Yellowstone Legends

by Peggy L Henderson

  The wolf stood in the road, his mouth open and his tongue out, panting as if he was smiling and happy about something. Slowly, he moved off the road and glanced down into the ditch where the car had impacted with a large tree. It looked like a crushed soda can, its hood compressed and the windshield smashed in. There was no movement from inside the vehicle. The wolf raised its nose into the sky and let out a long, ominous howl, right before it vanished into thin air.

  Kendra woke with a loud gasp. Her labored breathing made it seem as if she’d run a marathon. Not fully awake, she threw the covers off to cool her sweaty body. She lay there, waiting for her breathing and heart rate to return to normal. She squeezed her eyes shut, but opened them again quickly to keep the images from replaying in her mind. This was the first time her dream had been different. She shook her head at the nonsensical images that lingered, although as most dreams do, this one was already beginning to fade.

  She remained in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. How long had she tossed and turned before she’d finally fallen asleep? What was supposed to have been a relaxing evening on the couch, watching some mindless show on T.V. and eating pizza, had turned into a night of torment. Instead of pizza, she’d eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, taken a shower, and climbed into bed early with a pounding headache. Unable to fall asleep at first, she’d finally drifted off, only to be tormented by her dreams again. She glanced at her alarm clock on the nightstand. It wasn’t even ten o’clock, yet.

  She rolled to her side and reached for her cell phone, flipping it open. Matt Donovan’s number was prominently displayed on the illuminated screen. He’d called not ten minutes after they’d parted ways, but she hadn’t answered. When he’d left a voice message, she’d ignored that, too.

  Punching the side of her mattress, she flipped over onto her other side, and bunched up the pillow beneath her head. She still clutched her phone in her hand, her finger hovering over the voicemail button.

  Cursing under her breath, she flipped the phone shut and tossed it aside. It bounced lightly and fell to the ground with a dull thud. Kendra expelled a frustrated growl. She slid to the edge of her mattress and dropped her arm to the ground, groping for the phone.

  When her fingers made contact with it, she rolled onto her back. The LED light illuminated the space around her as she flipped the phone open again. She was never going to get any sleep if she didn’t at least listen to the message.

  “Fine,” she grumbled.

  Curiosity finally won out. How did Matt Donovan know so much about her Shoshone heritage? Something about him made her believe him, like there was a connection between them, but why Matt Donovan? He wasn’t even a native. Maybe he simply knew a lot about Native Americans and her Shoshone ancestry. At least he didn’t sound as preachy as Kunu, her grandfather, had always sounded.

  She pressed the button to listen to his message, and held the phone to her ear.

  “Kendra, I’m sorry if I upset you earlier. I really think it’s important that we talk. I understand this might not be easy for you, and believe me, it’s not easy for me, either, especially since I’m not even one hundred percent sure my hunch about you is correct. My gut tells me there are things you need to know about your past, and most important, about who you are. I believe there are some things that your grandfather didn’t know, or if he did, he didn’t tell you.”

  There was a slight hesitation, then he continued. “My wife and I can change our plans this evening if you’d like to talk. We can meet at our house, or if you’d rather sleep on it, we’d like to invite you to come for dinner tomorrow night. I know you have questions, and believe me I do, too. I also have something important to show you. Our meeting wasn’t a coincidence, and I think your future lies in the past. Please call me back.”

  Kendra stared at the phone. She listened to the message three more times. He had information about who she was, and her future was in the past? What did that even mean?

  Her finger was on the speed-dial to call him back, but she shook her head. No, it was best not to rush into this. Maybe tomorrow morning she’d return the call, but not now. It had completely taken her off guard that he’d asked her about the Sky People.

  “Sky People?” she’d laughed, while glaring at Matt Donovan as she gripped her duffel bag in one hand, standing on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop. “You know what? You and my grandfather are both crazy if you believe any of that stuff. If you say you know Shoshone customs, you’ll know that those supposed legends of the Sky People are just that, stories to entertain children. The Shoshone believed in spirits called sky people, but they are nothing more than that – spirits, like hawks and eagles, and other birds. My ancestors tried to make sense of the world through them.”

  Matt hadn’t backed down at her tirade. He’d stood his ground and even taken a step toward her. Unlike her, he hadn’t raised his voice, but had remained perfectly calm. “You don’t think it’s coincidence that you dream about bears and wolves, when there were two clans of the Sky People – the Bear and the Wolf Clan? Tell me, Kendra, which one are you in your dreams? Are you a bear, as your name implies, or are you a wolf?”

  She’d squeezed her eyes shut. Why had she even entertained this silly conversation? “Like I said, my grandfather’s stories were messing with my head. That’s why I was having those dreams.”

  Luckily, at that moment, a car had pulled up. An auburn-haired woman with a friendly smile had leaned across the front seat, glancing out the passenger window she’d rolled down.

  “Sorry I’m late, Matt. Aimee decided not to come, so it’s just you and me.”

  Matt had glanced from the car to Kendra, indecision in his eyes.

  “Looks like your ride’s here, and I need to get home.” Kendra had started walking to put some distance between herself and Matt Donovan. Seeing him again in a couple of days after her weekend was over would be soon enough.

  “Think about what I said, Kendra,” he’d called after her. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  She’d walked faster, looking straight ahead but keeping her focus on what was going on behind her. A car door had opened and then closed, and a few seconds later, the vehicle had driven away in the opposite direction from the one she’d been going.

  Kendra swiped her hand over her face. She set the phone on the nightstand, then rearranged her pillow and covers, and once again stared at the dark ceiling. Next door, the neighbors were arguing again.

  The woman spoke in a loud voice, her words coming so fast that nothing she said even made sense. Her boyfriend usually didn’t argue back. Only occasionally had he raised his voice to her. In the two weeks since Kendra had come to New York, the police had been called twice on this couple by one of the other tenants.

  An arrest had not been made either time. The guy didn’t seem like the abusive type. Kendra had seen him with their one-year-old daughter on numerous occasions. He smiled and seemed nice enough, and appeared to care about his little girl. The woman, on the other hand, had the volatile temper, and domestic violence charges could probably be considered.

  Kendra groaned when the woman’s voice rose even more. If the guy had any sense at all, he’d leave her. She peeled the covers off and threw her legs over the side of the mattress to sit up. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help her fall asleep again. Rubbing at her pounding temples, she made her way to the kitchen without turning on any lights.

  “Maybe it’s time to pull out the badge and gun, and knock on their door,” she grumbled. If the cops weren’t going to arrest someone, maybe she would, simply for disturbing her peace.

  Kendra pulled the door open to the refrigerator. She squinted when the light blinded her momentarily, then reached for the carton of milk. She was pouring herself a glass when the faint ringing of her phone came from the bedroom.

  “I said I’d think about calling back in the morning,” she said between gritted teeth. “Maybe I’ll just tell him I’m not interested and if he calls again, I’ll report h
im for harassment.”

  Of course you’re not going to do that, Kendra. You’re dying to find out what he has to say.

  Matt Donovan was a genuinely nice guy, and he’d been truly concerned about her. As unbelievable as it seemed, there was no doubt that he knew things, things she’d wondered about and that had haunted her all her life, even if she didn’t know the reason why. Okay, maybe she’d been running from them all her life, but only because her grandfather hadn’t been forthcoming with any answers except to tell her she was special and to be patient.

  She set the carton of milk on the counter and rushed to her bedroom. Without looking at who the caller was, she flipped open the phone and held it to her ear.

  “Hello. I was going to call you in the mor –”

  “Natukendra’eh weda?”

  Kendra’s heart slammed against the insides of her ribs and she jerked the phone away from her ear. Her breath caught in her throat, then she shook her head. Bringing the phone slowly back to her head, she inhaled a deep breath.

  “Kunu . . . Grandfather. What . . . why are you calling me at this hour?”

  “Natu, it is so good to hear your voice. It has been many months since I have spoken with you.”

  “I’m sorry, Kunu. I’ve been busy. I have a new job. I had to move to New York.”

  “New York?” There was an almost alarmed note to her grandfather’s voice. Why was he calling today, of all days, and why at this hour? “The last I heard from you, you were in Los Angeles.”

  “I decided I needed to move. I’m a detective now.”

  There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Kendra sat on the edge of her bed. What was she supposed to say to her grandfather? She’d left home when she was barely eighteen. She’d had enough of life on the Rez, and of her grandfather talking about the old days.

  They’d talked on the phone over the years, and he’d always begged her to come home, but she hadn’t listened. The simple fact that the dreams had stopped since she’d been off the reservation had been enough to keep her away. At least they’d stopped until recently.

  For as long as she could remember, she’d yearned for something else, something more. Trapped in her grandfather’s home, she’d had a sense that it wasn’t where she belonged. The trouble was, Matt Donovan had been spot on when he’d said she seemed conflicted. She still didn’t know what bears and wolves had to do with it, though.

  “Natu, you have to come home. There are things I have to tell you, and it is time.”

  Kendra scrunched her forehead. “Time for what, Grandfather?”

  “Time for you to know everything. You are in danger in New York. If he finds you before you understand . . . I have to see you. You must come home, and I will explain.”

  She laughed softly, but rolled her eyes at his usual blabber that made little sense. “I can’t leave, Kunu. I just started this job. I can’t simply tell them I have to go. I know it’s dangerous, but it’s what I’ve chosen to do. I’m not coming back to the Rez.”

  “Listen to me, Natukendra’eh. You are not safe. You have to beware of the wolf.”

  Kendra frowned, and shook her head. She stared up at the ceiling, then ran her hand over her face and combed her fingers through her hair.

  “Natu, listen to me.” There was a slight hesitation in his voice. He was whispering, as if he thought someone was listening in on the conversation. “If you refuse to come home . . . I have things to tell you, but I cannot do so over the phone. You . . . I need to tell you about the Sky People.”

  Adrenaline jolted her, making her heart pound in her chest and her limbs go weak. Talk of Sky People again. Was she losing her mind, or was everyone else around her crazy?

  “What are you talking about, Grandfather?”

  Kunu was definitely losing it. The last time she’d seen him had been nearly eight years ago. He’d been old and frail even then. Now, his mind seemed to be going, too.

  “Listen to me, Natu. I was instructed to raise you and teach you by the elders of the Sky People, the ones in the stories you have heard, so that when the time comes, you will be ready. I had to wait until you were old enough and could understand. You ran away from me, and I haven’t been able to teach you. You must listen to me now. You must find the bear before it is too late, but beware of the wolf. He is coming.”

  Kendra squeezed her eyes shut. Not safe from the wolf. Her discussion with Matt Donovan mingled with images of her dreams. Wolves and bears. What did it all mean? Maybe she should have listened to Matt a little more. He wouldn’t have spoken in the same cryptic ways her grandfather liked to talk. Or maybe . . .

  Kendra sat up straighter. Her grandfather’s phone call tonight had to be more than coincidence. And to think she was thinking about calling Matt and finding out more of what he had to tell her. Annoyance quickly turned to anger, and she laughed in a mocking way, shaking her head.

  “Okay, Kunu. What is your involvement with Matt Donovan? Do you know him? Why are the two of you trying to mess with me about bears and wolves, and about Sky People?”

  “Matt Donovan? You have met Matunaaga?”

  “Who? No . . . yes, I met Matt Donovan. He was talking to me like you, about bears and wolves. Why can’t you let go of your old stories and let me live my life in the present?”

  “Natu, you have to –”

  Her phone buzzed.

  “Hold on, Kunu, I have another call.” Kendra put the call with her grandfather on hold. If the other caller was Matt Donovan, she had a few choice words for him.

  Glancing at the screen, she frowned. Police Chief Morris was calling her?

  “Hello?” Her voice cracked slightly as she answered.

  “Detective Weda, I’m glad I got ahold of you. There’s been an accident.”

  Chapter 4

  “I only just met him today. He introduced himself after work, and said I’d been assigned to him. We went for a cup of coffee, then his wife picked him up.”

  Kendra’s voice was uncharacteristically shaky, as was the rest of her. She’d seen her share of accident scenes, but this one hit too close to home. Police officers scurried around, talking in hushed tones. Static from two-way transceivers and from car radios filled the night air. The area where Detective and Mrs. Donovan’s vehicle had hit a tree head-on had been closed off with yellow tape.

  “The only thing we’ve been able to determine is that Kayla Donovan swerved to avoid hitting something. There are tire marks from another vehicle that would indicate another car and driver were involved, but we haven’t located the vehicle, yet.”

  Kendra stared at the chief, and blinked away the sting in her eyes. The older man looked shaken up, too. She’d already walked the road in both directions as far as the police barricade and beyond. Using a flashlight, she’d searched for any other tracks off the road. As crazy as it was even in her own mind, she’d specifically been looking for tracks made by a canine. She shuddered at the thought.

  She couldn’t tell Chief Morris about her dream. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. The dream she’d had shortly before the devastating phone call from the chief that Detective Donovan and his wife had been in a fatal car crash, haunted her now.

  Fear, genuine fear, turned her insides to ice. There had been a wolf in her dream, and Mrs. Donovan had swerved to avoid it. The passenger of the car had been a bear. Little details had started coming back, until she remembered the entire dream. A wolf had run out into the lane on purpose.

  She shook her head. Impossible. There were no wolves here in New York, were there? Matt Donovan hadn’t turned into a bear. The images were simply how her brain had been trying to interpret things. Matt Donovan had wanted to talk to her. He’d known how to explain her bear and wolf dreams, but she hadn’t wanted to listen. If only she had agreed to meet with him at his home this evening, he and his wife might still be alive.

  How was it possible that she’d dreamed about Matt Donovan’s accident, and presumably at almost the exact time it had hap
pened? And if she’d seen Matt Donovan as a bear in her dreams, who was the wolf that had wanted him and his wife dead? These were all things she couldn’t possibly tell Chief Morris. He’d think she was crazy.

  “I’d best head over to the Donovan residence. I have to break the news to their daughter. I’ll have one of the officers give you a ride home, Detective Weda.”

  Chief Morris nodded to Kendra with a solemn look on his face. He addressed one of the officers on scene and headed up the hill to his patrol car.

  Kendra sprinted after him. “Chief, I’d like to go with you, to the Donovan home.”

  Chief Morris stopped to study her.

  “Please,” she added. “I know Detective Donovan and I only met once, but he invited me to his home this evening, and I declined.” Her voice cracked. She sniffed, and ran her hand under her nose. “I can’t shake the feeling that if I had accepted his invitation, he would be alive now.”

  The stern-looking chief’s eyes softened. He pointed a finger at her. “You are not going to beat yourself up and blame yourself for this, Detective Weda. Right now, this looks to have been an unfortunate, tragic accident, nothing more. Didn’t Matt have car trouble? Once we have a mechanic look at the vehicle, it might well be determined that there was something wrong with it. Maybe the brakes failed.”

  Kendra gritted her teeth. What if it wasn’t due to brake failure? What if she’d been witness to this accident in her dream? Snippets of her conversation with her kunu – grandfather – raced through her mind, mingling with the conversation she’d had earlier with Matt Donovan. Why couldn’t someone give her some straight answers? The man who had been willing to help her make sense of it all was now dead.

  “Tell me, have you ever heard stories about the Sky People?” . . . “Listen to me, Natukendra’eh. You are in danger . . . beware of the wolf.”

  “Detective Weda?”