“Dang,” Wals exclaimed more to himself. “How…when…how is that possible?”
Hearing their voices, the doctor dropped the dress in a wet pile near his medical bag. Seeing the blood seeping through the dirty bandage, he silently went over to check the wound. Knowing the mental confusion Wals was going through, he remained quiet as he examined the bullet hole. Other than reopening in the whirlpool, it looked like it was healing well enough. There were no red streaks indicating infection. He nodded to Wolf when he was done and sat back on the ground, his head resting on his folded arms.
“I have never fully understood it fully myself,” Wolf admitted. “My father the Shaman….”
Wals’ eyes got even bigger. “The Shaman? From the Pinewood encampment? That’s your father?” Wals pointed in the direction of the Village. “The one that’s standing right over there? How could…I don’t understand any of this.”
Wolf got up and was hurt that Wals leaned away from him and, whether unconsciously or in real fear, brought the sword closer to his body. He silently limped over to his hidden security uniform and reluctantly started to dress. He preferred the freedom from clothes that being a wolf provided.
When he came back to where Wals was still sitting in stunned silence, Wolf could tell Wals had relaxed a little once he was in his familiar uniform. He sat back down on the grass of the clearing a ways away from Wals and waited. Wolf’s eyes were still searching the far riverbank for signs of Rose.
Wals broke the silence. He was trying to work his head around the fact that his best friend was also a wolf. “So, does this mean you have some kind of super powers or something?”
Wolf managed a grin. “You mean like being able to jump over buildings with a single bound?”
“Well, you obviously aren’t faster than a speeding bullet,” the doctor was able to kid.
Wolf rubbed his leg again. “No kidding. No, I am just your ordinary run-of-the-mill wolf who can talk. As a man, I seem to have better eyesight and hearing. And a sense of smell that usually drives me nuts.”
“Wait, wait a minute.” Wals held up a hand. “You could talk? Then that wasn’t just my imagination when the canoe hit the wall? Why the heck didn’t you just talk to me and tell me what the heck was going on??”
“Oops.” Claude gave a little whistle and sheepishly looked away.
“You knew!?” Wals turned on him, stunned. “You were only there, like, what? Four hours…. Okay, it was a couple of days…. At least I think it was a couple of days…,” he broke off, getting confused again trying to figure out the real passage of time.
Breaking into Wals’ rant, Wolf steadily looked at him. “Do you really think you could have handled it with all the other stuff you were dealing with? The Island in that time period has the habit of sapping memories. Even I’m affected and I’ve made the transition more times than I care to remember. How do you think you would’ve reacted to a talking wolf who told you he was your best friend?”
Wals opened his mouth to answer and then shut it. How would he have reacted? He had been so immersed in that life that it had felt like his own, that he was supposed to be there. He had forgotten everything and everyone he had ever known. “I don’t know. Probably not well.”
Wolf nodded his agreement. “That’s what I figured, and why I remained silent.” With a one-shoulder shrug Wals remembered the wolf giving him more than once, Wolf added, “We did all right the way it was. Rose never knew either. I only told the doctor because he specifically asked, and it was the right time for him to know.”
Wals got shakily to his feet and went to the River’s edge. It was very early in the morning, obviously before Disneyland opened from the lack of human noise. They could hear the peaceful birdsong coming from the trees. If he hadn’t figured out the brown mare wasn’t real, he would have thought he was still in the other time…or reality…or universe.… He put a hand on his forehead. “So, this isn’t Rose’s cabin, but it’s the old Settler’s Cabin, right?” He was getting a throbbing headache trying to figure it all out. “So, where is she? We need to find Rose, Wolf. She has to be here, right? The four of us came through that…that…whatever it was together this time. Rose!” he called again. When he thought she might have gone to a different reality, he began to panic. When he saw her dress in a heap next to Claude’s medical bag, his heart began to pound. Where did Rose go?
As he called her name again, they all heard a soft whistling sound coming from the little dock. A mallard duck and a white swan swam out of the reeds growing on the riverbank. The duck appeared to be startled and was trying to get away from the swan. Finally the mallard took to flight and disappeared over the trees behind the log cabin. The huge swan started flapping her wings as if she wanted to follow, but had to settle back in the water.
Turning from the swan, Wals knew there were two swans that swam around the moat in front of the Castle in Fantasyland. He figured it had somehow gotten out of its pen backstage. And ducks…well, they lived all over Disneyland near the numerous waterways.
This time, however, when he called Rose’s name again, the swan let out an angry hiss and charged up the clearing right at Wals. Wolf’s eyes narrowed, wondering if what he was thinking could really be. Wals, on the other hand, knowing the nasty temperament of the swans at the Castle, backed away, keeping a wary eye on the advancing bird.
“Should we swim out to the other riverbank? Maybe she’s out there and hurt? This river seems so much narrower than the other….”
Wolf didn’t reply. On the alert now, he intently watched the swan in front of them. “Just call her name again, Wals. See what happens.”
Wals cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Rose! Can you hear me?”
The swan ran up to Wals and nipped him on the leg, flapping her wings to their full span and hissing.
Not understanding and letting out a loud, “Ouch!” Wals angrily tried to shoo her away. The eighty-inch wingspan slowly lowered as her tall head sagged. With a dejected, hurt air, the swan waddled over to Wolf, who was bent down to the swan’s eye-level. “Rose?” He reached out and gently lifted the beautiful face masked in black. “It’s Wolf, Rose. I’m Wolf.”
Looking deep into his blue eyes, the swan shivered in excitement, allowing his hand to caress her. Dazed and confused, she had been swimming around all morning with the ducks trying to communicate with the stupid creatures. When she finally heard Wals and swam right up to him, she couldn’t understand why he didn’t know it was her. But Wolf! This was her wolf! She didn’t know why he was a man now, but she knew this was her Wolf.
Claude and Wals just stared open-mouthed at the pair. Their eyes went from one to the other and back again. Wals sat down heavily on the ground when he heard Wolf mutter to the swan, “Now I understand your aura.” Wolf looked over at Wals’ pale face, his hand still cradling Rose’s small head. “My father had assigned me to protect her. Now I know why. She was never meant for that time. She must have accidentally been swimming in this part of the River when I called a storm. Apparently she’s like me!” Smiling, he looked at Wals as if that explained everything. Well, it did—for him.
“Is that possible, Wolf?” The doctor became more and more amazed as this incredible adventure continued.
Wals was still stunned. “Rose?”
The swan turned from Wolf and looked at Wals on hearing her name. She seemed reluctant to leave Wolf’s side.
“Can she talk?”
Rose answered by shaking her head and giving a loud grunt.
“Apparently not,” Wolf smiled. “She seems to know what is going on, though.”
Wals wasn’t too sure. “How can you tell?”
“Can’t you see that she’s communicating with us the same way I did with you?”
“But you could talk. You just told me.” Wals still sounded bitter about that point.
On hearing that, the swan turned back to Wolf and angrily shook her wings at him, hissing and grunting again.
“Sorry,” Wolf told her, with a half smile, “it was better that I wasn’t known as a talking wolf in time period.” The amusement left his eyes. “You saw what happened to the other wolf at the Fort.”
Rose closed her eyes and leaned her elegant neck toward Wolf, resting her face against his leg. She shuddered, remembering all too clearly the hide viciously tacked to the wall of Fort Wilderness.
As Wals watched the white head of the swan lean into Wolf, he couldn’t help but remember the beautiful blond-headed Rose leaning against his chest. At first it was for comfort. Later, it was for love. How could she not be human? It had all been so real. Their feelings had been real. He had begun to imagine a future with her by his side. And now, here she is a swan and their companion who had been a wolf was now a man. And the doctor was…well, he was still a doctor apparently. Wals just dropped his head into his hands. This was all too much to take in.
Wolf saw the gesture and thought he understood. He had always wondered if Rose had been meant for him since he was to be her Protector. But now, with him in human form and she a swan, he knew they would never be. He could see that Wals, too, was struggling with these same emotions. He, Wolf, hadn’t been prepared for this outcome. His father tried to warn him. He could see that now. But, Wals…Wals wasn’t prepared for any of this.
“Wals, remember when Rose saw your cast member nametag? All she recognized was the Castle.”
Wals’ head came up. The emotion in his eyes slowly cleared as he looked at his friend and gave thought to what was to have been the love of his life. “Yes? Is this the reason why?” He sadly indicated the beautiful white swan. “Because she was supposed to be swimming in Swan Lake all day in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle? Is that why she came up with the name Aurora?”
They were both surprised when Rose started flapping her wings at them, making hissing and grunting noises. She was obviously telling them both off. Wals fell back, stunned at her outburst.
“Oooh, I don’t think she liked that.” Claude wisely backed away from the fury of the wings.
Wolf put a calming hand on her back once her wings stopped. She looked up at him with her blue eyes. “Well, that’s partially true, Wals. I think, and I hope she’ll tell me if I’m right, is that there has to be another portal. Aurora, as we knew her before, must have been caught in a vortex at some point in time and transferred to the moat in Fantasyland in the form of a swan. Maybe that portal brought her from another castle in another time. One that is very familiar to her and probably looks an awful lot like the one we know in the middle of the Park.”
Wolf was interrupted by a flurry of movement from Rose. She was excited and shivering all over. Wings outstretched, she dipped her head up and down and started running toward the water.
Wolf stopped her before she could swim in the direction of Fantasyland. “Rose, I take it that means ‘Yes’?”
Rose calmed down, but still shivered. She nodded again.
Wals sat in silence as he watched the two of them attempting to work it out. Neither he nor the doctor could come up with anything to add to their conversation. They could only watch.
Wolf smiled at her. “All right, Rose. I understand. Do you know exactly where that portal was? Do you remember where you emerged when you came here?”
Her beak began to open and then closed as her head sank in dejection. She couldn’t remember. It was too long ago.
“Ok, don’t worry. We’ll figure it all out.” Wolf put a calming hand on her and looked over at the silent Wals. “Wals, I think Disneyland is going to open soon. We need to find out what day it is and how much time has passed here. We also need to get Rose back to the moat. And,” he added with a nod to Dr. Houser, “we need to get you settled and up-to-date.”
Now that they were all more calm and thinking rationally again, Claude spoke up. “I want to see….” He broke off, quickly glancing at Wals. He had almost said Walt. “I need to check on something before I leave the Park.” .
When Rose began protesting the part about going back to the moat, Wolf once again tried to calm her. “Just a minute, Rose.” He answered the doctor first. “Yes, I remember, Doctor. And, Rose, it won’t be forever. I promise. Wals and I need time to figure this out and plan what to do next. You just need to do what you did before. You know—just try to act normally as a swan. We’ll come and visit you every day and let you know what’s going on. Deal?”
They could tell she didn’t like it, but reluctantly agreed. She looked at Wals and hissed.
He looked confused and shrugged at Wolf.
Wolf smiled at him. “She wants your promise, too, Wals. She hasn’t forgotten the Island either.”
When Rose waddled over to him, Wals held out his hand to her. She nipped him lightly on his fingertips. “I promise.” His heart started to pound again. “I believe this is my destiny.” He gave a ghost of a smile. “You never asked me my middle name, Rose. Remember Walter P. Davis?”
She nodded once, tilting her head.
“The P stands for Phillip.”
“Well, that would explain a lot,” Wolf frowned, muttering to himself.
He was about to take Dr. Houser backstage when he heard a startled gasp from Wals. “What is it? Is there something else wrong?” even though he couldn’t imagine what else could possibly go wrong. Everything already had.
He was wrong.
“Wolf, is this still 2007?” Wals, wide-eyed, wanted to know.
“Without checking the calendar, I’m not sure, but I think it is. Or pretty close. The cabin looks just like it did when we left. The eagle’s nest was a recent addition.”
“Why do you ask, Wals?” Claude asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost—which would be par for the course with everything else that’s been going on.”
“Wolf,” he went on, ignoring the doctor’s sarcasm, “didn’t they take Uncle Jed away from the cabin years ago, even before the flames were put out? If we came back around the same time as we left, why is he back in position on the fence?”
Wolf’s head jerked toward the figure bent backward over the rail. For years and years “Uncle Jed” had been part of the Burning Cabin scene. The story was that he had been shot with an arrow by the same ones who had set his cabin on fire. Some of the Keel Boat pilots made him a regular part of their spiel: “I need to stop by a little cabin just around this bend to say howdy to my Uncle Jed. Oh, no! Seems someone gave him a house-warming party. That’s Uncle Jed there on the fence in his pierced Arrow shirt and his Levi Bend-Over jeans!” Then, as the years passed, the decorations of the set changed and it wasn’t politically correct to have a murdered man entertaining the guests. Uncle Jed was quietly removed and remained only in memories and on a few old postcards.
All of Wolf’s senses came alert. So, that’s what that was. He knew it was a scent that didn’t belong, but he just couldn’t place the smell of Death. Before he discovered what happened to her, he’d been afraid it was Rose. But, she was…well, not fine, but alive. He motioned the doctor to grab his bag. “You might need that.” He strode over to the fence. “Rose, stay back.”
Even before they reached the figure, they knew who it was. They all muttered in unison, “Daniel Crain.”
The doctor felt the carotid artery in Daniel’s neck, checking for a pulse. “I don’t think I’m going to need my bag. And that arrow is going to be difficult to explain to a coroner,” he muttered as if it was an afterthought as the three men stared at the remains of Crain.
Wals looked over at his friend. “How in the world could he have gotten here? Last I saw, he was fighting alongside the pirates. I thought I saw the whirlpool close in on us as soon as our canoe went in.”
Wolf shook his head. “I thought so, too, but, I wasn’t really paying attention to Crain since we were all a little occupied at the time. What I do know is that’s my brother Mato’s arrow. Look there at the markings on the shaft…and look at the feathers.” He shook his head as he looked at the body. “The only explanation I c
an think of is that Crain saw us leaving, got his own memory back, and then got stuck in the vortex. My brother must have seen him. Mato’s good…real good. He must have taken a shot just as Crain was closing in on us. Mato never misses.”
“Well, I can certainly attest to that. Mato saved my hide once…. Too bad your brother isn’t here to clean up his mess.” Wals glared at Crain with his hands on his hips. “What do we do with him now? I can picture a lot of unpleasant questions in an unpleasant place.”
“Can you take him back?” The question from Doctor Houser made them all stare at him. “Well, it would certainly solve a huge problem for us, wouldn’t it?” He waved his arm in the general direction of the still figure of Daniel Crain. “From what you told me about him, this man has been gone from this time period for a long time. Whatever had happened to him has probably already been dealt with. Am I right?”
Wolf groaned. I don’t need this right now. “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he admitted reluctantly. “I hate to make the jump again so soon. But, I don’t know what else to do.” He gave a deep sigh as he thought it all out. “Okay, here’s what we’re all going to do.” He pointed first to his friend. “Wals, you take Rose back to the moat at the Castle and wait for me at the lockers. If anyone asks what you’re doing or where you’ve been, tell them…I don’t know what to tell them. Tell them you found the swan tangled in some brush on the Island, or that you went camping, or something…I don’t know. You know how to be creative. You’ll think of something. Doctor, you need to be on the mainland. Would you mind swimming over? You’re already wet. There’s a Men’s Room under the Hungry Bear Restaurant. Wait for me there, if you don’t mind. Security never checks that area before the Park opens. Rose,” he took her chin in his hand, his voice softening, “I will see you shortly…really…I promise.”
Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer's Island Page 29