Uninvited Guest, part III

On his way back to the human path Wendigo discovered the entrance to a large cave. He could not help but forget what he was doing and investigate. Power emanated from the land around the cave and instilled a curious desire into his mind to disbelieve he was seeing the hole in the ground. Whatever was in there deserved a visit for keeping such a comfortable hiding spot to itself.

He made his way slowly through the darkness, uncertain if he would meet enemy or prey but prepared to pounce in either case. He scratched at the walls and floor with his nails and listened to the reverberations of sound to gauge the size of the cavern. It grew more spacious as it went deeper into the earth.

A familiar scent came to him. It smelled like turtle blood and river mud. Old memories stirred. He thought back to times when humans were simpler, before the New People arrived with their perplexing tools and weapons. He was still trying to identify it when he heard the soft rustling of scales on stone somewhere ahead.

Wendigo froze and tracked the creature's movements with his sharp ears. It had risen from its resting place on the ground, but it was not advancing toward him. A hiss erupted from several feet above his head, near the ceiling. He remembered what the familiar scent belonged to. "Mishegenabig!" he called up to it. "Good hunting, friend!"

The hiss tapered off. With a faint brush of scale against rock it lowered its body until he could feel the great serpent's slow breaths drifting past his face. The cold and slimy prongs of its tongue tickled his belly and worked their way up until they reached his scruffy beard. It hissed again with a voice that bypassed the ears to enter the mind directly. A wendigo? How disappointing. I had hoped you were some foolish human who managed to find his way past my enchantment.

Wendigo remembered Mishegenabig was hard of hearing and spoke loudly to it. "I almost forgot you! Why were you sleeping?"

Warriors killed my mate and my children, my brothers and my sisters. I am all that is left of my kind. This cave is my tomb, where I can sleep and remember them. Go now or I will substitute you for one of those hateful creatures, unpleasant though your taste may be.

Wendigo grinned to himself in the darkness. "No. I like this den. You leave. I will sleep here."

He felt a rush of air as Mishegenabig opened its mouth wide and lunged for him. He dodged the strike by leaping against the cave wall and landing on the serpent's back. It swung its head around and tried to gore him on the horn-like scales that grew above its eyes, but he avoided this maneuver with equal ease. Even though its agility improved as muscles stiffened from hibernation loosened, it could not so much as lay a tooth on him.

Wendigo did not intend to kill Mishegenabig. The serpent's flesh would dull his hunger, but it had no power to steal for renewed strength like human prey. He amused himself by bouncing off the walls and the monster's body until it slowed with exhaustion.

Mishegenabig stopped its attack and lifted its head to the ceiling once more. You are a mite between my scales. What can I do to be rid of you?

"Play with me!"

Mishegenabig exhaled in a strained hiss. Very well. What type of games does your kind like to play?

"Eating contest. Winner gets the cave."

Mishegenabig gave this some thought. Wendigos were known for their appetites, but they were also known for possessing tiny human bodies. Very well, it said, and it lowered its head to crawl out of the cavern.

The serpent's pupils narrowed to paper-thin slits when it reentered the sunlit world of the surface. It shook its bulky head at the pain, but at the same time it welcomed the warmth the light offered. It took a few moments to study Wendigo now that it could see him properly. Your host body is strange. I have never seen a human the color of eye-scales before shedding.

"You slept long. New People came. They are everywhere now." Wendigo picked at his beard as he reviewed memories. "Taste the same, though," he added.

I do not care what they look or taste like. They should all pay. Does this contest involve killing humans?

Wendigo frowned. "No. I smelled deer. Follow me."

He led the way and Mishegenabig followed, covering his tracks in its own wide trail through the snow. Despite its size the serpent moved in a quiet and stealthy way that impressed him. When they neared the herd it coiled up and used its power to cast a disguise that made it look like a pile of boulders. Wendigo circled the deer and drove them to Mishegenabig. The serpent dropped the disguise the moment it moved to snatch one, and it wrapped its tail around another before the herd passed. It waited until Wendigo had made three kills and dragged them back.

Mishegenabig swallowed both of the deer before Wendigo was finished eating his first. It felt very full and satisfied. A sly glint entered its lidless eyes. You think much of yourself, spirit, but your skill is limited by the body you inhabit.

Wendigo pulled his head out of the carcass and snarled at Mishegenabig. The taunt fueled his desire to take its one and only possession. He ate with a relentless pace. By the time he had reduced the first deer to a smear of blood in the snow it was getting dark and the serpent began to lose its confidence. It watched with grim acceptance as he moved through the other two. His emaciated form did not look any fatter for having eaten them.

Wendigo grinned wide to let the moonlight shine on his white fangs. "No one beats me. The cave is mine!"

Mishegenabig gave a low, drawn out hiss. Very well. You may have it without any enchantments for protection while you sleep, glutton.

Mishegenabig turned and threaded its silent path through the trees. Wendigo laughed until it was out of sight. When there was no one to laugh at anymore he sat on the snow and licked the blood off his body to savor the last traces of his kills.

He was very pleased with himself for chasing Mishegenabig out of its resting place. He wondered what would happen to it now. Would it run into humans before it could find another place to shut out the world with sleep? What effect would their guns have against such a powerful creature? He thought about following to see if this happened, but decided against it. He had a prize to claim.

The only trace of the cave's former occupant was the lingering scent of reptile and wet earth. Wendigo went to the spot where it had lain, curled up in a tight ball, and fell asleep. He could not hibernate as long as Mishegenabig before the hunger drove him to hunt again, but he welcomed occasional breaks to conserve energy.

The hunger faded temporarily as his host's mind entered the dream world. Positions were reversed and Wendigo tagged along as the man relived some memory from a past where he had control over his life. This time the man was lost with two of his companions and waiting out a storm in the shelter of a cave smaller than Mishegenabig's den. They had run out of food.

Wendigo grew excited when he recognized the memory. He enjoyed watching what happened next.