Brockway (Jealous Angel D & Taiylor)

They say when you cross the Mackinaw Bridge into Michigan's upper peninsula, you're just south of Heaven. Hunters and nature lovers alike find it all to be the most enchanting, most natural place in all the state, possibly in the entire U.S. For some, however, it's just another place on the map of the earth. To the plethora of scientists and doctors of the Marquette Natural History Research Center (called the RC by many of it's workers), the Upper Peninsula, or U.P. is an interesting land of possibilities, more than half-untouched by humans and full of wilderness and great sanctuaries of nature.
.
Recently, the RC's researchers have taken an interest in the ancient slope of Brockway Mountain, a great titan that overlooks a town called Copper Harbor at the northernmost tip of the Upper Peninsula. Last winter, while foolishly digging in the forest that stands at the foot and along the sides of the mountain, a rockslide barely missed two men, took down four trees, and uncovered a great find. A tunnel, seeming to have been made by human hands, that extended all the way under Copper Harbor and to Lake Superior. In that cavern, it was constantly so cold that nothing ever melted, even in the cool summers. And there, something grand was discovered that would shake science to its very foundation.
.
The four men and three women that had gone to dig, feeling Lady Luck's call, now looked down upon the bright eyeshine of a creature frozen in eternity, and around it laid many, many more like it. Amber eyes, fiery even in their petrification. The head of a wolf, the furred body of a man. Wolf footpaws and tail, but wearing deer hides like a Native American might've. Old Native legends spoke of the wolfmen, gentle and kind, but fearless and unbeatable warriors who respected nature so deeply that they'd die to defend it.
.
"Oh... my god..." The older woman whispered, her breath coming out in a steamed mist in the freezing cavern. The researchers all looked at each other, and the man in the lead, Dr. Morgan Jonas, looked to the youngest member of the group: a girl, very new to the RC, and smiled.
.
"Remember this," he told her, "because this is going to go down as one of the greatest moments of your life, when you were one of the first people of modern times to discover werewolves."

It was impossible to believe that what was happening in front of her was true. How could it be? She had grown up on myths and fairytales, but as she grew up she knew that such things were not true. There was no need to worry about what hide in the shadows of the night – no supposedly close friends were the things that one really needed to worry about. At least that had been Cassandra Keyes’s thoughts until she was became involved with the RC. Now here she was, witnessing what she never thought would happen.

Cassie nodded at the doctor’s words. This was a historic moment. The legend of the werewolf now had proof behind it. She felt like she was receiving a privilege that someone else should have. She had only been part of the team for such a limited amount of time. She was reaping the awards of the hard work put in by all of her coworkers. “No one’s going to believe this,” she found herself whispering as she stared at the magnificent sight before her. Even if they succeeded in resurrecting such ancient creatures, it would still be difficult to prove that this wasn’t a hoax.

"That's why we'll document ever second of it all," another man who constantly carried a video camera and sound recorder spoke up. One of the women knelt by another of the great beasts, a small female clutching a baby close to her breast as if to protect it. "She's... absolutely beautiful..." The woman whispered. And it was true, these creatures were stunningly beautiful. Not a one of them had anything less than an Olympian's physique- some more muscular and broad than others- and though the males seemed to carry heavy scarring and tattooing, they were still amazing. One in particular, though, a large, broad male who carried feathers tied into the fur on the back of his neck and had been frozen with a stone spear in his hand, caught Cassandra's eye. He sported rich mahogany fur, but his eyes were closed so their color could not be seen. He wore deerskin clothes, like the rest, but he wore no shirt, and sported a red cloth sarong sash about his waist over the deerskin pants.
.
Cassandra was left with a woman and a man at the cavern while the rest returned to get the entire team, and within hours Copper Harbor was swarming with researchers, more people than the sleepy little town had ever known, and the locals weren't so chipper about it. Some even said the researchers should leave the poor creatures alone. But of course, that wasn't about to happen. Massive trucks with cold storage boxes were rushed from Marquette to Copper Harbor, and teams of researchers, carefully as they could manage, chiseled the creatures free from their frozen places, and loaded a few into each truck, held safely stationary by special cables and padding. After all was said and done, they had thirty adults, six adolescents, and four babies. All of the children had been frozen in a parent's arms, which was helpful because the researchers, if they succeeded in their task, wanted the children to wake with at least one parent so both would be calmer.
.
Morgan came to Cassandra. He was a stern but kind man of about fifty, with long grey hair usually kept in a ponytail, black half-frame glasses, and a lean, somewhat thin and tall body. "Come on, Cassie," he smiled down to her as he pulled on a second coat- it was bloody freezing along the shores of Lake Superior- "let's get back to the RC and find out who these people are. By the looks of them and the legends, they had a near-human tribal culture, and I'd love to see if we can't talk to them." Morgan was sort of her adoptive uncle, a close friend of her father's. Her father had gotten her into the exclusive RC through Morgan, so he was very dear and very influential in her family's lives.
.
A van awaited them, boarded by four other researchers, with a huge brute of a man, lovingly nicknamed Bear, driving. Bear was Cassie's protector, the first friend she'd made at the RC, and he adored her to pieces, like a big brother. A very big brother. He had deep, dark sienna skin and short black hair with a thick beard, and he always wore dark red flannel and jeans when he was outside the RC. "Come on, there, kiddo!" He called out the window. "Time's a-wastin'!"

It was all too surreal - even if all those she cared about were close by. It was all being documented yet it was still unbelievable. Hopefully their research would only result in good. She feared for everything she worked for to disappear or used as a weapon. The creatures in their care were gorgeous beings, beings who seemed strong and she hoped kind. She hoped that they didn't regret being brought back to life, well that's if they were successful. There was much that Cassie wished to learn from this ancient civilization.

"Of course," she answered Morgan. She wanted nothing more than to be able to talk with these people in their own language. However that would take some studying and work to resurrect an old language. "I would like to be able to learn as much able them so that they can be as comfortable as possible around us."

Cassie gazed over the place that they were now going to abandon. The scenery had changed as the inhabitants had been removed from their frozen tomb. It no longer carried the same grand magnificence as before. "Coming!" she turned to her ride home. Climbing into the vehicle she asked only one question, "So, what's are estimated time for reviving them?

Bear chuckled, "Well, looking at how long it usually takes to bring back people and the fact that these things are frozen, I'll give it... maybe a couple workdays. But with this huge find, a lot of people probably won't want to go home from work, so I'll bet you that we'll have one up and about by tomorrow morning if the whole thing goes well and we're lucky." He took to the road along behind the whole motorcade, escorted by local police because of the magnitude of their find.
.
Another researcher, a young man named Ryan, spoke up: "I just hope they don't get too scared, you know?" He sighed "I mean... you know what happened to those humans they experimented with, the ones they froze and then brought back. Just the stress alone killed them. What was it, like... six out of the seventy they froze actually lived? And they had to revive ten of them? The rest died either from being frozen too slow, which they revived, or from heartattacks. The last six that made it through are still a little weird if you ask me, but they're getting better. So we've got fourty of these things... I hope most of them survive, but having been frozen naturally, I think a lot of them will have to be revived and even then, we don't know if they've been kept totally frozen all this time."
.
"Thanks for the optimism, Ry," Bear rolled his eyes, "I just hope the little ones and their mothers survive at the least." And the rest of the researchers nodded in agreement.
.
Another, named Joakim from Sweden, had a huge smile on his face, "Just imagine, we'll get to study how mothers raise their infants. And by the looks of how some of them were frozen, the fathers are really involved with them too, like humans. I wonder how much like us they are?" He was so excited he was shaking.
.
One more, an older woman named Phillis, smiled, "It'll be so cute... maybe one of the little ones will warm up to us and he can teach us the games he used to play."
.
"Wait, guys," Joakim stopped, "I just realized... are they just gonna live in the RC their whole lives...? Do you think if we found a lot more around the world, they could live with humans? Because according to old legends, humans and werewolves used to live side-by-side, even intermarry. I wonder if that could ever happen again."

To think it would be just a few days until she would be able to interact with the people they had uncovered from the ice. The idea sent shivers down her spine. And yet she didn’t feel like they were prepared enough for that. Sure a lot of work had gone into studying and learning about this civilization, and yet she felt that there was a lot they still didn’t know. They could speculate but that was about it.

“That would be nice,” Cassie chirped in. “I think it would be unfair if they were kept lock up in the facility. What sort of life would that be for them - woken from their eternal sleep just to spend the rest of their days in a box? Hopefully we’ll find a way to live together.”

"Man, I can't wait..." Joakim smiled, "If they're the intelligent people that our research has come to tell us they are, this'll destroy every bad story about werewolves there ever was. People won't be so afraid of them anymore, if at all, by the time we're done."
.
The ride back was full of thoughtful conversation, but when they arrived at the vast white building that was the RC, it was time to unload. Frozen chambers, prepared for their arrival, were rolled out, to keep the creatures frozen solid til they were ready to be brought back. Everyone was expected to help, so Cassie was brought to the back of the loaded trucks and given thick gloves. Instead of being grouped with others to help get a large creature out, she was given the small form of a cub, wrapped in his blanket, to carry over. Even through the warping effect of the ice, she could see he was smaller than a human baby, and his tiny muzzle had a birthmark at its base below his forehead, a little sideways crescent shape. in black against his dark brown fur, speckled black here and there on his head and, from what she could see, probably on his back too. He was set in beside the female he'd been found near, who had the same rich brown fur. It took a couple hours thanks to great caution not to shatter any of the frozen creatures, but it was well worth it when not a single one was damaged. They were taken inside to the new massive freezing facility and stored away, all except two. One male and one female were brought to a frozen viewing room, for the researchers to study before they were thawed. Cassie was allowed in on this one, being one of the people to find the creatures. Dr. Morgan also came in, wrapped up in warm gear so he could stay for a long time. He stepped up to the male, who stood a good six and a half feet tall and his chest was easily three feet across and somewhere around two thick. He was a massive brute that most human body builders could never hope to mirror, yet most of the males of his kind were very similar to him. He had fierce amber eyes, and he'd been frozen in a defensive stance with fangs bared, as if something was coming at him and he was ready to fight it off.
.
"What in the world was happening when they were frozen?" Morgan thought aloud. "And how did they freeze so fast...?" He circled the male, and he spoke aloud so that the recording system they had switched on could hear him: "It seems a pattern in the males, that all of them are covered with what looks like black dye and tattooing in spiraliing tribal patterns. The females all seem to have very light tattooing. Looking at the age groups, it seems that the werewolves don't start their tattooing til adolescence, but that remains to be seen. The males look like they stand between six and seven feet or more, while the females look to stand between five and a half and six and a half. The infants we found are incredibly small compared to human infants, and whether this is natural or due to some outside cause is a question we'll just have to ask these people. I do believe that one of these infants could fit into just one of our average males' palms. These werewolves are highly athletic and very powerful in build, and by the muscle mass in the males' shoulders and legs, I would say they are very used to hard work. The females, however, seem rather slender, but I suspect that they hide great strength." He stood back to look at the two. The male looked ready to kill, and the female looked cool and collected. She'd been found at his side.
.
"This pair we have here was found side by side. The female is ready to fight, but seems completely calm, while the male looks terribly angry. There is a wound apparent in the female's side, just below her last rib." He moved in closer to look at it. "A very deep wound... I wonder how she was still standing. Perhaps this is why the male was so angry... but what was attacking them...?"
.
Morgan stood and looked over, "Cassie, come in, look at them. They're absolutely beautiful." In the bright light of the viewing room, Cassie could now see all the details that the cavern had hidden.

Cassie approached as soon as she was encouraged to. Her thoughts had echoed some of the very same questions. She wanted to know what had happened, but she'd be patient. They were magnificent beings, and she felt small before them. "Is there a way that we might be able to treat her wound before she awakens? There is a high probability that such a deep wound might hinder the process," Cassie suggested. She still felt so new to the work, which is why she was glad that she was part of this team.

(Sorry this isn't longer, sort of been brain dead week.)

(No worries.)
.
"Well, by the looks of it... it won't bleed when she awakens. We can't risk attempting anything with her that we're not yet sure will work. We'll just have to hope she makes it." Morgan laid a hand on the ice with a hopeful smile. "And I think she will. I can feel it."
.
By the time the sun was rising the next morning, a call went through the RC. Many researchers hadn't gone home and had slept in their offices or other rooms, and the call woke them to the fact that the first werewolf was about to be revived. It was only a 40% survival rate, as the scientists calculated, but a much better rate than ever before with humans, because the werewolves were very strong and hardy. Morgan called out for Cassie, who he'd let sleep in his office. "Cassie, hurry!"
.
Within fifteen minutes, an average brown male was brought in and placed on a platform, positioned to end up laying on his back when the ice was gone, and the plaform was soon enclosed by a circular wall running on all sides, and the wolf was out of view. Nobody in the lower ranks knew much about this process, but the area was enclosed due to extremely bright light, massive amounts of heat, and dangerously high voltage electricity. It only took a minute, and the walls fell, revealing the werewolf free of the ice, laying limp on the platform. Researchers rushed in and placed strange little pads on his body and rushed out. A switch was flicked, and a loud surge of electricity suddenly made the werewolf's body convulse. Two more shocks, and his eyes opened and he coughed miserably, growling, turning over on his stomach to cough up the water in his lungs. He breathed heavily and clutched the edge of the platform, gasping for air. All of the researchers were silent and frozen still, all in awe of the beast.
.
The wolf slowly but surely picked himself up, stumbled on his weak legs, and once he caught himself, he looked up. His eyes grew wide and fearful as he saw the strange room, and the humans watching him. Morgan himself stepped into the room, and the werewolf backed away, growling weakly. Morgan held up his hands in the universal sign of peace, and from what he knew of legends, he gave the werewolf a sign. With his right hand, he drew an invsible crescent shape on his face, touched his heart, then his forehead, and extended his hand outward to the werewolf in the sign of giving. It was a blessing of the werewolf's faith, a nearly-dead religion called Lunasia. Morgan knew only a few words, which he'd leared to be able to calm the werewolves. "Lunas kivar elindas tecelt," Morgan spoke softly, and the werewolf, already stunned by the symbol, began to slowly relax just a bit.
.
"Come," Morgan motioned him closer, and the werewolf edged slowly toward him on all fours. "It's okay," Morgan knew the wolf wouldn't understand, but a soothing voice would be powerful enough. Morgan crouched down too, and the werewolf was soon only feet from him. The researchers all held their breath as Morgan reached out a palm out slowly to the beast. The werewolf looked upon him, then at all the other human faces, and reached out his larger hand, and their palms and fingers met flat against one another in greeting. Then the werewolf edged closer, and Morgan was confused when he put his hand on the man's shoulder. Morgan imitated him, and the werewolf smiled. It was called a shoulder-cross, an ancient greeting that was the same in meaning as a handshake.
.
"Kosovo, agoni. A te no kijn dheri A mae." The werewolf spoke hoarsely, and Morgan looked to the other researchers, to Cassie, who he hoped knew the dialect. Long ago, her mother had taught it to her, and she knew it to mean: 'Hello, friend. I do not know where I am.'

Chestnut colored hair stuck this way, disheveled from sleep. Cassandra lifted her hands as she tried to rid sleep from her eyes – and she was sure her green eyes were now tinted with red due to her unrestful sleep. However, Cassie was getting used to the lack of sleep. The worry for the subjects and no comfortable place to sleep were just part of the job. At least she had been awake enough to hear Morgan’s voice. So now she stood with the rest of the researchers in the observation room. It was easy enough to hear the conversation from where she stood. Therefore when Morgan turned to look at the researchers – at her- she found herself slowly moving to enter the room that the two were in.

Her breath caught in her throat as she debated whether to greet the werewolf first or to inform Morgan of the translation of the words. It had been years since she had actually spoken the language – there was just no one around to converse with. As she bowed her head and gave the werewolf a sign of good faith and that she herself had no ill will, she could hear the words of her mother kindly lecturing her and correcting her. She bit her lip in nervousness as she wondered how to answer his question.

“Marquette Natural History Research Center, Michigan,” Cassie answered his question, though she knew her answer wouldn’t translate – her mother had never taught her the word for research anyways. “You have been… asleep for quite some time. We are not far from where we found you and your pack,” her words were hesitant and a bit choppy as her mind searched for the right wording and structure that she wished in a language she once knew. Perhaps saying that he had been stuck in ice was better than being asleep. However, she first wanted to see what the werewolf would reveal about at least being told that he was asleep.