Bones Omnibus (93 page)

Jess had an acquaintance in college named Vicky Albrecht who she’d thought, at first, was a lesbian. She showed no interest in the opposite sex, didn’t associate with anyone at the university she’d gone to high school with (which wasn’t uncommon for those wanting a fresh break), she lived off-campus freshman year in her own apartment paid for by her parents when most students were clamoring to live in the dorms, and she’d once petitioned the administration to allow her dog, Mickey, to be allowed to come to class with her every day. Her reasoning was simple. He was the same as a medical assistance service dog, as she suffered from severe anxiety. Mickey made it possible for her to function more or less normally.

Her request was denied. Her request for an appeal was denied. And she learned to deal with it, going to classes with a stuffed dog that was weird, but within the rules.

At some point during junior year, Vicky got a boyfriend. His name was Emmett, he was a library sciences major, and he loved films. He took Vicky to endless on-campus screenings, and though she had never professed any previous interest in the cinema, she never missed a one. In fact, everything seemed to be going smoothly for the couple when Jess heard, out of the blue, that they’d broken up.

“What happened?” Jess asked Vicky after running into her in Ross Commons one day.

“I don’t know.” Vicky shrugged evasively. “It ran its course, I guess.”

Six months later, Jess got the story from Emmett himself at a party.

“She called me by her dog’s name during,” Emmett said simply, after taking a deep draught off his bottle of beer.

“That’s it?” Jess asked. “She probably says his name a hundred times a day. It was an accident, no?”

“Sorry, I should clarify. That was her ‘thing.’ The first time she did it, she pretended it was an accident. But when I made a joke about it the next morning, she was genuinely hurt. We didn’t talk about it for a while, until one day in a moment of sharing and utter vulnerability, she asked me if it had really offended me. Realizing the answer she clearly needed to hear, I said, ‘No.’ A few days later, she did it again, but knowingly, looking me right in the eye like it was a challenge. What could I do? I went along with it. It’s not like she asked me to bark or wear a leash or eat from a dog bowl. But after a few more weeks of that, I was over and heard her call Mickey by my name. She gave me the same kind of knowing, winking smile that told me she’d been doing it for as long as she’d called me Mickey.”

That was all Jess needed to hear. She told Emmett that she was totally on his side. Later that night when he made a mild pass at her, she considered it but knew she wouldn’t be able to resist calling him by his canine
nom de plume
.

She didn’t see Vicky much after that. It wasn’t like she purposely avoided her, but before, she’d had to go out of her way to see the girl, who’d been little more than an assigned partner on a Psych 101 project. She started to wonder why they even became friends in the first place. When Jess heard she’d gotten into some exclusive grad program at Northwestern, she thought,
Good for her.
And meant it.

But that was probably the last time she’d given Vicky Albrecht so much as a second thought.

Until this night, of course, wrapped in the arms of Tadodaho after what she conservatively believed to be the single greatest night of lovemaking in her young life. What she’d anticipated would be a simple attempt at insemination, a couple of clumsy thrusts and an ejaculation, turned into something richly and
impossibly
satisfying. This would have never been the case with a human virgin, but as Tadodaho’s size and strength continually reminded her, this was no human. At the very beginning, the monster had been shy, which brought out Jess’s coquettish side. But after a while, his natural instincts took over, and he brought a passion and vigor that surprised Jess by how much it turned her on.

Then she remembered that that was how Scott had once been, just a monster in the sack that couldn’t get enough of her no matter how often or for how long they made love. That was the Scott she missed who had vanished those first few weeks at Jankis, Leonard and never returned, replaced by someone too lost in their own mind to be worth a damn in bed.

As she lay on her side, wrapped in Tadodaho’s arms, however, her thoughts inexplicably moved from Scott to Vicky. Did she really fantasize about her dog? Or was this some kind of twisted, Emmett-specific sex game? She tended to believe it was the former, which made her wonder if she would be interested in other dogs, or if it was about her connection to Mickey?

Basically, would this be her definition of pure bliss
? Jess wondered.
Or would she be as panicked as I was initially
?
And maybe most importantly, would she be able to let herself go and enjoy the experience
?

On this last point, Jess figured there’d be no way in hell. But as she nestled back into Tadodaho’s body, she really hoped Vicky would. Her bed mate shifted, likely fading in and out of sleep like Jess was.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly, nuzzling the back of her head.

“Never better,” she whispered back. “I still can’t believe that was your first time.”

“Did I say that? I meant my first time with
you
.”

Jess laughed, Tadodaho unable to even properly feign being some kind of sleazy jerk.

“I know you’re kidding, because you froze up every time you thought you did something the wrong way. It was cute, actually. Glad you eased up after a bit, though.”

“Oh, that?” Tadodaho continued. “Yeah, another thing they said you’d find ‘charming.’”

Jess scoffed, but her thoughts turned serious for a moment. She was glad her father didn’t have to face whatever apocalyptic nightmare was apparently soon to consume mankind. But there were other relatives and friends she wished she could see one more time or at least warn that things were at their end and that maybe they should prepare in some way. With every passing moment, however, that life felt farther away as she accepted there would be no going back.

“How long do I have?” Jess asked quietly.

“We don’t know. Perhaps a year. The planet makes signs to us that most have long forgotten how to read.”

“Except Orenda?”

“Except Orenda. She says it is soon and that she won’t make it, but that many of us will.”

Jess nodded.

“If I become pregnant sooner than later, I might actually get a chance to know my baby a little, yes?”

“We would hope so, yes,” Tadodaho replied. “Similarly, the baby would get to know you, too.”

Jess had never thought much about children. It was this far-off
maybe someday
. But as it looked like “somedays” were in short supply, the idea was growing in its appeal. A baby would be something, a sign that she’d been there. Though she wouldn’t be around to raise it, the very thought of the child continuing on in her absence gave her a real feeling of peace in a moment of panic and upheaval.

She rolled over, putting her hand on Tadodaho’s face.

“You ready to try again?”

“The chances that I’ll already have enough viable sperm to make it worthwhile are slim.”

Jess grinned and slipped a hand down below Tadodaho’s waist. When his body responded to her gentle strokes, he kissed her on the lips. She could feel his urgency.

“Tell me again how not worthwhile this is?”

He groaned and bit Jess’s lip as she slid onto her back, spreading her legs. She was about ready to guide him into her when he suddenly stopped, cocking his head toward the doorway.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I think I hear…
barking
. Could that be?”

The fight in front of the mountain was not going well for the sasquatches or their human tribesmen. Bones had thus far evaded every attempt to capture him and, worse, had killed and maimed well over a dozen of the mountain’s inhabitants in the process. Working methodically, the injured shepherd let the attackers come to him, his limp giving them false hope. When they got close enough, Bones aimed for the closest limb, sank his teeth in, and held on. He suffered tremendous blows to his back and head, but won victory after victory by shredding flesh and, in some cases, severing fingers, forearms, and even legs. Because of his injury, the dog couldn’t leap very well after a while, negating his more standard throat-slash.

Still, if he got an enemy on the ground, the rules changed, and he went for the face, neck, entrails, or genitals. In short order, the number of sasquatches and humans willing to try their luck against the murderous dog dwindled to almost nothing.

Bones was just biting through the cervical vertebrae of a fallen sasquatch, chipping apart its spine as he did, when a familiar voice cut through the night.

“Oh, my God!”

The shepherd looked up as Jess stepped out of one of the caves, half-dressed in her now clean clothes. Even in the dim light, she recognized the large canine.

“What’re you doing, boy?” she asked, horrified at the bodies littered around the base of the mountain. “You have to stop!”

Bones eyed her querulously, but as all others were at a remove, there was nothing else to attack. Jess took this opportunity to scramble down the rocks toward the dog. At first, the shepherd took three steps back and lowered its head, as if ready to attack. But when the girl slowed and showed him her hands, allowing him to get her scent, he softened and sat down, soaking his haunches and hindquarters in freshly spilled blood.

“Are you okay?” Jess asked, kneeling beside the shepherd.

Despite his recent injuries, however, Bones looked one hundred percent.

“Jess? You need to move away.”

Jess glanced back, seeing Tadodaho a few yards behind her. He nodded up to the trees and rocks, where she saw a handful of archers waiting with bows and arrows. She turned back to Bones and sighed.

“You came all this way for me, didn’t you?”

The dog gave her a friendly lick on the mouth.

“Then I’m really sorry.”

She stood up and stepped away, allowing the archers their target.

“Wait!” thundered the voice of Orenda, who approached from the darkness. “Don’t shoot!”

Slowly but surely, she came around the boulders until she was only a few feet from Bones. She stared at him for a long moment before nodding.

“I am sorry that we didn’t recognize you, Tawiskaron,” she began. “You have come here to show us what we face in the coming world and teach us how to best prepare. We are woefully unready. Thank you for your concern, and we honor your judgment and training.”

As she spoke, she moved in close. Bones responded as he had with Jess, backing up and lowering his head, but he added a growl now.

“No, you have nothing to fear from me,” Orenda said, extending a hand. “Come.”

Bones hesitated, so Orenda sat down in the same bloody muck. So small was she seated that the dog towered over her at his full height. He finally padded over to her, sniffing her fingers before giving them a playful lick.

“Thank you, Tawiskaron,” Orenda said. “We owe you our salvation.”

But as the shepherd stepped backward, his legs faltered. He suddenly appeared drunk, and swayed back and forth. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and his eyes watered.

“What did you do?” Jess asked urgently.

Orenda held up her hand, revealing a greasy substance on her fingers.

“It’s temporary. Will last just long enough to get him inside.”

At this last word, Bones toppled over, landing on one of the dead before rolling right off, unconscious. Orenda signaled a couple of the sasquatches, who hurried over and lifted the dog from the ground.

“Take him to the arena,” Orenda ordered. “We have much to learn from this spirit.”

As Bones was whisked into the mountain, Jess helped Orenda back to her feet. But as she did, a strange smile formed on the old woman’s mouth.

“Already?” she intoned.

Jess reddened, but nodded.

“Oh, no. I wasn’t talking to you,” Orenda replied.

She placed her ungreased hand on Jess’s stomach. The young woman felt the warmth of the touch and realized what Orenda implied. A feeling of great joy swelled within Jess’s body. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy or so at peace.

“T
he new world will be overrun by the mistakes of the previous one. Some of these will manifest themselves as residual devices that continue to pollute after they’re no longer tended to, while others will reveal themselves over time. Plants that have been so genetically altered that consumers of their fruit will suffer cancers for generations. The same with various strains of farm animal. Then the shifts in the weather as the planet recalibrates to an earth without fossil-fueled machines or factories. What man has installed to hold back the tides and the rivers – dams, levees, breakwaters, berms, and so on – will eventually crumble as well, and we must be ready for those changes, too, sudden as they might be upon us. But there is one shift that will come unexpectedly in the form of this.”

Orenda paused in her speech to point to Bones, emerging from unconsciousness in a nearby cage. The old woman stood in the center of a vast underground amphitheater ringed with benches carved into the rock. Every sasquatch and human, aside from a handful of sentries, was assembled in the room, staring down into the circular pit in the middle.

“The dog will go feral within a couple of days of the fall of man. They will form great packs and sweep across the land, preying on whatever they might find. Though man has neutered or spayed millions of the domesticated variety, there are so many more than that, which will lead to a population explosion. Within a couple of years, they will be the dominant species, replacing humans.

“While they can be slaughtered by a variety of weapons, as we have seen through this gift from Tawiskaron, even one can spell disaster for our people. Now, this one is a special case. He is completely fearless and brutal, and has experience with the hunting and killing of man, as we’ve seen by the way he attacks our numbers. He knows the weak points and sets upon them, killing a person with the smallest amount of expended energy possible.”