“Was the damned story even real?” Thomas asked.
Daniel shook his head. “Not really, no. I made it up as I went along…from several old legends.” He laughed, “The leather strap was given to me by that old man back at the airport…I wouldn’t take a cigar so he slipped that into my hand instead. No idea what it was all about but I’m sure it has to do with some old superstition.”
They laughed again. Daniel’s smile suddenly faded, though. “My grandfather really did have a strong belief in that kind of stuff, though. He was really into the old stories.”
“Okay…no more of the ghost stories, please. We aren’t exactly roasting marshmallows over the campfire. It’s pretty spooky out here.”
“Here, here,” Thomas said. They laughed.
Thankfully, they heard no more howls…and soon they all drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.
The Other reached the edge of a clearing and stopped, the thick foliage keeping his body in shadow while blocking out the few rays of moonlight that had filtered through the clouds. He howled once more…a low, menacing sound boiling up from his throat. Steven and Thomas woke up but the rest of the group remained fast asleep.
“That last howl was damned close,” Steven whispered. “It does sound something like a wolf, but if it is one I’d bet there is something wrong with it. Maybe it is wounded.”
“Jack agrees with you,” Thomas said as he held Jack by his harness and stroked the Husky’s fur. “He does not like the sound of it one bit.”
“I think we did a good job spooking ourselves,” Steven said, keeping his voice low. “It’s not like we have anything to worry about...we’ll just shoot the damned thing if it bothers us.”
“Sorry about the stories,” Thomas offered.
“Bah. It’s fine.”
Thomas patted Jack’s shoulder and whispered that he wished he had more treats. He had packed the vacuum-sealed bags deep in his backpack and could not get to them now without waking the rest of the group. He had given Jack all of the dog snacks hoping to keep him calm. The Husky was far from calm, however…his head whipping back and forth as if he saw or heard things the group could not. Each time the dog perked up his ears and let out a low, rumbling growl Thomas felt a shiver of fear navigate up his spine and out through the goose bumps on his neck.
Steven and Thomas kept quiet as they looked through the windows. Thomas felt kind of stupid himself for keeping watch for whatever was out there. The animal was probably just some poor coyote that would end up scaring the hell out of him as it trotted out from the woods to investigate the helicopter and its plethora of new smells. But, he had never quite recovered from that night when he was eleven and now recalled that he had a pretty rough time during his military training when he was required to carry out missions alone for days, or spend a week alone on a survival course. He had conquered his fear of heights but apparently his fear of being alone at night in the woods was still alive even after all his time in the field with the Army.
* * * * *
Samuel looked at the clock above the tower’s largest window. 6a.m. Three hours until daylight but his shift was over in fifteen minutes. The rest of the locals would be up and around keeping to their normal schedules despite the season’s delayed sunsets and sunrises. He blew into his coffee, cooling it a little before bringing it to his lips. The night had been worse than he intended—thanks to the little teenage asshole, he thought. Samuel had called radio checks practically every half hour, only sleeping through a few. There were no replies from Steven’s outfit but there were no distress calls, either. No one could say for certain that something was amiss. Steven was working in that new tract of land up north where he was building a new cabin while putting the finishing touches on his cabin at Baron’s lake, and he may not have a base-station set up and working just yet. As for the radio in the Svensons’ aircraft, he should be able to at least reach someone who could relay a call if something was wrong. Samuel decided it was all a bunch of bullshit and nothing at all for him to worry about. He was going to head home, drink some coffee—topped off with his favorite creamer, of course—Pirate Beach rum.
The door behind him clicked as the lock turned and his shift relief stepped into the tower, shaking snowflakes off his thick, sheepskin jacket.
“Morning, Sam,” Clancy Dearborne said cheerfully. “Have any excitement during the night? I figured you might be busy with those two pressure systems coming together yesterday evening. Hell of a storm it has whipped up.” He was a pudgy man in his middle fifties, completely bald, always wearing a cap of one sort or another.
Samuel thought about what to say. Should he be careful, here? After a moment, he decided there just wasn’t anything to say—dumbass teenager sticking his probably pierced nose into things that were none of his business. Steven had probably just radioed to tell Kyle that all was well. Dumbass teenager was probably looking to be a hero, hoping and dreaming that something was wrong.
“Not a thing,” Samuel finally said as he set his empty coffee cup down on his desk. “There is a fresh pot of coffee in the break room. First flight out this morning is still correct on the board for 8:30, and the first flight in is at 7:00. It’s that group from Santa Fe that will be going after some bighorns over on East Puckett with Tom Self’s outfit. I heard those guys are a seriously rich bunch of greenhorns.”
“Yeah,” Clancy sighed, “That’s what I heard, too…but it’s always those ones that end up paying better than anyone else. I guess they like to flaunt what they’ve got.”
Samuel stretched, his shirt coming untucked from his pants, exposing the stretch marks on his massive stomach and revealing his lint-filled navel. Clancy resisted the urge to gag and turned away to set his coffee cup down, shifting his vision to the huge tower windows.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Clancy. I’m gettin while the gettin is good.”
Clancy nodded and sat down in front of the tower control station as Samuel shut the door behind him. He looked down at the weather radar screen. Yesterday’s massive snowstorm had moved south a bit but was holding in place rather than continuing on its path. He frowned as he noticed another system coming in from the north, building pressure as it unexpectedly met resistance from the remainder of the other storms. There was going to be more snow, especially to the north, but they might have clear skies for a few hours.
* * * * *
The Other was close to the humans. He breathed in their scent and found it mixed with other strange and pungent odors that he did not understand. He stood beside a massive tree facing a rocky clearing and could not see the humans but he knew they were there. He stared at the large, odd thing that sat in the snowy clearing. There was movement inside the thing. He smelled blood but did not sense that the humans were in distress.
His instincts were settling in, now…taking over. He would rush at them, attacking the thing that held them. Once it was subdued, he would rip and tear his way to the humans. He took a step forward into the clearing, preparing to leap but just as he was about to bound across the clearing, he sensed and smelled the Beast. It was here.
Before the Other could react, the Beast struck him hard and toppled him back into the wood line. The Other somehow managed to right himself and land atop the Beast’s chest, ripping and tearing. The Beast cried out once but used his strength to roll the Other over onto his back where he changed roles, bashing and clawing and biting in a fury. The Other managed to cry out once—then lost consciousness.
Inside the helicopter, Jenny cried out and opened her eyes.
“Shhhhh,” Steven whispered, placing a finger at his lips.
Delmar and Daniel both sat up. Thomas motioned for them to be silent.
“I thought I just saw something move,” Thomas whispered to Steven. Thomas held his rifle in one hand while tightening Jack’s leash with his other. Jack growled and fidgeted but did not pull away.
“Did you hear all of that?” Jenny whispered.
Steven nodded and Th
omas whispered, “We heard it.”
“What was it?” Daniel asked. Delmar was busy removing the straps that held his rifle to his backpack. He had secured the weapon there for the flight.
“Keep a close eye out of your windows,” Thomas said to his two friends. “I saw something move after the crazy sounds. Something big.”
Daniel nodded. Delmar finally had his rifle free. He quickly loaded it and stuck his face to the window.
“And whatever you do, don’t turn on any lights. We are already at a disadvantage.”
“Don’t you think we’re safe in here, Steven?” Daniel asked, keeping his voice low. “What the heck could get at us so long as we are in here?”
Steven kept staring out the window. “The only thing that worries me is that a Grizzly might be out there. I have personally seen them rip the doors off a pickup truck.”
“And what I saw was freaking big,” Thomas whispered. His eyes opened wide. “Freaking huge. It had to have been a bear up on his hind legs.”
Delmar spoke up, “What I heard did not…I repeat…did not sound anything at all like a bear.”
“Keep your voice down, Hero,” Thomas said.
“What we heard sounded just like that wolf again,” Steven said. “This time it sounded like there was a struggle. I would have guessed it was another wolf, but Thomas’s description leads me to believe that a Grizzly was also out there.”
“He’s often full of shit, you know,” Delmar whispered, white teeth glowing in the moonlight as he grinned. “He’s just scared himself with that story of his.” He looked at Steven. “I’ve known Thomas for half my life and he’s never mentioned that particular tall tale before tonight.”
Thomas didn’t reply. He stared out the window.
Delmar chuckled softly. “He’s conjured up a boogey-man.”
They kept watch for another hour. By then, Delmar was snoring and Daniel was leaning back, his eyes heavy. Jenny had fallen asleep against Steven’s shoulder while he remained vigilant. Thomas did too, staring out his window, Jack asleep at his feet.
“It will be daylight soon and I, for one, have to say that I will be relieved.” He turned and squinted in the darkness, “Thomas, do you have something for a headache? This cut is really hurting and I have a horrible damned headache…must be the worst I’ve ever had—feels like I might throw up, too.”
“Why didn’t you say something before?” Thomas asked. “We’ve all got meds in our packs. Just a second…” He shifted his feet so that he could reach into the pack without moving Jack. He felt inside his pack for a moment and then pulled out an O.D green nylon bag. He shuffled around for a second, found what he was looking for, then handed three brown tablets to Steven.
Steven thanked him and used the last of his bottle of water to wash them down. “Pain medicine won’t help the cut...that is why I didn’t ask….but the headache just came on full speed ahead a couple of minutes ago—hit me like a ton of bricks.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jenny said, waking up enough to hear her husband. She pulled him toward her. “Just lean back and rest as long as you can.”
“Yeah, I think I will.”
Thomas closed his eyes too, keeping his hands on the rifle.
The sun slowly rose into the sky, waking Delmar and Daniel first. They woke to find that they were sore from the cramped confines of the cabin. They both stretched, yawning and groaning as muscles expanded and bones creaked.
“I am so old,” Delmar said.
“Tell me about it,” Daniel replied in a low voice so as not to disturb Thomas.
“Look at that beautiful sun,” Delmar said.
“Yep. I’m happy to see it. Hope it stays clear like this.”
The sky was blue and nearly free of clouds as they looked out of the dull plexiglass windows…but they could not see the storm looming heavy with snow as it drifted slowly toward them.
Thomas woke to see Daniel petting Jack. The Husky was standing in front of the door opposite Thomas, wagging his tail and wooing on occasion. “He’s got to go out,” Thomas said. “Give me a second. I’ll take him.”
“He’s not the only one that has to go out,” Daniel said.
“I second that,” Delmar replied, already stooping to grab the door latch. “Do you have Jack’s leash?” he asked Thomas.
Thomas groaned and stretched. “Yep, I’ve got him.”
Delmar pulled the sliding door open, the rush of cold air momentarily taking his breath away. He had expected cold, but not this cold. “Whoooooeeee! It’s colder than a well-digger’s butt in Idaho.”
“Hey, now,” Daniel teased. “You are talking about my home state.”
Delmar laughed and hopped down into the fresh snow. His right foot hit one a skid and nearly toppled him over, but he caught his balance, cursing.
CHAPTER FIVE
The three friends walked to the nearest wood line and did their business. Jack was happy to be outside and in the snow. He buried his nose deep into the snow in several areas, and playfully bounded all around Thomas, tangling himself on his leash and nearly tripping them both. The three friends stretched and held their faces to the sun. Thomas thought that he saw a slim line of clouds to the north but they seemed to be far away.
They talked about the dangerous landing, the damage to the helicopter, which they could now see plainly in the light of day and they sighed when the subject changed to their ruined vacation. None of the three were selfish enough to bicker about the loss of the hunt while they had much more to be concerned with, but they were disappointed…especially Delmar.
Thomas and Jack stayed near the forest’s edge, walking around so that Jack could romp in the snow and sniff at the foliage. Delmar trudged back to the helicopter and found Jenny smiling at him through the cracked windshield. She opened the co-pilot’s door and shivered.
“Need to take your turn at the wood line, Jen?”
She smiled as she pulled a black wool cap down over her ears. “Yes, indeed.” She looked over at Steven. “He’s still sleeping and I think we should let him. I’ve just called another radio check and another mayday. There’s not much else we can do. I am sure that if the weather is better at the south camp, Kyle will have someone heading our way and I bet we are out of here before sundown.”
Delmar nodded. “That is good news, and I am not going to take your bet for fear of jinxing our rescue.”
Jenny held onto the small cockpit door and swung herself down into the snow. “I’m going that way,” She said, pointing to the edge of the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing. "Tell Thomas and Daniel to stay put for a minute.”
“Will do,” Delmar answered, shutting the cockpit door for her.
As she started to round the nose of the aircraft, she turned back to Delmar, “You guys are bound to have something that will do for breakfast, right?”
“Absolutely. I was just thinking I’d make us some coffee. We can use it to wash down some peanut butter and crackers.” He smiled, “We can even whip up some hot Ramen noodles if need be.”
“Great,” she said, then added, “The coffee that is…I can use some coffee.”
Delmar waved to get Daniel and Thomas’s attention. They saw him as he pointed in Jenny’s direction. They nodded that they understood. They were not to embarrass her as she used nature’s little girl’s room. Back inside the cabin, Delmar rummaged through his gear and came up with an aluminum pot. He grabbed several coffee packets, a small canister of compressed propane and the accompanying screw-on stove top He shoved the items into a smaller daypack that had been attached to the top of the backpack, added some powdered creamer, sugar, and a two-quart canteen of water. He then slung the small pack over his shoulder. He hopped back down into the snow and surveyed the area for a good spot. He found a cluster of large, flat rocks, one, he decided, was perfect for use with the propane stove.
Jack tugged hard against his leash and harness as Thomas was grunted and snapped commands at the big Siberian Husky. He did
not want Jack to go into the woods but the dog had other ideas. Jack was determined to follow whatever trail he had picked up…even if he had to drag Thomas behind him.
Daniel laughed as he watched Thomas use his full weight against the long leash only to be pulled off balance and dragged a few more steps forward. Thomas grunted and commanded Jack to sit. The dog ignored him and kept straining against the leash, his nose sniffing at the surface of the snow. Thomas saw the fur on Jack’s back stand up and his tail suddenly curl in a tight loop. Uh oh, Thomas thought. I know what those signs mean. Thomas looped the leash tightly around his wrist and used all his might to hold jack in place. He stepped toward Jack, reeling in the leash and steadily looping more of the nylon around his wrist as he labored to halt his canine friend. Jack growled fiercely, the menacing rumble unlike his usual, inquisitive snarls or growls of uncertainty. Jack tugged harder, going so far as to leap clumsily into the air as he tried to free himself from his leash. Thomas could not help but laugh at the dog’s aerobatics. “Nice triple lutz, boy.” Finally, Thomas was close enough to reach down and grab a handful of the shoulder harness. He pulled the dog waist-high off the ground, scooping him up into his arms like a barrel and began to struggle his way back toward Delmar and his makeshift coffee station.
He made it about twenty feet and decided he could not carry the big Husky. Jack was definitely not thrilled, either, squirming against his owner’s grip. Thomas let him down and waited to see what he would do. Jack whined and looked back toward the woods longingly but sat down on his haunches in submission. Thomas praised him, knowing that it must be hard for Jack to give up whatever was so enticing at the edge of the woods.
Daniel looked into the woods, focusing his attention on the spot that had so excited Jack. He stepped a little deeper into the wood line. There had been too much snowfall since they heard the strange animal sounds—there were no visible tracks unless the animals had stuck around until just before daylight. He walked a little further but found nothing. He shrugged and walked back.
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