by Daria Wright
Olivia nudged Benjamin slightly in the ribs. Then, finally, he spoke up.
“I am.”
“Good,” said Theodore. “Now let’s see what kinds of provisions we will need if we are going to storm their camp. This could be dangerous.”
“Our best bet is to infiltrate at night,” said Benjamin. “I have a bunch of shotguns upstairs that we can take with us, just in case we need to use them. Although I’d prefer this to be as peaceful as possible.”
“I wanna help,” said Jennifer.
“You are too young, dear,” said Amanda.
“You’re always saying I’m too young,” complained Jennifer.
“Well this time, we really mean it. It is going to be dangerous, getting Christopher and Sarah out of there. There will be a lot of big, scary men about.”
“Wait a minute,” said Benjamin suddenly. “I have an idea. We can use Jennifer to create a distraction as we go in and get our kids back. We can place her at the perimeter of the camp, as if she were a lost child. Jennifer can be crying. All the bandits in the area will run over to see what is happening. During that time, we can quickly go in and look for Christopher and Sarah, bringing them out.”
“And what if Jennifer should fall into harm’s way?” asked Amanda, suspiciously.
“I have studied bandit activity in this region. They are not especially known for their violence. They are always looking for peaceful ways to support their cause. They wouldn’t lay a finger on a young kid like Jennifer. It is just not how they do things.”
“Well, it is worth a shot, I suppose,” said Theodore. “Jennifer, are you willing to help out?”
“Yes!” said Jennifer enthusiastically. “I can cry. I am really good at crying.”
“We’ll need to dress all in black, so we can blend in with the night. I have a lot of black clothes upstairs, so follow me and we’ll get everyone dressed up,” said Olivia.
The two families got into their night-time garb. They looked like robbers themselves by the time they were all finished. Only Jennifer remained in her normal clothing, which tonight was a white summer dress with red stripes.
“Now,” began Benjamin, “I am fairly sure where their camp lies. From my research, I know that the bandits in this area like to camp out in large numbers. Their main camp is where they have likely brought our children to, I don’t think they would bother bringing them to a smaller camp on the outskirts of their operations. The last I heard, their main camp was located exactly three and a half miles to the east of here, just on the forest outskirts, and by the stream that flows down from there. I suggest we take some horses with us. We will probably have to make a very speedy getaway, especially if we run into a snag. We will need at least five horses for this operation. So, if there aren’t any questions, let us be off.”
No one had any questions and so the two families saddled up and began their ride. The moon lay high in the sky, providing light for their path. It didn’t take them very long before they neared the outskirts of the camp.
In the camp, Christopher and Sarah were sitting around a fire. They were surrounded by a group of about six bandits. Christopher and Sarah remained silent, but they could hear the talk around them perfectly well.
“I think they are going to pay up,” said a short, fat bandit. “They have no choice, and that Benjamin Miller is quite a stand-up fellow. He would never let anything happen to his kid.”
“He might let something happen to the young lad, though,” said another, taller bandit.
“Ah, but you see, that is where Theodore Lockley comes in. He is a very devoted father, and would never let anything happen to his son.”
“Either way, gents, we are going to get paid off in a big way!” said a third bandit, dressed in black and brandishing a shotgun.
All of a sudden, a young girl’s wails were to be heard. It sounded like it was coming from the outskirts of the camp, near the stream where they had washed up. The bandits surrounding them looked at one another, and then raced towards the noise. Christopher and Sarah were left unattended. They looked at one another, and could tell that they knew the thought that had dawned on both of them. Now was their chance. They stood up and quietly made their way toward the noise, making sure not to draw any extra, obvious attention. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw who was there crying. It was Jennifer! Little, sweet, young, Jennifer!
Christopher immediately recognized what was going. He recognized the plan that their families had concocted.
“They are around here somewhere,” whispered Christopher.
“Who?”
“Our families. They are coming to save us. Jennifer is the diversion.”
Then, behind them, suddenly Theodore appeared. He was dressed all in black, and was crouching very low so as not to be recognized or discovered.
“Come on!” he whispered in a deliberate tone. “We have horses; we need to get you out of here immediately.”
Theodore led Christopher and Sarah back around the edge of the camp, circling in a wide arc and landing at the top of the stream where their horses lay in waiting.
“I am going to get Jennifer,” said Theodore to the whole group, “you just make sure to get the heck out of here.
The others didn’t wait for Theodore to tell them twice. They saddled up and made their way back to safety. Meanwhile, Theodore also saddled up and raced towards Jennifer. He took the bandits by surprised. They were not expecting to see anyone on horse at that hour. As he trotted by he leaned over and grabbed Jennifer by the back of her dress and pulled her up onto the saddle. The bandit with a shotgun was quick to react, however. He aimed it at the horse and as Theodore was riding away with Jennifer, managed to get off a shot. However, luckily for them, he missed. As Theodore was riding off he heard several loud profanities yelled by the bandits who were stuck behind to curse their own lack of intelligence.
Back at the house, Benjamin and the rest of them were waiting for Theodore to return. Finally, as he appeared on the horizon, cantering up to the house, the families let out a loud cheer!
Amanda raced up to Jennifer and gave her a big hug. Jennifer was smiling.
“Did I do well, mommy?” she asked.
“You did extremely well, young one,” replied Amanda, who gave her another, very tight hug.
The Lockleys and Millers were not alone. Other members of the community had gathered around, for they had heard about their plight and wanted to make sure their friends were safe. They were coming up to Benjamin, shaking his hand, and congratulating him on a job well done.
Then Benjamin had an idea. He called to the crowd.
“Listen up, my friends. We have been through a large ordeal this night. As you may or may not know, the Lockleys’ son, Christopher, is in love with my daughter, Sarah. Up until tonight, I thought this was a bad thing, for they are not Amish. But, I am going to entreat you now, would you all mind if we formally inducted the Lockleys into our community? We could help build them a house, and they could start coming to church. I hope none of you would mind if they became official Amish people.”
The crowd thought this was a great idea, for they saw in Christopher’s eyes that he truly loved Sarah. They could tell, as well, by looking at Sarah, that she was deeply in love with Christopher.
From that night on, the Amish folk embraced the Lockleys as official Amish. The Lockleys continued to stay with the Millers, in their house, until their own house was built. It took six months, but with everyone pitching in, the feeling was that they had done a superb job.
Later on that year, Christopher proposed to Sarah. Sarah immediately said yes, and gave him a hug and a kiss. From that moment on, the two lovers were inseparable. A giant wedding was planned later on that year, and everyone from the Amish community attended. Benjamin gave a speech at the wedding, outlying the magnificent struggle that they all had been through. He had to admit, that they made a fine couple. From that day forth, Benjamin welcomed Christopher into the family. As the year
s went by, Sarah bore Christopher several beautiful babies, and as their family grew, they couldn’t have been happier. Christopher went to work for Benjamin, studying to be a preacher himself. Christopher had a knack for the faith, and understood the concepts naturally.
As their children grew up, Christopher and Sarah never took them for granted, and because of the way that their own relationship had started, never made them marry within the Amish community. Their philosophy was that if you loved someone, that was the most important thing. Everything else was secondary.
***The End***
Rescued By The Alpha Wolf
By: Stephanie Hunt
Erica flew on Flight 497. When she was setting out on her trip, she had no idea the adventure she was getting into. It seemed like a normal trip. She got to the airport two hours early, and checked her luggage, the same as usual. She was flying to visit her boyfriend who lived several thousand miles away and was excited to depart.
As the plane flew across the continent, Erica relaxed into her seat and began watching a movie. Then there was a bump, and the plane encountered some turbulence. Nothing out of the ordinary. But then there was another bump, and the turbulence worsened. Erica didn’t really have a problem with flying and so didn’t panic. After all, these types of small disturbances were normal. Weren’t they? But the turbulence continued. The woman sitting next to her made a cross over her chest and clutched the arm of her seat with a tense hand. Erica hated sitting next to people who weren’t okay with flying. Their anxiety always inevitably transferred to her, and she hated feeling anxious.
“It will be alright,” said Erica, half to the woman beside her and half to herself. But as the plane jostled and bounced she doubted the sincerity of her words.
A plane crash was imminent. Erica soon became terrified as the plane took a nose dive and started plummeting down towards the snowy mountain range below. She looked out of her window and saw the bright horizon angled down on 45 degrees. She grabbed the back of the chair in front of her and lowered her head as per the safety instructions explained by the stewardess several hours prior. A beautiful, well-groomed stewardess raced from the back of the plane to the front and strapped herself in to one of the cushioned seats. Erica felt that death was certain at this point, as the plane did not seem to be correcting its malfunction.
Erica glanced out the window only to see one of the engines explode in a fiery blaze. Metal scraps trailed the wing and spun off into the sky. Her terror soon turned to despair and then to downright frenzy. She was not a religious woman but she couldn’t help but send a silent prayer up to God to see her through this ordeal. The woman next to her vomited onto the floor and then fainted. She wanted to help the woman but knew there was nothing that could be done. Another glance out the window and now the mountains were closer and the ground was quickly approaching. She knew that only moments stood between the present and the inevitable crash. Soon a flurry of white, powdery hail pelted the aircraft and she knew that there was a stormy blizzard outside. Another quick prayer and the plane leveled off somewhat before smashing into the ground, sending rock and snow every which way. Erica blacked out.
*****
As consciousness back crept in, Erica was aware that she could hear before she could clearly see. The noises, which were frightening, could only be described as low, steady growls. The cold, wet snow beneath her chilled her to the bone. She realized that she was going to have to regain her faculties soon if she was to avoid imminent danger. She forced herself to sit up. Pain shot through her spin and down her legs and her head rang and throbbed. She could feel blood trickling down her forehead. She opened her eyes and everything seemed a blur. The growling noises intensified. Whatever was making those sounds was coming closer. Finally, she regained her vision and was shocked to see a group of about six or seven large brown bears gathering around a smouldering pile of wreckage which was the destroyed aircraft. Bodies, blood, and gore were strewn about haphazardly in a wide radius surrounding the wreckage. It appeared, from the outset, as though there were no other survivors. Erica made a mental note to check for signs of life, but then quickly realized that this would be impossible with the pack of predators close by.
She crawled on her hands and knees over to the plane and hid beneath a broken piece of wing. She could only hope that the bears did not see or smell her. They seemed to be aggressive and would probably jump at the chance to make a meal out of her. Suddenly a growling noise thundered from behind her. She turned about and saw the biggest bear she had ever seen charging towards her. Moments before the bear was on top of her a grey blur intercepted the attack and knocked her backwards while saving her from certain doom. Her head hit the side of the wing and she was once again concussed into darkness.
When she woke up for the second time she was aware that she was lying in some sort of sturdy bed. The mattress felt soft beneath her and she felt the warmth of a quilted blanket. There was also a warm, wet towel on her head. She thought of the bears, and the dead passengers, and the plane crash. She wondered if the woman who had sat beside her had survived. She wondered if anyone had survived. The cabin that she was in was modestly decorated, and a fire was blazing in a stone hearth in one corner of the room. A man was sitting in a chair next to her reading a book. The man was tall, dark, and handsome. He had a muscular build and was wearing tanned pants and a loose-fitting white cotton shirt. His mouth seemed to have a sort of handsome benevolence to it, as if he was constantly smiling about something. She guessed that he was her saviour and was now taking care of her and treating her injuries. She also guessed that the cabin belonged to him and that he was probably some sort of lumberjack or mountaineer. After all, they were in the remote wilderness and probably miles away from any town or settlement.
Erica decided to speak up: “Hello. Who are you?” It was a simple question, but she did not know how to begin a conversation with this strange man. She knew very little about her current situation, in fact.
“I am Igor. And you are Erica,” said the strange man.
“How could you possibly know that?” asked Erica.
“I searched through your clothes and found your wallet. Your name is Erica Wendy Jameson. And you are 31 years old.”
There was a long pause. She did not know what to say. She admitted to herself that it was reasonable that this man would search through her stuff, but she felt violated in a strange way as well. But of course she was alive, and she should be thankful for that. It didn’t seem like there were too many other survivors of the crash.
“I guess I should thank you,” stammered Erica. “You did save me did you not? The last thing I remember from before I passed out was a pack of bears searching through the wreckage. And then that large bear came at me. Was that you who intercepted the attack and saved me?”
“Those bears were part of an old, fierce tribe. They claim these mountain ranges for themselves and are extremely territorial. And yes, that was me that saved you. But there is no need to thank me, I did it for as much as my own peace of mind as for your safety and benefit.”
Erica was not sure what to make of Igor’s last statement. Why would saving a complete stranger be for his own benefit? She did have to admit that he was cute. She had always had a thing for rugged-looking, masculine men. She sat up and propped herself against the wooden wall.
“Do you have anything to eat?” she asked innocently.
“I have some stew broiling on the hearth. Relax and I’ll pour you a bowl. I hope you like mutton.”
He prepared for her some of the stew, and she quickly gobbled it down. She had to admit it was the tastiest thing she had eaten in days. Much better than the airline food at the very least. “Were there any other survivors?”
“No.”
“So I am the only one?”
“Yes.”
“What a shame.” Erica hung her head and frowned. She was truly disturbed by the transpiring of events and didn’t quite know what to make of it all. It almost felt as though s
he were in a bad dream. But she felt close to her saviour. She would have to content herself with being his companion and allow him to help her survive out here in the wilds until she could get back to civilization. She decided to ask him a few more questions about her plight.
“How am I going to get out of here?” she inquired.
“Well, it’s a bit complicated. As you may have guessed, we are in the middle of nowhere. I make a living around here by harvesting nearby wildlife and hauling lumber to the closest settlements but I am not completely alone. There are, others…”
“Other men like you?”
“Yes, other men like me. I will be taking you to see them once you have recovered a bit more of your strength. I imagine that within another day or so you will be ready for the journey into the nearest settlement. But I warn you, you must keep an open mind. We are not what you would call ordinary humans.”
Erica was a very open-minded individual. She had always been used to hanging around unordinary people and even considered herself to be one. But people who weren’t human? Could this be real? She wondered, if they were not human, what could they be?
“There is a war going on,” Igor continued, “Between our race and a warring faction. I am a tribesman of the wolf shifters. I belong to an ancient den of shapeshifters, and am myself a councilman, a fairly high-up rank. We have the ability to transform into wolves. When I saved you from that bear I was in wolf-form, a highly agile and ferocious manifestation that enables me to accomplish unbelievable feats of strength and courage. Are you still with me?”
Erica nodded her head affirmatively.
“The warring faction that I am talking about is the group of bear-shifters. They are similar to us in that they are shapeshifters, but their form takes on that of the brown bear. They are a formidable enemy and have been for a long time. They pose a threat to us and cannot be underestimated. Tomorrow, when you are feeling better, I will be taking you to see the Alpha wolf. He will make a decision about what to do with you. But don’t worry, with me as your advocate, it is unlikely that any harm will befall you.”