The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  “Is that all of them?” she asked.

  “I think so,” Samantha replied.

  The sound of screams caused Connor’s ears to perk up. It was close, very close. It must not have been loud enough for the girls to hear it. Connor walked toward the sound. He would have tried sniffing it out but the gasoline made tracking by scent impossible, at least for now.

  Samantha pulled on her leather jacket and zipped it to the top while she followed. It covered her just to the top of her thighs, which must have been enough for her. Tess still carried the bundle of clothing.

  “What did you find?” Tess asked, “Is it Alex?”

  It did sound familiar. It might have been. It didn’t hurt to find out. Even if it wasn’t Alex, whoever it was, they could use the help.

  Connor found a walking path that lead past the high cabin. It was a thin line of upturned dirt that led from the cabin, up over the hill. He followed it, hoping it would lead to the sound. Low lying brush tried to cover the tracks.

  “So, you’re awake again, I see,” Connor heard. It was slight. He paused to listen. The voice wasn’t anything he’d heard before, but it was gruff like sandpaper.

  “I’ve been waitin’ for this day for a while. Cost me quite a pretty penny to get your ass right here,” the voice continued. Connor perked up his ears. It echoed around the forest making tracking incredibly difficult. He weaved around the forest to search for the source of the voice.

  “That night you fucked up the bar and snapped my arm, I lost a lot of respect. Cost me almost half my gang. Poof, they just up and left me,” the voice was growing louder. He was going in the right direction.

  “But, I got a reward for the boys that stuck around. That cute little girlie of yours Cynthia is going to be a nice piece of meat for a while.”

  Cynthia? That was definitely Alex. Connor felt his sense of smell starting to come back. Alex’s scent wafted lightly on the wind. Connor’s head rolled back and forth to find the source. There. That way. He dashed off in the direction of that he knew he’d find Alex.

  “Too bad about all them shifters in that … what do you call it? A den? Heh, stupid. I loved watching all those freaks get blown to shreds. And, now I get to take my sweet time with you. Your last hour is going to look like a paradise compared to what I’m goin’ to do with you.” Another cry of pain echoed out, it was definitely Alex.

  In the distance, through a brush clearing, Connor could just barely make out what might be a door. The sloshing of footsteps followed close behind him. Samantha and Tess were coming along.

  Connor wished that at least Tess weren’t here. If this was her brother, there was no doubt he’d be in bad shape.

  “I can’t wait to kill off the remainder of you stupid disgusting wolves. Cause after that, we’re goin’ to finish off the bears. Then I won’t have to-”

  Connor smashed through the door with his full weight behind it. The door shattered to splinters, bringing light into the darkened space. It was a natural cave. The hinges to the door were spiked into the wall with pitons. Inside the space was Alex. His hands and legs were bound tight with thick rope. A large hook was looped around his hand bindings, suspending him from the ground. Blood covered his shirt; bruises from continual beatings ran along every inch of skin that wasn’t cut or bleeding.

  “What the hell?” Mutt said.

  Connor recognized Mutt. He was the moron who ran a motorcycle gang that was interrupted by Alex. He wanted revenge so bad he’d turned to the one man that could get results, Eli. He sold his soul to the devil for the chance to take a stab at Alex. From the looks of it, he got more than one stab in.

  Beside Alex were crates piled high against the back wall, each one covered in a camo net. One of the crates was open and several rifles were missing from inside. Wooden ammo boxes were piled against the entrance of the cave. Getting rid of everything in this one room would be a serious blow to the hunter.

  “What the hell?” Mutt asked, holding a silver knife over Alex. “Eli and Torque said they was huntin’ for you. You’re not supposed to be here.”

  It might have been easier to deal with Mutt as a wolf, but he wanted to use his hands for this one. Connor urged his humanity to return. A surge of adrenaline found its way down his back as he stood on his hind legs. As he did, they quickly returned to his thick human legs. The fur withdrew into his skin, his muzzle snapped back into his human mouth, and he cracked his neck as he rose to his full height.

  “Damn,” Connor said, he turned to Tess and Samantha who were just getting to the small cave. “Our friend Mutt here just told me that Torque and Eli were out hunting for us.”

  “You goddamn freak!” Mutt shouted. He lunged at Connor with the knife. Connor smirked at the biker’s frenzied strike, easily sidestepping the blade. He caught Mutt’s only good arm, twisting it back on itself. Mutt dropped the knife as Connor threw him to the ground. The sound of bone shattering resonated through the tiny space. Mutt screamed out in agony.

  “You damn dogs. I swear when my arms are healed I’m goin’ to find every last one of you and kill you all!”

  Connor held up the knife to Samantha. She took it and freed Alex from his bondage. While the wounds in his side were closing, it was clear that the silver in his system was slowing everything down. He slumped over Samantha’s back.

  “Thank you,” he said, “I owe you.”

  “Naw,” Samantha replied with a smile, “This just makes us even.”

  Alex tousled her already messy hair with a bloodied hand.

  “Cynthia,” Alex breathed, “we need to find Cynthia.”

  “I was just finding that out,” Connor said. He lifted Mutt’s head from the dirt. “So, do you want to talk? Or should I just keep asking until you run out of fingers?” Connor wrapped his hand around Mutt’s pinky.

  “I’ll talk, I’ll talk,” Mutt shouted.

  “Too slow,” Connor cracked his finger backward. Mutt was already crying from the pain.

  “They’re around the hillside. To the north, around the lake. There’s a larger cave over there. Big enough to keep all you little bastards in check.” Connor cracked his ring finger. Another howl escaped Mutt.

  “For a badass, you’re pretty weak,” Samantha scoffed. She helped Alex from the cave. He didn’t need to see this. Tess turned away as well. Connor was glad she did. She didn’t deserve to see what he was planning to do next.

  Connor lifted Mutt to his feet. With both arms broken, there wasn’t much he was capable of. But, with what Mutt had done to his family, he deserved worse than two broken arms. If he was any other biker, Connor might have let him go. However, this idiot not only brought the wrath of Eli down on all the shifters, but he tortured Tess’s brother.

  “You should’ve just let it go,” Connor said as he lifted Mutt from his knees. “You were lucky before to just get off with a broken arm. But, you killed my people. You captured our women. You tortured my future brother in law, and you tried to kill me. I can’t let you walk out of here.”

  Mutt’s face went from sobbing to downright hysterical. With his free hand, Connor grabbed at a hanging piece of rope tearing it down. He wrapped it around Mutt’s body, locking his broken arms to his body. With a toss, he let go of Mutt and watched as he landed on the crates with a groan.

  With a kick, Connor knocked Mutt out cold, breaking his jaw. It was unlikely Mutt would survive, he’d wake up and starve to death. A slow and painful death is what he deserved. If he did manage to escape, Connor knew by the look in mutt’s eyes that there would be no way he’d come after them again.

  Connor walked out the battered front door, stepping over loose splinters and fallen rock. Tess handed him his clothing when he joined her a ways from the door.

  “It’s done,” he said. He pulled on his pants and tugged on his shirt. The rest of the prisoners needed to be found and rescued. At least the Cliff Walker den had found some solace. Now, Connor searched for his.

  CHAPTER 7

  “It�
��s going to be okay,” Cynthia said, trying her best to reassure the rest of the girls. She’d been taken hostage before; it was becoming a tiring habit. This time, however, she was playing mother to a series of children with only a couple adults to help.

  When Eli assaulted the Cliff Walker den, along with that bastard Mutt, Cynthia had managed to gather as many of the children as she could to keep them safe. Trying to escape out of the back of the den led them straight into Eli’s trap. The truck that carried them here still sat just outside.

  “Shut it,” said one of the guards, “No talking.”

  They were both human. They would have been easy targets but the cage they were in made attack almost impossible. It also didn’t help that they had rifles loaded with silver bullets. She could have taken one, but then she would have died trying to attack the other. They were stuffed into a large cave. The face opened toward the forest. Cynthia could see the lush forest, along with more guards waiting for them just outside.

  They had been driven on a road that she didn’t remember seeing the last time she was here. She could smell the salt from the lake and the ash from the burned down cabins. Their pungent aroma assaulted her nostrils the moment they parked.

  Inside the cage with them were boxes of goods stacked high. They seemed important, so she decided to investigate. One box was already open, and full of bags of white powder. She’d seen enough movies to know what this probably was, cocaine. Torque must have been dealing on the side to make enough money for all his rifles and silver bullets.

  There was a slight gap in the bars. Perhaps if she shifted she could push her way out and go for help. But, who was nearby to save her? Nobody. The only people here to help were just old enough not to wet their pants.

  “What is that?” one woman asked. She was elderly. Gloria, if she had to guess. Her skin hung from her bones, but she had a sweet demeanor that kept the children docile.

  “Cocaine,” Cynthia said, “These bastards are probably running drugs to make extra cash. No wonder they have a truck that big.”

  “Damn, that must be worth a lot of money,” Gloria said, leaning over the box.

  “Yeah, drug money,” Cynthia replied. She returned to the bars. The guards weren’t in the cave; they were standing outside having a smoke.

  “Gloria, how many kids do we have to get out,” she asked.

  “Fifteen, plus two other adults. What, are you planning on breaking out of here?” she asked, “Cause if so, I’m in.” She had a broad toothy smile on her face.

  “I have a feeling that if we don’t, nobody else will find us,” she said.

  Her mind started to wander. Where the hell was Alex? If only he were here.

  I hope he’s okay.

  What if he was dead already? No. She couldn’t allow herself to think like that. That was a defeated person. If she could get out, then she could find him herself. That was the only option. But, getting herself out wouldn’t be that hard. What would be hard was getting out with fifteen pups and three old women. The odds were not in their favor.

  There had to be some way they could get out.

  Think Cynthia, Think.

  Oh, to be an alpha. To have the strength to bend steel as though it were paper. If Connor were here he could have smashed through the bars and taken out the guards in an instant. But, that wouldn’t work. There would probably be more guards outside.

  Those guards would probably be human, though. Humans were weak. A shifter was easily twice as strong as any human. If it came to a confrontation where she could use her strength, she might also have a chance.

  But, once again, there were children to think about.

  The other adults played with the younger kids. Some of them cried. Others that were too young to understand their situation just watched things unfold without any real expression. Most of them were tired or hungry.

  The sun blinded Cynthia for a second. She had to hold up her hand to keep it at bay. However, it wasn’t coming from the cave entrance. She scanned the room quickly to find its source. It was coming from above. There was a small hole in the top of the cave. She hadn’t seen it before because of the shadows cast by the canopy of heavy leaves and branches that darkened the space.

  “Gloria,” Cynthia said, “Do you think you could fit through that?” She pointed to the hole in the ceiling. Gloria looked up and squinted against the sunlight.

  “I’m not sure. How would we even get up there?”

  The obvious answer was right behind them. Cynthia pointed at the tower of drugs that lined the wall. Gloria understood right away.

  “Get the kids in order. Tell them we’re going to play a climbing game in a second. I’ll go out first to scout. Make sure they know to follow me, alright?”

  Gloria nodded and set about her task. Step one was complete, now for step two, build a giant climbing wall to the ceiling. She lifted the half empty box, it was incredibly heavy.

  Shit.

  “Gloria,” she whispered, “I might need your help.”

  “I’m a little busy at the moment,” she replied in a sing-song voice.

  “Hey! Shut the hell up!” shouted one of the guards, not bothering to look in.

  Then the unthinkable came. The thumping of a motorcycle engine roared from outside. Within seconds, Torque came to a screeching halt just behind the truck outside. His tattooed arms showed fresh bruises. His eye was still black so he hid it, rather poorly, under a pair of darkened shades. When he leaned off his bike, he winced in pain. As he turned, all Cynthia saw was a wicked smile, he walked forward with an obvious limp.

  “Well, well well,” he said, “Looks like there’s one pup I won’t have to search for after all.” He pulled a pistol from the waistband of his tight fitting jeans. “Do you like this?” he asked, waving it in front of Cynthia’s face, “Scab thought you’d like it. He’s probably out there right now, looking for your daddy. I’m going to put him in his place.”

  Cynthia spat at him. He didn’t flinch, but wiped it from his brow anyway.

  “I thought I’d keep you alive long enough to watch him die. I heard Mutt took out that wolf den up in the mountains. I’m sure he’s having a lot of fun with your boy Alex right now.”

  Alex!

  Cynthia scrunched up against the bars, reaching out as far as she could to grab at Torque. He backed away just in time.

  “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, we got a feisty one here,” he said.

  “You let him go!” Cynthia said.

  “And, why the hell should I do that?” he asked.

  “Because if you don’t, I’ll … I’ll …-”

  “You’ll what, kill me? Trust me kiddo, I already know what that feels like.” He wheeled around to walk for the exit, took a couple steps, stopped, and then turned to face her again. “I count myself lucky, you wanna know why?”

  Cynthia stared at him, unsure of what to say.

  “I’m an integral part of this establishment. Who else manages to push this much product through the area without gettin’ caught? It’s a good thing one of them happened to be a bear, cause otherwise I might have been meeting my maker by now,” he said.

  “Someone let you out?” Cynthia asked.

  “That they did, popped the lock with a key and sent me running. Hell, by the time they found out, I was long gone. Even killed one of their guards on the way out,” he laughed. “Those pieces of shit. Those goddamn bears. They wanted to know where the rest of our dens were. Like I’d give them shit. They’re probably off searching the middle of the woods for our place. News flash, kiddo. There was never anywhere else but right here.”

  This was bad. Not only was Torque on the loose but there was a traitor in the bear den.

  “How do you think Eli knew where the bear alpha’s wife was? You see, there are plenty of people willing to trade any information they have for just a little bit of cold hard cash. You get enough money in life and you’re the king. Now that we got Mutt’s gang to join us, we got enough guys with guns to destroy all the re
st of the dens no problem.” Torque leaned close to the bars, his pistol lined squarely up with Cynthia’s heart. “One squeeze and it’s one less little wolf to deal with.”

  “Don’t you have any guts,” Cynthia chided, “A real wolf would fight tooth and nail, not with something as cheesy as a pistol. You know what I see? I don’t see a king, I see a coward.”

  Torque’s face scrunched up in rage. His face became flush and his bruises pulsed. He tapped the gun against the cage, trying one last time to intimidate her, but she wouldn’t fall for it.

  “If you kill me, you might as well point that little chunk of metal at your head and pull the trigger yourself. A real coward’s way out. Otherwise, Alex and Crunch will hunt you to the ends of the earth,” she said.

  “That is, IF they find you,” he said.

  They were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot just outside the cave.

  “What the hell is that?” Torque shouted. A bullet echoed softly from the lake side. Gunfire only meant one things, allies.

  The guards outside dropped their cigarette and readied their rifles.

  “This isn’t over, you little bitch,” Torque said, pointing his gun one last time to threaten Cynthia.

  “Hope it isn’t Crunch,” Cynthia said, smiling back through the bars. Torque’s eyes widened. He snatched a rifle that was leaning against the wall and marched out of the cave. For the first time, they were alone.

  “What’s that sound?” one of the kids asked.

  “Fireworks,” replied, winking at the adults, “Just some fireworks. Do you want to go Cynthia see them?”

  “Yeah!” came a collective shout from the group.

  “Okay, you’ll have to follow me, and stay close, okay? Don’t want a stray firework to get you while we’re out there,” she said.

  The kids nodded.

  Still, there was the matter of stacking the boxes right. Cynthia pushed a few on the ground to make a base to stack them. But, the larger ones were just a little too heavy for her to lift by herself. She had to try. As she dug her heels in to lift, she was greeted by Gloria who came to her aid.