A Saga of Blood
By StormDrake

A deer stood at the edge of the pond, her large brown eyes darting about nervously. She took a deep breath, drinking in the forest's scents, searching the air for any sign of concealed predators. She listened. Birds sang merrily in the branches overhead, and insects chirped in the underbrush. A cool breeze blew over the surface of the water, free from any dangerous smells. She saw no signs of hidden peril. She sensed no danger. So finally, the deer bent her graceful neck, putting her muzzle to the surface of the pond. And she drank deeply, filling her belly with the clear water. A lack of rain in recent weeks had left the land dry, and all the animals were thirsty.

Her eyes closed, enjoying the taste of the liquid, the deer failed to notice that the danger lay behind her, downwind, hidden in the bushes.

With no warning save a split-second tensing of its muscles, a large shape leapt at the deer from the foliage. It knocked her down with a powerful swipe of its foreclaws, and clamped down on her neck with its sharp beak. The deer struggled for only a second before her eyes glazed over. Her body gave a final convulsive twitch, and then fell limp. The creature released the deer and took a step back to examine its kill. It spread its wings slightly in a defensive stance, an instinctive action meant to ward off competing predators. It bent its feline hind legs, and stretched its avian forelegs forward. Its tail swished from side to side. But there was no challenge to its kill, so the creature bent down and began to feed on the body of the deer. The hunter had triumphed, the hunt ending in victory.

But unbeknownst to the creature, it too was hunted.

Further downwind and to the left Aimee crouched, an arrow knocked and held in her good hand, a longbow grasped in her left. She was totally silent and stone-faced as she took aim, sighting the creature down the length of her arrow. Not so much as a single bead of sweat adorned her forehead. A tree could have crashed to the forest floor inches from her body, and she would have been oblivious to the sound, so deep was her concentration. Aimee knew that she would only get one shot, two if she were exceedingly lucky. They had to count. She steadily drew back the bowstring, keeping the creature sighted down the length of the shaft. And then, taking a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly and muttering a prayer softly to herself, Aimee let go of her bowstring.

The arrow flew straight and true, plunging into creature's neck. It rose up on its hind legs and gave out an ear-rending screech. Blood flowed from the creature's throat wound, and its cries were half-gurgled. It turned around to face its attacker, and a second arrow plunged directly into the creature's feathered forehead. This time the monster made no sound; it merely collapsed, twitching slightly. Its tail swished unconsciously for several moments before falling still.

Aimee drew close to the monster, making sure it was dead. The creature was a griffon, an amalgam of lion and eagle with the forelegs and claws of a great bird of prey and the hindquarters of the mightiest of feline predators. Its head was that of a falcon or eagle, with a sharp avian beak and a thick feathered mane. Great brown wings adorned its back, granting the creature the ability of flight for short distances and brief periods of time. Aimee was all too familiar with the biology and habits of the creature she had spent the last few weeks hunting down. Thick blood, already drying, stained the creature's neck, head, and the ground beneath it. Blood began to turn the edge of the clear pond a reddish brown.

Blood… how much human blood had this creature shed? The griffon had been terrorizing an area of almost a hundred square miles for over a month now, moving in and claiming the territory as its own, killing or driving off all other predators. It was young; this had probably been the monster's first stake since leaving the nest. But that was no excuse. Its most recent attack on a village had left five dead and two transformed. The town had done what they could to fight the menace, but peaceful agricultural communities were simply no match for a griffon. Those who called this region home were farmers, not fighters, and they did not have the resources to fight off a monster of this sort. But unbeknownst to them, Aimee had taken it upon herself to kill the griffon. And now, she had succeeded, avenging at least seven and sparing untold others from death or worse.

The usual question plagued Aimee's mind: why? Why do so much for a people who hated her as much as - if not worse than - the creature she had just slain? It wasn't as if they cared about her. It wasn't like they would be thankful. They would just notice the sudden absence of a griffon, chalk it off to either natural or divine intervention, and move on with their lives, until the next time something dangerous reared its head. Aimee wouldn't benefit in the slightest. Why did she risk her life for these people? They would kill her just as swift as she had killed the griffon. They had already forgotten her…

Aimee pushed the questions from her mind, telling herself that this was the right thing to do, that she had saved lives, that there were a dozen reasons why she could continue, et cetera. But every day the questions grew louder and more demanding, and the answers less convincing. The only certainty was that she had lost her humanity to creatures like the griffon, and she owed it to every monster on the planet to pay them back for the life she had lost.

Aimee looked down at her body, a body forced upon her by fate three years earlier. Once she had possessed beautiful long legs. Now she had only a twisting serpent's tail, three times the length her legs had been. Smooth green scales covered her tail, extending up over her hips and slim waist, past her breasts and her back to stop finally at the base of neck. The yellow underbelly plates of a snake covered the front of her body, from throat to tail tip. Her belly was without a navel, her breasts melded together beneath serpent's scales. Her left arm and hand were covered with the same green scales. The fingers of her left hand had been fused beneath snake's skin into an almost mitten-like shape, useless for anything more complex than holding her bow. Only her right arm, head, and neck remained human, reminders of her lost humanity, a statement that she was neither human nor monster, but something in-between. Her hair was red and long, held up in a bun; when unfurled it hung thick to just below her waist. Aimee hadn't taken a knife or a pair of scissors to her hair since she was transformed. On her back she wore a dark brown leather backpack, half-full of supplies, and a quiver of arrows. Her eyes were the same shade of green as her body; her face slim and pretty but hardened by premature aging and too many tears.

At sixteen years old Aimee had been both beautiful and human. But monsters don't care how beautiful someone is. Three years ago, on a clandestine overnight camping trip with several friends, it had suddenly started raining. Seeking shelter, the four girls found a dry cave, where they thought they would be safe until the tempest died down. But they discovered too late that the cavern was not uninhabited. A family of nagas, serpents with human heads and faces, had kept to themselves in the cave, thus avoiding detection by town purging parties. But invading the nagas' home was a territorial violation; though the creatures might have human visages, they were little smarter than their serpentine cousins. They instinctually attacked the teenage girls, who attempted to defend themselves as best they could. But that turned out to be their mistake. Both Aimee and her friend Emily came in contact with the blood of one of the nagas they had managed to wound. In the heat of the battle, they had forgotten that anyone who touches the blood of a monster himself or herself transforms part-way into that monster. And once blooded, the victim's own blood carried the same transformative curse. Emily began her metamorphosis almost immediately, growing scales on her arm that quickly spread to cover the rest of her body. Aimee's transformation was much slower, but turned out to be far more extensive.

The other two girls ran home, leaving Aimee and Emily for dead or worse. Neither of the two newly-blooded girls returned home that night. Emily, once she realized what was happening, took a hunting knife and plunged it into her own chest, choosing death over life as a half-monster. Aimee tried to follow suit, but could not bring herself to do it. She just couldn't kill herself, even when she knew death to be a far better fate than life. She was just too weak. So Aimee decided to run away instead. She took time to bury Emily's body in a grove near the cave, erecting a small memorial for her lost friend. Aimee salvaged what she could from the remains of their camp, including Emily's knife, and took off into the forest. Over the course of three days, easily the worst three days of her life, Aimee changed. In a few days her transformation stopped, and Aimee's new life began. She learned the ways of the wilderness by necessity, and soon grew accustomed to both her new shape and her new life. Having no legs and twelve feet of tail took some time to adjust to. But somehow, she managed.

Six months later, during an attempt to return to her family and insure their safety, Aimee learned that her parents denied ever having a daughter; secretly, they couldn't bear the shame of having a blood mutant for a child. Aimee's 'friends' had returned to the village and told everyone of her and Emily's metamorphoses. But rather than admit that their little girl had been transformed, Aimee's mother and father denied sixteen years of parenthood. And the rest of the town went along with the charade.

That night, Aimee returned to the nagas' cave and slaughtered every last monster she could find.

She burned the corpses of the monsters, so that their blood could never again steal the life of a child. Now blooded, Aimee was herself immune to further mutation by the blood of other monsters. She grudgingly admitted that this was something of a blessing, but it came at the cost of her own blood taking on the monster's transformative curse. However, Aimee wasn't satisfied with killing just the nagas. She went off in search of other monsters. And three years later, Aimee continued to kill such creatures when she found them. She would continue to do so until her death. Aimee knew that she would never win back her life. But maybe, just maybe, she would save the life of someone else, and give that person a chance Aimee never had.

Aimee looked back at the griffon. She had work to do, and staring at herself while having flashbacks was not going to get the job done. She turned towards the creature laying at the edge of the lake, the dead deer nearby. Aimee felt sad for the deer; like the naga woman, she too was a victim. Searching the area within sight of the monster, Aimee found enough dry sticks and pieces of wood to cover the griffon's body and create a pyre. Then, she took off her backpack and rummaged through it, taking out a book of matches. She opened the book and pulled a match from the dozen or so that were left. Aimee was running low on matches; she would have to steal some from a passing trade caravan some time soon. She held the matchbook in her bad hand and struck the match against the strike pad with her good one. At once the end of the match burst into a red blaze. Aimee brought the flame down to the wood, dry from the drought and perfect for kindling. Within a few minutes a thick column of smoke rose from the burning remains of the griffon. Aimee stood a fair distance away, watching until there was nothing left but bones and ash, observing to make sure the fire didn't spread to the rest of the forest. Only when the embers had at last died out did she turn away, content that the danger had been destroyed down to the very last drop.

The world was a terrible place indeed when such creatures walked the Earth, bringing death and worse to innocent people. In a recent attack on one village, the griffon had been wounded, and three children had been exposed to the monster's blood. They were transformed, each cursed with the partial physical appearance of a griffon. All three children were put to death by the town, an act considered by most to be humane, even a blessing. "Blood is a fate worse than death," went the saying. And Aimee agreed. Anything was better than a life shunned by friends and family, feared and hated by humanity itself. Even death. But Aimee refused to die until she had dealt personal vengeance upon every monster on the face of the Earth.

Aimee adjusted her backpack, glanced once last time over her shoulder, and took to the trail. She had spent the past six months scouting the area, looking for any monsters, and observing those she found… then killing them. But now that the griffon was dead, this area was clear, and it was time to move on. She couldn't travel on the trails directly, for fear of being seen, but Aimee followed the roads from the forest, paying careful note to travelers. Few people made the dangerous journeys between towns. Monster attacks were frequent. Money was spent on offensive and defensive strategies, rather then on such unimportant trivialities as commerce and trade. So those people Aimee found on the roads usually had a good reason to be there. She would hide and listen to see what they were up to. With Hunters or other purging parties she was especially inquisitive. She could learn what areas to avoid, or what areas needed her services.

So for the rest of the day, Aimee slithered through the trees, seeking a new town or new monsters. Another "bonus" to her condition was that she could travel for far longer without resting than she would have been able to as a human. Work was distributed equally among a greater number of muscles, and her tail was far stronger than her legs had ever been. In the evening she made camp, far enough from the road that her campfire would not be seen. She curled up and rested, the fire keeping her bulk warm until she fell asleep. As usual she didn't dream, and the next morning Aimee hit the road once again. For the majority of the next day she traveled. She never saw another person. Until late that afternoon, at least.

Aimee left the roadside to get a drink of water from a nearby pond, and to check for signs of monsters. As she returned, she heard the sounds of a large cart being pulled along by horses. Silently, she got as close to the path as possible, to see what was coming while remaining hidden. A quarter mile up the path, Aimee saw two men sitting at the front of a cart, pulled along by four horses. The cart itself looked like a prison car, and Aimee's suspicion was confirmed as it drew closer; three of the four sides were made up of thick metal bars, and the top was similarly covered. The back consisted of a large door, and was locked with a padlock. Aimee's curiosity was piqued, so she crept closer for a better look, and waited for the cart to make its way down the path towards the naga woman hiding in the bushes.

Inside the cart was a person. They were still a ways down the road, but Aimee could tell that it was a woman. A teenage girl. Leaning against the cart, her back towards the drivers, her right side facing Aimee's edge of the path. She was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and green shorts. She was barefoot, and was hunched over, head between her legs. But as the cart drew closer still, Aimee saw that things were not as they had seemed. The girl was not wearing shorts after all. Her lower body was in fact covered with smooth green scales. A black diamond pattern decorated her bottom, hips and thighs. She was a blood mutant! Aimee was shocked. Most towns had blood mutants killed or exiled. She had never heard of one carting them out as prisoners. Aimee felt obligated to rescue the girl, as she felt obligation to help all her fellow freaks. But she didn't know the situation, so was hesitant to act. The blood mutant might have done something to deserve imprisonment. Aimee continued to observe the scene, options running through her mind.

The girl lifted her head. Her hair was long, straight, and black. Her skin was gray and slightly furred. Two thin horns spiraled from her forehead. Her right hand ended in a black cloven hoof. Aimee was at a loss as to what kind of blood mutation this was. It failed to follow the form of any monster she was familiar with. The legs especially confused her; the scales ended at her knees, and below them was the skin of a normal human being. Her feet were human. But above the scales, which seemed to end at the waist, her skin was gray. Aimee saw snake and goat in the girl in the cart. What sort of monster could have transformed her?

Then things really got weird: the girl lifted her other head from between her knees. Aimee almost dropped her bow in shock. The girl had two heads? The second bore little resemblance to the first. It was catlike, with large pointed ears, whiskers, a muzzle-like face, and thick brown hair. It lifted its left arm to brush away a lank strand of hair, and Aimee saw that it had light brown skin and ended in a large paw.

What the hell is going on here? thought Aimee.

Whatever had blooded this poor girl had wrought severe changes to her body. No one could experience such a transformation without suffering extreme pain and trauma. Crime or no crime, the men driving the cart couldn't have benevolent intentions in mind. Aimee had to help this girl somehow. And the only way she could do that was to get rid of the human drivers.

The cart was moving along very slowly, so Aimee still had a few moments before it reached her position in the forest next to the path. Drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, Aimee took aim. This was quite a bit different from making a headshot on a griffon, but even before her transformation Aimee had excelled in archery. Three years of necessity had honed that skill. Aimee drew back, and fired. The arrow flew straight and swift, and embedded itself firmly into the wall of the cart, between the two men, at head-level.

The reaction was almost comical. Each man looked at the arrow, then at each other, and then immediately leapt off the cart and onto the backs of the front two horses. One of the men reached down and disconnected the yokes, and they both brought their horses to bear, turning around and heading back down the path as quickly as possible. The whole scene took all of ten seconds. They galloped around a bend in the path and were gone.

Aimee slithered up to the cart. The two-headed girl was looking back after the two humans. As Aimee approached, she - or was it they? - turned to look at her. There was fear in both pairs of eyes. Aimee came up and held her hands up. "Don't be afraid. I'm here to save you. I'm here to free you."

The girl looked at her for a moment, a look of confusion obvious on both faces. Then, the feline head asked, "Save us?"

For a split second, Aimee was afraid she had made a mistake.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" The girl leapt to the bars. Both heads started thanking her, crying. All of Aimee's doubt melted away. She slithered to the door at the other end. It was locked by a large padlock.

"Do you know where the key to this door is?"

The goat-like head stopped crying, and the other one followed suite. "Home," said the goat-head. "They left the key back in the town. They were just going to drive me out here and leave me here. They were going to ride the horses back."

"Leave you? Those bastards!" Aimee felt her anger rise. "How could anyone call themselves human and leave a girl to starve out in the wilderness? I… never mind. I can get this open." Aimee took the backpack off one arm, and rummaged into it until she found a hammer. "This should work. Hold on."

Aimee struck the lock as hard as she could with the hammer. She hit again and again. After a dozen or so hits, the lock broke and fell off. The door swung open. "There you go. Come on out."

"Oh thank you," said both heads again. The girl got up - and Aimee saw that she had a tail. A very long serpent's tail sprouted from below her spine. But at the end of the five-foot tail was the head of a snake. A full snake grew from her buttocks! As for the scales, they did indeed cover from waist to mid-thigh. The yellow underbelly plates covered from her abdomen down the insides of her thighs as far as the green scaled did.

"My name is Aimee," said the naga woman. "What's yours?"

"Tara," replied both heads in unison. She leapt from the cart and stood up. She had the body and mannerisms of a teenager, a good five and a half feet tall and somewhat skinny. Her goat head's hair hung midway down her back, while her lion head's was somewhat shorter, albeit thicker. Her tail hung to the ground, and was a little longer.

"Both… both of you are Tara?"

"There's only one of me," responded the feline head. "I just have two heads."

"Oh." Aimee found that a little confusing. But then again, she had never really known another blood mutant. Let alone one with two heads. And after three years of solitude, Aimee was in the mood to talk. "What… what kind of monster blooded you?"

Tara had been walking away, towards the front of the cart. She stopped suddenly, turned to Aimee, and gave her a puzzled glance. "Isn't… isn't it obvious? Chimaera."

"Oh." Of course now Aimee made sense of it. Lion, goat, and serpent. Three heads. She had heard of chimaeras, but had never encountered one. They were very rare. And very dangerous. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, so am I." Tara walked up to the horses and unyoked them. She grabbed the reigns in her paw, and led the horses back towards Aimee.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm sending these horses back home." responded the goat-head. She walked passed Aimee to the road behind the cart. She let go of the horses, and struck them hard on the rear with her hoof. The horses neighed and took off in the direction the two men had taken. "They'll make it home. It's not like they were part of this. They were just victims."

"Just like us," muttered Aimee.

Tara turned to her. "Maybe," said the lion-head. "Maybe we're the victims of others. But maybe we're victims of ourselves… Anyway, I don't know about you, but I'm going to make the best out of this. I'm not saying I like being a blood mutant... But I can't just sulk and wish for better days. I am going to take advantage of what I've been allotted and make a difference."

It sounded like Tara was speaking as much to herself as to Aimee, but the naga woman was impressed by the girl's attitude nonetheless. "So then, what are you going to do?"

The look on Tara's faces turned thoughtful. "I... I don't know," said the lion-head at last. "What are you doing? I mean, you didn't travel here from distant lands just to rescue me, right? I was only blooded last week."

"Last week? So short a time, and you're already comfortable with your form?"

"Comfortable?" Her goat head spat. "Like hell I am. I'm just trying to be positive. Optimism is better than killing myself. I changed quickly. It took only a few minutes. I barely remember it… my memories of the whole thing are real blurry. But I'm getting used to my new body rapidly. Kinda have to, if you know what I mean."

Aimee liked the girl's outlook. It was a refreshing change to her own brooding. "So then, now what? Now that you're free, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Hey, you freed me. I'll follow you around for a while. What else can I do?"

"Uh… that may not be the best of ideas. I'm not exactly the best role model out there. I go around killing monsters to make sure they don't mutate other people. I don't think you would want to watch me do that for the rest of your life."

"Excuse me?" Both heads reacted in shock. "You go around killing things? Isn't that a little… extreme? Not to mention slightly obsessive."

"Extreme? Look, I lost my entire life to a bunch of monsters. I lost everything! My family no longer acknowledges that I even exist! All because of a few random nagas! I lost everything, and I owe it to others to make sure they don't lose everything too."

Tara smiled. "You think you have it bad? Look at me. I'm a lot worse off than you are, at least physically. And you didn't get caged and carted off to die." She paused, then started again. "I don't mean to make comparisons, I'm sorry… but you really need to look at things in a brighter light. You got the right idea, I think, but you can't just kill everything. You've gotta try something more constructive."

"Like what?"

Tara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a town or something for blood mutants. You know, somewhere where people like us can go and be safe. Where we can get help or socialize with others of our own kind. I don't know. That would be pretty cool. But whatever you do, don't just go around slaughtering monsters. That won't solve anything."

Aimee sighed. The girl had a point, much to her chagrin. Aimee herself had deliberated on this subject before. But Tara's words went against everything Aimee had thought and felt for the past few years. And Aimee still didn't feel that it was the right path for herself to follow. "But what about you?" she asked Tara. "What about the chimaera that transformed you? Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to at least make sure it doesn't kill or transform others?"

Tara's lion head flinched, but only for the briefest of moments. "…I guess. But there's got to be a better way than killing. I was always taught to honor life. That's why the elders didn't just have me killed. Even as a blood mutant, they respected other lives. So they had me brought out to become subject to nature. That way, if I died, it was not by their hands. Their wisdom isn't something I'm ready to drop just like that."

"You say this about the people who were going to abandon you in the middle of the forest, locked up and unable to free yourself?" Aimee shook her head. "Whatever. Anyway, you just became a mutant. I've been one for three years. You don't know how bad it gets. You might be optimistic now, but after a while the optimism goes away, drowned by the reality of the world we live in."

Tara's goat-head gazed at Aimee while her lion-head looked down and sighed. "I can't argue with you there. But what happens now? Are you just going to continue killing monsters for the next fifty years, knowing that you can't kill them all? Are you going to leave me here alone? Neither is a really good option."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Rethink your life. Do something else. I can help; it's not like I have anything else to do. But you've definitely got to try helping others without bloodshed."

Aimee felt like screaming. Her head hurt. She still felt such hatred and loathing, not only for monsters but also for people like Tara's elders. But she still saw value in what the girl said. She knew Tara was right, but she couldn't undo years of conditioning just like that. She had no idea what to do. "Okay… I think we should get off the road before someone comes back. Get out of here. We'll make camp, and then discuss what to do."

"Sounds like a plan."

Five hours later, the sun had traded places in the sky with a white crescent moon. Aimee and her new companion Tara sat around a campfire, eating fruit from a nearby tree and chatting about nothing in particular.

"So what's it like, having too heads? I mean, no offense, but I would find that so… awkward."

"It was, at first." Tara's lion-head was talking as her goat-head ate an apple. "And I guess it still is. I mean, each of my heads has its own perceptions. I guess I might even have two separate minds. But I force myself to think of me as one person. Otherwise I'm afraid I'd go crazy. I don't know… I just don't think about it. It's something I feel, but can't really explain. Like how you slither rather than walk. To me, that seems bizarre. But to you, it's natural."

"What about your… your snake? Is that uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, he can be. But at least he doesn't bite me or other people. I have basic control over my tail, but he's still another animal. I can't see from his eyes, and I can barely feel what he feels. I influence him more than control him. But he seems to tolerate me as much as I tolerate him. We've got a truce going on, I guess."

"Him? How do you know it's a male snake?"

Tara looked uneasy for a moment. "I guess I just know." She smiled. "Besides, now that I'm a blood mutant, I figure the closest I'll be getting to a guy any time soon is the one attached to my butt."

The more Aimee got to know Tara, the more she was impressed by the teenage girl. She said she was only fifteen, but yet Tara seemed more mature and intelligent than any fifteen-year-old Aimee had ever known, herself included. After all she had been through, Tara still had such a positive attitude on life. Aimee could not figure out how she continued to smile at herself, even after her transformation. Her new body was so different, so vastly changed from her previous form, that Aimee couldn't figure out why she wasn't suicidal or something. Her positive attitude was a mystery to her.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Tara shifted position slightly. "I always thought snakes were cold-blooded. Are you?"

"No, I'm warm-blooded. That at least is something I kept from my days as a human."

"Okay… but then, don't you eat a lot? It must require a ton of energy to keep your entire body warm, right? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but that tail is a lot of mass to maintain."

"Why are you so smart?" muttered Aimee wryly. "I… I don't know. I do eat a lot more than I used to, but I also burn more energy in my daily activities. I travel a lot. Maybe… maybe I am partly cold-blooded. I mean, I'm always hungry in the morning, but I have no problem moving around. I travel pretty much all day, every day. Maybe I keep warm by constant movement, and when I stop in the evening I slow down, and fall asleep. I do absorb heat from the campfire. There have been times when I didn't light a fire, and the next morning was always more difficult to wake up. And don't get me started about Winter…"

Tara took it all in intently. "Cool. I'm enough of a mammal that I don't have that problem. But that makes sense."

They chatted away into the late hours of the night. Aimee had forgotten how much she enjoyed socializing with others. After three years, she had almost forgotten the joy of conversation. Eventually, Aimee started getting tired. Tara started nodding off, so they called it a night and went to sleep. The campfire continued to burn, keeping them warm in the chill night and keeping lesser predators at bay. And once again, Aimee had no dreams that night.

Aimee awoke with a start. It was still dark, but dawn's light was just beginning to arrive. Something out of her range of sight was moving. Something large, and definitely not Tara. The girl was lying across the remains of the fire, facing Aimee. She was motionless, but her eyes were wide open. They were filled with fear.

And rage.

Aimee didn't move.

She lay there motionless, listening to the creature behind her. She heard deep breathing, but it sounded odd. Almost echoed. Tara was playing smart by not moving, but another look at her eyes and Aimee wasn't sure how long the teen would be able to keep herself in check. Aimee started forming plans in her head. Her bow and quiver were behind her, as was her backpack. The creature must be rummaging through her things, following some scent. It might be a scavenger or herbivore, but the look on Tara's faces told her that it was something predatory and dangerous. Aimee prayed that it wouldn't attack either of them.

Aimee heard the creature moving to past her tail. She heard two pairs of legs moving. It was a quadruped. After a moment it came into her peripheral vision.

It was a chimaera.

Oh my God…

The monster had the body of a massive lion, even larger than an ordinary one. Its rear legs were those of a goat. A goat's head and neck grew from its back. A long viper grew in place of a tail. It had large claws and wicked-looking teeth. Aimee had heard that a chimaera could kill a griffon twice its weight without much of a fight. She prayed that she wouldn't be testing that ferocity today.

She looked over to Tara again. The difference in emotions between her two heads startled the naga girl. Tara's goat-head was seized with total terror, wide-eyed with trembling jaws. But her lion eyes burned with anger. There was such wrath in that face... Aimee realized that, despite the previous day's talks, Tara was experiencing utter hatred towards the creature that had transformed her. This must have been the first chimaera Tara had seen since her transformation. The girl was face-to-face with that which had ended her life, and despite the words exchanged yesterday, she hated it.

Please don't move, begged Aimee silently. Please don't let your emotions betray us... Aimee was thankful that Tara's tail was behaving. She realized that the only thing they could really do was wait and hope the monster didn't think they were food. There was no way they could fight it, and any sudden movement might entice an attack. She prayed that the chimaera would go away.

After several fearful minutes that seemed to span for days, the chimaera either found what it had been looking for or simply lost interest. It walked away, seeking food elsewhere. But neither person moved for a good five minutes. It was only when they heard the sounds of birds in the underbrush that they moved. Aimee sat up and wiped sweat from her forehead. Tara sat up and started crying.

"Tara, are you okay? It's gone."

"That… that's the monster that… that did this to me…" she sobbed, each head talking at the same time. Even her tail was hissing violently. "It did this… we… I couldn't… we need to stop it… could hurt others…"

"Tara, calm down. You're being incoherent." Aimee was shocked by the emotional response brought on by the chimaera. She went over to the girl and tried to comfort her. "It's gone. We'll be out of the area by noon, and won't have to worry about it any more. It'll be long-gone."

Both sets of eyes flared. "But it won't be dead!" exclaimed both heads simultaneously. Then the goat-head calmed down slightly. "I… I know what I said yesterday. I know… this sounds really bad. But… we need to kill that thing! That really is the monster that did this to me. I recognized it… I could see its wounds from when the guards drove it off… too late, but… We need to stop it from hurting others… like it hurt… like it hurt me."

"Now you know what I felt like. It isn't a good feeling. And you're right. We need to stop it before others pay. We can track it now, while the trail isn't too cold. C'mon. Let's go."

Tara was silent as they picked up their belongings and headed deeper into the forest. Aimee led the way, bow and arrow in hand, following the trail left by the huge creature. She had three years of tracking experience, and had played around with the skill for years before her transformation, so Aimee was confident she could track the chimaera wherever it was going. And the chimaera was anything but subtle. They followed its path for an hour. Tara seemed unfamiliar with the area. The density of the forest led Aimee to believe that they were far from civilization. The chimaera was probably headed home. With any luck they would find it resting, and could come back when it was asleep. Aimee hardly looked forward to fighting such a creature. It would take more than an arrow in the neck to kill it. She didn't even know if killing one head would kill the entire monster. But justice would be handed out nonetheless. So with heavy hearts and heavier silence, the two blood mutants continued to follow the chimaera.

After several hours, they came at last to a mountainous region. The trail grew difficult to follow; Aimee had barely seen mountains before, let alone tried to track a monster through them. Spying tracks and markings on stone and rock was far more difficult than doing so in a forest. As it was, it became more difficult just moving over the terrain at the foot of the mountains. The pebble-strewn terrain proved no problem for Aimee's serpentine body, but it was rough on Tara's bare human feet, though the girl didn't complain. Aimee would have to steal some shoes as soon as possible.

They came to a cave. Thankfully the direction of the wind was still with them; the smell of the chimaera flowed from the opening, noticeable but not terribly strong. A small heap of bones lay at the entrance. "This must be it," whispered Aimee.

"What can I do?" asked Tara quietly.

"Stay back. I'll motion to you when I need you. Take this." She handed the girl her hunting knife. It was the same knife she had recovered from Emily's chest all those years ago. "Hopefully, you won't have to use this. Be careful with it. It… it means a lot to me."

Tara nodded understanding with both heads, and Aimee began her approach to the cave. Because there was a breeze leaving the cave rather than entering it, she was safe from being detected. She drew close to the entrance and peered in. It was dark, but slowly her eyes focused, and she could make out forms at the back of the cave. She saw the chimaera, hunched over smaller shapes. In fact…

Aimee just stared into the cave. Suddenly, she couldn't kill the chimaera. After so much time, after so many deaths, for the first time Aimee found herself unable to end a monster's life. She lowered her bow and turned to Tara, who dropped both mouths in shock. Aimee motioned for the girl to come over silently and peer into the cave. At first Tara saw nothing, but after a moment Aimee could see the girl react. Both mouths fell open. The hardened look on the lion-head's face softened ever so slightly. Tears formed in the other's eyes.

Aimee withdrew, and without thinking started slithering away, around the base of the mountain. After a moment Tara followed. They were silent for a good three minutes, before Tara said, "I didn't know it had babies…"

"I guess it was searching for food for its litter," added Aimee. "Or whatever you call a group of baby chimaerae. I… I just can't kill a mother in front of her young, even if it is a monster. If I kill that chimaera, I kill the entire family. And I can't kill babies."

"I… I know," said Tara. "I… I want that monster dead. I still do. I want it to pay for the lives it took. I want it to pay for my life. But… but not at the expense of those kittens. I… I know we should kill them all or else they'll grow up and transform others. But… but it seems so heartless. It wouldn't be fair for those young ones, as… as much as I hate to admit it."

The naga woman and her companion continued around the base of the mountain, silent in their own thoughts. Neither of them had expected to find what they had, and neither of them knew what to do. Aimee was having some serious doubts about letting the chimaera live. But Tara's words from the day before echoed in her head. Even if the girl was questioning the wisdom of those words herself… if Aimee let the chimaera live, it might blood another teenaged girl, or maybe even younger children. It might kill dozens. And if those babies were allowed to grow up, they might kill an untold more. But if she killed the mother, all of them would die. Aimee would be responsible for the deaths of half a dozen children, who might grow up to commit serious harm but hadn't done so yet. How could she pass judgment based on deeds that hadn't been committed yet? How could she not do so? No matter what she did, Aimee saw death in the future. And she couldn't help but feel responsible no matter which side shed blood first.

Lost in their own thoughts, Aimee and Tara might have walked all the way around the mountain had Tara not suddenly stopped walking.

"Oh my God… what is that?"

Aimee turned to see Tara staring up the mountain. She followed suit, and to her surprise Aimee saw the corner of a building of some sort high up the hill. It was difficult to see; Tara must have had phenomenal vision to just glance up and spot something like that. The building looked old; Aimee had never seen architecture in that style before. Too high, and too many windows. Never mind that it was built on top of a mountain.

"Let's take a closer look," suggested Tara. "There shouldn't be any civilization around here. This is the middle of nowhere. Whatever that thing is, it isn't on any of the maps I've seen."

Aimee was curious as well, so they started their way up the mountain. The rock to their side was virtually a vertical cliff face, but Tara found a passable cleft nearby, almost invisible behind a pair of spruce trees. It was far better than trying to climb the side of the mountain, but the path was still pretty rough. It was terrible on Tara's feet, and even Aimee had difficulty with the slope. It was obviously not intended for easy travel. But slowly the two made their way up the mountain to the mysterious building, and after only half an hour they found themselves upon a flat solid surface, looking at what had been the front of a large structure.

Time had taken much from the remains of the old building. There were numerous windows, but few had any glass in them. The door was nowhere to be seen; most likely it had fallen off and rotted away long before either blood mutant had been born. The structure itself was two stories high, and built against the steeper face of the mountain, emerging from solid stone and no doubt extending into the mountain itself. It was not made of wood or brick, but metal and plastic, materials normally reserved for special functions as they were extremely limited. Whoever had built this had done so long ago. The roof, at least, was intact. But it was obvious that no one, human or otherwise, had been here in such a long time. It boggled Aimee's mind. "Should we… should we go in?"

"Why not?" responded Tara, apparently back to her exuberant, optimistic self. "This place shouldn't be here. It's so old… I don't know about you, but I think I'd die from unfulfilled curiosity if I didn't go inside and see what this place is."

Tara approached the entranceway, and Aimee followed, bow in hand - just in case. It was dark inside, but illumination from the afternoon sun poured through the windows and provided more than enough light to look around. The floors were strewn with rubble and litter, the remnants of small animals, and the products of centuries of neglect. Many objects were so decomposed as to be unrecognizable, and others looked alien enough that Aimee had a feeling she wouldn't have been able to identify them even if they had been new. The room itself was large, like the main chamber of a large house or school. The ceiling was at least twelve feet up. A number of doors, most of them rotted or broken, led out of the room and to the rest of the building. And in the middle, amid the debris and refuse, stood what could only have been a fountain. But the statue at its center was covered in moss and mold to the point of being unrecognizable. And the pool was filled with nothing but soil and weeds.

"Look at that!"

Tara pointed across the room. Aimee's eyes followed the gesture, and landed on a tent. Or more specifically, the remains of a tent. It was torn up and broken. But it was definitely much newer than everything else they saw. Aimee slithered up to it to get a better look. She saw the remains of a campsite, as if someone had set up temporary residence here in the first room of the building. A backpack, torn and empty, gave no clue as to its owner or his whereabouts. An old leg of lamb, rotted and covered with mold, lay near the burnt out remains of a fire. "That lamb shank is recent enough that it hasn't totally dissolved," observed Aimee. "No scavengers have snatched it away. That means there were people here not too long ago."

"Well, what happened to them?" asked Tara.

"I'm not sure we really want to know. But I strongly recommend against calling out and waiting for a response. We just might get one."

A continued search of the camp resulted in a handful of useful items, such as another hammer and half a book of matches, but nothing especially beneficial, so the two of them set out to search the rest of the strange complex. Aimee continued with her bow ready, and Tara held the hunting knife out in front of her. They chose the nearest door and began their search, hoping they would find something that wouldn't try to kill them.

For several minutes the two blood mutants wandered around, exploring the ruined building. The complex seemed to be designed around long hallways with numerous doors. Each door led to a large room filled with what might once have been numerous small tables and desks, decomposing piles of wood and metal still arranged in organized patterns. It almost looked like a school, except for the sheer size of the complex. No school was ever built to handle so many people, simply because no town had enough children to warrant such size. And there was still the fact that this was not on any maps. This was far older than either of them had previously thought. The architecture was totally different than anything they were familiar with. And everything was made of plastic, metal, and glass, rather than wood and stone. The simple existence of such a place boggled both their minds.

They wandered for an hour without seeing so much as a rat or cockroach. There were no signs of life whatsoever, save the abandoned camp in the first room. No scavengers, no critters, no vermin. The entire place seemed totally deserted, even by animals. Most rooms had windows, but there were a few unlit areas that neither blood mutant felt safe exploring yet. The complex was huge, and after an hour of stepping over debris and peeking into each room before entering, they hadn't covered nearly a quarter of it. Still, Aimee started feeling that there was no one here. Whoever had stayed had left just as suddenly. This place was so huge that it would take days to fully explore, if not longer. If there was someone here, they would never find him or her. It would take a miracle -

Aimee heard a muffled sniffling coming from a room to their left. She turned to Tara, but the girl had heard it too. Silently they made their way to the door. It was a double-door, and it led into a large room, similar to the entrance to the building. The ceiling had completely collapsed, and the sun shone brightly in. It was a striking change from the dim hallway before; Aimee had to squint at first to see, and Tara was blinking both sets of eyes. But when her vision adjusted, Aimee spotted a smallish shape crouched near a pile of debris, sobbing and sniffling.

It looked like a little boy.

Instinctively Aimee looked around the room before slithering in. The room seemed clear of danger and other life. The air was fresh and clean, a welcome change from the old, dusty air of the complex. A lack of ceiling would do that. Aimee breathed deeply. The boy was bundled up in tattered clothes, a white tee shirt and blue shorts. He was faced away, and didn't notice the naga woman approaching. Aimee drew close and put her human hand on the boy's shoulder.

He screamed, and darted away before looking to see what was attacking him. Ten feet away he finally stopped and looked up. He saw Aimee, and behind her Tara. The look on his face was -

"My God…"

Aimee realized that the boy was not human. He was blooded. The right half of his face was covered with dark green scales, as was that side of his head. His right eye was definitely reptilian, as was that ear. The right side of his mouth began to curve up into a reptilian mouth, and Aimee could even see a few pointed teeth. Also, she noticed that the boy's left leg was reptilian as well, from a few inches below the knee down to his foot. Green scales covered his leg, and his foot was equipped with large, wicked-looking claws. A single shoe adorned his right foot. The boy looked to be only six or seven years old. So young to have his life so shattered…

"Who… who are you?" Despite the boy's partial transformation, he seemed to be able to speak clearly. His voice was cracked and fearful.

"Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you," said Aimee, trying her best to calm the boy's fears. She was filled with compassion for the boy and anger for what he had become. "Who are you? Where are your parents?"

"My name is Daniel," said the boy, sniffling. He edged closer. "My parents are gone."

"Gone?" asked Tara, who had come up alongside Aimee. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"The… the dragon took them," said Daniel, staring at the ground in front of him. "We… we left the village and came here… we were here for a while, but then the… the dragon came. My Daddy fought it… but it won, and took them away. I hid. The dragon left. I looked for Mommy and Daddy, but didn't find them. I found a red puddle… then I changed. Now I'm different. I still don't know where Mommy and Daddy are. I'm hungry. Who are you?"

Aimee didn't know what to say. She felt a combination of anger, sadness, pity and love. She wanted to right what was wronged, but knew that such a feat would be impossible. Aimee felt tears coming on. Tara was silent. "We… we found this place by accident. We saw the tent near the entrance, and went looking to see if anyone was here. We're good people. You can come with us, and we'll get you food. We'll protect you."

"What about Mommy and Daddy?"

"I'm sorry," said Tara at last. "They… they're gone. They won't be coming back. I'm… sorry."

"That's… that's okay…" said Daniel, still sniffling. "I… I know."

"Well, c'mon," said Aimee. "We'll get you out of here and somewhere safer."

"Okay."

Aimee intended to take Daniel out of the complex and down the mountain, to somewhere she could snatch some warm food and a clean shirt for the boy. However, just as the boy started approaching, the room turned dark. It didn't take long for them to realize that something was blocking out the sun. And Aimee's heart sank as she realized that it wasn't a cloud. Tara's snake hissed violently. Daniel started screaming.

"Dragon! Dragon!" He ran away - in the opposite direction of the room's lone door. The shadow in the air glided down to rest atop a pile of rubble, folding its wings in order to fit through the open roof, landing with a slight hop that sent rubble skittering. It was indeed a dragon - and a very large one at that. It had to have been forty feet in length, and its wingspan was easily seventy. Its body was thin, but dense with muscle. Its scales were the same dark green as Daniel's leg and face, large and overlapping and almost metallic. It had huge claws on its hands and feet. The dragon's head was large and sleek, and was equipped with a mouth full of needled teeth. Its eyes were a deep yellow, and stared intently at the fleeing child, tracking him. Aimee and Tara were motionless.

Aimee realized they had to do something. She also realized that there was nothing they could do. Dragons were… dragons were pretty much at the top of the list of dangerous monsters. Even a young dragon could take out a chimaera or griffon with ease. Aimee had never encountered a dragon before, and consequently was still alive. She knew that a dragon of this size would have almost metal-hard scales. Her arrows would be worse than useless. Yet Aimee knocked an arrow and aimed it at the creature so intent on the little boy. She had to try. She drew back, and released. The arrow flew into the base of the dragon's neck, and bounced off harmlessly. The dragon glanced over to the two blood mutants standing there, and then turned back to the boy. It looked ready to pounce.

"Damn," Aimee swore, "we've got to get that dragon's focus away from Daniel! Tara, I'll get the dragon's attention and lure it away from the boy. You have to try and get Daniel out of there." As she spoke, Aimee drew another arrow from her quiver. "I doubt this is going to work, but we don't have much choice. We have to stop that dragon and save Daniel."

"Gotcha," replied Tara confidently. But her eyes betrayed her true fear. Her leonine head steeled itself, while her other looked like it was about to throw up. Tara clutched Aimee's knife to her chest and inched around the perimeter of the room. Neither blood mutant could see Daniel, but the dragon obviously could, and continued to move into striking position.

Aimee's mind was racing. What could she do? She had to stop that dragon. She aimed with her second arrow, this time aiming at the head. The dragon was large, and wasn't paying her too much attention, so she got a good sight. She let fly the arrow, and it struck the dragon just behind its left ear.

This time she got the dragon's attention. It turned away from the boy and faced Aimee. Its mouth opened, showing more teeth than Aimee had ever seen in her life. Its eyes glowed an even deeper yellow. Aimee couldn't help cringe in absolute terror. Those eyes… With a start Aimee realized that the dragon's eyes were its only weak point. If she could shoot an arrow into an eye, it would blind the creature long enough for Tara to snatch Daniel and for them to get out of there. Aimee drew another arrow -

From the dragon's open mouth, a slight crackling sound preceded a sudden rush of bright blue and orange flame. Aimee, acting on sheer instinct, leapt out the way. In nature snakes were capable of moving their length at great speeds when necessary. Aimee, despite being far larger and heavier than the average serpent, was capable of similar feats when necessary. But the dragon's flame was too fast. The end of Aimee's tail was caught by the edges of the stream of fire. Aimee cried out in extreme pain as her tail was scorched, scales peeling back and dissolving in the intense heat. It hurt more than Aimee had ever hurt before. She could smell her own burning flesh. Aimee wanted to drop unconscious from the pain, but knew better. She continued to move, until a wall and some debris kept her from doing so. She whirled to face the dragon, her tail causing her more pain than she thought possible but forcing herself to stay lucid. Lives other than her own were hanging in the balance. As she turned she drew an arrow, readying herself for the worst.

The dragon faced her, little more than twelve feet away. It stared at her intently. It knew she was trapped. Aimee brought her bow up to aim at the dragon's head. She would have one chance at this - one arrow separated life from horrible death. She drew back.

The dragon stared at the naga woman's actions with mild interest. It almost appeared to smile. Then, it closed its eyes.

God… it's smart! It knows its eyes are exposed! Thick eyelids covered the dragon's eyes, almost as thick as the rest of the dragon's green hide. Aimee's one chance was dashed.

Aimee started crying.

The dragon opened its mouth.

Aimee heard the crackle.

Aimee fired the arrow deep into its throat.

The arrow plunged deep into the back of the dragon's throat. The dragon, caught by complete surprise at the worst of moments, opened its eyes wide. It snapped its jaws shut upon impulse - a fatal mistake, as the flame rushing up its throat towards Aimee met instead with the dragon's closed mouth. There was a muffled explosion, and the dragon's head popped. It collapsed, flame shooting out of eyes, nostrils, mouth, and newly formed openings in the dragon's head. The body of the dragon convulsed for only a moment before falling limp. It lay there shuddering unconsciously. The smell of burning meat filled the air.

Aimee stared at the body of the dragon until it lay utterly motionless. Only at that point did her bow fell from her limp arm. Aimee's body followed suite. She collapsed into a coil, unconscious and oblivious to everything but pain and fear. And even those drifted away as darkness embraced her utterly.

How long she was under, Aimee had no idea. She awoke after some time, in less pain but just as frightened. She darted up as memory returned, and looked around fearfully. She was in the same place. The dragon's body still lay in a crumpled heap, the odor only slightly stronger than before. Aimee looked and noticed that her tail was wrapped up in some kind of white cloth. It felt a little better, but would need some salve and care, not to mention time, before it would be as it was before. Even then, it would probably scar. Aimee looked up and saw Tara standing over her. "I couldn't find any wounds besides your tail, so I figured you weren't going to die. We couldn't move you somewhere else; no offense, but you sure are heavy. I dressed your wounds as best as I could. Are you okay?"

Aimee put a hand to her head. "Yes… yes, I'm fine… where is Daniel?"

The dragon boy popped up behind Tara, minus his shirt. Aimee noted that he seemed perfectly human other than his leg and the side of his head. "Thank… thank you, Aimee. You… you saved me. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," muttered Aimee, trying to get up. She mostly succeeded. She was suffering more from shock than any serious wounds. Her tail still hurt, though. "It… it's the least I could do."

The trio left the dead dragon and returned to the entrance of the building. Aimee had a snake's equivalent to a limp, but managed to make it back to the beginning. They finally stopped at the abandoned camp. Aimee had to rest. Tara, with assistance by the dragon boy, rummaged through the supplies left by Daniel's family and came up with a simple first-aid kit. It had some burn salve and some real bandages, so Aimee attended to her wounds. Tara watched, intent on learning first aid. "I had always wanted to be a doctor," she explained. "I learned some basic practice before my transformation, so I kind of know what I'm doing. But I still have a lot to learn. I don't know how much of a surgeon I could be with my hands like this, but I could probably do pretty well otherwise."

"That's fine. I'm almost completely self-taught, but I'll show you a few tricks I picked up in the woods."

Daniel was the first to ask the obvious question: "Now what do we do?"

Aimee thought for a moment. "Well, I could return to being a forest vigilante, but I don't think I could in clear conscious leave you guys here alone, or take you with me while I hunt. And I don't think my heart's really in that anymore, anyway. We could try to settle somewhere, but that might be difficult. There's no real place to do that, since all the civilized places have people who would kill us before they asked our names."

Tara's goat head smiled, and her lion head said, "Aimee, why don't we settle here? I mean, we could clean this place up and set up a place where blood mutants could live in peace. Like that town I mentioned. I mean, this is far enough from civilization that it has only been found by one family in who knows how long. It's on a mountain, and we even have a family of chimaeras guarding it. C'mon, it'd be like paradise. …once we cleaned up that dragon, that is."

Aimee smiled. "You have a good idea there. I certainly can't think of anything better to do. It'll take a lot of work, though. And we would still have to get the word out to other blood mutants without letting humans know about this. They would purge this place in a heartbeat. But… I like it."

"Then it's settled." Tara stood, looking smug. "We need a catchy name to appeal to people, so they'll want to live here. It'll be like paradise, so that's what we'll name it. Paradise."

"Paradise? Well… I think that's a little clichéd. Hmm… how about Haven? I mean, this thing is going to be a lot of work… hardly a paradise. But we can make this place a haven for blood mutants."

"I like that. Haven. Welcome to Haven. Welcome to Paradise!"

"I like it," said Daniel, smiling. It was the first time Aimee has seen the boy smile since finding him.

Aimee knitted her brow as she thought of something. "Uh, Tara, how does a dead dragon fit into your concept of Paradise?"

"We'll just have to get rid of it," replied Tara, showing her usual enthusiasm.

"And how would you suggest we get rid of a forty-foot dragon?"

Tara's lion head licked her lips. "Well, I've heard that dragon is considered a delicacy in some places, and tastes like chicken..."

To which her goat head said, "That's disgusting. But then again, I never much cared for your tastes anyway."

At that Tara started laughing, and it didn't take long for it to spread to the others. Soon all three were sharing in a good laugh, their first as a group. It felt good. And Aimee had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.