.....~«†$§                                          §$†«~.....
....~«†$§@                                          @§$†«~....
...~«†$§@#                                          #@§$†«~...
..~«†$§@##                                          ##@§$†«~..
.~«†$§@###                                          ###@§$†«~.
..~«†$§@## ««§                                  §«« ##@§$†«~..
...~«†$§@#                                          #@§$†«~...
....~«†$§@           the road is blocked.           @§$†«~....
.....~«†$§ two  creatures,  alive,  and  a  burning §$†«~.....
......~«†$     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.  §$†«~.....
......~«†$                                          $†«~......
.......~«† ««§                                  §«« †«~.......
........~«                                          «~........
.......~«†                                          †«~.......
......~«†$                                          $†«~......
.....~«†$§                                          §$†«~.....
....~«†$§@                                          @§$†«~....