Herd is the Word

by Jenna Lynn Badger

  “I can’t fit on the bed if you take up the whole thing. Besides, you’ve slept the whole day. It’s my turn.”

  The cat yawned.

  “I agree,” June settled herself into bed and situated the covers around her. Satisfied that she occupied her fair share of the sleeping spot, June switched off the light.

  Mr. Bigglesworth kneaded the blanket with her paws, purring contentedly and probably destroying the hand-made quilt with each stroke.

  June couldn’t help but be reminded again of the alpaca’s humming.

  Finally satisfied that she had destroyed enough of the old Amish quilt that June had received as a wedding gift from her parents, Mr. Bigglesworth laid down and curled in a tight ball at June’s back.

  June closed her eyes, sighing happily. Content with the warmth of her companion by her side, they both drifted off to sleep.

  A high pitch scream cut through the night air.

  June bolted upright.

  “What was that?” she croaked as if the cat would know the answer.

  Whatever it was, it didn’t sound quite human.

  The sound pierced the air again, coming from the pen-side of her motorhome.

  Is that the alpacas?

  June pushed the blankets aside and climbed out of bed. She shoved her feet into her sneakers, not fussing with the socks or the laces, and shuffled to the door, almost forgetting her cane in the process.

  Mr. Bigglesworth glared at her over the sudden interruption and lazily moved to the spot that June had just warmed.

  June didn’t have time to think about it just then. She grabbed her phone and pulled her thick, fleece jacket on over her flannel, plaid pajamas. Bracing herself for the onslaught of cold, she opened the door. Her skin instantly prickled with goosebumps and her breath came out in clouds. However long she had slept, it wasn’t even close to time to get up. She glanced at her phone.

  1:14 AM.

  She used the flashlight app to light her way and glanced around.

  Across the campground, half a dozen flashlight beams scanned across the pens of the alpacas, stretching their shadows in bizarre and contorted ways.

  It took June time to get there. The moon cast eerie shadows, and she heard other people out as well. Finally, she reached the pens.

  The animals all wandered around, looking in multiple directions and squeaking occasionally. Their ears were pricked and some of them jumped around before returning to the cluster.

  A group of people surrounded the female’s pens, each one with a flashlight on, scanning the animals.

  June hurried up to them, at least as well as she could manage, her cane making too much noise in the quiet night. She turned off her flashlight and reached in the pocket of her jacket to retrieve a pair of gloves that she kept in there. They were just a set of stripy, thin things, but her hands already burned with the cold and she couldn’t keep them both in her pockets with her cane.

  She clicked on her flashlight app and helped scan the alpacas, which was what everyone else seemed to be doing.

  “Where’s Cutie Pie?” asked Fran.

  “She’s over here,” said Danielle, pointing with her flashlight.

  “Are they all here?” asked Fran. Her big brown eyes were filled with concern.

  Danielle blinked and shivered in the cold. “I’ve counted them three times. As far as I can tell, they’re all there.”

  Someone came up behind her and June turned, shining her flashlight at whoever it was.

  “Get that light out of my face,” Gabriella said. Her white hair stuck up in all directions, but despite the scowl, she looked better without the blue eyeliner.

  “Sorry,” said June, clicking off the light.

  “No, I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” said Gabriella. Then her eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you the mom of the people who took Penelope?”

  June squared her shoulders. “I am Rebecca’s mom and I can assure you that she and her husband had nothing to do with the alpaca’s disappearance.”

  “Easy enough to say,” said Fran.

  “Why would I be out here freezing my backside off if I knew what was going on with the alpaca?” June asked.

  “To keep up appearances, obviously,” said Gabriella. “Everyone knows you have the most to gain by taking the alpaca. I ask you, what are you going to do after the baby is born? Do you know how to take care of the animals? You should bring her back where she’s safe and happy.”

  June opened her mouth to protest, but Danielle spoke first.

  “There’s no point in fighting right now. We need to figure out what’s going on with the alpacas and how to keep them safe.”

  Fran spoke up, her airy voice was easily distinguishable despite the fact that June could only see the light from her flashlight. “It could have been anything. One of them could have been spooked by a shadow and then they’d all be screaming.”

  “They made a racket last night, too,” said Gabriella.

  “Last night, they had a very good reason,” said Danielle.

  Ronald finally made his way across the campground, knuckling his eyes. His flashlight was one of those big ones with a long handle, and June saw the circle of light that preceded him before he got there. He was shivering, too, still in his t-shirt and shorts. “Is Blanche out here?”

  “No,” said Danielle.

  “You think she’s still asleep?” asked June.

  Ronald shined his big flashlight in the direction of Blanche’s RV. The big, black truck was still there. He clicked off the light and sighed. “She’s been using earplugs lately because Dillon makes a lot of noise playing his video games.”

  “So, what are we going to do?” asked Gabriella. “I am freezing and I want to go to bed.” She glared at June. “But I don’t want anyone to get away with stealing more alpacas. I had plans for Penelope’s yarn. I just wish they wouldn’t scream for no reason.”

  “You can’t blame them for being spooked,” said Danielle. “They had one of their herd taken away just yesterday. Besides, we don’t know what happened. They could have scared something off with their screams. That’s the whole reason they do that. Don’t forget, we’re talking about animals who are almost completely defenseless.”

  Gabriella pursed her lips. She did not look too happy.

  “We can’t just leave them alone anymore,” said Danielle. “I am sure they were all making noise for a reason.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I guess I can stay up and keep watch. I’ll take first shift.”

  “No,” said Ronald. “I’ll take the first watch. I doubt I’ll be able to go back to sleep anyway, and you look like you could pass right back out.”

  Danielle nodded. “I think I could. I had a hard time falling asleep. Thanks, Ronald, but I doubt you’re going to be able to stay awake the whole night. Wake me up when you get too tired. Maybe in three hours? If we break the watch into thirds, it won’t be as hard on any of us.”

  “I can’t do it,” said Fran. “It will throw off all of my work.”

  For a terrifying moment, June thought she was going to be the one standing guard for the third shift, but Gabriella obviously didn’t trust her that much.

  “I’ll take the shift after that one if we need it. Honestly, I’m not sure what an old woman like me could do other than scream and the alpacas already do that.”

  “You could spot whoever or whatever is threatening them,” said June. “The alpacas can’t give us a description, but you could.”

  Gabriella gave her a hard look, then turned to Danielle. “I’m going to regret this.” She paused and puffed out another steaming breath, “but I’ll do it.” She turned to June. “If I catch you or your family sneaking around, we’ll have enough evidence to kick you out of the camp and call the police.”

  “You don’t know what happened,” said Danielle. “None of us do.”

  “Wake me when it’s my turn.” With that, Gabriella stormed off, heading for her bed, her light pointing the way ahead of her.

/>   Danielle gave June an uncomfortable smile. “Goodnight.” She turned the opposite direction and disappeared into the night.

  June turned to head back to her motorhome, when Ronald spoke up. “Do you mind staying here while I go get my jacket?”

  June wrapped her arms around herself. The cold had seeped into her bones, making her shiver and regret not putting on socks, but she wasn’t the one volunteering to stay out in the cold. “Good idea. You’ll freeze to death like that.” She watched him walk away. At least he and Danielle didn’t seem to think she had anything to do with the alpaca’s disappearance.

  She pulled out her phone and turned back on the flashlight feature. There were footprints near the gate, but that could have been made by anyone earlier in the day. Some of the alpacas were already returning to their stable. Others paced restlessly. “What had you ladies so upset, hmm?” she walked the perimeter.

  She figured that the trough would be a good place to check, just to see if someone had tried to come in that way again, or if they had tried to move it to get out another alpaca. If Fran was right, it could have been anything that spooked the animals, but checking on things while she had to stay out here was smart anyway. The gate was still closed and there were no new marks on the ground. She walked to the male’s pen to see if the his trough had been moved. It was a long walk, but by the end of it, she wasn’t shivering near as much as she had been just standing in one place.

  If someone was planning on stealing the alpaca to start their own farm, a male and a female made sense. The trough hadn’t been moved on this side either, but there was something floating in the male’s water.

  She stepped forward in the silence, wishing she didn’t make so much noise and had the distinct impression that she was being watched.

  Your mind is playing tricks on you, she thought as she leaned over the trough.

  Hot breath blew over the back of her neck.

  She jumped back, clutching at her chest and panting all alone in the darkness.

  The white alpaca watched her impassively, black eyes glittering in the light of her phone.

  “You shouldn’t startle people like that,” she chided him. “You just about scared me out of my skin. They’d really have something to talk about in the morning. I can just see the headline, ‘Woman dies of an alpaca-attack.’”

  He eyed her, as if he understood what she was saying and nudged her shoulder.

  She gave him a fond pat. “I wish you could tell me what’s going on. I bet you saw the whole thing.”

  He sniffed, as if to say, “Of course I did.”

  June pulled off her glove. “I really am going crazy, talking to furry animals.” She shone her light back on the item floating in the water. Whatever it was, it was delicately crocheted and turquoise. She leaned her cane against the fence.

  June reached out and grabbed the thing in the water, breaking the thin sheet of ice that had formed over it. Instantly, her hand was both prickling with cold and painfully numb. She shoved the crocheted item into her pocket and realized that the hand she had used was the one she relied on to hold onto her cane.

  “Everything all right?” called Ronald from a few paces away.

  She spun, trying to put a pleasant smile on her face. She clutched her cane with numb fingers. “Everything’s fine. Just figured I’d walk around a bit. You know, try to keep warm.”

  Ronald now wore long pants and a hoodie instead of his typical shorts and t-shirt. In his arms, he clutched a red plaid blanket. He arched an eyebrow. “You sure you’re ok? You look…I don’t know…worried or something.”

  She laughed weakly and shoved her gloved hand into her pocket. “Yes, the male just startled me. I was walking near the fence and he came up right out of the dark and sniffed me. I about jumped out of my skin.”

  He rested an elbow on the fence. “They’re a bit creepy in the dark. They can be pretty quiet when they want to be.”

  “Do you need anything else before I head off?” she asked.

  “Nah, I figure I’ll just play games on my phone until someone else wakes up or until I’m too tired to think straight.”

  She nodded at him. “It’s good of you to keep watch.”

  Ronald shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do. Can’t have another one go missing. Blanche would totally lose it if that happened.”

  “Goodnight then, and good luck with your watch.”

  Inside her warm little RV, she turned on the light and got a better look at what she had found. The crocheted thing was an earring. She’d never seen anything like it. It was all intricate circles and tiny stitches, made from an extremely fine string or thread. She hoped that whoever made it hadn’t actually taken the alpaca. She would like a pair just like this one.

  Chapter Eighteen

  June shivered under her blankets. It took so long for her arms and legs to feel warm enough to fall asleep again that she was beginning to wonder if she should have offered to keep watch. Her hand finally stopped tingling, and she stopped worrying about the red numbers on her alarm clock and how little sleep she was getting. That was getting her nowhere. She focused on Mr. Bigglesworth’s little warm spot pressed up against her back, and drifted off to sleep.

  Another scream pierced the air.

  June pushed herself out of bed. Had she slept at all? It seemed that only moments had passed since she had closed her eyes. She clicked on the lamp beside her bed and found her shoes. This was beginning to remind her of her days as a young mother, waking every couple of hours to screaming. Hobbling around the small space, she began to wish she had brought some of her slip-on winter boots from home. Utah might not be as cold as Illinois, but it was certainly colder than she had anticipated, and pulling on and off tennis shoes was becoming a chore. Still, she wasn’t going to make the same mistake she had last time. She grabbed her thickest pair of woolen socks.

  June picked up her cane and was about to make it outside, when the cat noticed she was leaving.

  Mr. Bigglesworth meowed loudly and rubbed her ankles.

  “Oh fine,” she said. “I suppose I’m not fast enough to chase down the thief.” She hastily poured food into Mr. Bigglesworth’s bowl, gave the cat a fond pat on the head and left. It was even colder now and still hazy. The sun was just barely coating the sky with a gray morning light. She groaned. She was definitely too old to be doing this sort of thing, but she couldn’t help wanting to know what was going on, either.

  She glanced around, finding a bigger crowd heading to the pens this time. She made her way there with slow steps on the frozen ground. It wasn’t just frozen, though. Sometime between the last alpaca scream and this one, it had snowed. It was only a light dusting, but the whole campground looked different.

  “Good morning, June,” said Nathan, coming up behind her with a travel mug in hand. His breath came out in puffs as he slowed to keep pace with her. He looked too happy for this time of day, too put-together. He wore jeans and tennis shoes and a big, brown jacket. He had the hood pulled over his short-cropped, dark hair. “Bit early for a wakeup call, don’t you think?”

  June laughed. “You are lucky you didn’t wake for the screaming around midnight. Some of us didn’t sleep much.” She rubbed at her face with the hand that wasn’t operating the cane. Then she remembered Ronald, Danielle, and Gabriella shivering out in the cold all night and she felt a bit guilty for complaining. She hoped they had taken shelter in the barn at least.

  “I don’t remember any screaming, day or night, the last time Rebecca and I stayed here. The alpaca were quiet the entire time, except for that humming noise they make,” said Nathan.

  “I doubt there was an alpaca thief on the loose last time you were here. I am almost certain that someone tried to steal another one last night.”

  He eyed her and lowered his voice. “I still can’t believe people around here are blaming us. I mean, where would we put it?”

  She grimaced. “I know. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  But bef
ore he could answer, someone else shouted. “Where’s Prince Albert?”

  A cluster of people gathered close to the pens.

  June glanced in that direction but didn’t see Danielle yet. She spotted Gabriella and Fran, standing close together. Fran had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders in addition to the jacket she wore. There were probably twenty people she didn’t know, but no one responded to the question. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as her eyes returned to the pens.

  Both the gate to the center pen and the male’s pen were wide open. Prince Albert’s was completely empty except for the thin coating of snow over the ground and the top of his stable.

  Oh no, June thought. Danielle is going to lose her mind. She glanced into the girls’ pen, hoping that he had just escaped into there. Look as she might, she saw no sign of either him or the pregnant Penelope. He was the only white one in the herd and would have been easy to spot.

  June suddenly realized she was standing alone. Nathan walked over to his wife, handing her the cup of coffee. She smiled up at him, and he gave her a peck on the cheek.

  “Morning, Mom,” Rebecca said, waving her over. She glanced around. “Can you believe it snowed? The campground must look great in the winter.”

  June smiled despite the anxiety she was feeling and hobbled over.

  Rebecca frowned. “Did you hear? The male is missing now.” Her breath was visible in the cold and she was just as bundled up as her husband, her dark hair tucked into the hood of her jacket. She hadn’t put on makeup yet, not that she needed it at her age, and she held the black mug close to her chest as if it could warm her through the insulated walls.

  June swallowed. “I don’t think my new friend is going to take that very well.” She scanned the crowd again, trying to keep track of who was there and who wasn’t. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a furious Danielle storming through the crowd.

  Her bright blue eyes flashed with anger. Despite the freezing temperature, she was still in pajamas, her jacket wasn’t zipped, and she was wearing sandals. Her toes were red from the biting cold, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Where is Prince Albert?” she shouted.