Editor's note: this story contains scenes of incest or incest content.
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October was always so stark and bleak in the area where Chase lived. The small lake in Wyoming drew people from all around, but he had to laugh at their misery. The lake was in a high wind area. It blew every day. On a good day the water was only choppy enough to make water skiing a challenge. On the bad days semi trucks had their loads in their trailers lost as they were blown over.
Chase always had to laugh at the white man. He had no choice but to live here. The white man wiped the dirt from his teeth and took pictures near the water, showing them back home and claiming he had a good time. Chase made a living showing the fools where wildlife might be on the local trails. His sister rented out her boat and drove it for the water skiers. What she really was renting was her ass. Always in cutoffs, she drew away from the other boat drivers with ease. They were used to it and they got along well.
They were all from the nearby reservation. There they could escape the wind and the white man. There they could dance to the old magic. There they could give tribute to the Iroquois heritage they shared. They were not native to the area. The Cheyenne and Arapahoe had been herded into this hellish area. Chase's ancestors had come from far to the east. They infiltrated the local tribes and set up a secret cult within. No one paid them any mind. They were welcome so long as they brought in the white man's coin.
An annoying child was tugging at his arm. "Chase, why are you called Chase?" The girl had curly hair and spoke with a Russian accent. He ignored her.
She persisted. He had walked this trail so many times, he could do it in his sleep. Why was this creature waking him up? He had warned them to stay quiet, or they might arouse the interest of bears. Was this Kake et Yakokwe not going to be silenced?
The bear made her scream. The bear screamed back. The girl's mother grabbed her and screamed. His entire group froze. They didn't run in all directions. They had listened. He had a chance.
"No one move!" he commanded. He stood between the group and the bear. It postured. Good, it wasn't hungry. He stared it down. The beast was smaller. A young adult. It was simply curious.
A loud pop filled the air. Some fool had brought a gun! The bullet hit the bear in the gut with a thud.
Now his group ran in all directions, screaming. The bear chased after the gunman, who kept firing. One, two, three shots more. The bear was upon him. Chase was frozen in awe. There was nothing he could do to save the man. The bear ripped into him with his claws and nearly pulled the arm that had been firing the gun from his body. It hung by a few stringy bits of flesh.
The bear bit deep into the man's neck and ended his screams. Ripping with his teeth, it bit clean through. The man's head and body were limp on the ground. The bear stomped on the body, barking and yowling. Then the bear urinated on it.
Chase could only admire how easily the beast had destroyed the human. He noticed from the corner of his eye that the little girl was doing the same. She stood slightly hidden behind a tree. She wasn't frozen in fear, but in awe.
The bear paid her no mind and approached Chase. He stood his ground. They reached an understanding as they stared at each other. "Run," he told the bear, "They will hunt you and destroy you for this." The bear left.
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The little girl's name was Bridgitte. She was in shock. She had seen a bear maul her father to death. Her mother, Sienna, had seen it as well. There was nothing they could do, but they didn't scream and run. Their Slavic background and being in a foreign country made them probably a bit more stoic than most. More so than the rest of the crowd, who had survived with a few scrapes and bruises.
That didn't stop the crowd from demanding Chase be fired, arrested, even burned at the stake for taking them on a trail "infested" with bears. That part didn't bother him. What concerned him more was what would happen when dozens of park rangers started hunting the bear. It wouldn't be hard to find. The land had a sparse forest and the bear was bleeding. Why had the father shot him? Did they not have bears where he was from? Did he not know it would just anger it?
His sister arrived. Kelly looked concerned. He knew why. Surprisingly, the little girl looked up at her and said, "I'm sorry, your brother told us to be quiet." Her mother still stared straight ahead.
Kelly kneeled down. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father. How did you know Chase is my brother?"
"You look like him."
Chase looked away from Kelly. If he saw her face, he would laugh. She was perhaps a bit vain. To suggest she looked like her scraggly brother had to be an insult. She was beautiful.
Kelly motioned him away. He went with her around the corner. The police station was starting to thin out. Once it was obvious the Native American guide wasn't going to be punished for their own ignorance, they lost interest in sticking around.
"I'm concerned about the mother," stated Kelly. "You know it will land on her."
"Too bad it couldn't have been the father. What kind of fool starts shooting at a bear with a pistol?" He looked at the girl, and noticed her mother was missing.
"The kind of fool who is concerned about his wife and daughter." She was behind them. Soft feet, thought Chase.
"I'm sorry," he said. " I didn't realize you were there."
"You had that bear in some sort of trance. Were you saving us? Willing it away? If so, my husband was a fool," she said. "Answer me honestly. What did you mean by 'it will fall on me'?"
Kelly gave him an unnecessary look. He noticed the girl had approached. He knelt down. "I'm sorry about your father too," he said. "It is not your fault, your father's, or the bears. All three of you did what is in your nature."
He stood up and turned to the mother. "What happens with her is what falls on you. You are all she has left."
"That isn't true. He was her stepfather. Her real father still lives. She also has two older siblings."
Chase tried to remember her name, and where she said she was from. He thought she had looked older. Her daughter was maybe ten at the most, and was safe. Her siblings may not be. Certainly her real father wasn't.
Kelly beat him to the punch. "That is good to hear, Ms..?"
"Smith."
"My name is Kelly. Your daughter is correct. I am Chase's sister. Are her siblings going to be OK?"
"They will laugh. They couldn't stand the man. Please forgive me. If you will not answer my question honestly, then we must go. Come, Bridgitte." She took the girl by the hand and headed over to the police desk.
Chase turned and headed out of the station. Kelly followed. They knew better to say anything to each other until they were in the confines of their own home.
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"They will hunt down the bear to make an example of it."
"Yes. I am sorry, Elder, I had no idea the white man would be so foolish."
"You did the right thing, boy. You may go."
"But-"
"You may go."
Chase left the town hall. He was only 18. He was not old enough to participate yet. Kelly had just turned 25. This was her first ritual.
He returned home. The sky was gloomy tonight. He knew it meant the rangers had found the bear. It wouldn't suffer.
The mother would. He knew her name wasn't "Mrs. Smith". The Russians all said that. It had to do with their mistrust of Americans. He was the same way towards the white man. Chase was not his real name. Nor was Kelly his sister's.
His family was all at the ritual. He decided to wait on the porch. The wind was too strong. He knew it would get stronger.
From his bedroom window he could see the sky change. At first it started to brighten, as if the sun was about to rise. Then it blackened and purple gusts tore through the air. Lightning crashed and crackled.
He saw it. Or was it a trick of the eye? It always came and went that fast. He had seen it many times before, however. It was massive, standing well above the treetops. Most of his people were terrified of it. Legends still brought chills to their spine.
That was why the ritual was developed. The Wendigo had to be appeased.
He was not sure why he wasn't as frightened. As long as he could remember he had been fascinated by it. He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his drawings. Nothing he saw tonight would add to them, so he didn't start a new one. He pulled out his favorite.
The Wendigo was a giant skeletal demon. Some thought it was a tree. Some thought it a beast. It was neither. It was vengeance. Until humans had arrived on this earth, nature was in balance. His people learned to fear the Wendigo, and respect nature.
The white man had lost so many to the Wendigo's vengeance they didn't even know what was causing it. They didn't see themselves as part of nature. They saw nature as something to be controlled.
"Nothing new to add?"
He turned with a start. Kelly was good. Soft feet as well. "Nothing," he said.
"It is the mother," she said.
"That isn't surprising."
"Don't you care?"
He looked at her. "Why would I? Her husband began the whole thing."
"Her daughter actually did. Now she will be alone with an abusive father."
"That is what the Wendigo does, isn't it?"
She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "All of 18 and just as cold as the other men, huh? Don't try to tell me you didn't wonder how her mother knew you were talking to the bear. She couldn't take her eyes off of you. She has nice breasts, you know."
"Ewww, she is old! She says she has three children."
"She lied. There is more to her than meets the eye. This isn't just simple distrust of Americans."
"She is still old."
"Well, I see you have gotten choosy. I guess I don't have to worry about you staring at this anymore!" She wiggled her ass as she headed out of the room.
"I didn't mean you! She just, I don't know, has to be at least 40."
Kelly peeked her head around the doorway. "Try 28. I guess that means I'm too old for you as well. Too bad. I'll miss listening to you masturbate while you peek in on me in the bath."
"I never!" He tried not to yell too loud. His parents had to be asleep. He was also lying. He had the hottest sister on the reservation. It was tough to resist.
