The Culling of the Wild

I

Emanual was freezing and exhausted. Flakes of snow bit into his face, and he stared at the tree line. The evergreens were just beginning to thin out at the altitude they were at. It would have been a beautiful scene if they weren't running for their lives. He looked back over his shoulder, and saw the impossibly long line made up of his village behind him. He trudged another step through the hard packed snow, and looked at Trevor. Trevor gave him another one of his annoying eyerolls, and communicated with his face that their was no way they were going to slow down.

The Rapax were already on their way, and Trevor had assured him there was no other way out. They had to take the least likely path at the worst time of year if they had any hope at all of escape. An evergreen branch tugged at his guille, and it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. He glanced back again, and his eyes were drawn to the weak and the old. How brutal this must be for them. He knew from the outset that some weren't going to make it. He took a deep sigh, and knew in his heart it was more merciful this way. Any left behind would be tortured into revealing the village whereabouts. Then they would be eaten.

At this thought he felt a huge surge of guilt. This was all his fault. He had done this. For over a hundred years the village had remained isolated in the former Colorado rockies. The only visitors were the travelling caravans who brought exotic supplies and books. And that was his downfall.

Emanual was a bibliophile. He always had been. As a child he enjoyed just holding books, and the smells. He enjoyed flipping the pages, and looking at all the symbols. It was quite an extraordinary thing his parents let him do that, for books were very rare now a days, and a years saving could be spent on just one when the caravans came around. When he became old enough he would work the fields like a madman during the harvest season, and work the mine during the cold season. All so that he could afford to buy a new book the next time the caravan came around.

At first he was enthralled with the epic tales from before the trouble began. He loved the Lord of the Rings, and the Star Wars. He could recite his favorite passages with perfect clarity from memory. "Luke, you do not yet understand your importance! You can destroy the Emperor, he has foreseen this...."

He remembered running through the village telling anyone who would listen that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father. They would pat him on the head, and laugh gently at his enthusiasm. Eventually he graduated to works of classic philosophy: Plato's Republic, Thus Spake Zarathustra, and The Universe in a Nutshell. He absorbed this knowledge rapaciously, and worked without tire to earn enough to buy new books of knowledge. Year after year passed, and slowly the onset of an existential crisis began to cloud his mind and heart. He felt that there was something more. He just knew in an abstract way that there was a bigger truth underlying everything else that remained elusive to him.

He tried reading the philosophy of several different cultures, and felt that really he was reading the same material told from different angles. He could not shake the nagging feeling that there was a central truth that was eluding him somewhere beneath it all. That was catalyst for what he considered to be the biggest mistake he had ever made. He remembered it with excruciating detail.

It was early morning when the first of the caravans rolled in. There was a bitter bite to the wind even though it was already late spring. Emanual anxiously put on his cloak, and ran out the door. He was halfway down his path before he realized that he had forgotten to put on his sandals. Frustrated he plowed forward without concern. He had been waiting two seasons for this moment, and was almost beside himself with excitement and nervousness.

He approached the caravan, and was greeted warmly by the gypsies. They offered him a book called "I Ching, the book of changes", but he told them today he had something different in mind. He just knew that the I chung or whatever was just going to increase that feeling he had.

"Do you have something different from philosophy or religion, but answers the same questions on a deeper level?"

You would have thought he had just asked to burn every book they had from the look he received. The peddler asked him to stand tight for a moment, and he scurried off. A few moments later the leader of the caravan emerged, and called Emanual out. "Say what it is that you want?"

Emanual struggled to articulate the abstract feeling that had been nagging him for years now, and found that he was just stammering.

"Choose from the books we have already offered, there is nothing more."

Emanual felt like he had just been kicked in the groin. He had to be kidding, they were his only access to knowledge. They had to have something that would ease his discomfort. It grew on a daily basis, a latent panic that somehow something important needed to be done. He had no idea what "it" was, but he knew these guys should have something that helped him to figure it out. He said, "I need a book that teaches the underlying truths that all the other books seem to touch on. I need to get to the source of it all."

The leader blanch at that, and physically shoved him backwards. "There will be no more books for you! Reread what you have already read until you find what you seek."

NO!!!! Emanual almost screamed. This was going so horribly wrong. How could this be happening, not only was he not getting what he wanted but losing his access to more. "No!!! I want to see what it is you have! You can't deny me more books!"

"No more books for you. Reread what you already have. Go away now."

Emanual teared up with rage, and flung himself at the caravan. The leader easily flung him to the ground, and delivered a stern kick to his side. "Go away now!"

Face covered in mud made from his tears, he pulled himself to his knees. He sat there for a moment to shocked to be humiliated. How could this be happening! Books were his life, and now he was told he could have no more. He got up and walked barefoot and bleeding back to his house.

Season after season came and went, and the caravans refused him each time. His spirit sunk lower and lower. Until the day came he thought, "Without knowledge and my books there is nothing for me to live for." With that realization he waited until the next caravan.

The next season came, and the caravan with it. Emanual steeled himself inside, and walked out to greet it. The leader stood front and center with his arms crossed. He put his hand up as Emanual approached, and Emanual leaned his body up against it. Following some deep instinctive hunch he said, "I will have the knowledge I seek, or the death you will bring....there is no other way." The leader moved like lightening, and disappeared only to reappear behind Emanual with him in a choke hold. Emanual felt the sharpness of the blade as it came to rest on his neck. He thought, "well, this is it."

"Do you still wish for death if you should be denied access?" At that a glimmer of hope hit Emanual. For as odd as it seemed, he felt that he was being given an option instead of a threat. He felt that if he were to reverse position now he would be killed, and the opposite was true.

"Yes, I do..."

In a flash, a hood was put over his head, and he was bound and thrown into what felt like a chest. The caravan immediately started off. The gathering crowd looked at one another. Old man Lopez said, "Told him no more books, and he said 'just kill me.' I guess the caravans do assisted suicide too."

"Callate! Don't be an asshole! I am worried for him." His wife hissed. She turned screaming, and ran toward the village magistrate. Emanual could hear her screeches even as they gained distance from the village. Her echo's were the dying calls of a wounded eagle. He even managed to laugh even in the midst of his despair. the caravan bounced and knocked around for what seemed like hours.

An eternity later, the caravan came to a stop. He waited as fear coursed through his veins. The adrenaline that had given him the bravado to face the leader and his knife was long gone. Now a skinny book loving nerd lay bound in the back of wagon full of savages tough enough to survive in the wilds. Suddenly he was drawn out and set on his feet. The hood on his head was torn off. What stood before him was confusing to say the least.

The leader stood with a smile on his face from ear to ear. His garments were now the finest he had ever seen, as were the clothes of everyone else around him. "I guess that's what all those aquamarines will buy you," crossed his mind. To his surprise the leader answered his thought, "And much more than you could imagine."

At that he gestured, and a beautiful woman stepped forward with a tray of exotic foods and drink. Cautiously he looked over the wares. There was a glass of wine, but even from his position he could smell the quality of it. There were disc of some material covered in specs of something else, and little squares of colorful substances. Yellows, whites, and everything in between and creamy versions of the same. He recognized the sausage, but once again just a glance informed him of it's quality. He stood there staring at it while taking in the scents the likes of which he had never had known. The leader laughed.

He guided his hand, and prepared a disc with gelatinous material he called caviar. He took a bite, and his world was filled with an explosion of pleasure like he had never known. He had a flash that in the world prior to the trouble he would have had this sort of food daily. He cautiously took a sip of the wine, and made an audible moan. Everyone laughed, but Emanual didn't notice. His world was consumed with the brilliant flavors of an aged "Ki-an- ta". They made wines from fruits in his village, but nothing like this. And even the best that they brought with the caravan was nothing like this.

"How do you like a 400 year old Chianti?" It has been waiting all this time for you.

"I like it quite fine....are you killing me with pleasure?" Emanual sarcastically stammered.

"Artemis...my name is Artemis. I am the Supreme Chancellor of the trading guild. We have a Faustian deal with Tsu Lao to roam freely so long as we pay tribute to the kingdom. However, the joke is on him, for we have been searching for you from the beginning."

"For me?! From the beginning of what? Summer?"

"The beginning of the trouble...."

At that statement Emanual stared at Artemis as though he was mentally challenged and didn't know it, "This is too much...how have you been looking for me since before I was born?"

"All will be explained in due time, but you are the natural balance to the unnatural forces of the Rapax."

With that Emanual spit out the food in his mouth. "I want nothing to do with the Rapax. They won't come this far out for nothing, you take our tribute in, so there is no reason why we should ever have to deal with the Rapax."

Artemis gained a sly smile that communicated so much without saying a word. Emanual realized at that moment his life was about to change.

II

From that point forward, the caravans had begun reporting that the village was contaminated with the plague. And no more caravans ever rolled back in. On occasion, Emanual had gone on sojourns into the mountains. He always came back different. More self-assured, calm, and filled with purpose. He never spoke of what was happening in the mountains, but everyone knew he was changing into something special.

At a point a few years after the encounter with Artemis, Emanual held counsel with the village elders. He had outlined for them a new way of living, and informed them that he would handle village education from here on out. He began to radiate power, and every once in a while a child of his choosing would begin to exhibit the same characteristics. Once that child had matured physically they would then leave the village never to be heard from again. Emanual called them rangers, and the village accepted that there was a purpose to it.

Emanual remember how during that time he had first come into contact with what he called, "The Great Eye". Although what he communicated with was not malignant like the character from Lord of Rings. She had helped him to understand his role in the new world. Emanual was to train Rangers to infiltrate Tsu Lao's kingdom. Their task was to find others who were sensitive, and train them. It was the plan that in a few decades there would be a tidal wave of trained rangers who would over throw Tsu Lao. Unfortunately, Tsu Lao was now well aware of what they were doing.

Almost a two years prior the "Great Eye" warned Emanual that Tsu Lao had come to know the plans that were underway. And he was throwing every resource he had into discovering the whereabouts of this "Mountain Mystic". She had told him at the time she was sending him a ranger of very special talent. He would be able to get the village to safety, "Trouble never catches up with that idiot!"

Emanual thought at the time that was a very odd thing to say....until he met Trevor Kratz. The village hadn't had any visitors in nearly 25 years so it was a massive surprise when a dusty man with a gigantic pack on his back came sundering into town.

Eliza was the very first to see him. His boots worn down to nubs, and his pack tattered so badly it was a wonder it was still intact. He walked down the middle of main street with a self righteous strut that put a bad taste in her mouth. She called back into the kitchen of the main hall, and told the rest of ladies to come quickly. They all gathered behind her leaning over top as Eliza leaned against the wooden beam holding the porch up. "?Que en el nombre de dio?s"

Trevor looked up and saw the ladies gathering at the edge of the porch, and he assumed they were transfixed by his amazing looks. "Hey there you sexy group of brown skin beauties. Who wants to take me home, and wash my sexy ass body? I will re ward -spoken as two separate words- with my massive...." and then he winked.

The smirk of disgust and confusion crawled up Eliza's face involuntarily. The rest of the woman faces reflected the same thing with the exception of Lily. Lily squeezed her breast together and winked back. "Well we got a winner!" Trevor called out. Eliza slapped backwards at Lily without even looking, she already knew who the offender was. "Well, how 'bout it? Where you taking me beautiful?"

"NO WHERE!!! Dunia! Go get Emanual now! You!! Crazy white boy! Don't you move! Lily get your ass back in the kitchen you little whore! NOW!!!" Eliza screamed out. Having snapped out of her initial shock she was about to have a stroke with rage. Who the fuck was this man to come into their hidden village and start asking for sex? She held the knife she had carried from the kitchen out in front of her, and glared at the intruder.

Trevor's face buckled into that of a pouting child. He looked around and thought to himself, "What the hell is so special about here?" He dropped his pack off his shoulders, and allowed himself a lazy shoulder roll. "What the hell has a man gotta do to get some beer around here?"

Eliza was trying to keep the women in the hall away from this weirdo white boy. And their faces filled every available window. It would've been comical to any involved if the situation weren't so extremely out of the ordinary and potentially dangerous. "Don't move crazy polla! I'll put this knife in you!"

Trevor was starting to get mad. Who the hell was this bitch? Was she jealous that the other girl beat her to it? He shook his head. His instincts told him he had found the place that Granny 'O' had told him about, but he expected to be received like a hero. This crazy bitch didn't know he was their hero. He was thinking about turning his ass around, and heading back to Gordensville when Emanual came running towards him.

"Sir Sir....Can we help you?"

"Yea, you can get me a beer, that hot ass girl, and a really hot bath!"

Emanual was startled for a moment. He knew better than to draw premature conclusions, but this man was extremely uncouth. He wondered for a moment that maybe this wasn't the ranger the "Great Eye" had sent him. "Well sir....um. Why don't we start with some flavored ice, and you can tell me who you are, and why you are here."

Trevor's expression dropped to completely blank, and Emanual waited for a response. However, the blank expression was just the calm before a hurricane. Inside Trevor Kratz was having a complete come apart. How the fuck could he come a million miles to save this stupid village, and they have no idea who he is. Granny 'O' had promised they would already know about him, and be prepared. "CRAZY BLINDASS STUPID LYING CREEPY WITCH!!!!!!!!!" he suddenly screamed out. He was mad as hell. A full year hiking across the wilds barely avoiding the most dangerous hunters the world had ever known; facing being eaten alive, not having any beer, and they don't even know who he is!

Trevor screamed out at the top of his lungs! and kicked his pack as hard as he could. "FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK!!!! THE HELL I JUST RISKED MY LIFE FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!" He had become certain that Granny 'O' had made a mistake, and these guys weren't all about to be eaten by psychopathic hunter killers. If they knew who he was and what was coming their way, they would've greeted him like a king.

Emanual was startled to the core by what was happening. This stranger was having a world class temper tantrum in the middle of his village, and was potentially dangerous. He had to get the situation under control immediately. Without thinking about it he yelled out, "You almost drowned in the Caney Ford when you were young!"

Trevor stopped dead in his tracks at that. He slowly turned around, and looked at Emanual with a side glance. "You do know who I am? And you know why I'm here?" he asked with a healthy bit of attitude.

"You are the ranger that the master mage sent to save us from the Rapax. Right?"

"Granny 'O' is scary, blind and a witch who threatened to make me a broke dick dog if I didn't help you. So master whatever....but yes, I am here to save you guys from the Rapax. My name is Trevor Kratz."

Emanual took a moment to gather himself. How on earth could this temperamental toddler be the man sent to save them. He drew a deep breath, and trusted his instincts. Granny 'O' had selected this man because she trusted his abilities. And she had referred to him as an idiot which now made a lot of sense. He decided he can handle this.

"Trevor my name is Emanual, pleased to meet you! I apologize for the awkwardness of this situation. I have not told anyone but the village elders of the looming threat, so they had no idea who you are. If I had done so, and you didn't show up imagine how that would go. Also, your customs may be different, but our men treat ladies with respect. It was a bit much for them. But you are very important to us! You are our savior! I will have Dunia draw you a bath right away, and we will start with tea. Perhaps after we have attended to matters we can have a wine together." Emanual drew on all of his new talents to read the situation, and spoke in a way that was both soothing and truthful.

"WELL!!! Fucking hell, sorry to offend the ladies, although Lily didn't seem to 'offended' if you ask me."

Emanual openly laughed at that. Lily had her own outlook on things that might have made her successful in the old world using the worlds oldest profession. "Would you care to join me for some flavored ice, and we will get you a bath drawn up."

"AAAANNNDDD the wine...." Trevor drew out his words.

"And some wine....after we get some business done."

"AAANNDDD...Lily is it?"

With that Emanual laughed, and turned to walk towards the bathhouse.

III

That had been almost a year ago. Trevor had explained exactly how bad their situation was. It was a miracle that he escaped from the Rapax patrol as they hunted him across Old Arkansas. They were going to have to hike in the dead of winter out the box canyon to the west. Nobody in all Emanual's life had ever been far in that direction because of its ruggedness, but that should also make it that last place the Rapax would expect. They wouldn't be expecting an exodus until late spring. They had to do the impossible to beat the undefeatable. If they didn't the Rapax would torture then eat every single person in the village.

Trevor had then informed the village about the threat of the Rapax, and what they had to do. It took some convincing from Emanual, but eventually terror became its own sustainable motivation for training. Now here they were, the whole damn village on the side of a mountain. Fortunately the snow pack hadn't been like it had in the old days, but it was still a nightmare. Trevor had assured them that it would be twice bad trying to hike into the canyon. That would slow up any scouting Rapax...if there any out there this early.

Trevor crested a ridge, and it gave him a view of the canyon mouth several miles away. He gestured for the rabble to stop, and watched as the message travelled down the line. Emanual thought the silencing spell he had cast, plus using only hand signals was an overkill. He watched with satisfaction as the line of villagers came to a holt without one noise being uttered. At least his magic was ready for whatever they had to face. Although, "Granny 'O', as he now called the 'great eye', assured him that even she was no match for Tsu Lao.

Trevor crawled towards the edge on his belly. He was taking absolutely no risk. It had taken him almost 12 hours of non-stop running to get away from six of the Rapax, and honestly it was twist of fate that caused them to lose his trail. If even one Rapax saw them the whole village would be doomed. They were nearly impossible to kill. A limb stabbed him in the eye, and he cursed enough to make satan blush....in his mind. He fished out the eyeglass, and started to scan.

His heart jumped up into his throat. There was a broken branch with footfalls in the snow beneath it. Oh Shit!! his mind screamed. It took him a second, and he calmed down. Rapax don't make mistakes like that. It was probably a bear. The Rapax were untraceable as they traced you down. That Tsu Lao may be a complete asshole, but he did an amazing job with his army. Trevor scanned along the footfalls looking to see if he could find the source. He couldn't leave a stone unturned.

He glimpsed it for a moment. At this range it was barely the size of a pea in his eyepiece. Black and loping through the snow. "Just a bear" he uttered under his breath. But panic started to rise like a tidal wave in his belly anyway. "It's just a bear, It's just a bear." He continued to scan the fresh footfalls looking for a second glance. His mind was trying to make it into something else. It wasn't moving bi-petal like a Rapax, and it wasn't making the smooth untraceable movements of a master hunter. "Just a bear, just let me check."

His heart stopped dead in his chest. His eyepiece found the target, and it was absolutely not a bear. The thing in question was wearing a cloak, and bent over loping like an animal. Ice crawled out of his stomach into his chest, then pumped the frozen slush through his whole body. It crested a small knoll, and looked up. It was clearly a Rapax.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy Shit!...." he muttered over and over. What was a Rapax doing out here this time of year in this canyon. There was no way it was just chance. Or maybe it was. Maybe Tsu Lao sent out singular scouts who could move through the snowed in passes easier than an army. Maybe this one's job was to check the back door.

Nope, didn't make sense. If it was scouting, it would be moving like he had seen them move. This dude was making a straight line for the back of the canyon where they were. He was about a mile and a half out, Trevor figured that gave him about ten minutes to react. He steeled his nerves, and turned around as calmly as he thought possible. His eyes met with his pregnant fiance Lily.

The second he made eye contact Lily knew the score. She buckled up to scream, but a soundless hiss came out instead. Trevor quickly flashed the hand signals, and watched the instruction flow down the line. All of them were wearing guille suits the colors of snow covered alpine trees. He had trained them all how to "become a tree." They had practiced over and over until they were ready to puke. But now here they were. The line broke formation, and they moved by number either left of the path or right to mingle with the tree line. Then they had to freeze until further notice. In a matter of moments Trevor watched as they transformed into a snow covered alpine forest. He even knew what was up, and still his eyes told him he was just seeing trees.

He thought, "The ridge is about two hundred yards from the canyon floor. It will look just like trees to the Rapax. This could actually work. Unless, he kept thinking that guy is coming with purpose. He isn't hunting. He knows we are here. It haunted him as he watched the Rapax's approach through his eyeglass. He allowed himself the luxury of using "I LOVE YOU" sign to Lily. As hard as it was for her, she stayed disciplined enough to not return it. He felt Emanual's hand on his shoulder. He and Emanual had grown so close in the last nine months, that Trevor could feel what was being communicated. "Relax, you trained us well, and we are going to get out of this."

He dared not speak, none of them were allowed to speak. It was legendary that a Rapax could hear labored breathing a mile away when they stuck those crazy wolf ears up. Trevor quickly thought about the sun's position. He didn't want it to catch a glare on the eyelass for the Rapax to key in on. They were on the southern slope, and it was still morning so the sun was behind them. They were also downwind of the creature. He sighed relief internally. He could now see details of the Rapax through his glass. It was two hundred and fifty yards out when it came to a halt.

It threw back the hood, and swept the horizon with its eyes. "What a creepy fucking face!" Trevor scream internally. He was glad only he could see it clearly as others might lose their nerve. It was as if some kind of big cat had suddenly become human. Only it looked more like a skull than a living creature. This was his first time seeing one clearly, and he marveled at the un-natural golden hue that radiated out of its eyes. Trevor watched with morbid fascination as it scanned the horizon from directly behind it, all the way around to the same spot on the other side behind it.

"GGGGOOOOOOODDDD!!!!!! He is looking for us!!! He doesn't know for sure!" Trevor thought, "That fucking stay quiet and still spell better work, or I'm pushing Emanual at the the fucker before I run." The Rapax repeated the slow swivel over and over. Only it's head would change angles upwards every few swipes. "LOOK LIKE A TREE BITCHES!!! It's about to be showtime." Trevor thought loudly.

Trevor was certain it was scanning the tree line where they were at now. He tasted copper in his mouth. If that sonofa bitch sees one of us it's curtains. It will take out at least a hundred of us before we can bring it down with numbers. Then there is the problem of it's brothers coming to find him when he doesn't come back. What they were counting on was nobody looking back here to closely. If the Rapax got up on the ridge, there was no way to hide the their trail. And those un-natural freaks would chase them until the ends of the earth. For this to work, that singular freak down there had to be convinced there was nothing back here. At least convinced enough not to climb the ridge.

The Rapax changed it's pattern. Now it was only scanning the horizon where the villagers were hiding. As it got to each end, it would suddenly turn it's head 20 degrees, and stare for a moment. The go right back to scanning. What the fuck was it doing? This wasn't good, but it wasn't terrible either.

Lightening hit him as the realization occurred to him suddenly. They were at too high of an altitude. The trees were beginning to thin out here. Yea the villagers were good at being trees, but there were to many trees. The Rapax was scanning this area, then comparing it against ridge ahead and behind them. It's intuition was telling it something wasn't right. His panic soared, and he started praying. "Lord.....this is the guy who never does what you want, could you help us out here?"

Trevor grew old and died three times while he waited to see what the Rapax was going to do. He almost ruined everything by screaming YYYEEESSS! The Rapax pulled its hood back over its head, and turned around. It began a slow walk back to the canyon mouth. IT FUCKING WORKED!! We fooled the most developed hunters the world had ever known, and it was all my idea! Trevor was almost getting giddy. Then the Rapax stopped.

Trevor froze again...."oh no, keep moving, keep moving!" It pulled the hoodie off it's head, and turned back around. It fixed it's gaze back at the treeline, and suddenly took a huge breath. A blood curdling wail that was the creepest shit Trevor ever heard bellowed out to the ridge. Trevor saw several "trees" jerk with a startled reaction.....and so did the Rapax.

The Rapax suddenly stood erect, and a huge grin spread across its face. "game over Emanual, it made us." He and Emanual stood up, and Trevor handed the glass to him. He looked through it, then handed it back to Trevor.

Trevor looked back in time to see it produce some sort of trumpet, and make an unholy blast he felt more than heard. Then a terrible thought hit him, and he pointed the glass at the canyon mouth three miles away. There were thousands of Rapax waiting for the signal. And now they began to move. A line of horse and rider eight wide started into the canyon. The snow was at the shoulder line of the horses. Trevor handed the glass back to Emanual who looked at the same image.

"The dread scourge of the Rapax is now upon us."

Trevor stood silently for a moment then said, "I guess trouble finally caught up with me."