STORYTELLER

Wabeno - Part 1, Chapter 1 Peter Dietrich wore an uncharacteristic smile. Four generations of his family gathered around the table, sharing warm conversation and reminiscing. The men wore expensive tailored suits, and the women donned designer dresses with diamond jewelry. They came from nearby and far away, taking time from golf and garden parties to celebrate their patriarch’s eightieth birthday. Outside, the sun sank below the horizon. Ten yards from the dining room wind

Wabeno - Part 1, Chapter 5 Archie Fayette woke before dawn and stumbled to the bathroom. On his way to the toilet, he stopped at the mirror and pressed a finger to his forehead—another liver spot. Damned things are sprouting up like mushrooms. He took two more steps, dropped his boxers, and waited. Nothing happened. He tried to relax. A few days ago, he turned on the faucet to coax himself into going. Not a moment before conceding defeat, the waterworks turned on. Oh, tha

Wabeno - Part 1, Chapter 11 The sun dipped below the western horizon, casting the forest into twilight. Tall white birch trees swayed in the breeze, standing as silent sentinels witnessing Wabeno’s revenge. As the shadows grew longer, night creatures scurried near the clearing, curious about the strange ritual. Through the thin veil that separates the spirit world from Earth, the manitous watched. Many opposed Wabeno’s actions, but a few approved and lent their power to his

Wendigo War - Part I, Chapter 9 The Community Building contained three offices, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and the conference center, a large open room filled with fold-out metal chairs. A podium flanked by two long tables stood at the front, and a smaller table with a laptop and projector. On the left, seven chairs surrounded a wooden frame on the floor. The others remarked on the curious arrangement, but no one ventured to guess its purpose. As the hearing drew near, fou

Wendigo War - Part I, Chapter 11 Awake. Standing in a lake; No, on a lake. On the water. How is…? Where am I? Brilliant flashes above, thunderous roaring all around and within, terror. Boom-Ba-Ba-Boom-Boom-Ba-Boom. Lightning flashes behind a vast, dark coming cloud, illuminating an avian god, a Thunder Bird, over the muskeg, with wings outstretched in powerful supplication to a great mystery existing within and beyond space and time. Successive flashes sustain the imag

Wendigo War - Part I, Chapter 12 “Whole villages are dying from diseases caused by the pollution,” the woman concluded. Ba-Ba-Boom-Boom-Ba-Ba-Boom. Thunder from the drum. Outside, the storm raged. Inside, another roared through the crowd. John clutched at his chest, his eyes bulged in terror, and he collapsed. “Christ, he’s having a heart attack!” Paul shouted. The hearing stopped, and stunned commotion spread through the crowd as two nurses rushed forward. A young nurs