Ted stretched out his arms over his head. He pulled down his blankets, climbed in, and covered himself up to his chin. An hour later, Ted’s eyes started moving erratically, and he was snoring loudly.
Suddenly, Ted felt light and he floated out of his body. Rising above his body, Ted looked down upon his sleeping form and soared out of his house toward the moon. Other apparitions were leaving houses and covered the sky. Apparitions flew to the moon while others floated toward the stars.
Ted’s apparition flew toward the moon and saw a door by its face. The door opened and Ted entered it. Inside the door, Ted found many worlds but was drawn to a blue one. He decided not to fight the current, and allowed it to take him to the blue planet. White fluffy clouds lightly covered the blue planet. A powerful current forced Ted to land on its surface.
After Ted landed on the blue planet, he brushed dust off his pants and hands. The dust looked as fine as the blue chalk cube off pool tables. He shook his head and started to walk toward a tree. Underneath the tree, a woman spread a blanket out then started to remove food from a picnic basket.
An enormous hunger grew inside of Ted and his stomach growled at the thought of food. Blood started to flow from his fingers as claws shot out of them. Black fur covered his body and Ted was forced to go down on his hands and knees. Canine teeth developed inside of his mouth, cutting his lip. His jaws and the nose area jumped out to make room for Ted’s new teeth. When the changes of Ted’s body were complete, he had turned into a sungmanitu tanka, a wolf-like creature.
Instinctually, Ted lowered his black wolf body near the ground and slowly stalked the woman. When Ted was close enough to the woman, he chased her up a tree. There she watched Ted eating her picnic lunch. Other animals ate the food from the woman’s picnic. Splinters of the basket were spread all over the blanket.
Among the animals that ate the food from the woman’s picnic was a cetan, a hawk-like creature. It cautiously approached Ted. Somehow Ted knew that the black hawk was a friend and allowed it to jump on his back. The black hawk remained on Ted’s back as he walked across the blue sand. Finally, the duo arrived at an orange watering hole.
Dropping to the edge of the watering hole, the black hawk started to drink. Ted, as a black wolf, looked around. When he decided that it was safe, he started to drink from the orange watering hole. After they drank their fill, their mouths were colored orange.
As Ted and the black hawk slept, their bodies started to change. The black hawk lost all of its black feathers and started to get larger. It turned into a lovely woman.
Meanwhile, Ted was also changing back to his human form. After their metamorphosis, the pair was totally human.
When the pair woke up, they looked hard at each other. Ted extended his left hand. “I’m Ted and your name is?” He hoped that she understood English.
The woman accepted Ted’s hand. “I’m Annie. Where are you from? I’m from Texas.”
“I’m from Iowa, but I’m currently living in Florida.” Surprised that both of them were from the same country, he asked, “Have you been here long?”
“Not sure.” It seemed like she hadn’t been here long, but she didn’t have a sense of time. “How about you?”
“Not sure. Like you I have no sense of time, but I don’t think I have been here that long.”
“I’m going to go to the pyramids. Do you want to come along?”
“Why there?” Ted felt drawn to them too and wondered why.
“I don’t know, but I feel drawn by them.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
“I don’t mind. I could use someone to talk to.”
After the pair walked a few miles, Ted looked at the sky and saw a huge orange cloud in the light purple sky, and then he sniffed the air. “I sense a storm coming.”
Annie turned into the black hawk and soared. It didn’t take her long to find shelter. She landed on Ted’s hand, then flew in front of Ted, and changed back to her human form. “There is a cave over there just past the next clearing.”
“Okay.”
Ted and Annie ran for cover as it started to rain. When Ted and Annie arrived at the cave, they were dripping orange water from their bodies. They looked in the darkness and couldn’t see anything. The pair settled down with their arms around each other.
Suddenly a mato, a bear-like creature, came out from the back of the cave. Annie and Ted slowly slid out of the cave. The bear approached them moving its paws up and down. Slowly, the bear’s paw started to change. It was becoming human. Falling to his knees, the man looked at Ted and Annie. “Sorry I scared you. Why don’t you two come in out of the rain?”
“Okay thanks,” Ted said as he and Annie walked back into the cave. “I’m Ted. This is Annie.” Ted extended his hand.
“I’m Dave,” he said as he accepted Ted’s hand. After releasing Ted’s hand, Dave extended his hand toward Annie.
Annie accepted it. “Nice to meet you, Dave.”
The trio sat down in a circle and watched it rain. “I feel that we are somehow linked together,” Annie said.
“I feel it too,” Ted said.
“Are you two going to the pyramids?” Dave asked.
“Yes, we are. I feel drawn by it,” Annie said.
“I also feel strangely drawn by some force,” Ted said.
“Do you mind if I tagged along?”
“I don’t mind,” Ted said. “I think that it’s our destiny for us, three, to be together.”
The trio settled down to sleep. Outside of the cave it was still pouring rain. An occasional boom broke the silence of the night. Small animals carefully walked into the cave. They steered wide of the trio, but some of them just stood and watched them sleep.
Finally in the morning, Ted, Annie, and Dave woke up to the sound of birds singing. The ground was still wet and orange from the heavy rain, with a few puddles formed around the cave. The trio stretched out their bodies then started to walk toward the pyramids.
A deer pranced in front of them. It stopped and looked at the trio, almost daring the trio to chase it. Ted’s eyes turned crimson, and he fell down on his hands and knees. Minutes later, Ted transformed into a black wolf. Also Annie and Dave transformed into a black hawk and a black bear. Swiftly the deer ran away from the trio. They chased after the deer as bloodlust grew inside the trio. Fear ran through the deer’s veins as the trio gained upon it.
Timed perfectly, Ted jumped onto the back of the deer. With determination the deer kicked like a bronco. Slipping from his grip, Ted fell and landed in a deep pit. Deep cuts bled from the deer’s back. Cuts made the deer speed up its pace and it left Dave and Annie in its tracks.
Dave looked in the deep pit and waved his left claw. Annie flew high up a tree to rip down a long vine-like branch. The branch fell into the pit with Ted. Pacing to and fro, Ted eagerly waited to see how Annie and Dave were going to get him out of the pit. As the black hawk, Annie landed into the pit and grabbed the branch and flew out of the deep hole. When Annie was in the air above Dave, she dropped the branch to him. With human hands Dave caught the branch, he tied one end of it, and dropped the rest of the vine to Ted. Human hands caught the branch then Ted pulled himself out of the pit.
“I wonder who dug that pit,” Ted said.
“I don’t know,” Dave said.
“We did,” a tall native said as he directed his group to surround Dave and Ted. The natives carried spears and pointed them right at Dave and Ted. The natives resembled gorilla-like creatures. “You are coming with us and if you resist you will be killed at the spot that you stand in,” the leader threatened. Raising their arms, Dave and Ted followed the natives down the worn path. From the sky, Annie followed them.
When the natives arrived at their campsite, they forced Dave and Ted to stand in front of two poles. The natives positioned Ted and Dave so their backs were leaning against the poles. They forced Dave and Ted’s hands behind the pole and tied them.
“When the next sun comes, we will tear the stripes of flesh from your bodies and devour them,” said the leader of the natives.
Annie landed on a branch facing Ted and Dave. They saw Annie and nodded their heads to signal that they see her. Finally night arrived and Dave and Ted’s muscles ached from being tied to the posts. Under the cover of darkness, Annie walked to the poles carrying a knife. Forcing the knife through Dave and Ted’s restraints, she freed them. The trio retreated to the wood and fled from their captors.
As Dave, Annie, and Ted ran into the woods, a native woke up and shouted, “Our prisoners are escaping through the woods.” With the alarm sent to the natives, the trio hid in the woods. They looked at each other then transformed themselves into a black wolf, black hawk, and a black bear. When the natives attacked Ted, Dave, and Annie, they started to protect themselves. Dave used his front claws to club some of the natives over their heads. Ted leapt on and tore open some of the natives’ throats while Annie flew and clawed at the natives’ faces and heads. Bleeding from their wounds, the natives who were able to fled back to their campsite. As a black bear, a black wolf, and a black hawk, the trio returned to their journey to the pyramids.
Dirt and blood coated the trio as they arrived at a small lake. On the other side, the pyramids stood. The trio looked at each other and started to swim across the lake. Their human bodies pierced the current of the lake. Dripping water from their bodies, Dave, Ted, and Annie walked to the black pyramid.
“I’m drawn to this one,” Dave said.
“Me too,” said Annie.
“I feel drawn to the white one,” said Ted.
“I guess this is where we part company,” Annie said and hugged Ted.
Dave extended his right hand to Ted and he accepted it. After shaking Ted’s hand, Dave and Annie entered the black pyramid. With tears in his eyes, Ted watched Dave and Annie enter the black pyramid.
Ted walked a little bit and entered the white pyramid. He climbed a flight of stairs and entered a huge white room. There Ted stood in front of a white portal. Walking through the portal, a bright light erupted from it, and Ted was standing beside his bunk looking down at his body. Tears flowed down his cheeks. Ted wiped them off, and entered his body.
Banging on the bars woke up Ted. When Ted lowered his feet on the floor, the prison guard said, “It’s time.” The prison guard handcuffed him and shackled his legs. A camera kept an eye on the two.
“Would you have a smoke on you, chief?”
“No, you already had your last smoke and your last meal. Not only that you are going to smoke,” the prison guard laughed. “Keep moving or I’ll have to shoot you right here.”
“Okay.” Ted continued down his long walk to the electric chair.
Ted and the guard walked down the long dark hall. Cameras watched their progress on Ted’s last walk.
Ten minutes later, the red door opened and three guards led Ted to the chair and strapped him. Ted looked at the little window. One of the guards slipped the black hood over his face. A sour smell irritated Ted’s nostrils and he sneezed. “This hood stinks. Do you ever clean these out?”
The guards looked at each other and laughed.
The executor pulled the switch when everyone was away from Ted. Ted’s body began to smoke and to shake. Ted clenched his teeth to fight the pain. His muscles clenched then his eyes exploded onto the hood. Ted’s soul pulled out of his body then rushed through a bright red light. When it stopped, Ted found himself on a red planet. He smelled what seemed like sulfur.
Ted started to walk and noticed that the sky was as red as the planet’s surface. Smoke rose to his nose then he felt his feet burn. “Ouch! What the blazes are going on here?”
“You’re in my world now, Ted,” a deep voice broke the silence. A winged red figure landed on the red world’s surface.
“No, no!” Ted said as he noticed that the winged figure had horns, a beard, and cloven feet.
The devil pushed Ted down on the hot surface. “I like my souls well done.”
Ted screamed as his body began to smoke.
This is an original creative work by Salty Vixen. This story/article, including its characters, plot, and descriptive content, is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized copying, sharing, reposting, or reproduction in any format is strictly prohibited. This content may not be used for AI training, data scraping, machine learning, or any form of artificial intelligence development without explicit written permission from Salty Vixen Publishing LLC. Violators will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.
