Ch 44 The Hunted and the Prey

Four paws glided across the rough stone surface. I kept my head down to minimize how much of the lighter colored fur I had on my neck would show. My side brushed against the stone wall while I backtracked, making note of the openings. It took no time going back. I was careful to sniff and listen before jumping back up the small drop to the area Derrick and I had woken up in.

The gate was open. I listened carefully before padding into the lighted areas, staying beneath the tables when I could. I saw guns laying around. That was not good. I thought of taking one, but decided against it.

I heard someone moving. I crept closer. There was a guy near the entrance of the cave, wandering around on occasion outside.

A wild thought came to me. I ran back in, keeping my senses alert for company. I grabbed another empty bag, a duffel this time that one of them had brought clothes in. I stuffed as many boxes of ammo as I could find, throwing in the guns as well.

I know I didn't get all of them, but I figured it was that much less they'd have to use against us. I traveled back along through the gate, half shifted, and threw the bag as far as I could in the second fissure along the corridor. It was one a person wouldn't fit through but a wolf could. The bag barely fit.

Going back to the entrance, I spotted the lookout. I shifted as fast as I could, grabbing a wrench that was laying nearby. Coming up behind him I whammed him a good one, catching him as he fell unconscious. There were two jeeps outside. One had my bike strapped to it. I unstrapped my bike, holding it so it wouldn't fall. I rolled it into some bushes hoping it wouldn't be seen.

I stood there for a moment, knowing I could escape. Glancing back at the cave entrance, I knew I couldn't leave Derrick behind. It would take too long to get help and return. Odds are Derrick would be dead and these men gone. I would never be able to prove that John was involved.

I wasn't sure I could get Derrick out before the lookout woke up, or the other men came back. I had nothing to tie the lookout up with, having already grabbed the zip ties they'd used on us to splint up Derrick's arm. Going back in for Derrick and bring him out past the three others with guns equaled a good chance of getting shot. If I went back for the zip ties though, and snuck up on these guys one at a time... my mind weighed the risks. I had to come up with another plan.

Going back in to the cave, I rifled through the small pile of tools they had until I found another screwdriver. I hurried back out, stabbing every tire on both jeeps, including the spares. I made a point to mark the cave entrance with my stream. If Dad came, he would smell it.

With any luck, John and his goonies would figure they had missed us, that Derrick and I snuck out, that we clobbered the lookout, trashed their stuff and left. It would keep them from hunting us in the caves and we could possibly make our way out the other end, or this end if they totally cleared out.

Our captors had a mini fridge next to their generator. I raided what there was of their food. I sacked up what would keep, along with some more water. Changing back to wolf, I ate the rest of the food on the spot. I left them nothing, wolf swallowing things down whole. I was looking for anything else useful when I heard my victim stir. I saw one other thing I wanted to grab. I shifted enough to twist my arm above the table and grab the walkie-talkie.

I was at risk right now of being seen. I shrunk into the shadows under the table. I heard static from the walkie-talkie and quickly turned it off for now.

The guy I hit took one look at the open fridge and missing ammo and ran toward the back yelling his fool head off. I followed him back, stuffing the bag of food and water into a smaller niche higher up. I slid myself into an obvious small dead-end they wouldn't bother with, one too small for a human body to fit through. My black fur was serving me well. I made sure my back was to them when I heard them approach. I didn't want light reflecting from my eyes.

"You said they were in the back! How could they have gone out the front? Imbeciles! This was supposed to be a clean operation, make it look like an accident I said! Whatever possessed you idiots not to take care of it right then I don't know!"

"You said there would be one guy. We didn't know which one you wanted dead."

"The one that could literally smell us out! Incompetent fools!"

My heart was pounding as they got further away. My mother had taught me all me life, telling me how we were watched over by our Creator, how everything was connected. My bike, Derrick admiring it, us being roommates, all led to now. I would be dead if Derrick hadn't had car trouble and I hadn't stopped to help my friend.

I moved fast once they were past me. I growled a little coming in so Derrick would know it was me. I scrambled back up into our cubbyhole, then shifted again, hunting for my clothes.

"So you want to explain why you would go out there without any pants on?" whispered Derrick as he slid them over.

"Not really," I whispered back. I didn't bother putting them on. "How you doing?"

"I risked dipping the tip of my pinkie into the bag of drugs you nabbed. It's down to a painful aching throb, so I think it's helping a little. I don't want to take to much. I don't want to trip out on you. What's happening out there?"

I filled him in, whispering my strategy. We had a decent hiding place this high up. The problem now was actually getting out of here.

"I think they'll still post someone up by the entrance. I don't think we could have gotten you out in time. I didn't have much time, and I had to hide when the guy woke up. He just didn't look under the table before he went running back. Then I had to hide when the one guy came back with him. The space I hid in wouldn't have fit both of us. I don't know, maybe I screwed up and we both should have headed back."

"Never second guess yourself," he whispered back. "My arm would have slowed us up. We didn't know how many or who was where. So now we know there are four of them, two on each side of us."

"It's worse than that. They got guns, real guns. They might have other ammo than what I hid. John's involved. He..."

"John? Our boss John?" Derrick exclaimed in something a bit louder than a whisper.

"Shhh! He probably found this cave system while working here and set it up to hide drugs. I don't know what all they do here. He planned on having me killed because I could literally sniff them out. They tranked us instead because there were two of us. They probably figured one of us was his man and just didn't want to kill the wrong one. So your car breaking down saved my ass. Now I just have to get you out of here."

"Wow," was all Derrick said. I could smell his increase in fear over his pain.

We were both silent for awhile. Derrick laid back, trying to adjust his arm to make it more comfortable.

"So how long before anyone misses us and comes looking? Will they come looking? Can we hold out that long?" Derrick asked. I could hear the trepidation in his whisper.

"We have food and water," I started to say.

"Yeah, but how long will that last?"

"Couple of days, easy," I said, not going into detail about the food in my stomach.

I had already mostly shifted back to wolf. As a wolf I was able to swallow down their food without chewing, consuming everything they had within mere seconds. As a human, it sat very heavy on my stomach. I wanted to nap now as it was. If I did, all it would take was Derrick brushing his hand against me and freaking out for us to be found. 

"Sister will miss me first, and I was going to see Mahina tonight since I was supposed to head out tomorrow. I usually call Dad late Friday nights too. Mac will miss you when you don't show up. He knows I suspected drugs out here. That's assuming they make that connection. Only problem is Yellowstone is a big area, even eliminating the obvious places."

I sighed. I wasn't sure it would do any good if Mac turned to John. John would mislead Mac. Odds are Mac wouldn't suspect his old buddy of anything.

"Maybe I should head back out. I'll go see if I can..."

"Why don't you give them time? You were worried about me making noise if I slept, and I think I'm going to. Hope I don't have a damn concussion."

"Sleep then. Maybe you should take a bit more for the pain? I might nap myself, put myself in that half-way stage, you know?"

"Not really. And I still want to know why no pants."

I didn't answer him. His breath took no time to steady out, sounding better than it had when we first woke. I allowed myself to doze lightly. I stirred when I heard someone go by.

Later someone actually came in our little alcove. I placed my hand over Derrick's mouth before they actually stepped in and rolled him on his side, squeezing in tight against him. I could see the light play above us on the edge of our cubby hole, but the guy didn't investigate further. It was, after all, up high. He was thorough in the rest of the area, going down until he couldn't fit anymore, verifying it was a dead end.

I heard him use a spray can at the entrance. I moved back toward the edge of our ledge, allowing Derrick to lay on his back again. I put my hand over his mouth again before rolling off the ledge.

I was almost full wolf. I had a den and a hurt pack member. I let out a quiet growl as I headed out to stalk my prey.

"Rick?"

I looked back up out of habit even though it was dark as could be. Derrick had pulled out his phone for a moment's light. I slipped out the entrance, hopefully before he saw me. The light went out. I stepped back in briefly. I knew my voice was gravely when I spoke, trying to whisper.

"Light reflects. Don't!"

"Sorry," he whispered back.

I only growled.

Light in this pitch black was both a pro and a con, you could see it far off. I could see my prey's progress as he shone his light along the wall. There was another guy on the other side, marking the openings on that side. I followed behind, watching as they made the same mark every time they came out of a crack in the walls. A slight sound behind me had me holding still.

I moved slowly until I was facing the direction of the sound. Then I looked up. I opened my mouth, tasting the air. I could smell about where the man was, higher up, further back. Had he seen Derrick's light? If so, he hadn't let out a warning and he didn't move.

There! A slight glint off a gun! Perhaps he did see that moment of light and was waiting for us. If he was using infrared, did he see my wolf form?

I moved, slinking close to the ground until I was beneath him. I ruled out the idea he had noticed me. The man was completely focused on where Derrick's light had shone for a moment. Part of me tried to think, to figure a way to disarm him and keep him from being able to reveal us or hurt us. The rest of me already knew what I needed to do.

I let out a steady growl, low enough not to carry. Sure enough the man with the sniper rifle leaned over to look down. That's all it took for me to pounce. I growled, biting down on an arm. Like I had told my wolves in the field, don't go to bite if you don't plan on breaking bones.

The man let out a satisfying scream. I didn't hesitate, grabbing the hand he swung at my head, sinking my teeth in and ripping. I leapt away. He wouldn't be using a gun against me! The small growl that sounded then might have been mistaken for a chuckle. I knew I couldn't let him live, especially having bit him. I circled around. He moved in a way that exposed his throat. I thought about the cougar that had killed Mom. This man was just as deadly and dangerous. I leapt in, putting my weight on his shoulders and went in for the kill.

I slunk back to the shadows, licking the blood off my snout, hoping Derrick was smart enough to keep the lights out.

The men with the flashlights came running at the screams, pistols drawn. I waited until one was level with me and rushed him, knocking him down. The flashlight he had fell and rolled, the light throwing odd moving shadows along the cave walls.

I bit down on the pistol and pulled it from the man's grasp. I moved through the flashlight's beam, making a point of making noise, running down past where Derrick was. A shot rang out, and I felt slivers of rock hit me. I jumped sideways, staying low to the ground. I couldn't kill both of them without risk to myself. They would be on alert now.

I ducked into one of the marked areas, looking for somewhere higher than a wolf could reach to stash the gun. I found a little hollow that would shield the gun from glinting in any light. I heard it when it landed a few feet down. It would be tricky to retrieve it, but not impossible, and they wouldn't find it.

I went further away, and let loose a howl, keeping it short. This was, after all, Yellowstone, home to wild animals. They would have to believe a wolf had found his way in before the tremors and couldn't find his way out.

Knowing there was a wolf here would interfere with their plans, especially after breaking the man's arm like I did before ripping out his throat.  I wasn't sure what they had seen in the dark and dancing shadows, but the howl would leave no doubt. Plus, I figured Derrick would know I was ok. He would have to be worried when he heard the scream and the shot being fired.

I released a stream, marking as far as I had gone. Odds are they wouldn't notice it, but if they did, its low height would only confirm the presence of a wolf.

I moved silently then, heading back to Derrick. I could hear them, the man who had lost his gun and John. I heard the words teeth and wolf. The smell of blood filled the area.

I felt satisfied knowing Derrick's broken arm was avenged, especially in a way that increased our safety. I snuck into our alcove and leapt up.

"Rick?"

At least it was only the barest whisper. I shifted, curling along Derrick's back once more, keeping the fur on my back.

"Shhh. Sleep if you can. I'm fine. I'm going to wait for things to settle down before I go back out. Go as far in as you can go. No lights. Sleep."

He stayed silent, moving things around and scooting over a few more inches. I knew it wasn't the most comfortable for him, but it was the safest thing to do right now. I felt one of my paws push against his calf muscle as I settled in to wait.

I sighed. He was going to figure it out at some point, especially in such close quarters, even if we were in complete darkness. I shifted a bit so I could speak clearer.

"By the way," I whispered in his ear, "I don't need the pants because I'm wearing fur. I wasn't joking when I told Mac my secret was out. Now go to sleep."