Author's Note: Sanctuary Bingo Entry. Having to use . as paragraph breaks due to FFnet's funky formatting
Prompt: Europe
Darkness crept across the empty landscape, the shadows extending as night began to fall. A hunters moon bathed the darkened landscape in a faintly orange glow, making the area appear like another world. Henry drove slowly along the road, following the deer carcass he had left as bait a few miles back near an old abandoned village. He'd planted the tracker into the skull of the carcass, knowing it would the place least likely to get eaten by predators. He was beginning to wonder what exactly was carrying off his carefully placed bait, knowing that local legends told of many different predators near the town of Inari. Those stories were the reason Henry had come to the depths of Finland in the first place, to see if there was any truth to the supposed sightings of Werewolves.
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Henry shuddered at the thought of the word Werewolf, hating the association because of pop culture's vilification of his race. Some modern literary works had striven to cast them as less vicious killer, more misunderstood hero's-in-waiting but never the less, people still feared his kind. He knew from bitter experience that his own kind feared what they were, at least the ones he had met did. But after so many years of believing himself to be the last of his kind, and then finding out he wasn't, he was now confused about who and what he was.
The change of the tracking signal pulled him from his reverie and he shook his head, pulling to the side of the road to see what had happened. The trace program indicated that whatever was carrying the carcass had changed direction and headed into the heavily wooded Kevo Nature Reserve. What little he knew of the area had told him the centre point of the reserve was a huge canyon that ran almost the entire length of it. Local legends spoke of all sorts of mythical creatures near Inari, including Werewolves, Witches and Trolls, many of whom were possibly abnormals trying to find a safe place to live.
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Henry pulled into a small car park near the edge of the Kevo Nature Reserve and threw a few items into his backpack. Grabbing the handheld scanner in one hand and a torch in the other, he carefully started down the overgrown path that led into the reserve. His senses told him there were abnormals nearby, but what type eluded him for the moment. He had been working hard with the Big Guy to hone his senses; he could now determine the scents of all his friends within a half mile radius. His gut told him there were HAP's here, but his logical mind told him not to get his hopes up, just in case he was disappointed. Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, he walked deeper into the forest, intent on the tracker signal and finding out what lived in the area. He failed to see the golden eyes peering out of the undergrowth, watching his every move, waiting for the right time to strike.
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Henry came around slowly, opening his eyes and taking great care not to move, in case the tribe of bongo players residing in his skull decided to play a more 'upbeat' tune than they already were. A groan escaped his lips as the light hurt his battered brain and optic nerves, and he clamped down on the urge to vomit.
"So, you're finally awake then?" Declan McCrae asked, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Yeah," Henry replied, closing his eyes against the light. "Where am I?"
"At the London Sanctuary," Declan told him, dimming the lights in the infirmary.
"Thanks dude," Henry said, smiling a little to show he meant it. "So, how did I end up here?"
"One of the telepaths got a very interesting psychic shout from an abnormal in Kevo. She said you'd been hurt and told us where to find you," the Brit filled him in, helping him taking a small sip of water.
"I was looking for HAP's," Henry answered the question hovering on Declan's lips.
"I know," Declan advised. "The female who called us said you'd found them and were talking to them when something attacked you. The pack defended you as best they could, but they had to draw away the other predator and couldn't look after you. That's when we got called in."
"So there is another Clan out there?" Henry asked, his memories full of holes that he wished he could fill.
"Yes, and when you're strong enough, we'll all be going back to look for them, and whatever it was that attacked as well," Declan replied, his tone indicating both Helen's full knowledge and support of his activities. "But right now, you need to sleep."
"No arguments here," Henry agreed, hearing the gentle chuckle from his friend as the room went dark and he drifted back into a deep, dream filled sleep.