The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 12

Andrew already had the design mapped out in his head, the layout preserved within his phone.

"Wow, gonna try and get that controller board set up, huh?" Seth asked as he watched Andrew with great interest. The redhead knew a lot about electronics, but Andrew was stepping into something that even he had never dared. The few things Andrew had attempted in the past were minor and served simple purposes — he had once hooked up an AC adapter to an old wireless gun peripheral for a game, tired of having to replace batteries which the device seemed to eat like breath mints.

He had read a lot of books and had toyed around with some simple circuits, so he felt pretty confident that he knew what to do. Once he had everything laid out in front of him, he studied the plain green punch board, admiring the hundreds of small holes that dotted its entire surface. Numerous pieces of electronics surrounded the enigmatic square, placed with exacting care, and Andrew studied it all, making sure he knew where every component needed to go.

Most of the room seemed to wait with bated anticipation for him to start, and after a few long moments, the room was silent with their desire for him to begin. The room filled with numerous sighs as Andrew lifted a spool of wire and began measuring and cutting various lengths. Seth had given up working on his project, resolving himself to watch Andrew through the entire process.

He was the only person in the room capable of appreciating the skill that went into Andrew's performance. The small man was careful, his movements fast but deliberate as he measured dozens of lengths of wire, using four different colors for various and unknown reasons. Once everything was cut and the wires sat in a nice orderly line, he began to strip the ends of each wire.

Seth shook his head as Andrew began to attach various components to the punch board, and then began to connect those components with wires. The solder was deposited with precision, the molten metal holding each piece in place, and ensuring that electricity would flow free.

Andrew knew on some level that he was being watched, but he focused all of his effort on his task, the blueprint in his mind being filled in as each piece was put into place. By the time the last component filled its gap on the device, his back was a little sore, and his forearms burned with the tension he had been forced to keep in his muscles to perform his exacting task.

Seth shook his head, amazed at the speed with which Andrew had worked, and how perfect each soldering point had been. He followed the pathways, and while he was not sure what many of the components did, he was pretty sure that the circuits were not complete. There were four distinct circuits connected to a single central point that held most of the components, with each circuit running across the bottom of the punch board defined by a distinct color of wire. The design was elegant, but incomplete.

Looking at Andrew, he realized that his friend was watching him.

Seth began, "That's amazing, Andrew..." but drifted off as he tried to figure out how to tell him that there were gaps in the circuits.

"But?" Andrew asked, with a broad grin.

With a broken laugh, Seth dove in, "Well, it's just that the circuits are incomplete, in like several places."

Andrew smiled as he looked at the nervous expression on his friend's face. "Check this out, man," he said before heading towards his project locker.

The confidence in Andrew's voice convinced Seth that whatever he had seen was by design, and sure enough, when Andrew returned, he placed his large intricate project on top of his new controller board, the pegs from the bottom of the project fitting into the holes of the punch board. Now that it was in place, Seth could see that every gap in the circuits was bridged by the silver-plated wires.

Andrew's smile was huge as he studied his handiwork, and while Seth released a nervous chuckle at Andrew's accomplishment, Mrs. Rose made her way across the room.

"Wow, Andrew. I must say that this is more impressive than you had led me to believe it would be."

Andrew beamed at her praise, before responding, "I couldn't have done it without some guidance from my pretty little raincloud over here," he ended his statement by patting Allison on the shoulder, who pulled away from his touch, and glowered while holding up her clay-cutting tool in warning.

Everyone but Allison chuckled and shook their heads at her reaction.

"Are you ready to, what, fire it up? Start it up? Turn it on?" The teacher asked, with a smile and a shrug at her own ignorance.

Andrew and Seth laughed, before Andrew responded, "'Power it up' would probably be the most accurate phrase, and no, I'm not."

He grabbed the edges of the controller board and lifted his project, watching as the device appeared within his mind, labelled as "Andrew's Lightbox." He pulled up the interface that showed the electrical pathways, and could see the entire device presented in a dull, ghostly silhouette. Even though the device was not powered, and he could not see the flowing electricity as it served its purpose, he knew that everything would work. The device was ready.

Despite his confidence, he decided to err on the side of caution. "I want to run some tests and check the circuits, before I hook power up to it. You know, make sure it's ready. I would hate to fry anything, and have to spend another day playing Fixit Felix."

They all laughed at his reference, even Mrs. Rose, which surprised the students who had all stopped their work in the hope of seeing Andrew activate his creation.

"Well, just make sure you lock that up, and I hope it works, Andrew."

Andrew laughed before he responded, "You and me both, sister."

While Mrs. Rose rolled her eyes and walked back to her easel, Seth and Allison watched Andrew, realizing that his casual attitude seemed out of place.

Andrew checked to make sure the support holes he had drilled to secure the two halves of his project together were lined up, before separating the two pieces and securing them within his locker. Every movement was performed with a whistle and a jaunty hop that spoke to his friends of his carefree attitude.

***** Best Laid Plans *****

The jackalope continued to present Tani'm with few answers, its desires manifesting within her mind as images and brief enigmatic statements. At first she had thought that the creature was learning her language, but as the day pressed on, she realized the truth — her magic was working to translate for her.

"Danger!" flashed through her mind, over an image of the wolf's massive snapping maw, while fear raced through her veins.

She reached down and caressed the side of the rabbit's head, while she projected confidence with an image of the hunting party she had met with earlier in the morning. The large jackrabbit had remained in the forest, watching her from afar while she had met with the large gathering of humans.

"Wolf strong, humans weak." Again she felt the animal's fear, and while she listened to its foot pound against the ground in involuntary enjoyment as she rubbed its cheek, she knew it was right. Her only hope was that together, they were strong enough to challenge the great wolf.

By late afternoon, she had narrowed down where the wolf was hiding, and radioed the hunting party with the location. The men were well-armed, and knew better than to underestimate any threat that had Tani'm worried, her legend having preceded her.

They were seasoned hunters, and a few of them had police or armed forces experience. They had split the nine men into three groups, each group headed by a trained operator, and while they all had experience moving through the brush, Tani'm realized the wolf would hear them coming from a long distance.

The jackalope, despite its fear, remained near the dark-haired woman, shadowing her through the thick vegetation. Narrowing in on the location had been difficult and time consuming, but after an hour-and-a-half, Tani'm was stopped by the jackalope, who brushed up beside her. It's eyes were focused off across a clearing in the brush, on a small pond that had been created in that flat area of the forest.

Tani'm pressed the button on the side of the radio, the three pulses telling the men to home in on her location. She was grateful that Eddie had managed to talk the military men into joining their party, the GPS walkie talkies paying dividends as she heard the small groups converging on where she hid.

The forest seemed still, but she could feel the wolf's presence on the wind. Things were too quiet, and the air smelled too sterile, the scent of the forest seeming fake. Whatever magic the creature was using was powerful, but her connection to that place allowed her to sense the minor differences. The thing that troubled Tani'm was that she still had no idea where the wolf was.

As the men moved in, she maintained her magical concealment, patches of her body shifting between shades of brown and green as light trickled through the canopy of the forest. Her knife and hatchet felt weighed-down with dark purpose, and she could sense the nervousness of the jackalope as it scanned the forest beside her.

The men were getting close, and Tani'm could feel the air grow thick with anticipation. It was as if the forest itself was ready for this confrontation, and eager for those two opposing forces to determine its future.

Thunderfoot — as Tani'm had decided to call the jackalope — prepared to hop out into the clearing, but was prevented by the steady hand of the short woman. The men were nearing the open space and had set up a defensive perimeter, the knowledge of each squad leader coming into play.

She rubbed Thunderfoot's cheek, responding to the questioning uncertainty she was getting from the large rabbit. It was time, and Tani'm knew she would need to lure the beast out. She hoped that it would underestimate the hunting party, as Thunderfoot had, and live up to the brazen reputation the wolf had began to form.

Tani'm dropped her magical concealment, the shades of the forest fading off her, as she stepped through the brush and into the cascading light from above. She held her bone knife out to her right, and the metal hatchet out to her left, while her eyes scanned the clearing. The air filled with a deep rumbling growl that seemed to come from every direction.

What had appeared to be a fallen log with moss and mushrooms growing from its surface shifted and moved, two eyes appearing on the far end as the colors and textures faded, revealing the mighty beast.

Wildfang had known that the forest guardian had been seeking him out, but was surprised to see such an insignificant creature emerge from the forest. He had almost caught her in his trap the night before, and now that she had come to him, brandishing her claws, he knew that the forest would soon be his. The puny animal was no guardian, and despite her gifts, he knew she could not stand against him. The only thing she would accomplish would be to act as nourishment for his body.

Her meat smelled sweet, his jaw chattering as he imagined her blood seeping from her broken body, dripping between his teeth as he chewed her alive.

The great wolf stood five-and-a-half-feet tall, its thick, dark-brown fur shifting in the mild breeze as it paced out from where it had been concealed. Its body seemed impossibly large, muscles rippling under its fur with every step it took. The intensity of its feral eyes made its snarl seem all the more ferocious, as saliva dripped from its mouth, the large, dagger-like teeth glistening in the late afternoon light.

Tani'm listened to the frightened stuttering cries of a few of the men echo out from the cover of the forest, the sound of their retreat declaring that her side had already seen their first losses. The great beast's shoulders shook as the wolf seemed to laugh, recognizing what had happened.

They circled each other, each side sizing up the other, and Tani'm realized that the monster held no fear of the men who had taken up position out of sight.

Birds took flight for over a hundred yards in every direction, the small animals of the forest fleeing in response to Tani'm's intense anger as she thought about what this beast had done. Visions of Grandfather, and dozens of other elk and cattle flashed through her mind, their bodies broken and torn apart.

Wildfang recognized her mood and seized his opportunity, closing the distance to his adversary with supernatural speed. A loud noise filled the air, startling the mighty hunter and causing enough of a distraction for Tani'm to roll to the side, avoiding the large beast that landed where she had been. The great wolf's claws dug deep furrows through the dirt and rock as his massive body was brought to a stop. One of the puny creatures could be heard yelling off in the forest.

"Hold your fire, you idiot! You might hit Tani'm," the squad leader called out to a hunter who had fired his shot too soon. They were all on edge, the sight of the fearsome beast threatening everything they thought they knew of their world, and most of them were just barely holding on to sanity.

Tani'm had been grateful for the distraction, not realizing that the beast could move so fast, and dodged out of the way just a moment before the monster had gotten to her. As the wolf released a fearsome bark in the direction that the wayward shot had come from, she could feel the beast's anger and surprise. The shot had missed, but the noise was so overwhelmingly foreign, that the creature was struggling to make sense of it.

She sprinted to the wolf, burying her hatchet into its shoulder as she jumped up onto its back. The wolf bellowed out in pain and jumped and twisted in the air, its claws sending large chunks of the forest floor into the air, as it struggled to throw Tani'm free. She dug her knife into its other side mid-flight, her gift guiding her and keeping her centered on the bucking creature.

It was not until the monster rolled across the ground that Tani'm was forced to withdraw her knife, having to leave the hatchet in place, its blade dug too deeply into the bone to come free. She rolled twice before coming up on her feet, and she knew that the wolf was already moving towards her.

Tani'm spun, using her elbow to knock the mighty creature's head to the side as it tried to bite her from behind. Her feet slid across the forest floor as she made impact, the force of her strike and the mass of her opponent causing her weight to shift away from her adversary. Her movement was completed with a long slashing wound across the wolf's neck as she rolled away, the sound of the beast's sharp teeth snapping together following her as she moved away.

Her slash had been true, and Tani'm turned as she ran away, seeing blood pouring from the open wound, as the monster's eyes followed her with crazed intensity. The wolf had began to chase after her, but stopped as it seemed to concentrate for a moment, and in that moment Tani'm sensed what was happening.

"Fire!" she screamed into the forest, as panic filled her eyes.

As the hatchet dislodged itself from the wolf's side and its artery and neck wounds sealed back up, the forest was consumed by the sound of seven men opening fire. Several .30-06 hunting rifles sounded out first, taking the large wolf by surprise, and almost forcing it to the ground. As the two .375 caliber rifles thundered out, Wildfang had already lunged forward, causing one of the rounds to miss entirely, and what would have been a heart shot to tear into the great beast's side, causing tremendous damage as it ripped through its intestines, but missed its mark.

The following shots came at staggered intervals, with one of the hunters keeping a steady pace of four shots from his semi-automatic .30-06, while the other hunters were forced to reload their lever-action firearms. Tani'm knew that this was their chance, and while the great wolf moved to flee into the forest, she closed the distance, putting herself in danger from the wolf and a stray bullet.

Wildfang whimpered out as he was consumed by an unfamiliar pain, the heat of the bullets that were inside of him demanding his attention. He focused his will and attempted his escape, but saw that the forest guardian had moved to intercept him. Whatever chance he had of surviving relied on him making it to the forest; his muscles were already growing weak under the shock of his wounds.

Tani'm's eyes went wide as she saw the wolf barrelling towards her, its ferocious face a wild mask of anger and fear. She ran at it, and as it turned its head to the side, snapping out to bite her face, she dropped to the ground and slid beneath it. She could feel her knife dig into its belly, its thick hide preventing the blade from penetrating too deep, but she knew that some damage had been done.

As she came up to her feet, a few more shots rang out, the bullets chasing after the large wolf as it vanished into the forest. She ran after her prey, not wanting to give Wildfang the chance to heal his wounds.

"What are you doing? Wait for the rest of us!" one of the military men's voices declared through the walkie-talkie earpiece.

"If it heals, all of this will have been for nothing," she responded, her legs carrying her through the brush with supernatural speed. She could sense Thunderfoot following behind, and knew that the rabbit was still concerned, but impressed.

"Nothing could heal from that! It will bleed out in a matter of minutes," the voice called back. She could hear exhaustion in his gasping breath, and knew that they were trying to keep up with her.

Despite the wolf's wounds, its ability to move through the forest seemed unhindered, and as she gave pursuit, she noticed a mangled large caliber bullet resting in the middle of the trail of blood that she was following. As she continued, Tani'm noticed that the red splashes and dots were growing smaller, until there was nothing, except for the sound of the forest, and the loud noises of seven men chasing after her.

"Fuck!" she called out as she scanned the lush vegetation that surrounded her. "Take cover!" she yelled into the walkie-talkie, as she turned to sprint back to the men, but it was too late.

The sounds of gunfire and screaming bellowed out from the forest, echoing through the majestic trees, before it was all drowned out by the thunderous snarl of the great wolf. Tani'm made it to the men in a matter of moments, but the damage had already been done.

Three of the men were already dead, their bodies torn open by the mighty beast that had attacked them from behind. One of the ex-military men was dragging another man against a tree, while shooting his .357 magnum into the woods. The man was unconscious, and losing blood fast, his arm torn off at the elbow, with large chunks of shredded muscle dangling from the stump. She had seen that damage before, and was sickened by the sight as the unconscious man moved his arm by instinct.

"What the fuck can we do against that thing?" one of the hunters asked, as he sighted his rifle in the direction the wolf had fled. His nerves were on edge, but his resolve was impressive. Everyone was breathing steady, keeping panic at bay — if just barely.

The ex-military man holstered his pistol, and took off the unconscious man's belt, before cinching it around his arm, slowing the flow of blood. While the other two men protected their position, Tani'm sheathed her knife, and buried her hand into the soft soil. After a moment, she brought her hand out, and was holding a firm wad of dark, moist dirt.

She moved to press the dirt into the wounded man's stump, but was stopped by the ex-military man who looked at her with shock.

"Do you want this man to live?" she whispered to him, while raising an eyebrow.