by AJ Newman
Tom didn’t like this game. “Well?”
“We have beef for several days, and we have hungry wolves. Bill, James, Rick, and I are going out to find them and wipe them out.”
Tom said, “Can’t you just run them off?”
Jack paused and kept his smartass remark to himself. “Tom, the wolves found easy prey and will feed on our cattle and grow in numbers. If we don’t kill them, you won’t have a herd by spring. The coyotes will get what the wolves miss. The newborn calves will be their appetizers.”
Tom called for Kate, and a few minutes later, she appeared. “Kate, can you put a team together to help Jack find a pack of wolves that’s killing our cattle? I think if you fly the drones just above the treetops, you can find the wolves' den. Then Jack’s crew can move in and get rid of them.”
Kate shook her head. “I hate that. The wolves are in their home territory. We’re the intruders.”
“Kate, they’ll kill most of our cattle and all of our calves in the spring. I hate to do it also, but it has to be done.”
“Yes, I know, but I still hate to do it,” Kate moaned.
***
Doris was on guard duty that night and woke Tom up before daylight. “Tom, sorry to disturb you, but it snowed last night, and I know you want to find those wolves.”
Tom’s brain kicked into high gear when he equated snow with being able to track the wolves. “Kate, wake up! We need to get the drone team up and feed them to get the drones up when the sun rises. This is going to be a long day.”
Kate went to wake up her team. Tom found Jack and his hunters already eating. June and Alice had fried some steaks and eggs for the men. Tom entered the dining area, poured a cup of java, and said, “Can you cook enough for six to eight more folks? We’re flying the drones at sunrise. Jack, could you give Kate an idea where to start?”
Alice laughed, “Doris gave us a heads up. The food will be ready about the time their sleepy heads roll in to eat.”
Jack said, “That’s easy. We’ll start a drone over what’s left of the cow. I’d have another circle around the area about a hundred yards out and look for their paw prints. I think there were ten or more in this hunting pack. Their prints should be easy to see in the snow. That is, if they came back after it snowed, and I’ll bet they did.”
The rest of the team woke up to two inches of snow on the ground and a calm sunny day. Tom noticed the air blowing in from the west was warmer than the previous week. “People, we need to find and destroy the wolf pack before the snow melts. We have a day, maybe two, to find them.”
Jack’s team went straight to the carcass and found plenty of tracks. He saw the drone above the trees and pointed northeast. The drone sped away, following the tracks. They didn’t want to use the walkie-talkies to avoid being discovered, but Jerry had found some low range ones like kids used. These only had a range of a few miles, and Kate had already had two drones checking for any intruders near the ranch. None were found. Jerry keyed the mic. “Can you see the tracks?”
Jackie responded, “Yes, but sometimes we lose them in thick brush. We’re circling the area a quarter-mile northeast of your position to try to find the trail again.”
The drones didn’t find the trail, but Jerry’s team followed the paw prints through the thicket and up a stream until the wolves left the creek a mile north of where their path was lost. Jackie saw the trail again and saw several tracks heading into a large brush pile. “Jack, I think we found the den. You’re almost there. I don’t see any wolves. Kate, do you see anything?”
“Yes, there’s a dozen or more heading toward Jack’s men. Jack, they’re only a hundred yards east of you. I think they circled back on you,” Kate said.
Jack alerted his men, and they climbed up in several trees in time to see the wolves sneaking up on them. Jack said, “Wait until they’re close enough to shoot at least two each.”
Rick was the only hunter with an AR. The others had .30 o6 hunting rifles with magazines that only held three to five bullets, plus one in the chamber. The wolves couldn’t see the men, but the humans’ odor filled the air. The beasts were about thirty feet from the hunters when one of the wolves saw Jack and growled. The pack surrounded the tree.
Jack yelled, “Don’t shoot me, but kill the bastards.”
The other hunters took aim and fired their weapons. Three wolves dropped and then a fourth when Jack shot one from fifteen feet away. Rick got off three shots for every one the others fired. The deafening noise scared the last three wolves away. Jack keyed his mic. “Where did the ones that escaped go?”
Kate spoke over the radio. “They ran west instead of going to the den. How many of the monsters could be left alive?”
Rick replied, “There’s no way to tell. There are eight dead wolves over here, and three escaped. There could be ten to twenty left. We need to get them out of the den. I think I’ll start a fire in that brush.”
Kate replied. “No! Jerry thought we might need to flush them out. Get your men ready to shoot, and we’ll get them out.”
“Okay. Guys, let’s get down and head over to the den.”
The men shouldered their rifles and scrambled down the trees. Bill’s feet were only a few feet from touching the ground when the wolves attacked again. The three had only hidden before coming back to get revenge. One wolf bit Bill’s calf while another clamped down on his high top boot. The wolf viciously shook Bill’s foot as the third wolf moved in for the kill. Rick dropped the last five feet, drawing his Berretta on the way down. He hit the ground, bounced up, and fired. The third wolf was down.
Rick ran the twenty-five feet to Bill, shooting while running. The wolf that had been biting Bill’s foot was down. The remaining wolf turned Jack’s calf loose and launched at Rick. Rick couldn’t shoot because Bill was in the line of fire. He dropped his pistol and drew his bayonet. The wolf’s jaws almost closed on Rick’s arm, but Rick slammed the butt of the bayonet into the creature’s snout. With one hand grasping the beast’s throat, Rick jabbed his knife into the wolf as fast as he could with powerful thrusts. The monster fell at his feet.
Rick shook and trembled as he regained his wits. He saw Bill prone on the ground and ran to him. Bill’s leg bled profusely, so Rick took his handkerchief and made a tourniquet. He used his knife to twist the tourniquet and stop the bleeding. He tied the blade in place. “Bill, you know the drill. Open it up to let the blood get to your leg, and then twist it down tight again.”
“Can’t I just put pressure on the wound and stop the blood?”
“No! I’m putting a blood clotting agent on the wound, and the blood flow would wash it away. Let the clotting agent and tourniquet do their job, and then pressure should work,” Rick said.
Rick applied the clotting agent and said, “Jack asked for some help. They’re bringing some horses up to fetch you, and we’ll stand guard until they arrive. We’ll take care of the den afterward.”
Tom, Granny B, and Jerry arrived fifteen minutes later and took Bill back to the bunker. Tom took his AR from his shoulder and two more from his saddle and joined the hunters. “Here’s some firepower. I want to quickly dispatch these beasts when they come out of the den. Kate identified two entrances. We’ll position ourselves so we don’t shoot each other but cover the openings. Happy hunting.”
A few minutes later, they were in position. “Kate, drop whatever Jerry has concocted to run the wolves from their den.”
Kate’s drones hovered over the den and dropped the glass jar of benzene that Jerry had mixed Styrofoam into to yield a poor man’s napalm. Tom was surprised to see sparks flying from the top of the jar when suddenly it exploded about ten feet above the den. Jackie’s drone swooped in and dropped a similar firebomb. The brush and limbs burned ferociously. Only a few wolves escaped the burning brush, but were covered with the sticky napalm still burning as they ran. They were quickly shot down. Tom was happy that Kate didn’t hear the howls and squeals of the trapped wolves as they burned alive.
> Tom tapped James on the shoulder. “James, it’s them or us. We’re both apex predators fighting for survival. One day, we might be firebombing the gang. Try to steel yourself for that eventuality.”
“Fubar.”
Rick frowned. “Tom’s right. We either fight or flee one day. I don’t plan to flee to a place that could be more dangerous than this one is now.”
*
Chapter 30
The ranch
Rick tapped on Tom’s bedroom door the next morning before the sun was even close to thinking about rising over the treetops. He heard, “Mmmunnph. Come on in.”
Rick poked his head in and saw Tom stretching. “Tom, the electricity crapped out, and Granny B is on a tirade to get someone up to the pond the check on the turbine. She thinks a stick has jammed the turbine wheel.”
Tom rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Did it snow any last night?”
“Just a good dusting on top of what’s leftover. Do you want me to go with you?”
Kate yawned and stretched. “No! I’ll go with him. We can ride the horses up if you’ll get someone to saddle them.”
Rick frowned as he withdrew his head. “Are you sure? It’s the end of my guard duty, and I was only going to go back to bed.”
A pillow hit the door just as the door closed.
The trip up to the pond was miserable. The wind howled through the trees blowing the snow from the branches into their faces. Tom loved having his wife with him but said, “You should have stayed in bed. Rick would have come with me.”
Kate had her hood drawn tight around her face and could barely hear Tom. “I’ll keep my mouth shut next time. This is brutal, but then we women have to prove we are equal to men all the time.”
Tom ignored the comment. “There’s the pond. Let’s tie the horses up to the tree and check out the turbine.”
Tom fetched his tool bag from the saddle and walked to the spillway. “Damn, it’s a big branch locking up the wheel.”
Kate said, “Hand your backpack to me, and I’ll throw it over your saddle.”
Tom said, “No. I’ll have this loose, and we’ll be back home in thirty minutes. Come over here and help me keep my balance. I don’t want to fall onto the ice.”
Kate moved behind Tom and wrapped a gloved hand around his belt. She braced herself and held fast. “Don’t lean over too much, or we’ll both go sliding across the ice.”
Tom leaned over the spillway and grabbed the limb as Kate pulled on his belt to keep him from falling forward. A dark figure slinked from the woods stopping behind Kate. Two gloved hands touched Kate’s back and pushed. She tumbled into Tom, throwing them both down to the ice. Kate screamed as her head turned to see the dark figure. Kate couldn’t see the face but saw a wicked toothy smile before they hit the ice.
Both knew they’d end up in the water and took a deep breath just in case the ice didn’t hold their weight. Tom grabbed the branch, but it broke without breaking his fall. He slammed into the ice, and it held for a few seconds before it shattered under his weight. A split second later, Kate’s body hit him in the back. They both wore their backpacks, pistols, extra ammunition, and hand axes that morning as usual. Today was a bad day to be prepared for the apocalypse. The excess weight and now wet clothing drug them down to the bottom of the dam.
Tom stayed calm. He knew the water was only about six feet deep in the summer, but the fall had brought rain. The water was now ten feet deep. He frantically felt around and found Kate losing the battle in her attempt to swim back to the surface. He drew his knife, slit her backpack’s straps, and shoved her to the surface. He knew she was still a few feet below the water level. Tom kicked his toes into the dam's slope and lifted Kate up enough for her to grab the bottom of the concrete spillway and lift her head from the icy water. Tom continued to shove, and Kate struggled out of the water. She lay on the bank shivering.
Kate recovered enough to grab her flashlight and shine it down into the murky water. She yelled. “Tom! Tom. Where are you?”
The icy water had sapped Tom’s strength, and he sank to the bottom. The cold had now given him a calm feeling, and he smiled as he thought that Kate was safe. Thoughts ran through his mind about being in a warm cabin by a fire when suddenly he heard Granny B’s voice. “Tom, get your ass together and get the hell out of the water.”
Tom thought, Granny B, it’s too late. I feel warm.
“Hogwash. Kate is waiting on you up there.”
Tom’s eyes snapped open, and all he saw was pitch black for a second, and then a light shown through the dark water. He still had his knife in his right hand and stabbed it into the dam’s wall above his head. With all the strength he could muster, Tom pulled his body up the slope of the earthen dam. He grabbed a root from a stump with his free hand and pulled himself further up the side. He could now see over the top of the dam. A hand grabbed his parka, he stabbed his knife into the dirt, and pulled his waist out of the water. Someone pulled his legs up on the solid ground. He passed out.
Kate cut Tom’s backpack from his back, retrieved his fire starting material, and then piled up some dead wood a few feet from his prone body. Starting the Vaseline soaked cotton on fire was easy, and the small twigs and sticks soon flared up as she saw Tom’s life slipping away. The fire was quickly roaring after another minute. Kate grabbed the thermos full of hot coffee from her saddle that Granny had handed her as they left that morning. She remembered to get their bedrolls from their saddles and piled the stuff beside her husband. Kate then removed her parka and the semi-frozen clothing from his body, wrapped him in a thermal blanket, and moved him a bit closer to the fire. She stripped her clothing off, wrapped another thermal blanket and a thick wool blanket around her body, and joined Tom by the fire.
She wrapped her arms around Tom and shook him. His eyes opened. “Where’s Granny B. I need to thank her.”
Kate’s teeth chattered. “You’ll thank her in a few minutes. I called for help on the walkie-talkie. I can hear the truck coming up the hillside. Tom, you saved my life. I was about to drown when you shoved me up to the bank. I love you.”
Tom’s mind was fuzzy. “I’ve never been so cold. Who pulled me out of the water?”
Kate rubbed her cheek on Tom’s face. “You fought your way to the surface, and I pulled you out. Now shut up and let the fire warm your body. Here, take another sip of this hot coffee to warm your insides.”
Kate checked her watch. Only fifteen minutes had passed since Tom had leaned over the spillway. She rubbed his fingers and placed them under her armpits. Her mind was fuzzy on what to do, but the fire felt warm. She barely heard the truck come to a stop. “Rick, is that you?”
***
Kate and Tom spent the rest of the day in bed with Granny B and Jackie, tending to them. Several hours passed before they stopped shivering. Tom knew they were lucky to be alive and thanked the ones that came to take them back to the warm bunker. “Granny B, I’d given up when you told me to get my ass in gear. If you hadn’t scolded me, I’d be at the bottom of the pond.”
“Son, I never left the bunker this morning. You dreamed that, but I’m glad your mind knew what I’d say. “Never give up. Won’t quit. Can’t quit.”
Tom thanked her again, and then Granny B said, “Both of you will be darn lucky if you don’t lose an ear or a couple of fingers. Tom, that pinkie on your left hand is turning blue. Your ears and other fingers are red.”
“I don’t have any feeling in it either. Damn, do we have anything that will kill the pain when you have to cut …”
“Don’t think about that now. I’ll check on you after supper. Oh, don’t eat any supper. If I have to knock you out, I don’t want you vomiting on the surgery table,” Granny B said.
Tom gasped. “Can’t you just get a pruning shear and have Rick and Jack hold me down and lop it off? I don’t have any feeling.”
“Hush and get some sleep. I’m the nurse, so listen to me and do what I say.”
Tom changed the su
bject. “We have to find out who shoved us into the water. Jackie says she’s certain Sam and Lucy never left their room. Rick reported large boots made the footprints. One boot had a small chunk out of the heel. He’s quietly checking everyone’s boots to see if there is a match.”
***
Two days later, Kate massaged Tom’s back before leaving their room for supper. “Hon, what are you going to do about Sam and Lucy?”
Tom looked at his bandaged hand with the short left pinkie finger. “I’m here to tell you that even with that double dose of Oxycodone, it hurt when they cut my finger off.”
“You changed the subject.”
“I guess we’ll have to keep Lucy and Sam locked up in their room until we figure out what to do with them. If they were strangers, I’d shoot them.”
Kate said, “Tom, everyone here except Granny B, Jackie, and Jack’s family were strangers until your plane crashed.”
Tom fidgeted. “I know that, but I got to know her and Lucy on the trek here. I don’t think I can shoot them.”
“I think she’s hiding something. Something big!”
Tom frowned. “Bigger than being Carlos’s ex-girlfriend?”
Kate tilted her head. “Much bigger.”
Tom looked at Kate. “I guess we’ll have to kill Carlos and destroy the gang before we have peace and can raise a family.”
Kate nodded. “Yes, and we need to do it in a manner that sends a message that gangs and criminals won’t be tolerated in Southern Oregon.”
The dinner table was more boisterous than usual. Tom kept thanking the ones that came to Kate and his rescue, and Kate pampered him. Bill sat in a chair with his leg propped up, with Lou and her daughter attending to him. Bill and Lou were now a couple, and Bill talked Tom into bringing her and her daughter to the ranch. Lou’s friend Jane had developed a liking to Colt’s younger brother and stayed in the Community.