Episode 108: Orion
Written By Karl White
Some memories fade. Others linger like ghosts, leaving deep, haunted scars not easily exorcised...For Bess Bishop, every time it rained, her mind was plagued by a storm-ridden night back in 1963. She’d been the charge nurse on duty when Thomas Crowley was brought to the State Mental Hospital in Burkettsville, Kansas. Captured after a brutal string of murders, Crowley insisted that a “curse” compelled him to kill, going so far as to claim he was a werewolf. But authorities dismissed his confession as the ravings of a madman and committed him to the psychiatric hospital while investigators sorted through the mountain of evidence surrounding his crimes.
Bess Bishop, 1963 - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Arriving at the hospital during a raging storm, the power and phones went down. Hidden by darkness Crowley transformed into the monster he claimed to be. Bursting free from his cell, Crowley rampaged through the blackened corridors, tearing apart anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Trapped inside with the beast, hospital staff and dozens of patients were slaughtered as he carved a path of blood...and freedom.
Bess encountered him while responding to desperate screams echoing from the west wing. The moment she saw what Crowley truly was, she fled. The werewolf pursued her through the darkened hallways until finally cornering her.
Crowley hunts during the storm - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
It struck before a group of orderlies rushed to intervene. Their sacrifice bought Bess a few precious seconds, but it was enough. While Crowley turned his fury upon them, she escaped, barricading herself inside a supply room, remaining hidden until the nightmare finally came to an end with Crowley's escape.
The encounter left Bess with wounds, and she understood what that meant. Knowing what fate was in store, Bess concealed her injuries before help arrived. In the aftermath, she told investigators the horror of that night left her unable to return to nursing. No one questioned her decision. After witnessing the devastation Crowley unleashed, no one doubted the depth of her trauma.
Quietly disappearing from her life, Bess left her sister, and an ailing mother behind. She retreated to a small town in the far reaches of North Dakota. Buying a small plot of land, and living in a mobile home. Feeling her wolf side surfacing, Bess gave in, becoming what she feared. Only when supplies ran low or the need for money became necessary, did she cautiously venture back into society, always careful to keep the rest of the world at arm's length.
She spent decades balancing her two sides the best she could. Never getting close to anyone. And moving on every few decades to avoid anyone questioning her unchanging human appearance. Solitude became her refuge and prison.
As time went on, her elemental ability surfaced. She had command over Light, a useful gift living off the grid. But with no explanation as to why she had this power, it only deepen questions she already carried. She’d spend empty nights wondering what became of Crowley, where his curse originated, and if there were others like her. But she was too scared to seek answers.
Then, in 2017, everything changed. While browsing the internet at a small public library in Tioga, North Dakota, Bess came across the leaked footage of Los Arraigados. For the first time in her life, she witnessed others wielding the elemental forces of nature just as she could.
A quiet moment - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
A year later, after once again surviving her latest transformation and knowing several weeks would pass before the next, Bess found herself enjoying a quiet beer at the local VFW. Across the bar, she overheard two men discussing a mysterious traveling magic act scheduled to perform the following evening in Wolf Point, Montana. Interest piqued, Bess would make the two and a half hour drive, hoping to discover her place in the world.
But her decision to go would be part of a convergence of events the Wolf Tribe, and the Dark, had been waiting millennia for.
In Montana, Uti waited as the sun slipped below the horizon. In the distance, a great canvas tent rose against the fading sky, its silhouette resembling a revival back in the old days. Using his own ability to control Air, he’d command the wind to keep his scent away. He’d been successful masking his presence from the members of the Wolf Tribe for the last year, as he followed at a distance. He didn’t know what they’d do if they discovered a Child of Nature tailing them. He could feign ignorance if necessary, but knew too much from what Death had revealed to him about the groups real purpose. The members of the Wolf Tribe were ancient, their senses refined by generations of experience. Uti feared a single careless word, a nervous glance, or even the weight of what he knew might betray him.
He was also alone. Though he’d forged a close bond with Sara Ivy after helping her confront and kill Thomas Crowley, her extraordinary power made her presence far too dangerous. As the only known Child of Nature capable of wielding all six elements, she couldn’t risk exposing herself where the Dark might find her, much less along the path of the Rooted Ones as they searched for their elusive Bearer of Light. Instead, Sara remained hidden, moving constantly between safe houses under the protection of the samurai vampire Renmaru Okayama and the Eternal monk Heng Shao.
Since their warning from Death in 2015, Uti and Sara had sought out other warriors of the Light, namely the Order of Wormwood. Banding together, piece by piece, the forces of the Light were beginning to gather.
As night fell, Uti watched as people arrived from every direction to witness the mysterious performance of the Rooted Ones. He didn’t know who exactly he was looking for, but if a Child of Nature came to see the show, he’d know. He’d been honing his senses with Sara’s help, able to identify one’s elemental ability by smell alone.
The entering crowd was thinning, so Uti allowed himself a quiet breath of relief. He had detected no trace of a Light Bearer among those entering the show.
Orion in the night sky - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Looking upward, his eyes settled upon the constellation of Orion shining brightly across the western sky. To the Navajo those stars were known as Átsé Ets'ózí, a strong young hunter, a guardian of the night sky, ready to defend his people. Seeing Orion before a hunt was said to be a sign of good fortune...
At that very moment a scent hit him. Clear and unmistakable.
He spotted Bess getting out of an old beat-up truck, the smell of her elemental power wafting heavily in the air like a siren. He moved immediately, intercepting her before she made it inside. But despite his planning, Uti overlooked one critical detail. Anticipating the arrival of the Light Bearer, he never considered how he might convince a complete stranger, in the span of only a few desperate moments, that their destiny waited inside that tent...and they must avoid it at all costs.
When he reached Bess, her defenses were already up, as they always were.
Convincing a stranger - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
UTI: Ma’am, I think you should come with me.
It sounded as crazy coming out of his mouth, as it did formulating in his head. He could see the shine of light in her eyes, ready to use her power or her curse if need be.
UTI: I know what you are, a Child of Nature.
BESS: A what?
UTI: A werewolf, like me. And I know who made you. Thomas Crowley.
His words only made her more guarded. Time was ticking, but Uti held his ground.
UTI: He’s dead. I helped kill him...I know what’s inside you.
Holding out his hand, he demonstrated his elemental power. Calling forth a gentle current of wind, it spiraled around his fingers, before drifting into the night air.
UTI: You’re more powerful than you realize, and the fate of mankind hinges on you. If you’ll allow me to explain I will, but we’ll need to go far away from here...I promise it’s worth hearing.
After a tense moment, Bess gave a cautious nod.
But as they walked off, and the show was starting inside, someone else noticed their interaction. Watching from a distance, Joseph Frost could sense great power radiating from them both, so he and Orem Black decided to follow.
TO BE CONTINUED…