The Hunger

The sound of snow-muffled steps drew closer to the door of the ancient derelict log cabin.

"Are we safe?" Kôna questioned, breathlessly, leaning her back against the beaten and battered door.

With fear encapsulating the face of Maskwâcis, he looked over to his friend, unsure of how to respond.

"I am uncertain of our safety at the moment." He stated while looking at the hanging heads of fallen animals.

"Help me Kôna, please, I am bleeding." Called out a familiar voice from behind the door.

Kôna shot a look of desperation over to Maskwâcis, who knew all too well what she was about to do. "I have to" She remarked shakily.

He reached for the top of her right shoulder, tightly clenching the animal hide with his left hand. "Don't, you know all too well that it will kill us both." He stated while urgently pulling her back down to the ground. "It is not your sister." He reinforced.

A loud bang sounded against the door. "Don't let me die Nimis, Kisâkihitin: Sister, I love you." The voice sounded out, shattering the heart of Kôna and causing her to break.

"Stop! Just stop it!" Kôna screamed. "I won't listen to you. She is gone. My nisîmis is dead!" she continued as she rocked against the door with her hands cupping her face.

There was another bang at the door, this time shaking it and causing them both to jolt forward. Maskwâcis braced himself back to the door quickly as the door nudged slightly ajar. Kôna rested on her hands and knees in shock of how similar the voice was to that of Wâpan, her younger sister.

"Kôna, get up and help me. I can't hold the door alone." He commanded.

Another monstrous sounding bang sent Maskwâcis flying to the ground five feet away from the door and onto the rotting wooden floor. A large, gaunt hand with skin grey as ash, adorned with blood stained claws crept through the door.

"Âha ka-kîkway kawîhcekahk: Yes, I can smell you" The creature coldly announced.

"No!" Kôna rejected, scrambling off the creaking wooden floor. The creature swung the door open with tremendous force that it rebounded off the wall striking Kôna in the head as she attempted to reach the door.

"Kôna!" Maskwâcis yelled with plumes of mist coming from his lips.

The temperature of the log cabin began to dramatically plummet. Maskwâcis began to feel the cold pierce the hides and fur that kept him warm in the piponi-Manitow-wapâhk: Manitoba winters. His muscles began to seize and moving became near impossible. A sudden realization came to his mind: They were going to die.

He raised himself to his knees, outstretched his arm welcoming the beast in and hoping that it would be over quickly. "Âstam ôta, kipakwatôsânim: Come here, you bastard."

"With pleasure young bear." The creature obliged whilst stepping toward Maskwâcis and ignoring Kôna.

"Kise-Manito, nistam kîsikâwiyiniwak: Great Creator, carry me to your spirit." He prayed one final time. The young man took a deep breath and let out a loud war cry.

The creature snarled, baring its teeth with blood trickling down its jaw. It raised its hand and swiped with one furious strike to the jugular of Maskwâcis. Sending his blood spattering across the floor and wall. "Now Pray with your blood."

Maskwâcis tried to breathe, yet no air could fill his lungs; merely blood that trickled down his trachea. With silent gasps, he collapsed to the floor, bleeding out.

The beast turned its attention to Kôna who still lay on the floor unconscious with minor stirring and grunts. It slowly approached with both hands at its side, breathing heavily. The wood beneath its feet splintered and rotten away with each step. "I will devour you, feast upon your flesh and absorb your essence. Young, fresh and oh how you smell so sweet." It hissed with blood spattering the ground as it got closer to her. "I can feel the splintering of your bones in my mouth, the marrow seeping onto my tongue and your blood coating my fur."

As the beast drew closer to Kôna, her hide and fur clothing began to age and rot away, creating patches of exposed skin. the cold stirred her further to the point where she attempted to open her eyes.

"Yes" It hissed through its sharpened teeth and a wide grin.

The sound echoed in the mind of Kôna, causing her to push through the pain of her bloodied, pounding head. She placed both hands on the ground, lifting her upper body off the ground and arranging her legs and feet so she could raise the rest of herself off the floor. Slowly her limbs listened to her commands as she rose up to face this beast. "I don't fear you Wîhtikow: Winidgo, I resent you." She quivered with frost leaving her lips. "Kiskânak kosisan: you son of a bitch." She stated whilst staring down the Wîhtikow directly in the face.

The beast tilted its head to the left in confusion. Then it began to speak. "So you have no fear of me and my kind? if you have none, then I shall instill it in the minds of your tribe." With this threat it swiped upward at Kôna, connecting with her right cheek, causing blood to spatter to the wall behind her.

Kôna became enraged by the attack. She gripped at the bone and rock knife that was hidden behind her. With superhuman speed and strength, she thrust it into the sternum of the creature who let out a wail of pain. She dragged the knife down to its belly, spilling out the top portion of intestines of the creature. The creature slammed its hand back down on the shoulder of Kôna, sending her back to the ground with great force.

"You think you can kill me with bone and stone?" The creature laughed as it pulled the knife from its stomach and lifting its digestive tract back into the cavity. Kôna looked up to the beast that was actively healing in front of her very eyes. "Namôya: no"

Kôna rose up from the ground, staring at the beast in utter shock. "How is this even possible?" She quivered under her breath.

"I am immortal, kakêpâtis: Fool." It deeply laughed. "You cannot kill me with your mortal weapons. Now, I am going to fully enjoy consuming your friend as you watch." The creature stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing Kôna by her exposed leg. He lifted her into the air and crushed both her Tibia and Fibula with his emaciated hand. "Now, you can watch in peace" He mocked as Kôna screamed with searing pain. The Wîhtikow threw her across the room where her body hit the wall fracturing her ribs and spine.

Kôna lay there, helpless, unable to do anything but watch as the beast started to devour her friend, her lover. No tear fell from her eyes. Only an unrelenting rage that built up inside her, not just for the beast, but herself. She tightly shut her eyes to avoid seeing the atrocity that was taking place right in front of her.

Yet her ears deceived her as she could hear every tear of flesh, every snap of bone and every drop of blood and flesh hitting the ground. As the sounds tortured her further she prayed to Kisê-Manitow to release her from either her life or this hell.

The Wîhtikow turned his head to face Kôna. "Pray all you want, you will be the next one to be consumed." He said with a wide inhuman grin.

Kôna, rested her head on the ground, letting the pain and the agony take over her mind and body. Slowly she tried to open her eyes yet could not. She tried to move her arms and leg, yet nothing was responding. Slowly in her minds eye she could start to see her ancestors and Maskwâcis. A smile came over her face as she felt peace with her family and loved ones.

"Hâw mâka!: Come on then!" Maskwâcis called out to Kôna whilst reaching out his hand for her to grab ahold of.

There was a searing pain that swelled from above the ankle. Her ancestors and her lover vanished quickly and she was transported back to the cabin. Panic and agony took over. Kôna began to scream at the top of her lungs, causing the sound to ring out through the woods outside.

“You will not see them and you will not return to them.” The Wîhtikow explained. "There is no place for you, no paradise, no welcome home, only the darkness of death." It mocked.

“Kî-takay: you prick” Kôna bellowed. “I swear to you that I will kill you. I will show you my resilience and my anger.” She stated while placing her fists on the ground and lifting her upper body. “I will make sure that you suffer, that you bleed and you regenerate just to be bled out again and again.” She coldly commented while getting herself back on her feet. Kôna swayed from left to right, her vision was blurred and burning red like the embers of a sacred fire. She could barely see as the Wîhtikow drew closer to her.

Kôna rotated her head to the left spying a tomahawk. She started to creep her way over to the weapon causing the beast to stop in its tracks and look over to her destination.

“So, you think that will aid you in my demise?” It mocked further. "Mortal weapons cannot kill me."

“I swore to you that I would make you bleed. I plan on carrying that out.” Kôna emotionlessly said as she continued to limp over.

“You truly are a foolish girl.” It laughed gutturally. “This amuses me, go ahead take your pathetic weapon and strike me. I command this.”

As Kôna reached out and grabbed the tomahawk she tightly clenched her jaw at its words of encouragement. She stood there with the weapon now at her side, hanging blade down.

“We..”

She hurled the tomahawk blindly. Striking the Wîhtikow right in the mouth, cutting off its head above the mandible and causing the upper portion of the head to roll into the darkness. It let out a high pitched shriek that caused Kôna to cover her ears as she fell to her knees, breaking her leg further. Yet she couldn’t scream, she couldn't hear nor see. She fell to her left side going in and out of consciousness as the sound continued. The beasts bellowing ceased suddenly as the corpse fell to the ground and bled out. Kôna lay there not knowing her fate as she was slowly bleeding internally from her injuries.

“Tânisi Kôna, nipêhowin: Hello Kôna, I’m waiting.”

She tried to open her eyes, tried to speak, yet neither would listen to her commands. This frustrated her so. The voice of Maskwâcis continued to ring through her head.

“Tânêhki wawaskawêw asici kisiwâsiwin? Âstam asici niya mêskoc: Why struggle with anger? Come with me instead.” Suddenly she found herself in the middle of her village along the Mîhwâkamîwi-Sîpiy: Red River near Nistawâyâw: three points a meeting place where other tribes would gather and trade. She had no wounds, no blood stains no indications of battle or death. She saw the usual bustle of her village, the elders sitting with one another sharing stories and histories with the children and anyone who lent an ear.

She stepped over to an elder that had just come out of their tipiy and embracing the warmth of the sun with his face toward the sky. “Tânisi nimosô: Hello grandfather.” Kôna greeted softly. The elder turned his face adorned with a smile radiating the very warmth and acceptance she longed for.

“Âstam iskwêsis, apih asici niya: Come girl, sit with me.” he beckoned with his left hand outstretched.

As Kôna took his hand in her own, she felt the warmth wash over her: starting from the hand and branching out through her veins, like roots of a tree. She could feel his acceptance of her, yet she yearned to speak of her encounter. She wished to warn the elder of the danger that lay close by in the forest. Though those thoughts soon faded when the next body came out of the tipiy. “Maskwâcis!” She called out while running to her lover, grabbing him around the neck and gripping him tight.

“Welcome home.” He said in a muffled tone while embracing her just as tight.