Apocalypse

Alex was in wolf form, running freely through a clearing that was no longer on Kir'nu. The clearing had once stood where the ranger's station now stands, and Alex knew that he was dreaming. It was not normal for him to harbor so many lucid dreams, but he knew at once that this dream was special, and different. There was something he was supposed to do in this dream. He wasn't running in fear, but instead, in joy. And he knew what he had to do.

He bounded through to the edge of the clearing. Where did they want him to go? He sniffed the air, but it told him nothing, and so he continued in the direction that he had been traveling, assuming that they would start him off in the direction that he was supposed to travel. Soon enough, jumping over a few well crafted logs and listening to the birds in the distance, Wolf-Alex found what he was looking for. Another clearing, this time, one that he had no prior memory of. And standing before him were the Great Mother and Great Father.

Alex trotted up to them and sat at their feet, tail wagging helplessly. It had been so long since he had communed with them. They, of course, crouched down to give him the affection he so desperately craved. Great Mother gave him a hug, and from between her arms, Wolf-Alex extended his chin to Great Father, who scratched it affectionately.

"It has been a while, child." Great Father stood and Wolf-Alex looked up.

"Yes." Wolf-Alex spoke, although in the physical realm, he did not have the vocal cords to do so.

"There is a great invasion coming to you." Great Father continued. "This will be the largest battle you have ever faced."

"Why?" Wolf-Alex asked, whining just a little. More anxious than scared, he realized. He was always ready to fight.

"We're not sure." The Great mother sighed. "We think that the demons are agitated, because of what happened in Sedona."

"With the werewolves?"

"Yes, the hole in the veil. The demons don't care that that veil was human-magic constructed -- they see the werewolves, here, and realize that since other, lesser creatures have escaped, they too have rights to this world."

"But they have never walked this earth." Wolf-Alex said, and the Great Father nodded.

"This is what we -- all of the gods tell them. But they do not listen to us, their enemies and captors. They only listen to the voice of the most powerful of them, their Overlord. Their many lives behind the veil make them confident. And foolish. They envy human technology. Human lives."

"You must fight hard for us, child. Fight for the rights for our children to rule this earth." Great Mother said gently, releasing him from her hug. "Evacuate this island. It is no longer safe."

"Will you... will you make a storm for me? As an excuse?"

"We will get it done. Whatever you use, we'll be listening. We will make it reasonable." Great Father assured the wolf with a comforting smile. "We take care of you. Always."

"Can I ask a question?" Wolf-Alex asked, and the Great Mother nodded.

"We knew this would happen someday." She began, before he could even ask his question. "She is special, isn't she? And you are passionate enough, mortal enough, to feel for her."

"I..." Wolf-Alex was unsure of what to say.

"If she will have you." Great Father interjected. "We never interfere with love. We -- you -- will make it work. Have faith."

"Oh." Wolf-Alex was dumbfounded. He was originally going to ask about Ivy in general, not if he could 'have' her... but he realized that their answer had been what he was looking for.

"But first, your duty. Prepare yourself. Evacuate the island. You have three nights to prepare, and waves of demons will come."

"How long should I tell the mortals to stay away?" Asked Wolf-Alex, and Great Father glanced at Great Mother.

"We're not sure. Some of their plans are shielded from us."

"I'll tell them two weeks." Wolf-Alex decided arbitrarily. "And I can't say storm. I will say... volcanic eruption."

"We will be listening." Great Father said. "We must let you go, now. It is near dawn."

"Send Guardian my love?" Wolf-Alex asked, wagging his tail. They nodded.

"Fight strong, little one. Fight well. And remember, when the time comes, we'll be waiting on the other side to take you home."

Were the Gods afraid? Wolf-Alex did his best to show no reaction to their comments about his impending death.

"Don't lose yourself, sweet." Great Mother said to him, softly patting him on his furred head. "Don't do anything you regret."

#

Alex knocked on the head Ranger's door with a mix of dread and anticipation. He knew that this argument was not going to be fun, but it was one he had to have. Jon opened the door, saw it was Alex, and motioned him in.

"What's up?" Jon's voice was cheerful, without the hint of suspicion that it normally held.

"We have a problem." Alex started, and Jon motioned for him to take a seat.

"Did you hook up with Ivy?" Jon said accusatory, and Alex blushed.

"No." He said gruffly. "It has to do with the... weird stuff that you don't like talking about."

"Oh." Jon's face suddenly grew more serious. "What's up? Has she found out more?"

"No... I got a message last night."

"From who?" Jon asked, and Alex sighed. He had been trying to avoid this part, knowing that it would seem incredible to anyone but him.

"The gods." Alex said, and continued before Jon could interject. "They told me that there is an invasion coming. We have three days."

"Until the apocalypse?"

"Pretty much." Alex acknowledged. Jon was taking this much better than expected. "From what I understand, the demon world is a little bit like the white man's dark ages... its based on feudal economics, where warlords compete for power, and eventually, one rises to power. The current demon in power has decided to organize an attack, of sorts."

"Why?" Jon asked.

"Do you remember the werewolf thing?"

"The part where you waltzed into my office and said that the gods had asked you to tend to a pack of werewolves that loved human flesh, and you agreed without checking with me first? The [same]{.underline} pack, might I add, that tried to eat not one, but [two]{.underline} researchers?"

"Yeah." Alex said. "That one. So do you remember [why]{.underline}?"

"Monkeys tore a hole in the veil between the worlds and released a bunch of fairies and shit."

"More or less." The story, of course, was much more complicated than the summary, but as long as they were on the same page. "So the gods think..."

"They don't know?"

"The gods don't know all. Just most things. But the realm where the demons are is... shaded from their view. If that makes sense."

"As much as any of this does, it makes perfect sense." Jon said.

"Okay, so anyway... They think that the demons are launching an attack because of the way the centaurs and fairies were released back into this world. They're basically leading a civil rights revolution, that'll just involve a lot more bloodshed."

"But why? I thought the Catholics trapped all of the mystical creatures? Did they trap the demons, too?"

"No." Alex said. "They've always had their own realm. But they don't think like that. They seem to think that since the werewolves got their freedom, they deserve some, too."

"So you're telling me... what?"

"We need to evacuate the island. In case I... don't make it."

"Woah." Jon said. "Of course you'll make it."

"We can hope, but there might just be too many of them, or I might take a misstep."

"You should let us fight with you."

"They'd tear you apart in an instant. I'm mostly immortal, remember?"

"I don't like this. Not one bit."

"I figured you wouldn't. Anyway, I was thinking we could evacuate under the guise of a possible volcanic eruption. The gods said that they'd support us in whatever we chose. Make it look legit."

"Did they use the word legit?" Jon asked, smiling, but worry was etched on his face.

"No. Those are my words." Alex admitted. "But my point is that we need to move, now. We have three days."

"How long will the... threat of volcanic eruption... be keeping people off of the island?"

"I think a week. Maybe two. If you hear nothing from me in two weeks, come back with a search party. And guns. And make sure you take the boat keys from the ferry. We don't need them to spread any quicker than necessary. If I don't make it."

"You'll make it. You have to." Jon assured him. "Alright. I'm on board. I'll gather the other rangers at lunch and let them know the story, although probably not the full explanation. It's a little complicated. And then we'll tell the scientists. They won't be happy."

"I'll tell them." Alex said, sighing. "I have to say my goodbyes."

"You're not going anywhere." Jon reached out and patted his friend on the arm. "But you may as well share the news, because that Ivy girl is going to flip shit on you. I don't know how you press her buttons, but man, oh, man."

"I've gotten better. So has she."

"You really like her, don't you?" Jon asked. "I've never seen you interact with the public this much in the entire time I've been here."

"I do. I don't know why. It's like we're meant to be. It's just... hard to consider. With my condition. My duty."

"I bet. It's not like you can ask her out."

"Maybe when this is over. Before they leave."

"Sure thing." Jon said. "Is that it? Is there anything else?"

"That's it."

"Good luck, then, if I don't see you." Jon said. "I'm sure you'll have some prepping to do before time runs out."

"I'll try my best to come by the office again in the next few days. Just to finalize plans."

"Okay. I'll see you then." Jon said, standing to open the door for Alex. He watched Alex walk away from the station for what seemed like an eternity, and then started the wheels in his mind. How was he going to contact all of those hikers?

#

"Hey, Terrance. Can I come in? Are you all here?" Alex removed his Ranger hat and looked past Terrance. At this point, they were all so used to Alex's presence that they barely looked up.

"Yeah. What's up?" Terrance opened the door to let the ranger in.

"Is everyone here? Oh -- hey Emily. I see you out there. Um, we have problem."

"Oh?" Haywood looked up at Alex through his reading glasses.

"There've been signs of volcanic activity up in the mountains, and the government feels that its necessary to evacuate everyone. Just for a week or two. Just in case."

"There hasn't been a volcanic eruption here in a long time." Haywood said worriedly. "Do you really think it might happen?"

"Just a small one, but we don't want hikers, rangers, or you guys to get hurt by falling debris or, you know, lava."

Ivy didn't look convinced, but Haywood rose from his chair.

"How long?"

"Ideally, we want everyone gone by tomorrow morning, but the hard deadline is the day after next." Alex said. "I'm really sorry your trip to Kir'nu has been so... full of disarray."

"Adventure." Haywood said. "It's just been adventurous. Do we have somewhere to stay on the mainland?"

"There's a few hotels. Of course, we'll cover the cost if your grant money is out. We're also putting up the hikers and some of the rangers that reside permanently on the island. We've already reserved a large block of hotel rooms -- Ranger Phelps went ahead with those arrangements this morning after we got the news." Alex said. His hands were wringing his ranger hat nervously. He hated to lie, which he was definitely doing at this point, if only for the greater good.

"Ok. We'll plan to catch the ferry in the morning." Haywood said.

"Are you leaving, Alex?" Ivy asked pointedly, and Alex shrugged.

"The honest truth is, not right away. The wolves need their caretaker. I'll be down here, far from the blast with an emergency boat if I need to leave unexpectedly."

"Aren't you scared?" Emily asked, and Alex shrugged.

"We've faced these types of emergencies before. And I'll have stuff to do, never fear. This too, shall pass." Alex assured her. "Plus. Someone has to hang around the island to at least report it if the island decides to blow itself to pieces."

"Anyways, I'll leave you guys be for the night, and I'll see you in a few weeks. Ivy, can you come outside with me for a minute? I want to know if you need anything special done at your restricted area sites?"

"Sure thing." Ivy said. Everyone knew that that was not the real reason that he wanted to talk to her. No, he wanted to say his goodbyes to her quietly, without other ears around.

She followed him outside.

"You may never be able to come back. If something happens." Alex said to her. He didn't touch her, but the heat between them was undeniable.

"We'll be back as soon as the rangers let us." Ivy said to him, reaching out to break the touch barrier for the first time in weeks, and took his hand. Her touch was electric, and shot straight to his heart. He felt his whole chest clench in response, and realized that this was what being mortal felt like.

"There's so much I want to tell you, but there's no time right now." Alex decided to change approaches.

"Why don't you come with us?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"I can't." Alex explained himself further. "It's not a hero complex. It's a duty."

"I'll be waiting, if you change your mind." Ivy said. "We can make room for you where it's safe."

"I've never been one to run away from danger. Not for... years and years. Now isn't the time to start." Alex laughed at himself, for he had almost said "hundreds of years" instead of just years. It was so easy for him to slip around her.

"What is this?" Ivy asked after a moment of silence passed between them. "Us. What are we doing?"

"I have no idea." Alex said. "I know that when you're around, for some reason, every inch of me just comes alive. I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing, but you make me feel alive."

Ivy's grip tightened on his hand, but she said nothing. On impulse, he leaned down, and with his free hand, tipped her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his own. He kissed her. Softly, chastely, but that electricity came back, and Alex felt the heat straight down to his core. Ivy gently pushed him away.

"Come with us. Be safe." She repeated.

"I can't. But I'll be here when you come back. I hope." The hoping bit had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"This isn't really a volcanic eruption scare, is it?" Ivy asked, and Alex shrugged.

"If the island survives, I'll tell you everything. Okay?"

"Deal." Ivy said, knowing that Alex wasn't going to budge on this, for fear that the new information would tempt her to stay, or try to come back.

"Don't come back until it's time. You'll be putting both of us in danger." Alex insisted. Ivy looked at him.

"Contrary to your view of me, I don't actively try to get myself killed. It just happens sometimes."

"I could say the same of myself." Alex said, and Ivy laughed.

"So what is this?" She asked him once again, and he shrugged, leaned down, and placed his lips against hers again, beginning to savor the heat that grew in his body.

"It is what it is."

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