Occulturation #8 Roadblock

Lauren doesn’t like being a horse. She gallops through the forest to the side of the highways. She is following these roads because it is the best way to find her way to the destination. Sure, there is supposedly a crime or Screamers or something blocking the road, but she should have no problem getting through because she is travelling through the forest, not the road.

The saddle belt is uncomfortable around her torso and the silver dagger sheathed into the side of her saddle gives off a faint mental pain that makes her want to lay down and give up. It seems to drain her of her motivation. Luckily, her compulsion prevents from submitting to the silver dagger. She is driven by obligation.

Through glimpses between the trees of the thick forest, she sees crowds of police cars but also the armored vehicles of the Anti-Screamer Special Forces. “Uh oh, the A.S.S.F. are here,” Lauren says, “I guess we’re close to whatever crime or accident shutdown the highways.” The man on her back asks “Is the A.S.S.F. going to get us?” Lauren almost laughs. “The A.S.S.F.? They don’t even know that we’re here,” Lauren says, “No, I’m more worried about what they’ve come to combat against.”

A howl sounds from a pile up of crashed cars and trucks. More howls, hisses, growls, and bleating roars join the first to resound in a cacophony of savagery. Shifters. They never can seem to restrain themselves. Why do they bother staying in the city? They go feral at the most minor of slights. If someone cuts them off, their road rage would cause them to jump out of the car and chase them down. It looks like an accident involved a Shifter, made them mad enough to transform into their monstrous form. But they’re calling for a hunt, that’s not good.

The pile of crashed cars is covered with the furry feral animal-like monsters. The A.S.S.F. also has its own pack of troops. About five of their armored vehicles are in position. They’re not really cars so much as mobile bunkers covered in layers upon layers of metal plates with mounted machine guns. Some of them even have artillery units, long thin cannons with explosive rounds.

The battle begins. Deafening gunfire rips through the waves of fur and flesh that leaps from the pile to rush the armored vehicles and their exposed machine gun gunners. The cannons fire at the pile of cars, igniting them. Lauren continues to gallop at top speed. It’s not like she needs to pace herself. She’s a Screamer, she doesn’t tire. Fatigue is for humans, along with all of the other troubles that they have like needing to sleep, eat, use the bathroom and breathe.

She is mostly out of sight from the violence on the highway. She is hidden in the forest, but the Shifters have keen senses. They turn from the A.S.S.F’s armored tanks and chase after Lauren. She should have known better than to run. It only encourages their predatory instincts. The Shifter pack chases her into the woods. They’re faster than her. They’re catching up. She has a bit of time before her untimely demise. She has several hours actually. When they “kill” her, they really only undo her bindings of physical form by destroying her body. However, they will also kill the man on her back, which will break her compulsion to safely bring him to the wedding. A broken compulsion is dangerous for her.

She suspects they’ll catch her within a minute or two. Lauren feels like she should just give up and die. No, that’s the silver dagger sheathed in her saddle that is causing her to feel that way. “Sir, I need you to find and pick up the silver dagger in my saddle.” Lauren says. The man struggles for a bit, but he eventually finds the silver dagger. “You don’t expect me to fight them with this, do you?” The man asks.

A roar from behind distracts Lauren from responding. The Shifters that are closest are slamming into each other to prevent anyone else from reaching their prey first. A lycanthropic mountain goat bounds up from behind and lands on top of the head of the were-mountain lion that’s in the lead, slamming it cloven hoof into the feline’s skull. This barely slows either of them down as they continue racing towards Lauren. “Alright, sir. We’re going to stop soon,” Lauren says, “When we do, you’re going to use the knife to enclose both of us in a single circle drawn in the dirt.” The man tries to ask why, but Lauren ignores him and focuses on sprinting to give her enough distance between her and the Shifters so they can draw the sigil before the Shifters reach them.

“Ready? We’re stopping now. Draw the circle!” Lauren shouts. She stops behind a couple of particularly wide and thick trees. The man scrambles off her back and uses the blade of the silver dagger to cut a circle around them both in the dirt. Lauren draws the rest of the lines and shapes with her hoof in the dirt. She is somewhat bonded with this man because he is the client of her service and the source of the soul of her current binding. It should be enough for him to command her to Incorporate.

“Now one hand on me and one hand on the sigil and say, “Lauren, incorporate!” The man obediently repeats the invocation, “Lauren, incorporate.” her horse body disappears and the circle separated into four quadrangles glows with a faint grey glow that emanates unease and paranoia. The man is unsure of what to do. He holds the silver dagger close to his chest, as though it would somehow protect him. The Shifters surround the circle and prepare to lunge at him.

He imagines the monsters all attacking him and ripping him the shreds. It is a terrifying thought. The Shifters don’t attack. They seem scared and look down at their bodies as though they expect to see something wrong.

They Shifters pounce upon him in a terrible onslaught of fur and claws. He feels them ripping through him, and he sees a were-cougar leap from a tree on top of him. He tries desperately to fend them off with the silver dagger. He hears the clopping of hooves and turns to see the horse, Lauren, fleeing the scene. He feels he must go after her. She is his only hope for survival. He feel the anger of betrayal and despair at being outnumbered, but he mostly just feels the fear of his own mortality and imminent death. He hears a stampede of claws and hooves trailing the horse, but all of the Screamers are still attacking him. He is surprised he hasn’t died yet, despite the pain and wounds.

He opens his eyes. He is lying on his back on the dirt in the middle of an eldritch Screamer symbol drawn into the dirt. The symbol is broken now as his tossing and turning on the ground has broken the lines. There are no Screamers near him. The trees, bushes, grass and dirt are slashed and broken with gouges from Shifters. There are small pools of blood and tufts of fur scattered around the area.

In the direction he saw the horse escape and heard the strange thunder of claws and hooves, he sees a trail of many foot prints made of all sorts of strange appendage and claw prints. With the rune in the ground now broken, a grey mist flows out of the lines drawn in the circle and coalesces into the horse, Lauren.

“You… I saw you leave!” the man says. Lauren scoffs. “I’m still here, obviously,” Lauren says, “The Shifters failed to see through my nightmaric phantasms because they were in a frenzy. We would have died if they still had their senses about them.” The man isn’t sure what to think about this. Didn’t he die? He looks down but sees that he is barely wounded, a few lines of blood trickle down his arm. “You should be more careful with that dagger.” Lauren says. The man understands now. “Um, thank you for saving me.” the man says. Lauren ignores his thanks and tells him to get back into the saddle. They continue on their way toward the wedding.

Lauren smiles as she trots away. She knows the Shifters are headed right toward the A.S.S.F. on the highway, chasing a creature they only saw for a moment in during their panic. They’ll get the battle they so desperately want, but they won’t win against the A.S.S.F. Lauren doesn’t care that she has led the Shifters to their death. She doesn’t care how many A.S.S.F. humans will die with the Shifters returning to attack them. Lauren has come to terms with her one desire, the desire to terrorize others. This is why the sigil she drew the dirt was not the symbol for Incorporeal, it was the five triangle shape of Angel.