January 18th 1830
Frozen wilderness, United States of America, Border of Canada. Iroquois Longhouse
Personal Journal of Leon Wagner.
Ninth Entry.
I have made a grave mistake.
As I sat by the interior fire among the members of the longhouse. Enjoying their company and fascinating stories of old for hours. My heart suddenly lifted at hearing the sound of Gliding Hawk at last awaken.
I rushed over to meet with my guide by his bed as other members helped him atop his feet. But to my surprise the first he locked eyes with was me.
The warrior quickly stumbled over to me as he grabbed onto my buckskin shirt in anger and dread.
"You...You brought me back!!!??" He shouted at my face. His voice quivering"
I responded with a nervous yes. Saying that I had to save his life. I couldn't just leave him or his son to freeze in the cold, or let the creatures have their way with them both. Gliding Hawk shook his head in frustration. As he looked down and pointed towards the floor slowly.
There was faint drops of blood across the floor. Faint. But enough.
It was then I knew.
My eye's widened as both he and I turned in pure dread towards Mountain wolf body wrapped up in cloth near the center of the room. Covered in blood. Before I could say a word of horror for what I had done.
The longhouse fire suddenly went out.
The room went dark.
Cold. A strong chill suddenly consumed the air.
I could hear the cries of frightened children all around me. The worry of mother's holding and caressing them close. And the chattering and frantic questions of men growing anxious. Shoving me and wanting to kick me outside in the snow for the danger I had led right for them.
Gliding Hawk stumbled on his feet as he rushed over and interjected between us, grabbing his bow and ordering us to calm down and stay focused. Shouting for all the warriors to form a circle around the women and children at the hearth at once. The warriors obeyed and formed their defensive ring. Determined and as brave as ever even when hearing the sound of a horrifying wailing growing closer and closer outside the thin wooden walls along the bloodstained path.
A path. I had brought to their doorstep.
I was a fool, and began to apologize frantically to gliding hawk as we both knelt to the ground. The old warrior, Immensely irritated by the distraction my panic was causing him from restarting the fire, clutched my arm and told me there was nothing that could change the past. Only the future mattered. Telling me he fully understood the feeling of doing something you thought right even if it turned out wrong. But he sternly instructed he needed me right now to be the warrior I said I was and protect his family from whatever happens next. That was how I would make it up to his people. And that I must not fail him.
Gliding hawk then handed me an extra bow and arrows. These fire faster." He said.
"Now fight."
There was no time to don my armor and reload my other weapons. I instead reached for the wooden weapon and stood outside the circle in the dark with the other warriors putting aside their hatred and distrust of me for the sake of their home. Gliding hawk continued frantically attempting to restart the fire with pieces of flint. It did nothing. The cold strong breeze swirling in the room kept smothering the flame's every time it began a breath, not wanting to give any occupants the safety or shield of heat from the creatures wrath.
The whole longhouse was utterly silent other than the crying of babies behind me not understanding what was happening. Suddenly we heart the faint creaking of wood. The sound of footsteps atop the roof above our heads.
Sweat poured down my face before freezing to my skin. I could see everyone's hasty puff's of breath leaving their lungs in fear. A low growl just out of sight.
An elongated cold hand suddenly ripped right through the roof above us, grabbing tightly around the waist of two of the larger warriors beside me. Dragging them both outside into the snow screaming before growing silent in a matter of seconds. With only the sound of crunching bone and pattering of blood seeping atop all of our faces in-between the cracks of the ceiling being the last noises the two warriors ever managed to make.
Before we could even respond, another hand crashed right through the wall in front of us, tearing through the sturdy hardwood as if it were made of glass. Women all around screamed as seeing the Wendio mother jam it's its massive frozen head through the gaping hole it had made. Extending it's clawed hand out to reach for the children. Hoping to take off with anything small it could carry into the safety of the wilderness to consume.
The wendigo began to drool profusely at the sight of us all huddled together. These creature's had never seen so many people in one place. And now that their own children were dead. They didn't have to share in the spoils.
Warrior's and father's shot arrows at the greedy creatures flailing hand reaching for their families. Managing to pin it's massive arm against the wall like a decoration. The Wendio mother's hand still wearing it's wedding ring was then set alight as Gliding Hawk's arrow made contact in the center of it's palm, finally having managed to restart a small dwindling fire. This didn't seem to stop the creature's spirit's though. It bit through it's own fiery arm in just one bite to break itself free. Pain couldn't stop it. It clearly didn't have any.
As the monster charged trailing smoke, it crawld up the side's of the house in the corners of darkness before emerging through the snow and light from the open hole in the roof it's mate had made, illumining her skeletal silhouette to us all. The creature then batted it's remaining massive tree like arm swiftly down upon the group with a savage vengeance, knocking the barricade of warrior's to the side on the ground effortlessly, myself included as if we were nothing.
The creature then grabbed onto the kind woman who had served me food earlier and raised the woman's terrified face up to it's mouth by her throat. Slowly squeezing her neck with trails of ice beginning to spread up and down her chin from the sheer brief contact with the creature's icy touch. My mind began to panic at the horrifying sight. But I couldn't afford to think. Only act.
I fired an arrow right into the eye of the Female Wendio. Making it drop the woman to the cold floor gasping for breath. I fired a second arrow toward the creature's head, sticking the arrowhead out the other side of it's face with it's remaining eye skewered at the end. I had hoped the creature's blindness would now impeded it's hostility against us. I was sadly mistaken.
The Wendigo simply sniffed the air and grabbed onto a man and a woman by their ankles hiding among the group. Smashing their skulls against the wall before then suckling the blood and flesh from their broken necks hastily. It was a horrendous sight. I shall never forget the sound of their children's screams as they watched. I and the of the other warrior's ran enraged toward the greedy animal full of hate as it tried to flee with the two corpses back out into the snow. We could not let this monster escape. It would keep returning now that it knew where the longhouse was hidden night after night. We had to end her here and now.
Our band fired arrow after arrow as we chased the monster outside, leaving the animal littered with arrow's from head to toe behind it's back, growing slower and slower as it struggled to escape with it's meal, dragging it's feet and the two corpses through the snow. Finally it collapsed. We approached and were speechless at the sight of a now fat monster beneath us, having already gorged itself on the poor couple. Every single piece of them. Bone and cloth included. The creature looked up at us, momentarily content with it's meal, smiling right at us all through it's bloodstained teeth in utter glutenous relief.
Our group began to hack the creature to pieces in a vengeful anger afterwards. Cutting it's limb's off with blade's like a butcher with it's venison. Only this prey was tainted beyond saving. The monster seemed happy and unconcerned about what we were doing. Compared to the pain of it's hunger. We were nothing but a nuisance. It's belly was full for moment. That was all it cared about, and it wanted to die with it's apatite at last sated. It seemed almost grateful.
As our aching muscles began to slow in our assault, I saw as the monster's eyes then bulged out of it's head, at feeling a familiar sensation it dreaded more than anything. The creature began to cry and wail aloud, not at the pain of being torn apart. But at us not acting fast enough. The pain of it's growling stomach was returning. We could all hear it.
Her as well.
"HUUNNGRRYYYY...." The wendigo muttered under it's icy breath. Snarling and curling it's stomach tightly in agony. "HURRRTSSSSSSS..."
We were all speechless at the creature's words. Even more so as it began to return to it's malnourished tormented shape right in front of our eyes. As if a balloon being depleted of all it's air. It's brief satisfaction of hunger had lasted less than thirty seconds, and it's curse had left behind nothing but a sad shrived mess of a creature that still craved for more, never satisfied. And the thought of being hungry yet again was to much for the wendigo to bear. There was only one solution it's sick depraved mind could think of. A second helping.
"FEEEDD..."The creature gasped greedily.
I saw disgusted and disheartened at the pathetic sight of the bloodied and beaten mess of what was once a innocent young mother, slowly dragging it's limbless body by it's teeth, and crawling back to the longhouse with all it's remaining strength. Desperate to taste human flesh once last time to ease it's pain even briefly.
I made sure in that moment that it never reached it's destination.
I raised my sword. And sliced off it's head without a shred of remorse before stabbing it repeatedly in the heart with the other men. It would never get the chance to feed on the innocent or be hungry again. Never before had I seen an animal so depraved and desperate. I hope to never again. But I knew what I wanted didn't matter. The reality of our situation could not be ignored. There was still it's dreaded mate to deal with.
The cursed Father.
Before we even had a chance to catch our breath, we hear the returning cries of the longhouse and quickly drugged back to save anyone we could. As we entered I saw, piles of dead warriors and women scattered across the floor. Gliding hawk stood face to face scarred and bruised, eyes locked with the last wendigo.
The monumental creature then stood up to full height before us all, it's head nearly touching the ceiling. It's long arm's grazing the stained floor. It was the largest and most powerful of them all, with a white frosty beard stained with human blood to distinguish itself from it's family it had sacrificed both in it's previous life and it's new cursed one.
Gliding hawk stood his ground, protecting the surviving women and children. His tomahawk raised as he slashed repeatedly toward the shadow of the cruel creature he had helped slaughter his people. The old but fearless warrior stumbled as he charged with all his might wanting to avenge all the wrong's he had done. He was weak. He was injured. He was fearless to the very end.
The monster knocked him aside against the wall with a loud crack and did not get up. I screamed in rage and fired endlessly against the fleeing creature as it scooped piles of corpses in it's skeletal arm and slinked up the walls to escape through the gaping hole it had made in the roof. While it was the most powerful, it was also the most cowardly. In a matter of seconds. It fled back in to the forest swinging among the trees. It was gone. But it would return.
I rushed over to gliding Hawk buried under the bodies of his tribe as the children surrounded him. He gasped as his crying eye's looked up as mine, his back was broken. He couldn't move. He would never move again.
"I'm sorry...."He uttered, his breath still cold. "My people. My people...My fault."
I gripped my friend's hand tightly as he laid there paralyzed. No I said in shame. If anyone is to blame for this. It was me. For I had broken the first and most important rule of the hunt. I had brought other's into the fray when I should have done it alone.
And they had all paid the price for my arrogance.