Wolf! Happily Ever After?

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  “Fill it in? Why?” Confused, Lance glanced up from the capsule. “You think anyone would notice?” He was seeing how tightly the end cap was attached. When there was no reply, he looked over at his partner who silently glared back at him. Impatience was written all over Wolf’s dirt-streaked face. “What?”

  “You don’t think anyone would notice a large hole dug into the middle of what was previously just a pile of dirt? I thought you didn’t want to be obvious.”

  Lance was more intrigued with the new capsule than what any of the workers might think about the hole they had made. After a moment’s thought, he could easily see Wolf’s point. He could also plainly see that Wolf did not intend on filling it back in all by himself. “Fine.” With a dramatic sigh, the capsule was gently set on the grass of the riverbank. “I’ll help you fill it in. By the way, you didn’t happen to see the rock with the W E D engraved on it, did you?”

  “You don’t need any more souvenirs.” Wolf’s first huge shovelful of dirt barely missed Lance’s face. He grinned to himself as Lance leaped out of the way and then picked up his shovel to help.

  Head down, Lance’s focus was centered on their important find as he worked on the disgusting, back-breaking job of filling in the cavern. Darkness had fallen and both men had been quiet, each with their own thoughts.

  Lance suddenly began to chuckle as he threw another shovelful of dirt into the smaller cavern. Without a pause in his work, he said, “Hey, Wolf, listen to this skipper joke I just heard the other day. ‘Those of you entering the Jungle Cruise, please see that there are two lines, one on the right and one on the left. If you want your family to stay together, stay on the same side of the line. But, if there’s someone in your family you want to get rid of, just send them to the other line and you’ll never see them again.’ Isn’t that great? Wolf?”

  There was no reply. He hadn’t even realized he had been working alone. Wolf had silently gone to the island next to them that had been affectionately called Catalina by the cast members. Behind the attacking natives, well hidden by the overgrowth of brush and vines, was the smaller rock statue of an open-mouthed wolf. In sight of the guests passing by in the river boats, however, was a thatched hut, a cover of some indistinguishable fabric draped over its entrance. Wolf hadn’t gone to the little El Lobo this time. He had ducked inside the hut and quickly removed his dirt-stained security uniform. Tilting his head back, he gave a low, calling howl.

  Knowing what was about to come, he took the red, heart-shaped diamond pendant out of his pants pocket and put the chain firmly in his mouth. The pendant swung slowly near the side of his chin as he exited the hut and stood waiting in the darkness.

  Still wondering where his missing partner had gone, Lance was startled when a stiff, sudden breeze blew down the empty boat track and blasted past him. Recognizing what was happening, he threw himself to the ground, protectively covering the capsule with his body until the violence around him stopped and the air returned to normal.

  Getting to his feet, he looked around once more, but already knew that he was alone. “Well,” he drawled, “I guess that answers the ‘when are you leaving’ part.”

  Once the hole was filled in enough for his satisfaction—which wasn’t much longer—Lance picked up the gray canister and turned to retrace his steps to the dock. Something odd he had seen on his past trip came to mind, and he looked over at Catalina. Going through the dense vines, he used his security Mag light to look around inside the grass hut. The last time he checked in there he had found a pile of clothing had been left behind and had wondered what kind of wild party he had missed. On closer inspection, he had discovered it was a security uniform—only it was different than the one he was now wearing.

  Using his light, he saw that the previous, older uniform was gone and replaced by another, muddier outfit. He recognized it as Wolf’s and he knew his security partner was now on his own mission back to the past. Thinking it would be a nice thing to take the uniform and have it cleaned for Wolf, he nixed the idea as quickly as it came. He didn’t know how soon the Guardian would be back and didn’t want his friend to have to find his way naked through the Park—amusing as that might be for Lance and his other security friends. Instead, he gave the clothes a small pat, and silently wished his friend a good trip.

  With the capsule securely tucked under his arm, he let the hut’s flap drop behind him and made his way back to the dock. Picking up his walkie-talkie, he pushed a special button that was only present on his and Wolf’s machine. His wife immediately answered, and he eagerly told her the latest news and asked if Wals was at work in the Park just then.

  “Here’s a gift for you from Uncle Walt.” Lance grinned at the confused look on Wals’ face as he handed over the unopened gray canister. It was covered with scratches and gouges from the beating it had taken in Schweitzer Falls.

  Wals and the security guard sat at an unoccupied table at the far end of the Hungry Bear Restaurant. Lance could tell Wals was relieved to be back at work on the Canoes, and was happier than he had been in the previous weeks. Now curiosity played across Wals’ face.

  “What do you mean? What is this?” Wals gently shook the plastic and heard a muffled something rattle around inside.

  Lance glanced around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard. “You know a little about the treasure hunt Adam and I went on a couple of years ago, right?”

  Wals just shrugged. “A little. And I know you and Wolf were involved in something similar, too. But I’ve never been told any details,” he added hopefully. The capsule was placed into his lap, one hand protectively shielded it, in case Lance changed his mind and wanted it back.

  Noticing the defensive posture, Lance just smiled and ignored the obvious hint Wals had just given him. “Well, Walt set a few things in motion decades ago. We think this,” indicating the capsule, “is another leg of that journey. And, for all you’ve done to help, we wanted you to have the honors—wherever this might lead.”

  “You have no idea?”

  “Nope, none.” Lance thought back on his exciting Hidden Mickey searches. “We never did know where we would have to go. If this follows suit, it’ll be a clue you’ll have to solve.”

  “A clue to what?” Wals was getting more intrigued by the minute.

  Lance gave him a noncommittal shrug as he stood to leave. “You’ll just have to open it and find out. If you run into problems, you can always contact Adam and Beth.” Lance gave a warm smile. “They’re both experts at this sort of thing. I’ve got to get back to work.” He glanced at his watch and then looked back at Wals. “And you are officially off duty.”

  “But I have another two hours to my shift.”

  “No, you don’t.” Lance sauntered off with a friendly, parting wave. He envied Wals right now. The Hidden Mickey quests he had gone on had changed his life. He wouldn’t go back to the way it was before for anything.

  As his friend disappeared from sight, Wals thought about the unexplained power Lance and Kimberly seemed to have at the Park. If Lance said he was off work, then he knew he was off work. With a soft chuckle, he tugged at the sealed end of the gray plastic. “Okay, Walt, let’s see what you have planned for me.” His muttering stopped when the cap didn’t budge. “Walt musta had quite a grip.” He set the capsule between his feet, gripped it with his knees, and used both hands to work the endcap back and forth until it, finally, gave way.

  His heart sped up as he anxiously tilted the container. A small lump surrounded by some kind of colorful cloth fell out. Untying a knotted, golden cord and carefully folding back the edges of the material, the cloth proved to be a large silk scarf with various scenes around Disneyland printed onto its light blue background. But, it was not the Disneyland Wals knew. This was an older Disneyland with rounded Skyway cabs going through the Matterhorn and oddly-shaped cars poised on the Autopia track.

  When Wals was through examining the scarf, he picked up the screwdriver that had been so carefully protected. “Wal
t wanted me to have a screwdriver?”

  Even more confused, he set the two items on the table and ran a finger inside the capsule. He could feel the edge of something made out of paper. “Ah, the plot thickens.” He tilted the container and gently tugged on the heavy paper. It was curled around the inside of the tube. When he finally got it out, he found there were actually two pieces of paper. One was a small, off-white page that looked like it had been ripped out of some kind of book. The larger piece was a conceptual drawing of the new Tomorrowland of 1959. The Monorails were sleek and streamlined. The sheet was signed by the legendary Imagineer designer, and also had Walt’s signature of approval.

  When he finally set down the incredible art find, he turned his attention to the smaller piece of paper and found himself comparing the writing to the signature on the drawing. “This was written by Walt,” he whispered to himself. “This was written by Walt!”

  Forcing himself to remain seated and not jump around like a young girl, his hands shook as he read the words Walt had written so many years ago. “If you think there is a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, just jump on the Speedramp to Progress City. But, watch out for that hand-cranked washing machine!”

  Wals looked back at the small screwdriver as his heart literally pounded in his chest. Picking it up, he said to no one in particular, “The Carousel of Progress? Hey, hey, looks like I’m going to Florida!”

  Columbia — 1940

  The full moon crested high above the tall foliage that surrounded the clearing where the camp fire blazed. Off in the distance, a single beam of moonlight found its way through the entangled branches and brightened the area as Walt, by himself, reached the rock formation. Next to the river’s edge, standing about ten feet tall, the rocks seemed to form a crouching wolf, El Lobo it was called, as it stared straight at him. He ran his hand along the jagged rocks that were the ‘teeth’ in the open mouth of the wolf. Walt’s pleased smile faded as his thoughts inevitably returned to the strike at his troubled Studio. “What am I going to do?” he whispered to the unhearing wolf, his head shaking in frustration. Walt reached into his pocket for a small pack of cigarettes, thumping the top against his palm to slide a slender smoke out of the box. In his other pocket was his familiar chrome-plated Zippo lighter. With a quick flick, the lighter emitted a small flame that illuminated Walt’s face and hands. Cigarette momentarily forgotten, he held the lighter in front of his face and stared intently into the flickering flame. “How are we going to go on? I don’t want to have to close the Studio. It…it means too much to me.” Alone in the clearing, Walt spoke out loud to the flame as if it was a crystal ball that could reveal an answer to his question.

  A deep voice came out of the forest and startled him out of his musing. It wasn’t the voice of any of his friends. “Walt, you don’t need to worry about your future. Your studio will survive just fine. You’ll even find the money for your little Park. It will become a reality.”

  The unlit cigarette dangled between his fingers before he unconsciously let it fall to the ground. He turned this way and that, the Zippo held out in front of him like a miniature lantern as he searched for source of the voice. Had it really been a voice? For a moment, when there was only silence around him, Walt began to second-guess himself. But, yes, he decided. He definitely had heard the words spoken. Suddenly, a stiff breeze blew across the jungle floor, rustling leaves and branches, and, to Walt’s dismay, blew out his lighter, allowing the twilight to consume him.

  Walt was now thoroughly confused. Try as he might to relight the Zippo, the wind kept blowing out the weak flame. He finally gave up and closed the lighter with a loud snap and listened to the sounds around him. Was it one of his friends playing a trick on him? “Who’s there? Show yourself. How do you know about my Park? No one knows….”

  Something moved in front of him. He squinted in the dim moonlight, trying to identify what had actually emerged from the trees. It was a dark shape, a hand, he thought. Clouds moved in as they rode the sudden wind and obscured the moon. Bathed in complete darkness, he again narrowed his eyes in a futile attempt to see, yet, unwilling to take a step closer. Was it a hand? It didn’t look like a hand. It looked wrong, but it had to be a hand because it held out something…something that dangled in front of him.

  “Take this! Safeguard and protect it. It will be far more important to you than its face value.” The deep voice again spoke to him out of the darkness. “It will show you things…things about your little magic kingdom…about your heart’s desire. But, remember this, Walt: How you get it is up to you.”

  With trepidation, Walt extended his hand and reached out to take what appeared to be a pendant on a heavy gold chain. The moon again decided to peek through the moving clouds and reflected off the object. A blood-red glow seemed to radiate from a heart-shaped stone at the end of the chain held in his left hand. Three flashing circles of gold could be seen behind the gemstone. Could this be a red diamond, the rarest of all diamonds? Even in the dim moonlight, colors of the rainbow flashed from its red depth.

  Walt forgot about the unknown voice. Mesmerized by the brilliant stone as it turned slowly in front of his eyes, his right hand dropped the useless lighter and came up to touch the red fire. In a moment, Walt felt a strange emotion course through his body. When his fingers caressed the stone, a vision streaked through his mind’s eye. Blinking, he wasn’t sure if it was the moonlight that played tricks on his eyesight. Suddenly, he forgot all else as his vision became clear, and he could see a pink and white turreted castle. Over there were two white swans that floated peacefully in the surrounding moat. As he watched, the drawbridge lowered, and scores of happy children streamed toward a slowly-turning carrousel filled with white horses.

  “That’s it!” Walt whispered. “That’s it!”

  “Walt?” The voice called to him once again.

  “Y…yes?” Startled by the intruding voice, his hand dropped from the stone and the vision immediately left his mind. Even though he felt bereft that the vision was gone, he was excited by what he thought he had seen.

  “Walt.” The voice seemed to admonish him. “This time? Hang on to it, all right?”

  “Wait!” Walt called. “What do you mean ‘this time’? Who are….” Before any reply could be made, he was rocked back by a wicked gust of wind that swept down from the north, swirling around the area in which he stood. Not wanting to lose the pendant in the freakish windstorm, he put it protectively in his pocket and went behind the nearest tree for shelter from the leaves and debris that blew past him. Eyes partially shielded from the dirt, he could make out a bright light that suddenly lit the glade. Then, as quickly as it came, the wind and the light vanished.

  Somehow, some way, he knew he was alone once more. What had just happened? Who was that? And, why? Rubbing his forehead in confusion, he made his way back to the quiet camp. Careful not to awaken any of his men, he found his sleeping bag. When he turned onto his side, he realized that the worries about the strike at the Studio had faded from his mind. At first, Walt thought he was too excited to fall asleep, but sleep did indeed overtake him.

  At the last minute, after he called the windstorm that had disturbed Walt, Wolf decided not to go back home just yet. He had felt that he, too, wasn’t alone, that he was being watched again.

  Going deeper into the dark jungle, he relied on his keen senses to find his way in the thick underbrush. He didn’t know where he was headed, just that he needed to go this way.

  After Wolf quietly vanished like a shadow into the forest, and Walt was in the safety of his camp, an unseen figure cloaked in purple stepped out of the darkness behind El Lobo. Her gray eyes slanted, her words a hiss in her anger. “Too late again! Bah! Well, at least I now have one advantage, my dear pet, Wolf,” she spat out in the direction he had gone. “I now know where it is. And I humbly thank you for finally leading me to The Man who has it. I’ve been waiting far too long.” Her beautiful face broke into a smile. The smile enlarged as she broke into
frenzied laughter, laughter edged with madness and hatred. The wind picked up that bone-chilling sound and wafted it through the jungle. The nocturnal animals on the hunt became still and turned this way and that to try to make sense of the evil now amongst them. Catching no scent, the predators slunk off into the darkness and hid in fear.

  The Evil One looked in the direction of the sleeping camp near the edge of the Amazon River. Her laughter died, but the cruel smile remained. “Yes, Walt, I know exactly where my treasured pendant is. Those meddling fairies made sure I cannot touch you now.” Her hand came to rest on the place where a warm heart should have beat as she made one more promise. “The time will come when I can touch you. And I will.”

  The orb on her staff began to glow a brilliant green, lighting the clearing as it cast an eerie glow over El Lobo. But, before the incandescent light could fade, she was gone.

  Unaware that he had been followed, Wolf continued his way deeper into the jungle. Too far away, the crackling laugh had not reached his ears. He wondered at the silence of the night hunters since this was their busiest hour. Figuring it was merely because of his unfamiliar presence, he dropped the matter from his mind.

  His thoughts clear, his instincts took over as he headed toward something that felt…familiar as it pulled at him. As the odd sensation filled him, the wolf finally slowed his steady pace. In front of him was the bright light of a campfire. But, oddly, his nose didn’t pick up the smell that should have been quite prevalent from all the smoke that billowed upward. With a quick change of course, he noiselessly circled to the back of the clearing, not wanting any surprises to catch him unaware. Wolf had not even realized he had traveled in a circular route and that he was almost back at his starting point of El Lobo.

  There was a lone figure hunched over the fire as if he needed to catch every flicker of warmth that the fire could produce. His clothes were obviously old and non-descript as they hung loosely on his body. What immediately caught the wolf’s eye was the necklace that hung from around the old man’s—for that is what he could clearly be seen to be—wrinkled neck. Eyes narrowed, Wolf recognized the sharp canine wolf teeth and knew this was the same man, the De Tribu—the witchdoctor—he had met before.