»~........                                          ........~»
~.........                                          .........~
..........                                          ..........
~.........                                          .........~
»~........                                          ........~»
^»~....... »»§                                  §»» .......~»^
†^»~......                                          ......~»^†
@†^»~.....           the road is blocked.           .....~»^†@
§@†^»~.... two  creatures,  alive,  and  a  burning ....~»^†@§
#§@†^»~...    car. the windshield is shattered,     ...~»^†@§#
##§@†^»~..              from outside.               ..~»^†@§##
###§@†^»~.                                          .~»^†@§###
##§@†^»~.. »»§                                  §»» ..~»^†@§##
#§@†^»~...      §»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»§       ...~»^†@§#
§@†^»~.... »»§                                  §»» ....~»^†@§
@†^»~.....                                          .....~»^†@
†^»~......   the womans name is »lynne», she heads  ......~»^†
^»~.......    from the peninsula of kola - called   .......~»^
»~........    there long ago by the depth of the    ........~»
~.........    boring hole, now again returning to   .........~
..........    denser civilization. but she is not   ..........
~.........   human. she has long claws with which   .........~
»~........ she picks out the flesh of her prey and  ........~»
^»~.......    tears at it with her teeth, blood     .......~»^
†^»~......  dripping onto the dirt road. she does   ......~»^†
@†^»~.....       not look up from her killing.      .....~»^†@
§@†^»~....                                          ....~»^†@§
#§@†^»~...     her steed is »hornblende», a dark    ...~»^†@§#
##§@†^»~..    horse, a glowing panther. she's an    ..~»^†@§##
###§@†^»~.    extremely digitgrade thing, with a    .~»^†@§###
##§@†^»~.. polite face. while her regular (and now  ..~»^†@§##
#§@†^»~...  disinterested) mouth is responsible for ...~»^†@§#
§@†^»~....    eating plant matter (mostly fatty     ....~»^†@§
@†^»~.....     fruits like avocado) her tail is     .....~»^†@
†^»~......  carnivorous and has a mouth (and will?) ......~»^†
^»~.......   of its own. the entire tail is hollow  .......~»^
»~........  and juicy, and feels wonderful inside.  ........~»
~.........                                          .........~
.......... »»§                                  §»» ..........
~.........                                          .........~
»~........                                          ........~»
^»~.......                                          .......~»^
†^»~......                                          ......~»^†
@†^»~.....                                          .....~»^†@