@££#$%†-:.                                          .:-†%$#££@
#@£#$%†-:.                                          .:-†%$#£@#
£$†:......                                          ......:†$£
£$%%††::..                                          ..::††%%$£
#@£#$%†-:.                                          .:-†%$#£@#
#@£#$%†-:. --#                                  #-- .:-†%$#£@#
#$††-.....                                          .....-††$#
#@£#$%†-:.           the road is blocked.           .:-†%$#£@#
#@£#$%†-:. two  creatures,  alive,  and  a  burning .:-†%$#£@#
##%-:.....    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  .....::-%#
#@£#$%†-:.  and juicy, and feels wonderful inside.  .:-†%$#£@#
##@£#%†-:.                                          .:-†%#£@##
@£$†--:... --#                                  #-- ...:--†$£@
#$%%-.....                                          .....-%%$#
##@#$%†-:.                                          .:-†%$#@##
@@£#$%†-:.                                          .:-†%$#£@@
#$††---...                                          ...---††$#
£$%†-:....                                          ....:-†%$£