Chronicles of the Wolf Book II: A Wolf in Sheep's clothing

Chapter 14

The more I was hearing about Project Rho the more I was starting to really see that this thing was simply the most insane thing I had ever heard of, and I was beginning to realize just how dangerous Norman Hunraken really was.

We had told Umberto what Sammie had told us about Project Rho.

“Well she didn’t tell what the Project Rho was doing,” Umberto shrugged.

“So, are you essentially telling us that damn project was making an army of things like Eugene?” I said.

“Well not exactly like him but yes,” Umberto said.

“So, there are other monsters?” Walker said.

“What the hell did you call them Unmentionables?” I asked.

“That was what they were known as,” Umberto said. “Hard to think that he would be one of them. I suppose he would be old enough to have been one of the original unmentionables.”

“And just what the devil are these unmentionables?” I asked.

“They are people that were experimented on in any versions of Project Rho.” Umberto said. “They are either an insane creature like Eugene, or they are part insect like those who were victims of the second Project Rho.”

“But what exactly was Hunraken doing?” I asked.

“He was experimenting with genes,” Umberto said.

“Genetic experimentation?” Walker asked, and Umberto nodded.

“What does that mean?” I asked confused.

“Each race has this strand of code that is called DNA.” Umberto explained. “My DNA has everything that makes me, well me, from the hair I have to my eye color to everything, except of course my personality.”

“When someone messes with that it is called a Genetic Experiment.” Umberto further elaborated.

“I guess that sort of makes sense, but how would that change Eugene into that thing we saw?” I asked.

“Well let’s say there is a code that says that Eugene’s body has to be this certain size no matter what.” Umberto said.

“Uh huh…” I said.

“And they change it, so that let’s just say with that of a Cephalopod like you said.” Umberto said.

“So, he can change his body size like a Cephalopod because of that change in the code?” I asked sounding bewildered.

“Yes,” Umberto said.

“That is insane!” I said.

“That is exactly why Project Rho was shut down,” Umberto said. “Well to be more precise when they started experimenting on girls like her.”

I looked towards were Tanya was and I was confused.

“They were doing stuff like that to girls her age?” I asked.

“Sometimes younger,” Umberto said.

“What kind of sick monsters would do that?” I asked. That was when I suddenly remembered something. “What the hell is Asgard?”

“Asgard?” Walker asked.

“The planet?” Umberto said.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I heard Eugene and two other men talking about Xavier being over there.”

“Xavier?” Walker asked.

“What the hell was he doing in Asgard?” Umberto said.

“They said something about a Horn of Jericho.” I said.

“What is the Horn of Jericho?” Umberto said.

“I was hoping you guys would know,” I said.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Umberto said.

“Me neither.” Walker said after thinking for a bit.

“That brings up something else they are looking for a girl that she apparently looks like,” I said pointing at Rana.

“That’s right what did you witness?” Umberto asked.

“Eugene was talking to two men on these projections.” Rana said. “One was this older looking Fakir, he had this long gnarly looking hair. The other I couldn’t tell what he was. He wore these strange glasses.”

“Strange glasses?” I asked dreading to ask a follow up question. “Like slit glasses?”

“I don’t know what you mean by that,” Rana said.

I took a deep breath. For a moment I thought that the reason that this person that Eugene and that guy named Kain, were talking to was none other than the creature who attacked my planet. I was certain if Rana had seen those slit glasses that the creature was wearing when I saw it, she would know what I meant when I had asked her.

“Did you think it was that lizard thing?” Walker asked.

“I had to ask,” I shrugged.

“Lizard thing?” Umberto asked c*****g his eyebrow.

“Long story,” Walker said waving it off.

“Do you know why those freaks were after you?” I asked.

I did not realize that this question had not been asked until now.

“They weren’t looking for me,” Rana said. “Apparently someone that apparently I was confused to being.”

“Oh?” I said.

“And what were they looking for that person for?” Umberto said.

“They needed her for some reason,” Rana said frowning. “I…I didn’t pay much attention. I…I was too scared to really pay mind to that.”

“I could understand that,” I said.

“What else could you tell us?” Umberto said.

“They said they needed power sources,” Rana said.

“Power sources?” Umberto asked.

“Well the creepy one with the glasses was the one who said that.” Rana said.

“What did he mean by power sources?” I asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Rana said. “He just said something about needing to find the other power sources.”

“That could be going along with what Sammie said earlier,” I concluded.

“What do you mean?” Umberto asked.

“Sammie said something about this Red Dawn thing having the ability to make stars.” I said. “Last I knew a star was a power source.”

“That make sense,” Walker nodded.

“But he said power sources?” Umberto c****d his eyebrow.

“Yeah, he definitely said power sources,” Rana said.

“So, they are after more things like the Red Dawn?” I asked.

“And then you throw the Mask of Damus into the mix,” Walker said.

“That reminds me, why is there a temple of Damus here?” I asked.

“You mean the Cathedral of Saint Damus?” Umberto asked. “No one has been in that for centuries from what I heard.”

“Centuries?” I said.

“So, Xavier did not go in there,” Walker said sighing.

“Apparently not,” I said. “That brings up what the hell is Asgard?”

“It’s a planet,” Umberto said. “Way far away from here, that is where Caledfwich On Heim and his faction went to.”

“Caledfwich On Heim?” I said and looked at Walker.

Now things were starting to get interesting. This went along with something that that creature named Montezuma said earlier.

“Boy what did that creature call Caledfwich?” I asked.

“He called him the sun eater,” Walker said gaping his mouth when he said that. I knew he was starting to realize what I was getting at.

“So, Xavier was sent to where Caledfwich was last at probably to snuff out the sun eater, because they were eliminating something that could possibly stop the usage of something that can create suns, as well as other sources of power,” I concluded.

“That is a pretty bold statement,” Umberto said, but he quickly added. “Then again we do not have much else to go on.”

“So, what is next?” Walker said.

“I think we should take the girls back to Sammie and regroup there,” I suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

We headed back towards Sammie’s place. Along the way I was starting to formulate things. These beings calling themselves the Storm Bringers, had gotten their hands on something that can literally create the power of the sun, they were looking for other such power sources as they called them. They had sent Xavier to snuff out someone that was notoriously known as a Sun Eater, they must have seen him as a threat.

To top it off they are looking for a girl, around Rana’s age, for what purposes we were uncertain. But I had a very bad feeling about it. There was something extremely sinister at play. We did not know who Kain and Eugene were talking to. We did not know who was behind them that Hanuman himself said was pulling the strings because Hunraken was not smart enough to pull something off like this.

To make matters worse, if the Storm Bringers decided to, they could use the Red Dawn to suck up the very atmosphere off the planet. These were suddenly becoming quite dangerous times.

We reunited the girls with Sammie. Sammie was very glad to see both girls alive and well. She then went into her cooking mode and went off to make food for the whole lot of us.

“Where’d you figure he went?” Walker asked Umberto.

Walker was referring to Wild Bill, when we came back, we passed by where Wild Bill had knocked out from drunkenness. When we did, he was gone. It was not like he could have just vanished into thin air. Then again. Maybe he did. Seeing how things seem to disappear into thin air now-a-days.

“He’ll show up, he always does,” Umberto said.

“What the hell is his problem?” I asked.

“I said earlier he had seen some things,” Umberto said.

“I’ve seen some things, some pretty messed up things including a girl I loved getting turned into this skeletal corpse.” I said. “And I have not turned into some drunken fool.”

“For some people it is just easier for them to try to forget about things by drinking their memories away,” Umberto said.

“Seems like a stupid way out.” I said.

“Maybe it is,” Umberto shrugged.

“As legendary as you claim he is, he experienced something and became that drunken fool?” I asked, and Umberto looked at me suspiciously. “It sounds like he was hoodwinking everyone into believing he was legendary.”

“How do you know, you didn’t know him.” Umberto said.

“Maybe not but I know people like him,” I said.

“What do you know?” Umberto said.

“My father was a legendary person,” I said. “I thought that all of that was going to his head, and he was somebody that was just making everyone believe that he was like that. It was only after he was gone did, I know he was legendary.”

“And you are making this judgement?” Umberto asked.

“That quack became like that because he was always in the disposition to become like that,” I said almost in a snarl.

“You boys behave,” Sammie said suddenly as she walked past us.