by Bruno Miller
Suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the quiet.
“HELP!”
Allie was in trouble.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Allie, we’re coming,” Joel yelled.
He and Ben took off running toward the river with Gunner way ahead of them. Ben could hear Gunner barking and growling before they got there. Then he heard a snarl he didn’t recognize as he pulled his Glock out and came down the riverbank.
He couldn’t believe what he saw in the light of Allie’s headlamp.
Gunner had his hackles up and locked in a standoff with what looked like a large gray wolf.
The wolf was several feet away and flashing its teeth with an intensity that sent chills up Ben’s spine. Allie was backed up against a large dead tree that stuck out into the water and cut off her escape route. The .38 pistol in her hand shook as she held it out in front of her.
Gunner had put himself directly between her and the wolf.
“It came up behind me!” Her voice trembled. Ben was glad she hadn’t taken a shot with Gunner in the way.
“Everybody stay calm! Gunner, heal up. Gunner, heal up now!” Ben’s commands went without so much as a look from the dog, and if anything, he doubled down on his intensity.
“Is…is that a wolf?” Joel muttered. “It’s way too big to be a coyote.”
“Yes, it is,” Ben answered.
The wolf was taller than Gunner by a few inches but much leaner. Its slender legs, designed for traveling great distances, led down to massive mud-encrusted paws. Ben couldn’t help but appreciate what a magnificent animal it was. The last thing he wanted to do was kill it, but this wouldn’t end well if he didn’t step in soon.
As he raised his pistol, the standoff escalated and the two animals began to circle one another. The distance between Gunner and the wolf quickly shrunk to just a couple feet. Ben didn’t have a clear shot without risking a ricocheted bullet at this range. He didn’t want to risk hitting Gunner or, worse, one of the kids.
Gunner refused to back off in spite of Ben and Joel’s repeated attempts to call him off. The tension continued to build until Gunner finally snapped and tore into the wolf with a fury that Ben had never seen the likes of before now.
“Gunner, no!” Joel yelled.
Allie screamed again as the two canines locked up in a whirlwind of hair and teeth. Ben could hear the snapping jaws as they struggled to latch on to each other. They rolled around, flinging dirt and pebbles in all directions and snarling in between attempted bites.
Ben felt helpless, and for the first time in a while, he wasn’t sure what to do. There was no way he could take a shot while they were going at each other like this.
Then, out of nowhere, Joel came running down the bank with an unwieldy tree branch.
Ben hadn’t even noticed he was gone.
The branch was at least 10 feet long and looked heavy from the way he was running with it. The end of the branch had a few smaller limbs sticking off and some of them dragged on the ground as he ran.
Joel plunged the end of the branch into the mass of fur and chaos. The two beasts separated for the first time since the fight had started. But by the looks of it, they weren’t planning on staying that way.
The wolf backed off several feet and was beginning to circle around Gunner for another go. This gave Ben a small window of opportunity. He thought about firing a shot into the air in an attempt to scare the wolf away, but he felt that it would take more than that now that the wolf had drawn blood. Besides, he didn’t want to have to worry about it coming back later. Ben took the shot. At less than 10 yards away, the 9-mm round to the wolf’s vitals dropped it on the spot with little more than a yelp.
Joel and Allie ran to Gunner, who was still standing—but barely. The poor dog was teetering as he tried to maintain his balance on three legs. He held his right front leg slightly bent, just enough to take the weight off it.
“He’s bleeding,” Allie cried out.
Gunner slid to the ground slowly as Allie dropped down beside him. “Joel, get me that washcloth over there, but get it wet first,” she commanded.
Joel grabbed the washcloth from a rock where Allie had earlier set her things to wash up. He dunked it in the river and wrung it out before handing it to her.
Ben started for the truck. “Don’t let him move. I’ll get the first-aid kit.” He only made it a couple feet before stopping and spinning around to look at Joel. “Stay alert. There could be more.”
Joel nodded and pulled out his gun. “Got it.”
Allie had the washcloth wrapped around Gunner’s leg when Ben returned and was applying pressure to the wound. She had his big brown head in her lap and was rubbing his ear with her free hand. Joel was still standing over them with his gun drawn.
“He lost a little bit of blood, but it’s not bleeding anymore. Looks like a couple puncture wounds. He keeps trying to move his leg out of the washcloth, so I don’t think it’s broken.” Allie tried to soothe Gunner as he lifted his head on Ben’s approach.
“Let me take a look.” Ben knelt and focused his headlamp on Gunners leg. Allie removed the washcloth, revealing three small holes in the outside of the leg, just above the paw. They weren’t as bad as Ben was expecting based on the amount of blood. Gunner tried to pull his leg away as Ben inspected the wounds.
“Easy, Gunner. Easy there. Looks like he got you pretty good, boy.” Ben rubbed Gunner’s head as he checked him over for any more injuries. “Looks like that’s it, thankfully. He’ll be okay. We just need to get this cleaned up and wrap it so it stays that way.”
Ben glanced up at Joel. “Did you see or hear anything else while I was gone?”
“No. Nothing. I think it was alone.” Joel shook his head. “I didn’t know there were wolves in Illinois.”
Ben started pulling supplies out of the first-aid kit. “It’s rare, but I’ve read about them migrating down from Wisconsin. They’ve made a bit of a comeback in the last few years.”
“Apparently, they’re not that rare.” Joel stared at the dead wolf several yards away.
“Allie, I’m going to need you to keep Gunner still while I do this. I have to clean out the bite, and he’s not going to like it.”
“Okay, I’ve got him.” Allie leaned down, putting her head to Gunner’s as she stroked his neck and whispered sweet things to him.
Ben started by pouring some of the filtered water over the wound. Gunner tried to lift his head, but Allie coaxed him into lying back down and holding still.
“Okay, now get ready. He’s going to feel this.” Ben gently drizzled a small amount of hydrogen peroxide into the punctures.
Gunner squirmed, forcing Allie to throw her leg over him to keep him in place. “Easy. It’s okay. Good boy. It’s okay.”
Gunner grunted and flashed his teeth in protest but eventually resigned himself to his treatment and settled down. His resistance eventually simmered down to only the occasional sad whine.
Allie took a deep breath. “I was just getting ready to wash up when I felt something behind me. I can’t explain it, but I felt like someone was watching me. When I turned around there was a wolf staring at me, and he was getting closer. The wolf started to growl, and I screamed. Before I knew it, Gunner came flying down the riverbank and put himself between us.”
Allie hugged Gunner tightly around the neck as she lay next to him on the ground. “You saved me again!”
“He’s a good dog.” Ben ripped open a small white packet of antiseptic gel and applied it liberally to the bite area. Next, he wrapped the leg in gauze from above the paw and all the way to Gunner’s elbow. He ripped off a few strips of duct tape and secured both ends of the wrap to itself, then ran a strip around the middle. He smoothed it out with his hands as he looked it over.
“There we go. That should keep it clean. No more swimming for you, at least not for a little while.” Ben rubbed Gunner on the head as Allie released her grip on the poor dog.
“We need to
keep an eye on it and change the bandage out daily,” he said. “The main thing is keeping it clean.”
“I’m happy to help,” Allie said.
Gunner got up on his elbows and let out a sneeze as he shook his head. Clearly glad not to be pinned down any longer, he gingerly sat up on his haunches, careful to use the injured leg sparingly. He sat there, panting, as he glanced around at the three of them and acted as if nothing had happened.
“Yeah, he’s going to be fine,” Joel said.
Ben didn’t want to leave the dead wolf lying on the bank for fear it might attract more of them if there were any around.
“Give me a hand, will you?” he asked Joel. “Grab the legs.”
Joel and his dad carried the wolf to the edge of the water and counted to three before they heaved the body as far as they could. Ben grabbed the long tree limb that Joel used to break up the fight and pushed the wolf farther out from shore and into a stronger current. They all watched as the lifeless raft of fur drifted beyond the capacity of their headlamps. Even Gunner made the effort and limped over to watch the body disappear downstream.
“I think I’ll wait until morning to get cleaned up,” Allie said as she gathered her things from the rock.
“I don’t blame you. Probably not a bad idea.” Ben put the first-aid kit back together and they headed back toward camp. Gunner kept pace with them as he hobbled along, his right paw held limp and only lightly touching down between strides.
“At least he’s using it.” Joel nodded at the dog.
“Yeah. That’s a good sign,” Ben agreed as he watched Gunner struggle up the modest incline of the riverbank.
Gunner was lucky he hadn’t fared much worse. They all were. Ben was almost certain there were more wolves out there. Wolves were pack animals and it only made sense there would be more lurking in the woods. They were probably watching them now.
He’d only seen one other wolf in the wild, and that was on a backpacking trip to Glacier National Park in Montana.
The wolf in Montana had crossed the trail they were hiking and only paused long enough for Ben to get a glimpse of it. It was a dark-colored animal, unlike the one that snuck up on Allie. But the Montana wolf was scared of them. It tucked its tail and ran away after they surprised it on the trail.
The wolf tonight was aggressive and showed no signs of backing down. Why was that?
Ben was worried enough that by the time they got back to camp he decided to make an exception and build a bigger, more traditional fire. As they added wood to the fire, Ben dug out the main hole a little more to accommodate larger sticks and logs.
Just when Ben was starting to feel like maybe he was overreacting, a high-pitched howl that made his skin crawl interrupted the silence. The sound was unsettling, even to Gunner, who got up from his spot by Allie’s tent and slowly moved closer to the fire.
They all looked at each other as the eerie melody trailed off into the tall pines just beyond camp.
“That was close,” Joel said.
Ben nodded. “Too close.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
That settled it for Ben, confirming his fears, and he knew what they had to do. They would have to stay vigilant all night.
“Somebody’s going to have to stay awake and keep the fire going. I’ll take the first watch,” Ben stated.
“No way! You’ve done too much today already, Dad. I got this.” Joel had a serious look on his face, and Ben didn’t have the energy to argue.
“All right then, you’ve got the first watch. But first, let’s gather up as much wood as we can.” Ben sighed as he realized his hopes for a good night’s sleep were quickly fading. So much for recharging the battery and hitting it fresh in the morning.
“I’ll stay up with you, Joel. There’s no way I can fall asleep right now,” Allie said as they began to scavenge for wood.
They scoured the perimeter of camp, careful not to stray too far outside the flickering light of the campfire as they gathered anything they could burn. They came up with a good-sized pile of wood, and Ben felt confident it would be enough to keep the fire going until morning.
“I think that’s good.” Ben stood back and eyed the pile of sticks and branches. Some of it was still green and was going to put off a fair amount of smoke—something he wasn’t crazy about. But what choice did they have?
For an added measure of security, they all pulled their tents a little closer to the flames, forming a small circle around the now blazing fire.
“Not too close. We don’t want any sparks to leap out and burn holes in the tents,” Ben warned the kids. “As long as the fire is going, they won’t come in very close.”
But Ben wondered how true that was after the aggressive actions he’d just witnessed. He hoped that was an isolated case and the other pack members would be more restrained. One thing was for sure, though: the animals they had encountered so far were just as unraveled as the people they had run into.
It was almost like the animals could sense this was a time of weakness for them and were reclaiming the land from people while it was ripe for the taking.
Why had the coyotes and the wolf been so overly aggressive? He wasn’t 100 percent sure about the wolf, but he knew coyotes didn’t behave like that normally. Then there were those vultures attacking their tires the other day. What was all that about?
Ben shook his head when he realized how crazy he was sounding to himself. He needed to get some sleep. He wasn’t even thinking straight anymore. “All right, guys. I’m going to try and get some rest. Wake me up in a few hours or when you get tired and I’ll take over.”
“Good night. I got it for a while. Don’t worry,” Joel said.
“Good job today! Thank you, again.” Allie glanced at Ben and then back at the fire. “Night.”
Ben smiled. “I couldn’t do this without you guys.”
He left Joel and Allie to the fire and Gunner to his stick. Ben thought Gunner looked remarkably well for just having tussled with a wolf and was glad to see the dog preoccupied with something other than his wounds. They also hadn’t heard any more howling, which might be why Gunner had finally settled down, enough at least to resume turning his stick into splinters while he basked in the heat of the fire.
Ben tucked under the flap into his tent and slipped off his boots before pulling his feet inside. He rubbed his feet for a minute. It felt so good to be out of his hiking boots. They were great for hiking and had a lot of extra support, but they weren’t so good for driving. And after spending all day in the rigid boots, they felt like two bricks on his feet.
He pulled the gun and holster from his belt next and tucked it neatly by the door near his head. He let the tent flap fall closed but decided not to zip it in case he had to make a quick exit. Allie and Joel were talking quietly, and every once in a while, he heard Gunner crunching on his stick. But none of that kept him from falling asleep in a matter a seconds.
* * *
Allie poked at the fire with a long stick. “Do you think the wolves will come back tonight?”
“I don’t think so. At least I hope not. I mean, you would think they wouldn’t try anything after what happened to the last one, but what do I know.” Joel focused on sharpening a long straight branch he had found when they were gathering firewood. He had been working on it for a while now.
“What are you making there? Looks like a spear,” Allie said.
“I don’t know. Just fooling around.” Joel was satisfied with the tip now and put away his knife. He thrust the tip of his spear into the red-hot embers at the base of the fire for a few seconds before pulling it out.
“And now you’re burning it up?” Allie made a face.
“No. This makes it stronger. The heat takes the moisture out of the wood and tightens the fibers. See the carbon from the embers on the tip? And if you rub it on a rock you can get a smooth, sharp tip that’s a lot more durable.”
Allie laughed.
“What?” Joel said.
&
nbsp; “How do you know this stuff? Your dad, I guess, right? Stupid question.” She shook her head.
Joel shrugged. “I’ve been doing that since I was a little kid. Just something I picked up. We were always outside doing stuff when I was little. Both of my parents were big on sending us outside to play.”
“Well, you’re lucky.” She smiled. “I’ve always lived in an apartment in the city. At least until my mom and I moved to Durango.”
Joel noticed Allie’s mood change as she let her hair fall over her face. She looked pretty in the firelight, but he wished she didn’t feel sad. He slid across the last few inches between them and put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, and they sat there without saying a word for a long time.
He stared into the fire as he pondered what type of future he and Allie could possibly have together in this new world. What was in store for any of them after Maryland? It wasn’t like they could all go back to Durango and live happily ever after. No. The world had changed forever.
And they were changing with it.
For the first time, Joel didn’t feel like a high school student anymore. He didn’t feel like a kid anymore, for that matter. Something had awakened inside of him.
Maybe it was because he was thinking about the future for a change, or maybe it was the realization he would play a large part in determining if they survived or not.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When Ben heard the song of a distant bird, he realized he had slept straight through the night. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to read the small numbers on his watch: 5:45. He could hear the forest coming alive with sounds outside the tent.
His first thought was that Joel had fallen asleep and failed to wake him for his fire watch. But when he smelled coffee and heard the kids talking, he knew that wasn’t the case.
Throwing back the flap on his tent, he saw a smaller fire still going and a pot of coffee percolating on top of the metal grate. Joel had propped it up with a few rocks and positioned it over the now-larger fire pit.
