Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer's Island

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  Julia saw a claw reach toward her. She saw a mouth suddenly open revealing sharp, dangerous teeth. She saw the huge creature—mouth open, claws extended—coming closer and closer to her.

  Her piercing scream echoed back from the tallest spire of Splash Mountain as she crumbled to the walkway in a faint.

  Wolf stopped in his tracks, arms still outstretched for a welcomed hug, as she fell. The sound of her scream—so different than that of the happy guests on the thrill rides—brought the unwanted attention of other guests who were nearby. Wolf could hear their concerned mutterings as they got closer to his location. The mutterings turned to shouts of warning and fright as they spotted him standing over the fallen woman.

  Grabbing up fence posts and breaking off signs, the men came at him armed as best they could. Someone grabbed one of the burning torches on the canoe dock and was gesturing for more men to come help. A knife blade, somehow snuck through Security, flashed in the waning light as the men grouped together and slowly formed an advancing semi-circle to hem him in.

  Backing slowly away from Julia, Wolf’s eyes darted over the approaching mob. The moon was obscured now, the coming fog a welcome relief. As the swirls of mist got thicker, Wolf edged closer and closer to the bank of the River. Soon the lightning would flash and he would be safe.

  As the men saw the creature backing away from them, wary, they thought he would break for the trees and they would lose him. With a commanding shout, the man with the knife yelled, “Let’s take him!” The numbers gave them courage and they surged forward as one, the sharpened, broken ends of their impromptu spears in front leading the way, chest high.

  Seeing the attack, Wolf’s eyes widened in fear. He dropped on all fours and turned to the safety of the River.

  He heard the whistling sound before the blade reached him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the knife heading straight between his eyes.

  With a start, Wolf awakened and the plastic chair he had tilted back crashed to the floor with a startling bang in the quiet room. All eyes turned to the usually staid security guard who was obviously trying to figure out where he was.

  Red-faced, Wolf ignored the few snickers that went around the room as he picked himself up and righted his chair. Eyes half closed, he glanced over at nearby Julia. Unperturbed by his less-than-graceful awakening, she gave him a sly wink and smile.

  Ignoring her open invitation, he cleared his throat and resumed his usual calm demeanor as he tried to figure out where they were in the lecture. As the memory of the nightmare faded and his heart rate settled back to normal, he still had to force himself to remain seated and not pace the back of the room like a caged wolf. He did, however, reach up and touch his cheek. It was smooth and he let out a pent-up sigh of relief. It was only when the speaker got to the part about Tom Sawyer’s Island that he became instantly alert and leaned forward in his chair, the previous embarrassment forgotten. As the coming drastic changes were being listed, Wolf came to realize one fact: He had to go tonight. He could feel it.

  He looked around the room at the various cast members in attendance. He knew all of them, of course. It was Security’s job to know them. His eyes stayed for a moment on certain men. He was analyzing them, measuring them. Feeling eyes boring into the back of their heads and not knowing why they felt that way, some of them shifted uneasily in their seats. Some looked quickly around the room in confusion. Wolf’s eyes kept moving over the seated cast members until he found his eyes kept returning to one man—his friend Wals Davis.

  Staring at the back of his friend’s head, Wolf made the instant decision that Wals would be the one to go back with him. He was steady and hard working. He was good with people and could take instruction when necessary. And, nobody else here knew the history of the Park and Tom Sawyer’s Island as well as Wals.

  Decision made, Wolf settled back in his hard plastic chair, the rest of the briefing washing over him unheard. He knew this would be the best choice for all concerned.

  Now all Wolf had to do was convince Wals.

  Wolf shook his head. That wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe it would just be easier to conk him over the head and dump him in the River at the last minute.

  Julia looked over again when she heard Wolf’s low chuckle. She was curious as she hadn’t heard anything remotely funny since the meeting began. He seemed to be in a better frame of mind since the embarrassing fall out of his chair and he was looking right in her direction. Maybe he’s coming around, she thought as she gave him another one of her trademark devastating smiles just for good measure. Her smile slowly faded, though, and was replaced with a disappointed pout. Those gorgeous sapphire blue eyes set in his sharply defined, handsome face looked right through her, unseeing, as he folded his arms over his broad chest and laughed to himself once more.

  “I need your help with a project, Wals,” Wolf started, trying to broach the subject of time shifts, swirling pink vortexes and the fact that sometimes he was also a real wolf. He was having difficulty coming up with the right words to say. Go figure.

  The two men were seated on the old Keel Boat dock in Frontierland, overlooking the River. Between that dock and the Raft ride was a new, huge sign the Park had put into place announcing the coming of the new and exciting Pirate’s Lair to the Island. The sailing ship Columbia was docked at Fowler’s Harbor right next to them. The Keel Boat dock was now used as a smoking section for guests, but today was a slow Wednesday at the Park and it was otherwise empty. Wals, on a break from the canoes, sat with one of his moccasin-clad feet propped up on the wood-like railing of the old dock. Wolf leaned against the same railing, facing New Orleans Square and the Haunted Mansion, still on duty as Security. His eyes never stopped moving as he watched the guests as they strolled from one land to another or stopped to take pictures along the River.

  Wals’ curiosity was piqued. Wolf never asked anyone for anything. Even though they were good friends, he still figured it had to be something big for Wolf to seek out his help. And, knowing Wolf as well as he did, he waited patiently for the explanation. No one hurried Wolf.

  Wolf finally ran an exasperated hand through his thick hair. “I have no idea how to get into this,” he admitted, shaking his head.

  Wals’ interest was really piqued now, but, wisely, hid his amused smile. “You in trouble?” That would be something. Wolf had the cleanest record of all the cast members. Sometimes he was gone for an odd number of days, but Management didn’t seem to mind.

  “Depends on how you define trouble,” was the answer given with a half-grin. “I need to get two people out of a bad situation, and I need assistance doing it. I was hoping you could help me.”

  Wals foot came down off the railing and he leaned forward. This was getting more interesting by the moment. “Is one of them possibly a female friend?” he asked with a grin. “What is it? Do you have an angry boyfriend you want me to take care of?”

  Wolf looked momentarily confused. “Boyfriend? No, no, nothing like that.” He broke off and looked out over the River. A Raft was making its trip across the narrow River, probably the last raft of the evening as dusk was getting closer and closer. Wolf suddenly felt a change in the air and lifted his head toward it.

  “Did you just sniff the air, man?” Wals asked, surprised, his eyebrows up under his brown bangs. “I wouldn’t do that with all these ducks floating by.”

  Not realizing he had slipped back into his other habits, Wolf turned away from the Island and the urgency it was sending him. “Remember that night when you found me in the River?”

  “Yeah, I wish I had had a camera with me.” Wals gave a chuckle. “I could’ve sold those pictures of you for a lot of money to some of the gals who work here!”

  Wolf ignored Wals humor. “More specifically,” he stressed, “do you remember my mentioning the name Rose?”

  Wals nodded, silently wondering about his friend’s serious demeanor—not that that was too unusual for Wolf. “Yeah, I was hoping to find some cute little gal sk
inny-dipping with you. If I remember correctly, you said she didn’t like the River. You seemed kinda confused that night.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.” Wolf’s mutter was more for himself than Wals. Louder, he continued. “Rose is this friend of mine. She’s one of the two people who need my help, but the thing is, neither one of them realize the situation they’re in.”

  “I don’t know any Rose who works on the Westside. Where is she? Fantasyland? Main Street? And who is the second person? A cute friend of Rose’s who finds canoe guides irresistible?” Never hurts to ask.

  Ignoring Wals’ hopeful romantic encounter, Wolf kept going. “Rose lives on an island and I need to bring her back here. She might not want to come with you. Actually, the other person, Doctor Houser, might give you some trouble, too.”

  Wals slapped his knee. “Oh, you mean they live on Catalina Island! Why didn’t you say so? I haven’t been over there in years!” He then remembered what else Wolf had said. “What do you mean ‘come with me’? You’re going too, aren’t you?”

  Taking a deep breath, Wolf looked at his friend. “That’s where it gets tricky. I can’t help them and neither one of them will know you. But you will still need to convince them to come back with you.”

  “I don’t understand this at all. Won’t you be there?” Wals was frowning now, trying to piece it together.

  Yes, I will be there. I will be a wolf and you will probably be terrified of me. Wolf sighed to himself. There was nothing he could do about it. “I’ll be there too. But you might not recognize me.” The hair on the nape of his neck started to tingle. Looking westward, he could see the fog starting to gather. Time was running out. He shook his head. He wasn’t getting anywhere with Wals. And he knew the absolute truth would not be accepted or even heard. “Look, Wals, I need to ask you to trust me here. Can I rely on your help, come what may, one friend to another?”

  “Come what may? I’ve never heard a guy use that term before….” Wals broke off his kidding when he realized the serious expression on Wolf’s face. This was important to Wolf—whatever it was—and he was being asked for help. “All right. I’d like some more explanation, but I’ll trust you. When do we leave for Catalina? Saturday? I’m off then.”

  Wolf held himself back from sniffing the air again. It would be sooner than he thought. He could feel the change starting within his body. He needed to get across to the Island now. The fog was beginning to creep across the River. His sharp hearing caught the cast members over on Tom Sawyer’s Island trying to herd the guests back to the Rafts early. Darkness was falling quickly.

  He had to take charge now and get Wals moving. “We need one of the little canoes. I have to go over to the Island.”

  Wals was surprised when Wolf started heading toward Critter Country and the secret dock for the canoes, bypassing his canoe dock. “Now? What about Catalina Saturday? I still have a shift to finish and then I’m doing crowd control for the Fireworks.”

  Wolf lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth. “This is Security Two. I am going offline in three minutes. I will require the assistance of Wals P. Davis, currently working Canoes. Check him out on my say, and consider him offline until further notice.” The radio indistinguishably squeaked back at Wolf as he returned it to his belt. Kimberly had now been alerted and knew who was going with him. She would now be making the necessary call to Management in behalf of Wals. “You’re finished. You ready?”

  Totally confused, Wals pointed at his shirt. “I’m still in my costume. Is that all right?”

  “Actually, it is perfect.” They had reached the far side of the Hungry Bear and the small, locked gate. “I’ll use my security card.”

  Looking over to the right, Wals could see the deserted canoe dock. Apparently his ride had shut down early, too. He looked worriedly into the sky as the wind picked up. It was supposed to be a clear night. As they pushed the little canoe away from the dock with their oars, Wals, sitting in front, tried to peer through the thickening fog. The farther they got away from the sheltering cove under the restaurant, the choppier the water was getting. Wolf was in the back steering. Wals called back to him, finding he had to yell to be heard over the wind that was now gusting past them. “Wolf! We need to dock this canoe. It’s too choppy out here. Don’t you remember the other night? It was just like this! These canoes don’t have stabilizers, you know. Wolf?”

  “Keep paddling,” was all he heard.

  Grumbling to himself and fighting down a rising panic, Wals bent his head into the wind and did as his friend asked. He fought to help keep the canoe upright.

  Lightning suddenly streaked across the sky in front of them. Not easily startled, Wals let out a yell and started back-paddling. The bolts were coming more frequently and seemed to be aimed right at them. “Keep going!” he heard Wolf call. He then felt the canoe rock violently and heard a loud splash over the sound of the wind. “Wolf? You okay?” When he received no answer, he looked back to see what had happened. He turned pale. The canoe behind him was empty. “Wolf!”

  A forked bolt of lightning hit the water in front of him. As it did, it illuminated Wolf’s Security hat as it floated by on the water that was now glowing with an eerie pink light. Eyes wide, Wals saw a swirling black hole open up in front of the canoe. Trying to avoid being swept in, he threw himself sideways, hoping to veer the canoe away from the menacing hole. Instead, the canoe capsized and he fell into the foaming water, losing his grip on the slick paddle. The current grabbed Wals and the canoe and forced them toward the blackness. As he made one complete turn in the swirling water, arms flailing, Wals came face to face with the sharp features of a black wolf struggling to keep its nose above the water.

  That was the last thing Wals remembered. The canoe swept past him, turned suddenly and banged him in the back of the head. The darkness overtook him and swept his limp body away.

  Just as Wals entered the River and saw the terrible chasm open in front of him, sending a cold vein of fright coursing through his veins, Lance, on patrol in Tomorrowland, received a similar call on his two-way radio.

  “Lance, this is Ken. You, uh, have a visitor.” He sounded odd, like he was either trying not to laugh or not to scream.

  Picking up on his friend’s inflection, Lance smiled, “Come on, Ken. You know I’m on duty. Who is it?”

  Ken hesitated. “She is sitting right here,” he tried to whisper. Louder, for the sake of his mysterious audience, he added, “She wouldn’t say. She said she wants it to be a surprise.”

  Lance groaned. “I thought these ‘surprises’ had stopped in the past five years.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Tell her I’m married and to go away.”

  Normally Ken would have chuckled at that. It was then that Lance heard a throaty laugh coming from the woman who apparently had heard him through the radio. A very familiar laugh.

  “I’ll be right there, Ken.”

  As he turned his steps toward the Security office, Lance could feel his heart rate speed up and his breathing become shallower the closer he got. The images going through his mind would not still. Clenching his hands into fists was the only way to keep them at his side and not wipe the sweat off onto the leg of his uniform. Lance entered the office at the instant Wals and Wolf entered the vortex, lightning blazing across the sky, thunder drowning out any other sounds. He knew he would soon be face to face with the enemy—the enemy so cold, so heartless that fear was struck by the very mention of her name. As the last deadly, ominous flash died, Lance greeted her the only way he knew how:

  “Mother.”

  Disneyland – 2007

  Amanda Brentwood used the small, lighted vanity mirror to check her hair as Lance’s Jaguar navigated the twisting turns leading up to his home in the Fullerton Hills. “You’ve barely said three words to me, darling.” Glancing over, she could see the muscles in his cheek twitching.

  “Well, you have to admit this is rather sudden, Mother.” He was surprised at how deceptively calm he sounded. �
�I am rather speechless.”

  The mirror snapped shut into the visor, the brightness that had illuminated her face faded. Her smile, however, did not fade. Amanda seemed to be enjoying her son’s discomfort. “Can’t a mother want to visit her favorite son?”

  “I’m your only son, unless I’m mistaken.”

  He was surprised to feel a light reproving tap on his arm as she chuckled. “You always were incorrigible!” Glancing out of the window at the wonderful view of the valley, she could see all the lights shimmering in the darkness below. “Where are we going, dear? It looks like we’re on the top of a cliff.”

  Don’t tempt me, he smiled to himself.

  Amanda saw the smile before it quickly disappeared and the frown that he had worn since he stepped into the Security Office returned. She gave a silent sigh and folded her hands in her lap.

  “Unless you would rather stay at a hotel, I was taking you to my home to meet my family.” He glanced over at her when the road allowed it. “You do know I’m married, do you not?”

  Lance felt an internal pleasure when her eyes narrowed before answering him. “Yes, I do. Not that you invited us,” she muttered under her breath. Clearing her throat, Amanda continued, “When the news reached us that you also had a son, I thought I would stop by on my way to Paris.”

  “Paris!” Lance exclaimed, with a surprised laugh. “I may not have been a whiz at geography, but isn’t Paris in the other direction from Boston?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, dear. You were a whiz at everything.”

  Lance gave her a sly look. “Did I hear the tiny sound of pride in there somewhere?”

  Amanda flashed him a sincere, warm smile—one of the few he had seen thus far into the conversation. “We never had any complaints about your schoolwork, Lance. You could do anything to which you applied yourself.”