Chapter 116

The scene is someone's car. It's a late eighties sedan and smells of fast food and sweat. The backseat is covered with assorted garbage: broken CD cases, old towels, candy wrappers, batteries. If we look out the sort-of-clean passenger window, we can see the pretty girl embracing the young man goodbye. His companion is already half in the car, anxiously tapping his foot on the pavement. The stiff one stands on the porch awkwardly.

And as the car finally pulls away and we look to see the young driver of our car, we see a smile cross his face. But it's not a smile of happiness...it's a smile that chills the spine and causes the stomach to inside-out itself. It's a smile that, once seen, can't be unseen.

Chapter 115

"Steve, this is ridiculous!" Jen said, following him out the front door. Blake had already loaded his bags into the trunk and was ready to go.

"Jen. Listen. This is something we need to do. We're past the point of where what we thought we knew makes sense. We're being...guided. And I'm being guided to Africa."

"Steve, how are you going to pay for a plane ticket to Africa? They're ridiculously expensive."

"I got it," Blake said. "Money's not a problem."

"What? How can you say that?"

"Jen, one of the things we learn about where I come from is the Super Bowl. Culturally, it's more important to know the Super Bowl winners than any of your presidents. So I placed a bet or two..."

"See, Jen? Things are good. I'll call you when I get there."

Chapter 114

"Steve, what's going on?" Jen said, following Steve into his room.

Steve paused, folded T-shirt in his hand. The bag he was packing was already half-full in the time it had taken Jen to finish her conversation with Humbot.

"It's the dreams."

"The what?"

"I've been having these dreams - Blake has too, I can tell. There's a man, and he's in trouble. There are hyenas, and, if someone doesn't help him -"

"So we're going to Africa?"

"No. You're staying here with Humbot."

"Why?"

"Have you been having the dreams?"

"Not that I can - "

"Then you aren't meant to go."

Chapter 113

"What are you watching?!" Blake was nearly frantic.

"I don't know," Jen said, "some nature show?"

Steve's face had drained of its color. Without saying anything, he slowly turned to Blake. A brief look flitted between them, and then an almost imperceptible nod. Steve turned up the volume.

"...the brown hyena is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. They hunt in packs, and..."

"Africa," Steve repeated. He got up and went into his room.

Blake had also left the room.

"Humbot, what's going on?"

"They've been sharing dreams, Jennipher. And their dreams feature these hyenas. And so they're going to Africa."

"Africa?"

"Sub-Saharan Africa, to be precise." And Humbot fell silent on that point.

Chapter 112

Blake and Humbot came through the door, still a little frustrated by their unsuccessful day. Jen and Steve were in the living room, watching a nature show, and turned to greet them (and maybe because the beef sandwiches smelled delicious). Jen's hair hung loose and looked amazing with her baby blue shirt. Steve was distracted by her, but ultimately tore himself away in time to grab a sandwich.

"So," Jen said, between bites, "what's next?"

"What do you mean?" Blake said.

"What she means," Steve said, "is what do we do now? Where do we go? How do we achieve this mission?"

"I don't really know. Priority A number One was to make sure you two were safe. We were hoping you'd have some clue as to what to do next."

"We don't."

"Oh."

Blake buried his face in his hands, running the heels of his hands down his jaws, a technique he often used to relieve stress. A technique he had used too often in the past few months.

"Blake?" Steve said.

"Yeah?" Blake looked up - and saw something that made him forget his stress.

Chapter 111

Blake and Humbot were not happy. The service at the local Papa John's had been so bad, they had eventually given up and gone somewhere else. Blake pointed out that Jen probably wouldn't want pizza because of its association with the Colonel. They picked up roast beef sandwiches and headed home, half an hour later than they wanted to.

Chapter 110

Light filtered in through a crack in the ceiling. The dust motes danced thickly above the writhing mass on the floor. The smell of shame hung in the air like wet sulfur. Old and broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, occasionally shifting with the movements below.

And just when the mind would dismiss the mass of creatures on the floor as rats, they began to form up. Biting each other with razor sharp teeth, creature after creature climbed over each other, forming a vaguely human shape. It limped to the closet (door askew) and crammed itself into a suit, shoes.

The creature (composed of other, smaller creatures) grabbed a sheet of what appeared to be parchment off the broken vanity. Slowly, it dipped its head toward the parchment, until it became apparent that it was not parchment - it was, in fact, human skin. The human skin of a man once known as the Colonel.

And so, with that, the Creature prepared to meet its leader.