Earth Died Screaming

[Calla Bryn Sturgis]

There was thunder
There was lightning
Then the stars went out
And the moon feel from the sky.

- Tom Waits, "Earth Died Screaming"

The boy knew the wolf was there. Neither his parents nor the other kids would believe him, but he knew the wolf was there. They thought he lied, and were scared of wolves, but the boy wasn’t. The wolf killed the bad things that chased the boy in his dreams. He never thought to ask why bad things chased him in his dreams, or why the wolf killed them. But the wolf did it anyway, for he was one of the Hell Hounds. And these humans should have known better.

A roar brings death upon the winds, and even the greatest of predators scatter. The monster leans back, standing on a rock, slick and red, and howls in exaltation. Blood and saliva mix in its maw and flow down over its torn fur, dripping upon the shattered carcass of what used to be a man.

Lightning flashes, splitting the bole of an ancient tree, and the rash of thunder shatters the ominous silence of the night. Prey animals scatter, their hearts hammering, and even otherwise brave predators panic and flee. And those who reckon themselves above both predator and prey freeze in unaccustomed terror, not knowing what’s coming. They don’t yet recognize the signs of displeasure lord of the forest.

The howls in the night reminded the children of the tales their parents told. Stories of young men and women who foolishly wandered out into the dark woods at night, into the Empire of the Horde never to be seen again. Before the war, folks would laugh at such “superstition,” but not now. Not here. The howls reminded the humans of lessons about staying in their place. Of the fiery eyes that too many of them had seen from afar. Of the Loup-Garou. Of the Guardians of the Forest.

[Ophelia Aiyana Whitney]

Screams filled the air. Things, most likely to be human were in danger of dying. Though Ophelia looked human – indeed – she felt neither closeness to humans nor the need, thought, or desire to help the humans out. The human kind a very long time ago murdered and killed and destroyed her people whenever the Faeries got a bit too careless. They were tricked and deceived by peddlers only to find themselves with iron chains and rings around their flesh – making it impossible for them to escape as iron was deadly to Fae and weakened them so.

Now a woman was screaming as she ran straight for Ophelia and her currently glamoured blond hair. She was screaming something about her husband being eaten or dragged away. Mostly the woman just screamed and tried to drag onto Ophelia who pushed her away. The woman picked herself up off the ground and continued to run obviously thinking that the wolf would eat Ophelia and she could escape since it would go after the blond who was closest.

“Stupid mortals, thinking they can touch me!” Ophelia said as she wiped her hands which had touched the mortal on the grass. She walked in the direction of which the female had come running from. Ophelia had heard, rumored actually, that the Seelie were here. Perhaps Ophelia would finally meet her mother or a beloved Seelie prince that she could trick into marrying her. She saw a creature on a rock. She had found the husband. “Hello, doggie!” Ophelia said.