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Nick Holland sat alone in the corner of the small cafe, quietly sipping at his cup of coffee. His green eyes skimmed the busy street on the other side of the window where cars and people rushed along trying to get to the next thing on their agenda. Nick let out a heavy sigh of annoyance No one ever bothered just to slow down and actually look around, something Nick took very personally. Looking at the hustle and bustle again, his fingers drummed on the table atop the sandy furred rendition of a chupacabra adorning this month's Journal of Mythology, a journal outlining, or rather trumpeting the 'greatest myths of the world.' The notepad next to it should have been full of notes, of thoughts and inferences...but it wasn't. He was building his next lecture for the Mythology class that he taught at the university up the street, but he was at a little bit of an impasse. Usually things just came to him but this time he couldn't think of any topic.

He took another sip and set the cup down next to the journal, picking it up to leaf through it again. Notes and annotations punctuated the articles inside, his thoughts and arguments being added to that of the authors, but today...right now, he didn't 'feel' any of them. He just flipped through the pages looking for something he may have missed. Not-a-thing.

"Damn." His lips mumbled on their own as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. With nothing better to do. He started reading the Letters to Editor column- it was something he always tried to read but never could finish because the people who wrote in were usually amateurs who had no idea what they were talking about and like before, each one was pure garbage. Until he got to the final letter. It was short, only a few lines, but it struck a chord.

"Dear Editor,

My brother told me about an old myth that was about werewolves. Now, you say that the stories about man becoming wolf are bunk...but what about wolf becoming not human, but humanoid. He said wolves apparently used to be able to walk on two legs, have a language and were even as smart as us. I want to know, is he just pulling my leg or is there some truth to this?

Jeremy "

Nick looked down at the response.

"As if right now, there is no evidence or oral or written history to suggest this that we are aware of. The potential for lost civilizations is always there, but the question that would be entailed are whether there is any scientific evidence of them. The story you relate is rather farfetched, and without more information, we can neither prove or disprove it."

In other words, they had no idea. But it certainly was an interesting concept. Werewolves that could stay in their wolven form, or were always in it. Nick's pencil scratched as he made a note of it on his pad.

"Hey Nick! There you are!" Nick looked up from his papers to find Drake Yule coming towards him. Drake was another professor at the university, he taught archeology. He was an older fellow, somewhere in his late fifties had always been Nick's guess, but always spry and eager, he was never shy to get into the dirt.

"Oh yeah, Drake. You're late!" Nick responded as he pulled up a chair.

"Yeah yeah, I know it." He signaled for the waitress to come over. "Get me whatever is on special." Drake told her.

"You've got it," she replied with a perky smile as she turned and left for the kitchen.

"So what'ca workin' on?" Drak craned his head, trying to read Nick's notebook and journal. "Werewolf....possible...civilization...language.......society. What a bunch of bull Nick!" Drake laughed settling back into his chair.

"Hey, you don't see me coming and criticizing your work, now do you?" Nick jabbed back playfully as he cleared the table.

"Well that's because my work is actual work. I get into the dirt! You get into....Journal of Mythology."

"Oh bite me Drake. So what did you ask me here for?" That was the entire reason why he was out. Usually he would be doing this at home where he could use his computer but Drake had asked him to lunch last week and today was the only free day.

"Yes...yes well. I have an opportunity for you." The waitress showed up again with water for Drake saying that his food would be up momentarily. "Thank you Miss." He said.

"An opportunity? This isn't like that library thing again is it?" Nick questioned referring back to the last time his friend had told him about a so called opportunity.

"Oh no no no, nothing like that! I have something that might be of interest to you." Drake pointed at Nick who picked up his coffee and waited for an answer. "You see, I've been chosen to head up an archeological dig in Niverah and I was wondering if you would want to go with me."

Nick just about spilled his coffee. "Niverah! That's halfway around the world! Of course not!"

Drakes special showed up, as it turned out it was some sort of soup and didn't really smell all too appetizing but Drake started slurping it up as fast as he could. "I expected you might say something like that." He said in between mouthfuls. "But you need to hear me out."

"No, I don't! This is like the Library fiasco all over again!"

"No Nick! You don't understand! This site! It's...old!" Drake said.

"Dude, all your sites are old what makes this one so special." Nick scoffed and started packing up his things.

"Um...well...see, early estimates date it back to before the Esirah Period."

Nick froze. The Esirah Period was the the time of the Esirah people, supposedly the first major civilization. "That's not possible, there's no way anything like that could survive and...and...and the Esirah civilization lived just east of here and not half way across the world!"

Drake started at Nick in the eye. "I know. Who could it be then?"

Now that piqued Nick's interest as the gears started to turn. The Esirah were reported to have an extensive mythology according to some of the civilizations that followed. But most of their beliefs are not known. "So this, um, this site could it be an early Esirah town or something?"

Drake shrugged and sipped at his soup again. "I don't know. But if it is I can guarantee you that there's gotta be some artifacts or something that can prove who they were."

Nick drummed his fingers again and glanced at his note book in his bag sitting alongside the magazine. "Well Nick? Wha'do ya' think?"

It certainly was better than trying to figure out a lecture. "How long do you plan on staying?"

Drake smiled; he's got him on the hook and now to reel him in. "Not long, a month tops."

"And when were you planning on leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Nick fell back into the chair. "Well, then I can't go. No plane is going to let me book that late." Nick said.

Drake reached into his pocket and handed Nick an envelope. Nick took it and looked inside. There was a plane ticket and a hotel receipt. "Already done and booked."

Nick chuckled and looked up at his old friend. "You were going to get me to go anyway, weren't you." He pulled the ticket and read it. "Oooh, first class too."

"Hey!" Drake mumbled slurping the last bit of soup. "That was my back up plan if the first didn't work."

The small four by four jeep coughed along the long, dirt road that lead to the interior of the jungle, the old motor probably not having been looked at since the soldiers that brought it had left it here. The heavy air outside was damp and cool and the forest was so dense on either side that one couldn't see ten feet inside. Inside, Nick looked out rather fearfully, already starting to wonder what he had gotten into as he was crammed in the back with the expedition supplies. Drake and a native driver perched up front as the three jostled down the road.

"You know, I'd better tell you something real quick Nick." Drake leaned back from the passenger seat to look at the scrunched Nick in the back. "The excavators have had some strange happenings."

Nick glared at Drake with burning eyes. "What? We fly across the world and then drive for three days before you decide to tell me that?"

Drake chuckled amused but quickly stopped when he realized it wasn't a joke. "Don't worry. It's nothing major. Mostly some tools have vanished and there have also been sightings of creatures in the nearby forest. Creatures that seem to disappear as soon as they are seen."

Nick leaned forward. "That sounds pretty freaky."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Drake said moving back to looking out the windshield. "It's probably just the locals who trek in to steal the tools and make a quick buck, nothing more."

Nick still wasn't satisfied. "But what about these large creatures!"

"Animals I would bet. Plenty of harmless critters out there. Just thing about what it's like at night here." Nick was about to ask another question but Drake leaned forward, peering through the dusty, dirty windshield frame. "Hey! We're here!"

The Jeep passed a small gate to a hastily cleared area. Yellow tape wrapped around a collection of shallow ditches and holes and workers busily wheeled dirt out of each one. A small circle of tents in the far corner showed that they wouldn't be heading back for a couple of days before heading back and checking into the hotel. There were probably around forty-five workers by Nicks rough estimate. Mostly appearing to be natives. These people had inhabited this area for years and spoke a very old, odd language. One that seemed to have helped grow some of the other local ones. Fortunately, Drake spoke it fluently but Nick knew only the few things that he had picked out here and there, on his other excursions with Drake.

The Jeep came to a dusty halt and Nick was soon tumbling out the back, eager to stretch his cramping legs. The drive had been almost non-stop for eight hours on a bumpy back road so standing felt like a god-send.

"So what do you think of site 46 Nick? Pretty impressive huh?" Drake said, slapping his oversized hand on Nick's slender back.

"Yeah it's pretty cool." Nick responded thinking impressive wasn't the right word for it. "But I still don't understand why you want me here. I'm no archeologist."

"Too late buddy, you're here!" He chuckled but then continued. "Well, mostly to get an outside view." He said beckoning at Nick for him to follow while the jeep was unloaded. "Sometimes us archeologists get our head stuck so far in the dirt that we wouldn't know an artifact if it kicked us in the ass." Nick followed his friend to one of the pits, where Drake lifted the tape and went under before motioning Nick through. "But also it's that the indigenous people are very superstitious about this forest. They call it AhouLoucow, or Forest of Beasts. I thought you might be interested in that."

Nick rolled his eyes secretly. That seemed more paranormal then mythological but Drake was always extremely good at getting him to come on these trips. "Why is it called that."

"Oh I think it's just all mumbo-jumbo, but supposedly you get feel of being hunted when you walk here and you sometimes see amber orbs, like eyes, watching you. But those are all stories. I do kinda wonder what the real story is though, gotta come from somewhere"

Nick shrugged, at least there was one thing about Mythology and he'd have a good week of stuff to talk about next quarter to his class about this trip, that is, if anything came up. Drake walked up to a man standing over the rim of the hole and spoke a greeting in the native tongue. The man turned and smiled giving his arm out for a hand shake. The two talked for a brief second before Drake turned toward Nick and pointed at him. No doubt telling the man who he was. The lithe, tanned and dirty, dark skinned man smiled and stuck out his arm for a handshake to Nick and in a very thick accent introduced himself.

"Oh herro Mr. Horrand! Wrelcome to dig site! My name is Huvert."

Nick shook the Huverts hand and was amazed by his grip. "Yes, well, once Drake offered there was no way I wasn't getting on a plane. He hired folks to kidnap me last time" He joked, lying. Huvert gave a forced laugh and then went back to talking in his native language with Drake.

"He says that'll keep speaking in his language because it's easier for everyone." Drake translated, which Nick didn't have a problem with. "Huvert has been the head of the dig since they found the site three weeks ago searching for a little boy who had gotten lost. But I'll be taking over tomorrow."

Nick nodded and followed the two as they toured the site. They talked in the foreign language with Drake not bothering to translate until they stopped in the middle where the ground had not yet been dug. Only a few shovel-fuls of dirt have been moved.

"Huvert says that every time they try and dig here something happens like the generator stops or someone gets hurt. It's like something is stopping them from digging here." Drake explained.

Nick squatted and felt the dirt with his palm, it was moist, almost as if a rain had fallen not an hour ago. He stood up and whipped it on his pants not really thinking about it before Drake started talking again.

"Yeah we're probably going to try and dig here tomorrow as it's getting late already and dinner is getting served soon. So go unpack your stuff in the tent on the far left." Nick looked and found it was the one closest to the forest edge.

"I am definitely out of my element." Nick mumbled before heading back to the jeepto grab his stuff.

Nick smiled weakly at the server as he spooned a large portion of porridge into a bowl and gave it to him. To Nick it smelled disgusting, but as he was walking back to the campfire, gently giving off a golden glow in the dimming sunlight, he noticed that all the workers were scarfing it down. Nick picked a spot next to Drake and pulled up a chair, finding himself on the very end of the half circle around the fire. Drake was also spooning the soup relatively quickly and Nick thought that's why he always ate everything that was put in front of him. He followed Drakes movements and put some of it into his mouth. Just as expected, horrible.

"What is this?" Nick asked after gagging slightly.

"A delicacy!" Drake mumbled drinking it directly from his bowl. "They take bats, cut them open and then pour all their entrails into a large pot and let it simmer all day." Nick dropped his bowl and keeled over about to throw-up the little he ate.

"HAH! Look at 'em!" Drake's strong arm patted his back firmly. "I'm just kidding. It's just some bad porridge." Nick looked at Drake with eyes of death as he was explaining to the others in their language what happened. They chuckled slightly.

"Funny stuff." Nick jeered before sitting back again, the still full bowl of offending porridge on the ground. Luckily he brought some granola. He'd just munch on that back in the tent. Soon the natives started telling stories, from what he could tell with the few words he knew but he felt left out.

"Hey Drake, where is the bathroom?" Drake looked back from the circle, obviously having been engrossed in the story.

"Oh, spruce or pine, you choose!" Once again Nick didn't find it amusing.

"I mean I need to take a shit."

"I'm serious, go out into the woods a ways, dig a hole and go there." He turned back to the story as Nick turned to woods, growing darker and creepier by the minute. Nick sighed and stood up. He found a shovel and tip-toed to the woods.

"Make sure you make it a good twenty feet!" Drake yelled.

"Yeah. Thanks for inviting me on this trip, Drake." Nick taunted under his breath. "Bastard." As soon as he left the cleared area he knew he was not safe anymore. The little protection that the mass of people gave was gone and the sounds of the trees and whistles of the wind sent chills up and down his spine. With the backdrop of huge phantom creatures that Drake had alluded to, a thick fear permeated his mind. His hands gripped the shovel tighter and tighter, driving his knuckles white as his eyes darted back and forth across the woods. Inside his heaving chest, his heart beat faster with each step he took. Finally he found a small clearing just big enough for what he needed to do.

Thinking he set a land-speed record, Nick quickly covered the hole and sighed. He patted the ground and looked up. Then he froze. There it was.

Two large amber orbs about twenty feet away from him floated high off the ground.

Nick froze, petrified as the shovel fell from his numb fingers. His brain yelled at his neck to turn and his feet to run but they were frozen too. They were like, no, they were eyes. They were...they were studying him. Then suddenly to his right a sound! He urged himself not to look but his curiosity got the better of him and he did. Just as his eyes focused he caught what he swore looked like a large white, translucent creature stepping behind a tree.

"Nick get out of here." Nick whispered to himself. Finally, his feet followed their directions and he took a couple steps backward. "Get out of here now!" The yelling kick-started his system and he bolted for it, breaking through the trees on the camp. Everybody still sat around the fire laughing and telling stories as if nothing abnormal was going on. Nick sighed in relief and speed walked to them, for some reason, he didn't have the urge to tell Drake what just happened. Then in another act of curiosity he glanced behind him. The eyes had followed him. They were about ten feet in the forest, still owner-less and ominous. Nick closed his eyes and looked away, then opened one to take one last look. They were gone.

"Hey Nick! That took a while, you alright?" Drake called from the fire. Nick, trying to get back to reality turned to them and smiled as if everything was fine.

"Just...um." He lied. "Just a small stomach ache and um..." His voice trailed off as he sat down in his chair.

"Um?" Drake asked.

"I...well.....it's nothing never mind." Nick didn't understand what he was saying! He wanted to tell Drake what had happened but he couldn't form the words. It was like someone had blocked those words from coming out of his mouth. Drake eyed him weirdly in the firelight.

"You know, I think you need some sleep. In fact, both you and I need sleep." He said standing up and stretching. After saying goodnight to the rest of the excavation Drake led, or rather dragged, Nick to their tent.

"So what was Huvert's story about?" Nick asked once they were inside and getting ready for bed.

"Oh, he was just telling about the time when he was a boy and how he saw the famed yellow eyes." Nick sunk into his sleeping bag not saying anything. "He said he saw them one day while he was getting water. They were across the stream but when he closed his eyes and looked again they were gone. Apparently that's how all the sightings are. You only see them for a split second."

"Only a second?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, but it's all misjudgment to me. People think it's the souls of the wolves that used to run through these woods fighting to get revenge on the eradication of their species." Drake explained trying, not very successfully, to get into this sleeping bag.

"There are wolves all around the world they're not extinct." Nick protested.

"Not those ones, the species that used to live in this area alone. The natives were so terrified of them that they hunted them to extinction." Drake reached for the lantern and started to dim it. "I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. Remember four years ago on the Island of Revil. The Beast of Gevauden. Same thing. Overreaction and paranoia."

Nick nodded whispering the words with him. The lantern went out and Nick turned to face the wall of the tent. His side faced the forest, perfect he thought. But his eyes soon grew heavy. It had been an extremely long day and sleep would do him good, those visions were probably just his fatigue materializing in the form of the stories. Mumbo-jumbo, just like Drake said. He yawned and closed his eyes one last time as he fell asleep and, blocking out the golden orbs almost peering though the sheer nylon.