“Well… Then… If the tribe can’t get the land, then who gets it if Mrs. MacDonald dies while the curse is still in effect?” Honey asked.
The truck rolled to a rest at a stop light. Brock turned to Honey and said, “I don’t know… but whoever it is stands to get very, very rich.”
The light turned green and the pair drove in silence for around ten more minutes. It was just about dark when Brock turned off the two lane highway and headed down an unpaved road. For several minutes, they meandered along the back country road gaining in elevation as they went.
At last, they came upon a clearing.
To Honey’s surprise, there were a number of cars already parked just up ahead of them. Brock drove all the way to the front of the makeshift parking lot until he reached what looked to be a trailhead of some kind.
“What is this place?” Honey asked as Brock turned off the vehicle.
“You’ll find out soon. Come on, we hike from here.” He said.
“Hike? Uhhm, I am not really a hiking kind of girl in case you haven’t noticed…”
“It’s not far. I’ll carry you if I have to…”
“Promise?” Honey said with a smile.
“Definitely…” Brock said as he winked at her.
Brock and Honey climbed out of his pickup and began to make their way along the trail. In the distance, Honey could see a faint light. They continued up the trail, covering one switchback after another as they traversed.
“How much further?” Honey groaned.
“Almost there…” Brock said. “We’ll make a mountain girl out of you yet.”
“No, you won’t… You’ll be a city slicker before I am a backcountry adventurer.” She said.
Brock laughed. “Come on, the last switchback is up ahead.”
They rounded the corner and came upon a huge rock outcropping that extended over the entrance to a cave. The light that Honey had seen down below was coming from torches that burned on either side of a large, very old looking, oak door that covered the cave’s entrance.
“Get behind me…” Brock said as he knocked on the door. Judging from the sound of the echo his knock made, the inside was probably pretty large.
After a few moments, the door opened and a heavily muscled man with short, black hair filled the doorway. He nodded to Brock and stepped to the side. Brock turned around to Honey and said, “Come on. Follow me…”
“No, the human stays. You know the rules Brock.” The man said.
“Foster, I swear. If you don’t get out of my way…” Brock replied.
“Fine. Okay, okay… Quinn and Albondiel will not be happy about this.”
“I’ll deal with them. Are we finished here? I don’t have any time to waste…”
Foster nodded and stepped aside once again.
“Sorry about that Honey… Come on.” Brock said.
Honey approached the doorway with trepidation. As she neared the man guarding the entrance, she thought she heard him make a low, growling noise. Before she could even turn her head to be sure, Brock snatched the man by the neck and rammed him against the wall.
“Do that again, Foster. I dare you.”
Honey had never seen a man move that quickly. Brock literally blurred as he passed in front of her. The man’s eyes took on the shapes of small moons as Brock leaned his body against him. All Foster could manage was a gurgling sound as Brock’s grip tightened around his throat like a vice.
“Brock! Please, don’t!” Honey exclaimed.
Brock slammed the man’s head against the wall for good measure and then released him. Stunned, he quickly moved out of the way and he gestured for both of them to pass.
“I’m sorry, Brock.” He said as he tried to regain his breath.
“It’s alright Foster. I know you are doing what you are supposed to do. No hard feelings…” Brock said.
“No. Go ahead…” he replied.
They made their way inside, turned a corner and came upon an open room. At the center of it was a large round table that appeared to be fashioned from oak or pine. A number of men were already seated at the table. Only one chair remained open – Honey presumed it was for Brock.
As they entered, a man with long, shiny black hair spoke without looking at them. Instead, he stared straight ahead and said, “Why is the human here, Brock?”
“It is none of your concern Quinn…”
He turned their direction and as he did, his pupils flared a reddish orange hue. “Bear… You will not tell me what is or is not of concern to the wolf clan.” He said with a menacing tone.
“Nor the mountain lion pride…” said another man with short chestnut-colored hair who was seated towards the other end of the table.
Brock spoke. “I know that Albondiel. I am well aware of the laws that govern us. She is of no threat to us.”
Quinn slammed his fist down on the table, “You don’t know that Brock! Humans are the ultimate threat to us… She cannot be trusted!”
A large number of the men in the room grumbled in agreement. It was more than evident to Honey that her presence was not welcomed. She quickly scanned the room for anyone that looked remotely familiar. In the corner, she saw Leo and several of the other bears. Whatever was going on was important, she just had no clue what it was.
Albondiel interjected, “This is an outright betrayal! Brock, just because your judgment has been clouded by the presence of this… human… that gives you no right to risk exposing all of the shifters in the Fork.”
Brock raised his arms and said, “Listen to me… my friends, please! For too long we have lived in fear of what the humans would do to us if we were exposed. But, what has our secrecy has wrought upon us? We are lumped in with the common beast. Mayor Doyle is mere hours away from declaring an open hunting season on all bears, shifters included.”
“Oh come now, this is not a concern of wolves or lions, Brock. Your sermonizing is not going to mask your agenda here.” Another black haired man said.
“What agenda, my brother Nuvian? How long have we known each other? Our entire lives? When have you ever known me to be someone who sermonizes about anything?”
Nuvian shrugged.
“All of you are fools if you don’t understand what I am saying here. The Mayor told me himself that all of us would be subject to the hunt. This is not just a ‘bear problem’. From his point of view, it is a wildlife problem and he told me as much earlier today.”
“Wait… What do you mean?” another man asked.
Brock turned his attention towards the questioner. “Ronyn, the Mayor told me, in no uncertain terms that bears, wolves, lions… All of us. We were all at risk.”
“So because of some out of control bears, we all have to suffer?” Ronyn asked.
“No! Ronyn, no… That’s why I am here right now. Listen, there is no shortage of food for bears… anywhere! I think that there is someone behind this but I don’t have any idea of who it might be. The nature of the attacks suggest that someone is luring bears into these situations with humans. Nothing else makes sense…”
A period of silence fell over the room. Not a single person offered an opinion. Finally, when it became apparent that no one else would, Honey spoke up. “Well, who has the most to gain here?”
All of the men, Brock included, turned to face her. The moment was… intimidating… to say the least but it just seemed like the most obvious question to ask. If no one else would do it, the she figured she must.
“What do you mean, Honey?” Brock asked.
With a slightly confused look on her face, she said, “Well, if the bears aren’t attacking due to a lack of food then obviously someone is baiting them into it. The only question is who benefits from that?”
Several of the men laughed derisively. It was as if Honey had been excluded from some sort of inside joke.
“You seriously don’t think it is that simple? Do you?” Quinn said.
Honey replied, “Why not? You are not humans. Humans are dr
iven by greed in ways that you cannot possibly imagine. For you, there is only your family and the wild. But, for many humans, money and greed are at the center of what drives almost all of them.”
The room fell mostly silent once again. Finally, Albondiel replied, “Perhaps the human has a point… The shaman, where is he.”
“I’m way ahead of you, Albondiel. That was my next stop after meeting with you. To my knowledge, he’s with the Mayor at this very moment.” Brock replied.
Albondiel nodded.
Brock continued, “I summoned the Council of the Wild tonight to warn you. Tell your clan and pride members. For now, you must stay out of harm’s way. I am doing everything in my power to prevent the open hunt.”
“Fine, Brock. We will do as you ask.” Quinn said. “But, if the Mayor opens the hunt, we have to protect our own. If we must spill human blood to save our lands and our kin, then we will do so even if it means war amongst all of us as well.”
“I understand. Thank you my friends.” Brock replied.
With no time to waste, Honey and Brock left and headed back down the trail to his truck.
As they walked, Honey asked, “What do you hope to learn from the shaman?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you suppose the curse was some sort of distraction?” she said as she climbed into the passenger’s seat.
Brock slammed the door and put the key in the ignition. “That’s what I intend to find out.”
***
Brock and Honey sped across town to the Pompowee reservation. As they came around the corner of the street that the shaman lived on, they saw reservation police car lights up ahead.
“Shit…” Brock said.
Seconds later, they pulled into the driveway and hopped out of the pickup. The Mayor was there, along with Chief Heewash and the ever intrepid reporter, Harlon Winters. Some of the reservation cops milled about in the shaman’s garage.
As Brock and Honey walked up, the Mayor turned in their direction.
“Mr. Mayor…” Brock began. “What’s going on?”
“Shaman Powekah is missing…” the Mayor replied.
“What? When did this happen?” Brock asked.
The Mayor motioned for Brock and Honey to follow him. They walked just out of earshot of the Chief and Harlon Winters. “Just before I arrived. When I got here, the damn news truck was already here. The Chief is blaming the town. It’s… a mess.”
Brock scoured the scene. “Are there any leads yet? Did anyone see anything?”
“No, not yet… not that I know of. We are trying to get permission from the Chief to allow some of our forensics team on the reservation. At the moment, he’s not budging.”
“Hmm…” Brock replied. “How the hell did Winters get here ahead of you?”
“Well, he knew I was coming over. I mentioned it in our meeting today. Maybe he was looking for another angle on the story. Who knows? Right now, he’s the least of my concerns…”
“Mr. Mayor, do you mind if I try and talk to the Chief?” Brock asked.
“Mind? Hell, at this point, anything would help.”
They agreed and walked back over to where the Chief and Harlon Winters stood. “Chief?” Brock asked. “Could I have a word with you?”
The Chief nodded.
As he walked over, Brock said, “Chief, I want to introduce you to Miss Honey Thompson. She’s from the hospital and has been helping me with our end of the investigation.”
The Chief looked at Honey. “Miss Thompson…”
“Hello.” Honey replied. “I’m sorry to hear about Shaman Powekah.”
“Thank you, Miss Thompson. That is very kind.”
The three of them faced each another as Brock began to speak. “Chief… I… I know this has been a difficult few weeks for the tribe…”
The Chief interrupted, “It’s more than that Brock… Shaman Powekah is our spiritual leader. For him to do what he’s done…”
Brock nodded. “Well, yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. About why he did what he did. Chief, why would the Shaman lay a curse upon the Salmon Run and the MacDonald land like this?” Brock asked.
The Chief bit his lower lip and shook his head but didn’t speak.
“Chief?” Brock asked.
After a few more moments of silence, the Chief replied, “Brock, I really don’t have any interest in airing the tribe’s dirty laundry like this.”
“Sir?” Brock said. “What are you trying to say?”
The Chief inhaled a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “The shaman accused me of wanting to turn the land over to a big developer once Mrs. MacDonald passed.”
Confused, Brock asked, “Why would he do that? Is that true?”
The Chief shot Brock an angry look. “No, of course it isn’t true, Brock. You know me well enough to know that. This is tribal land. If there is to be any development at all, it will be done by us, not some faceless monolith.”
“I meant no disrespect Chief.” Brock said.
The Chief exhaled. “I know that Brock. I know.” He said. “When it first happened, I tried talking to him about it but he just kept accusing me over and over. Anyway, I just thought I’d let a little time pass and then try speaking to him again. When the Mayor phoned and said he was coming, I thought it would be as good a time as any. When I got here, he was already gone…”
Brock and Honey exchanged glances.
“Hmm, okay Chief. Listen, I won’t keep you. I know you need to get back to the investigation.” Brock said.
The Chief nodded. “Thank you Brock. It was nice to meet you Miss Thompson.”
Honey smiled. “And you as well, Chief. I’m just sorry it couldn’t have been under more pleasant circumstances.”
The Chief shook their hands and walked away.
Brock rubbed his eyes. “Ohh man, I need some time to clear my head. I think it’s best if we just get out of here.”
“Alright.” Honey said.
They walked over and said goodbye to everyone. As they turned to leave, the Mayor said, “Get some rest Brock. You look like hell.”
Brock nodded. “Way ahead of you…”
A few minutes later, Brock and Honey were back on the road and headed into Troubled Fork.
As he drove he said, “I know it’s getting late. I have to stop by my house for a second before I take you home. Do you mind?”
“No, that’s fine.”
***
Honey hadn’t been back to Brock’s house since the party a couple of weeks ago. As she walked in, she recalled meeting Kristy for the first time. Kristy had been such a kind spirit. It was still hard to believe that she was gone.
“Make yourself at home…” Brock said. “I’ll be right back.” He then disappeared into down into the basement.
“Okay…” Honey replied as she sat down on the couch.
As she sat, she whipped out her cell phone to text Teresa. Ordinarily, Honey would have just been getting home at this time of night but at this point, she didn’t have any idea how much longer it might be. The last thing she wanted was Teresa getting all worked up.
Just as she finished texting, Brock reappeared from downstairs. He had a pistol in his right hand and a box of ammunition in his left.
“What are you doing with that?” Honey asked.
“The way things are at the moment… There’s no telling… I just might need it.”
He walked over towards Honey and sat down next to her. As he did, he placed the gun and bullets on the sofa table in front of them. He let out an exhausted breath and leaned his head against the back of the sofa.
“You must be beat.” Honey said.
With his eyes closed, Brock replied, “Yeah, I’m pretty wiped out.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.
“No, you’ve been great Honey. Honestly, without you…” he said as his voice trailed off.
“…Without me?” she asked.
She turned
towards him. His head remained against the couch, his eyes still closed. Honey looked at him in silence for a few moments. They’d kissed. What was she still worried about?
He leaned his head forward, opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Without you… I’d be lost.” He replied.
“Brock… I… what do you mean?”
Honey for the Bears Page 6