six toes ii

SIX TOES B.E. SCHÄFER

2

SIX TOES

BOOK II

THE LEGACY

By

B.E. SCHÄFER


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Disclaimer

This book is a work of fiction.

The characters, names, places and incidents are used fictitiously and are a product of

the author’s imagination. Any resemblance of actual person, living or dead is entirely

coincidental.

Written by Blake Schaefer

Cover Art by David Branstetter

Layout by Aztec Printing, Inc.

Copyright©2010 by Blake Schaefer

All rights reserved.

Cordon Publications

731 C Erie Avenue

Evansville, IN 47715

All reprints are reserved except with permission from the author, Blake Schaefer, as

stipulated under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

Published by Blake Schaefer in conjuction with Cordon Publications.

First Printing, September 2010

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN # 978-09829049-3-0


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Dedication

This book is lovingly dedicated to my mother, Helen Schaefer whom gave me the

Three Little Pigs book, which in turn opened my world to reading. Thank you Mom, I love

you.

In Memory of the Reverend Roger Schoenhoffen and the Reverend Joseph Nolan

both of who introduced me to some of the best literature and inspired my writing.

In addition, I thank all my teachers who ever suggested a book or encouraged my

writing.

To my wonderful wife and to all of my children, you keep supporting and keep me

loaded with new ideas daily. You are my work in progress.

To my editors, Don, J.C., and Marie: Your knowledge, suggestions, and eye for

detail have been very much appreciated. Thanks again.

Last but certainly not least, to Cordon Publications for guidance in making my

dreams reality.


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Contents

Part One:

Beyond the Animal Factor

Part Two:

The Legacy

Part Three:

The Battle of Solitude


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Part One

Beyond the Animal Factor

"If you can conceive of morality without god, why can you not conceive of society

without government?" Peter Saint-André


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Chapter 1

The Wabash River rippled in the wake of the tugboat. The early morning fog slowly

broke apart with the awakening of the sun. Warm rays of light, parting clouds, images

of birds, shadowing trees, and the silhouette of a man, standing quietly on the bank,

reflected in the quick flowing river.

Slowly and cautiously, Sergeant Brant Carlson of the Indiana State Police turned to

look down the river toward the point where Lost Island lurked. Mosquitoes swarmed

his head like vampires on the hunt. In the quiet of the morning, he listened for sounds

other than the serenade of birds.

Having come to Solitude on a missing persons report, Brant was on a mission to find

one Sherriff Ted Connelly and General Philip Green, both of whom were missing in


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action. Brant was also on the lookout for retired General James Gregory and one

insidious Doctor, Richard Melton.

Brant turned away from the river and walked toward the shadow of his black Crown

Victoria, which was shrouded in a dissipating mist of fog. His ear caught the sound of

a strange growl behind him. Turning his head slightly, he spied a large furry clawed

hand coming at his throat. Brant bolted for his car.

Breathlessly he neared the Crown Vic and reached for the handle.

A moment later, Brant felt a warm stale breath billowing on the back of his neck.

Without hesitation, he pulled open the door, only to have his feet kicked out from

under him. Birds darted from the trees. Their flapping wings and cries of warning

turned the breaking morning into chaos.

Brant lay on his side on the cold damp grass, shielding his face from the strange

beast, which stood over him.

The ice blue eyes and the twitching catlike ears of the creature sent unknown terror

ripping through Brant’s mind. “What the…?” He momentarily thought when the

creatures hand came down on his face with one strong blow. The creature seemed to

grin sadistically at Brant as it came at him for one more blow.

Brant struggled to reach for his revolver, but his face was covered in blood and the

creature was pulling forcefully at his boot. He felt his knee twisting, his tendons

popping and the agony of the deepest pain that he would ever suffer.

Brant lay there on the ground, his body convulsing as dark red blood spurted from

where his leg once was. Gurgling noises drifted up from his throat as he struggled to


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take his last breath. His brown eyes, glassy and bloodshot stared aimlessly at his

attacker.

Seeming satisfied, the creature raised Brant’s leg to his mouth and bit down.

Chapter 2


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Patrick Moore had spent the greater part of the morning in the laboratory, pouring

over his notes. Dressed only in a blue sweat suit and his white lab coat, he stumbled

over the pages.

I'll be damned!" He shouted aloud. Then he paused, looked at the notes again and

compared the slides he had set in the microscopes. It all now made sense to him.

He had figured out that the odd gene was what made the children far different from

their parents. He had known all along that the aliens had an extra set of

chromosomes, but the children had an extra gene that he had tried for years to

isolate.

Almost immediately, he got up from his stool and headed into Richard's office. Upon

entering, he found him sitting in the big brown leather armchair. Richard's hair was

wet, yet neatly combed as if he just got out of the shower.

He was rather surprised by the look that Patrick held in his eyes. It was a look of

fear, doused with anger and sprinkled by a sense of relief. H.A.F. was about to go

into its final phase, and Richard braced himself.

Leaning back in his chair, he unfolded a paper clip with his hands, Richard waited for

Pat to speak, but the man only stood staring at him. It was as if the man were

studying him, searching for something.

Annoyed by Patrick's silent stare, Richard said, “You need something?"

"Not anymore."

What do you mean by that?"

"I found it."


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"Found what?"

"What I've been looking for?"

With growing agitation, Richard leaned forward. "What the hell are you talking

about?"

"It scares the hell out of me just thinking about it.

"You’re disturbing the hell out of me. Now, are you going to say what you came to

say?

You must have been more desperate than I thought. I can't believe you used the

cats."

"Oh, so you discovered the other gene. Bravo Doctor, bravo!"

Patrick smiled as if he had triumphed. Oh, but there is more. You were hoping that

if I could pinpoint the gene, I would understand what was happening. Then I

concluded that you don’t know what happened. You were hoping I could figure that

out."

"Maybe,"

“Oh, but again I was wrong. From the day you returned, I've watched you, listened

to you stumble over things you should know. I watched you handle the cats as if they

were a part of you. The Richard Melton I knew detested the cats. They had stood

against everything he believed in."

"I've changed."

"Yes you have. It took me time to figure it out. The other night in the lab when you

came to clean your cut, I saw something. You didn't have your glasses on. Nor did


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you have your contacts. The eyes gave you away. I waited for the right moment, and

you slipped up."

Richard leaned forward in his chair. "So, now that you know the truth, what do plan

on doing about it?”

“Nothing,” Patrick replied. “What can I do? Who would believe me? You would only

kill me. And if that is your plan, you might as well do it here and now."

Richard smiled at him in his cold demeanor. “You are a fool to think I'd kill you. I

need you. You were right; I am looking for something else. I'm dying, and I need you

to find out why the children grow stronger, healthier and smarter as the days pass. If

we can pinpoint that, you'll save my life along with a million others. Think of about it,

Pat. We can put an end to every known disease that torments mankind. You'll be in

the history books Pat. Isn't that your dream?”

"I'm an insignificant failure. Why me?"

"Maybe not so insignificant, Pat."

"You care about the children. I believe if we can pinpoint the why, we can reverse

the mistakes we made."

"Ridiculous!"

If he started believing the man now, Patrick knew himself to be a fool. Before him

sat a man who was false in every sense of the word. The whole project had been a

rush job, filled with many flaws. And now the largest of these flaws sat in front of him,

pumping his head with more of his lies. Patrick knew that he had made a tragic

mistake by coming into the project years earlier. And he had to face the fact that he


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had to hang on a little longer. Humor the man, if only to save the children as his last

ditch effort.

Besides, in all practicality, he had gone too far to turn away now. Because of his

participation, too many had been caused to suffer. He did not believe he had the

ability to undo what already had been done. But he also knew well that Richard had

little intent of trying to assist. Richard’s plans ran much deeper.

Richard stared at him. "Do you really feel that it is ridiculous?”

"I gather we can only try. After all, it was trying that got us here in the first place."

"Well...it seems we're back to where we started from. New horizons lay before us

my friend."

Turning his back to Richard, Patrick met his own gaze in the reflection of the door.

He pushed it open quickly, for he did not wish Richard to see the fear in his eyes and

because he feared the power of the man who was staring back at him.


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Chapter 3

Alex Prower had spent all evening with the one eyed man, learning all he could

about the project that had caused him to be. Oddly, he began to understand the

plight of everyone involved, and he no longer harbored the fear that had been holding

him down. He knew that he had to accept himself for what he was. In doing so, he

would guarantee that the others could be protected from the wrath of Richard.

When Alex arrived back at Lost Island, he went straight to Victor's room. When he

discovered him not to be there, he tried to locate him elsewhere. When he came to

the kitchen, he found Patrick sitting at the long table, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Patrick glanced up when he burst through the door. "Morning Alex,"

"Have you seen Victor?"

"I'm afraid he's gone."

"Gone where?"

Patrick raised his finger towards his mouth. "Between you, me and the fence post,

he's gone back home to Pinehill."

"Damn!" He cursed. "Sorry, Dr. Moore, I have to go."


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"Go where?"

"To save Cali, before he gets inside her head."

Patrick smiled. "Good luck Alex."

"Thank you."

"Oh, Alex before you go, there's something I have to say."

Alex stopped by the door. "Yes, sir."

"I know it probably doesn't mean much. But, I doubt anyone else is going to say it.

I'm sorry Alex. I wish things were different. I wish we could have known each other

under different circumstances."

Alex smiled at him. "Thank you. Don't be so hard on yourself. I was angry at first. I

have no hard feelings towards you. The way I see it, you kept an eye out for me all

these years. That in itself is enough."

Alex did not give Patrick a chance to say anything else before slipping out the door.

He hurried out of the building, crossed the bridge, sprinted across the runway and ran

down Lost Island Road.

***

Cali Simpleton found herself in the kitchen making coffee as she had done so often

out of habit. She reached into the cabinet and was surprised when she found her dad

had replaced the broken mug. Bringing it into her hands, she read the words aloud.

"Love not Blood Makes a Family."

She was sitting at the table, when both her parents came in. She smiled at

Frederick. "Thanks Dad."


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He smiled back and Laura made herself a cup of coffee.

"Mom,"

"Yes?"

"What do you plan on fixing for supper tonight?"

Laura sat the sugar on the counter. "Not sure, what would you like?"

"I think fish would be the best dish. I think that is what they would like."

"Who would that be?" Frederick asked.

"Victor and Alex."

"What makes you believe they are coming?" Laura said.

"My dreams. Just trust me and set two more places at the table."

Laura and Frederick exchanged glances and each wondered if what Cali said was

going to happen.

***

Dennis Vogel was from a long line of farmers. His ancestors had been farming the

fertile river valley long before the towns of Solitude or Blairsville had been mapped.

He was a tall, firm muscled man, sporting a flattop. His border collie, Jess followed

along beside him. He clutched his double barreled shotgun, gritting his teeth. “Damn

Coyotes.”

He’d been fighting the wild dogs for weeks. Or, so he thought. He’d already lost six

hogs to the wild animals. But, what had him bothered was that the intestines of his

hogs had been taken out. It was as if something had sucked them clean.


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Dennis had seen many strange things in his life. He’d seen some of the most gut

wrenching sites while in the Marines. And the day after he had found the last

slaughtered hog, he had also discovered the strange six toed footprints. Now, he had

convinced himself that a mutated Coyote had left the prints. But, after hearing the

rumors coming out of Solitude and all the missing persons reports, he was beginning

to wonder.

He’d been out the past two nights hoping to find whatever had killed his hogs. He

didn’t give a damn if it took weeks, he was going to get his prey.

As he came across the field of beans, he caught sight of something moving in the

distance, near the fence line. He whispered to Jess. “Get em’ boy.”

Jess quietly took off circling far away as if to move in and surprise whatever was out

there from behind.

Victor sat quietly in the beans, letting himself transform when he smelled Jess and

saw someone moving toward him. He waited his ears listened, then he pounced. He

had the Collie in his jaws. Jess let out only a whimper as Victor sank his incisors into

his throat. Victor listened for the dogs heart to stop beating then released his grasp

and lapped up some of the blood. He wanted to stop and eat, but he needed to move

on.

Then through the thick hot air a shot rang out. Instantly Victor was up running

across the field, bounding over the bushy clumps of beans. Coming to a fence, he

hopped over it. Not noticing the barbed wire, he got his furry legs caught up in it. He

pulled at his leg, feeling the teeth of the wire sink through his fur and into his flesh.

Yanking free, he felt a chunk of fur rip away.

He was ready to scramble to his feet and run when he heard the shotgun click.


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Dennis Vogel stared down the barrel with his finger resting against the trigger.

“What in hell are you?” He asked, as he studied Victor. He was taken by surprise

when Victor spoke back.

“Mr., I don’t plan to hurt you. Please let me go. Just forget you saw me.”

Now, Dennis was not much into the Bible. In addition, he didn’t rightly believe in

Heaven or Hell. But if there was a Hell, this creature had been born of it.

“Work of the Devil, aren’t you?”

Victor eased slowly on his haunches. “Don’t shoot mister. I’m much faster than your

trigger finger is.”

Victor leaped at Dennis, just as the buckshot grazed his side. Dennis didn’t know

what hit him. He felt the heavy claw strike a blow to his temple. His bowls let loose

and his body convulsed.

Victor kept striking Dennis in the head, until he felt blood and brain splatter his face.

He looked down and saw the work of his hands. Dennis face looked like an anvil had

smashed it. His face sunken, his eyes bulging and his teeth knocked clear to the back

of the throat.

For the first time, Victor felt a moment of remorse over killing a human being.

Transforming back to his human identity, he got up and walked away. He mumbled to

himself. “I am the supreme beast. Victor you have to stop feeling sorry for the

enemy.”

***


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Wyatt rolled over and smiled when he discovered Julie was still there. He eased

up next to her, stroked her hair, and kissed her lips. Her eyes snapped open.

He smiled and said. "It was nice waking up next to you."

She put her arm around him. "Let's stay here awhile longer."

The two slowly let their lips touch in a soft long kiss. And just as they began to lose

themselves in the moment, the door flew open. Both sprang up, turning toward the

door to find Alex. He shook his head. "Well, good morning to the two of you."

"Hey, Alex." Was the only reply Wyatt could spit out at the moment.

"You both better get down stairs before Mom and Dad catch you."

"Yeah, maybe so," Wyatt agreed.

“Chop, Chop! I'm in a hurry. We need to talk, Wyatt."

Wyatt waved his hand. "Go, we'll be down in a bit."

"Make it snappy."

After Alex had gone, Wyatt got up, put on a fresh pair of socks and turned to Julie.

"If you want to freshen up, feel free. You know where the bathroom is. My

toothbrush is the blue one, you can use it."

"I think I will. Looks like Alex has something important to talk to you about anyway.”

"See you down stairs in a few." Wyatt said as he went out the door.

Dressed only in his socks and jeans, Wyatt found his way into the kitchen where

Alex was drinking milk from the jug.


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"What are you in such a hurry about?"

"I have to talk fast, so listen and listen carefully. You're going to change soon Wyatt.

Prepare yourself for that. And no matter what happens don't hunt. If the hunger gets

bad, eat fish or road kill. Road kill isn't so bad."

"Have you gone entirely nut-so?"

"Damn it; just listen. I've got to leave for a while, and you have got to promise you'll

do as I say. I love you Wyatt and what I say is so important."

"Where are you going?"

"After Victor and his sister Cali. Yes, there is another of us. Five of us all together."

Wyatt counted in his head. There was he, Alex, Victor and this Cali, who could be

the fifth.

"It's Julie, Wyatt. Don't tell her yet. Wait until you've made the change. Then you

can better prepare her. Besides, she hasn't showed the signs. Maybe she is going to

escape our curse. We don't even know if this affects the females. Now, while I'm

away, trust only Dr. Moore, the General, or the One Eyed Man."

"The one eyed man?"

"Trust me on this one, okay?"

"Why do you have to go?"

"Because we cannot trust Victor. He has had a taste for human blood, and we can't

let him turn Cali onto his and Richard's way of thinking."


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Alex hugged his brother and turned for the door. "Whatever happens, don't give in.

Oh, and tell Mom and Dad I love them."

Then he was gone.

Minutes after he had gone, Julie came down stairs to find Wyatt staring out the door.

"Wyatt are you okay?"

"Yes. Maybe you better get back to the island before your dad starts looking for

you."

"I guess that would be a good idea."

"Julie, Victor is gone."

"What?"

"He went back to Pinehill. That is where Alex is going. It seems that you have a

sister named Cali. Alex wants to get to her before Victor can."

"Oh, is she like Victor and Alex?"

"Don't know. Come on; I’ll walk you to your car."

six toes ii

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