Blood Fang: Chapter 5: Rivers

Loki the elk led his daughters throughout the great plains, always with an eye to the southwest.  The wolves were nowhere to be seen, nor were the coyotes for that matter.  They pressed as far as they could walk each day, across the near flat land covered in tall grasses.  No matter which direction you looked, the land stretched out in all directions.  With no human structures left, it was a sea of grass, and trees.  The trees became more numerous, as the herd crossed into the state of Missouri.  It took weeks of walking, but eventually they made it to the ruins of St. Louis, and could see the Mississippi river.  The excitement to find and save Pudgy from the wolves were keeping his daughters focused an animated.  But the male elk had his worries, but did not voice them. 

Upon reaching the river bank, April wiggled her ears.  “Daddy, what is wrong with the river?”  As the male elk walked up beside his daughter, he saw what she was referring to.  The mighty river was, drastically lower.  “What the…” he trailed off as he looked left and then right.  Isabella nodded, “where did all the water go?”  The herd turned and started to walk along the river bank, and headed northwards.  Gretchen pointed with her front right hoof, “all the river bank land is under water.”  The herd nodded, and watched as the river continued to expand.  If one were to estimate, the river was at least quadruple what it once covered.  That fact was a little bit of comfort to Loki, as that meant the wolves would have a terrible time crossing it.  But this added a worry as well, how would he get his family across the river? 

The words of Pudgy floated in his mind over and over, stories of all the human structures being obliterated by the planet.  Cobalt’s house being struck by lightning, burning down to the frame, and then swallowed deep within the earth.  It really was happening, on a scale that he never could have imagined.  Stopping to rest one evening, Isabella climbed up onto a small hill that has been partially washed away.  She found a rusted sign and started to read out loud, “Missouri flood control project …. Levee number 459-A.  Daddy, is this why the river is so much bigger?”  Loki nodded, “the levees were a series of flood control projects along the river.  It would keep the river from extending too far inlands.  They must have all failed, which caused the river to expand.”  The herd of elk nodded, and bed down to rest for the evening. 

In the days that followed, they continued to head northwards, until they reached a point in the river that was crossable.  Stropping along the shoreline, Gretchen whimpered and folded her ears down.  “Daddy …what happened here?”  Loki strode up slowly, and could see there was a large stone dam that had been built across the river.  Huge chunks had broken free, and the water was pouring through.  There were a series of channels, with rusted doors wide open.  “This is a lock and dam. Tugboats move huge barges filled with goods up and down the river.  The river used to be too low in spots, so the Army corps of engineers, built a series of dams to make the water deeper.  The tug boats would go into the lock, and then the water would rise or lower, to match the part of the river the tugboat needed to go.”  April nodded, “I remember that from school.  Missouri, I think had 4 of those along the Mississippi river.”

The group headed along the shoreline, and found a series of islands that allowed them travel to the edge of the lock.  As they approached the lower gate, Isabella read out loud. “Winfield Lock number twenty-five …  Winfield?  Daddy, we went too far north, that means we are close to Illinois!”  The stag nodded, “yup …too late now.  My word …look at how badly this has deteriorated?”  The damage to the lock was worse than anyone could have imagined.  The dam which once stretched the whole way across the river, was completely destroyed.  Only large chunks of wall stood out, as the river flowed around and between them.  It almost resembled teeth, sticking out of the water.   The locks were collapsed inwards, and the concrete had fallen within them.  Water weaved its way through the debris, while a very agitated otter was swimming around, trying to push stones back in place. 

The herd headed down the bank, and looked out into the river.  Loki kept walking, to which drew howls of protest from his daughters.  The bottom of the river was large slabs of concrete, so it was easy to walk across.  The water rose up his legs, and under his belly.  Keeping his head high up out of the water, “girls …it’s passable!  Just be careful!”  One by one the daughters followed suit, and followed their father through the lock, and over to where the dam once stood.  The water was warm, and was not flowing very fast.  It had been so hot in the south, that this was a welcome relief.  As the herd continued to cross, the otter swam up and was very agitated.  “Who are you?”  Loki laughed, “my name is Loki.  These are my daughters: April, Isabella, and Gretchen.  Who might you be?” 

The brown otter paddled along the elk in the water beside him, and spoke in a very squeaky voice. “I am Sergeant Miller of the Army Corps of Engineers!  Do you know what is happening?  And why I am now an otter?”  The stag started to explain about how all the humans went away, turned into animals, and then everything fell apart.  The otter did not take it well, and swam off cursing.  Isabella laughed, “Daddy …why did we turn into elks, and that solider turn into an otter?”  Loki laughed, until he suddenly sunk under the water.  The does stopped moving and called out in unison, “DADDY! Where are you?”  The stag re-emerged from under the river, and coughed.  “I’m all right, careful everyone …deep spot.  Keep going, slow and careful.”  The herd continued, finding several more locations that held deep spots along the way.  After an hour of treacherous travel, they were safely across the river.  All four elk shook the water from their sides, causing a deluge of water to rain onto the muddy shoreline.  The decision was made to bed down, and rest for the evening before travelling on. 

It was the same pattern every day: wake at sunrise, graze of the various plants in the area, travel, and then rest.  Day after day, week after week, the herd travelled.  Crossing the Illinois river, then into the lands once known as Illinois …then Indiana.  Crossing the Wabash River, they found a similar set of decay along the human made flood control measures.  With the locks and dams removed, the river had resumed its original depth.  The water covered a wider surface, but was much shallower in depth, making it easy for a group of tall elk to cross the river.  Along the way, smaller animals politely asked for assistance to cross.  Loki laughed, and soon his family were serving as a ferry across for a family of bunny rabbits.  The brown fluffy bunnies told wonderful stories, of how they were able to do so much, now that the humans had departed.  Little villages were being built all around them, and the animals were safe in the larger numbers.  When it was time to part, the bunnies gave directions to the big river, which would take them to their destination. 

Weeks passed, until the herd reached a sign that read Newburgh Lock and Dam.  Loki looked out, and as with the other structures, the gates were wide open and the dam was destroyed.  The water was much lower, and cascading as a water fall over the last remaining intact part of the dam.  Luckily for them, they did not need to cross that river.  Isabella was walking along the shoreline, when a small otter peeked his head out of the water. “HALT!  I said Halt, you are not allowed to continue!”  The doe looked down at the small brown otter, “Dadddddyyy …. That otter is back again.”  Loki stopped, and turned around slowly, “Sergeant Miller?”  The otter swam up to the shoreline, and scampered up to the hooves of the stag.  Looking up, “yes, I said halt!  You left before I could interrogate you further.  I still have questions!”  Gretchen looked down at the squeaky voiced otter, “Mr. Otter, we have to keep going.  Pudgy is in danger, and we have to help him!”

The otter got a soft look in his little brown eyes, “Did you say Pudgy?  As in Pudgy Hedgehog?”  Loki nodded, “yes … do you know him?”  The former human solider nodded, “I used to be stationed here in Newburgh, before being reassigned to Winfield.  Pudgy passed through in a little steam ship, and was the talk of the river.  Why is he in danger?”  Loki nodded, “I went looking for my daughters, and wound up outside of Amarillo Texas.  We encountered a huge smokey monster that resembled a wolf with red eyes.  Under its command were countless wolves, with black fur, and terrible eyes.  It wanted to know how to get to Pennsylvania.  I told the creature to follow the rivers, because I wanted to save my daughters.”  The otter nodded, “I would concur with your decision to protect your family.  But I am unsure if Pennsylvania is their direction.  A large white fur wolf asked me how to get to Louisville, Kentucky.  He was flanked by hundreds of gray wolves.  That monster was in the back though, with the red glowing eyes.”

Loki looked down at the otter and shouted, “HOW LONG AGO WAS THAT?”  The otter looked up as the elk sounded like a car horn, and chuckled.  “Maybe a week or so ago?  I made it here fairly quickly, because I can swim in the water.   Sadly, there are no other fellow officers here that I can get intelligence from.  And since you represent my only source of information, I hear by order you to take me with you.”  The stag laughed, “I am not in the military, so I do not have to follow your order.  But …if you want to tag along, that is fine by me.  Isabella always wanted an otter for a pet.”  One elk in the rear of the herd giggled, “oh yes …I can dress him up in a little pink dress.”  Sargent Miller squeaked, “no tea parties for me!”  And without a chance to respond, the otter scampered back into the river and swam away.  The herd started to travel once more, and picked up the pace.  They followed the river for the most part, though sometimes would draft to the north, only to find it once again. 

Weeks passed, and eventually their small herd had made it all the way to the former human city of New Albany, located in what was once called Indiana.  This city was on the opposite side of the river from Louisville, which was in the land once known as Kentucky.  The huge steel bridges that crossed the river had all collapsed, and were rusting badly.  April froze in place, as she looked to the east, causing the rest of the herd to slow to a stop.  Gretchen whined, “what is it now April?”  As the doe looked up into the sky, a gigantic green chain shot up from deep within the city.  Loki cursed, “what the heck is that?”  The chain pulsed with a deep emerald green light, but started to fade almost as soon as it emerged.  Isabella whimpered, “what is going on?”  Honking loudly with a warning call, Loki shouted, “move it…we have to get out of here!”  The four elk started to race as fast as their legs could carry them.  Keeping one eye forward, and one eye on the chain, they watched as the links suddenly broke apart.  The chain links disintegrated, and a fountain of black colored water seemed to burst from the earth.  Red glowing orbs showered down, onto the grounds surrounding the geyser. 

The trees that ran along the river bank opposite from them, all began to shrivel and rot away.  The grasses turned brown, and the land began to hiss with an unnatural sound.  April shouted, “Daddy!  The land is sinking!”  The group watched as the former city suddenly was sucked deep within the ground.  The river water rushed in, covering the newly created void.  Geysers of water began to burst out from the remaining pieces of land still visible, causing more water to cover the area.  The ground beneath their hooves shook violently, but the side of the river seem to be safe from the devastation.   Once it was generally safe, and their legs could not move any more, the herd stopped to rest for the evening.  The talk was about the chain, and all of the terrible sights that they had seen.  Loki was quiet, and contemplating what had transpired so far.  With his girls looking expectantly at him, the father began to speak.

“Girls … I don’t know what is happening.  Pudgy will have the answers we need to explain what is going on?  For now, let us just rest, and keep heading to the north east.  Pudgy told me generally how to get to his forest, which so far is making sense …sort of.”  The little hedgehog had told Loki a long time ago, to follow the rivers, until it reached Pittsburgh.  Then from there, take the right fork, and head east.  That part was what worried him the most: how far to the east, where should they veer off from the river?  The stag really hoped that the animals nearby could offer directions.  As the group drifted off to sleep, a gentle rain began to fall around them.  However, when they awoke in the morning, it was a far different sight.  The ground was covered with a thin layer of white snow, and the trees glistened from ice.  The elk wiggled, shaking the ice and snow from their bodies.  Loki grumbled, “oh great …ice storm …. just what we needed…”

The herd had not realized that by travelling north, that meant the relative warmth of the south was far away.  The temperatures cooled considerably, and the trees all had lost their leaves. Indiana turned into Ohio, and didn’t seem to ever end.  Pudgy had once said that he measured trips in Ohio’s, because it never seemed to end.  That bemused the humans who listened, realizing true state-based measurements, meant trips needed to be measured by Montana, not Ohio.  Ruined city after ruined city, one destroyed lock and dam after another, the elk continued their journey.  The lands became considerably hillier, and the weather much worse.  The ice storms were more prevalent, and their hides of thick fur were coming in handy.  The trip became more arduous, and dangerous for the matter.  The gentle rolling hills of Ohio gave way for the mountains of land once known as West Virginia.  Thick forests lined the river on each side, with treacherous terrain to traverse. 

The river was moving too quickly, and was too deep to cross, so the discovery of a badly rusted iron train bridge was of immense help.  The herd carefully crossed it one at a time, while pieces of iron cracked off and fell into the river below.  Once all were safely across, April whimpered, “are we there yet?”  Isabella laughed, “no…we have to get through West Virginia first to get to Pennsylvania.  I hope Pudgy will have tea for us when we get there?”  Talk of tea and cookies helped pass the time, as they climbed seemingly near vertical hillsides, covered with pine trees.  The trees towered in the air, and were full of needles.  Thick groves of oak, elm, maple, ash, walnut, hickory, and many other kinds of trees covered the land.  Animals of all kinds filled the forests, and were generally helpful.  The fact that the former humans could speak to the animals, filled them with a sense of wonder.  Yes: each species had their quirks, but could generally be understood.  Unlike with humans, the animals never had a tower of babel moment. 

After months of never-ending travel, the herd finally reached the confluence of the Ohio river.  Loki nodded and watched as his daughters walk up to either side of him.  “To the north goes the Allegheny River, and to the east goes the Monongahela River.  Pudgy said to follow the eastwards river, and then head east.  April looked up, “Daddy look… it’s a bald eagle.”  Gretchen nodded, “I always wanted to see one.  Wait, is it coming closer to us?”  The eagle cried out, in a shrill tone, and circled overhead.  Eventually it landed on a branch of a large leafless oak tree, and looked down.  Covered in feathers, the bird was not bald at all.  The familiar white feathers covered its head, as a yellow beak opened.  “It’s good to see you Loki … been awhile.”  Loki looked up wiggling his ears, as his eyes darted around inside his eye sockets.  The voice was familiar, but the body was not.  The stag looked up, “I am sorry , do I know you?”  The eagle chirped, “it’s Cobalt … “

The does honked in distress, and looked up in shock at the eagle.  Gretchen looked at her father, “Daddy, I thought you said Cobalt was a dragon?”  April nodded, “why is he an eagle?”  Isabella walked up to the base of the tree and looked up at the eagle.  “Is Pudgy alright?”  The eagle nodded, “yes, Pudgy is fine.  As to why I am an eagle, well … that is a long story.  But we have time, his forest is about a week east of here by walking.  I can get there much faster, since I can fly.”  Loki nodded, and watched as the eagle hopped out of the tree and perched onto his antlers.  The added weight of Cobalt was not too bad, and the elk began to move once more.  The eagle explained that he was able to get Pudgy to the island of the bears.  They fought against the wolves, while Pudgy was able to fix the world chain of the bears.  His injuries were so severe, that he passed away.  The former human explained about the eagles, and his conversion.  The revelation that humans could come back up to seven times, was a shock to all of the herd.  The information exchange was a two-way street, with the stag explaining about the shadowy wolf like monster.  The hundreds of black fur wolves at his command, was also of immense concern. 

With the eagle guiding their travel now, the journey was progressing faster.  Though the weather continued to not cooperate, as the skies turned dark gray overhead.  Snow started to fall, hard, and covered the ground.  The elk’s fur coats soon were covered in snow, while Cobalt would occasionally fly off to scout ahead.  Reaching the ruins of an amusement park, the elk took shelter in a tunnel that once ran under the roadway in front of it.  The wind was sharply cold, and blew through the tunnel.  Cobalt chirped, “boy it’s cold out.”  Loki laughed, as he shook the snow from his thick hide.  “Do you have a nest now?”  The eagle chirped, “why yes I do … high up in a tree over Pudgy’s home.  He really wants to come up to visit, but it is so high, I won’t let him.  Of course …that means he tries every day to climb that tree.”  Loki’s daughters laughed quietly, as they huddled around each other for warmth.  As the group rested, the two former human men talked. 

“Cobalt, that wolf creature is really terrifying.  Why does it want to go to Pennsylvania?  What if it intends to head to Pudgy’s forest?”  The stag said while watching the eagle rub his beak with his wing tips.  “That is a possibility, given the fact that Pudgy and I fought against the wolves on Kodiak Island.  If it is vengeance, we need time to prepare the forest, for the eventual attack.  Did the wolves indicate what they were up to?”  Loki shook his head, “no … we were across the river from Louisville, when we saw the chain explode.  The land around it sunk into the earth, was swallowed by the river, and water sprang forth from within.  Anything living on that side of the river, died within seconds.”  The eagle looked up, “Louisville?  That doesn’t make any sense … the eagles are concerned about North of here …. In Canada.”  The darkness of night soon quickly overtook the area, but with the heavy snow falling, the night sky was lit from the scant light being reflected. 

By the time morning had arrived, the snows were easily as high as Cobalt, which was roughly twenty or so inches.  It had finally stopped snowing, but a bitter chill was blowing on a stiff breeze.  The elk decided to explore the amusement park.  April wanted a snow cone, which made everyone laugh.  The steel coasters had all fallen apart, and their multi colored steel tubes were laying in piles on the ground.  The buildings had collapsed in on themselves, while the lake in the middle of the park had completely frozen over.  Another tall coaster of black and yellow pipes was in a decaying state, and various pipe sections were dangling dangerously above.  With each stiff wind breeze, the coaster deteriorated further, and caused sections to fall and crash upon the concrete below.  The eagle had been circling over the park, looking for a way to descend the steep mountain hillside that ran along the edge of the park.  They needed a safe way down, to reach the lock and dam that was across the park on the Monongahela River below. 

The herd followed along, until they reached a service road that was cut into the hillside. Kennywood was a trolley park, so this service road was built by the railroad companies in the 1800’s, as a means to service the tracks.  There were conflicting stories during the time humans existed, whether or not the trolley also used this road, as a way to reach Braddock and its steel mills.  The road was slick, and soon the elk were sliding down on their rear ends, or sides, until they could reach the switchback.  Eventually all were on top of one another in a pile at the bottom of the hill.  The family laughed, while Cobalt chirped from a tree branch above.   Loki groaned, “that was the safe way huh …. Cobalt?”  The eagle chirped again, “well …we could have just tried going down the hill of trees, and roll end over end that way.” 

After the group had a chance to recover, they started to cross a series of train tracks.  Six sets of train tracks ran along the river, and despite the lack of humans, still were standing strong.  Cobalt narrated from his perch on the stag’s antlers.  “These tracks were laid in the 1800’s, and connected the steel mills to the coal mines.  The barges also would move coal, stone, as well as steel up and down the rivers.  Back in those days, the country was self-sufficient.  Braddock is across the river, and we will use the lock and dam to cross.”  The herd could see what Cobalt was talking about in the distance.  However, this one was much different than the ones they had seen further down river.  Seven tall cement towers were spaced evenly across the river.  The dam was immense, and easily triple the width of the other ones.  It had been built stronger than the rest, due to several accidents with the barges. 

The elk were easily able to cross the top of the dam, as it was free from running water.  The snows had not accumulated, which allowed the herd to carefully climb up onto the tower support structure, circle the tower, and then back onto the dam.  The water surface level was extremely low, with the dam sticking up at least twenty feet into the air.  Loki stopped when they reached the first lock chamber, and noticed that both doors were wide open.  The second lock chamber was set to the same status.  The elk looked up at Cobalt, “why are the lock gates open?”  The eagle nodded, “interesting …. They opened the gates to let the river water levels equalize.  That would take pressure off the dam, and allow it to remain intact.  Of course, this also means that the river would equalize as well, with each side matching its original depth.  I remember a history story, before the dams were created, teams of oxen would pull the barges up the river.  Sometimes they would need to offload the barges, and carry them across the shallow areas.”    

As the herd crossed a metal support bridge, Loki explained about the other locks and dams they passed along the way.  The destruction of the structures meant that the Army Corps of Engineers must have decided to seal the locks instead of opening them like this one.  This one was also modified in 2004, so it was in better repair than some of the others.  A tiny squeaky voice called up from the water below, “hey!”  April looked down between the spaces between the stainless-steel deck surface of the bridge.  “Daddy, Sergeant Miller is down there again.”  The stag snorted, “hey can stay down there.”  Soon the herd had successfully crossed the bridge surface, and crossed into a burned-out rock covered land.  Huge steel buildings were all around, and mountains of coal.  Cobalt chirped, “Edgar Thompson works … one of the few steel mills that had remained in Pittsburgh.  Its quiet now, no more humans to work the mill.”

The snows had drifted on the wind, leaving spots not covered, or areas towering with white fluffy precipitation.  The group continued their travel, past the chain link fences of the steel mill’s yard, and along the former roads that once stretched in all directions.  Once more they bed down to rest, this time in an abandoned auto body shop.  Exhaustion had set in finally, which meant that the group quickly fell asleep.  Cobalt watched silently, as the snow began to fall once more.  It was going to be a bad winter; he could feel it.  All throughout December, it was warm, which always meant that the bottom would fall out quickly.  And the weather followed suit, suddenly dropping in temperature once Winter’s Eve had wrapped up.  It started with a softly falling snow, and bunnies playing outside of Pudgy’s home.  But the snow came ever day or so, and was steady.  The forest had grown considerably quieter, as the animals hunkered down and looked out from their respective homes. 

As the light of day started to arrive, the eagle watched as the elk started to wake up one at a time.  Gretchen yawned, “morning Cobalt.  Hey, how much further is it to Pudgy’s home?”  One by one the elk started to stand, and the eagle chirped, “not too far.  We should be able to reach it by this evening.”  The eagle hopped off the steel beam he had perched on, and coasted down to land on one of Loki’s antlers.  Following the crumbling roads, now covered by a thick layer of snow, the elk continued their travel.  The grazing was much more difficult, as everything was covered in snow.  But the trees had bark on their trunks, that proved to be quite yummy.  So, while his daughters were eating, Loki watched as Cobalt took flight and started to circle above them.   Once lunch time was done, the herd began to move once more.  Over steep hills, down ravines, across frozen creeks covered in snow, they crossed until reaching a much wider stream. 

Cobalt on an oak tree branch in front of them, “make a left here.  Up the hill, and cross the field until you see a cabin.  I will let Mr. Bear know you are arriving.  We will stop there for a time, before heading to Pudgy’s home.”  The eagle leapt from the branch and took off through the trees to fly towards the north.  The family was running on fumes, and really needed to chance to rest in earnest.  But Loki and his daughters pressed on, up the creek, make a left, up the hill, to a big snow-covered field.  In the distance was a log cabin, with a stacked stone chimney.  A good plume of white smoke was coming out from its top, and the eagle could be seen sitting on the roof.  He waved his wings at the herd, causing a little bit of pep in their steps.  Crossing the snow-covered field, and circling around the cabin, the four elk lined up at the edge of a covered porch stacked high with firewood. 

The front door was heavy oak, and painted green.  It slowly opened, revealing a grinning brown bear.  He padded out slowly, and once clear of the door jamb, a gray paw reached across and closed the door.  Mr. Bear waved one of his massive claw-covered paws at the stag and three cows.  “Welcome to our forest, my name is Mr. Bear.  Cobalt said you would be arriving soon, and I am glad to meet you Mr. Stag and Ms. Cows.”  April shot the large brown bear a look, “I am not a cow! Hmmph!”  Loki chuckled, “actually April … a female elk is called a cow.”  Gretchen shook her head, “no, I thought we were does!”  Isabella laughed, “my name is Isabella, glad to meet you Mr. Bear.”  The stag nodded, “I was once called Stone Loki, but Loki is fine.  I am glad as well to meet you Mr. Bear.  Pudgy told me a whole lot about you.  Cobalt said we should stop here first, before heading over to his home.”  The other cows nodded, and identified themselves as April and Gretchen.  The elk were former humans, having been converted into animals. 

As Cobalt coasted down from the roofline, he landed onto the railing of the porch.  “Mr. Bear … the wolves may be heading here.  Loki, can you please tell him what happened?”  The brown bear’s face contorted, as the stag relayed the tale of what had happened in Texas.  The existence of the wolf like smoke monster, and his black fur wolf allies for that matter, were an immediate concern.  Once the tale was done, the eagle looked over at the stag.  “If we tell Pudgy, you know as well as I do, that he will immediately want to go find the monster to stop it.”  Mr. Bear nodded, “agreed, and the last thing any of us need right now, is another adventure.”  Loki nodded, “very true, it is not like the old days, with helpful humans along the way.  The world is very much different now, almost alien to me now.  This world is not a place for humans, it would seem.”

Cobalt chirped, “let us head to Pudgy’s home to visit.  But please, no one tell him about the wolves.”  Mr. Bear nodded, “agreed.  Hey POPS, heading over to Pudgy’s house.  Hold down the fort!”  An elderly gray bear peeked through a window, and waved with a clay jar in his paws.  The stag recognized the moonshine stills along the side of the cabin, and honked happily.  Cobalt flew off through the trees, while Mr. Bear led the way.  Past the pine trees, down the hill, past the split granite boulder, make a left, up the creek with its three water falls, past the beaver pond, to Pudgy’s home the group headed.  Loki and his daughters could barely contain their excitement, as they saw tiny round windows sticking out of the hillside, and a stove pipe puffing with smoke.  The eagle had landed in front of a tiny round doorway, which opened slowly to reveal a brown hedgehog.  Pudgy waved happily, “hi everyone!  Welcome to Pudgy Forest!”