Scrape-thump. Scrape-thump. Scrape-thump. Salts-the-Wound filled in the hole with machine like consistency. Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely. The thin rays of light rapidly disappeared until nothing but total darkness and isolation enveloped him like a tightly choking glove.
Well, not exactly how I wanted to spend the day. Maybe when she stops piling on the dirt I can just get some sleep. That will help pass the time..maybe I was over thinking how bad this would be.
The sounds of the shovel eventually begin to grow fainter, until he stops hearing it all together. The silence itself was actually somewhat unnerving, and oddly enough-deafening.
Thats when he heard it. boomph! A few minutes go by, and there's another boomph! Silence again reigned for the briefest of moments.
What on earth was th-
boomph!
Zas actually almost seemed to feel that. "They must really think of me as a Get...thinking I could dig my way--"
creeeaaak. The squeaking sound of wood under pressure was unmistakable.
He held his breath, unsure of what to expect next.
snap!!! Splinters fly into the narrow confines of the coffin peppering him up and down his body. The sudden surprising turn of events combined with his being on edge, as well as his limited range of motion, forced the normally evasive and dexterous Silent Strider to take the full force of the stinging shrapnel along the full length of his body. It was a jarring pain, not enough to cause serious injury but it took him a minute to catch his breath and slow his heart rate again.
That's when he noted that the air was stale, and the scents he noticed were inescapably subtle but relentless never the less: the salty clay and rotten roots, the stink of the cheap pitch that held together the pinewood box.
His former thoughts of finding rest to pass the time had long since vanished. He was far too alert and with the adrenaline flooding his system, sleep was not an option. Unfortunately, his inability to move much at all rapidly came to the forefront of his mind.
Zas could feel his left leg wanting to cramp up from not being able to move, and something deep within him found his being forced to one spot, both deeply disconcerting and wrong on multiple levels. He needed to be moving. Standing still is not an option. Standing still is how they get you.
That single thought scared him more than anything.
He knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. Knowing and experiencing were far different. Dreading every moment before they arrived just made waiting that much worse.
The feeling of dread slowly turned to panic as time wore on, before panic was replaced by outright fear and terror. He found himself physically shaking. He wanted to scream, let out a whimpering cry and plea for help. He wanted to get out of here. Now.
No. I will not break. He shook himself free. Concentrating on his task.
The wily philodox took to raising his arm and taking his index finger and growing a clawed nail. He then started carving into the coffin lid. He didn't need to see. Just forcing his mind to be preoccupied by carving the letters was enough.
He began carving out the names of the pack. M-o-c-k-s t-h-e n-i-g-h-t. Hears the Song. Leper Friend. Rends the Gar.
When he finished that, he kept carving, names of friends, allies, anyone he could think of that he'd ever enjoyed spending time or had a positive experience with.
Then he proceeded to raise his other arm and likewise claw carve out his list of enemies, both dead or dealt with as well as those that remained on the loose.
When he had finished, he ran his fingers down both lists. He started talking to himself, speaking to each friend or ally as if they were with him and discussing what the next plan or action was to deal with the names on the other list.
Time was irrelevant. He had his wits about him. It kept him focused and stopped him from thinking about what was to come.
-------------------------------------
Midway through his lecture on why and how he justified adding Dr. Samuel Cartwright to his enemy list, he heard a soft thud from somewhere on the outside of the coffin. It was close. Too close.
He could hear a voice muttering something in a foreign language, and felt the coffin shake violently. Zas said nothing.
Then another voice spoke to the first voice in the same language from further away.
A few moments later, the second voice was much closer and Zas could hear what sounded like someone inhaling, as if they were sniffing around for something.
The coffin shuttered as Zas felt what he could likely only guess was a boot kicking the side of it hard. Still he remained silent.
They may leave me alone if I don't respond.
The Philodox then heard something hit the top of the coffin and slither across. He could tell something was just on the outside of the pine box moving.
It took him a minute to realize the sound was a rope. Someone was tying off the coffin.
He felt himself get hoisted up and was jostled around a bit, but nothing else. Meanwhile the two voices continued their conversation, seemingly oblivious to Zas.
The Silent Strider went on like this for a while, occasionally being bumped, hitting his head on the top or side of the coffin, before finally feeling the coffin hit the ground, feet end first.
By this point, Zas was counting moments of silence by eternities.
He did not dare risk breathing loudly and spent all of his focus on making his movement and breath as quiet and silent as possible.
Then he heard a voice speak to him. The words were in english but had a foreign accent he could not place. "We know you're there. No use trying to hide. You can trust us. We don't bite." his last comment elicited a few chuckles of laughter.
From within the coffin, Zas gave a sigh. The gig was up. They knew. He knew they knew.
Zas reached up and straightened the hate his ragabash had given him before replying in a firm tone of voice. "I wasn't hiding. I was locked in here for your protection. Evidently I am dangerous."
He pauses, a familiar stentorian rumbling echoed in Zas' ears; the tone was loud, aggressive, but the voice was his own:"And I do bite..."
This seemed to cause a bit of a stir by the gather voices around the outside of the coffin.
In reply, Zas felt himself being pushed down on his back causing his head to smack down hard against the wood leaving an indention.
The same voice that spoke, addressed him again, this time his words more menacing. "Who are you? Why are you here? You will tell me everything"
Zas was about to respond with another snappy comeback but felt himself being shoved down further before falling into a free fall and hearing a splashing sound as he slammed down into the side of the coffin.
As he tried to regain his senses as his head was in a bit of a daze, he felt a cold wet moist sensation begin to form around him. In moments he was in what felt like an icy frozen lake and he was struggling to breathe. He heard the rope's hold on the coffin grow taut and felt himself begin to be lifted up from the water and greedily sucked in air, before the rope loosened again and he splashed back down and began to sink.
This process went on and on.
Finally, he was pulled completely free of the icy water and hauled upright. A faint outline of a finely dressed white man who wore a large over-sized hat and thin sash around his waist as well as a large full figured well manicured mustache peered into the coffin.
"Let's start over shall we?"
He looked at Zas with empty pitiless eyes. His chest had an arrow sized hole in it where his heart looked to be. There was a flash of light that filled the area briefly allowing Zas to see as the man's head went from being skin covered to being nothing more than a hollow skull.
The white man introduced himself, "I am Louis-Michel. Governor of this area and pirate captain of the Neptune's Plague and crew. Who might you be-friend?"
Zas spat water at him, "No friend of yours, thats for certain. My name is Zas B'ul. You can call me Dead hands. You can call me injun. You can call me whatever you want. It doesn't matter what you call me-I am your judge and executioner. I find you and all your kind guilty for crimes against Gaia. Now is your chance to beg me for pardon."
Louis let out a mirthless laugh that was quickly joined by the other voices surrounding the coffin.
"How pray tell do you intend to do that? You are a nothing but a dog on a criminally short leash. Worse still, you're clearly insane. How can you be my executioner boy? I am already gone. No, see, it is you will will meet oblivio--"
Zas didn't let him finish the phrase. He lunged forwards throwing the weight of his body forwards causing the coffin to fall into the wraithly form of the man, as he partially shifted his mouth into the fanged maw of his war form and biting down on anything he could.
There was a surprised cry, followed by a crunching sound as the weight of the coffin and Zas's razor sharp fangs found their mark. In the end, all that could be heard was a soft gurgling sound.
Zas let loose a long howl.
The other wraiths who had gathered nearby let loose a loud scream causing Zas's bones to ache from the pain.
He felt the coffin get rapidly lifted up and tossed into the air before crashing back down hard, ramming Zas's soft muzzle into the splintered wood, and breaking his nose.
The blood ran down his face in rivers and the pain was excruciating forcing him back into his homid form.
Wraith's continued their assault. When they saw they could not break through the coffin physically, they began go after Zas's body.
Another one of the voices shouted something in their foreign language. Zas didn't understand the words, but the point became clear when he felt himself start to choke and gag as water filled his lungs. His hands swung wildly as he desperately clung onto life. His hand landed on the names of the pack.
This momentary act of physically touching the names focused his mind and he concentrated to intentionally force the attacker out of his body by sheer force of will. He coughed up the water and began sucking in air.
The wraith was ejected, but returned after a few seconds to way lay into Zas this time with multiple others helping him. The wraith cried out before setting Zas's insides on fire with flames fueled by it's own internal hatred for the living and it's pained existence. The wraith gave all of himself in the attack, and used his very body to add more fuel to the internal fire.
Even after the other wraiths ceased the attack, the flames continued to rage inside the Silent Strider, burning and eating away at him. Zas's screams echoed and reverberated around him. He had never felt any pain like this. The pain did not subside. It kept going. The fires would not be put out.
Outside of the coffin, a new noise could be heard. The sound of battle. Guns fired, Screams. Arrows flew and found their mark, Screams. Swords clashing against hatchet and knife, Screams.
Then Silence.
-------------------------------------------
Zas reeled from the pain. His body felt hot to the touch. He had no concept of how long he was in pain, only that it never ended.
He could hear voices outside of the coffin.
Native voices. Some that seemed oddly familiar.
A male Karankawa voice spoke. "He burns. They must have done it before we found them."
"More's the pity. We should have had at him first. The invaders always take." A female Karankawa voice chimed in.
Another Karankawa warrior addressed the first one, "Will he live? Did they kill him?"
"I don't know. He's fighting it." Replied the first voice.
The woman added, "Yes, good. Fight it. Live some more so we can have our turn."
The trio is joined by yet another voice, this one addressed Zas directly, "Oh...All-Friend, you can't understand how good it is to see you. There's so much we need to share. There's so much we need to thank you for. We don't get many visitors here. Few betrayers would so boldly offer themselves up for free entertainment."
The gathered group laughs.
Zas let out a low growl, "You are nothing."
"Please, let's just do it now?" Pleaded the woman
The third Karankawa spoke, "I am okay with that-provided...he will be able to make it."
"Like I said, I am unsure. Oblivion has it's coils near him, but it's too early to tell." said the first man.
The fourth Karankawa tapped on the coffin, and in a mocking menacing tone says "All-Friend won't disappoint. Will you?"
Zas screamed and howled in fury.
He gripped Mocks' hat tightly and spoke through gritted teeth and pain, "You. Are. Nothing."
The woman cheered. "Oh good! He wants to play."
"We want to show you something....we want to share everything. We will try and go slow. Don't want you to miss it." The third Karankawa voice quipped.
Zas began to see flashes. Long forgotten memories sprung to the surface of his mind, now twisted and muddled into some new horrible event. Places he had grown up in. People he had known. Each memory played in slow motion. His school building run down and empty; glass windows shattered and door broken in, children's bodies crammed in and piled high from the floor to the ceiling. The Natahay camp burnt down to nothing but charred ash; his father's head on a spear point. Chief Bowles body displayed on a cross in the middle of the trinity river mumbling "why didn't you save me like you saved my son?"
The Silent Strider felt tears welling up inside.
He saw all the Fianna who died in Houston. In unison they turned to look at him-"You weren't fast enough to save us or did you really just want to let us die? Are you really Garou?" He saw the man the pack had brought back for a hanging who looked at him and pointed, "there's the litany violator! There's the liar!" He saw Roaring Jack standing on the beach in the Breakwater sept who mumbled aloud, "That's what I get for trusting in some no-name pure nation wanna be." The scene chage to the White ash Caern where Malchizadek is standing motionless watching Firaxinus the unbending fall. As Zas Approaches Malchizadek looks at him and smiles, "You're just in time. The end of the world is almost here and it's all thanks to you. All my work is useless. Thanks for that."
Zas felt the tears begin to stream down his face.
The moments continued to roll by even more slowly. He saw Ebony in the sack he found her in aboard the remains of the Hyperboria her eyes rolled back into her head, blood pouring out from her nether regions, a childs still form attached to the umbilical cord lying still. Claws-of-Silk walking in the cherokee village in Nacogdoches shaking her head as she looked at Zas and said, "I thought you loved me! How could you let me die? How could you betray me for some feathered slut? Did I mean so little to you?"
By this point, Zas has curled into as little a ball as he can given the confines of the coffin. He is screaming, bawling and howling his eyes out. "It's not true! None of it's true!"
The Karankawa wraiths just howl in laughter. "You are only just beginning to see it. Oblivion is there for you. It will accept you. Just give in. We can keep this up as long as we want."
Zas remembered his promise to Mocks. "No...NO! NOOO!!! Never! I will keep fighting you all for eternity. I am not yours!"
The Karankawa wail loudly causing Zas to grip his ears in pain, and continue to force Zas to mentally see every failure, shortcoming, loss, and death he or the pack ever dealt with.
Zas's cries rose loud and long.
Home 
