Tunisia
120,000 years ago
* * * * * *
Humanity has in the course of time had to endure from the hands of
science two great outrages upon its naive self-love. The first was when
it realized that our earth was not the center of the universe, but only
a speck in a world-system of a magnitude hardly conceivable... The
second was when biological research robbed man of his particular
privilege of having been specially created, and relegated him to a
descent from the animal world. --Sigmund Freud
* * * * * *
The project had begun years ago. No one was sure how it had started, but
all knew how it was going to end. The call to leave was ever present in
their minds.
With the increased intelligence and physical health endowed by the oil,
this group thrived. The heightened intelligence provided them with the
technology and the means to complete the project, while the enhanced
health gave them an increased life span to see that the project was
completed.
And completed it had to be.
No one knew why.
But no one questioned it.
The call to leave was ever present in their minds.
* * * * * *
There was another group, one nearly identical to the first except for
one crucial exception.
They heard no call.
In the times past, in the oil's previous interactions with humanity's
lineage, it was just a single encounter with a life form. The oil had
its influence, but was limited to an individual. But in this time and
place the oil had not been limited. The one infected had been female
instead of a male, and this meant that there was not a natural limit.
The oil was passed from mother to child in the womb, and the effects
began to compound from one generation to the next.
Any number of things could have happened that would have changed things.
The first infected could have been a male; or it could have been a
barren female. The first infected could have been a female who only had
male children, which would have halted the changes after only two
generations.
But none of this happened, and that made the critical difference.
It wasn't just the people who were changing.
The oil was mutating as well. Its prolonged contact with the human mind
and the advancing intelligence had an unexpected reaction. The oil began
to gain its own intelligence.
The instincts within it began to amplify and coalesce into so much more.
The deep-seated need to find life, to find organisms of high
intelligence was increased, and there was an overwhelming need to leave,
to look for others.
And so they built.
The others watched, confused.
* * * * * *
These others had inherited the altered genetics from their infected
fathers, but were born from uninfected mothers and therefore they
remained uninfected, and they maintained their free will.
They watched with confusion as those infected worked from dusk to dawn,
with no breaks, no pauses for meals, nothing. They worked until they
could no longer move, and when they collapsed, no one even paused. There
was no joy, no happiness, nothing amongst these people. Only the
compulsion to leave, to find something better filled them.
All was sacrificed for the project.
* * * * * *
When it was time, they left.
No one looked back at the group that they were leaving behind as they
boarded the craft.
The others could not stop them.
They watched in amazement as the craft rose from the ground. It hovered
for a few moments, then it disappeared into the blue sky. All watched as
their families disappeared from their lives forever.
* * * * * *
This was a hardy group, the ones left behind. The group survived and
thrived. It grew and expanded and began to take over new territories.
The original group grew into the thousands and their evolved genes were
passed on to the next generations.
And so man took another step, and he conquered the world.
* * * * * *
March 7, 1999
Resistance Headquarters
Conference Room
8:32 am
To say that Mulder was excited would have been a vast understatement. To
say that he was like an eight year old with ADD minus the Ritalin and
plus a few cups of sugar laced with caffeine, would have been a more apt
distraction. Scully noticed out of the corner of her eye that once again
the projector was bobbing. She wondered when he would actually take
flight from all of his pent up energy.
Her comment had started the countdown. 10...9...8...
"What do you mean, 'us'?" Mulder asked, but it really wasn't a question.
She knew that he had already leapt to this conclusion. He was studying
her, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with her. "Nothing's
wrong Mulder. I'm just not feeling quite myself today." She didn't
need any of her newfound skills to realize this. She had worked with him
for so many years that reading him had become second nature to her.
But she could read him, him more than the others. The excitement was
obvious. One could be deaf, dumb, and mute and still be able to know
that... but underneath was concern and a fear and this only she could
feel. A fear of what had been done to her... or was it an actual fear
'of' her? Was he afraid of her? The thought came unbidden to her, and
with almost physical effort she pushed it away.
She didn't want to know the answer to that question.
Scully reluctantly turned to meet his face. He asked the question again,
"What do you mean, 'us'?", and reached his hand to touch hers. She
instinctively recoiled from him. She didn't want to know his fear.
Mulder's fingers were frozen, midair, inches from where her hand had
been moments before. He held the pose a moment too long before turning
to the men across from them.
With hesitation, Ed answered the question that had first been directed
at Scully. "Scully's correct. The so-called 'aliens' used to be human at
some point in their history. As near as we can figure, from the genetic
drift and taking into account the increased effects the oil has, it is
my guess that they separated from us close to 120,000 years ago. This is
the time period when Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man began to first
appear. This also fits the timetable of the archaeological site I
discovered in 1979, the year I was 'recruited' into the project."
"You found a site?" Mulder eyes widened even further, if that was
possible. "What did you discover?"
Cue projector. Click! A series of pictures depicting various aspects of
excavation of the site flashed in quick secession. "It was a city, a
highly sophisticated city. A city, which according to everything I knew
at the time, should not exist. It was far too highly advanced, too high
tech so to speak. The only time in history when man has come close to
creating something as complex as this has only been in the last few
years."
"The people of the city were a highly evolved group of several thousand
individuals. We have only recently begun to comprehend the technology
that we discovered from the site. Many of the synthetic polymers and
metal compounds we found we are still unable to recreate."
"How do you even know that this was a human settlement?" Mulder asked.
"We have found human remains that match modern man's. There is nothing
that suggests that there was an outside source. These people mined for
their minerals and metals. The polymers and metal compounds were created
there as well; there were remains of foundries." Click! Picture of said
foundries.
Ed paused. "One thing that disturbs me about the city, however, is
it's...sterility I guess would be the right word. The buildings were of
a high quality, yet emotionally void." Click! Close ups of blank walls,
barren pots, and empty hearths. "There was no indication of art or
entertainment, or religion, and we haven't as of yet uncovered anything
that could be considered a personal item. There was no evidence of
writing, or a language, and no indication of what their power structure
was like. It has really been somewhat a puzzle over the years. Only
recently have the pieces been coming together."
Ed chuckled under his breath. "Sorry to bore you with this, it's just
that this is my area of study and I am simply fascinated with it."
"No, this is great. This is just too great. This is the kind of stuff we
like to hear." Mulder said quickly. "Please, continue. How have things
been coming together?"
"As I've said, I discovered this site in 1979, so I've been working on
this for 20 years, and for the majority of that time, I was working for
the consortium. While working with them, I was not informed of exactly
what I was looking for. I thought that it simply was just another
previously undiscovered civilization. Important yes, but I never
believed that what I was studying would have such a far-reaching
significance."
"When I was recruited to the resistance several years ago, I was told
everything else, and in the ensuing years learned the rest. This is what
we've just told you. Recently, we had a break through at the site. We
found a second settlement, not more than 500 yards away that was from
the same era. The structures where built the same, same materials were
used, et cetera. But there was one rather remarkable difference." Ed
pulled out a large folded up paper and spread it flat on the tabletop.
"We found art. This is just one of the examples of the carvings that
decorated the walls." Mulder stood up next to her to gain a better
overall view, and Scully followed suit.
"There are over a hundred scenes that depict their life and history, all
impressive, but this one is by far the most telling."
Scully looked at the picture. Even to her untrained eye, she could
clearly see what was meant to be depicted. Two groups, one leaving on a
craft of some sort.
"This is their history?" Mulder asked. "If it is, like you say, then
this is the proof that they are us, that we had the same ancestors."
"Yes, it is. We'd already pretty much came to this conclusion, but as
you can see, this just strengthens this theory."
"Think that we have moved beyond theory into fact." Mulder said, still
somewhat awed.
Ed nodded, agreeing with Mulder. "Yes, I think that it is safe to say
that."
Moments passed as they all stared at the paper spread across the table.
Scully finally spoke. "You know, not to interrupt, or make light of what
you have discovered here, but I would really like to get back to what
was done to me... how... why..."
"Of course. I'm sorry about this." Ed looked apologetic, Mulder guilty.
"Dagen will explain that." Ed took the etching off the table and
carefully put it away as everyone else sat back down.
Dagen began. "While still working with the group I discovered a way to
activate dormant genes. The same genes that the oil activates when it
invades the body." He shrugged his shoulders almost apologetically. "I
really just stumbled upon it actually. We were still years away from
developing it. Cassandra was the first person that we tested it on and
it was a success. Too much of a success."
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "We had spent so many years trying to
come up with and alien/human hybrid. Yet once we discovered the true
nature of the *aliens* it became a relatively easy procedure. That was
why the rebels sacrificed the scientists and the majority of the
consortium. The knowledge had to be kept away from the aliens. This
base, where we are now, is headquarters for the resistance. We're the
ones fighting against the incoming invasion. The aliens never found out
about Cassandra, but they know of the existence of Scully, and will do
anything in their power to get her."
"Why?" Mulder's excitement of before was muted by a growing
apprehension.
"Once they have her, they will also have the means to create others like
her, and the invasion will begin. She was given the treatment I
discovered. The majority of the genes that would normally have been
turned off in her are now on. She is where man will be in 500,000 years
if allowed to evolve at the current rate. She is at the intermediate
stage between human and alien."
* * * * * *
North Texas
37,000 years ago
The wolves' hot breath froze the second it passed their panting mouths.
The white mist hung in the air, but was lost against the backdrop the
frozen landscape provided. The pack of wolves chased after and
surrounded the prey with ease. With the confidence the pack provided, as
well as the brutal instinct honed by several millennia of evolution, the
deer was brought down with little trouble.
The wolves surrounded the carcass of the fallen deer, and with gusto,
tore in. The warm, bright red blood soaked into the white snow, staining
it. The motion of the wolves tearing into the animal, as well as the
melting snow caused the body to shift, revealing the ground underneath.
The creature beneath awoke.
* * * * * *
The deer was nearly consumed when one of the wolves from the pack
noticed something. Perhaps there'd been the slightest amount of
movement, or perhaps there was just the sense that there was something
odd. But what ever it was, her curiosity took over. Something had caught
her attention. This particular wolf wasn't as mature and experienced at
life as the others of the pack. The scar on her right hind leg that
could be seen through her thick, light brown fur was evidence of that
fact. A scar that she'd received from another, more dominant member of
the pack, when she had ventured into territory that she didn't belong.
She was venturing into dangerous territory again.
The tip of the her nose brushed the black oil, but that was all that it
took for the oil to take hold. She tumbled back with a high pitched
yelp, her head whipping back and forth vigorously making her fall to the
snow covered ground twitching in an attempt to gain back some kind of
control. Those violent motions stopped as the wolf's eyes clouded over.
The other wolves, sensing danger, and a possible threat, turned to face
the victim. This victim was now rising with a newfound confidence and
focus. She began to bare her teeth and growl in low tones at the others,
as if she no longer recognized them. She snapped and barked as the pack
cautiously approached her.
Noticing the change within the female, the rest of the wolves approached
to purge the pack of this new and now unknown enemy. Their heads down,
ears drawn back, eyes piercing and squinting, they bared their teeth and
growled even deeper. Not able to fight against the others, the infected
wolf backed away, finding an escape route off into the woods. The pack
did not pursue, but instead left the area in haste in search of more
food.
* * * * * *
Something unusual happened with this infection. As in the past, when a
female becomes infected, the oil, as well as the genetic changes, are
passed on to the offspring. But in this case the female was pregnant
when infection took place.
As the oil actively invaded the mother's body, and changes began to
occur, the fetuses were also invaded. Instead of a passive infection
through the womb, the fetuses were attacked directly and changes began
to take place.
The oil's increased ability to change its host, combined with the
rapidly dividing cells of the gestating embryos had a profound and
synergetic effect.
The wolf, isolated from her kind, sought shelter in an abandoned cave.
Now unable to effectively hunt on her own, and with the increase in
energy requirements needed for the rapidly growing and mutating life
forms within her, the wolf was soon too weak to leave. Isolated, cut
off, and too weak to care, she died, alone.
That was for the best, for moments later, a newly synthesized organism
literally burst forth from the womb. This creature, having consumed its
siblings in the womb, now turned to its mother and ate her with a
fervor. Still ravenous, and still continuing to grow at an alarming
rate, this new creation knew it would have to venture out to seek more
subsistence.
Leaving the cave, the creature paused in the half darkness outside. The
moon was shinning, sending its blue rays bouncing off the snow and
falling lightly upon the sleeping earth. With the exception of a slight
breeze that filtered through the naked trees, it was oddly quiet.
Lifting its head into the wind, the creature sought out its next meal.
Finding a direction, it took off.
* * * * * *
The camp's serene stillness was shattered by a scream of pure terror.
The rest of the camp was roused to the site where the horrible cries
emanated. The men grabbed their weapons and gathered around the entrance
of the sleeping chamber.
The cries abruptly ended.
If it had been the cries that had first moved the men to action, it was
the cessation of those same cries that moved the men to attack. The
first men to enter the chamber were quickly disposed of, and the rest of
the men hesitated. The creature left the confines of the enclosure, and
snarled. Red gleamed from its mouth, and its fully extended claws
dripped with blood. The men could only look in horror.
One man, able to shake off the terror that had immobilized the others,
led the battle cry and moved to attack. The other men, seeing the man's
courage, were able to break from the spell as well. The men converged on
the beast.
The creature, calculating the risks, decided at that moment to depart.
* * * * * *
The two men ran at a frenetic pace through the snow. They had been
running all night, following the obvious tracks in the snow the creature
had left behind. The only sound that could be heard was their heavy
breathing, the crunch of the snow beneath their feet, and the empty
howling of the wind.
Several hours after daybreak they had managed to follow the tracks into
a cave of ice. The two entered cautiously. One of the men pulled out two
rocks and with a crack he hit the pair together, creating a spark that
lit the torches.
They cautiously made their way though the cavernous structure, slowly
swinging the torches back and forth looking for any sign of the
creature. One of the men momentarily paused to look at something that
appeared to be frozen in the ice, but before he could make anything out,
the creature broadsided him.
The beast attacked with an intensity that the man was not prepared for.
He was only able to do one quick thrust into the creature's underbelly
before being brought down.
The other man, reacting on instinct, attacked the creature from behind
in an effort to save his partner. Bringing down his own weapon to the
creature, he struck with as much force as he could muster. He was
roughly thrown off the creature's back and on to the frozen ground.
Still stunned from the blow, the man quickly turned onto his back to
face his attacker. To his surprise, the creature had retreated and it
was not clear as to where it had gone. Pausing momentarily, he bent over
the fallen man. He was obviously dead.
Tossing his emotions aside, the man continued into the cave. Climbing
over a slight rise, the man discovered the creature, lying motionless
and clearly wounded. The man brought the torch close to the head and
waved it back and forth to see if it would react. The creature was
unresponsive.
Gathering his courage, the man brought up his weapon to strike once
more. The beast responded to this. Summoning its strength, the creature
catapulted toward the human. It was only able to strike a few blows
before the man got the upper hand. The man, forcing the creature to the
ground, struck a blow to the chest that effectively killed it.
He sat up, breathing heavily, relieved.
Then the man noticed the oil moving from the wound of the creature to
him.
And the man began to cry out in horror.
* * * * * *
The oil would remain undiscovered, hidden from the world's prying eyes,
until one afternoon many, many years later, when a young boy named
Stevie decided to go digging with his father's shovel.
* * * * * *
120,000 years ago
* * * * * *
Humanity has in the course of time had to endure from the hands of
science two great outrages upon its naive self-love. The first was when
it realized that our earth was not the center of the universe, but only
a speck in a world-system of a magnitude hardly conceivable... The
second was when biological research robbed man of his particular
privilege of having been specially created, and relegated him to a
descent from the animal world. --Sigmund Freud
* * * * * *
The project had begun years ago. No one was sure how it had started, but
all knew how it was going to end. The call to leave was ever present in
their minds.
With the increased intelligence and physical health endowed by the oil,
this group thrived. The heightened intelligence provided them with the
technology and the means to complete the project, while the enhanced
health gave them an increased life span to see that the project was
completed.
And completed it had to be.
No one knew why.
But no one questioned it.
The call to leave was ever present in their minds.
* * * * * *
There was another group, one nearly identical to the first except for
one crucial exception.
They heard no call.
In the times past, in the oil's previous interactions with humanity's
lineage, it was just a single encounter with a life form. The oil had
its influence, but was limited to an individual. But in this time and
place the oil had not been limited. The one infected had been female
instead of a male, and this meant that there was not a natural limit.
The oil was passed from mother to child in the womb, and the effects
began to compound from one generation to the next.
Any number of things could have happened that would have changed things.
The first infected could have been a male; or it could have been a
barren female. The first infected could have been a female who only had
male children, which would have halted the changes after only two
generations.
But none of this happened, and that made the critical difference.
It wasn't just the people who were changing.
The oil was mutating as well. Its prolonged contact with the human mind
and the advancing intelligence had an unexpected reaction. The oil began
to gain its own intelligence.
The instincts within it began to amplify and coalesce into so much more.
The deep-seated need to find life, to find organisms of high
intelligence was increased, and there was an overwhelming need to leave,
to look for others.
And so they built.
The others watched, confused.
* * * * * *
These others had inherited the altered genetics from their infected
fathers, but were born from uninfected mothers and therefore they
remained uninfected, and they maintained their free will.
They watched with confusion as those infected worked from dusk to dawn,
with no breaks, no pauses for meals, nothing. They worked until they
could no longer move, and when they collapsed, no one even paused. There
was no joy, no happiness, nothing amongst these people. Only the
compulsion to leave, to find something better filled them.
All was sacrificed for the project.
* * * * * *
When it was time, they left.
No one looked back at the group that they were leaving behind as they
boarded the craft.
The others could not stop them.
They watched in amazement as the craft rose from the ground. It hovered
for a few moments, then it disappeared into the blue sky. All watched as
their families disappeared from their lives forever.
* * * * * *
This was a hardy group, the ones left behind. The group survived and
thrived. It grew and expanded and began to take over new territories.
The original group grew into the thousands and their evolved genes were
passed on to the next generations.
And so man took another step, and he conquered the world.
* * * * * *
March 7, 1999
Resistance Headquarters
Conference Room
8:32 am
To say that Mulder was excited would have been a vast understatement. To
say that he was like an eight year old with ADD minus the Ritalin and
plus a few cups of sugar laced with caffeine, would have been a more apt
distraction. Scully noticed out of the corner of her eye that once again
the projector was bobbing. She wondered when he would actually take
flight from all of his pent up energy.
Her comment had started the countdown. 10...9...8...
"What do you mean, 'us'?" Mulder asked, but it really wasn't a question.
She knew that he had already leapt to this conclusion. He was studying
her, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with her. "Nothing's
wrong Mulder. I'm just not feeling quite myself today." She didn't
need any of her newfound skills to realize this. She had worked with him
for so many years that reading him had become second nature to her.
But she could read him, him more than the others. The excitement was
obvious. One could be deaf, dumb, and mute and still be able to know
that... but underneath was concern and a fear and this only she could
feel. A fear of what had been done to her... or was it an actual fear
'of' her? Was he afraid of her? The thought came unbidden to her, and
with almost physical effort she pushed it away.
She didn't want to know the answer to that question.
Scully reluctantly turned to meet his face. He asked the question again,
"What do you mean, 'us'?", and reached his hand to touch hers. She
instinctively recoiled from him. She didn't want to know his fear.
Mulder's fingers were frozen, midair, inches from where her hand had
been moments before. He held the pose a moment too long before turning
to the men across from them.
With hesitation, Ed answered the question that had first been directed
at Scully. "Scully's correct. The so-called 'aliens' used to be human at
some point in their history. As near as we can figure, from the genetic
drift and taking into account the increased effects the oil has, it is
my guess that they separated from us close to 120,000 years ago. This is
the time period when Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man began to first
appear. This also fits the timetable of the archaeological site I
discovered in 1979, the year I was 'recruited' into the project."
"You found a site?" Mulder eyes widened even further, if that was
possible. "What did you discover?"
Cue projector. Click! A series of pictures depicting various aspects of
excavation of the site flashed in quick secession. "It was a city, a
highly sophisticated city. A city, which according to everything I knew
at the time, should not exist. It was far too highly advanced, too high
tech so to speak. The only time in history when man has come close to
creating something as complex as this has only been in the last few
years."
"The people of the city were a highly evolved group of several thousand
individuals. We have only recently begun to comprehend the technology
that we discovered from the site. Many of the synthetic polymers and
metal compounds we found we are still unable to recreate."
"How do you even know that this was a human settlement?" Mulder asked.
"We have found human remains that match modern man's. There is nothing
that suggests that there was an outside source. These people mined for
their minerals and metals. The polymers and metal compounds were created
there as well; there were remains of foundries." Click! Picture of said
foundries.
Ed paused. "One thing that disturbs me about the city, however, is
it's...sterility I guess would be the right word. The buildings were of
a high quality, yet emotionally void." Click! Close ups of blank walls,
barren pots, and empty hearths. "There was no indication of art or
entertainment, or religion, and we haven't as of yet uncovered anything
that could be considered a personal item. There was no evidence of
writing, or a language, and no indication of what their power structure
was like. It has really been somewhat a puzzle over the years. Only
recently have the pieces been coming together."
Ed chuckled under his breath. "Sorry to bore you with this, it's just
that this is my area of study and I am simply fascinated with it."
"No, this is great. This is just too great. This is the kind of stuff we
like to hear." Mulder said quickly. "Please, continue. How have things
been coming together?"
"As I've said, I discovered this site in 1979, so I've been working on
this for 20 years, and for the majority of that time, I was working for
the consortium. While working with them, I was not informed of exactly
what I was looking for. I thought that it simply was just another
previously undiscovered civilization. Important yes, but I never
believed that what I was studying would have such a far-reaching
significance."
"When I was recruited to the resistance several years ago, I was told
everything else, and in the ensuing years learned the rest. This is what
we've just told you. Recently, we had a break through at the site. We
found a second settlement, not more than 500 yards away that was from
the same era. The structures where built the same, same materials were
used, et cetera. But there was one rather remarkable difference." Ed
pulled out a large folded up paper and spread it flat on the tabletop.
"We found art. This is just one of the examples of the carvings that
decorated the walls." Mulder stood up next to her to gain a better
overall view, and Scully followed suit.
"There are over a hundred scenes that depict their life and history, all
impressive, but this one is by far the most telling."
Scully looked at the picture. Even to her untrained eye, she could
clearly see what was meant to be depicted. Two groups, one leaving on a
craft of some sort.
"This is their history?" Mulder asked. "If it is, like you say, then
this is the proof that they are us, that we had the same ancestors."
"Yes, it is. We'd already pretty much came to this conclusion, but as
you can see, this just strengthens this theory."
"Think that we have moved beyond theory into fact." Mulder said, still
somewhat awed.
Ed nodded, agreeing with Mulder. "Yes, I think that it is safe to say
that."
Moments passed as they all stared at the paper spread across the table.
Scully finally spoke. "You know, not to interrupt, or make light of what
you have discovered here, but I would really like to get back to what
was done to me... how... why..."
"Of course. I'm sorry about this." Ed looked apologetic, Mulder guilty.
"Dagen will explain that." Ed took the etching off the table and
carefully put it away as everyone else sat back down.
Dagen began. "While still working with the group I discovered a way to
activate dormant genes. The same genes that the oil activates when it
invades the body." He shrugged his shoulders almost apologetically. "I
really just stumbled upon it actually. We were still years away from
developing it. Cassandra was the first person that we tested it on and
it was a success. Too much of a success."
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "We had spent so many years trying to
come up with and alien/human hybrid. Yet once we discovered the true
nature of the *aliens* it became a relatively easy procedure. That was
why the rebels sacrificed the scientists and the majority of the
consortium. The knowledge had to be kept away from the aliens. This
base, where we are now, is headquarters for the resistance. We're the
ones fighting against the incoming invasion. The aliens never found out
about Cassandra, but they know of the existence of Scully, and will do
anything in their power to get her."
"Why?" Mulder's excitement of before was muted by a growing
apprehension.
"Once they have her, they will also have the means to create others like
her, and the invasion will begin. She was given the treatment I
discovered. The majority of the genes that would normally have been
turned off in her are now on. She is where man will be in 500,000 years
if allowed to evolve at the current rate. She is at the intermediate
stage between human and alien."
* * * * * *
North Texas
37,000 years ago
The wolves' hot breath froze the second it passed their panting mouths.
The white mist hung in the air, but was lost against the backdrop the
frozen landscape provided. The pack of wolves chased after and
surrounded the prey with ease. With the confidence the pack provided, as
well as the brutal instinct honed by several millennia of evolution, the
deer was brought down with little trouble.
The wolves surrounded the carcass of the fallen deer, and with gusto,
tore in. The warm, bright red blood soaked into the white snow, staining
it. The motion of the wolves tearing into the animal, as well as the
melting snow caused the body to shift, revealing the ground underneath.
The creature beneath awoke.
* * * * * *
The deer was nearly consumed when one of the wolves from the pack
noticed something. Perhaps there'd been the slightest amount of
movement, or perhaps there was just the sense that there was something
odd. But what ever it was, her curiosity took over. Something had caught
her attention. This particular wolf wasn't as mature and experienced at
life as the others of the pack. The scar on her right hind leg that
could be seen through her thick, light brown fur was evidence of that
fact. A scar that she'd received from another, more dominant member of
the pack, when she had ventured into territory that she didn't belong.
She was venturing into dangerous territory again.
The tip of the her nose brushed the black oil, but that was all that it
took for the oil to take hold. She tumbled back with a high pitched
yelp, her head whipping back and forth vigorously making her fall to the
snow covered ground twitching in an attempt to gain back some kind of
control. Those violent motions stopped as the wolf's eyes clouded over.
The other wolves, sensing danger, and a possible threat, turned to face
the victim. This victim was now rising with a newfound confidence and
focus. She began to bare her teeth and growl in low tones at the others,
as if she no longer recognized them. She snapped and barked as the pack
cautiously approached her.
Noticing the change within the female, the rest of the wolves approached
to purge the pack of this new and now unknown enemy. Their heads down,
ears drawn back, eyes piercing and squinting, they bared their teeth and
growled even deeper. Not able to fight against the others, the infected
wolf backed away, finding an escape route off into the woods. The pack
did not pursue, but instead left the area in haste in search of more
food.
* * * * * *
Something unusual happened with this infection. As in the past, when a
female becomes infected, the oil, as well as the genetic changes, are
passed on to the offspring. But in this case the female was pregnant
when infection took place.
As the oil actively invaded the mother's body, and changes began to
occur, the fetuses were also invaded. Instead of a passive infection
through the womb, the fetuses were attacked directly and changes began
to take place.
The oil's increased ability to change its host, combined with the
rapidly dividing cells of the gestating embryos had a profound and
synergetic effect.
The wolf, isolated from her kind, sought shelter in an abandoned cave.
Now unable to effectively hunt on her own, and with the increase in
energy requirements needed for the rapidly growing and mutating life
forms within her, the wolf was soon too weak to leave. Isolated, cut
off, and too weak to care, she died, alone.
That was for the best, for moments later, a newly synthesized organism
literally burst forth from the womb. This creature, having consumed its
siblings in the womb, now turned to its mother and ate her with a
fervor. Still ravenous, and still continuing to grow at an alarming
rate, this new creation knew it would have to venture out to seek more
subsistence.
Leaving the cave, the creature paused in the half darkness outside. The
moon was shinning, sending its blue rays bouncing off the snow and
falling lightly upon the sleeping earth. With the exception of a slight
breeze that filtered through the naked trees, it was oddly quiet.
Lifting its head into the wind, the creature sought out its next meal.
Finding a direction, it took off.
* * * * * *
The camp's serene stillness was shattered by a scream of pure terror.
The rest of the camp was roused to the site where the horrible cries
emanated. The men grabbed their weapons and gathered around the entrance
of the sleeping chamber.
The cries abruptly ended.
If it had been the cries that had first moved the men to action, it was
the cessation of those same cries that moved the men to attack. The
first men to enter the chamber were quickly disposed of, and the rest of
the men hesitated. The creature left the confines of the enclosure, and
snarled. Red gleamed from its mouth, and its fully extended claws
dripped with blood. The men could only look in horror.
One man, able to shake off the terror that had immobilized the others,
led the battle cry and moved to attack. The other men, seeing the man's
courage, were able to break from the spell as well. The men converged on
the beast.
The creature, calculating the risks, decided at that moment to depart.
* * * * * *
The two men ran at a frenetic pace through the snow. They had been
running all night, following the obvious tracks in the snow the creature
had left behind. The only sound that could be heard was their heavy
breathing, the crunch of the snow beneath their feet, and the empty
howling of the wind.
Several hours after daybreak they had managed to follow the tracks into
a cave of ice. The two entered cautiously. One of the men pulled out two
rocks and with a crack he hit the pair together, creating a spark that
lit the torches.
They cautiously made their way though the cavernous structure, slowly
swinging the torches back and forth looking for any sign of the
creature. One of the men momentarily paused to look at something that
appeared to be frozen in the ice, but before he could make anything out,
the creature broadsided him.
The beast attacked with an intensity that the man was not prepared for.
He was only able to do one quick thrust into the creature's underbelly
before being brought down.
The other man, reacting on instinct, attacked the creature from behind
in an effort to save his partner. Bringing down his own weapon to the
creature, he struck with as much force as he could muster. He was
roughly thrown off the creature's back and on to the frozen ground.
Still stunned from the blow, the man quickly turned onto his back to
face his attacker. To his surprise, the creature had retreated and it
was not clear as to where it had gone. Pausing momentarily, he bent over
the fallen man. He was obviously dead.
Tossing his emotions aside, the man continued into the cave. Climbing
over a slight rise, the man discovered the creature, lying motionless
and clearly wounded. The man brought the torch close to the head and
waved it back and forth to see if it would react. The creature was
unresponsive.
Gathering his courage, the man brought up his weapon to strike once
more. The beast responded to this. Summoning its strength, the creature
catapulted toward the human. It was only able to strike a few blows
before the man got the upper hand. The man, forcing the creature to the
ground, struck a blow to the chest that effectively killed it.
He sat up, breathing heavily, relieved.
Then the man noticed the oil moving from the wound of the creature to
him.
And the man began to cry out in horror.
* * * * * *
The oil would remain undiscovered, hidden from the world's prying eyes,
until one afternoon many, many years later, when a young boy named
Stevie decided to go digging with his father's shovel.
* * * * * *