Blood Fang: Chapter 9: Niagara

The wolves were straining, on an unrelenting march through the deep snows.  Blood Fang was unmerciful, and pressed the combined wolf packs to travel the shoreline of Lake Erie.  The snows never stopped, and fell faster than anything Pudgy had ever seen.  Bitterly cold winds blew throughout the area off from the partially frozen vast lake that stretched in all directions to their left.  Day after day, night after night, the phalanx moved.  The little hedgehog was ordered to tell the remainder of his stories, which included the destruction of the moon dinosaurs at Pike’s peak.  The tales were a brief source of respite for the weary animals.  Soft terror filled howls started to fill the air, while the hedgehog spoke about the great spirit in his thunder eagle form.  Tales of effortless destruction for the ancient dinosaurs resulted in a dead silence from the assembled wolves and coyotes.  The smoke-filled creature howled insidiously, while narrowing his blood red orbs at the little critter. 

The combined wolfpack had made it to the former human settlement that had once been known as Buffalo.  Pudgy could just barely make out a sign that read Lasalle, and watched as the wolves started to collapse one by one.  The little hedgehog whimpered out, “B … Blood …. F … Fang …the wolves are …. dropping.”  One red orb twisted around in the socket, and looked at Pudgy, then back at the fallen wolves.  The monster grimaced while calling out, “we will rest here tonight!”  The little critter immediately fell silent, and tried not to think about anything.  He looked up at the never-ending dark clouds in the skies above, flying quickly above via strong air currents.  The snow was unrelenting, and only seemed to increase in volume and velocity the further they went.  This however had resulted in an unforeseen problem, as due to winter conditions, most small animals had gone into hibernation of migrated. 

The former rulers of this world, with their buildings and accompanying comforts wiped clean, resulted in a land void of life.  Animals had adapted, to the reliable sources of heat and shelter, halting or delaying migrations.  But now that the world was restored to its natural order, the sea birds had wandered off to more hospitable places.  In other words, this meant that there was no food to eat.  The monster had no way to sustain his forces.  Pudgy watched as a snow-covered gray coyote padded up beside the creature.   “We can’t go any further, everyone is exhausted and hungry.”  The coyote said with almost a pleading tone to his voice, despite the wild eyes he had that bounced around in his head.  Blood Fang looked down at the coyote, “Blaze … how many have fallen thus far?”  The predator looked up with his left ear folded back, “around twenty of my cousins, and twenty of the gray wolves … Why do you ask?”  The creature grinned sadistically, “you know what you need to do.” 

The coyote’s eyes locked onto the monster’s glowing red orbs for a split second, before resuming their wild wanderings.  A fear call escape from his mouth, and watched as the wolf like creature raised his left paw to point at the bodies of their fallen brethren.  The coyote started to turn slowly, and pad off with his head hanging down.  Coyotes were opportunistic, and had been known to eat roadkill and other remnants of kills from larger predators.  But this was borderline too difficult to explain.   Blaze returned to his kind, and started to explain what the monster ordered, and soon the sounds of mournful howls filled the air.  The words of the coyote leader were shared with the wolves, who all turned to look at the monster, before turning back to the fallen.  Pudgy covered his eyes with his paws, and whimpered as he was caked with snow and ice.  However, soon the monster started to laugh, and the tendrils that restrained him, pulled his paws away, and forced his eyes open. 

 The hedgehog watched in horror at what the monster had ordered.  Blood Fang even made a point to turn around, so he could watch the coyotes begin to eat the fallen wolves.  Both gray and black wolves in turn began to eat the fallen coyotes, while making soft sad noises.  Their bodies were torn to shreds, and each predator was able to have one mouthful of the vile sustenance offered by Blood Fang.  During the vile act, the forces did not look at each other, and strode off to huddle together under the trees for warmth.  The monster strode slowly through the masses of his troops, and counted.  The forces which had once been energetic, and full of pride, were now sorrowful creatures.  They did not speak to one another, nor looked at the monster as he passed.  After making the rounds slowly, the smoke-filled monster had successfully surveyed his forces, the creature returned to his original spot.   “Eight hundred …. It would seem that we have lost a considerable amount on our trip here.  There appear to have been some desertions along the way, which I will need to monitor much more closely.”

The monster nodded while shaking his tendril, “perhaps another delightful hedgehog tale would raise the morale of our forces?”  One red orb spun around, to watch the hedgehog scooping snow into his mouth.  The snow melted inside the timid wet and cold hedgehog’s mouth.  The magic was used once more to amplify the hedgehog’s voice, as his restraints squeezed tightly around him.  Whimpering, the little critter nodded and began to speak.  This was his most recent adventure, and tales were told of his trip to visit the eagles.  The forests of Iron Wood were far from here to the east, high in the mountains.  Unlike before, the hedgehog’s fantastic tale did little to quell the anger and sadness that was spreading like a plague throughout the predators.  Softly spoke words were occurring between the combined wolfpacks, and all kept their heads down, while listening until falling asleep.  The black wolves continued their cycle of life, death, and rebirth as they froze in the winter weather.  Each cycle resulted in more and more confusion, and less human remaining within the animal.  Some of the black wolves had completely forgotten the time before, and had no idea what a human was?

The cycle was confusing the hedgehog greatly, and he wiggled his nose watching and making mental note.  Wiggling his nose, the little critter turned to look at the monster.  He knew that Blood Fang was reading his mind, so he didn’t have to ask.  The creature grinned, “Oh …you have figured that out huh?  I see, perhaps an explanation is indeed in order?  The black wolves were humans once.  They were vile, despicable, monsters like myself.  They took lives, stole things, broke laws, and some did much worse.  Who better to use for a campaign against the so-called Great Spirit, and his related forces?”  The hedgehog whimpered, “why do some wolves not come back?”  The creature nodded, “there are limits to the human spirits.  Seven times total they can be reborn, until their spirit is wiped from existence.  What you are seeing is the vile limit imposed upon us by the false god who rules this world.”  The little critter shrieked, and immediately thought of Cobalt and his other human friends who had turned into animals.  Blood Fang grinned, “Hmm … Cobalt has been a human, then a dragon, and now an eagle.  So, that is three conversions.  When I find him, I can have the pleasure of killing him four times, before he is wiped from existence.”

Pudgy started to wail, crying uncontrollably, “noooo!”  The wolf like creature began to cackle with an insidious tone, and watched as the faint light of the day faded away into night.  Finally, the skies started to clear, and the snow stopped falling.  As Pudgy drifted in and out of sleep, he was barely able to rest.  The moon which was almost full, shone brightly in the sky above.  The stars twinkled so brightly, it was almost as if Pudgy could reach up and touch them.  Slowly looking to the right, Pudgy could see the monster’s red orbs locked forward and up at the moon.  Turning his gaze left, the little critter saw the wolves all looking up at the moon.  The shadows could be seen, crispy in the bone-dry frigid air.  The craters could be easily discerned, and the hedgehog’s thoughts drifted back to his adventure on the moon.  Which reminded him of something, “Pudgy never heard story of moon wolves.”  The smoke-filled creature nodded slowly, “that is an old tale.  Wolves have an oral tradition, spoke of by elders to the young, and perhaps tonight is a good night to tell it.”

The monster’s voice was the only sound in the exceptionally quiet night, and after a pause, a much less harsh tone than he normally used escaped what constituted his mouth.  “When the world was newly formed, having been pulled up from the great waters, the animals descended once more to dwell upon this land.  This was not the first time, but the second time the animals had travelled.  The first world had been destroyed by Anningan, the so-called Great Spirit.  Our ancestors were not told the reasons why, only that we would be watched much more closely this time.  The birds left their roosts upon the moon, and followed the chain to spread out to all corners of Gaia.  The bears followed from their caves within the milky shores of alabaster sand, to dwell within the caverns deep within lush forests of green plants. In time, it was the wolves turn to descend, and we soon began to search for our homes.” 

Pudgy listened intently, noting the owls and bears told him that the chains were hanging from the stone archway in the sky.  The wolves believed the chains connected to the moon, which was made of rock, so it made sense why the creature explained the story in this way.  The monster continued his story, “for many generations, we lived in peace upon the green world.  The moon always shone brightly in the sky, and reminded all of our former homeland.  Tales told of the old times, prior to the departure, led some to the belief that we should be allowed to return to the moon.  The wolves assembled, in a great conclave, and sought an audience with Anningan.  The so-called great Spirit did not respond at first, but eventually did, and made an appearance.  The wolf proposal was delivered, and time passed, as he deliberated.  In a week’s time, the conclave was given an answer.  The wolves could return once more, but only if there was a way to determine which merited a return.  Meaning, that only the best of the wolves, should be allowed to return.  The skies cleared, and soon our forefathers and foremothers had to determine what to do next?”

Pudgy nodded, and listened while eating a tiny piece of a hardtack biscuit from his pack.  The blood red orbs of the creature followed the moon, and he continued to speak.  “The measure of a wolf’s worthiness to return, would be judged by a council of wolves.  One leader of each pack, an Alpha, would be chosen to represent.  There were thirteen packs, one for each month of the lunar year.  This council would be named: the Fang of the Moon.  A cavern was picked, within the center of the wolf territory, that was in the middle of a vast river.  This was called the Lunar Cave, and the council would meet within.  Once all had been decided, the packs chose their alphas, and headed inside the cavern to meet.  I was chosen as part of the first council.” 

The predators looked at Blood Fang with unblinking eyes, realizing for the first time at how ancient the monster was.  The smoke swirled within his body, “I have lived for thousands of years, and sat upon each council since its inception.  With the arrival of the humans upon our land, the world began to change.  They did not respect the old ways, and hunted animals to extinction.  They hunted for pleasure, for the sheer act of killing, which warranted a response.  The various enclaves and councils of animals reached out to the so-called Great Spirit, but he was silent.  The wolves chose to do, what no other council would, we attacked the threat that was spreading.  The adults were too difficult to kill, so we went after their young.  Unlike wolves, the humans take a much longer time to reproduce, so we were able to assert dominance quickly.  The bears even chose to align with us, seeing the wisdom of our ways.  That is until … Selene chose to question the plan of the Fang of the Moon’s edicts.”

Pudgy swallowed hard, “who was Selene?”  Blood Fang nodded, “she was my mate.  A wolf like no other, with white fur, and intense glowing blue eyes.  So kind, her fur was so soft… she did not want to harm the humans, only chase them away.  She would plead with me, to beseech the council, and stop the bloodshed.  I could not convince her otherwise, that the humans would never live with us in peace.  More of our kind were hunted mercilessly, and we responded in kind, to more pleading from her.  The council lost patience, and refused her entry to the cavern, tired of her incessant words.  We did not know where she had gone to, until our bear allies chose to follow her lead, and halt the attacks.  For a time, the new tactics worked, and the humans stayed away.  Until they came back, in greater numbers, to slaughter all who dwelled within the forests.  The wolves could not defend, and the decision to retreat was issued by the Fang of the Moon.”

The wolves and coyotes howled softly in sadness, and watched as a cloud started to pass by the front of the moon for a short time.  Blood Fang continued once more, “further and further our kind fled, to the chain that led to the moon.  The animals were desperately climbing the chain, trying to escape to the safety above.  As the humans drew closer, the magic of the chain made their eyes glow, and they called out in anger at the gift of the so-called great spirit.  As the council approached, Selene appeared once more, and spoke in defiance.  The council had brought upon this destruction, and that none were worthy to escape to the moon.  In the skies above, Anningan appeared, and decreed that the moon was off limits to our kind.  The chain was shaking, and the wolves were flung back to the ground.  Selene howled, and as she touched the chain with her paw, the chain detached and flew all the way back to the moon.  The wolves howled in terror, and scattered to all directions.  Those who remained were slaughtered by the humans, before returning to their home.”

Pudgy whimpered, and looked up at the moon.  However, to his amazement, he saw the face of a white wolf with blue eyes looking sadly back at him.  The vision was brief, and faded away before Blood Fang caught it.  Keeping his mind blank, the little hedgehog did not let slip at what he had seen.  The monster continued, “the council met one last time, and the final order was to separate.  The wolves would never gather again, and our empire had fallen.  We never forgot the treachery of the bears, who did not defend us in our time of need.  We commit to memory the treachery of Selene, and of the so-called great spirit Anningan.  It is the reason why; I have gathered the wolves once more.  Now that the humans have been struck from this land, it is time we have an audience with our would-be god once more.”  The wolves looked at the monster, and then stood up and howled in anger.  The creature nodded, and howled in his insidious demonic filled tone, filling the air with a sound too horrible to describe.

Once more the phalanx of predators rose, and began to move along the snow-covered shoreline of Lake Erie.  With the moon illuminating the area below, and the snow reflecting the light, everyone could see where they were going.  Pudgy watched as the lake narrowed into a river, that was completely covered with ice.  The predators passed by a snow-covered island in the middle of the river, listening to the birds rising from their slumber.  Eagles cried out, and owls hooted softly, from the tops of the trees on the island.  Day turned into night, then back into day once again.  The combined wolf packs would sleep for short durations, before moving out once again.  Their forces continued to fall, and the initial aversion to the cannibalistic act, was slowly fading away.  By the third day, the phalanx had decreased by an additional hundred, with the combined forces at seven hundred.  The river widened and narrowed, and the power of the rushing water was keeping its center open.

Pudgy could hear a tremendous roaring sound coming from somewhere ahead of them.  The sound never stopped, day or night, and only increased in volume.  The monster pressed the phalanx hard, and their speed remained constant until the twilight hours of evening.  There was a huge island out in the middle of the river, and the sound of rushing water was so loud, that it almost hurt the hedgehog’s ears.  There was a human made bridge that crossed from the shoreline onto the island, that was covered with snow.  Blood Fang called out, “double file … we do not know the condition of the human structure.”  The predators started to narrow into two lines, and then walked on the icy surface.  They slid around, an several fell down, until able to gain traction on the slick surface.   Even the wolf like creature was sliding around, which shocked Pudgy, since he seemed to float over the surface like a ghost.  In time, they phalanx was able to cross the bridge, and make it to the island.  The little hedgehog yawned, and shivered as the sound of thunderous water filled the air.  

On the island was a thick forest, which had taken over many of the human areas that had once been scattered around the area.  Pudgy saw a green painted wooden sign laying against a tree: Niagara Falls State Park.  Wiggling his nose, the hedgehog remembered Cobalt telling him about this place once.  There were huge water falls, that people used to try and go over in a barrel.  Once more the night fell quickly, and the predators started to separate out to huddle around each other and the trees.  Blood Fang smirked, “a barrel, eh?  I wonder how many humans died doing that?”  The little hedgehog looked at the creature, then up at the full moon.  Whimpering, “we made it all the way here,” the hedgehog spoke timidly.  The wolf like creature nodded, “yes we did.  On this island is the cavern which the Fang of the Moon once met, I wonder if the humans let it be, or did they destroy it like everything else they touched?” 

Unlike the sleeping wolves and coyotes, Blood Fang chose to wander the island with the imprisoned hedgehog floating overhead.  Weaving back and forth between the trees with their bare branches, the monster wandered to a wide-open area on the island. Before the humans departed, this had once been a huge parking lot for the humans to park their vehicles.  The little hedgehog’s eyes went wide though, because as soon as the monster emerged from the trees, he saw wolves of all kinds sleeping in huddled masses.  Looking over at Blood Fang’s red orbs, “more wolves?  Where did they come from?”  The creature laughed insidiously, but did not speak.  As he walked through the masses of wolves, several woke and looked at him.  They waved their paws, or wiggled their ears, before falling back asleep.  The noise of the falling water was ever present, and in time, everyone in attendance had learned to ignore it.   Pudgy was covering his ears with his paws though, it was so loud, it was giving him a headache. 

The smoke-filled creature hopped effortlessly between the masses of wolves, and started to charge full speed towards a cliff.  The little hedgehog shrieked in terror, as soon they were plunging into the darkness that stretched below them in all directions.  The sounds of rushing water thundered in his head, while the bitterly cold windows cut through his winter outfit like a knife.  The water was turning into snow, from the waterfall, and flew past the hedgehog’s eyes.  After what seemed like an eternity, Blood Fang landed onto a rocky outcropping, and laughed insidiously.  “Did I scare you, Pudgy?  Good …” The little critter thought the monster was a jerk, and he didn’t care if he read his mind or not.  As Pudgy fumed at the creature, it laughed, and followed a narrow trail towards a smaller set of water falls.  Weaving along the narrow path in the scant moon light, they approached the edge of one of the waterfalls.   

Where Blood Fang was heading, was once called the Cave of the Winds.  The humans had built bridges, and look out platforms, so they could watch the water falls.  The structures without proper maintenance had fallen into a state of heavy disrepair, and were collapsing periodically into the rushing river water.  The creature followed a path he had travelled many times before, and watched as the water cascaded over a section of the snow-covered trail.  The little critter put his head down, and shut his eyes tightly, wishing this would be all over soon.  Signs indicating that the area was off limits, and it was dangerous to proceed were placed to remind that the area was off limits to humans.    The creature navigated the path, and turned his head to look towards the rushing water.  He moved his magical tendril close to the water, causing the hedgehog to shriek.  “Oh, how that sound fills my blackened heart with glee …” the monster said while turning to head towards a cavern opening. 

With the thunderous sound of the water beginning to fade behind them, Pudgy opened his eyes to see he was in total darkness.  The only visible light, was that of the creature’s blood red orbs floating in the darkness ahead of him.  Whimpering, “where …are we going?”  The creature laughed, “you will see very soon, Pudgy Hedgehog.”  The light of the orbs quickly diminished, and the little critter felt as if he was floating through a black void.  He could not even see the tendril that restrained him. But he noticed the pressure around his body quickly dissipating, and without a sound from his captor, he was dropped from an unknown height.  Falling through the darkness, Pudgy rolled up into a ball as best as he could.  It was just in the nick of time, as he struck a cold and wet stone floor.  Sliding a distance that could not be measured, Pudgy gasped for air.  Finally, he could breathe normally, and was not restrained by the magical restraint. 

Uncurling, the hedgehog sat up, and fumbled with his little metal helmet.  After a few attempts with frozen paws, he was able to press the button which illuminated his headlamp.  A soft beam of yellow light soon was cast out in front of him.  Pudgy was cold, wet, and hungry.  As he wiggled around, to undo the straps on his pack, he fumbled inside.  There were crumbs of biscuits that remained, so he scooped out the largest fragments, to nibble on.  Having something in his belly, was better than nothing.  As he secured his pack, and slung it back over his shoulders, the light beam shone out and up against the cavern’s nearby wall.  “Pudgy don’t know which way is out, there was no light to see.  Pudgy know water is way out, so Pudgy try to find water now.”  The critter said, as he started to scamper carefully forward on all fours.  With the light illuminating his path, the rock’s varied colorations reflected in the light.   The hedgehog walked until his paws hurt, but never did find the sound of the water.  It was almost as if he had been walking around in circles, but could not tell. 

Looking down at the ground, his head lamp started to reflect off the surface of the rock.  It was almost like glass, and was deeply black.  Investigating further, the strange floor material was circular, and was within a white line.  Having no better plan to follow, the critter followed the white line to find another round black glass circle.  One after another he found, and this time Pudgy knew it was a circle.  There were thirteen black glass stones laid into the floor.  “9….10….11….12….13 … There are thirteen stones on this circle.  Pudgy wonder…wait …the wolf story.  Blood Fang told Pudgy there are thirteen moons per year, and thirteen alphas made up the council.  This must be their cave?  Why is Pudgy in the wolf cavern?  BLOOD FANG!  PUDGY KNOW YOU HERE!  WHY BRING PUDGY TO CAVERN?”  The little critter shouted, and listened as his voice echoed off of the walls.  Two blood red orbs lit up from across the room, and an insidious cackle filled the room.  The monster began to hiss, and magical energy flowed out of his mouth.  It was first white, then red, then blue, then green, and then yellow.  The magical energy flowed like water currents in a river, and swirled around the room. 

The hedgehog watched as slowly light began to fill the cavern.  There were globes mounted to the walls of the cavern, in alcoves cut into the rock.  One by one, they began to softly illuminate, with a swirling magical energy within.  As his eyes adjusted to the light, Pudgy watched as the cavern’s features became visible.  Intricate carvings were etched into the stone walls, and murals painted of wolves covered all surfaces.  A scene was painted on the wall nearby to him, of at least twenty gray wolves with pointed ears dancing around a lake.  As Pudgy reached up to turn off his head lamp, he looked at the ceiling of the cavern.  It was painted like the night sky, and a huge black orb was mounted into the center.  It reflected just like the stones inlaid into the floor.  Turning slowly to look at the murals, the hedgehog frozen when he turned completely around. 

The monster was standing there, at the rear of the cavern on a raised platform of polished granite.  No longer was his body made of smoke, but instead of a fur that was so black, it seemed that light was being drawn inside to never escape.  Black claws that seemed to reflect the light adorned each paw, and almost dug into the stone beneath them.  Yellow stained teeth like swords were exposed, as the demonic howl escaped from within his mouth.  The blood red orbs were glowing even brighter, and were locked onto the hedgehog.  Swallowing hard, Pudgy wiggled his nose, and timidly watched as Blood Fang sat down.  Speaking with a deep voice, “welcome to the Cavern of the Moon, Pudgy Hedgehog.  Now, it is time to discuss many things.”

The critter looked up, with his heart beating a mile a minute within his chest.  “Things,” Pudgy asked timidly, “what sort of things?  Pudgy is little hedgehog …”   The black alpha wolf nodded, “yes … that you are.  But I have met no other animal such as you.  Travels from the center of Gaia, to the moon above her, and travels from one continent to another.  Battles with ghosts, monsters, men, and animals fill your tales.  I can see you are very special, very unique, and very useful.”  The hedgehog swallowed again, “how is Pudgy useful, what can a hedgehog do for a wolf?”  The monster sneered, “oh … I have an idea.  You helped the bears … our mortal enemies … and now you will help the wolves.”  The little hedgehog whimpered once again, “help the wolves how?” Again, the room filled with the demonic sounds of the wolf’s howl, and the red robs looked up towards the black circular stone in the ceiling of the cavern.

Pudgy suddenly felt his body go numb, and he was flung into the center of the cavern.  Floating underneath the black circle, Blood Fang motioned with his right paw upwards.  “When you touched the world chain, you absorbed magical energy from within its links.  Each time you used your stone, safely kept within your vest upon your chest, you absorbed the same magics from within the ley line.  Pudgy hedgehog, you have stored so much magic within you, that we can do wonderous things.”  The hedgehog wailed, “let Pudgy go!  Pudgy don’t want to help the wolves!”  The creature laughed, “you do not have a choice in this matter.  Now, it is time, let us prepare the circle.”  The critter tried to struggle once again, but it was no use, as his body did not respond.  Watching with unblinking eyes, the critter saw twelve black stones start to emerge from within the monster’s chest.  The stones started to float out into the cavern, and align over each of the inlaid stones on the floor.      

As the stones aligned onto their respective spots on the floor, ghostly images of wolves started to appear.  There was a snow-white arctic wolf, soon joined by a Northwestern wolf, which was white on the bottom but gray on top.  A mottled brown wolf, with short ears, and long legs appeared from the lands south of the cactus.  An Indian wolf, of fine gray fur appeared, as well as a black Florida wolf.  One almost looked like Argente, with a silver black coat, from the lands once called British Columbia. A steppe wolf, a Mongolian wolf, a steppe wolf, a Mackenzie wolf, a pure black wolf, and finally Silver Fang appeared.  The stones quickly felt to the floor, and locked into place with a loud clicking sound. 

Pudgy looked down at Silver Fang, who was frozen in place.  “That was Silver Fang … you made him go away.  Did you do that to the other wolves too?”  The monster nodded and laughed, “yes I did.  I offered power and influence, and they readily accepted.  Each were prideful to a fault, and in the end had to be dealt with harshly, in the end.  So, in death, they will serve the greater cause, and once more the wolf will claim dominion over Gaia.  I will rule these lands, and strike down the false god once and for all!”  The little critter shrieked, and wiggled to try to break free of his restraints.  It was no use, whatever magical force had held him once again, would not yield.  “Pudgy will never help you, Pudgy will resist!”  Blood Fang sneered, “you are welcome to try.  Now, let us get started, we lay the foundation tonight to destroy Anningan.  The so-called Great Spirit, will soon be no more!”

The hedgehog watched as the snow-white arctic wolf started to howl mournfully.  The body of the wolf, which had already been ethereal, was starting to become corporeal once more.  However, a sound began to trickle in from outside the cavern.  It made its way through the rushing water that guarded the entrance to the cavern.  Pudgy heard the sounds of hundreds of wolves howling in terror, which meant that the great calamity had begun.  The other wolves surrounding him all began to exhibit the same characteristics.  The terrible sound only increased in volume, increased in terror, and increased in fear filled tones.  What was happening outside the cavern, the little hedgehog thought?  Little did Pudgy know, that the forces at play in the cavern, belittled the size of the panic outside and far above on the island’s surface.  The first rays of sunlight were starting to crest over the eastern skies, illuminating the never-ending rush of the water flowing over the falls.  The true scope of the horror, was on full display, being observed from afar by friends unseen.