“Come on, Riley,” replied another. “You’re just tired and irritable. A good meal and a little rest will help. Joe, what did you end up getting to put in the stew for dinner?”
“I only got a few small birds, Ike,” replied Joe. “It seemed like everything was hiding from us today. We’ll have to pluck them, cut them up and add them to the pot to simmer for a while. Hopefully, you’ll find the salt bag so it will have a little flavor.”
“Well, while you’re plucking and cutting up the birds, I’ll see if I can find the salt bag. It must be around here somewhere…maybe I can find my pocketknife too.” Ike started mumbling to himself, but Jenna couldn’t hear what he was saying.
Ike went over to the camping equipment and started moving things around. He picked up the pans, and the small bag Jenna had taken before fell out of the pan and onto the ground. Sedric had chewed a hole in the bottom, so all the salt fell onto the ground, mixing in with the dirt below.
“Darn, varmints!” yelled Ike. “Now we have no salt. Something’s chewed a hole in the bag, and it’s all mixed in with this dirt.” Ike looked around the camp, scowling, “It better not be still hanging around here, or we’ll be eating it for dinner!”
“Do you have any other flavorings we could use to go with the birds?” asked Joe. “Even a little pepper or something would be good.”
“I didn’t bring anything else, but sometimes I can find some spices and stuff growing in the woods to make the food better. I’ll see if I can find something. Go ahead and start the fire, there’s a few old matches left in the box beside the pot,” Ike said as he walked off toward the trees.
Riley turned and looked at Joe once Ike got out of sight. “I’d sure like to get out of here,” he said. “I don’t even want to think about animals with sharp teeth coming into camp while we’re sleeping.”
“You know Ike won’t leave without his prize,” replied Joe as he gathered branches to start a fire. “He always has to have his trophy, no matter how long it takes.”
“Did the camp smell stinky tonight? Did the critter that chewed up the salt bag leave us another pile?” said Riley. “This will not be a comfortable place to sleep if it gets any worse.”
“Maybe we can find the pile and get rid of it. I sure don’t want to smell it all night.”
Riley started walking around the camp, looking for what was making such a stinky smell. As he walked by the sleeping bags, the smell got stronger, so he unzipped his sleeping bag.
“Man…Joe!” he exclaimed, looking into his bag. “Come look at this! Looks like something has decided to store all these awful smelly berries in my sleeping bag. Oh, what a stench! I don’t think I’ll be able to get that stink out of my bag. I won’t even be able to sleep on the top of it. Where am I sleeping tonight?”
“Empty them out and maybe it won’t be so bad,” encouraged Joe. “You will need to sleep somewhere. Maybe empty it and turn it over and sleep on the bottom where the berries haven’t touched.”
Suddenly, two squirrels ran across the camp and up a tree on the other side. They were chattering back and forth, running as fast as they could up the trunk. As they ran up the tree, the tree started moving, just a little bit, even though there was no wind. The two squirrels ran into a small knothole in the trunk.
Riley shook his head and looked at Joe. “This place was getting to me. What I need is a good meal and a good night’s sleep. Joe, did you see the tree move, too? I know trees don’t move by themselves, and the squirrels don’t weigh enough to make anything move.”
Joe looked back at Riley. “Don’t get spooked. Things will be better in the morning. Come help me with dinner.”
Riley nodded and walked back over to Joe to help with cleaning the birds. A few minutes later, they both jumped up as they heard Ike dashing back into the camp, dropping some plants he had gathered.
Ike was almost running, screaming the whole way. “Yeeeiii, the bugs are coming out, must be sunset. Get the bug spray. I hope someone brought bug spray. They are everywhere. They weren’t near this bad last night. Ouch! They bite hard!”
Joe and Riley ran over to help Ike, brushing the bugs off his arms and legs. They seemed to be a giant swarm outside of the camp, buzzing around and around, almost like they were daring the hunters to come after them.
“Ike, I don’t have any spray or anything, sorry.”
Ike stomped away from the others. “Just leave me alone, I’m fine,” he said, almost growling. “Let’s get dinner cooking. Did you get those birds cleaned? Where are the rest of the carrots? Let’s have a good dinner – that’s what we need!” He was angry and rambling.
Riley almost tripped running to the food bag to grab the carrots. He grabbed a handful, quickly broke them into several pieces, threw them into the stew pot, and added some water from the water jug.
“Did you find your knife to cut them up, Ike?” Joe asked gingerly, pointing to the small pile of cleaned birds, hoping Ike wouldn’t get mad at him for asking.
“We plucked the birds but still need something to cut them with. The machete will make a mess of them. They are so small.”
“No”, muttered Ike, almost growling. “I didn’t find the knife. Just throw them in whole, and we’ll break them apart after they’re cooked.”
Joe quickly got up and threw the birds into the pot with the carrots. He turned to Riley and murmured, “Why don’t you clean out your sleeping bag. Perhaps, air it out on a tree branch so you can use it later tonight.”
“What are you mumbling about over there?” barked Ike.
“Seems like some of the critters started storing yucky berries in my sleeping bag, and I need to clean them out before I can sleep in it,” replied Riley as he turned to Joe. “Good idea, Joe. I’ll let it air out for a while!”
Riley shook the berries out of the sleeping bag and walked over to a tall pine tree near the camp. He threw it over the lowest branch and spread it out so it could get some air. He heard the squirrels chattering he had seen earlier and figured he must have disturbed their nest when he shook the tree to put the bag on it. “Too bad there’s no breeze tonight; it would help a lot.”
“What do you mean there’s no breeze?” grumbled Ike. “Look at the branches of that pine swaying back and forth. From the looks of it, there’s a storm heading this way.”
Joe and Riley got up and looked at the tree, then at the others trees nearby. “Ike,” said Joe quietly, “Look at the other trees. None of them are moving, only the tree Riley hung his sleeping bag on. That is really kind of spooky.”
Ike got up and looked around the camp. He wasn’t in the mood for more problems. “It must be those squirrels running up and down the branches, good thing it’s not going to rain. Now check on the food, I’m getting hungry.”
“I’m on it,” said Joe, turning to Riley as he continued. “Why don’t you take your bag off the tree and put it on the one a few down. The branch looks sturdier, and I would feel a whole lot less worried.”
“Will do,” said Riley as he pulled down the sleeping bag. The tree started shaking harder, and suddenly the two squirrels ran out of the hollow in the tree squealing loudly like they had been hurt or scared. It looked like there was blood on their fur, and Riley tried to look to see if they were fighting with each other. They weren’t biting each other, but quickly jumped to another tree. The squirrels seemed to be running away, but from what?
Riley peered back into the tree hole where the squirrels had come from. There was blood around it, dripping down the trunk now. Was the tree alive? It seemed to be swaying and the branches moved, even though there was not a bit of a breeze.
Riley quickly grabbed his sleeping bag and backed toward Joe and Ike. “Hey, guys!” he whispered, pointing to the tree, his fear causing him to panic. “There is something about this tree that is not right. Look, there is blood dripping out of it, down the trunk. And it’s mov
ing even when there’s no wind!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
More Mischief
“Riley, you have such an imagination,” chided Ike. “Next, you’ll be saying it’s alive and will grab us and eat us for dinner!” Ike chuckled, but it wasn’t heartfelt. He seemed a little worried himself.
Suddenly, the squirrels started chattering again, running up and down a large willow tree.
“Man, those things are crazy!” exclaimed Joe. “Let’s just eat. Maybe they’ll go away!”
Riley went over to get some bowls and spoons and found a ladle to stir and serve the stew. He broke up the cooked birds, they were cooked and broke apart easily. Because Ike had thrown down the herbs he found as he tried to get the bugs off him, there were no herbs to flavor the food.
Riley said as he handed out the bowls, “I’m glad we at least have meat in the stew tonight!”
Each of the men had a bowl now, and Riley was splitting up the stew between them all.
They ate quietly, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Riley looked around warily and said softly, “Man, I can’t wait until tomorrow, I just want the night to be over, I’ve had enough of this craziness.”
He stopped chewing as he heard a strange noise. “Joe, did you hear that?” he whispered.
Riley listened without moving. The crunching sound was barely audible, but it was there.
Ike looked at Riley. “What are you talking about?” he asked aloud. “Is there something wrong with the stew?”
“No, listen,” Riley put his finger to his mouth, motioning for Joe to listen. Both Joe and Riley stopped eating, remaining motionless, straining their ears to listen.
“You guys are spooking each other!” growled Ike, continuing to eat as loud as he could, banging his spoon on the bowl. But after a minute, Ike stopped eating too. All three of them sat quietly, listening. Every few seconds, they could hear it: a small, crunching noise.
Joe remarked, “I never heard nothing like that before.”
“All right!” yelled Ike. “Where is it coming from? It’s something in the trees, or in the tall grass over there. Rather than sit here scaring yourself silly, go find out what it is!”
Joe and Riley looked at each other, then at Ike. Slowly, they got up and walked toward the tall grass.
The crunching sound intensified, getting louder and faster. Joe and Riley stopped and backed away slowly, keeping their eyes on the tall grass, hoping nothing would jump out at them.
“I’m not going in there,” said Riley, shaking his head. “Something got blood on the squirrels and the tree, and I don’t want to know what it is. I’m going to get my sleeping bag off the ground and start packing – I’m leaving this place before it’s dark, and it’s at least an hour’s hike to get out of the forest.”
Ike stood up and glared at Riley. “That’s enough of talk, are you a baby? Can’t take a few noises? Have to run home to Mommy?” Ike walked quickly over to the tall grass and started grabbing into it with his hands. “Look, there’s nothing in there to hurt you, you sissies!”
Suddenly, Ike got still and quiet, his hand still in the grass. As he slowly pulled his hand out, there was a large cut down the palm of his hand.
“What would to this?” he wondered, almost to himself, and got a dish cloth to wrap his hand, trying to stop the bleeding from the cut.
The crunching started again. Slowly at first, then gradually increasing speed until there was a constant crunch echoing through the night. Not loud, but constant. As if on cue, the squirrels started chattering again, and ran around the trunk of the large willow tree. It seemed as if the tree itself was joining in with the squirrels with a low, barely audible moaning sound, its branches slowly moving toward the staring men.
“That’s enough!” said Joe. “There is no way we should be staying here tonight. Don’t you see? There’s something about this spot that doesn’t want us here!” Joe was scared; he started grabbing things and throwing them in bags, packing up with great haste. As he packed, he said “We should go. Let’s head north and find a friendlier campsite.”
Jenna had been directing the others up until now, but it was Jenna’s turn to act. First, she made a low growl as she slowly crawled around the camp, crouching low to remain hidden. It got their attention.
The men looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Their faces showed fear now, even Ike’s eyes were wide, and his mouth open just a little. It was easy to growl, Jenna found out, she would say, “Get out of here, leave the forest!” and other threatening statements, and the men would hear it as a wolf growl. Even to Jenna, who was talking as a wolf, it sounded frightening.
After a few minutes, she started to howl. A long loud howl, just like she remembered hearing in the woods and on TV. She stopped for a few seconds as she circled the camp, and the howled again from a different position. Jenna hoped the hunters would think there was more than one wolf outside of the camp.
This was enough even for Ike. “Let’s pack and go, maybe we’ll get one of those noisy wolves on the way out.” Ike grabbed his gun and threw the strap over his shoulder. “Break camp and head north! We’ll see how far we can get before we have to stop.”
Riley joined Joe’s efforts, and they quickly gathered everything laying around camp. Backpacks were packed, not neatly, but everything they brought was packed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Ike was glaring out into the woods, hoping to get a shot at a wolf.
Jenna knew she had to stay out of his sight, and constantly moved to keep on the other side of camp from him.
“Let’s go!” Ike ordered, holding his gun in front of him. “I will keep my eye out for something to take home. You know I don’t like going home empty handed!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Consequences
The hunters headed north, and Jenna and the other animals fell back behind them so they would not be seen. Jenna was happy they had gotten the humans to leave, but didn’t want to say anything yet, afraid the hunters would hear them and return.
Finally, when the hunters were far away, Jenna whispered, “We did it! We got them to leave. You were all so great! Sedric, go tell the trees they did a great job also, and we do appreciate all of their help.”
Sedric ran off and everyone could hear him chattering to the pine and willow trees. The trees seemed to nod in return, gladly accepting the thanks for their part in the spectacle.
“Let’s head on back to Ituria’s home,” suggested Jenna. “We can wait there for Trent and Knocker to get back from their meeting with Ranco. Sedric and Fira, why don’t you jump on my back, and we’ll be on our way.”
They headed back toward Ituria’s home, still being quite cautious to make sure the hunters had not stopped or turned around.
It took about half an hour to get back, and Jenna remembered to follow Celeste’s instructions on not getting lost on the maze back to the cave.
“Celeste – Ituria!” Jenna called as she got closer. “We were able to get the hunters to leave, they are heading north. Any word from Trent or Knocker?”
“No,” replied Ituria, stepping out from the cave. “We are still waiting to hear something. We are hoping to hear soon. While we are waiting, how did it go? Are the hunters gone for good?”
“I don’t know if they are gone for good, but they were not happy when they left,” said Ralphie.
Before they could talk further, there was a screeching from the sky as Skye flew down and landed on Celeste’s back.
“Ituria!” said Skye. “You must come quickly. The hunters left the woods through the North Forest, but before they left, they saw Trent and Ranco. Ranco was shot dead, and Trent is gravely wounded. Hurry, we must help him!”
“Lead the way, and we will follow. Go, Skye, and call out so if we lose sight of you, we can still follow!”
Everything had changed in
an instant. Ituria took off with Jenna right behind. So long as Jenna kept Ituria in sight, she knew she would not get lost.
Jenna’s mind kept running through the day’s events. Was there anything she could have done to have prevented the hunters from shooting Trent? Keep Trent from seeing Ranco. Keep the hunters from heading north, her thoughts raced. What could they do now? Surely Ituria had some answer to save him.
It only took a few minutes to get to Trent, but it seemed like forever. Trent was laying on the ground under a tree, bleeding heavily from his shoulder. Knocker appeared and lowered his head when he saw Ituria.
“Ituria, I am sorry,” said Knocker. “I couldn’t prevent Trent from getting hurt. Trent and Ranco were ready to fight, and suddenly the hunters burst into the clearing. The hunter with the gun shot Ranco first, then Trent before I could reach them. One roar from me sent them all running again, but it was too late. I am sorry.”
“Knocker,” murmured Trent. “It is not your fault. We all did what we had to do. You were to be hidden from Ranco, so couldn’t see the hunters until it was too late. Do not blame yourself.”
Jenna could tell Trent was weak and had lost a lot of blood.
“Ituria,” she whispered. “How bad is he hurt?”
“I do not know for sure, but it looks pretty bad. He may not make it,” Ituria whispered back. “I do not have any magic for bullets, unfortunately, so I cannot help him.”
Jenna was heartbroken. Was there anything she could do? Could she, with the help of the others, try and bandage the wound and stop the bleeding? The squirrels were not here, and Jenna could not do anything with her wolf paws. But she could not let Trent die. What could she do?
“Ituria,” she whispered urgently. “Trent is the ruler of West Forest. The legend says I can heal the ruler of the forest. Can I help him? You told me to ask you if I ever wanted to try. Please let me know if you think this is possible. If there is anything I can do, I will do it, as Trent has helped me so much.”
Jenna and the Legend of the White Wolf Page 9
