that flesh was completely dried of every motion I could call canine.

Then a shot came. I opened eyes to see my master with smoking gun and body of Emma falling to the snow. Then mr. Marshal turned to Cyrus and give another round. Dog was send down, but seeing how unspeakably indifferent was his muzzle in the moment of pain I thought with freezing certainty that wasn’t really Cyrus. Two lifeless bodies disrupted our ran and soon after sled overturned.

Shaking on whole body I woke few moments later, hearing shots of colts. My master was shooting to someone, something in forest, while we were still lying in snow, too scared to move. Finally bangs ceased and I dared to look up.

With decisiveness that only ones on the edge of death could have, mr. Marshal was putting the sled on skids. Then he came to dead bodies of Emma and Cyrus and he simply put them away from harness. For a moment I thought that in wave of madness my master would kill us too, but he just took a blanket from the sled and with knife tore it to several, long pieces. Then he put on of them on head as a blindfold.

“You would better not see what I took down.” He murmured and then I felt another pin of syringe. The second – that time much bigger – dose of morphine entered my veins. “You must take us back. Just pull ahead.” Murmured my master. I sensed that drug and emotional disorder made him believe I actually comprehended him.

I heard as he blindfolded rest of team – all raining four, after Emma’s and Cyrus’s death. For those minutes I was desperately trying not to think what had happened. When master Lucas finally called <Mush!> I took is as a sign of salvation. I saw no road before us, but I trusted my owner he was guiding us right. Besides the additional dose of drug had already started to work and all my fears slowly dispersed away. I feel only pleasant warmth in whole my body and sled seemed to be light and easy going. I had to tripped away.

At least I hope that, because what I saw then I could explain only by morphine intoxication and vision of chemically distorted mind. In my run I felt no time nor space, I was just pulling and pulling ahead. Blindfold and wall of morphine drunkenness kept me away from the reality, however I remember as small portions of outside world was dripping into my senses. I heard more shots, cries and howls than no canine throat could give and my paws few times stomped on something furry and still warm, as if those were just fallen bodies. But I was just laughing on that horror around, extremely happy I don’t have to witness it. And then some juniper branch took my blindfold away.

In one second I was confronted with whole mass of unspeakable abomination around me. I was running on Buckland Route, already road down, after making over half of distance to town. But mist was running with us. White waves of fog floated down with our sled, gently stroking us with tentacles freezing blows. I had to be dreaming, because what I saw was my dream from few days earlier. And I felt as that fog was calling to me, inviting in, to leave sled and become one with them. To become the same as dogs of Nome and their dreadful allies from interior forests. In spite if morphine dose, for one short moment my senses became sharp.

And I saw Emma. She was running next to me, in vapours of milky fog. But she was the fog herself – her body was even less solid than silhouette of mysterious wolfess I had seen in Nome. I clearly could observe shapes of road and trees though her, but in the same time I witnessed as her paws made trails in snow. She was smiling, as if she was enjoying that run.

“Mark?” she asked with her deep and temping voice. When she turned her stare on me, I wished to close my eyes. But eyelids disobeyed. “Mark, there is no reason to fear.” She whispered and I was silently praying that vision was just a product of drug induced mind. “We were so stupid and blind. It’s wonderful! Come to us… You will see for feeble was the life you had been living for all those years… Let’s unite! Come to my, my dear!”

And then her head exploded, after being hit with .44 colt round. Her misty flesh burst, slashing around. I felt that on my muzzle fell small quantity of that substance. I gave the most piercing howl that I was capable to give and lost my consciousness.

…

At least my mind went away. My body, taught by countless hours of service and boosted with morphine seemed to do it’s job still and still, for many hours and many miles. They said that our sled came to Buckand on morning of twelfth January, but somehow it was empty.

Master Lucas was dead, lying on sled with reins in one and colt in other hand. He had no injuries except of signs of dehydration and hypothermia. They said he overdosed morphine and that why he died. But no one, neither Buckland sheriff nor local doctor explained why mr. Marshall’s ammo belt was empty and revolvers guns were smoked as they had been fired multiple times in short period. No one explained also why our sled was almost broken due to unknown damages. Wood of cart was frozen to ice in multiple places and every such a place resembled shape of wolf’s jaws. Most likely no one wanted to answer that.

My companions didn’t make it too. Bucklanders found them in harness, still pulling, but there was no response on any impulse given to creatures. They didn’t drink nor eat, even seemed to ignore touches of humans hands. Just as they minds were sleeping, while bodies still working on. On several hours – due to dehydration and general exhaustion - all they died. Except of me.

I “woke” in Buckland kennels and in first impulse started to drink the water from bowl left to me by humans. I received over three litres of water before local vet came there and took away from bowl, maybe a moment before my stomach would explode. I was somehow rescued from all body damages and except of my shattered mind soon after I was healthy.

Doctor Tazaku, whose daughter was living there, incidentally came few days later to visit his old town and heard about whole case. He examined master Marshall’s body to find nothing apart of means of death that local medic noticed. But scholar also examined me and decided he would take me to Anchorage for further tests. I blurry remembered those days, because my mind was very slowly regaining its awareness. But few weeks after I found myself in Anchorage Animal Shelter, sent there by doctor Tazaku, who came to conclusion there is nothing he could do for me. In that easy asylum I was sentenced to repeat all experienced horror all over again. Every night I was dreaming about the fog and Emma to wake up with scream. Until I found the mushrooms in basement. Since I discovered that drug, my dreams became silent and luxuriously blank.

VI.

It’s December night, so similar to that winter night  eleven months ago. If not that chemistry in my mind I would hear her calls from outside. Each time fog comes, Emma is here too, whispering to my ears, tempting me to go outside and dispel in whiteness. But she was right about one thing – I have no reason to fear. I’m safe, shielded by thick walls of shelter and barrier of drugs in my mind. My strength is my blindness. Let it be. My vision is blurring, my mind is tripping, I’m free.

…

NO!

What did I say? Right, there is no reason to fear. But not because I’m safe from fog, but because I still could go there. Emma has right – I was blind, so terribly blind refusing to participate in their glory year ago. But fog is already here, I could join Emma and all our sisters and brothers.

I’m standing up and coming to door. I hope it isn’t locked. But if it, I will exit anyway. By the window, for example. Few scars made by glass is nothing, especially soon I won’t need of my current body. My new form will be imperishable. Bullets could only dispel it for a moment, but then it will form again. Like mist. It is mist. In Nome and everywhere else.

In Anchorage? Is that glorious plague of liberty came so far? What a wonderful news to know that all creatures here – dogs and humans – are on the edge of leaving their pathetic mortal coils and join the eternal glory of the Old Ones. We all are marked and chosen, but I will be the one who guide you. Follow my and let’s enter the land of infinite delight.

Emma, I’m coning to you!

Taka_PL

Novemeber 2007