Nahual: Difference between revisions
ShadowWolf (talk | contribs) m add to Category:Pocsock |
copyediting suggestions. There were a lot of minor punctuation problems that I just went ahead and fixed, but I also made various suggestions for changes and two notes. |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
{{note|''Nahual'' is singular. ''Nahuales'' is plural}} | {{note|''Nahual'' is singular. ''Nahuales'' is plural}} | ||
“…and I never saw my friend again” the professor said, everyone clenched at the edge of their seats hearing the end of the story intently, except for me | “…and I never saw my friend again” the professor said, everyone {{replace|clenched|perched}} at the edge of their seats {{replace|hearing|listening to}} the end of the story intently, except for me. “That’s why you have to stay away from animals who seem to have a hidden intelligence behind their eyes, because they must be a nahual.” | ||
Yeah right, like they really existed | Yeah right, like they really existed. Evil sorcerers that turned into animals just to hurt people. It had been the most ridiculous thing {{replace|I’ve|I'd}} ever heard, but the professor was older and wiser so I didn’t argue with him about that. | ||
Besides, it’s just a night story. | Besides, it’s just a night story. | ||
“Ok, time to go to bed” he said as he raised from the log he was sitting at, the fire making his wrinkles stand out more in the darkness and his face gained ten more years. Everyone began to protest | “Ok, time to go to bed” he said as he raised from the log he was sitting at, the fire making his wrinkles stand out more in the darkness and his face gained ten more years. Everyone began to protest. “We have to get up early tomorrow to continue our journey to the abandoned mine{{replace|. |, he cut them off. "}}Now go, to your tents!” | ||
{{separator}} | |||
All the history class had come to the expedition | All the history class had come to the expedition. In our case that would mean twelve people in total, not including the professor, going for a four days camping trip through some mountains. | ||
We were looking for a town near this zone that had been a very important mining camp in the early stages of the colony, but, like many other towns, was abandoned when the mine was drained from the last piece of gold that the Spanish could | We were looking for a town near this zone that had been a very important mining camp in the early stages of the colony, but, like many other towns, was abandoned when the mine was drained {{replace|from|of}} the last piece of gold that the Spanish could find in it. The roads that led there had been destroyed {{replace|due to|by}} the lack of maintenance and the only way to get to the place was by hiking. | ||
The professor had discovered it, and organized a journey every year with his history students so they could look at the still intact homes, instruments, garments and way of living in the pre-independence times. | The professor had discovered it, and organized a journey every year with his history students so they could look at the still intact homes, instruments, garments and way of living in the pre-independence times. | ||
It had been very exiting. Just the idea of going into the wood sent a chill of excitement down my spine. It would be four days with my best friends and getting a chance to annoy the girls a little bit on the way. I believe I was the first one to sign in for the trip. | It had been very exiting. Just the idea of going into the wood sent a chill of excitement down my spine. It would be four days with my best friends and getting a chance to annoy the girls a little bit on the way. I believe I was the first one to sign in for the trip.{{replace|Anyway, it had been a long walk in the day so, after attending some business outside the main camp area, I could only think of sleeping for a very long time, which was cut to only about one minute by Luke.| The day's walk had been long, however, so by the time we got to the main camp I could only think of sleeping for a very long time. I bedded down and dozed off quickly, but my rest was cut short only minutes later by Luke.}} | ||
“Wake up,” he whispered, moving my shoulder vigorously | |||
“I’m up” I said, {{replace|and then raised|raising}} my head from the pillow and {{replace|sat|sitting}} on my sleeping bag. “What is it?” I asked the duo in front of me. | |||
Alan was the sort of guy that couldn’t stand still for more than three seconds, and {{replace|usually got him|it usually took him}} less than that to get into trouble. Luke, on the other hand, could stand unnoticed in any crowd, moving silently through it, hearing everything and planning ahead what kind of pranks would be funnier {{replace|doing|to pull}} with Alan. Although it annoys me that I’m the one that always talks them out of everything, it’s really entertaining to hang out with them.{{add| | |||
}}They showed me a video camera. | |||
“Oh no” I muttered. An animal association offered a reward to anyone that showed | “Oh no” I muttered. An animal association {{add|had}} offered a reward to anyone that showed proof{{replace|s and location of an, presumably,| of the continued existence of a presumed}} extinct species of wolf that was last seen around this area. Luke and Alan had brought the {{replace|thing|camera}} only because they wanted to catch it on tape so they could claim the reward. But they didn’t know anything about the Mexican wolf, or {{replace|how he looked|what it looked like}}. That’s why they always showed me if what they caught on tape really looked like one. | ||
“You know you’ll never find him. Everyone had been looking for one for more than thirty | “You know you’ll never find him. Everyone had been looking for one for more than thirty years.” | ||
“This time is | “This time is different,” Alan whispered. “Just take a look at it” | ||
I reluctantly took the camera and turned it on. When it came to life it showed a black screen with some branches and leaves. | I reluctantly took the camera and turned it on. When it came to life it showed a black screen with some branches and leaves. | ||
“You fell asleep in the middle of the woods and left the camera on?!” I silently scolded them. The image was upside down and it had been recording the same things for the last ten minutes of filming. | “You fell asleep in the middle of the woods and left the camera on?!” I {{remove|silently}} scolded them. The image was upside down and it had been recording the same things for the last ten minutes of filming. | ||
“Just keep looking” Luke said | “Just keep looking” Luke said. | ||
As I was about to tell them to go and leave me alone, a green object (actually, everything was green because the night vision was on) moved to the middle of the screen, it turned around and two fluorescent green circles appeared on it. It moved a little bit closer to the camera and soon the silhouette of a wolf showed. It sniffed the air once and then stood only on its hind legs and disappeared behind a tree. | As I was about to tell them to go and leave me alone, a green object (actually, everything was green because the night vision was on) moved to the middle of the screen, {{remove|it}} turned around and two fluorescent green circles appeared on it. It moved a little bit closer to the camera and soon the silhouette of a wolf showed. It sniffed the air once and then stood only on its hind legs and disappeared behind a tree. | ||
“Shit” I said, dropping the camera | “Shit” I said, dropping the camera. | ||
“Yeah,” Alan said. “It scared the shit out of me too when I first saw it just a few minutes ago.” | |||
“We need to tell the professor that we have a nahual | “We need to tell the professor that we have a nahual around,” Luke suggested. “He’ll know what to do.” {{replace|and h|H}}e started heading towards the exit of the tent. | ||
“No!” I half screamed. We waited for a moment to see if I woke anyone up, but the quiet remained. “That thing could still be out there. It should be better if we all sleep here tonight and tomorrow I’ll take the video to | “No!” I half screamed. We waited for a moment to see if I woke anyone up, but the quiet remained. “That thing could still be out there. It should be better if we all sleep here tonight and tomorrow I’ll take the video to him.” | ||
They both agreed with me and slept the rest of the night in my tent. | They both agreed with me and slept the rest of the night in my tent. | ||
{{separator}} | |||
“What did he said?” Alan asked when I was done talking to the professor. | “What did he said?” Alan asked when I was done talking to the professor. | ||
“He thought it was a very elaborate prank, and said that he would flunk us if we talk about it | “He thought it was a very elaborate prank, and said that he would flunk us if we talk about it again,” I said, walking between the two of them. | ||
“But we have a video of it!” Luke said, taking out the camera | “But we have a video of it!” Luke {{replace|said|objected}}, taking out the camera. | ||
“Yeah, but you two have a reputation for doing this kind of stuff. I told you it was a bad idea to glue his pants to the | “Yeah, but you two have a reputation for doing this kind of stuff. I told you it was a bad idea to glue his pants to the chair.” | ||
They both smiled at that memory. Luke then snapped out of his reverie and said “What are we going to do then? We can’t allow that thing to eat us while we | They both smiled at that memory. Luke then snapped out of his reverie and said “What are we going to do then? We can’t allow that thing to eat us while we sleep.” | ||
“I know!” Alan said “The three of us could take shifts to guard the camp at night. That way, we’ll be able to wake everyone up if it shows | “I know!” Alan said “The three of us could take shifts to guard the camp at night. That way, we’ll be able to wake everyone up if it shows up.” | ||
“I don’t like that idea” I said. | “I don’t like that idea” I said. | ||
“Do you have a better one?” he said, and sadly, I didn’t. | “Do you have a better one?” he {{replace|said|asked}}, and sadly, I didn’t. | ||
{{separator}} | |||
“Here we are!” | “Here we are!” The professor shouted to everyone when we got to the arch that marked the beginning of the town. | ||
It was literally a ghost town. No one had lived here for over four hundred years, and it noted because of it state of decay. All the buildings lacked of roof and have been slowly claimed by the vegetation of the wilderness, many were even collapsed with a tree growing from its center. The only habitable building | It was literally a ghost town. No one had lived here for over four hundred years, and {{replace|it noted because of it state of decay|the state of its decay showed it}}. All the buildings lacked of roof and have been slowly claimed by the vegetation of the wilderness, many were even collapsed {{replace|with a tree growing from its center|under trees that had grown up through them}}. The only habitable building that had a roof {{replace|,|and}} would hold us for the night{{replace|, and that|was what}} used to be the mayor{{remove| of the town}}’s house. It was large complex with two floors, stables, kitchen and many rooms to spare. It would be nice to not waste time mounting and dismounting the tent for tonight. | ||
{{note|Considering the place has been abandoned for four hundred years and every other building is a wreck, I find it a bit dubious that a two-story building has remained this well preserved. If the nahual has repaired it perhaps that should be noticed and commented on. Or perhaps you could have the same scenes using a more decrepit building instead. [[User:Bryan|Bryan]] 21:45, 27 July 2007 (EDT)}} | |||
“Professor!” one of the girls shouted when we were picking the rooms that would host us for two nights. Everyone headed to where she was and got shocked at what was inside that particular room. | “Professor!” one of the girls shouted when we were picking the rooms that would host us for two nights. Everyone headed to where she was and got shocked at what was inside that particular room. | ||
| Line 79: | Line 84: | ||
It held the carcasses, raw meat and blood of various deer and rabbits that had been torn apart and scattered everywhere. For a very long moment everyone’s gaze was fixed on the red stains and corpses. | It held the carcasses, raw meat and blood of various deer and rabbits that had been torn apart and scattered everywhere. For a very long moment everyone’s gaze was fixed on the red stains and corpses. | ||
“Ok,” the professor quickly said as he closed the heavy wooden doors {{remove|as}} to isolate their contents and smell inside, “Nothing to worry about. This room must have served for the lair of a big predator around here, but I would say he hasn’t come around for some time. Either way, the rooms upstairs are all clean and each one of them is guarded by thick wooden doors and the doors from the stairs themselves. Now go and pick one up and sleep for tonight, tomorrow morning we’re going to see the mine.” And with that we scattered to the rooms | |||
{{note|My suspension of disbelief failed here, I'm afraid. It should be quite obvious that the dead animals were fresh; raw meat would quickly turn maggoty and blood turns brown when it dries. I don't imagine the students buying the professor's platitudes so easily. Perhaps expand this bit slightly to show an argument happening, or else rewrite it so that the discovery and coverup are done more privately with just the main characters and professor being aware of it? Also, we later find out that the predator in question is a snake. Snakes swallow prey whole rather than tearing it apart, presenting another minor problem with this scene. [[User:Bryan|Bryan]] 21:45, 27 July 2007 (EDT)}} | |||
{{separator}} | |||
“Do you believe that mess could have been done by an animal?” Luke asked me while he prepared for the first turn on guard. | “Do you believe that mess could have been done by an animal?” Luke asked me while he prepared for the first turn on guard. | ||
“So it could be the nahual?” Alan said | “I don’t think so. Animals wouldn’t just go around killing everything on their way and leaving it to rot. Besides, there aren’t any big predators around.” | ||
“So it could be the nahual?” Alan {{replace|said|asked}}. | |||
“Yeah, that would explain some of the stains in the room…” | “Yeah, that would explain some of the stains in the room…” My thoughts wandered for a while from there, analyzing the strangeness of the situation until I fell asleep. | ||
{{separator}} | |||
“What am I going to do now with a crazy shaman on the loose?” I said to the air in front of me during my night shift. There was no doubt in my mind now that we were facing a nahual sorcerer, but I didn’t want to startle my friends too much, much less the professor and the others. | “What am I going to do now with a crazy shaman on the loose?” I {{replace|said to|asked}} the air in front of me during my night shift. There was no doubt in my mind now that we were facing a nahual sorcerer, but I didn’t want to startle my friends too much, much less the professor and the others. | ||
Then I caught a very faint sound, as if someone was pouring sand on top of a drum. Something was slowly crawling through the stairs. I turned the corner, and my flashlight revealed the | Then I caught a very faint sound, as if someone was pouring sand on top of a drum. Something was slowly crawling through the stairs. I turned the corner, and my flashlight revealed the silky body of a snake slowly approaching. It was brownish, so it got confused with the dirt walls, and there was a strange gleam in its eyes, a sparkle of intelligence. | ||
“Back | “Back off,” I said. It coiled and began to ready itself to jump on me and use the deathly fangs. I took out my pocket knife, which always took on trips like this one, and swung it around in front of me so it could see what it was. | ||
“I said, back off!” and then | “I said, back off!” {{remove|and then}} It stopped, preparing to attack. Knowing I had the advantage, as I would probably kill it even if it managed to bite me with my knife, and that there was no other way to go except for the stairs behind, it retreated to the dark beyond. | ||
I sighed in relief when it was gone. | I sighed in relief when it was gone. | ||
{{separator}} | |||
“Here it | “Here it is,” the professor said after two hours of walking north of the town. We reached a place where a huge hole had been dug on the floor very close to a natural rock wall {{remove|of}} about ten meters {{replace|high|tall}}. Some very old-looking and rusty gear {{replace|laid|lay}} spread all over the place, most probably the machine used to take in and out the miners when the place was fully operational. “We will descend with the rappel and then continue on foot inside the caves. I want everybody to stay with their group at all times.” {{remove|and}} One by one we went down. | ||
Our group, Luke, Alan and I, had been the last one to climb down and I the first of the three of us to go through the humid darkness of the fissure. | Our group, Luke, Alan and I, had been the last one to climb down and I the first of the three of us to go through the humid darkness of the fissure. | ||
| Line 107: | Line 118: | ||
“Luke, you are next!” I yelled before he would be out of earshot. “Luke!” I yelled again, but there was no answer. I began to get worried. “I’m coming back up!” | “Luke, you are next!” I yelled before he would be out of earshot. “Luke!” I yelled again, but there was no answer. I began to get worried. “I’m coming back up!” | ||
Some time later | Some time later I managed to get out and into flat ground once again, but there was no sign of Luke or Alan anywhere. “Guys, this isn’t funny at all!” I yelled, but then I heard a scream from some distance away and recognized it as Luke. “Shit” I swore. I grabbed the rope I used to get back up and pulled it until I had it all next to my feet. There was no need to expose everyone to this. | ||
{{separator}} | |||
“What is it?!” I asked after locating them. | “What is it?!” I asked after locating them. | ||
| Line 114: | Line 126: | ||
They were utterly paralyzed and didn’t answer. I got close to them from behind to try and see what was going on, and saw the same brown snake coiled and preparing to attack some meters away. It knew it had an advantage over my terrified friends, and was planning on using it. | They were utterly paralyzed and didn’t answer. I got close to them from behind to try and see what was going on, and saw the same brown snake coiled and preparing to attack some meters away. It knew it had an advantage over my terrified friends, and was planning on using it. | ||
Just when I turned to try to run out of its way and drag my friends along, a small wolf appeared out of nowhere in that direction. Its eyes gleamed with wisdom and knowledge worth of a millennial lifetime. That was when I understood what I had to do. | Just when I turned to try to run out of its way and drag my friends along, a small wolf appeared out of nowhere in that direction. Its eyes gleamed with {{add|the}} wisdom and knowledge {{remove|worth}} of a millennial lifetime. That was when I understood what I had to do. | ||
The wolf ran at full speed towards me, faster than anything material could be capable of. I turned just in time to see the snake jumping, heading to Alan’s neck | |||
The wolf ran at full speed towards me, faster than anything material could be capable of. I turned just in time to see the snake jumping, heading to Alan’s neck were his venom was most effective, when everything suddenly froze in its place and I felt something at my back. | |||
I experienced the familiar warmness all over me as fur spread across my skin. I knew the pattern by heart; black at the tip of the tail, which fused to the brownish-red to make a gray effect at my back, head and neck; it then divided again when reaching the sides of my body, arms and legs; and the color continued to erase until it was completely white at my chest. My mouth and nose started to elongate, slowly merging into one and molding my teeth to small knifes in my mouth, until a large and solid muzzle formed, and I felt my ears begin to grow and move to the top of my head. My neck began to lengthen as well, so my head would be able to move better and a small mane began to grow from the sides of my cheeks until the base of the neck. My fingers became stiff and began to shorten and grow black claws from the tips of the nails at the moment they were void of motion. My hands and feet became big paws and my heels stood from the ground by a series of new and powerful muscles, making me drop to all four. My tail had grown along the whole process and was reaching its final size by now. At the end, I passed from being a normal human to become one of the last Mexican wolves that had walked here. | I experienced the familiar warmness all over me as fur spread across my skin. I knew the pattern by heart; black at the tip of the tail, which fused to the brownish-red to make a gray effect at my back, head and neck; it then divided again when reaching the sides of my body, arms and legs; and the color continued to erase until it was completely white at my chest. My mouth and nose started to elongate, slowly merging into one and molding my teeth to small knifes in my mouth, until a large and solid muzzle formed, and I felt my ears begin to grow and move to the top of my head. My neck began to lengthen as well, so my head would be able to move better and a small mane began to grow from the sides of my cheeks until the base of the neck. My fingers became stiff and began to shorten and grow black claws from the tips of the nails at the moment they were void of motion. My hands and feet became big paws and my heels stood from the ground by a series of new and powerful muscles, making me drop to all {{replace|four|fours}}. My tail had grown along the whole process and was reaching its final size by now. At the end, I passed from being a normal human to become one of the last Mexican wolves that had walked here. | ||
When the transformation was over, time began to take its normal cause. The snake was only a meter away from Alan. I didn’t have much time to react. So I took impulse, jumped and sank my fangs at the foul animal’s tail before it got to its target. I took advantage of my jumping momentum to swing the snake and hit it with the ground when I landed. The impact was enough to send sounds of broken bones on its skull to my very sensitive ears. I saw one last gleam of intelligence behind those split pupils before they became black as night as the body died. | When the transformation was over, time began to take its normal {{replace|cause|course}}. The snake was only a meter away from Alan. I didn’t have much time to react. So I took impulse, jumped and sank my fangs at the foul animal’s tail before it got to its target. I took advantage of my jumping momentum to swing the snake and hit it with the ground when I landed. The impact was enough to send sounds of broken bones {{remove|on its skull}} to my very sensitive ears. I saw one last gleam of intelligence behind those split pupils before they became black as night as the body died. | ||
It had to be done. He had spent too much time as an animal. His human intelligence had been abandoning him little by little, until he became a being that was ruled by mere instincts, eating raw meat out of the bones, grunting and growling instead of speaking, and wandered mountains in solitude, avoiding other humans at all costs. | It had to be done. He had spent too much time as an animal. His human intelligence had been abandoning him little by little, until he became a being that was ruled by mere instincts, eating raw meat {{replace|out|off}} of the bones, grunting and growling instead of speaking, and wandered mountains in solitude, avoiding other humans at all costs. | ||
I knew that everyone is born accompanied by an animal spirit that serves as guidance and protection throughout life, which are called nahuales. Sometimes the bond between them is so strong that the person can take some traits of the animal the spirit represents, like the sight of a hawk or the ears of a jaguar, and even become the animal itself, like me. These persons are called nahuales in honor to the spirits from which they get their powers. These powers are very strong, and their main purpose is to serve as a means to aid people in finding answers thru introspection, although many people believe we only use them for evil purposes. It is easy to get corrupted by them sometimes though, that’s why I rarely use them and kept them secret, even if it had meant to have lied to Luke and Alan about talking to the professor. | I knew that everyone is born accompanied by an animal spirit that serves as guidance and protection throughout life, which are called nahuales. Sometimes the bond between them is so strong that the person can take some traits of the animal the spirit represents, like the sight of a hawk or the ears of a jaguar, and even become the animal itself, like me. These persons are called nahuales in honor to the spirits from which they get their powers. These powers are very strong, and their main purpose is to serve as a means to aid people in finding answers {{replace|thru|through}} introspection, although many people believe we only use them for evil purposes. It is easy to get corrupted by them {{remove|sometimes}} though, that’s why I rarely use them and kept them secret, even if it had meant to have lied to Luke and Alan about talking to the professor. | ||
I turned and looked at both of them. As I was still fused with my nahual, I could clearly see Alan’s, a red bird that was holding strongly on his shoulder, an obvious symptom that both of them were scared. Luke’s was a different story, it was an ocelot and was slowly approaching me with a curiosity that only cats could bear, showing that both were more intrigued of me than scared, but cautious nevertheless. | I turned and looked at both of them. As I was still fused with my nahual, I could clearly see Alan’s, a red bird that was holding strongly on his shoulder, an obvious symptom that both of them were scared. Luke’s was a different story, it was an ocelot and was slowly approaching me with a curiosity that only cats could bear, showing that both were more intrigued of me than scared, but cautious nevertheless. | ||
Revision as of 20:45, 27 July 2007
{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual (na'wal) | Nahual (na'wal)}}[[Title::{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual (na'wal) | Nahual (na'wal)}}| ]]
{{#ifeq: | |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}} | |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}} | ||
Author: [[User:{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}|{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}]] [[Author::{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}| ]]
}} |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}} | |
Author: {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}} |
Author: [[User:{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}|{{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}]] [[Author::{{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}| ]]
}}
}} |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}} | |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}} | | Authors: ' |
Authors: [[User:{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}|{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}]]
}} |
{{#ifeq: {{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}} | |
Authors: {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}} |
Author: [[User:{{#ifeq: |User| Nahual | {{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}}}|{{#ifeq: |User| Pocsock | Pocsock}}]]
}}
}}
}} {{#if:| — see [[:Category:{{{category}}}|other works by this author]]}}
{{#if:Icono copyedit2.png|}}
 | Copyediting is welcome |
{{#ifeq:|Help||}}
Nahual is singular. Nahuales is plural
“…and I never saw my friend again” the professor said, everyone clenchedperched at the edge of their seats hearinglistening to the end of the story intently, except for me. “That’s why you have to stay away from animals who seem to have a hidden intelligence behind their eyes, because they must be a nahual.”
Yeah right, like they really existed. Evil sorcerers that turned into animals just to hurt people. It had been the most ridiculous thing I’veI'd ever heard, but the professor was older and wiser so I didn’t argue with him about that.
Besides, it’s just a night story.
“Ok, time to go to bed” he said as he raised from the log he was sitting at, the fire making his wrinkles stand out more in the darkness and his face gained ten more years. Everyone began to protest. “We have to get up early tomorrow to continue our journey to the abandoned mine. , he cut them off. "Now go, to your tents!”
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
All the history class had come to the expedition. In our case that would mean twelve people in total, not including the professor, going for a four days camping trip through some mountains.
We were looking for a town near this zone that had been a very important mining camp in the early stages of the colony, but, like many other towns, was abandoned when the mine was drained fromof the last piece of gold that the Spanish could find in it. The roads that led there had been destroyed due toby the lack of maintenance and the only way to get to the place was by hiking.
The professor had discovered it, and organized a journey every year with his history students so they could look at the still intact homes, instruments, garments and way of living in the pre-independence times.
It had been very exiting. Just the idea of going into the wood sent a chill of excitement down my spine. It would be four days with my best friends and getting a chance to annoy the girls a little bit on the way. I believe I was the first one to sign in for the trip.Anyway, it had been a long walk in the day so, after attending some business outside the main camp area, I could only think of sleeping for a very long time, which was cut to only about one minute by Luke. The day's walk had been long, however, so by the time we got to the main camp I could only think of sleeping for a very long time. I bedded down and dozed off quickly, but my rest was cut short only minutes later by Luke.
“Wake up,” he whispered, moving my shoulder vigorously
“I’m up” I said, and then raisedraising my head from the pillow and satsitting on my sleeping bag. “What is it?” I asked the duo in front of me.
Alan was the sort of guy that couldn’t stand still for more than three seconds, and usually got himit usually took him less than that to get into trouble. Luke, on the other hand, could stand unnoticed in any crowd, moving silently through it, hearing everything and planning ahead what kind of pranks would be funnier doingto pull with Alan. Although it annoys me that I’m the one that always talks them out of everything, it’s really entertaining to hang out with them.
They showed me a video camera.
“Oh no” I muttered. An animal association had offered a reward to anyone that showed proofs and location of an, presumably, of the continued existence of a presumed extinct species of wolf that was last seen around this area. Luke and Alan had brought the thingcamera only because they wanted to catch it on tape so they could claim the reward. But they didn’t know anything about the Mexican wolf, or how he lookedwhat it looked like. That’s why they always showed me if what they caught on tape really looked like one.
“You know you’ll never find him. Everyone had been looking for one for more than thirty years.”
“This time is different,” Alan whispered. “Just take a look at it”
I reluctantly took the camera and turned it on. When it came to life it showed a black screen with some branches and leaves.
“You fell asleep in the middle of the woods and left the camera on?!” I silently scolded them. The image was upside down and it had been recording the same things for the last ten minutes of filming.
“Just keep looking” Luke said.
As I was about to tell them to go and leave me alone, a green object (actually, everything was green because the night vision was on) moved to the middle of the screen, it turned around and two fluorescent green circles appeared on it. It moved a little bit closer to the camera and soon the silhouette of a wolf showed. It sniffed the air once and then stood only on its hind legs and disappeared behind a tree.
“Shit” I said, dropping the camera.
“Yeah,” Alan said. “It scared the shit out of me too when I first saw it just a few minutes ago.”
“We need to tell the professor that we have a nahual around,” Luke suggested. “He’ll know what to do.” and hHe started heading towards the exit of the tent.
“No!” I half screamed. We waited for a moment to see if I woke anyone up, but the quiet remained. “That thing could still be out there. It should be better if we all sleep here tonight and tomorrow I’ll take the video to him.”
They both agreed with me and slept the rest of the night in my tent.
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“What did he said?” Alan asked when I was done talking to the professor.
“He thought it was a very elaborate prank, and said that he would flunk us if we talk about it again,” I said, walking between the two of them.
“But we have a video of it!” Luke saidobjected, taking out the camera.
“Yeah, but you two have a reputation for doing this kind of stuff. I told you it was a bad idea to glue his pants to the chair.”
They both smiled at that memory. Luke then snapped out of his reverie and said “What are we going to do then? We can’t allow that thing to eat us while we sleep.”
“I know!” Alan said “The three of us could take shifts to guard the camp at night. That way, we’ll be able to wake everyone up if it shows up.”
“I don’t like that idea” I said.
“Do you have a better one?” he saidasked, and sadly, I didn’t.
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“Here we are!” The professor shouted to everyone when we got to the arch that marked the beginning of the town.
It was literally a ghost town. No one had lived here for over four hundred years, and it noted because of it state of decaythe state of its decay showed it. All the buildings lacked of roof and have been slowly claimed by the vegetation of the wilderness, many were even collapsed with a tree growing from its centerunder trees that had grown up through them. The only habitable building that had a roof ,and would hold us for the night, and thatwas what used to be the mayor of the town’s house. It was large complex with two floors, stables, kitchen and many rooms to spare. It would be nice to not waste time mounting and dismounting the tent for tonight.
Considering the place has been abandoned for four hundred years and every other building is a wreck, I find it a bit dubious that a two-story building has remained this well preserved. If the nahual has repaired it perhaps that should be noticed and commented on. Or perhaps you could have the same scenes using a more decrepit building instead. Bryan 21:45, 27 July 2007 (EDT)
“Professor!” one of the girls shouted when we were picking the rooms that would host us for two nights. Everyone headed to where she was and got shocked at what was inside that particular room.
It held the carcasses, raw meat and blood of various deer and rabbits that had been torn apart and scattered everywhere. For a very long moment everyone’s gaze was fixed on the red stains and corpses.
“Ok,” the professor quickly said as he closed the heavy wooden doors as to isolate their contents and smell inside, “Nothing to worry about. This room must have served for the lair of a big predator around here, but I would say he hasn’t come around for some time. Either way, the rooms upstairs are all clean and each one of them is guarded by thick wooden doors and the doors from the stairs themselves. Now go and pick one up and sleep for tonight, tomorrow morning we’re going to see the mine.” And with that we scattered to the rooms
My suspension of disbelief failed here, I'm afraid. It should be quite obvious that the dead animals were fresh; raw meat would quickly turn maggoty and blood turns brown when it dries. I don't imagine the students buying the professor's platitudes so easily. Perhaps expand this bit slightly to show an argument happening, or else rewrite it so that the discovery and coverup are done more privately with just the main characters and professor being aware of it? Also, we later find out that the predator in question is a snake. Snakes swallow prey whole rather than tearing it apart, presenting another minor problem with this scene. Bryan 21:45, 27 July 2007 (EDT)
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“Do you believe that mess could have been done by an animal?” Luke asked me while he prepared for the first turn on guard.
“I don’t think so. Animals wouldn’t just go around killing everything on their way and leaving it to rot. Besides, there aren’t any big predators around.”
“So it could be the nahual?” Alan saidasked.
“Yeah, that would explain some of the stains in the room…” My thoughts wandered for a while from there, analyzing the strangeness of the situation until I fell asleep.
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“What am I going to do now with a crazy shaman on the loose?” I said toasked the air in front of me during my night shift. There was no doubt in my mind now that we were facing a nahual sorcerer, but I didn’t want to startle my friends too much, much less the professor and the others.
Then I caught a very faint sound, as if someone was pouring sand on top of a drum. Something was slowly crawling through the stairs. I turned the corner, and my flashlight revealed the silky body of a snake slowly approaching. It was brownish, so it got confused with the dirt walls, and there was a strange gleam in its eyes, a sparkle of intelligence.
“Back off,” I said. It coiled and began to ready itself to jump on me and use the deathly fangs. I took out my pocket knife, which always took on trips like this one, and swung it around in front of me so it could see what it was.
“I said, back off!” and then It stopped, preparing to attack. Knowing I had the advantage, as I would probably kill it even if it managed to bite me with my knife, and that there was no other way to go except for the stairs behind, it retreated to the dark beyond.
I sighed in relief when it was gone.
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“Here it is,” the professor said after two hours of walking north of the town. We reached a place where a huge hole had been dug on the floor very close to a natural rock wall of about ten meters hightall. Some very old-looking and rusty gear laidlay spread all over the place, most probably the machine used to take in and out the miners when the place was fully operational. “We will descend with the rappel and then continue on foot inside the caves. I want everybody to stay with their group at all times.” and One by one we went down.
Our group, Luke, Alan and I, had been the last one to climb down and I the first of the three of us to go through the humid darkness of the fissure.
“Luke, you are next!” I yelled before he would be out of earshot. “Luke!” I yelled again, but there was no answer. I began to get worried. “I’m coming back up!”
Some time later I managed to get out and into flat ground once again, but there was no sign of Luke or Alan anywhere. “Guys, this isn’t funny at all!” I yelled, but then I heard a scream from some distance away and recognized it as Luke. “Shit” I swore. I grabbed the rope I used to get back up and pulled it until I had it all next to my feet. There was no need to expose everyone to this.
{{#if:|{{#if:|
|[[Image:Separator {{{1}}}.png|200px|center]]}}|
}}
“What is it?!” I asked after locating them.
They were utterly paralyzed and didn’t answer. I got close to them from behind to try and see what was going on, and saw the same brown snake coiled and preparing to attack some meters away. It knew it had an advantage over my terrified friends, and was planning on using it.
Just when I turned to try to run out of its way and drag my friends along, a small wolf appeared out of nowhere in that direction. Its eyes gleamed with the wisdom and knowledge worth of a millennial lifetime. That was when I understood what I had to do.
The wolf ran at full speed towards me, faster than anything material could be capable of. I turned just in time to see the snake jumping, heading to Alan’s neck were his venom was most effective, when everything suddenly froze in its place and I felt something at my back.
I experienced the familiar warmness all over me as fur spread across my skin. I knew the pattern by heart; black at the tip of the tail, which fused to the brownish-red to make a gray effect at my back, head and neck; it then divided again when reaching the sides of my body, arms and legs; and the color continued to erase until it was completely white at my chest. My mouth and nose started to elongate, slowly merging into one and molding my teeth to small knifes in my mouth, until a large and solid muzzle formed, and I felt my ears begin to grow and move to the top of my head. My neck began to lengthen as well, so my head would be able to move better and a small mane began to grow from the sides of my cheeks until the base of the neck. My fingers became stiff and began to shorten and grow black claws from the tips of the nails at the moment they were void of motion. My hands and feet became big paws and my heels stood from the ground by a series of new and powerful muscles, making me drop to all fourfours. My tail had grown along the whole process and was reaching its final size by now. At the end, I passed from being a normal human to become one of the last Mexican wolves that had walked here.
When the transformation was over, time began to take its normal causecourse. The snake was only a meter away from Alan. I didn’t have much time to react. So I took impulse, jumped and sank my fangs at the foul animal’s tail before it got to its target. I took advantage of my jumping momentum to swing the snake and hit it with the ground when I landed. The impact was enough to send sounds of broken bones on its skull to my very sensitive ears. I saw one last gleam of intelligence behind those split pupils before they became black as night as the body died.
It had to be done. He had spent too much time as an animal. His human intelligence had been abandoning him little by little, until he became a being that was ruled by mere instincts, eating raw meat outoff of the bones, grunting and growling instead of speaking, and wandered mountains in solitude, avoiding other humans at all costs.
I knew that everyone is born accompanied by an animal spirit that serves as guidance and protection throughout life, which are called nahuales. Sometimes the bond between them is so strong that the person can take some traits of the animal the spirit represents, like the sight of a hawk or the ears of a jaguar, and even become the animal itself, like me. These persons are called nahuales in honor to the spirits from which they get their powers. These powers are very strong, and their main purpose is to serve as a means to aid people in finding answers thruthrough introspection, although many people believe we only use them for evil purposes. It is easy to get corrupted by them sometimes though, that’s why I rarely use them and kept them secret, even if it had meant to have lied to Luke and Alan about talking to the professor.
I turned and looked at both of them. As I was still fused with my nahual, I could clearly see Alan’s, a red bird that was holding strongly on his shoulder, an obvious symptom that both of them were scared. Luke’s was a different story, it was an ocelot and was slowly approaching me with a curiosity that only cats could bear, showing that both were more intrigued of me than scared, but cautious nevertheless.
I stood on my hind legs. My paws returning to hands and feet, my tail growing back into my spine, my fur sucked by my pink skin and my face returned to normality. I was myself again, as if nothing had ever happened, and a familiar spirit was standing beside me.
Now I wondered which should be the best way to explain all of this to them…