Wolf Hunting (A Wolf in the Land of the Dead Book Book 3)

by Toni Boughton

  The crowd of people were almost entirely quiet by now. The exaltation in Dempsey’s voice seemed to have made some of them uncomfortable. Nowen could see worry and concern on some of the people’s faces. Dempsey didn’t notice, judging by the joy that was evident in his words as he continued speaking. His tree-trunk arms reached for the sky as he shouted. “My fellow survivors of Satan’s evil, Humanity’s Saviors are coming!”

  Chapter Ten

  Nowen found Sage in the ‘Education’ building, a prefabricated metal shed filled with boxes of scavenged books, notepads, pencils, and other miscellanea. The girl was sitting on a box, head bent studiously over a thick black volume. A small lantern sat next to her. As Nowen watched Sage wrote something down on a small pad of paper and then reached for a paperback dictionary.

  Nowen hesitated in the doorway, enjoying the moment of calmness. Since the argument by the fire pit she and the girl had moved in a delicate dance around each other, conversations between them limited to general topics free of drama. Sage had shown an affinity for the livestock and most mornings Nowen, on her way to patrol her section of the Fort, would see the girl moving along the cows and pigs. Please, let there be no arguments tonight.

  She cleared her throat and Sage’s head whipped up. “Oh - Nowen! Hi.” Sage marked the page she was reading with a slip of paper, clasping the book to her chest as she rose. “Wow, it’s gotten dark. I lost track of time.” The smile she gave Nowen was small but seemed sincere. “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, not really. What were you reading?”

  Now the familiar dark eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “It’s ‘Biology of the Ruminant’.” Nowen’s confusion must have been evident, because Sage laughed and moved closer. She opened the book to a garishly illustrated picture of some animal’s heart. “One of the cows is pregnant - finally, we’ve been trying forever, and I was beginning to think Bully was gay - but she seems to be off her feed a little. Aspen asked me to find something that might help.” Sage waved a hand at the boxes piled every which way in the shed. “There’s a lot of stuff here but none of it’s organized! Dempsey just had every book that could be found brought here, and then dumped.”

  Nowen smiled. “Disorganization seems to be the hallmark of the Fort.”

  Sage frowned and closed the book with a loud thump. Wrong thing to say. “Nowen, everyone here is doing the best they can to make this work. There’s just too much to do, so some things get pushed back until there’s time for it.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” The frown remained on the girl’s face but the tension that was building dissipated. Nowen cast about for something else to say that wouldn’t lead to an argument. “You really like working with the prey - uh, farm animals?”

  Sage set the book down on a box, scooping up the small notepad and sliding it into her jeans pocket as she straightened. She looked at Nowen, a subtle defiance on her face. “Yes, I do. I really do. You should come by sometime, I’ll introduce you to the other people that work there.”

  Nowen moved to the door and held it open. “I tried, once. The animals...they don’t seem to like me.”

  Sage giggled as she passed through the door. “Whoa! It’s a little chilly now, isn’t it?” The girl looked from the rapidly-darkening sky to Nowen. “Will you be sleeping by the fire tonight?”

  “Yeah, probably. I like the night air. How about you?”

  Sage smiled shyly, a blush spreading across her checks. “My friend Aspen, the one who works with the animals like me, wants me to sleep over tonight. She’s having a little party - her, me, Sarah, Kiana, and Kiana’s girlfriend - and she’s invited a couple of the boys over.” Sage shot Nowen a worried glance. “It’ll be fine, I promise. It’s just Benjamin and his friend. And, Aspen’s dad will be there, so nothing bad will go on.”

  Nowen nodded her head. “Ok. Sounds like fun.” A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Sage’s face. Hell, what did I say wrong this time?

  Someone shouted nearby, and Nowen saw a short girl with very long black hair waving in her direction. Sage waved back. “There’s Aspen! I’m going to go now, ok?”

  Nowen nodded again. “Well, have a good time.”

  Sage was already trotting toward her friend, and she waved a careless hand back at Nowen. She and the shorter girl hugged and then ran off into the semi-darkness together. Nowen sighed and started walking toward the large fire pit, where supper was being served. She seems happy. She doesn’t mention her wolf anymore. Well, she hardly talks to me anyway, but...she’s happy. Everett seems contented too. He’s settled in as easily as Sage did. She thought of Vuk, his sharp, bony face and beetle-green eyes, and found her anger still simmering. She prodded her wolf a little; calm amber eyes looked back and if there was anything there she couldn’t see it.

  My wolf doesn’t seem to care anymore. There is a luxury in being an animal; survival takes precedence over revenge. I can’t even lie to myself and say I want to stop Vuk - it’s never been about that. It’s been about making him pay. Still and always. Lost in her distracted thoughts Nowen had reached the fire pit without realizing it. She stumbled into someone, and someone else grabbed her by the elbow.

  “Whoa, careful, Nowen!” Everett grinned at her, his hand still on her elbow. At her look his hand fell away but the smile in his eye remained. He passed her a ceramic mug painted with daisies. The mug was filled with a thick stew and smelled delicious. She murmured her thanks and moved toward a clear spot on the far side of the pit.

  Nowen sat on a log that had been planed on one side to create a flat surface. Everett joined her and for a few minutes they ate in silence. Her hunger finally sated she set the mug aside and reached for the water canteen Everett held out to her. “That was good. Did Dempsey allow another cow to be killed?” Nowen asked as she took a drink of cold water.

  Everett smiled knowingly. “No, the hunting team had some great luck today. Probably because I went out with them.”

  She eyed him. “What does that mean?”

  “You’d be surprised how carelessly pronghorn run when a wolf is after them. Poor things; right into a group of men armed with guns.”

  Nowen frowned. “Wasn’t that dangerous? What if someone from the Fort saw you?”

  Everett took his own drink from the canteen before he answered. “Everything went fine. We split up when we got near a stand of trees, and I ‘managed’ to get separated from my companions. Don’t worry so - I was tired of canned ham and canned tuna, and I bet you were too.”

  Nowen felt a smile spreading across her face. “Yes, I was. This afternoon, near the section of fence I patrol, I smelled ptarmigan or pheasant. Maybe the next time you go out with the hunting team you should head that way.”

  Everett laughed. “That’s a good idea. So, how goes your patrols?”

  She shrugged. “Killed a couple of Revs today. I don’t see many out where I am. They like to go where the noise is. I worry about the fencing, though. Some places are getting very loose.”

  “I’ll talk to Harmony in the morning.”

  “Did you know that Dempsey was gone?”

  Everett reached into a pocket of his light jacket and pulled out a small twist of paper. He unfolded it and offered the contents to Nowen: six perfect strawberries. He waited until she had taken three of them before he answered, popping a berry into his mouth as he did. “Yep. Harmony mentioned it to me, told me that Dempsey was going out to look for other settlements.”

  Nowen bit into a strawberry, and in the flood of juice and pulp she could taste the wild land that had grown it. “He got back this evening. I can’t believe you didn’t notice the commotion.”

  “I was elbow deep in a pronghorn. One we butchered quickly, for the stew, and the other we’re going to dry.”

  “Dempsey made contact with another settlement near Big Horn. They’re working on a trade agreement between the Fort and this other place.”

  The grey-haired man licked juice from his fingers. “That’s good news.”
he said.

  “Yes, I guess. But it’s what else he said that concerns me. On his way back from Big Horn Dempsey ran into some travelers. They showed him the ‘Devil’s work’ and he asked them to come here and show us all this ‘evil’, whatever it is.”

  “Who were these travelers?”

  Nowen looked at him. “Humanity’s Saviors.”

  Everett stilled. “Hmm.”

  “Did you ever mention what we saw in Sheridan to anyone?”

  “No. Foolishness on my part. It looked like all of that had happened a long time ago...and no one here ever asked if we had seen crucified bodies. Have you asked anyone?”

  The last strawberry suddenly tasted sour as Nowen swallowed it. “No. Other than you and Sage I don’t really talk to anyone.”

  Everett nodded absently. He was staring into the fire, and Nowen studied his profile. She could see the end of the long, blackened scar that bisected the other side of his face as it curled under his chin, and she realized she didn’t know how he had gotten it. I don’t really know anything about who he is. I should find out. Right?

  “Do you like it here, Nowen?” The grey-haired man asked, startling her out of her thoughts.

  She had to think about it before answering. “I don’t know if I like it here. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d ever like living with so many humans. But Sage seems happy, and so do you, and so far the Fort people, while desperately in need of a lead pack member, are just what they appear to be: nice.” She looked at Everett; he was smiling a little. “What?”

  “‘In need of a lead pack member’?”

  “Yes. With such a large pack you really need one, maybe two strong leaders in charge. Not this endless debating of every little concern.”

  The single copper eye fixed on her face. “Do you view everything from a wolf’s viewpoint?”

  Nowen opened her mouth to argue, and then paused. Do I? She turned her gaze to her hands and saw the long, strong fingers and broad palms under her reddish-brown skin. But she could also see the black fur that lay just beneath, the bones always ready to change, the savage claws that would tear through her flesh as soon as she wished it. She looked back at Everett. “I do. I don’t know any other way to think.”

  Now Everett appeared thoughtful. “One day, if it’s ok with you, I’d like to hear more about-” and then he paused as a surprised look spread over his face. “Wait a minute! Back up - you said that I seem to be happy.”

  “Yes.’

  “So...you’ve been watching me?”

  Nowen frowned, not sure where he was going with this questioning. “Yes.”

  Everett smiled widely. “And you care if I’m happy! Awww...does this mean you’ve accepted me? You don’t want to kill me anymore?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t understand humans. You’ve proven yourself. You’re good with Sage.” Better than me. “I consider you a member of my pack.” He burst out laughing at this, and Nowen found herself fighting the urge to throw her mug at him. She settled for glaring at him until he finally stopped laughing.

  “That’s what I like about you, Nowen - your honesty.” Everett said. She opened her mouth to flay him verbally, but he held up a hand and she held her tongue. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. And I wasn’t laughing at you.” She raised an eyebrow at this. “Umm, let me start over. Are you happy here, Nowen?”

  “I think I know where you’re going with this; I was thinking the same thing earlier, with Sage. I...” and Nowen suddenly found the next words very hard to say. She had to pause for a breath before she could finish. “I just don’t know.”

  “And Vuk?”

  Nowen sighed and looked into the fire. “My wolf has moved on but I can’t. I so badly want to tear him to shreds and leave the carcass for the birds.” She brought her gaze back to Everett’s face. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand to stay.”

  Everett returned her gaze steadily. “Nowen, if you would let me, I would gladly go with you. I think there’s something we need to check out first - these so called ‘Humanity’s Saviors’.”

  She chewed on a fingernail as she thought. “You notice the similarity of the names? ‘New Heaven’. ‘Humanity’s Saviors’.”

  Everett nodded slowly. “Probably just a coincidence. Look at Dempsey. The Flux destroyed civilization as we know it. Humankind almost died out, and there’s no guarantee that we’ll survive the Revs. When faced with the knowledge that you’re pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things, you’ll turn to anything or anyone, be it religion or a charismatic leader or strange beliefs, that tells you ‘Yes, you’re special, and you deserve to be saved’.”

  From somewhere near the fire pit on the other side of the Fort from them the sound of quick fingers on a guitar flew up into the air. Someone laughed, and the majority of people sitting around the same fire as Nowen and Everett began to rise and move in the direction of the music.

  Nowen shook her head at the noise. “More dancing? Do these people not understand that Revs are attracted to the music?”

  Everett smiled. “Now, you yourself said you’ve hardly seen any Revs at all lately, right? Maybe all the ones close by have been killed.”

  “There’s no need to take unnecessary chances.”

  Everett turned toward her, and in the flickering light a strange look, apprehensive and expectant at the same time, came over his face. “Nowen-” Whatever he was about to say went unsaid. A young woman with red hair appeared out of nowhere. “Everett!” she squealed. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Come on, dance with me!” She grabbed one of his hands and pulled him to his feet. He looked back once as the woman pulled him away, and there was an expression on his face that Nowen could not read.

  Nowen scowled as the bells rang out, again and again. The little boy with yellow eyes and mold-colored skin growled at her; she plunged her crowbar deep into his skull and yanked it back out in one smooth motion. The boy, still in the pajamas he had been wearing when he died, dropped to the high grass. She tied a piece of red fabric to the fence and glanced up at the sky. From the position of the sun it looked to be past noon, and she decided she would pause soon for lunch and a rest.

  Another Rev staggered forward from the close copse of pines. This one was a woman, and as Nowen waited for her to get within reach she wondered absently if this was the dead boy’s mother. There was a similarity in the black hair and the sharp bones that stretched against the skin. This Rev’s eyes were gone, plucked out or eaten, and for a moment she swayed uncertainly, drawn one way by the sound of the bells and another by the Nowen’s scent.

  Nowen whistled, loud and long. The Rev’s head snapped around in her direction. She rapped on the fence with her crowbar and that was enough to get the undead woman’s legs moving. The Rev moaned and shuffled toward the fence. “Come on, just a little closer.” Nowen called out. The woman stumbled into the fence and Nowen drove the crowbar home. Once the Rev had fallen she reached for another piece of red fabric and marked where the undead thing lay.

  “Hey, don’t you hear the bells ringing?” someone called behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw an elderly man, someone whose name she hadn’t learned yet, waving towards the front gate.

  Nowen raised her weapon. “Yeah, I hear the bells ringing. I also see the Revs hearing the bells.” she shouted back at the man.

  “Oh, don’t worry about them dead folks! That’s what the fences are for! There’s big news - those Humanity’s Saviors are coming!”

  She gripped the crowbar tighter and watched the old man hurry toward the front of the Fort. Even from her position at the far end of the enclosure she could hear and see excited people leaving their work and moving toward the gates. She glanced back at the fence and the forest beyond and, seeing nothing, headed toward the gate herself.

  The closer she got the more hectic the crowds got. From the excited bits of conversation Nowen overheard she could tell that half the Fort citizens were caught up in Dempsey’s re
ligious fervor and the other half were just eager for any break in the tedium of survival. The crush of people was becoming more intense and she moved out of the main flow, taking a position next to the communal clothesline. From here she had a fairly good view of the front gate, and she watched the people collect there.

  A gaggle of laughing children ran past, waving makeshift flags of strips of fabric tied to sticks. Off to one side, near one of the fire pits, three teenaged girls were singing, something fast-paced and rhythmic, while a group of young men stood nearby, passing a small bottle between them. A booming laugh caught Nowen’s attention and she followed the sound to see Dempsey moving through the crowd like a bison through a flock of starlings. She watched the big man thoughtfully.

  In the week since Dempsey had returned from Big Horn his nightly meetings had taken on the aspect of a church service. He talked less of the duties needed to keep the Fort operating (more and more lately these were discussed by Raphael) and more of the ‘presence of Satan’. Every request to know what he had been shown on the road was refused with a solemn, fatherly headshake and some variation of ‘There are things that must be seen to be believed.’. Each meeting revival? ended with an exhortation to ‘remain faithful and trust in God’ before Dempsey moved back through the adoring crowd and returned to his motor home.

  Now the big man was standing in front of the gate, talking to one of the tower lookouts. The woman in the tower shouted something back and pointed out at the road. Demspey turned to the masses and raised his hands; with a note of unease Nowen noticed how quickly this simple movement brought silence. The big man’s head was turned upward slightly, and as he spoke he closed his eyes. “Listen! Do you hear the approach of those who will unveil to us Satan’s work on this earth?”