[2]Chapter Twenty-Six: One’s Got a Weasel and One’s Got a Flag
July 11, 2010
Silver City, NM
Marc was glad to be done with that mess. Back at the cabin, he spent the rest of the morning disassembling and cleaning up the remains of the dire wolf. It had even taken him two trips to move the entire carcass, and the process of butchering the beast had been a grisly affair.
Trey Cutter had been shocked when he started to break the beast down. Marc was sure that the man had ideas of getting the giant beast stuffed and mounted somewhere. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he felt uneasy about people from this world getting to see the remains. He felt some sense of obligation to keep the worlds apart. The last thing that he wanted was tabloid magazines or weird scientists coming around to investigate the strange beast sighting. He also didn’t like the idea of the scrutiny that he might attract. There were also the other things he had stored in the cave up in the hills. Silver City was a quiet place and he liked it that way.
So he had butchered the monster; a task that he was more than familiar with. He would keep the bones, as well as the organs and the fur. He wasn’t sure if he could make proper use of the Mana-rich materials in this world, but they should be worth preserving. He would need to stop by town to pick up an industrial freezer to hold the meat he had obtained. At least his steak budget was going to drop off for the next few months.
He washed down the large table in the forge, the only place big enough for him to properly work with the materials. The taxing work had been a good way to keep his mind from going crazy while he processed the events of the morning.
Trey had driven Marc out just beyond the Cutter property, out into the desert, not far from the highway. There they had seen it. A portal.
Marc had felt an instant urge to run for it. If it led to where he thought it did… Could he really go back? Was that possible?
Immediately he heard the voice of his teacher scolding him soundly.
“Never, EVER, enter a strange portal. A million things could happen to you unless you know who created it, how, and why. Most of those things are worse than a slow death. Promise me you will NEVER enter a strange portal.”
Still, Marc could hardly ignore the possibility. His life back in his original world was not bad. In fact, he had adjusted well and was enjoying his new mortal existence. But seeing that floating purple ring floating in the air several feet above the ground, Marc felt an almost irresistible longing to return. Trey had hopped out of the truck and was looking at the stunned Marc, still seated in the passenger seat.
Getting out, Marc got a better look at the portal. It was not one that he was familiar with. He had learned that each portal power took on characteristics based on the caster. Marc’s had always looked like a doorway, similar to, but slightly different than the ones created by his teacher, Rynan.
This one was a perfectly round circle, large compared to many that Marc had seen over the years. It was easily ten feet in diameter, Large enough to drive a bus through.
Cautiously, Marc had approached it to examine it closely. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation. It was as if the circle was a giant eyeball. A giant eye that was looking right at him. At that moment, the eye blinked and winked out of existence. Just as he had arrived, the phenomenon had disappeared. He felt that was not a coincidence. It had closed because Marc had found it.
They had questioned the man who had found the floating circle but learned very little. He had thrown some sticks and other objects through the center of the portal, but everything had disappeared as if swallowed up by the blackness in the center.
All this was in line with a portal ability, but Marc had never heard of an a portal that allowed objects such as beasts to transfer to other worlds, and that was not for a lack of effort on his part. Kira had searched nearly every library she could find and only found scant references to inter-dimensional travel. None of it had led to anything useful.
Again, he missed the voice of his companion. Kira would have been there to analyze the portal and give him more information about what was going on. He felt crippled without his interface, but he was even more lost without her. He could bounce his ideas off of Torren, but that was no fun as his new partner lacked the sarcastic responses that he had become accustomed to.
The only clues he had been able to gather from this incident raised more questions than they answered. It felt like things were escalating. The sightings were increasing, not just in frequency, but also in intensity. He had seen wolf cubs, but they were no larger than big dogs here. This was the first time he had encountered a fully grown beast. He shuddered to think what would happen if this trend continued.
He remembered what Mary had told him. She said that unless he got her the information she needed, the universe would start to collide with others, that the walls would start to break down. Was that what was happening? But didn’t he succeed in his mission? Didn’t she do what she said she would and fix everything? Was the world in danger?
Marc started to process the giant pile of meat on the table. Luckily he had a large amount of butcher’s paper on hand. He wasn’t a big hunter, but he had taken down a few larger predators that were endangering the area in the past. In particular, the bear that he had taken down the previous fall had been nearly as much work to take care of as this wolf. At least Cyrus had bought most of the meat from him. He didn’t think that would be an option this time.
Marc decided to head into town and pick up a new freezer to store the steaks and perishable materials. Covering up the bones, fur, and the rest of the items he wanted to save, he picked up the strips of raw lean meat that he had set aside.
Locking the door to the forge behind him, he walked out to the truck. The bed was still covered in blood and bits of fur. He should stop by the car wash in town. It wouldn’t be the first time someone showed up having to clean up their vehicle after a hunt. He doubted anyone would even notice him hosing all the blood off the truck bed.
He whistled and Torren popped his head up from under his favorite spot under the front porch. Marc tossed the meat slowly, piece by piece. As he did he wondered about incompatibility. There could be some otherworldly disease. He had eaten plenty of beast meat in the other world, but of course that had been with a different and immortal body.
Well, They had both eaten the meat from that vorpal rabbit he had caught a few months back. Marc decided not to worry about it, but for now, the monster meat would be his personal secret stash. Well, maybe he could share some dishes with Cyrus to see what he thought about it.
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“Hey! Why didn’t you call if you were coming over?” Ryan demanded.
“Huh? Oh, Hey Ryan,” Marc turned to see his blue vested friend.
“I’m still on shift. I can’t log on now.”
“I know. I didn’t come by to get you, I actually needed to do some shopping.” Marc explained.
“Here?” Ryan waved at the appliances and gave him a dubious look.
“Uhh. Yeah. Need a new freezer,” Marc answered, somewhat lamely.
“Well, it’s not my department, but I can still probably swing you a discount. Let me know when you pick out what you need,” a suspicious expression crossed the man’s face as he turned to walk back to the electronics department.
“How did you even know I was here?” Marc yelled after him.
“I got the alert? Don’t you have friends alerts set up yet?” Ryan said, turning back to face Marc. He pulled out his phone to show the alert that had popped up on the phone.
[PL@Y3R: A FRIEND HAS ENTERED YOUR VICINITY, MOVE CLOSER TO FORM A PARTY]
Marc blinked. That was… disturbing. They were really tracking every movement.
After checking out what was available, Marc was able to find a large chest freezer. True to his word, Ryan was able to get him a discount on it, which was good as it was considerably more than he thought it would be. When Ryan saw the model he picked out, however, Marc knew there would be more questions.
“Is this for the party?”
“Huh? Why would I need a freezer for the party?” Marc was taken off guard by the strange question.
“No, not our party, THE party.”
Marc shook his head. He had no idea what Ryan was talking about.
“I figured you must be getting lots of food. Shiela is calling everyone.”
Wheels were spinning in his head. Shiela? Since when did Ryan know Shiela? What did this have to do with the party? This was confusing, even for Ryan, who always seemed to be on a different wavelength.
“I figure you must be getting a lot of food for the party. I thought it was going to be a big surprise… Oh crap.”
Click! One of the wheels in Marc’s brain finally hit a gear. Party. Click! Shiela. Click! Surprise. Marc checked the date on his phone.
Crap indeed.
“Ryan? What is Sheila planning?” Marc glared daggers at the other man, who was backing away quickly.
“Oops! Gotta get back. The guys at the loading dock will help you with the box. Catch you later for the game. Ah! A customer at my station. See ya, Marc!”
Just like that, the coward was gone.
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Cleaning up at the cabin had gone well. The new freezer had gone into the cellar, now stuffed full of meat and organs from the defeated beast. A padlock sealed the freezer door, a rare feature that was the main reason for the high cost of the appliance.
The bones and the hides were now soaking in several large barrels to degrease them. The leather and fur were valuable materials in the other world and priceless in this one. Marc wasn’t sure what he would do with them yet, But fur that could deflect rifle shots and leather that could stop a blade would come in handy someday. As for the bones, he would move them into the hillside cave later.
The smell was still rather strong, so he would need to give Leeroy a heads up that he might not enjoy crashing on the sofa for a few days until it had dissipated. Leeroy wasn’t exactly a vegan activist, but Marc tried to be as sensitive as possible for someone in his line of work. The young vegan had actually been impressed by Marc’s greenhouse and had been happy to raid some of the more exotic fruits and plants that grew inside.
If only some charnall seeds would fall through a portal somewhere, Marc thought wistfully.
Once everything was put back in place, Marc eagerly checked on the large bowl of thinly sliced meat that had set marinating for the last few hours.
This was an experiment, but Marc had done more than his share of that in the other world, trying to replicate the food of this world from his memories alone. For beast meat, he lacked most of the spices and fruits that were commonly used to reduce the gaminess and tenderize the meat that the cooks he had known had taken for granted. Instead, Marc mixed a marinade of honey, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar made from fermenting some yuzu fruit, and half a can of beer.
After a quick fry in a pan and a healthy application of freshly ground pepper, Marc piled the meat on a plate. He whipped up a quick salad and buttered up some bread and was about to give the meat a taste when Torren wandered in the front door.
“What took you so long?” Marc had anticipated the dog’s arrival as soon as the food was ready.
“Here, try this.” He used a pair of chopsticks to throw a piece of the cooked meat in the air.
The treat disappeared in a flash and a bark that Marc knew meant “more!”
He threw out another piece, then admonished the dog. “That’s it. You know the cooked stuff doesn’t agree with your stomach. I have some set aside for you, don’t worry.”
“What about mine?”
Marc looked up with a start. He hadn’t even noticed the large man who had followed the dog into the house.
“Shit! Cyrus! You trying to give me a heart attack? How does a guy so big get sneaky?”
“Easy there. Just happened to get here when your dog opened the front door and let himself in.” Cyrus explained, raising his hands, palms out to emphasize his peaceful intent.
“Worst. guard. dog. ever.” Marc stared daggers at the dog who was looking away unconcerned.
“So… is that what I think it is?” Cyrus asked with a glance at the plate of meat.
Marc frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. The whole town knows by now.”
“That’s it. I’m gonna kill Trey.” Marc growled.
“Nah, it wasn’t Trey. But he’s got like a dozen ranch hands you know. Word will get out.”
“And what is the word?” Marc asked.
“Some big wolf. Got into the sheep shed. They say you took it out by yourself.”
Marc’s brain processed through that story. If that was the rumor, it wasn’t the worst case. Hopefully, that was all it would amount to.
“So, you really gonna eat a wolf? Is that even safe? What if it has parasites and stuff.” Cyrus eyed the meat with both curiosity and suspicion.
“Sure. Not going to let it go to waste. Besides, I’m sure this is safer than any livestock in the county.” Marc said, then grabbed a piece of meat with the chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
He chewed it slowly, savoring the flavor and the nostalgic taste.
“Not bad. Probably should let it marinate overnight though.”
“You sure it’s safe?” Concern was etched on the big man’s brow.
“Absolutely,” of course, Marc couldn’t explain that beasts in the other world gained health benefits from Mana exposure the same way humans did. There should be no sign of sickness or parasites in a healthy wolf like the one he had killed.
“Don’t worry. I checked it out before I cooked it.”
“Hmmm,” Cyrus said, still somewhat skeptical, but the smell was getting to him at the same time.
“So, think I can give it a taste?”
Marc smiled. That hadn’t taken long at all. He pulled out another plate, then grabbed a fork and loaded up a pile of the meat onto it. Handing the plate and fork to the man, he motioned for them to go sit on the sofa.
“I really should put in a dining table one of these days.”
“You have been getting a lot of company lately.” Cyrus sat on the sofa, holding the plate in one hand, then spearing a piece of meat with the fork and holding it up in front of his eye.
Marc sat on the chair next to the sofa and dropped a piece of the bread on Cyrus’s plate.
Taking a deep breath, Cyrus shoved the meat in his mouth, and then chewed.
“Hmm. Not bad. Actually. That’s pretty good. Kind of like venison, but not as gamey.”
“That’s the marinade.”
“Nice, give me the recipe sometime.”
“So what brings you over here Cyrus?” Marc gave the man a serious look. This was only the third time Cyrus had stopped by, and the other times were just to pick up some produce.
“Ah.” He looked up from the plate.
“I got a call from Ryan just now. Seems he screwed up the big surprise.”
Marc smirked. “Yeah. You could say that.”
“So I was sent over to see if I could salvage things,” Cyrus admitted.
“This is all Sheila’s doing isn’t it?”
Cyrus nodded.
“Does she know Ryan messed up?” Marc asked.
“Not yet.”
Marc sighed.
“Who else is in on it?”
“Well, besides Shiela, your gaming crew, Lily, and myself, there’s also that blacksmith guy and his wife.”
Ok. That wasn’t so bad. At least she hadn’t roped in half the city.
“Oh, and a couple of truckers I think. I don’t know their names though.”
Another big sigh.
“And when is this all going to go down?”
“Next Thursday of course.”
“Of course.” Marc wanted to curse.
“Hey, how much of this you have? We should totally serve this.” Cyrus was eating enthusiastically now, using the bread to wipe up some of the gravy.
“I could start selling Lobo’s WolfBurgers. Wouldn’t that be a thing?” Using the last of the bread to squeegee the plate clean, he put the plate down on the end table.
“Oh, it’s a bit early, but Happy Birthday!” He said, beaming.
Marc was going to kill Shiela when he got a chance.