Unhealthy Stories and Other Short Stories

By JD Jones

Here is a collection of bizarre and sometimes frightening looks at the psychological make up of ordinary people we might meet at any time. From witches to demons, the horrors of the human mind are an experience only too close to each of us. We like to think we're okay. We tell ourselves it's only a story. But when we lay down at night, when we close our eyes, can we ever be really sure?
In Unhealthy Stories, The Storyteller weaves a tale everyone getting everyone deeply involved. They are caught up in its details to the extent that life merges with the story. Death, too.
In Beneath the Sands, we learn that when time travel is created, the greatest obstacle is not the technology but the attitudes of those traveling back in time. It's different world back there.
In The Treatment, we watch the cure for cancer being discovered on the moon. The whole world rejoices. But where did it come from and why was it introduced into the human population just then?
In Claiming Day, when a young witch comes of age, she has to be aware of the whole world around her and not just the part she has lived in all her life. Nothing prepares anyone for the whole world.
In H, we're reminded that government creations usually are limited to weaponry and hastily hatched plots. But what happens when one of the governments genetically engineered assassins is left to his own devises?
In The Long Winter, everyone sees that our historical, westward expansion had a cost. Everyone knows the price the Indians paid. But no one has ever told the story of the price the settlers incurred.
In My Last Testament, it's apparent some stories can never be told. Too many of the details are lost or completely unknown. But sometimes, knowing the details does not make us any happier.
In The Chasm, there's a place inside a man he never goes. It scares him and he avoids it. What happens when whatever scares him climbs out of that chasm in his mind?
In The Phasing, a genius does not worry about the small details when he is creating his masterpiece. That is for the little people to be concerned with. A genius just keeps creating until...
In Making a Witch, what happens when a priest with an agenda meets a family that doesn't want what he's selling? A battle, of course. But can the church survive what it creates?
Ten stories of the bizarre and horrific to tantalize the discerning mind. Maybe they are crazy. Maybe they just represent what we already realize is all around us every day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JD Jones
• Release date: Nov 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005942311

JD Jones

JD Jones now writes full time. As a minister, he and his wife of 30+ years spent their days working with at-risk youth. He has three children of his own who provide him with the source of his belief that he has succeeded. "The greatest pleasures in life are the simple things so many take for granted. All we can do in this life is make a lot of memories. Everything else is just so much stuff."

Book preview

Unhealthy Stories

and Other Short Stories

by J.D. Jones

Unhealthy Stories and Other Short Stories

Copyright © 2022, J. D. Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express, written consent of the author for any purpose, other than the inclusion of brief quotations in review.

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Table of Contents

Unhealthy Stories

When the Storyteller weaves a tale everyone gets deeply involved and are caught up in its details to the extent that life merges with the story. Death, too.

The Spirit of Sa-Ooneen

Every father desires to see his son grow up and become the man every man believes he is destined to be. Sometimes a man's desires get the best of him and his growth is not all his own.

Beneath the Sands

When time travel is created, the greatest obstacle is not the technology but the attitudes of those traveling back in time. It's different world back there.

The Treatment

When the cure for cancer is discovered on the moon, the whole world rejoiced. But where did it come from and why was it introduced into the human population just then?

Claiming Day

When a young witch comes of age, she has to be aware of the whole world around her and not just the part she has lived in all her life. Nothing prepares anyone for the whole world.

H

Government creations usually are limited to weaponry and hastily hatched plots. But what happens when one of the governments genetically engineered assassins is left to his own devises?

The Long Winter

Westward expansion had a cost. Everyone knows the price the Indians paid. But no one has ever told the story of the price the settlers incurred.

My Last Testament

Some stories can never be told. Too many of the details are lost or completely unknown. But sometimes, knowing the details does not make us any happier.

The Chasm

There's a place inside a man he never goes. It scares him and he avoids it. What happens when whatever scares him climbs out of that chasm in his mind?

Wrentham Greene, The Chasm, Part Two

What changes does a man go through when he has made peace with the demons in his life? How does he reorganize his world to accommodate the changes? What rules change?

The Phasing

A genius does not worry about the small details when he is creating his masterpiece. That is for the little people to be concerned with. A genius just keeps creating until...

Making a Witch

What happens when a priest with an agenda meets a family that doesn't want what he's selling? A battle, of course. But can the church survive what it creates?

Unhealthy Stories

Prudence Cartwright was the town's Story Teller. She was older than dirt. No one really knew her age. She had been around as long as anyone could remember. People came from far and wide to hear her tales and enjoy the fantastic adventures she wove within their hearing. It was said that Prudence could draw a person into a story deeper than any Story Teller in history. She was famous for her ability and the town shared in that fame. This made Prudence a celebrity of sorts.

Still, there was something – something untouchable, even frightening – about Prudence Cartwright. It held people at arms length in her presence. It gave her a sense of authority, like she was the only person in charge when she entered a room. In an age where technology won the hearts and minds of the people, Prudence Cartwright was used to winning on her own terms.

During the 2015 Summer Fair, Constance, Tennessee became famous for something a whole lot more than they bargained for. That was the summer that Ted Stronk and Ricky Rollins decided to play a trick on Prudence Cartwright. During her morning oration of an incredible story of blizzards and savage dogs hunting two lost men, the young boys set off a fireworks explosion that would have done the Fourth of July proud.

Their intent was to catch the crowds attention. It was said that when Prudence told a story, the listener was drawn in so deep they could not look away, even for an instant. Ted and Ricky were out to prove they could make people look away from Prudence. They hadn't counted on catching the hastily erected, mostly wooden, temporary Fair Stalls on fire, nor the panic that ensued among those not in attendance at the Story Hour, which were not many.

The danger they created was aggravated by the fact so many people, enthralled by the story Prudence was weaving, never moved from their positions while listening to her. The fair goers were in grave danger of being overcome by an out of control blaze feeding on dried, untreated wood. In the end, the fire was put out but the fair venue was ruined. The whole town was calling for the heads of Ted Stronk and Ricky Rollins to be delivered to them on a platter.

Few recognized the importance of the fact they had interrupted Prudence in the middle of one of her stories. Rare was the enthralled story listener who realized how deep Prudence herself was inside her own stories when she was spinning her tales. No one guessed at the anger that burned in her heart toward those wayward rascals, Ted and Ricky.

The boys were scared of how their prank had gotten out of control. More than any punishment the townsfolk could meter out, they were anxious about now being on the radar of Prudence Cartwright. They had counted on some flashback from the joke, maybe some reprimands and a possible community service stint. They had been there before for childish things. It was a cost they had been willing to pay in the beginning. Something they could laugh about when they were older and telling their own children tales of their wayward youth like their dads told them of their own adventures.

What they had not counted on was Prudence asking their parents and the town leadership, once the culprits were nabbed, to let her give them some obviously needed guidance in her home. As the person most affected by the loss of the Fair venue, even the local business owners had consented to letting Prudence handle the punishment and correction of two of their own. Many a person had come under Prudence's correction before. They had come through the experience changed. Some had even left town altogether. The townsfolk knew Prudence was not a woman to be trifled with. Her words carried a weight they all recognized. Some more than others.

Truth was, everyone was glad to have her focusing on the boys right now. The last time Prudence had gotten really mad at someone, not only had her words caused the focus of her ire to leave town and never return, but she had refused to tell any more stories for several months, which birthed a sort of rumor mill of stories about how Prudence was finished telling stories forever. The town leadership feared that possibility in this instance more than probably any other. Many people came to town just to hear her tell her stories. When Prudence was not spinning her yarns, the local economy dried up. That was a circumstance the local shopkeepers did not ever want to see repeated. Let her deal with the two boys, was the cry on everyone's lips. Anything so Prudence feels like continuing her stories.

When the boys arrived at Prudence's home they were greeted by a set of strange circumstances. Of course, never having been to Prudence's house before, everything about the woman seemed strange to them. She had given them specific directions about how to dress before they arrived. Then she asked them to sit down while she told them a story. They believed this might be the easiest punishment they had ever encountered. They were wrong, of course.

She asked them to describe what they believed would be the ingredients of the perfect story. With her enigmatic if somewhat mysterious smile, she told them she wanted to share with them a perfect story. The boys were settling in on her front porch, getting comfortable, believing they were getting off easy. So, thinking they were about to be treated to a wonderful time, gave her the best story details they could think of. Of course, their heads were already full of the story she had been telling at the fair before they ruined everything. Hoping to impress her with her own story, they recalled the details as best they could remember them from her tale.

This was going to be very exciting. Few people ever got a private audience with Prudence without some huge payout. After all, she was Prudence Cartwright, The Story Teller. As Prudence wove the details of the story around the boys, they marveled at how the home began to change. Soon they found themselves in the middle of the story and also the main characters of the tale she was describing. The porch became the wild outdoors. The summer heat gave way to a cold like they had seldom experienced. Even the heavier clothes she had cautioned them to wear to her house did not fend off the bitter wind and bite of a temperature that was most certainly not a Tennessee summer.

Looking around at their suddenly wilderness surroundings, their first thought was, Run! But where does one run from inside a story?

Just an old story teller's fair, is it? Prudence repeated Ted's claim. They were alone together in a cold wilderness neither of them recognized.

Prudence Cartwright's voice scratched its way through the air to them and along their ear canals to the very center of their brains. It was like her voice was inside their heads and both looked at each other in amazement. Not just her voice, but Prudence was inside their heads. They saw her wicked, toothless grin as she watched them gain a realization of where they were.

You are about to pay for your insolence, young men. Constance's voice continued scratching at their ears, gnawing at their brain.

You have no respect for your elders and damn little respect for your home town. It's a sorry plague on this United States of America that so few young people are taught to respect things any more. Without respect you can never know the full impact of those that have gone before you. You are too busy dismissing their wisdom out of hand rather than understanding all that it means. You are too busy making a temporary name for yourself rather than honoring those that have come before. You plant seeds of destruction with your very ways and then wonder why your plans never come to fruition. You and your generation are a shiftless, meaningless, gathering of useless minds all striving to stab each other in the back or walk on each others shoulders to get ahead. You do not understand loyalty nor do you understand hard work. Well, tonight you are going to learn about loyalty and hard work. Prudence sat puffing on her pipe as she glared at the boys from inside their heads

Mark my words, young men. You will not survive this night unless you learn to be loyal to one another and work hard to come up with solutions to living through the journey.

Are we going somewhere? Ted spoke up.

Further than you ever imagined and for longer than you will ever care to be there. Came the hoarse, scratchy reply ripping a new path through their brains. She was a frail seeming, old woman, yet her voice seemed to boom around the clearing they now found themselves in.

Both boys gulped hard, swallowing that dry feeling in their mouth.

"I want to weave for you a special story, young men. You are not much more than impudent boys tonight but if you live through this story you will certainly earn the title of young men. I want you to know that. Survival has its reward. Living has rewards. But, to claim those rewards, you must learn that life also has its dangers. It is the dangers you must avoid or somehow defeat. Or you will risk the results of real life experience if they defeat you.

In order to accomplish your purpose in life and reach your final destination, you must learn to make your way in the journey. I will give you the opportunity to learn more this night than your parents and teachers have given you to learn your entire lives. Of course, my lesson may require your lives if you are not up to the task. Death is, after all, a natural consequence of poor decision making. A fact you may discover if you do not learn quickly.

You can't hurt us. We're here to pay our debt to society for our prank and nothing else. Ricky spoke up, emboldened by his friend's earlier response. What do you want from us?

In their heads, they saw Prudence sitting calmly, still rocking on that old, rickety porch of hers. Smiling her wicked smile, she removed the old, handmade pipe from her lips and held it in trembling, bony fingers. Contrasted with how weak and frail her body appeared, no one would mistake the look in her eyes as anything less than total command. She smiled down at the boys wherever they were and gave them one of her best looks of honest appraisal. She leaned forward for a time and stared quietly at them in a deathly feeeling silence. Then she sat back and her grin grew a little wider.

"You young rascals have never learned the value of holding your tongue or the opportunities of this wonderful life afforded you. You should have learned by now to watch and learn instead of interjecting your own, impetuous and immature desires into a situation. I am almost persuaded you honestly believe in your own power. That is good.

"Unfortunately, I do not believe you know where your power comes from. That is bad. Because, it is when the chips are stacked against you that you really need to call on that power and you will not know where to go to call on it. The power you now claim comes from a desire for destruction and it will not serve you when you most need to survive.

The power for survival comes from a whole different place, a place of building. The kind of power that seeks answers to a lot of rules you seem to have never learned or have impudently dismissed. Tonight you will have a chance to learn these rules or die in your ignorance.

What do you mean die? Ted asked.

I mean die, young man. Funerals and burying and all that. Her strangely calm smile was unnerving. Both young men wanted her out of their head and to be back on her porch once again.

Prudence's voice boomed around the clearing in the cold of the snowy wilderness they now found themselves in. Their surroundings, like some picture growing clearer, had grown steadily stronger since they had arrived. Both young men were suddenly aware that they heard her voice coming from everywhere now. Like God in that Moses story with the bush.

I thought we were here to be punished for interrupting your story. Ricky interjected. One last shot at maintaining his cool since his knees were starting to give way and there was a definite cold spot forming on his spine.

"Punishment is not an objective, young men. Life is not really about seeking out positive rewards and avoiding negative consequences despite what some folks may have told you. If all you ever do is respond to stimuli around you, you are no better than a wild animal trapped in a cage. Human life is about so much more. Life is about surviving the obstacles and gaining the knowledge to help the next generation build even further upon the bedrock of our society without the pain of going through the learning experiences all over again.

My stories are a part of that bedrock and if you undercut them or destroy them, you destroy a part of what I have built and, yes, there are negative consequences for that. But not punishment. Consequences. Punishment is only to get your attention for the lesson. Punishment was having to see the disappointment on your parent's faces at the police station. Do not think of this as punishment. Think of this as a lesson. A lesson you must learn or die in your ignorance.

Why do you keep saying we are going to die? Ted asked. His knees were getting weak, too.

I do not say you are GOING to die, young man. I am saying that if you do not learn loyalty to the past lessons that others have gained and understand how to survive, you will die. If you do not learn where your true power lies, you will die. If you try to escape from my story any way other than the true door, you will die.

In their head they could still see Prudence, smiling at them, drawing on her pipe, blowing rings of cool, blue smoke in between her words at times.

The boys looked bewildered at one another. Both were thinking the same thing. What did she mean, Escape from my story?

Come. Come, boys! Suddenly Prudence was standing on her porch in their minds. Neither boy had seen her make a move, yet there she was, standing, facing them in their heads, they themselves now planted in the woods somewhere they had never been. She looked old and frail as always but somehow projecting a power that neither of them could deny and both of them had come to fear.

Enough words. Prudence waved their words away as surely as if she held such power, which they were coming to believe she just might. Life is about living out the circumstances and making choices. Not about the endless talking and worrying to death of endless ideas. Too much talking in this world, if you ask me. She half muttered to herself but the boys could hear it like she was whispering in their ears.

Remember why you are here, boys. Constance smiled at them. To learn. So, remember. Learn. Of course, the alternative is a good part of a story, too, she chuckled in a manner that did not suggest humor to either boy."

What alternative? Ricky ventured one last question.

Why death, of course, the old woman cackled at her own humor. A good story can be woven around a death as easily as any other important event in a person's life. Some of my best stories start with a good death. Of course, some stories end with the main characters dying, too. It is a part of life, after all.

In her bent stoop she was smaller than they were. But she projected so much power that being in her presence was like stepping into the ring with a great prize fighter. They were awed by the waves of power coming off the woman. It was a transformation of such immense measure that neither boy missed it as they stared at the figure in their head.

Suddenly, they knew her for what she was. Not an old, frail woman living in their town. She was the wisdom of the ages come to life and embodied by one who had lived out the lessons of life. They knew this as surely as they knew their own names. Prudence was not of this world. She was not of any world. She was the essence of survival and achievement. She was the voice of success. Her stories were not the words of entertainment, but the drawing of the soul into depths of understanding that normal every day circumstances did not begin to reach into.

The draw to her stories was not the entertainment of the mind but the fulfilling of the soul's longing for purpose and understanding. She was a foundation unto herself, upon which those who learned her lessons could spring forth and build their lives. Wisdom was an illusive thing, especially for the young at heart. But in that instance of recognition, Ted and Ricky knew they had learned more about real life just by standing so close to her than they had ever even thought about learning before.

Their very souls had aged in her presence. A deep place calling out to a deep place. And they would never look at life the same again. In that moment of time, they knew why so many people traveled so far to hear Prudence speak. It was not the entertainment of the stories as much as it was the wisdom those tales drew people into.

Good. They felt Prudence say, rather than heard her because they were no longer in her presence. They were alone in a vast wilderness. They did not know how they knew that. They just did.

Here is the beginning instruction I will give you. Bring me the Rod of Correction from the Realm of the Wolves and you will have paid your penance and learned a valuable lesson about living rather than being destructive. Bring it here. But remember, They felt her voice burning the message into their brains. It is all about loyalty, honor and achievement and the rules that accompany those endeavors. Respect, Cooperation and Helpfulness. Those are the rules that guide all of life toward success. Break those rules and you must pay a price. Keep those rules and even though things look bleak there will be a positive payoff in your future. Bring me the Rod of Correction, young men. Let the lesson begin.

Without further introduction or conversation, Prudence launched into her story and the boys felt the peculiar draw that other people had felt over the years. She was inside their brain, weaving her tale. They had never noticed it before. Before they were focused on themselves and ignoring the old woman. Today they were focused on what was certainly a fountain of wisdom standing before them. Somehow they knew, deep down inside themselves, that they were in the presence of a wisdom that could not be denied and was best worked with, not against. As they listened, her voice seemed to envelope them and wrap them up in an almost tangible cloak of external sensation. She was in front of them yet she was all around them. She was everywhere at once. They were inside the story. Her story. Their story.

"This story is about a great she wolf named Hannah. She has lived long and leads her pack well. Along with her husband, Drake, Hannah leads one of the biggest packs of wolves in the north country. Because of Hannah's wisdom and ability to lead the large pack, they thrive in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. It's cold and the ground stays covered with snow most months of the year.

"Man does not walk this land because there is nothing for man there. It is a wild place. A place of wild animals and untamed, wilderness landscapes and all the dangers of life those things hold. Even in the summer time, which has long passed this place now, the night times are cold and the sunshine is short lived through the day.

"Hannah and Drake are also the Guardians of the Rod of Correction. It was placed in the care of the leaders of the pack long before either of them had been whelped. The great stories told by their ancestors relate the Giver of the Rod desiring that the wolves would keep and protect it until such time as the right men come to take it away. The stories tell of two young men who will one day come to take away the Rod and bring it back to the world of men. They will know those men because they will discover a way to defeat the wolves in battle using no weapons and only their own brains.

"But Hannah and Drake are fierce warriors of the wild. Of all the creatures in the wild, grizzly bears included, none are more fearsome than Hannah and Drake. Seldom are they seen alone. Always they are on the hunt. They are the rulers of the north country and all animals step aside when they approach. They rule with iron claws and steel jaws in a world that is as violent as it is beautiful.

That is the world into which young Ted and Ricky find themselves immersed and suddenly placed. They will have fear of this unknown, fierce land but they are resilient and will soon come to learn the rules of survival in the wild places. Either that or they will die there.

Suddenly, without knowing how or when, they knew she was gone. They felt the release of the shroud of her presence. There was a sensations of transport, whisking them through some atmosphere of mists and heat and light, cold winds, pushing them further than they had ever been before, bringing them fully to a different place. Ted looked at Ricky and Ricky looked at Ted.

A light snow was falling around them and the temperature was now somewhere around freezing. They could see ice on the branches of the trees close by. They could feel the cold of the wind cutting through the layered shirts they wore. They each wished they had brought heavier clothes now. But it was not totally freezing. The sun was high in the sky and the rays of the light felt warm on their face.

We're totally screwed. Ricky said to Ted.

Like Totally. Ted agreed.

Any idea what she was talking about? Ricky asked his friend.

Crazy old woman talk , I reckon. Ted answered.

Can't be too crazy. Look where we are.

Where do you think we are? Ted asked, taking a better look around. Not liking any of it.

Light snow was falling on already established packed snow. Obviously, this was not the first snow of the year wherever they were. Neither boy had much experience with snow except what few light snows they had seen over the years. Obviously, this was not what they were used to in Constance. Snow never lasted more than a few days there. This snow had the look of permanency to it.

Aaaa-oooo-wwww. The howl of a wolf drifted along on the crisp air from far off to their left.

Both boys looked at one another. They struggled to hold their fear in check. They spent a lot of time in the woods around Constance, playing, but neither of them counted themselves as a woodsmen by any stretch of the term. Neither knew much about wolves, either. There had been that section in science class on wild animals but they had only done what work they needed to do to get a decent grade. Now, with adrenaline pumping hard through their veins, they could not recall a single detail of what wolves were all about.

Totally screwed. Ricky said again.

How close you think that was? Ted was giving the area around them a very wary look.

How do I know? Do I look like Davy Freakin' Crockett or something? Ricky was letting his fear get the better of him for the moment. It seemed the thing to do, given the situation. Screwed.

Nope. But if we don't figure out a few things quick, we're going to be wolf food. Ted explained.

How can this be? Ricky stammered. His eyes were darting everywhere trying to figure out what was happening. His mind was having trouble wrapping itself around the concept of what they were experiencing. There was a momentary light-headedness passing through and he almost succumbed to it, feeling faintness affecting his legs.

Ted ran his fingers through his medium length, blond hair and felt the wetness of the lightly falling snow resting on his hair and face. He forced the anxiety building in his mind into a place far back in his thoughts where it could not interrupt the thinking he felt he had to do now. This was life and death.

The old woman was not crazy. At least not in the sense that she could be ignored. Somehow, she had transported them or surrounded them with this new location, wherever that was. Whether it was real or just part of some story, it was what they had to deal with now. She had given them a goal of bringing back some Rod of Correction. They had no idea what it was but he had to assume it must exist somewhere. It was as real as this place as far as the story went, he reasoned. She had placed them in a dangerous place, thus the repeated warnings about dying. Life and death. For real.

Dying was a real threat, not some metaphor or whatever it was his English teacher called it when something was designed to represent something else. This was real life. They had a real goal and a real purpose. If they didn't do something they could really lose their real lives.

That's what Ted understood, so far. He figured the reality of the way his mind was accepting things and reasoning out stuff was the kind of thing the old woman was trying to cause to happen in them. Learning, she called it. They had to learn to stay alive. Well, Ted was planning on learning at least that much. Staying alive was a good goal. A real goal.

Okay. Ted took charge. We are in a fix here for sure.

For sure. Ricky agreed.

But the old woman isn't totally crazy.

How do you figure that? Ricky asked. The witch just dumped us in some arctic wilderness with a bunch of deadly wild animals and you say she's not crazy? Sounds crazy to me.

She said she was going to teach us a lesson. Ted reminded his friend.

She said she was going to punish us.

No, she did not. Ted thought hard about what she had said. She said it wasn't about punishment. She said, Life is about surviving the obstacles and gaining the knowledge. We need to identify the obstacles and gain the necessary knowledge to get past them. That's what I see before us now. She was all about us learning, so we have to assume that we need to learn to survive.

Makes sense on some crazy, old woman level. Ricky grudgingly acknowledged, trying to not get too far behind Ted's thinking. He was willing to follow Ted's lead as long as it looked like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, he could not see anything, so Ted was as good a leader as he had.

We've got to get over that. Ted demanded.

Get over what? Ricky was defensive.

We've got to get over whatever blocks us from moving forward and succeeding. Remember what she said? Failure here could mean death.

You don't think that this is weird? Ricky asked.

Of course, it's weird. Ted frowned. But hating the cause of what's happened or the why of what's happened is not going to get us out of here. Right now, I don't think we can afford to be interested in anything that does not help us help ourselves. We have to get over it or work through whatever else is taking up our thoughts. We can't afford to fail here. Remember? Death?

Okay. Okay. As long as you admit that woman is not normal.

Ricky kicked at the snow at his feet. He didn't like being shown up by Ted. He knew Ted was smarter than he was. Heck. Everyone was smarter than he was. Ted didn't usually show him up like this. He just didn't like it. He chalked it up to Ted not being happy with the situation, either.

I admit she's different or something. Ted kicked some snow too, glad he had picked his hunting boots to wear. They were waterproof and warm. Ricky looked like a dog that had just been kicked.

She's not the problem, now. Ted continued. This snow and the cold is our problem. Those wolves out there. They are our problem. Finding this Rod of Correction. That is our problem.

How are we going to find something we don't know anything about? Ricky asked.

First things first. Ted mimicked his dad. First, we make sure we don't freeze out here. If we freeze then it doesn't matter about the wolves. They don't care how we die as long as they can eat us.

How do you know there is more than one wolf? We only heard one. Ricky asked, hopefully. One couldn't be so bad. Could it?

Packs. Ted answered as he started walking. Wolves always live in packs. One wolf might travel alone for a while, but they belong to packs and will always live together with a bunch more.

Yeah, I remember that from class, too. Ricky smiled at being able to remember something useful.

Who'd of ever thought we'd need information like that in our lives? Ted smiled at his friend and continued walking. Ricky followed.

Besides, the old woman said this was a story about a pack of wolves. Remember?

Yeah, and she named them, too. Ricky added.

More than that, she said this was Hannah's story. Ted reminded his friend. We are part of the wolves' world now. This is not our story. We are on the wolves' territory, not the other way around. The old woman, crazy or not, has somehow dumped us in the middle of this wilderness with her wolves in her story.

You think she communicates with the wolves? Ricky asked. Like telling them where we are?

I'm not sure what is going on yet. Ted acknowledged. All I know to do is what we can do for ourselves right now. We'll take each decision as it comes. Hopefully we make it out of here and back home.

You really think we can? Ricky asked, admitting that a part of him was already giving up.

The two boys looked at each other. They left the question hanging in the air. The answer was too depressing for either of them to vocalize. Ted started walking through the crunching snow, his boots leaving a good trail of broken snow where no man had ever walked before.

Where we going?

Top of the hill over there. Ted pointed. See what we can see and maybe tell where we are.

Isn't that the direction of where we heard the wolf howl? Ricky asked.

Yep. But it's also the highest place I can see from here and we need to figure out where we are or at least get a layout of what's around us. Ted explained.

Okay. Then what?

Let's make one good decision at a time and see where it gets us. Ted smiled again. He was smiling because it was another thing his dad always said. She said they were supposed to learn from those that had already learned, so he figured that they were at least doing that much.

Almost an hour later they were standing on top of the hill, which turned out to be a lot further away than it had seemed. They were looking off across a vast valley that ran on for miles to the south and many more miles to the north. It looked to be about ten miles across it to what looked like mountains. There was a river edged with snow but not blocked with ice. It ran north and south through the valley. It looked pretty wide but the size could not be as big as it looked. It had to be a trick of the light or something. But it did look huge if they had to cross it.

Both boys searched their understanding of geography in the United States and could come up with nothing that matched what they were looking at. Not that they had paid any better attention in that class, but nothing came readily to mind. Suddenly, information was a prized commodity with both of them. All those times when they had joked about ever using the useless information teachers crammed down their throats came flooding back to their minds. They could have wished for another chance at those times right now.

Looking out across the huge expanse of nothingness Ricky spoke what was on both their minds.

Totally screwed.

What do you think we should do next? Ted asked his friend.

Find shelter. Ricky answered. It's cold and it will get colder after dark.

Same here. Where do you think the best place to find shelter might be?

The mountains. Caves, maybe. Ricky pointed way across the valley.

Probably too far. Ted looked up at the sun. They were on the eastern side of the valley and the sun was arcing out over the valley away from them. It's already into the afternoon hours, even if we had a way to cross that river, which we don't.

Ricky nodded.

Second best?

Ricky looked around them.

Those trees. Seem to run up into a ravine over there on the left. Maybe some shelter from the cold up in there.

Good. Lets go there and see what we can see.

It's a plan, at least. Ricky muttered as he followed Ted's footprints through the five or six inches of drifting snow, feeling the hard, crunch of older snow beneath that.

Another long, slow, melancholy howl raised the hair on the back of their necks. Much closer this time. Both boys looked around at each other, unsure, still hopeful the other had a plan they hadn't shared yet. They moved out without needing any further motivation or planning.

An hour later they were approaching the ravine they had seen from the hill top. They had pushed themselves hard and were sweating and tired despite the cold wind that blew in their faces. The idea there was a wolf on their trail made them nervous and they just wanted to find some kind of shelter. Some place safe.

Suddenly, the air split like a bolt of lightning was ripping open the atmosphere. Startled by the sound, both boys halted in their tracks, staring around at their surroundings uncertainly. Then they heard a voice. The old woman's voice. She spoke like she was telling the story still.

The boys looked deep into the ravine but they knew that the wolves would follow. They not only needed shelter from the cold of the falling night, they needed shelter from the attack of the wolves who would eventually catch up to them. That was when Ricky noticed he had brought along some firecrackers and a lighter for when they were on their way back from Prudence's house. His fingers were so glad to wrap themselves around those items in his pocket right then.

Another crack blasted in their ears, like lightning hitting the ground. The sizzling of the air around them grew steadily more silent and the voice was gone.

Ted looked expectantly at Ricky and Ricky just looked perplexed.

Do you think she's some kind of demon? Ricky asked expectantly.

Doesn't matter. Ted frowned at his friend. Whether she is or isn't, knowing it will not help us now. Our concern is us. Staying alive. Do you have a lighter or what?

Ricky reached in his pocket and his fingers did close upon the lighter he had grabbed on his way out the door. He had planned on setting off some firecrackers on their way back from dealing with the old woman. As glad as he was to feel them in his hand right then, he was just as perplexed as to how the old woman had known he had them. And that didn't even begin to deal with how she had spoken into the air like she had just done. This wasn't just Hannah's story. The old woman was still very much the Story Teller.

Ricky reached out his hand and showed the lighter to Ted. Ted smiled. Things were looking up.

At least we won't freeze tonight. Ted gave Ricky a pat on the back. Good thinking.

The two boys moved further up the slight incline into the ravine. As they walked they thought out loud, sounding out each other about their plans and their chances. Neither boy was very sure of their situation or themselves. But they tried valiantly to keep the fear out of their voices.

Wolves won't come near fire, will they? Ricky asked.

I don't think so. Ted breathed hard, reacting to the little rise they had just climbed. At least I have always heard that. I guess we'll find out. He did not feel near as lighthearted as he tried to sound.

Should we sleep in the trees, maybe? Ricky asked.

Probably not. If we fall out, we could get really badly hurt. Break an arm or a leg or something. Then we'd be royally screwed. Ted answered.

Like we ain't now? Ricky interjected.

At least we are mobile. Ted reminded his friend. How much harder would this be if one of us had a bad leg?

I suppose you're right. Ricky gave in. Still, I'd like to know the wolves can't get to me when I'm sleeping.

We'll sleep in shifts. Ted suggested. Couple, three hours at a time. You first, then me. We'll watch for the wolves and keep the fire going.

Got to get a fire going first. Ricky sighed.

He was getting cold. The sun didn't reach up into the ravine they were traveling in. It felt much colder in the shade up under the trees. There was less wind but also no touch of the fading sun.

Let's try up on that rise over there. Ted pointed out a small upshift in the land off to their right.

The boys changed direction and started the short climb to higher ground. The trees were much thicker up on the top of the small rise and they pushed and climbed through the low hanging branches until they were inside a small clearing with thick tree cover all around them. There was also an abundance of small branches and pine needles to help them start a fire. The snow was not deep inside the natural shelter, either.

Minutes later, after foraging for some good sized branches to burn, they had a sizable pile next to their roaring fire. Both boys were thankful for the warmth of the flames and the security of the trees near them. They weren't feeling safe but they were feeling safer. The warmth of the fire gave them both a hope they would make it until morning. One decision at a time Ted had said.

I'm kind of hungry. Ricky mentioned as they sat warming their hands over the fire.

Me, too. Ted acknowledged. Didn't slide a sandwich in one of your pockets, did you?

No. Ricky smiled remembering the lighter. Wish I had, now.

We are going to have to find that Rod for the old lady quick or we'll starve to death out here. That gives us three or four days at the most to do this thing. Ted looked around at their surroundings. The light was fading fast in the depths of the ravine.

Our parents will come looking for us and make her release us before then," Ricky brightened at the thought of rescue.

I doubt it. She can probably control the time in here as well. Ted vocalized his misgivings of Ricky's plan to wait the old woman out.

Again they felt and heard that electrical flash of physical sensation sizzling in the air around them and the voice broke into their conversation.

Suddenly, they noticed a flash of shiny brown fur through the trees where they had taken shelter. The calm of their souls was interrupted by the reminder of their predicament. The wolf was still with them and was circling their position, staying a good distance from the fire and just out of sight, hidden in the shadows.

Again the sizzling cracked into a small, sonic boom like lightning ricocheting off the ground and the voice was gone.

Jeez, Ricky said. I wish she'd stop doing that.

Doing what? Ted asked, looking around. Warning us when we aren't paying attention?

Ricky took Ted's cue and started looking around, too.

There! Through the trees on his left, Ricky saw the flash of movement. Brown fur. He was sure of it. He pointed excitedly and called out.

There! Moving that way. Ricky was spinning to his left and still pointing like he was following the wolf's path although he had lost sight of it as soon as he had seen the flash through the trees.

Ted whirled with his friend's pointing finger, trying to see what his friend had seen. Nothing. Whatever it was, it was gone.

Then another howl split the air around them. It had an effect like a roaring lion amongst a herd of gazelle. This time the long and plaintive and somehow desperately lonely sound was much closer to home and more reminiscent of local wildlife. Both boys moved closer to the fire hoping the wolf knew about how it was supposed to be afraid of fire. Both boys picked up a length of tree branch and held it to the fire until it was burning on the end. Neither of them was going to sleep tonight. They knew that, now. They huddled near the fire, both staying close to each other. It was going to be a long night.

Morning found them both dozing. Despite their fears, they had both drifted off into a fitful yet light sleep that could be awakened by any noise at all.

The crunch of snow near them brought both boys awake. The fear of sudden wakefulness flashed through their minds and jerked their bodies awake. The disorientation of their surroundings came flooding in and they panicked with loud, short screams and hesitating, unsure motions of protecting themselves, moving closer to the fire, which was barely a bed of embers now.

The snarl of the wolf came clearly to their ears and their eyes focused immediately on the source of the noise. She was huge. One hundred and fifty pounds of queen wolf, Hannah loomed over the reclining figures of the boys. She stared them down with cold, brilliant, blue eyes. A rumbling growl rolled from her throat as she stepped closer to her prey, ears laid back flat against her skull, making her all the more vicious looking. The boys huddled together believing this was the end of their lives. They had fallen asleep and now they were going to pay the price. They hadn't learned the lesson.

A glinting of sparkles flashed around them as their movements backwards, away from the wolf stirred up the embers of the fire. No flames licked to life but the heat of the embers was still a factor. Scooping snow and ash and hot embers in his bare hand, Ted slung a handful of embers toward the she wolf in desperation. Deftly the wolf dodged the hurling embers and easily took her movements to a greater advantage by slipping up closer to Ricky who was furthest away from the dying fire.

That was when Ted launched himself from his crouching position near the glowing embers. Planning to throw some more if needed. Ted threw all of his one hundred pounds into the side of the great beast and felt her jump at his attack, startled by his sudden attack as much as anything. Her jump drew her backwards from the boy's position and sideways to the clearing.

Suddenly, the clearing filled with a dozen snarling wolves slipping silently out of the trees where they had been waiting. Standing nearly four feet high and easily weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, Drake came out of the shadows and stood beside his mate, who had just been attacked by the strange creatures who played with fire. His silver, black coat of fur held its own iridescent glow in the early morning light. His eyes, red like the fire the boys wished they still had, glowed like the eyes of a demon. His growl was not a growl of warning but a song of destruction to their ears.

Ted's desperate attempt to knock the big she wolf back might have worked once but this Alpha male was the real deal and twice the size of either human. The boys had no doubt in their minds how this would end now. This big male wolf was a game changer. And the fact that there were now a dozen wolves took whatever fight there was out of the boys. Ricky started whimpering.

The big wolf, Drake, took a step forward, lowering his head and glowering at Ted. Ted was the leader. Drake dealt with leaders. Always. The others could clean up whatever was left. He just wished they didn't smell so bad. Not like food. More like disease. Rotted meat was the smell that assailed Drake's sensitive nose. No. They couldn't eat these trespassers. But they had to kill them. Strangers in their territory were unwelcome. They would have to die. It was the rule from long before Drake had led the pack. Food sources could roam their territory, if they dared. Large, smelly predators had to be killed.

Then the air split open with the crackle of static and they heard old woman's voice again. The boys could hear it, at least, but the wolves did not act as though they heard anything.

"As the big wolf advanced on the boys, young Ted raised up and stood his ground, staring the leader of the pack down. He was scared but he was also brave. If he was going to die, he would do it on his own terms. Momentarily the big wolf hesitated and pondered the strength of the young man he faced and sought to determine the next course of his attack.

"Drake was not scared of the young, two legged creature but he was curious as to how one so small dared face him down. Knowing he could kill the pitiful specimen before him at any time, Drake was in no hurry and considered this small but apparently determined creature again. He had watched them sleep from the treeline and had noticed they didn't seem fearful when asleep. They were not scared of their surroundings somehow. Otherwise they would not sleep. Perhaps that smell they gave off was part of their defense. But the second they were awakened by Hannah, they had exuded the fear smell in great abundance. Curious things always made Drake hesitate. Caution.

"Now, here was the leader of the small pack facing him down. What a curious creature he was faced with. Again he wished they smelled better. He was hungry and they would have made a good size meal. But they smelled like rotted meat. Maybe they were carrion eaters. Maybe they had eaten something diseased. He didn't know but he knew he had to kill them. They were trespassing. He could not let that stand. Their territory was well marked. These creatures had chosen to pass into their territory despite the warnings. It was the way of the wild. It was Drake's way.

"Suddenly, a flame flickered behind the big wolf. Ted saw it and gestured toward it, drawing all the wolves' eyes to the flame licking at the pine needles behind the leader of the pack. As soon as they looked upon the flame it erupted in an escalating whoosh, engulfing the little fuel left to it and lighting up the edge of the clearing, panicking the wolves and causing them to disperse and run from the clearing back into the trees, away from the fire. Drake stood his ground against the smaller creatures, but kept eyeing the flames behind them. Ted gestured again toward the flames and again they grew in volume.

Finally, Drake moved off to the side of the clearing away from the fire. He was not sure how these creatures could start fire like that, but he knew it was a dangerous skill. He would have to be more crafty than they and bring them down beneath his teeth. But for now, he felt a need to escape the fire. For all his fearlessness, fire still scared him. He didn't know any wolf who wasn't afraid of fire.

The air split with another crack of ancient static and the old woman's voice was gone again. Ricky looked to Ted and waited.

Slowly, Ted faced the big wolf. On all fours, the wolf was almost as tall as Ted standing up. His chest was broad and his head was huge. Those jaws could easily rip his throat out with one snap. Ted fought every fear that flashed through his mind.

It was then that Ted noticed the small flame flickering in the pine needles behind the big wolf where he had hurled the embers moments before. Hesitantly, he pointed to it and noticed none of the wolves followed his pointed finger. He had a choice, panic because the old woman's narrative wasn't working or try again. He tried again.

Taking a more steady stance despite not feeling very steady himself, Ted balled up his fist and threw it our toward the small flame like he was throwing the flame to the ground. This time several of the wolves followed his arm as it gestured outward. Immediately, they saw the flame burning behind them. The sounds of the pack changed and all but the big wolf turned to see the flame licking slowly but steadily to life behind them.

Ted put both his hands together and then threw them wide out towards the flame and was rewarded by a sudden flaring of the pine needles and a huge fire roared out of the early morning silence of the new dawn. Ricky stood up beside his friend and admired how he was playing out the old woman's story as she had spoken it. It was working.

The big wolf could ignore the crackling of the flames behind him no longer and turned to see how close they were. Stepping away from the flames, he could not take his eyes off the boys. They were trespassers. The flames roared higher, enveloping about a third of the clearing, now. This was not good. Drake knew this was very bad. The trespassing creatures had started fire. Dangerous.

The pack was gone from the clearing now. Standing back from the clearing, waiting on their leader. Drake could sense their desire to run. He felt it too. But his desire to kill was stronger. Drake watched as the two small creatures moved closer to the fire. They had to be sick and diseased. Any normal creature moved away from fire when they saw it. These trespassers were moving toward it. Drake thought about killing them quickly