Ravish Me, Oh Great Wizard King!!!

Walking through the marshy area of the bog was not as difficult as Mira thought, except that she had to deal with the carry-on. After about five minutes of dragging the carry-on through the mud, she gave up and carried it by the side handle. It was going to be a long two hour trip.

Fifteen minutes into the trek, Mira was starting to get comfortable with the progress she was making. She was starting to hit her stride, and as long as she kept passing the small piece of luggage back and forth, from one hand to the other, she was able to keep the fatigue down to a minimum.

Suddenly, to her right, she caught sight of a handful of animals in the distance.

They were much larger than the tiny bogminks and bogpossums that she had passed along the way. They stood hunched over on two legs, and they were large---about the size of a full-grown dwarf.

BOGWARGS!!!

There were about a dozen of them, maybe more...and they were headed her way.

Dropping the carry-on into the wet grass, she pulled the pink Victoria from its shell and activated the green laser. She may be a fairly accurate shooter, but she wasn't stupid. In the dark, there was no way that her eyesight would be as sharp as theirs, especially at a distance.

The bogwargs began gathering into fight formation. They were on the hunt, and she was their prey. The largest one stood in front, silently checking her out. He slowly moved towards her.

Mira swung the Glock forward, inline with her chest and placed both hands on the grip. Her instincts kicked in as she clicked off the safety and placed a green dot directly on the alpha's head.

His eyes narrowed. He threw his head back and uttered a sharp guttural growl. In the space of two heart beats, he began sprinting towards her. Two others immediately fell in line behind him.

Without hesitation, she pulled off three rapid shots.

BANG BANG BANG

The deafening shot blasts tore through the silent marsh, scaring a flock of birds nestling in the clump of trees from a distance. They squawked and flapped their dark wings, lifting off into the night sky.

The bogwargs jerked back from the impact of the 9mm and dropped to their watery deaths. All three bullets had hit the intended targets in the head.

Four more from behind surged forward. They were only yards away.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

They dropped to the ground, howling their death cries.

Sh*t!

She cursed and shoved the Victoria Pink back into its shell. Six in the cartridge plus one in the chamber---she was out.

Myra reached for the black 38 special. This one only had five bullets, but there were still six bogwargs prowling around her. The 38 was her hail-mary gun. There was no laser on this one---no safety catch either. She had to be accurate or she was a dead duck.

Five bullets for six full-sized bogwargs. Who the hell was she kidding.

She was a dead duck.

The six remaining were not as large as the seven previous bogwargs. Neither were they as aggressive. They had seen her drop seven of their largest pack-mates with her weapon.

Moving laterally, and snarling with low fierce growls, they maneuvered in circles instead of charging directly at her. It looked as if they were changing tactics. They were going to surround her instead of giving her a single line to shoot at.

These were the more cunning ones. They could either be females, or old and infirmed. Or both. She could not allow them to completely surround her or she would not be able to fight them off.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Mira emptied the revolver. Five dropped to the ground, leaving one still standing.

Mutha F*cker!!! She was out of bullets.

Shoving the revolver back into its shell, she pulled out the only weapon she had left---the kukri machete that was strapped to her thigh.

It was only twelve inches long. She would have to get close to this beast to do any serious damage.

Mira was not a street fighter. Her only training was firearms, but in this life & death situation, where not a single person was around to call for help, there was no other alternative.

She faced the lone remaining bogwarg with both hands on the grip of the kukri, tension running high inside her heart.

For a single moment, neither of them moved. She was checking the beast out and in turn It was also observing her with uncanny sharp eyes, red with rage.

Two seconds.

That was all it allowed before it charged full speed at her. With a roar of fury, its mouth opened, showing double rows of fangs dripping with saliva.

The bogwarg launched its body, arching high into the air. It aimed directly for her head, its long sharp claws outstretched.

At the same moment, Mira dropped into a defensive position. She could see the bogwarg's body flying straight at her.

Mira forced herself to focus. She needed to slow down her perception of time.

She could see the bogwarg's body flying toward her head in slow motion. Its only weak spot was directly under its rib cage.

To get to its rib cage, she had to get past its jaws and its claws.

Throwing her right leg up into the air, she timed the placement and popped the sole of her boot directly onto its massive chest.

It grunted from the impact, all its air expelled from its lungs with a whoosh.

With a quick jerk, she plunged the kukri up and back with both hands, tucking its curved blade straight into the beast's heart.

It howled in pain, swiping its claw at Myra.

But it was too late. It had already been mortally wounded. In its last seconds of life, its only victory was the bloody gash on her shoulder.

Still focused on resolving the fight, her leg followed through the motion, using the bogwarg's own forward momentum to continue to push the beast as it sailed past her head.

It crashed into the marshy water and flailed for a few more seconds before its body finally stilled. Dark blood flowed from its gut wound, spreading out into the water surrounding it.

The stench of gore and offal was repulsive, but Mira didn't care. She stood there gulping in huge gasps of air as if she was starved for oxygen and feeling as if she was going to pass out.

She was hyperventilating.

Slow down girl. You're not going to suffocate. Short shallow breaths.

Puff puff puff….That's it.

Puff puff puff….Short and shallow.

Puff puff puff….Good girl.

The pale light from Ashryan's single moon beamed down in quiet repose, revealing bodies lying in mangled heaps all around her. The wind rustled through the reeds, carrying the stench of death away from the scene of death.

There was no sound other than Mira's barely audible mutterings.

Talking to oneself can be seen as a crazy activity, but this was a situation that was beyond crazy. She needed to hear the sound of a sane person talking to her, but at this cursed moment, she was the only person available, sane or not.

"OK girl. Just go over there and retrieve the fr*ckin' kukri. You can't just leave the blade inside that beast."

A few more puffs of the short and shallow, and she was still standing there.

"Look around you, girl. Ain't nothing left!!! They're all dead, but you can't leave without that blade, so go over there---and PULL IT OUT."

She squeezed shut her eyes. Shooting a gun and then running away from the corpse was one thing. Walking over to that bloody mess and yanking a machete out of its bloody carcass was something else.

No choice.

She gritted her teeth and moved closer to the dead bogwarg. The stench was terrible. She held her breath and reached out for the blood soaked handle of the kukri.

With a single yank, she pulled the blade out of its heart.

Aaaoooorrrggh!!!

A weak mewl sounded.

AAAHHHHH!!!

She screamed, dropping the kukri into the water as she pushed herself back, away from the dead bogwarg.

The corpse remained still.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she willed herself not to run away screaming. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest, it hurt to breathe. She took another gulp of air and forced her eyes open.

The corpse was motionless.

But then from behind the body, a tiny pair of trembling eyes peeked out at her.

"Oh my God…" Mira whispered.

It was a baby bogwarg.