.........:                                          :.........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
.......... ~~#                                  #~~ ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........           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.  $†=~:.....
....:~=†$#                                          #$†=~:....
...:~=†$#¶ ~~#                                  #~~ ¶#$†=~:...
..:~=†$#¶#                                          #¶#$†=~:..
.:~=†$#¶##                                          ##¶#$†=~:.
..:~=†$#¶#                                          #¶#$†=~:..
...:~=†$#¶                                          ¶#$†=~:...
....:~=†$#                                          #$†=~:....