The Hooman Saga - XXV & XXVI - Serial Fiction

SO FAR: With the hunters away, the feral wolves have arrived at the sentient wolves' valley. They wait, and watch. Sue has now entered the Teacher's dreams to help her survive that Probe.

Apr 05, 2025

XXV

Tig lead his small pack of hunters toward the main camp. All sign was that it was empty. Fires had done their trick. The sentients scouted around the edge of it and paused at streams to quench their thirst. It was a series of dens in a hillside, amongst fallen trees and old boulders. Shale falling from the cliffs above gave an uphill approach to the dens, with no way to attack from two sides. The dens could be simply defended. But no wolves were present. They'd left in a hurry, with half-eaten meals.

Tig's pack got busy going in and out of the dens, scratching out any bedding and leaving sign at their openings. They defiled the dens in any way they could, even dragging smelly weeds into the dens and scratching them into the dirt floors and walls, covering them slightly and breaking the pungent berries with their feet, cleaning these on the dirt outside.

Tig was busy with a den when he sensed something changed. It was too quiet outside.

As he crawled to the outside, something landed on his neck, covering his eyes, while his front paws were seized, dragging him out to the bright sunshine.

Three more weights were added to his back, holding him down. His hind legs were also seized with sharp canine teeth. If he moved, one or more of his legs could be broken. And already it was hard breathing.

His head was uncovered. As his vision cleared, he saw Snarl. Smiling.

XXVI

I SAW TEACHER LAID out on her side, panting heavy and rapid. As if asleep, but it was the Probe effects.

The Female hunters and cubs were wary of stepping into the circle.

But I knew something needed to be done. So I rose and went to Teacher, kneeling by her side. I put one hand on Teacher's chest and found her heart was racing. The other hand I pushed into the thick fur around the neck, until I felt the back of her head where the neck joined it.

I closed my eyes and bowed my own head.

Teacher's dreams became mine.

- - - -

IT WAS A SWIRLING MIXTURE of dreams. All nightmares I had seen while Teacher slept before. But now, they were just the fast clips of being caught or captured or shot. And each time there was a hooman ending that life. One after another, over and over. Teacher was dying again and again at some hooman's hands.

I listened to Teacher's heart beat and made my own match it. Then I calmed my own breathing and so slowed my own heart, and Teacher's heart matched it. The clips started to run in stop-motion. One clip cut to the length of a heart beat. And then only a single image for each clip. Finally, I saw Teacher in the white space, sitting again in front of me, eyes closed and the images flashing between us.

I remembered my Grandmother's mental tricks she had taught me on the Moon colony. Of creating an imaginary umbrella to ward off bad thoughts.

Waving my hands in front of me, I play-acted as if I had an invisible umbrella in my hand. And slid one hand up the shaft to find the sliding connection while the other held the handle. Making the fabric white and the details visible, the umbrella became as real as the pictures. I inserted the white dome to my left between us, so that I interrupted the pictures from flowing by. I then moved forward on my knees so that the umbrella was protecting both me and Teacher.

The pictures turned to rain.

Teacher opened her eyes and looked over at me. "Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" she sent with her mind.

I smiled at this. "How are you doing?"

"Much better since you showed me how an umbrella works. Like a portable cave," Teacher sent.

My smile turned to a concerned look. "What do you think this rain means?"

"It might be tears of sadness, or tears of joy, or maybe just rain," Teacher sent.

"How can I help you today? You've helped me so much, but I don't want to leave you here in the Probe again," I sent in reply.

"Ah, the Probe. Yes, I'd become lost in my thoughts," Teacher returned.

"Did I give you helpful memories?" I asked.

"Maybe a bit too much. Or it reminded me of too many experiences with hoomans that did not go well," sent Teacher. “Those became my nightmares.”

"Well, is there something you do to help cubs when they have bad dreams?" I asked.

"Oh, of course. The trick is to be there to help them dream. To tell them that everything will be alright. To tell them they must chase the monster back that scared them," sent Teacher.

"Are the hooman's your monster?" I asked.

"Only the feral ones," sent Teacher with a smile. But then frowned again. "It's their weapons and traps that are the problem."

"I've seen you be an owl, and a hawk, a deer, and of course a wolf. Have you ever tried to shift into a hooman?" asked I.

"No. Before you, I had no idea what a hooman was really like, or how they thought and acted. I only had what I'd been taught, and what I'd seen from far away. You have taught us much about hoomans. Maybe it is time to try," sent Teacher.

I sent to her, "I will go with you through these dreams. And I can speak for you or help you with the hooman talking you want to have."

Teacher smiled again, and our beating hearts slowed to a pace of deep sleep.

We’re now closing in on the last episodes of this serial.

You’re now familiar with the sentient wolves, the escaped human Sue. The sentients are now hunting the feral wolves, protecting their own secret valley, while Sue undergoes her “probe” that shares what she knows about her life before her escape. But the ferals are more cunning than expected.

Now we are counting down the remaining chapters. There are only seven chapters after this. But you’ll have to stay tuned until next week to see how they get out of this…

For now, set your calendar to keep track of these new adventures. Every Saturday.