon the sides of his fist as he held her. ?Damn you DEMON! Finish me!? she shrieked only to find he was ignoring her. Enraged beyond all reason, Rea sank her teeth into the flesh of his index finger only to find the taste foul. Having no effect on the Wurdulak, Rea tried to pull free of his grip. Though high in the air, she had no real fear of falling as that, at least would mean the end for her.

Entering the room, her eyes burned once more with lights that were brighter than the sun at noon and put to shame the best of torches. Smells she could not hope to identify assaulted her nose and made her eyes water. Shivering after she found herself placed in a tray of metal with sides high enough to make her think of the enclosures for animals, she pulled the cloth tighter across her body. Was this some altar to his own dark ways and a required ritual before feasting upon his victim? Rea?s mind grasping at straws as she tried to recall every tale of the Wurdulak she had been told or read in secret.

Seeing the giant demon take a seat across from the table her container sat upon, she backed away to press against the farthest edge. ?Your hand.? his voice whispered in a tone that held the power of a command. As he held a stick with what looked like spun wool around the tip, Rea could smell the strong scent it held. Hesitantly offering her cut hand, she closed her eyes as he moved the stick closer to her. Feeling it touch her wound, Rea screamed out. Like the brews concocted by the healers in the village such as her mother, it burned upon her flesh. Yanking her hand back to cradle it in the other against her chest, she spat a string of curses she only half remembered her father using when working his forge. ?Vile soul wrenching FILTH! Must you make me suffer before making a meal of me?? she screamed while drawing the cloth over her ample bosom once more. While fuller of body than most of the maidens considered among the comeliest, Rea had found the boys of her village noticing her early development at a young age. Her rounded middle having been the brunt of a few very harsh jests as to her being with child at an impossible age. Still, though she valued her mind and wits above her looks, she had managed to catch the eye of Goss, son of the First Citizen. Though only a desire for the conquest of her flower, a quest he never completed, he had wanted her enough to utterly destroy her life when she held fast to her honor.

Watching the demon hold up an tube constructed of a clear substance Rea had never seen before, she shook her head. ?No more! KILL ME or leave me alone! No more of your torments Wurdulak!? she howled in stalwart defiance. Glancing at the burning red eyes of her captor, she felt her blood run cold. Unlike Goss who was little more than a spoiled child, the giant face before her held the look of one used to being obeyed by matter of earned rule rather than fortunes of birth. ?Your hand.? he insisted in a tone that allowed for no argument. ?Very well. Have your fun but if you expect pleas for mercy, prepare to be disappointed.? Rea spat out before offering her shaking hand once more for his torture. Feeling a cold liquid spread along the angles of her trembling hand, she found it growing warmer with a heat that felt almost pleasant. Before her very eyes, the gash upon her hand closed in on itself to leave a mark so faint as to make her wonder if it would even scar.

Flexing her fingers as she examined the fading red line that had been her open wound, Rea paused to look up at the demon. Was this yet more trickery to raise her hopes only to suckle upon her sorrow as they were dashed? Feeling she should offer some form of gratitude, she mumbled a quiet word of thanks. ?You?re welcome.? came the voice that still sounded as though it had forgotten how to speak properly. Jumping in place as the sound of a horn blared from all around the huge room, Rea huddled tightly to herself under the cloth. Seeing his hand reach for her to cage her within its fingers before she could react, Rea whimpered. Once more she felt herself being lifted and carried like a small animal to yet another chamber of the strange cave.

Almost rolling from the giant hand as it opened its fingers, Rea found herself on the surface of another giant table. Unlike the last, this one held smells and sights that while unusual in their execution, were familiar. Plates and utensils surrounded her and while her stomach protested that fact that she had not eaten since the night before the hearing, seeing knives and forks of such outrageous proportions did nothing to calm her nerves. Perhaps not a savage demon given to simply biting down upon her like a wild animal, somehow the image of herself being eaten in a more civilized manner was all the more disturbing.

Backing away from the enormous face as it moved towards her, she impacted onto a tall pitcher causing it to topple over. Crying out as the water rushed to cover her bare feet, he arms moving to cover her face as if to fend off the vision that confronted her, Rea heard him speak. ?Eat.? Looking above her crossed arms, she felt her anger brewing. ?Then do it and stop teasing me Wurdulak. I am TIRED of your games!? Stomping her foot to splash in the pooled water where she stood, she saw his deathly face take on a puzzled expression once more.

Standing her ground on the wet surface of the table, she heard claws scrape close beside her. Turning, she saw the largest of the wolves with brightly glowing eyes dragging a cloth held in its jaws across the spilled water. Like the trained animal acts of the entertainers who visited the village after harvest, it seemed to know its tasks and was content to simply stare at her. Mopping up the liquid, pulling the thick cloth through the water until the majority had been sopped up, it turned to pad off in the direction it had come from.

Relieved that the wolf did not seem to have lust or violence on its mind, Rea turned back to confront her captor with a defiant look. While the demon may have possessed powers beyond her comprehension, she began to see him as more of a cruel child presented with the opportunity to torment a helpless creature. His tending to her wound nothing more than a prelude to his adventures in malice. Realizing she was nude, a condition never acceptable outside of the most private confines of one?s domicile, Rea grabbed up the cloth she had been wearing and resumed her natural modesty. He may well subject her to a most cruel death but if he intended to ogle her without a fight, he would learn she was not obliging just as Goss had come to know. While his eyes burned in their sockets, she could sense the familiar tingling of the attentions of a member of the opposite sex but his face also held a wisp sadness as though he was recalling an unhappy memory.

Moving a plate closer to her, the demon?s jaw shuddered as he repeated the word ?Eat?. Seeing the slabs of meat piled high and dripping with gravy combined with the heady scent of a well cooked meal, Rea found herself salivating. ?Trying to fatten me up?? she asked a little hesitantly before she could bite down upon the words, fearing she was falling into his intended game. ?What?? again his voice seemed to crawl through a throat long unaccustomed to speaking aloud.

He must have sensed that he was making her all the more uneasy as he sat back in his seat giving her a little more space in which to make up her mind about the meal. Dipping her fingers into the gravy and sniffing the thick sauce, she slowly brought her fingertips to her lips. Licking at the gravy only gave rise to pangs of hunger that howled with the same ferocity as the wolves. Seeing the utensils were of no use to her, their enormity making them impossible to wield, she resorted to gripping a hunk of the meat and tearing it off with her hands. Soaked in the thick gravy that made generous use of salt, a most precious commodity, she had no recollection of dining in such a fine manner. ?Being a demon pays well I think.? she muttered only to hear her captor stifle a soft chuckle. ?Your ears work well enough I see.? she stated flatly having given up on worrying about her loose commentary of the one who now held her prisoner. If he took offense the worst he could do was offer her torment and death and he could do so at anytime her liked. Being a rational sort, Rea held no delusions that her protests or meager struggles could fend off his intentions should he choose to end the fa?ade of polite behavior. In light of such overwhelming logic, being honest about her feelings and thoughts seemed only appropriate.

Catching sight of a cloth like the one used by the wolf to soak up the spilled water at the other side of the plate, Rea walked towards it. Making use of it between handfuls of dripping meat, she tried to keep her glances towards the giant to a minimum. ?Not eating?? she asked though the possible answers made her shiver. Too easily her situation could change in the grip of those giant hands and deciding if the sight of him eating or his hesitation to do so was more troubling proved a very tough call. His nodding head made her wonder all the more. Seeing him reach into a container that stood too tall for her to peer into, her eyes went wide as he lifted out a fully matured bovine. Its hooves kicking as his fingers clutched it making Rea feel faint. Bringing the helpless and terrified animal to his mouth, the vision of his jaw opening to reveal the long sharp fangs it held was almost too much for Rea?s constitution.

Witnessing his fangs sink into the flesh of the creature as it cried out its last, the blood filling the demon?s mouth to drip from the corners of his thin gray lips, Rea felt her own meal struggle to escape her stomach. Too horrified to scream, she fell to her knees and tried to force her eyes from the gruesome sight. As the animal grew still, its legs hanging limply as the demon?s teeth held fast at its spine, Rea felt as though the room had begun to spin around her. The sounds of the animal?s spine ripping and the sensation of blood spattering upon her face and chest was the final straw. Unaware of how she came to be laying on her side on the damp surface of the table, her eyes closed, shutting out the sight of the beast?s terrible end.

[DalekSec]

Not sure if folks are into this or not, but here is part to in any case.



PT2

Waking in the room that was obviously meant for healing, Rea?s eyes tried to focus on the ceiling high above. Squares of light were spaced at intervals next to others that did not glow. ?What strange torches.? she thought to herself as she lost all hope that her ordeal thus far might have been a dream. Discovering she was not laying in a pan as she had last time, she sat up and looked around the room. Her captor nowhere to be found, she got shakily to her feet. Hugging the covering that was draped over her shoulders, she found it was of a different color now. Bright red and it had a clean scent. ?How long?? she whispered aloud while trying to guess at the time. With no sun, moon or stars to observe, she found her sense of time had left her.

Walking cautiously towards the edge of the table, Rea?s breath caught as she saw the metal floor so far below. Never one to appreciate heights, she carefully walked backwards away from the edge. A prison without bars by sheer height alone. She was free it seemed to explore the realm of the table and nothing more. Unless she sprouted wings, the demon Wurdulak had trapped her most efficiently until he came to claim her once more. Walking the length of the table, leaving a healthy distance between herself and the edge, she saw the large clear container that lay on the floor and from the shadow of the form that dwelt within, it became obvious where her tormentor was residing. ?Like the dead themselves.? she hissed before offering a short prayer for protection from her God. Kneeling so that she could move closer to the edge without the sense of the world going wobbly, she squinted to make out as much detail as she could. Mists floated all around the demon and wafted across the top of the casket. Its open top appeared to glow with lights that made Rea think of the sparks that came with lightening storms. Even the scent, while melded with the other strange smells of the room carried the same odor as when she had been assaulted with light at the gates of his domain.

?Truly this is the land of the dead.? she spoke in a hushed voice as images of the brutal death of his last meal flashed in her mind. Was he simply saving her for a special occasion like a goose spared until one of the mandatory religious festivals? Was that why he tended her cut and fed her a meal fit for the highest Legit in the land? At least she was not hanging from a hook to cure in some smoke house and that was a good thing. Wasn?t it? Once more she pondered the drawn out torment that waiting produced. Better to run, leap off the table as a jilted lover might make use of a high cliff. A sudden end and he could wake to find she had escaped in her own little way of her own choosing.

While the taking of one?s own life was a sin as bad as that of a woman learning to read, Rea felt the God her mother and father spoke of would understand both actions on her part. How was suffering a spiritual matter and how could any God worthy of devotion expect his creations to endure such torments. Hanging her head, Rea reminded herself that her parents were already waiting for her in the next life and that was a most comforting thought. Death, quick and definite would be her only means of escape and no matter how she looked at the problem, that was the answer that remained.

Standing and turning her back on the edge of the table, Rea let her tears wet her cheeks. Hearth and home would not be her lot and death would come at the tender age of eighteen summers. Crossing her arms against her chest, she took a step backwards. Followed by another and another. Fear still tugging at her thoughts, she wanted her end to be an abrupt and surprising drop beyond her control. Reaching back with her left foot, her toes pressing to the cool surface of the table, she lowered her heel. Feeling it drop past the angle that she thought it should, she closed her eyes and let herself fall. The sickening sensation of the plunge making her body tense, she screamed out only to feel her body strike a soft mass at the end of the descent. Thinking that the metal floor was anything but soft, she bolted to a sitting position and felt the mass move under her weight. The bed of pelts moved to snort and growl at her. With less malice towards her than before, Rea came to realize she had landed upon the wolves that had ushered her to the demon. Confused as they seemed uninjured, just as she was, made her thoughts race at a furious pace. Expecting to be torn apart by the wolf pack as soon as they regained their wits and wind, she felt instead the soft trilling coming deep from within their bodies. Faint snores and occasional grunts responded to her movements as she carefully slid from their ranks. Glowing eyes looked up to regard her only to close once more as they chose slumber over carnage.

?Such training in your kind. Another dark miracle here I suppose.? she remarked quietly only to get a smirking stare from the alpha that had given consideration to ravaging her. Holding perfectly still until the eyes of the large gray wolf closed again, Rea realized she had not planned for this shocking eventuality. So ready to accept her end, she shook and viewed the height of the drop she had taken. The edge of the table so high above her that it made her stomach spin to think of it.

Making her mind up not to squander her new found freedom, considering how she might have died, Rea gripped the red cloth around her body and ran along the metal floor for the prospect of possible escape. Feeling the dust and grit under her well callused feet, she turned her head in every direction in hopes of some route of escape. Expecting the wolves to give chase, she pricked up her ears for the sound of claws on metal. Hearing no such sounds, she ran for another high gate and found herself in a dark room of many dim lights. Flashing in odd patterns and in different colors, she could not help but stare. Bursting upon her without warning, the room grew dazzling in a way that would have dimmed the brightest day. Shielding her eyes against the glare, she heard the sound of metal grinding against metal.

Turning to see the gate sliding shut with a huge metal wall, Rea scrambled to try to slip through the closing gap. Seeing it had sealed too quickly, she jumped back in a near panic. Trapped once more and now in a room that began to hum all around her, she wondered if she had only managed to worsen her fate if that was even possible.

One thought kept nagging at her as she hesitantly crept across the floor of the room. So far, only one of the demons had presented himself to her and the people of her village had always spoken of the Wurdulak in the plural. Was it simply a matter of her being given to the one demon or were others laying in wait within the musty shadows of the cave? Tying the red cloth around her neck like a cloak, Rea felt a little more secure in her natural modesty. Sprinting towards the relative safety of a gigantic chair leg, Rea examined the lattice work of its metal frame. So much like a ladder as to tease her sense of curiosity, she reached out to grasp a rung like support and carefully worked her way up to the cushion of the seat. Sweeping the thick dust away with her foot, Rea could only wonder how long it had been since someone of any size had made use of it. Grabbing the edge of the table before her, she pulled herself up to the surface of the desk. Her bare skin chilled, she found one of the sources of the humming and the flashing lights.

A slab as large as the foundation of a small house lay in front of her. Blocks with letters that seemed to spell out nothing she could hope to recognize stood with symbols, the meaning of which, only a few were familiar to her. Numbers and single blocks with whole words further tantalized Rea with their possible significance. One stood out with a most pleasant word. ?Home?. Sounding it out a few times to be certain she was not mistaking its meaning, Rea hung her head. ?If only it was that simple.? Not only did she not hold faith in magic such as a simple block with a pleasing word might offer, but even if it did serve to whisk her home by some supernatural force, that was no solution. She was still an outcast and her exile left no room for appeal. Were she to appear in the main square of her village, it would only mean the Inquisitor and Legit would have another go at her and this time they might press for a simple hanging in view of her miraculous if unwelcome return.

Reaching out with her left foot to make a line in the dust upon one of the blocks, she almost dove from the surface of the giant table. Flickering to life, a window with a clear shield came to life. Seeing faces staring back at her of a size closer to her own, she wondered if it was a prison for those who had come before her. Moving closer to the glowing surface of the window, she waved and then tried pounding her fist against the odd material. ?Can you hear me? Who are you? Can you help me?? she spoke in a hushed voice that ached to scream. Seeing none of the others react in any way to her attempts to gain their attention, she felt a tingling on the palms of her hands. Pressing them to the surface of the odd cage, she got the sense of ants crawling along her flesh to tickle and tease her fingers and palms. Even her thick auburn hair began to stand on edge and stick out at odd angles. Laying her cheek to the surface, she found it had the same effect. Looking closely at the cage, she could see the images were actually made of tiny dots like the grand mosaics said to grace the homes of the very wealthy in the more prosperous towns and villages. ?Pictures? Moving pictures?? she wondered aloud as she watched them.

Taking a moment to consider what she was seeing, her stomach sank. The people in the box were dressed in the same clothes as her demonic captor. Grey one piece outfits that closed in a the front in a way she could not guess at. Tall black boots exactly like the one she had pounded on and then tried to clean in an act of bold mockery. Looking closer at the faces of the images, she was sure she could pick out that of the Wurdulak who now slept within his clear casket. Though in the moving picture he looked young and even handsome, unlike the deathly visage he presented now, the shape of his brow, nose and mouth were unmistakable.


Gasping as she touched a shaking hand to the face of her giant captor in the strange box, Rea listened to the conversation he was having with his fellow Wurdulak.

?Captain Evans. I must try to explain the situation one more time. The mass of this planet makes lift off impossible even if the ship were not so badly damaged. Our only logical choice is to carry out our mission as best we can and hope for rescue. Mission control and NORAD on Luna KNOW were are missing and will mount a search and rescue mission. This is a Terra-forming ship and we can do just exactly that here!? The older man with more braid on his uniform scowled at the person Rea recognized as her demon.

?Dr. Stewart. I know you mean well but we BOTH understand the original mission was to begin terra forming Europa. This planet is nothing like Europa and wherever we are in the universe, I and the navigator have no clue! Whatever we passed through, be it a Wormhole or gateway or God only knows, we can not even guess at our present location. I will not even get into temporal theory when it comes to such vast distances in the known universe. Where would Space Command even begin to look for us? Further, if you did not notice, I think they have their hands full with the alien armada was saw on the long range scanners moving through the asteroid belt. Do we even HAVE a planet to go home to IF we can ever make lift off happen?? Raising his hand to stifle an argument he seemed to anticipate from Dr. Stewart, the older man nodded. ?I agree we have no basis to assume they were hostile except my onboard paranoia as a military man of many years. Point taken. However, the facts are just what they are. We knew the chemistry and biology of Europa as well as its mass and orbit. We can only guess at what kind of soup we have here. Already we know the density and mass of this rock is far greater than either Earth OR Europa. Thankfully not enough to crush the ship but I would not advise going for a jog in the atmosphere we have been stuck with unless you wear an environmental suit. We have limited scans of this planet before we set down and are still trying to figure out the orbit. Unless you have some magic tricks up your sleeve you never disclosed as we trained for this mission, I can only assume we are here to stay and have little if anything to do as we wait for help that will not and can not come.?

Dr. Stewart as Rea came to know his name nodded. ?Yes Dan. I know all your objections. I accept that rescue is probably a non-issue. I accept that all of our calculations for Europa are now null and void. But, if we are to spend the rest of our lives here, why not take the time to do the science and if we can terra form this world, well, do it. Let us assume you are right in your military hunch. The ships we saw were heading for Earth and were hostile and we can not match their technology. Then, given that set of circumstances, are we not obligated to TRY to leave some legacy behind? Is it not our duty to TRY to preserve some aspect of Earth and humanity? Dan?Captain Evans?Let me effort this with the computers and at least see if we are even able to do so. If we can?t. FINE! I accept that. But, if we can plant a seed of what may be the last of our world, let me try to convince you to allow something of us to endure.? His soulful eyes following the Captain, Rea felt a pang of sympathy for the demon though she only understood a fraction of what he was talking about.

?Alright. Three conditions. One, there is NO sign of native vertebrate life, sentient or not. It is one thing to play God with mindless jellyfish as was found on Europa and quite another to massacre a developing world to suit our tastes. I will not force developed alien life in another direction from its natural evolution. Two, it is feasible to try. If nothing else the gene banks on the ship will last indefinitely as you well know. A shabby epitaph for our world but better than wasted efforts for nothing. Third, well, third is a wild card. If we find a way off this rock, it is our duty to try to find our way home no matter how impossible that may be.? Nodding slowly, Dr. Stewart agreed to all the conditions offered.

Rea was fascinated. Was this the prehistory of the world flashing before her eyes? Did it all begin with demons and, she hoped, the one true God bringing life to the world from the stars? If that was true, why was her demon tormentor the one to argue that her world deserved life? It was all so terribly confusing and while she never felt chained to the dogma of the faith of her people, Rea was squeamish about redefining who were the demons and who might be the God.

Leaning upon one of the moving blocks on the platform before her, Rea watched the image speed up until the movements of the figures were like that of children at rapid play. Their voices becoming a high pitched whine until she lifted her weight from the button. Watching a scene far different and more tragically familiar, Rea?s breath caught. Laying in a casket of a more common looking sort than the one occupied by the Wurdulak she now knew had a name, Rea saw the one that had been called ?Captain? in repose. His arms crossed over his chest and his hat placed with care on his lower torso, the ceremony was evident in its meaning. If they were demons they knew death on a personal level.

?Hell of a way to die Captain.? a young woman spoke with a catch in her voice that gave evidence to tears trying to express themselves. As the figures stood around the casket, Rea could not help but notice that all present were looking sickly. As those present in the box of moving images raised their right hands above their foreheads, music began to play from an unseen source. Jumping with a cry of fright, Rea turned at the sound of the high metal gate sliding open and saw her captor step into the strange room of the magic box.

Expecting at last to know the worst of his wrath, Rea did not wish to run as the images were still so fascinating. If she was to die this very moment, she wanted to see as much of the demons and their ways before her end came. Shaking as she watched one of the hands of the ghastly remains of the man she saw in the box, Rea was all the more puzzled as his fingers grasped a knob on one of the smaller boxes that only offered sounds. As the music grew louder, his hand drew back and away from her. Lifting his right hand in the same gesture as his younger self, Rea was certain she saw tears erupt from his glowing eyes to creep along his hollow cheeks.

Listening to the music and the words of the invisible singer, Rea was left to wonder what a rampart was or why Star Spangled Banner, whatever that might be, would fly.

[Tinn]

Interesting. Do go on.

[DalekSec]

I had all but given up on posting the rest of this. Thank you Tinn.


PT 3

Slowly turning the back of the chair to the side, what remained of Dr. Stewart sat and hung his head. The music having ended, his eyes moved to the keyboard of the ship’s computer. “Would you know it all then Rea?” he asked in a soft tone that argued against his frightening appearance. “Yes. Yes of course I would.” Rea blurted out, forgetting for the moment that her captor could abuse her at any moment.

Nodding his head, the few strands left of the thick dark hair that graced the head of his younger self danced and waved. “Then have the truth of it.” his fingers moving to the keys. Tapping on them to form words Rea could only partially understand, she saw his younger self staring at her from the box. His face pale and tired, she could not keep from experiencing a measure of sympathy for him.

“Science officer’s log.” the younger version of her captor within the magical box began. “With the death of Captain Evans I have been placed in command. Not an enviable position to be sure. After examining the readings and sifting through the data, I feel confident that with a few modifications to the programs, we can terra-form this world. The gravity well is a daunting issue and while atmospheric conditions are already being modified, one solution presents an intriguing possibility. Using all of the technology at my disposal, I have decided to alter the genomes of the samples in storage. Since the mass of this planet would make it difficult for Terran species to survive comfortably at their normal size, I have set in place changes in the D.N.A. to reduce their stature. Of course, if Earth still exists, my tampering with the samples on such a profound level would be a matter of severe criminal prosecution. However, as I, the crew and the late Captain Evans have come to accept, the chances of our ever seeing home again are all but nonexistent.”

The face of the younger version of her demon mirrored the sad expression of the Wurdulak that sat behind Rea. Watching the man in the box look up once more with a troubled expression, Rea felt his hesitancy to verbalize his concerns.

“On a more personal note. It would appear the samples of the native atmosphere, flora and limited fauna I have ordered brought aboard have been our undoing. Bacteria from the samples has escaped containment and already I and the rest of the crew are exhibiting signs of infection. It would seem this planet will exact a measure of revenge after all for our meddling. I was able to isolate the samples in the gene banks and inoculate them against the effects but as for us, I can see it is too late. Already our bodies are changing and to stem the complete collapse of our digestive systems, I have begun modifying our D.N.A. through gene therapy. Solid foods will be of little use to us in short order and it would appear that our nourishment will come directly from blood. One positive note I suppose, the changes along with regular use of the hibernation chambers will prolong our lives far past any normal count of years for a human being. May God forgive me. I have managed to make of us one of mankind’s oldest terrors.”

Turning to the giant being that sat behind her, Rea’s eyes went wide. If what she was watching was true, here before her was the creator of her people and their world. But, here also sat a being who was forced to admit to his own crimes and mistakes. His giant fingertip pressing the button once more to blur through the ancient recording he knew by heart, his face took on an even more tragic expression. The face in the magic box was already showing more profound signs of the horrific transformation towards his present day appearance. The elongated teeth and glowing eyes making a nightmare of the man’s original form.

“Too late. The higher species took root on this planet too late to be of much help to us. Once the blood supply was exhausted from the Sickbay, members of the crew turned upon one another as their hungers grew. We have lived up to the name of our ill fated ship and now I am alone. I…I killed the navigator after trapping her in Engineering. She fought as best she could but I suspect enough of her humanity remained to make the taking of life a matter of hesitation. Like the rest, her body has been broken down by the extrapolators for genetic variation. This planet will have people in our image. I had no real difficulty in making sure that the gene pool would be diverse enough to give our little progeny a decent shot at thriving. Not having to worry about oversight from agencies concerned about ethics has made it quite easy to explore the possibilities. Of course, I would welcome the sound of another voice now even if it were that of a prosecutor.”

As his image tried to smile only to find moving his lips across the sharp fangs that now filled his mouth, his voice took on a forced if brighter tone.

“Development of my mental abilities has also taken flight. I have nothing but time and the work keeps me busy. Again, I can only imagine what charges I would face for my experiments were I back on Earth. With many of the species taking hold on this planet, I find that direct mental communication in simple ways is now possible. Forcing the development of portions of my own brain, I suppose I hoped it might accidentally kill me. Well, luck of one sort or another, it would seem is on my side. I have abandoned my experiments with felines as they are too independent but the species Canis lupus seems quite open to my thoughts. I tried reaching out to the tiny humans I have created but their minds… it just hurts too much. Further I think I can only hamper their efforts to build lives for themselves and while I may be many terrible things, I will not commit that crime. I have recorded as much of the progress as I could but I find myself slipping. Oh how my professors at M.I.T. would grade me now. Excellent for results but dubious grades for record keeping. Well, if there is even an M.I.T. anymore, I suppose I can accept the chiding.”

Closing his glowing eyes, the image on the screen shook as if to fight off the ghosts around him. Rubbing his face with his hands and drawing a deep breath, his expression wavered between confusion and anguish.

“As a final summary, I exist. I am not the man that was assigned to the team so long ago but part of him resides in me. I find my mind expanding in some directions and growing silent in others. If this world is the last testament of mankind, I suppose I should get the credit and the blame. Science Officer Dr. William Stewart of the Terra-Forming vessel U.S.S. Wurdulak.”

After that entry, the screen went blank. Rea could only guess that Dr. Stewart found it too painful to continue his accounts of the metamorphoses taking hold of the world and himself. Turning back to the giant face of the creature in her presence, Rea could not feel fear or hatred for the man he had once been or the thing he had become. Unable to blindly accept that here, in her very presence was the being that had come to be known as the divine creator of all, Rea found no words to pose all of the questions that quickly filled her mind.

Looking into the glowing red eyes of the giant, Rea got a glimpse into just how far reaching the changes had been beyond his physical appearance. Age was not even a matter of consideration as how could one judge eons on that scale. Like the tiptoeing of a burglar, she felt his mind touch hers for an instant. Unlike a thief, she knew his guilty hesitation to do so. Reacting like one who has blundered in to invade another’s most private moments. So many images and concepts escaping his thoughts to slip into her own, Rea saw the machines around her with new eyes. If this was the power of her demon, what amazing possibilities it posed. Cocking her head to one side, Rea considered more than her end for the first time since she had come to be in his terrible company.

“I know your thoughts and the answer is no.” His lips setting in a frown as he stood to leave the room. “And what thoughts are those demon?” Rea asked with a tinge of playful mockery in her voice now that she knew his strange origin. “To share in what has become of me for your own purposes. I have done enough good and harm on this world and I will not dabble in its affairs further.” Walking through the doorway into the Sickbay, Dr. Stewart was tempted to put Rea out to rejoin her people. However, having tasted the hint of her reasons for being in his company with his mind and his nagging enjoyment at having someone to converse with on any verbal level argued against such actions. She was welcome to stay if she chose to do so, or leave if she preferred but he would not allow himself to intervene.

Rea felt mildly violated having the giant being delve into even the most superficial of her private thoughts. Still trying to comprehend some of the more arcane subjects his recordings had touched upon, she welcomed the growing ability to appreciate more and more as she considered the meaning of his words. In the eyes of her people she had been damned without possibility of redemption or opportunity for appeal. Examining Dr. Stewart’s abilities to cheat death and manipulate the world to plant the seeds of life as she knew it, such powers were too much of temptation to ignore.

Hesitant to let her mind dwell too long on how she might come to share in those powers lest he discover such thoughts on her part, Rea occupied herself with the machine before her. “Computer.” she sounded out the word as it had flowed into her mind from the brief encounter with that of Dr. Stewart. “Yes. This is a computer.” she smiled at being able to grasp the concept with a firmer grip.


Rea fought sleep as she investigated all of the wisdom and knowledge the amazing thinking machine offered her. With the drops of insight offered by her having been touched by the mind of Dr. Stewart, Rea shocked herself at how many of the magical concepts became familiar. Looking at an image of the double helix of D.N.A., she watched the little blocks disconnect and recombine to form new patterns. More than just pretty pictures, Rea began to absorb what they meant.

Pulling up more files and reading them with the hunger of years of inquisitive starvation, Rea found that as soon as she got the answer to one question, dozens more took its place. Her eyes burning and her muscles sore, she lay next to the keyboard and smiled. Knowing sleep would not be held off forever, she was comforted in the assurance that her demon would never deny her cravings for knowledge. That was one of the more certain feelings in his mind when it had touched her. Far from fearing what a woman’s mind might make of things, he had silently offered her a warm feeling at the idea of her learning all that she wished to.

Closing her eyes at last, she felt comfort. As some thread of their brief bonding must have lingered, she found she could follow it to the thoughts of the one who had touched her. Knowing it was a dream and enjoying the freedom that such fantasy allowed, she discovered she could feel his fingers upon her. Looking into the eyes of the giant, she was able to enjoy not only the sensation from her own perspective but that of his as well.

Equations and formulas chasing strange images slipped away until she heard him think one word that seemed so out of place. “Pretty”. Snuggling on his palm within her dream, Rea gasped. While many words had been used to describe her by the people of her village, aside from her father and mother who used it in a completely different sense, “Pretty” was a term almost alien to her. Comparing herself to the other girls her age, she had always fretted upon legs she saw as too thick and not long enough. Her middle never had the slim lines of the others and she always considered her face a bit on the masculine side. Being a girl who tamed mounts and could lift her father’s heaviest hammers while enduring the heat of the Smithy, she had been categorized as less than properly womanly. Even going about barefoot, while not forbidden by any tenant of faith made her an object of stares when she would travel to the market in the town square.

While such admissions on her part would be harder than her almost proud confession of being able to read before the Legit, Rea had always secretly longed to be called “Pretty” by one who meant it. Certainly Goss had offered many faint and false words to try to seduce her but all had fallen to the ground with hollow tones once she realized his motives.

Scowling at herself in the dream, Rea grunted. “What would a demon know of pretty in any case?” Hearing a faint ethereal chuckle, she looked up to see the terrifying face offer an almost passable expression of genuine appreciation. Thinking that it might be nice to be touched as well as held, she stretched as one of the fingers of his other hand moved closer to oblige. Amazed at how gentle a creature of such size could be, Rea found herself pressing to his hand. Her full breasts seeking the comfort of the hills and valleys of his palm. Arching her back as his fingertip followed the curvature of her spine, she found herself longing for more physical contact. Before she could stop her mind from flashing an image of his giant fingertip moving closer to her womanhood, she discovered his digit obeying her wishes. For all of its deathly appearance, the giant finger was warm as it slipped along the flesh of her posterior to slide between her legs.

Stiffening as she considered what a sin she was committing, she snickered. Had she not been cast out from the faith? Was there any greater condemnation she could face now that even her name and that of her father were forbidden utterances in decent society. If the God of the Legit and his minions was true, then she was already out of his grace and no further sin could make her fate any darker. If God was more like the creator that her mother and father had whispered about, then had she not suffered enough to warrant a little pleasure? Stopping herself in mid thought, she looked up into the face of the ancient giant and her eyes went wide. If she accepted as true all the things she had seen and read this night, was she not, at this very moment in the embrace of the true God?

“No. I am many things but not that.” his mind whispered to her in a most pleading tone. “Only the fact that I am not a God gives me hope. Were I a God, there would be no excuses, no forgiveness for the many mistakes I have made.” His tone so steeped in sorrow, Rea felt her eyes moisten at his admissions. Nodding as she moved her hips to press a little harder against his fingertip, Rea gave him a smile. “Scientist” letting the one word drift to his mind as a comfort she saw his lips curl in a happy manner. “Yes. Thank you.” his face moving closer as his finger ran along the lips of her straining warmth. Shuddering as she accepted his touch, her mind brought forth an image of the natural consequences of the sexual act for procreation. Helixes curling to exchange bits of information as the model on the computer had shown her. His fingertip shaking as it stopped in place, she looked up into his glowing eyes. His silent voice taking on a tone of awe, she watched his jaw quiver. “Brilliant.” Even more than “Pretty”, his word made her flush with joy. To be praised for her body and appearance was one thing, to have her mind singled out for note by the one who made her world was intoxicating.

Sliding her sex along the ridges of his finger as she lay face down in his giant palm, she offered up more images and words along with proof that she understood their deeper meanings. Feeling his finger tremble and his palm quiver. Both the excitement of the act that he too was enjoying as well as his shock at her rapid ability to absorb concepts so new to her became sensual on a level she had never imagined. Rubbing her bare nipples along a fold in his palm, she gritted her teeth as heat rose off of her sex to grip her body. Rolling over to present him with the full glory of her body, she spread her legs and pleaded for his touch. Feeling his fingertip run along the curves of her soft tummy to caress her breasts and then move slowly down once more to her eager womanhood, she gripped his skin with her fingers and toes. His mind unguarded as he rediscovered the pleasure of touching a lover, she found herself able to reach into his thoughts for even more of the incredible knowledge he carried in his brain. Sensing the longings on his part not only for passion but the companionship of a mental equal, she squealed with delight as he allowed her deeper into his thoughts. Her body shaking as her muscles tensed in anticipation of her body’s surrender to such pleasurable stimulation, Rea howled at her release. Staring into his huge glowing eyes as she gave him the fruits of her body’s heat, she felt his own pleasures.

Slumping at last to lay content in his palm, Rea purred as she ran a fingertip along his flesh. So many books in the library of his mind and she had been given the key on a platter. Not an act of mere commerce by any means but rather a sharing of selves that allowed for selflessness on the most profound levels. Curling up on his palm as it became once more the surface of the desk, Rea smiled. If she made the choice to transform herself into the image of her creator, she now had the knowledge of exactly how to do it.

[Tinn]

Interesting, again. The different personalities of the characters were showcased a little in this one. I'd like to know what Rea is planning.

Given the way you started your post, it sounds like the story is done, unless I'm mistaken. If it is, then thanks, I enjoyed it. If it isn't, good, I'll look forward to it.

[DalekSec]

Originally Posted by Tinn

Interesting, again. The different personalities of the characters were showcased a little in this one. I'd like to know what Rea is planning.

Given the way you started your post, it sounds like the story is done, unless I'm mistaken. If it is, then thanks, I enjoyed it. If it isn't, good, I'll look forward to it.

Well NOW you have the conclusion and again, thank you for your very kind words.

PT 4

Savoring the wraithlike joining with Dr. Stewart, Rea struggled with the choice fate had given her. To give up so much of what she knew for dark powers that still challenged her understanding. As much as she found the concepts becoming familiar they remained frightening. Knowing a thing and having knowledge of it are two very different matters. Rea knew mounts. The flexing of their muscles before an act of defiance. She knew the exact color a metal should be before the hammer came down upon it. But she could not claim to know the metal or the hammer! Rea could know so much about a mount but, not being such a creature, she could not comprehend what it was like to be the animal.

Letting her mind drift towards the connection it still shared with the being who had set her world in motion so long ago, she found many things within his thoughts. Pushing the facts and figures aside for a moment to delve into his emotions, Rea shuddered. Hatred and loathing for himself guarded the iron gates of his more personal mind. The memory of his fangs sinking into the flesh of a screaming victim filled her mouth with the taste and sensation. Rea?s hands grappled the invisible prey as her heart reacted to a surge of adrenaline. The enjoyment of a great hunger sated covered in the regret and horror he felt for how he had to go about addressing that need on his part.

As frightening as his face was, his own image of himself was all the more distorted and degenerate. Degenerate, the word echoed from every corner of his mind to assault all that he was. While Rea could see him in the role of God the creator, Dr. Stewart saw only decay and depravity in himself. Slipping past the terrors of his inner world, Rea was stunned to see herself, as if an image on the screen of his computer, standing in the lone beam of unpolluted light. Looking at how his mind had, in her opinion, idealized her, she could see herself as not only ?Pretty? but beautiful. Bathed in the pure light, Rea?s eyes moved along her own body. ?This is how you see me?? she asked. ?Yes.? came the simple one word answer. Expecting more, Rea sensed a reluctance on the part of the giant being to elaborate. Not wanting to seem as though she were begging for compliments, Rea held her tongue.

Still transfixed on her image in his mind, Rea shook her head. ?You have done so much. Breathing life into a world, and this? she whispered waving her hand towards the simulacrum, ?Is what you put on display in your memories? This is your centerpiece?? Again, the ancient being offered only the simplest of replies. ?Yes?. Still the walls of his mind remained high as she tried to feel out the tone of his silent reply. Looking up to find the glowing eyes above her once more, Rea could no longer feel fear under their gaze. Sounds and images of his life rising and drawing back into the shadows gave her glimpses into all that had gone into making him what he was and still, the only vision that remained constant was her own.

?Fear. And loneliness.? he finally confessed in a tone that even in the voiceless realm of his mind was only barely perceptible. Rea could understand that with ease. At least when her parents had been alive, she could revel in their company. The stares and idle gossip of others carrying so much less weight than when she found herself alone. For the breaking of an axle at the most inopportune time, she lost the two people that meant everything to her. Alone, isolated she had been tempted by the comely face and flattering words of Goss. Examining her own complicity in his campaign to gain her physical company, Rea, for the first time confessed the weakness in her own nature. Trying to make up for what she saw as her many physical flaws, she had entrusted to him her most precious secret. More dear to her that her own innocence of body, she had hoped that his handsome face and soft words could be lured to swear oaths to her if he knew she was so much more than a form to be touched.

Her own fears betrayed all that her mother and father had tried so hard to plant within the soil of her being. The countless times her mother would smile and remind Rea that she was a more than worthy person who had a beauty all her own. The tight hugs her father had given her while reminding her that she held so much of her mother?s looks and how he had known that her mother was the only woman he could ever want from their first meeting. All of these lessons became dust as did their repeated warnings about her wanting to show off what she knew. The risks they took in giving her the ability to read, to know the plants of healing and how to shape formless blobs into the metals that made so much in life possible. All as nothing when she found herself alone for the first time and turned to a hollow smile for comfort. Goss had dismissed it all, telling her that she could read to him later as if it was a gift on his part to her. A charity on his part to allow for time so that she could show off her most treasured talents. The one time she had brought one of the books her father had given her to one of her clandestine meetings with Goss, he had dismissed it as an object of no importance. His insistent hands touching her at a time when her body was demonstrating one of the least pleasant aspects of being female had pumped the bellows of her ire.

With a hiss of anger, she had slapped him across that handsome face when his hands moved closer to her center than she could tolerate. In hindsight, it was all so painfully obvious. Having the pick of any young woman for his wife, she had been seen as nothing more than an easy conquest and playful diversion. His tone changing in an instant to one of harsh rebuke, all of his smiles and enthralling words had vanished like the light of a candle blown out before bed. Rea had clung to the remote hope that he would have some sense of shame if not proper honor and keep her secret. That of course was not to be the case. That very morning she had heard the angry pounding on her door and found the Inquisitor flanked by a few younger members of the priesthood.

Ignoring the voice of the irritating man, having no inclination to deny who and what she was, Rea offered no resistance when they led her to the holding cells of the Legit. Sitting in the little room and regarding the bars her father had made for the cell, Rea could not escape her own opinion that it was a stroke of cruel divine justice. A lesser person might have felt regret at having a father and mother who would allow them to defy the law in such a profound way. Rea knew that they had only wanted to give her the tools that might make her happy. He own misuse of those tools had been her choice. Displaying the gift she had been given like some showman?s trick to entice a spark that did not and could never dwell within the person of Goss had been the fault of no one but herself. The fact that she had fouled her father?s name with the brush of her failings cut all the deeper into her soul.

Hearing a soft sob from all around her, Rea was shaken from her own dark memories. ?Do you punish the dead?? she asked in the voice of a child. ?Of course not. No one has that power or right save the one who made us all. As for that, why would a creator hate his creations so much as to do that?? Rea felt the omission on the part of her host. ?Then why do you cling to life with all of your technology?? The trembling that shook the world of his mind made Rea jump. ?I am afraid. If I am wrong and there is a price to be paid, I dread what the bill for my actions will be.? his whisper choking on the words. Rea had to accept the limitations of the God of her people. What choice was there. Knowing that he feared the wrath of a power greater than himself was a sobering notion. It was also a comfort. If the God of her people was the product of an even greater force, and yet, could do so much, what could she and her people hope to become? He was flesh and blood, made of the same stuff as she and had used his own body and the bodies of his fellows to make the people she had been born of. If flesh and blood could do so many amazing things in his case, what was to keep his progeny from doing the same?

?Just a man. A human man from far away and long ago.? he told her as his glowing eyes softened. ?Nothing more. With the help of machines and technology, made by others like myself, I did all this.? Rea felt the burning of the one question all of his mind had yet to really answer for her. Still hesitant to cross some unknown bounds with him, Rea found the question forcing its way out of her mind like the birth of a child. ?Why? Why did you do it?? she finally asked. As all of the images in his mind turned to her in unison, including that of herself, Rea held her breath.

?I could offer you so many answers. I could say it was to ensure that some part of my world would survive. I could tell you that I wanted to feel less alone in the universe. I could even give you some selfless answer such as I hoped you would mature into a species greater and wiser than my own. I suspect you would believe none of these and you would be right to dismiss such answers. The truth?? His thoughts becoming as wisps in the wind, Rea saw the eyes of her representation turning to stare into her own. The lips of the woman he saw her as, smiling sadly. ?Why then? What is the true answer?? Rea whispered. Seeing the face that was her own in his thoughts frown, she got her answer in her own voice. ?Because I could.?

With that, Rea felt the shame of his actions and their motivations. Being pushed from his mind to find herself on the cold surface of the table that held the computer, Rea was shaken to her very core. What was the more troubling aspect? The idea of a flawless creator who could never really empathize with the beings he created or an imperfect God who could admit his own faults to one of his creations? Part of her could not help revisiting her memory of how he had chosen to depict her in his own mind. Was there any more sincere compliment one could ever offer? Seeing her in such a way as to consider her the only thing of beauty in his mind. Could any handful of flowers or sack of sweetbreads ever match such an offering? What spoken words could ever dare to try to equal, let alone surpass such a compliment? Seeing her in such a way while embracing her mind and encouraging it to strive for even greater achievements, could any being ever hope to express love in a more perfect manner?

Taking it all in was making her head spin. The individual who had moved upon the face of her world. He who had so many temples dedicated to his worship and the unquestioning devotion of all of the people, saw her as perfection. The choice that had seemed so daunting became as clear as the air. Rea saw no other possible course of action for herself. If she was to exist, now that so much had been revealed to her on so many levels, Rea really had no choice at all.

Accepting that she had committed herself to the plan that coalesced in her mind, Rea felt a mixture of anticipation and spreading calm. Keeping the decision hidden from the surface of her thoughts, she found herself sleeping with a spreading grin.

?He sleeps.? she whispered as she opened her eyes to glance about the desk she lay upon for the tools that she would need. Finding a length of cord and an angular piece or metal she could fashion into a hook, she set about the task of constructing what she required. Climbing down from the desk and using the lattice of the chair as a ladder once more, she ran to the sliding door and saw the eye like sensor that controlled its operation. So many new ideas and a growing sense of potency made her feel bolder than she ever thought possible. Giggling as the huge door obeyed her command, Rea, using the makeshift grappling hook which she swung in the line of sight of the sensor, felt the excited pounding in her ears. Watching the mists rise from the regeneration chamber in the sickbay, she was assured that Dr. Stewart would not rouse for some time. Rea had seen in his thoughts the countless times he had taken his place in the device. Cheating death with every treatment, his life and stretched out now for a length of time that boggled the mind.

While some more scholarly members of the Priesthood claimed to have tracked the linage of her people to the very beginning , Rea now knew the truth. Although it was all but impossible to wrap her mind around the timelines, she now understood how the stories of her peoples origin fit in an odd way with the facts.

Innocent and at peace, the first of her people had been given the world made for them by their creator. Food was made to feed them and water waited upon their thirst. Simple things like fire and how to build tools had been part of the pact with God. Warnings about which animals were fit to eat and which were more useful as beasts of burden followed. Language and writing were more gifts from the one true God and he never once declared that women should be barred the use of writing or reading. This she knew from the mind of the being who had done all these things. Lies born of fear and ability led to some deciding that those of womankind be kept ?Innocent?. Tragically, by then, Dr. Stewart had grown weary of trying to reason with his creations. Feeling such guilt over their plights and sorrows as they lived the lives he gave them, Dr. Stewart chose to shut himself away.

Rea could almost resent his choice to abandon the people to their own machinations. He had set all of it in motion and then simply backed away when they needed his guidance most. The painful conclusion for Rea was that the God of her people had given into fear. Fear of what his meddling might make worse or, all the more terrible, robbing them of what he felt was most human about them. Free will. If he forced them to be good, told them what his view of good was, how could they truly ever be a reminder of his own race. Already he knew he had cheated. Given them in an instance what it took his own people eons to acquire. Dr. Stewart had made gifts of the earliest technologies at the cost of wisdom on the part of Rea?s people. Seeing them turn their simple tools on one another in the first acts of violence, Dr. Stewart had felt the pain of their choices. Faced with the decision to grip their minds and make puppets of them or, allow them to sort out what type of beings they wished to be, he had taken what he saw as the only moral path. As soon as Rea?s people expressed their autonomous humanity, their God had made the choice to fade from their lives. Rea stopped a moment to consider this. ?Perhaps this is why we made a demon of you.? she whispered.

Even the cattle that was brought on a regular basis to his long flightless ship was more a matter of survival than ritual. Survival for him as their blood kept him nourished and survival for Rea?s people as Dr. Stewart examined the creatures for disease and genetic anomalies. Plagues had always been short lived and after a handful of deaths, most who fell ill recovered. Her own mother, a healer by family tradition had been puzzled on so many occasions. While those like her took it to be their own actions that saved the day, Rea?s mother had always tried to examine the good fortunes more closely. Now Rea knew that while her mother?s kind words and inspired tonics did offer modicums of help, it was the storms that really kept her people from such harm. Dr. Stewart in his amazing ship, launching drones into the air to seed the clouds with medicine. His robotic servants roaming the night to pour healing potions into the water supplies. Even the frightful wolves taking to the night to drag down any animals that Dr. Stewart suspected carried disease.

Comforted that there was indeed the one true God watching over her people, Rea could not help feeling a sense of bitterness. Her own mother had been little more than an assistant to his helping hand. How many times had she risked illness and death to tend the sick? All for soups and herbs that only alleviated pain while the real healing came from him. How her own father had toiled in the smithy to produce metals for the people when Dr. Stewart could have simply given them such of a quality and quantity they could never dream of. Farmers plowing the fields when machines lay ready to take on their burdens would never know how their suffering could be alleviated. So many things their God could have given them to further their lives.

?To what end?? Rea shivered as she felt his voice in her head. While his body was in a state of perfect helplessness, his mind still burned. ?Yes, I could give it all to you and be done with it. I could teach you to work the controls and never have to lift a finger again. You could all eat, live long lives and never know pain. But, to what end?? ?Wurdulak, you could be the God you once were.? Rea growled. ?You could open this ship and reveal it all. You could make life for the people you created a paradise!? Her voice accusatory as she fumed. ?To what end?? his reply all the more irritating.


?Don?t you see it Rea, daughter of Fomar and Kadella. Why would your father have strived to work. To make life as happy as he could for you and your mother? Why would your mother ever reach out to those in need with more than I could ever offer? You speak ill of her kind words and potions. How unjust. She cared as did your father and all of your people. She worked hard to assuage the pain and suffering of others. I can think of no better vocation for one of your race or mine.? Rea felt the sting of shame and blushed at his noting of her mother?s name. Nodding her head as she held the instruments of her plot, Rea had no words to offer. ?I could have robbed them, you mother and father and all those like them of their talents to make pets of you all. Happy and fed in the little zoo of my creation. I could have made you look like the people I knew and snuffed out the very thing that made humans human. This is why I chose silence and exile.?


Keeping the most mundane images in her mind, should he follow the filament left by their touching of minds, she hoped to keep her plans hidden. The smell of mornings outside of her home and a particularly pleasant memory of her father explaining how one could quench the hot anger of metal with water and oil.

Padding hastily, her red cloak fluttering behind her, Rea hurried towards the enclosure that contained the man who had set her world in motion so very long ago. Swinging the hook at the end of the knotted cord as her father had taught her to do, Rea caught the edge of the chamber on her first attempt. Pulling herself up the cord one knot at a time, she quickly came to the lip. Feeling at odds with being so exposed, naked save for the red cloth that was tied around her neck like a cloak, Rea held her breath. She could feel his mind, as light as a feather, attempting to touch her own. Even her dislike of such heights seemed to grow silent as her mind focused on her ultimate desires.

?Rea what are you doing?? His silent voice shaking as she clambered down to his body. While his mind was still fully active and aware of the world around him, his body was powerless as it was rejuvenated by the device. The wolves circled the casket of vapors, unable to climb as Rea had done. Their howls of consternation and confusion ringing in her ears as she set her feet upon the giant?s body. ?Rea, you must not do this. You do not know, you can not know what the price is. Would you compound my guilt?? he pleaded as she walked along the length of his torso. Coming at last to the object of her desire, she gripped the tab of the zipper that held his flight suit closed by his groin. Pulling the zipper back while she dug her heels into his body, she smiled as he tried to lift his right hand.

?Please Rea. This is not what you want, it can not be!? he insisted as she dug into the open garment to ease out his manhood. Shouldering it like a crippled animal, Rea lifted it free of his clothing. So long removed from what he saw as humanity, his sex still responded in the way of a male. Rea was struck not only by its size but the musky odor it held. Not unclean in any form or fashion as his flesh was made anew with each treatment of the chamber. Just a hint of sweat and the normal scents of a man?s body.

Rea could feel the struggling of his mind as he fought the urges she called upon. His sense of modesty trying to force his hand to move and thereby push her away from his organ. ?Rea. Stop. Please stop.? His voiceless words making her smile a little wider. Once more she was breaking age old tenants of her faith. A woman?s place was to be submissive in all things. To obey the direction of the one man who had come to be her husband after a lifetime of moral servitude to her father. Now, not only lacking the proper rituals of marriage but forcing the issue of sexual relations on him, Rea savored the heady nature of it all. Just more lies set down as the will of the one true God who now lay vulnerable before her. None of the priests could ever imagine how far from the truth they had strayed. One prejudice laying the foundation for the next until cathedrals of falsehoods rose to pollute the fading memories and myths of their creator.

Gripping the skin that surrounded the head of his manhood, Rea found it soft and warm. Seeing his fluids already giving acknowledgement of the pleasing nature of her actions, Rea felt a sense of power. Slipping her fingers along the bulging head of his sex, she let his initial offerings wet her palm. Caressing along the most sensitive flesh, she blushed as his sex twitched at her touch. Grabbing the warm flesh of his sex, her fingers digging into him without thought to his protestations, she began massaging his shaft. Her feet pressing to his groin as she pulled herself along his organ to rub her body along his skin, she found his arguments growing quieter. Using her soft auburn hair to tickle the head of his manhood, she caught the sound of an actual moan coming from his throat.

Grinning in triumph as she watched his glowing eyes open into slits of red, she pressed her case. ?You made us as we are. Made me as I am. Would you deny this step in my evolution?? she teased as her face pressed to the head of his sex. Feeling his manhood tremble at her command, she began licking along the flesh. The rush of blood that came in response to her call to engorge his manhood to a full arousal sent a feeling of supreme potency through Rea?s body and mind. ?And now old demon, I shall have my due.? she spoke aloud in a voice of a most sultry nature.

Gently biting upon the flesh of the proof that he was, in origin a human male, she found her tongue had the greatest effect. Licking along the pebbly skin, his voice hissed out of his mouth to encourage her further. Moving her hands teasingly along the warm flesh as he fingers occasionally dug in to grip the skin, she felt one vein in particular pulsing. Petting it with her fingers as her tongue ran irregular lines along the head of his manhood, she fanned his rising passions. His breathing labored as his limp fingers curled, no longer attempting to shoo her away, she felt his hips move under her body. Grasping his scrotum with her strong toes, she caressed the head of his manhood causing it to grow warmer. Soft moans rising to become louder deep within his throat, Rea tasted his juices. Nuzzling along the meatus as it offered proof of his body?s surrender to her, she found her face growing wet as her hair became sticky.

Squeezing the large pulsing vein that ran along the underside of his organ, Rea moved her lips to the frenulum. Kissing and biting along the thick and musky flesh of his manhood, Rea gasped as he gave at last the object of her quest. His thick seed spurting out to splash upon her as she hugged his shaft. Releasing his vein, Rea scooped up some of his semen and began rubbing it along her own virginal sex. Working the viscous fluid into her own body and then lifting her hand to her lips. Licking along her fingers, she could visualize the product of his fluids combining with her own genes to alter them as he had promoted the metamorphosis within his own body.

Her body covered in his seed, Rea let the mists wick away the sticky fluid as the gasses enfolded her. Even her red cloak was renewed as was the ancient uniform of Dr. Stewart. Laying his spent member to one side, Rea walked along the front of the man with a wide and spreading grin upon her face. The man?s chest rising and falling to make her footing difficult. Stretching her arms out to balance herself as she made her way to his face, she came to stand before his chin. Her bare feet digging into his throat.

?And now my creator, I will take the rest.? she spoke with a tone of growing confidence. Leaping to his face, she pulled his quivering lips open. Exposing his long sharp fangs, her eyes went wide. No longer objects of fear, the promise of power that they offered made them the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her young life. Bracing her left foot on his lower lip as her right hand forced his upper lip aside, she ran her left hand along the length of one of his teeth. The ridges so much like the knives her father made for the butchers in her village, his fangs gleamed in the swirling clouds of the regeneration chamber.

?You do not know what you are doing.? he whispered silently unable to stop Rea from acting upon her plan. ?I know more than you can imagine my old God.? she hissed before impaling her left palm upon the pointed tip of his fang. The burning of her flesh and the feeling that her head might well explode filled every sense in Rea?s body. The rush of his infection spreading in her body sent Rea into convulsions. Panting as she pulled her hand away, the blood dripping onto his shaking lips, Rea?s body crumpled to roll off of his face. Curling in a tight little ball by the side of the man?s head, she shook as the world flashed and screamed at her. The pounding in her ears like the thunder that once terrified her as a child.

Time melted to become irrelevant. If asked, Rea could never hope to answer how long the process took. The only comforts within the torture of her own body were the knowledge that after her rebirth she would never be helpless again. The pains that wracked her body alleviated in small measure by the gentle healing properties of the gasses that filled the chamber. Waking up with her face moist with her own drool, Rea felt her eyes burning in their sockets. Standing on the cushion that supported Dr. Stewart?s head, she discovered the world had changed all around her. Lights of hues and delicacies that she had never before seen played out for her amusement. Smell, sound and taste were all new to her as was the tingling of her new sense of touch. Even her body, the breathing and pumping of her blood was unlike any experience she had ever known.

Letting her mind relax, she found that all of the demon?s thoughts were now completely open to her. Dr. Stewart, being at the heart of his nature a male, had surrendered to her unconditionally. Now, his mind was hers as she welcomed him into her own. He could see the life she had been made to live from the moment of her birth until this exact moment in time. She could feel his horror at the hunger her mind and soul had been forced to endure. He picked gently along the rivers of her memories to taste the bitterness of her disappointments, deprivations and betrayals. Sorrow and anger at being manipulated by a world that saw her as being of little value. A world that he had set in motion. Feeling his guilt rise at her pain, Rea reached out to press her hand to his temple. ?Hush. You could not have known and I understand why you shut yourself away from us now. Give me leave to set right the mistakes my people have made in your name.? No longer resistant to her machinations, the silent voice of her ancient God offered his imprimatur. ?Do what you must.?

Rea?s body was stronger and climbing out from the chamber was no challenge at all. Closing her eyes and calling out with her mind, she heard the answer of the wolves. Their padding paws rushing to join her in total obedience. Seeing them with her mind, she spread out her hands to let them nuzzle and lick her fingers. All of the powers of her ancient God were now hers. Feeling the fur of the wolves slip along her flesh as their tails wagged in happy submission Rea was reborn.

Running along the steel floor of the ship, Rea raced for the control room of the ship. Touching the keys of the computer after leaping up to the chair and then to the table effortlessly, she activated the drones and set one to land by the main hatch of the vessel. Racing to the airlock of the ship, she smiled. The drone?s wings spread out as it awaited the command to voyage to the designated location, Rea found the idea of riding high in the sky thrilling. Fears that had once made her tremble such as lofty places were now eagerly anticipated. Straddling the device, she told the wolves the destination. Unable to contain her frenzied joy, Rea heard the shrill laughter in the night and had to remind herself that it was her own. Rising into the clouds as she gripped the body of the drone, she saw the wolves following below.

Time had been lost to Rea and only the rising of the sun told her a new day was upon her. The first streams of light coloring the sky as she directed the drone on. Her legs pressing to its sides as she would a living mount while the pack sprinted to keep pace. Still dark, she felt the rush of vertigo as the drone dropped to land a few paces from the stables of the First Citizen?s residence.

Setting her bare feet upon the damp grass, she felt the cool winds tug at her red cloak and tease her bare flesh. If the village elders saw her now, a flogging and confinement would be the price at the very least. Feeling the sharp yet sweet pain of her teeth as they grew to stab gently at her lips, Rea embraced her new place in the world. ?So be it.? came the distant voice of Dr. Stewart. His thoughts still intertwined with her own.

Walking slowly to the stables, Rea could smell the scent of her prey. The wolves walking beside her as they held their voices down. Ridges of fur spiking along their backs as their paws fell silently upon the ground. Ears forward and nostrils flaring, they followed the lead of their new mistress. Her eyes burning in the sockets of her skull, Rea could see the form taken by the man?s heat as he brushed his favorite mount for an early morning ride.

Moving to the door of the stable, Rea smiled wide. Still in the shadows, she knew only her basic shape was now visible to the person within. ?Goss.? she called out softly. Hearing the brush strokes stop and tasting his breath grow still, Rea savored the moment. ?Who is it? How dare you trespass on my father?s property!? he hissed in petulant ire. ?Come now Goss. Forgotten me so soon?? She could not keep the teasing tone from her voice as she stepped into a small swatch of light. Her face still obscured by the fold of the giant red cloth, she pulled the sides open to reveal her body in its full glory.

As Goss dropped the brush he had been using on his mount, his face turned red. Rea could smell his blood rushing about his body at a furious pace. The very beating of his heart pounding in her ears. ?But how? Is it you? You live?? he asked breathlessly as his booted feet swished through the fresh straw on the floor. ?Oh I live. I can assure you. I live.? She answered with a soft twitter. The bodies of the wolves burning with heated anticipation just beyond the door.


?Rea. Why have you come?? his voice trembling in a confused mixture of desire for the gifts he saw and his certainty that no one came back whole from the Wastelands of the Wurdulak. ?Silly Goss. I came for you of course.? Keeping the makeshift hood in place lest she spook her prey into a run. Letting him move forward, closer to herself and the pack that waited eagerly at the door, Rea slipped her right hand across her full breasts in an enticing manner. Moving her fingers to grip her nipple, she pulled it in a fashion that was sure to appeal to his baser instincts. Her left hand moving to her womanhood to caress her sex, Rea felt the mind of Dr. Stewart tingle at her sensations. ?If you still desire it Goss. It is all here and all for you this night.? she whispered as her fangs slipped past her lips.

?I will talk to my father. Have him plead on your behalf. Anything!? the boy blurted out thinking bribery was still an issue for this open invitation. ?Of course you will. My good protector Goss.? she cajoled him as her fingers slipped between the lips of her warmth. Seeing his eyes dart up and down, as if trying to decide which display was the most pleasing, Rea giggled in her most girlish voice. ?I am so sorry. I should never have turned you in.? he went on, his voice cracking as his pulse raced. ?I know you are. Now come. Do you want me or not?? That was all it took. Rea could hear the raving of his mind which unlike that of Dr. Stewart or even the ravenous wolves held no sense of discipline. Rushing towards her, his hands cupping her bare breasts, he looked to her face in the light of the small lamp.

Opening her glowing eyes and drawing her lips back to present her new attributes, Rea laughed. Pushing him to the ground with ease as her new strength surged, she called silently to the wolves. Bounding in through the door to grip the stunned and frightened man by his ankles and wrists, she clapped slowly as he finally found his voice. Shouting out for help, he watched as she slowly shook her head. ?Oh no my dear sweet Goss. No one will save you this night.? Dropping down upon his torso, Rea opened her mouth and quickly gripped his throat with her fangs. The taste of his salty blood filling her mouth as she relayed the sensations back to her giant demon. Rea could feel every emotion within the man back in the ship and the one who?s life was now ending. The soft growling of the wolves as they held her prey in place sending shivers through her body. Flashes of light and brilliant blazing vibrations running along her limbs as the one who now shared her mind gasped. Long sealed memories coming to the fore, Rea suckled on the throat of the one who had seen fit to betray her. All the while, she felt herself drifting back into the mind of the man who formed her world.

?You simply will not listen to reason Dan. Please, take a moment to consider what you are saying. All of our time, our training and the resources of this ship, wasted on what? Some perception of morality that could so easily be argued from any side? Would you really have us simply sit around waiting for death as we watch all that we are slip into oblivion? How can you possibly justify that?? Dr. Stewart?s voice rose in blazing ire. ?That is my decision and those are MY ORDERS Dr. Stewart! Unless you are prepared to try your hand at mutiny, I suggest you accept my decision and come to peace with whatever time we have left.? Hearing one of his oldest slip into the formality of address made Dr. Stewart all the more livid.

?And that is your final word then, is it Captain Evans?? his eyes narrowing on the man he saw as having given into the most foolish of notions at the expense of their last hope for meaning. ?Yes it is.? Turning to leave the Sickbay, Captain Evans let it be known the conversation was over. Dr. Stewart could only see all of what they were as a crew and perhaps a species being left to rot in perpetual hibernation in the storage bays. If Earth had been taken or destroyed then it was all the more reason to try to perpetuate something of what humanity had been.

Balling his fists, he felt his blood rise in white hot rage. Never a violent man by any means, Dr. Stewart could not hold himself in check any longer. Reaching for a syringe that contained a sample of the contagion native to the planet they found themselves on, he knew what had to be done. Lifting the needle into the air above the back of his friend and commander, he struck. Pressing on the plunger to deliver the certain death of its contents into the man?s body, he blocked out the shouts that filled the room. In its most concentrated state, the pathogen took hold in moments and within an instant, the man was laying on the ground in the twitching grip of death.

Tossing the murder weapon into a disposal chute, Dr. Stewart considered giving Captain Evans something for the obvious pain he was suffering. As he pondered the question, time rant out leaving nothing but a lifeless corpse and his memory of the act to contend with.

His first kill as an example of forced evolution poured from his memory like the tears of a child. Sobbing as he allowed her to gaze into one of the darkest parts of his mind, Rea saw how Captain Evans had met his fate. Thinking that the plans of Dr. Stewart were to broad, to fanciful in their scope, the Captain had taken it upon himself to halt the experiments. Shouting at the last that perhaps it was their fate to die in the reaches of space, the Captain had tried to keep her world from being born.

Dr. Stewart had justified the killing with growing hope as he watched the beings rise to live on the world. Still, the guilt of murdering one of his closest friends and the commander of his ship weighed heavy in his soul. Rea could not fault the man, after all, had he not chosen murder, she and her kind and all they knew would never have been. Every story she had ever heard or read would have never come into existence. All of it, as silent wasted potential. But, this did nothing to assuage the mind of Dr. Stewart. At his core, he had digested the remorse that ate at him as much as the feats of technology prolonging of his own life.

Coming to sense that the young man?s struggles had ceased, Rea looked up and released his throat. The eyes of the wolves, the alpha in particular staring at her in confusion. Standing above her first kill, Rea told the pack to drag his body off to the most secluded spot they could find. ?Is it worth it?? the whisper came to her mind. Wiping the blood from her hands onto the straw on the floor of the stable, Rea found her tongue reaching out to lick off the remains around her lips and mouth. Holding her thoughts as she considered the question posed to her by the creator of all she knew, she slowly began to nod her head. ?Yes. Yes it is. One more. One more and I am done with this.? The deep breathy sigh that echoed in her mind was not her own. Feeling the wolves had finished their task, Rea? mind had set upon her own course of action.

Avoiding the gaze of the drowsy watchman at the center of the village, Rea picked out the home of her target. The finely tended garden and impeccably tasteful exterior of expensive brick along with the smell of the dutifully attended hearth was the very image of proper living. Loath to be too far from the center of activity and chances of advancement, Inquisitor Bale never strayed far from his chance for the attentions of the Legits.

Creeping upon the door at the rear, once more Rea could smell and taste the bodies of those within. Like ghosts, she could see the heat from their bodies moving on the other sides of the walls. The bedroom of the man who had seen her as nothing more than a convenient means to personal power lay just beyond a single door. Her bare feet padding silently on the polished wooden floor, Rea felt the texture of the small rug that served just before the door. The wolves obediently taking their positions on the sides of the door waited for her commands.

?And this will be the last?? Dr. Stewart asked to the annoyance of Rea. ?Yes old demon. After him, I will be satisfied.? she shot back with a sharp thought. Setting her stained hand upon the door, Rea turned the knob as her breath quickened. Easing the door open, the creaking of its hinges thundering in her hypersensitive ears. Seeing the Inquisitor in his nightshirt, Rea snickered.

?Who DARES to come unannounced to MY HOME!? the old man shouted out furiously. His eyes narrow as they attempted to pick out the form of the woman. On the bed, laying in a heap, an older woman was curled into a tight ball. Her hair mussed as she sobbed softly, Rea suspected she had interrupted one of his attempts to put his good lady wife on the proper road of a respectable woman.

Seeing that his unwelcome guest was nude save for the bright red cloak about her shoulders, Bale stammered. ?Are you MAD? Have you taken leave of your senses! I shall see that you are made virtuous once more you foul woman!? Raising his hand to offer a blow upon her face as he moved towards her, he came to recognize the altered face before him. ?YOU! Spawn of DEMONS! I shall personally see to it that you pay the ultimate price after your sins have been cleansed through pain!? Shouting as he advanced on her, the glowing of her eyes chilled his bones.

?Spawn of Demons indeed Inquisitor. As you would have me sentenced for my crimes, I now pass judgment upon YOU!? she hissed as her fangs grew longer and were put on display. Opening her mouth in a most ghastly fashion, Rea grabbed the raised wrist of the frail little man before her. Yanking hard enough to splinter the aged bones of his arm, Bale shrieked in agony. Dropping to his knees as his blurry eyes took in the sight of the wolf pack entering his bedchambers, he drew a deep breath to scream. With a speed beyond anything natural, Rea bent over to clamp her jaws around the neck of the man.

Once again, the spurting of warm fresh blood filled her mouth to set alight the wild conflagration of her passions. Feeling his body grow limp as his limbs gave up their struggles and his breath left him for the last time, Rea came to hear the screams of the woman on the bed. Sending the pack to surround her bed, Rea?s eyes rose to regard her.

Clutching at her nightgown as she cried out, her abject terror was plain to see. Pressing her back against the wall at the head of her bed, her eyes tried to follow the wolves and keep sight of the frightful visage of Rea. Letting the body of the man slip from her grasp, Rea found herself grinning wide. ?I will have you silent!? she hissed as she prepared to tell the alpha to lead the charge of death against the blubbering woman.

?And will this be the last?? The intrusive silent voice whispered in her mind. ?Or will it be the Legit next. Or those of the priesthood? When you are sated, will there be anyone left alive?? Rea?s eyes went wide as she considered his words. ?Kill them all. If that is how this all ends. So be it.?

Rea shook as she felt his mind draw from her. The wisplike tendrils drawing away to grow silent as she stared helplessly into the eyes of the largest of the wolves. Grabbing at her hair as if to capture the last vestiges of his presence, Rea screamed. ?You can not do this! Not now! Not when I am so powerful! I can not do this without you!? Trembling as silence filled her world, the wolves howled remorsefully. Seeing herself through the eyes of the pack, the image she was presented with filled her with revulsion. The glowing eyes set in anguish and horror, the deathly pallor of her skin and the pitiful nature of her trembling form. All coalescing into a sight worthy of disgust and loathing.

Lowering her shaking hands as she stood before the terrified woman and her dead husband, Rea knew the answers. She had been given more gifts than she could have ever imagined by the one who made the world. Power, the capacity to exact her revenge and take the full measure of retribution from those who had seen fit to impose misery on her had come with a terrible price. Now she knew the true nature of Dr. Stewart?s guilt. The ease of taking life so much weaker than herself was intoxicating. These puny things could never hope to harm her now but she was also still of them. Spitting out the remaining amount of the man?s blood that clung to her mouth, she had no words to express her rage at herself. Turning silently from the woman and giving the silent command for the wolves to join her, Rea slipped from the house and the village back to the drone.

Aware of the growing light of the new day, Rea hoped the drone would take her back to the one place she now belonged. ?Forgive me!? she shouted at the device as its indicator lights remained dark. ?I know it all now. I know I can not go back and I can not sit in judgment of them. FORGIVE ME!? she cried out breathlessly as she slumped before the instrument of her God.

?Is that your wish then?? His infuriating ability to set in place questions rather than answers made Rea?s mind rage. Orders, commands, a shouted directive would have been a welcome relief as Rea was left to ponder why he insisted on provoking her. ?Does it matter? Do I have a choice now? Can what I have become ever live among them again?? she growled as her hands swatted at the shining metal skin of the drone.
You have a choice. Always. You may do as you please on your world and make of it what you will or destroy it. I am tired. So tired and I will not tell you what to do.? His voice seeming so far away from her own mind, Rea sobbed. Nodding her head as she climbed upon the back of the drone, she knew he was right. Even ruling the world was now within her grasp. He would not stop her from using every resource of the ship or her new capabilities as she chose. Being given the option of such absolute potency, Rea made her decision.

?Then come home Rea.? he offered in a hushed and gentle thought. Hanging on to the drone, not from worry of the heights but for the reassurances it offered that she had not been forsaken, Rea watched the wolves race below. Landing in the airlock of the ship, she spread her arms and let the lights that had assaulted her on her first encounter bathe her. Knowing the process was one of decontamination, she felt comforted as the bacteria and the past was driven from her body.

Walking behind the wolf pack into the great hall of the conference room, Rea hung her head as Dr. Stewart took his place in the colossal chair. His boots scuffing as his pace was labored by the countless ages. Tempted to throw herself under one of his boots, to end all the anguish in her mind, Rea felt his thoughts caress her tenderly.

?No. Death is not the answer Rea. Nor is guilt. Had you not taken your actions, you would not be the being you are this very moment. All of it has brought you to this point of ultimate decision.? Looking up into his glowing eyes, Rea fumed at being given yet another choice to make. ?And what decision is that old demon?? she asked aloud. Seeing his lips curl into a smile held a dread that went far beyond her original trepidation before his fangs.

?Will you shut yourself away or will you try to guide them?? His voice struggling to make its way past his long silent vocal cords.

Rea knew there was no rush in her creators inquiry. She was at liberty to lick her wounds and silently hide in his presence if that was her choice for as long as she chose to do so. Looking about the conference room, the dust covered images of his home so far away intrigued her. Landscapes and one image in particular caught her eye.

The large blue world, covered in clouds seemed to beckon to her. As she pondered the technology of the ship, she found a growing desire to make it possible to see that world up close.

?Yes. Even that if you decide that is what they should do. If any of it remains, it is your birthright.? His thoughts breaking into her own as she stomped her bare foot upon the dusty bulkhead. ?When I make up my mind. I will let you know old demon!? she shouted before walking closer to his boots. ?Until then. I choose relaxation if you are of a mind.? Seeing his hand move towards her to lay at her side, she smiled. Taking her place in his right hand, she let her mind wander towards the physical delights he had offered her in the shared dream. His welcome fingertip caressing her soft curves, she chose to leave her more difficult decisions for another time.

[Tinn]

Interesting once again. Quite different to what I had expected, but then, my imagination is limited. The story fits together reasonably. Congratulations on completing it.

[Adam19842004]

Not what I expected either. Not what you usually see here. The attention to detail and characterisation, rather than entierly focusing on a growth/shrinking process, is refreshing. I must admit I found the story's length a little off-putting at first, but it was worth reading.

[Tinn]

Originally Posted by Adam19842004

I must admit I found the story's length a little off-putting at first, but it was worth reading.

Length is a problem for you? Huh. I generally prefer longer stories, since there's more chance of detail, background and development. Yes, some longer stories can beat around the bush a bit, but if they're well written they'll be fun to read anyway. But that's just me.

[DalekSec]

Thank you both VERY much. I used to write for money back when dinos roamed the Earth and only got back into writing thanks to Mins SW site. I will have to come up with some moarz for the tastes here as pure SW has its limitations in proper fiction for me.

I have been beating on a slow shrink story that I hope to have ready for all here in short order.

Again, thank you!