by Edith DuBois
Elena’s cheeks caught fire. A whiplash of jealousy ripped up her spine. Did Caleb have some sort of history with the woman? Elena suddenly felt very self-conscious and exposed. Her hands made fists against Caleb’s body, and she fought back a snarl as the woman stretched her hand towards Elena.
“I’m Letty Fink.”
“Elena Ward.” She forced her good manners to the surface and offered her hand in return. “And how do you two know each other?” Much as she tried, she couldn’t keep the snarl completely from her voice.
Letty must have caught on because she laughed and then said, “Oh, honey, you’ve got nothing to worry about in that department. I’ve known Caleb since he was a snot-nosed hellion running around in diapers. His daddy used to bring him over to my place just about every Friday for his end-of-the-week beer and darts.”
A wave of relief washed through her, and Elena could feel herself smiling easy again. “Oh, I see.” She shot Caleb a smirk, imagining him as a wild child on the loose, snot and mud streaking his face.
“Anyway,” Letty said, “you two come on over after all the chitlins go to bed. That’s when the real fun is going to start. Reesa’s holding down the place until I get back, but we’re all expecting you and your brother and all you boys tonight.” Elena thought she caught a peculiar tone in Letty’s voice as she said all you boys.
“Yes, ma’am.” Caleb laughed as Letty spun away, and Elena was about to ask him if Letty knew anything about his secret, when she saw Joseph shoving his way through the crowd. He caught sight of Letty and spoke to her. Elena watched as Letty’s glowing smile dissolved. There was a flash of fear, and then the older woman’s features set into gritty determination.
“Look,” Elena said to Caleb, and he maneuvered to see what she was looking at.
Letty set off through the crowd, and Joseph motioned for Caleb and Elena to meet him. When they were out of the swarm, Joseph didn’t waste any time. He began walking away, expecting them to follow.
“What’s going on?” Caleb asked.
“Fucking Carter and Noah.”
Caleb gripped her arm tightly. “What did they do?”
“I got a call on the CB. Seems they got themselves so drunk they shifted right outside of Catdaddy’s.”
“Did anyone see it happen?” They’d made it to the cruiser, which luckily had only been parked a block or two away off Main Street.
“No one saw them shift, thank goodness, but some tourists walked out of the honky-tonk just afterwards. Got themselves an eyeful of bear.” Joseph started up the cruiser and blared the sirens. As they lurched forward, the windows were down, and Elena could hear gravel spitting out from beneath the tires. They headed toward Treaty Lane, but before they had gone more than five blocks, two black bears jumped out onto the street before them.
Joseph slammed on the brakes, and as the cruiser slid past the bears, the one closest lifted a great paw and swiped it across the side of the vehicle. Elena screamed and jumped to the other side of the car.
“Are they fucking mental?” Her heart beat madly in her chest.
“Motherfuckers!” The muscles in Joseph’s arms bulged as he whipped the cruiser around. Luckily, because of the hoedown, the street was empty of any other moving vehicles. When they finally got turned around, the bears had a large head start.
And they were headed straight toward the bright lights of the festival.
* * * *
Caleb held on to the dash as his brother whipped the car around. “One of us needs to shift,” he said, but Joseph didn’t answer. “We need to be able to communicate with them.” Joseph continued to focus on driving, refusing to acknowledge Caleb’s statements.
“Joseph, they could hurt someone. One of us needs to—”
“Damn it, Caleb, I know.”
Caleb clamped his mouth shut as the cruiser bumped over potholes and rickety streets.
“But that means three fucking bears.” Joseph whipped the cruiser behind the stage. With the windows down, they could hear screams begin to rise up from the crowd of dancers and festival-goers.
Caleb couldn’t wait for Joseph to come to grips with the fact that Savage Valley’s reputation was in tatters. Even if the Strongs didn’t hurt anyone, just that they were among civilization in their bear form would be considered dangerous enough.
He left the cruiser and sprinted to a dark corner, taking off his shirt and pants. The boxer briefs would have to be forfeited.
Without pausing or thinking, he let his bear loose. He felt the animal ripping through his body, bursting out from his skin and his bones, and his shoulders reverberated with the impact of his front paws slamming into the hard-packed dirt where he stood.
He honed his bear-mind in on the booze-tilted thoughts of Brother Carter and Brother Noah. He felt Brother Carter’s anger, felt it pulsing through his own veins. Brother Noah only followed Brother Carter’s addle-witted scheme because of their strong brotherly bond. He could feel both of them in his bear-mind as he knew they could feel him.
Caleb sent out a wave of his bear-thoughts to the brothers. He sent anger and annoyance and concern. He felt Brother Noah’s answering fear, as was right. Brother Carter grew excited at the challenge. His bear-blood flew through his hot veins, and Caleb could feel it in his own.
His mighty bear-paws pulled against the earth-ground, causing the humans-he-must-not-frighten to scream and flee at the sight of his great bear body. Then his bear-mind was flooded with the image of Brother Carter attacking a post-with-tasty-food, tearing at its flimsy supports and smashing jars upon jars of life-giving-honey onto the ground. A sense of wild glee rushed through Brother Carter, and Caleb wanted to join Brother Carter. Only his human-mind, somewhere inside him, stopped him.
He needed to stop Brother Carter. He needed to get Brother Carter away from all the humans-they-must-not-frighten. He needed Brother Noah to help. He spotted the younger bear pacing nervously, issuing distraught sounds. Brother Noah knew his brother had gotten him into much more trouble than he’d bargained for.
Caleb sent him some loose thoughts. He hoped that Brother Noah’s mind wasn’t too drink-muddled to understand the rough plan.
Caleb began running toward Brother Carter, and Brother Noah did the same from the opposite direction. They both slammed into the big bear at the same time. Brother Carter roared in pain. Caleb could feel a dim, drunken echo of the pain. Again, he slammed his body into Brother Carter’s. He must herd the big bear away from the crowds.
Brother Carter had regained his equilibrium, and Caleb felt his wild fury. Brother Carter lashed out at Caleb. He put the full weight of his bear-body into the blow. Brother Carter’s paw caught Caleb on the shoulder. He howled out in pain as sharp claws scratched deep into his flesh. Then Brother Noah tackled his bear-brother. His fur and claws flew. They tumbled and crashed into another post. Beeswax candles spilled out into the street.
The harder he and Brother Noah tried to subdue Brother Carter, the angrier and wilder Brother Carter got. He snapped his jaws at Caleb, going for the muscle of a back haunch. Caleb danced out of the way just in time. They wrestled. They ripped and tore and clawed at each other. Caleb landed a hard paw against Brother Carter’s face. It made him sad, but he kept at the angry bear, driving him back and back and back. Back until the trees were all around them. The moon’s light couldn’t reach them. Brother Carter still fought. His anger flashed hot and powerful through Caleb’s blood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an approaching figure, calm and intent. As he and Brother Noah circled Brother Carter, their breathing came heavily, and Caleb wished Brother Carter would run up into the great foothills for a while, get out of his fur.
He knew that Brother Carter could feel his thoughts, yet he didn’t try to make his escape. He wanted to fight. Caleb knew he wouldn’t give up. He huffed, his whole bear-body shaking with it.
Caleb went to lunge but then jumped back. The magic man—Bohagande—stepped between them, his old wrinkled face looking hard at Ca
leb then Brother Carter. Strands of his long moon-silver hair tumbled over themselves in the light nighttime breeze. The Indian closed his eyes for a moment. Caleb felt the confusion and wariness emanating from Brother Carter. He felt it from Brother Noah. They felt it from him.
Bo walked toward Brother Carter. “You bring us shame,” he said. “Your anger cannot change the blood in your veins. You are who you are. This is inescapable. But you bring us shame, Brother Carter, and these reckless actions will be punished.” He placed his palm on Brother Carter’s snout. Brother Carter emitted a low groan. That sound crawled up Caleb’s spine and sent shivers through his blood. He couldn’t get away from the empty, hollow, broken sound of it.
Brother Noah felt the same thing, and Caleb’s shiver doubled in strength.
Then Brother Carter’s bear-mind went blank. Caleb could no longer feel him in his own bear-mind.
Brother Carter sank to the ground, his body growing smaller, his fur disappearing. Then he fell forward, his human face falling against the earth-ground. Brother Noah roared, running at Bohagande. The Indian threw his hand up at Brother Noah. “Do you wish to share his fate?” His voice was mighty and so full of power it made Caleb’s muscles tremble.
Brother Noah slid to a halt and released an agonized moan. His front paws dug miserably into the earth-ground. He threw his head back and forth, and Caleb felt the pain swirling through his bear-mind.
“He’s not dead, and neither is his bear. But until he can prove responsible enough, he has been stripped of his power.” With that, Bohagande turned and walked away, walked deep into the dark shadow of the forest.
Chapter Ten
“Elena, where are you?” Joseph’s worried voice buzzed through the earpiece of her cell phone.
“I grabbed the wrong memory card and had to run back to my room. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”
“Okay…just hurry. Things are tense.”
After the incident and the Honey Harvest Hoedown, Mayor Cash had extended the meeting time for the annual post-hoedown town meeting so that there would be enough time to discuss the animal attacks. Joseph and Caleb had been receiving calls all day from concerned citizens of Savage Valley on Sunday and then the next day up until minutes before the meeting started. When she and Caleb had returned from their morning hike that morning, they found Joseph in a heated debate with an older woman, Susan Pope. Elena soon discovered that she was the owner of Savage Hunger and had come to complain that the sheriff and deputy weren’t doing enough to protect the citizens of Savage Valley.
“What about that man from California? That bear whisperer? Why don’t you call him up, see if he can come out here? At least get some advice.”
Joseph’s jaw was clenched, and Elena could see a vein bulging across his forehead as he fought to keep his anger in check. “We have taken precautionary measures, but even so, we don’t believe it’s bears that are responsible for the recent spike in animal attacks around here.”
Susan Pope sputtered. “Don’t think it’s bears?” she repeated with incredulity. “Joseph Kinman, there were three bears on the loose just last night. Or did you fail to notice that little incident?”
“We noticed it, Susan.” He shot Caleb a frustrated glance.
“The Greenwoods have been on the lookout for all signs of any sort of predatory animal around Brown Trout Lake. If there are any bears or mountain lions or wolves around here, they would know. They have to drink water just like the deer and the elk and all the furry little animals do,” Caleb said, filling his water bottle from the large container against the wall.
“Well, those Greenwoods must not be doing a very good job. They missed bear footprints, didn’t they? And speaking of mountain lions, were either of you planning on posting a bulletin any time soon about that mountain lion sighting up near the Den a month or so ago? I only noticed it online last night because I was going to report the bears.” Susan pointed at Joseph and then at Caleb. “You two are treading on thin ice. I will be stating my piece at the meeting this evening. You can count on that.” With that she turned and waddled angrily out the door.
“And that was one of the pleasant encounters,” Joseph told them as they all three watched Susan climb on her bike and pedal off down Main Street, her nose poking up in the air.
When Elena parked her rental car in front of Town Hall, she saw two men arguing a little ways down the sidewalk. Elena shouldn’t have thought it funny. It seemed like a heated debate, but the picture the two of them made—the short, tubby man red in the face shoving on the big, bulky tall man who looked down at his toes and mumbled his answers—struck her as amusing.
After scrambling inside, Elena realized that every seat was taken, so she stood in a back corner near a window that looked out to an alley and part of Main Street. At the front of the room she could see a head of bright red hair and thought it must be Chelsea, the woman she’d met before the hoedown. Elena smiled to herself, surprisingly pleased to see the woman at the meeting. She was a kindred spirit, a sister-in-arms, braving the trenches of Savage Valley men.
At the thought of Savage Valley men, she noticed Caleb and Joseph at the front of the room, sitting in one of the eight forward-facing chairs. Caleb caught her eye and smiled tightly, but Joseph was engrossed with the man speaking at the podium, the vein on his forehead bulging out. Joseph and Caleb were on one side of the podium along with two others while Mayor Cash and his brother were on the other side.
Elena had never seen the man at the podium in Savage Valley before. The florescent lights of the meeting room gleamed off his blue-black hair, trimmed and coiffed to perfection, and behind thin, wire-rimmed glasses his sharp eyes scanned the room. He spoke in a smooth, low voice. As she studied the man, she listened closely to his words.
“As a longtime employee of NormCorp and a regular tourist to Savage Valley, I am duly concerned about these recent animal attacks as, I’m sure, all of the good townspeople are feeling. This is not a matter to be taken lightly, and if action is not taken and taken soon, who knows what will happen. God forbid a child is attacked.”
Elena’s blood boiled. Now she understood why Joseph looked so furious. They weren’t animal attacks. Elena knew that because Joseph and Caleb knew that, but they couldn’t explain that to everyone without exposing part of their secret.
It wasn’t animals attacking Savage Valley. It was humans. Elena wanted to scream and hurl sharp objects at the idiot. The Greenwoods had taken blood samples from her elk. The results showed that the animals had been lethally injected. Joseph, Caleb, and the Greenwoods had decided that whoever was responsible must be pretty well-off to afford at least two doses of lethal injection. Elena had heard the name “NormCorp” pop up more than once over the last couple weeks.
And on top of the mayhem of the hoedown, later that night, the same night as the “bear sighting,” someone had started a fire at the Woodland Den. If Elena remembered correctly, Joseph and Caleb had mentioned something about Chelsea being caught in the fire. Elena hoped she was okay and made a mental note to say hello after the meeting.
Returning her attention back to the man at the podium, a Mr. Fischer apparently, it seemed a little too convenient that this man, a high-ranking employee of NormCorp Elena discovered, was lobbying for a zoning change that would allow his employer to buy up land and start a huge tourist resort right where the Woodland Den now stood.
In order to cool her ire, she looked out the window, hoping that the craggy mountain peaks at the edge of town would serve as a serene image to counteract the violence that swam through her mind’s eye. If he was involved in the animal attacks, Elena thought she might shift into a bear and personally rip him to shreds. As she peered out the window and breathed deep, steadying breaths, she noticed the two men from earlier, the ones that had been arguing. They were walking on the sidewalk that ran along Main Street, but they were both walking quickly and looking around as if they didn’t want to be spotted.
“Keep in mind, Mr. Fischer,
that until we have concrete evidence, we can’t rule out any possibilities.” Joseph spoke through clenched teeth.
Mr. Fischer tilted his head to the side, looking appropriately confused, his lips slightly pursed. “I’m sorry. Could you clarify that last statement?”
“What Sheriff Kinman means…” Caleb jumped in before Joseph could spew something he might regret. “Is that we can’t rule out the possibility that…” Caleb hesitated, glancing around the room to gauge people’s reactions. “That humans are responsible for these attacks.” An aggravated murmur spread throughout the room, but Mr. Fischer merely smiled.
“That is a rather weighted thing to say, don’t you think, Deputy Kinman?”
“Well, considering you’re here to bolster up support for NormCorp’s efforts towards building an obscenely large ‘resort lodge’ where the Woodland Den now stands. And considering those two goons that work for NormCorp were spotted messing around there when the fire started, I wouldn’t say it’s too far fetched. No, not at all.” Elena could see Caleb’s face visibly blanching as Joseph spoke. Mayor Cash didn’t look too keen on Joseph’s outburst, either.
Again, Mr. Fischer merely smiled. “I don’t suppose this has anything to do with the fact that the Savage Valley slogan is no longer relevant? ‘No animal attacks since 2011!’ Doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?”
While Elena kept her ears focused on the debate onstage, she couldn’t help but wonder what those two men outside were up to. When they ducked behind a parked car as another car drove by, Elena knew she had to find out.
She slipped along the wall. She gave Caleb a wave, indicating she’d be right back and then slipped out the door. She walked down the hallway to the main entrance of Town Hall. Cracking the door open, she peeked out, making sure neither of the men were nearby. She didn’t think they’d appreciate her following them around with a camera.
