Sleep was nothing but a fleeting desire for Aput. The cold was a constant danger in the far north, but was not the only one. The wild animal’s presence slowly came back. Throughout the night, life gradually returned into the forest. Wolves howled their song to the moon, singing their heartfelt song now that the forest was theirs again.

Whatever beastly thing that made its presence suddenly dissipated just as quickly as it had come, it almost seemed too surreal that it had happened to begin with. Aput estimated that he had trekked some twenty miles today, meaning the creature’s voice was approximately carried over fifteen miles away. Wolves could hear their own kind up to ten miles away, for Aput to hear something further away than a wolf was an intimidating thought.

To an extent, he found comfort in hearing the wildlife back to their normal livelihood. Just further evidence that whatever spooked them was probably long gone. He just hoped it was anything but a demented demi, the would only mean trouble for him and his people. Anytime a demi made an appearance in the western world, disaster followed suit shortly afterwards. If that was what attacked the woman, losing a leg was a most fortunate turn of events indeed.

The nights were long in the winter months, for some folk, time seemed to stop. Some appreciated the stillness, Aput had to agree that the feeling was alluring. It helped him look past the darker chapters of history. He wished he had acted sooner, done things differently. If he had understood the true nature of a demi earlier, his whole life would have been entirely different. Instead, all that he had left was his people and his heritage, stuck with the fact that he was misled and the damage irreparable.

Between naps throughout the night, he occasionally fed the fire wood to keep it going. Dawn began to rise, breathing fresh life into a new morning. Like a well-oiled machine, he set hot water to brew immediately. He worried that the woman was suffering through a fever, because she started to break sweat. Helping her to a towel to absorb the sweat, he then broke away to release his bladders in the bushes. Shortly afterwards, he had his breakfast and poured some more brothy soup into her mouth, then gathered all of his belongings to head back to his village. For him it was hard to believe that his morning was practically routine, something had to change. So he started to talk to the woman.

“I read somewhere in a book that it is good to talk to people in comatose, helps them with brain activity or something like that.”

No response from the dragged body on the sled, not that he expected anything.

“Guess I should start with introductions, my name is Aput. Obviously you can’t tell me yours, but I am sure whatever your name is that it is something wonderful.”

He chuckled to himself, never before he thought he would be talking to some beautiful woman who was unconscious. The taunts that his friends would tell him once they hear his story.

“So what brings you all the way out here? We don’t get many visitors around these parts, much less so than ones in your condition. In fact, I think you may be the first, or second to be rescued by my village. Surely there is a story to be told, and knowing my nephews, they would love to hear all about it. The scarier, the more intrigued they are. Although, I doubt someone like you knows anything scary enough to spook them.”

Silence imbued again. He hoped that the shaman would be able to heal the woman, then they could get her where she needed to be. Her family were probably worried sick about her. His heart glowed from relishing that thought.

“I hope we could be good friends.” Aput said.

The weight he dragged started to stir. Stopping in his tracks, he made sure that she was secured in place so that she would not get hurt. Straps were coming loose, so he made sure they were properly tightened to keep her from getting out. However, she started to struggle through the straps, forcing him to stop what he was doing in case it was making her uncomfortable. Her struggles started escalating into something much more violent.

Something unnatural was taking place, he could feel the hairs on his body stand on edge. However, it was not because of fear, even he was not sure what to feel at this moment. His head-hair started to stand, strands of electrical current starting to spark from between his hair strands.

The woman ripped herself out of the sled that she was strapped in, convulsing violently and screaming loudly. Her shape and form warped into something else. Hair started to form long intimidating quills. Fair skin hardened and transformed into something fearsome. Limbs warped into something like that of an animal. Sparks became bolts of lightning exploding from her as an epicenter of the entire event, forcing Aput to dodge beneath the treacherous forces of nature, finding refuge behind the large trunk of a tree.

“Useless! Useless! Useless! Static, you skorto dog!” She shrieked.

It was not safe behind the tree he was at, Aput had to crawl away into a hole that some animal had burrowed. Animals were fleeing left and right, he could see snakes, birds and even the insects all flying in unison away from what was happening. The noise was like a thousand firecrackers being exploded in his ears at once, all he could do was to pray that it would stop.

Large disgusting heaving noises started to overpower the explosive charges going on, then a clear snap sound followed by a powerful belch happened. The land all around him glowed a blinding white. Blinded by light and deafened by sound, he felt defenseless as a newborn child.

The faint roar of a cold and angry voice echoed. “Grusha!”

A bloodcurdling trill and a final thunderous clap ended the entire event. Aput sat still where he was, completely dazed from everything that happened. His nerves were completely haywire, he could not stop shaking. His mind was completely on the fritz trying to make heads and tails of what was going on.

After what felt like an eternity, he found the will to get out of the hole he buried himself in. The surrounding area was scarred beyond recognition. Singed wood smoked from at least a thirty meter radius, dead birds peppered the ground all around him, an unfortunate caribou was dead as well. It only just dawned on him how close his brush with death was, if he were any slower or did not act, he would most certainly be dead by now.

Back at what was left of the sled, the woman laid on the ground unconscious once again. Her body was back to what it was originally, the now seemingly normal ragged woman as before. Hands balled together, there were metallic shards riddled everywhere, but most of them were found on her skin. He could only assume that she destroyed whatever it was that had caused the thundering explosions, that is if she was not the source of it herself.

As his thoughts were being collected, pieces were being made clear. Slumping to the ground on his knees, realization struck him as hard as bat to the back of his head. It did not matter if she was the source or not, the only outcomes meant that she was a demi. Images of a young child in the arms of her mother flooded his mind, emotions exploded in a shocking moment and insecurity gripped him. He did not know what to do, being conflicted between so many emotions. He knew what he had to do, at the same he knew what he wanted to do.

He wiped the tears from his face. Stumbling towards her unconscious body, he scooped her out of the ground into his arms. It was not clear to him why he did what he did, there was no logic to it and yet he simply moved one foot after the other. Pure instinctual drive motivated his every action. The sense of time was entirely foreign to him, he somehow made it back to his village and did not even realize it until one of his kin came to take her from his arms. He could not recognize who it was or what happened, sound was just one single toned ring. It was not until he pseudo recognized the voice of his brother yelling at him, grabbing his face.

Sounds started to form in his ears, and soon became recognizable words. “...sten to me. Can... hear me? … Brother, can… happened?”

He could not tell what he was saying, Nukilik spoke words but it was all foreign.

Aput could not hear the sound of his own voice, he felt like he was chewing on a sponge to talk. To his satisfaction, it seemed Nukilik understood well enough what he said. He pulled him into his chest, tears poured from his elder brother’s eyes onto his back. Aput gripped his brothers shoulders, happy that he was back home. He repeated his words.

“I promised I’d be back.”