The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  “I’d say that’s our signal if there ever was one,” Alex said.

  “I’m glad she came along,” Connor laughed. Cynthia again took the lead. Gloria joined her with the children in tow. Tess stayed in the middle of the pack, assisting the rest of the women.

  Connor took a moment to admire Tess. Seeing her amongst all the children lightened his heart. One day, one of those children would be his. He couldn’t wait to meet him … or her. Secretly he was hoping for a son. He wanted to teach him how to wrestle and play. He wanted to play catch in the backyard, or have the occasional game of fetch. Maybe he’d get the chance to teach his son out to shave, or what it was like to feel love. Never mind all of the wolf trouble they’d get themselves into. Mostly mischievous things to annoy Tess, but fun nonetheless.

  Then again, if he had a girl, he could have just as much fun. Would she grow up to be like her mother? Cooking and sewing? Or would she be more like her dad a rough and tumble tomboy. Tea parties, dolls, daisy chains, there were so many possibilities and in that one second he imagined them all.

  “Are we going to join them?” Alex asked. Connor didn’t realize he was standing still. Maybe he was more distracted than he thought.

  “Right,” he said. They followed close behind the group, watching for any strays.

  “Have you and Cynthia thought about it?” Connor asked.

  “Thought about what?” Alex wondered.

  “Having kids,” Connor replied, “Don’t say the thought hasn’t crossed your mind.”

  “Geez, you’re starting to sound like a dad more every day. And, not in a good way,” he said, limping hard on his only good leg.

  Connor laughed at the thought of acting like a father.

  “No,” Alex said, “I don’t think either of us has thought about it. Too many adventures in the future.”

  “You know you’re welcome to come back to the pack,” Connor said.

  Alex didn’t say anything for a moment but his face was scrunched up as he thought about it. He breathed out sharply, opening his mouth as though he had something to say, then pausing, and then shutting his mouth with a shrug.

  “I don’t know,” Alex replied finally, “We might come back from time to time…”

  “But, you’re not sure if you want to join the pack,” Connor finished.

  “Exactly,” he said, “There’s an itch that only seems to get scratched when I’m out and about. It helps even more that Cynthia seems to enjoy it as well.”

  “Well, if you ever decide you want to come back, we’ll be there waiting for you. You’re family. And, after all this I’ve come to see you as a true brother.”

  “Oh, Connor,” Alex shouted exaggeratedly, “Let’s be the bestest of friends. We can frolic in flowery meadows and do each other’s hair.”

  “Dammit, just hug me,” Connor said. Alex laughed but still gave in to the sentiment. They grasped each other firmly for a moment.

  “Ahem,” Cynthia said, “I’m glad you both kissed and made up but can we get a move on?” The kids laughed. But, Connor could see a glow in Tess that he hadn’t seen in a long while. The animosity between Alex and Connor had always been somewhere at the forefront of her mind. Seeing them together must have been enough to jog her from her depression.

  They pulled away from each other. Alex tested out his leg by putting some weight on it. It responded well enough.

  “I think I’ll walk the rest of this one myself,” he said. He took a step and it buckled beneath him.

  “Or maybe I’ll just help you a little while longer,” Connor said, helping him back to his limping posture. It wasn’t much further.

  They rounded the last corner. The truck waited for them as it had a few minutes ago. Cynthia prowled ahead of them, searching for any bikers or guards that might still linger. When she noticed none, she waved with her hand for everyone to join her.

  The truck itself was a large flatbed, used mostly for hauling large volume. It had wooden railing along the sides with a completely open back end. Cynthia began to climb into the driver’s seat, but Connor stopped her.

  “There’s no way you’re driving with that arm,” he said. He pushed her further into the spacious cabin. Tess stayed in the back, along with Alex, to keep an eye on the children.

  The engine sounded so odd. Modern trucks lacked a sense of power, they all sounded like purring kittens when what he wanted was a roar. At least it was comfortable. He pressed the truck into drive and glided down the only path available. The tracks eventually spilled out to pavement from behind a pair of large rocks. He’d remember passing these rocks on the way to the lake the last couple times they’d come and thinking nothing of them. It was quite a hidden path. But, knowing where he was, he knew where to go.

  The truck drove effortlessly along the highway, even with all the kids in the back. After a short drive they arrived at the bear den. The only place he knew at this place to be decently safe. The guard at the front gate marveled at the change in transportation but waved them through.

  The truck squeaked to a stop in front of Henry’s house. As he stepped from the truck he noticed his own truck sitting on the opposite side of the roundabout driveway and laughed to himself.

  “Great, they’re multiplying!” Henry shouted when he noticed the tiny wolves stepping out of the back of the truck.

  “I’m really sorry, there was nowhere else to go that was safe,” Connor said.

  “I know,” The old alpha breathed out a long sigh, “Samantha was just telling me about it.”

  “You’re late!” she shouted.

  “Connor had to stop for a bro hug,” Cynthia said, “So this is the bear den, eh? I like it. It’s very … den.”

  “Yeah, it’s the kind of place that one could hibernate for a while,” Alex laughed along. Henry rolled his eyes at the two new young adults.

  “I was making some sandwiches for the kids,” Samantha said. She held out a tray and the starving little mouths sprinted for a bit to eat. Samantha giggled in the middle of the crowd. “Slow down, guys. There’s plenty enough for everyone!”

  Alex grabbed a sandwich with wide eyes.

  “How did you get out?” Connor asked as he assisted Alex to the front door.

  “Easy,” she replied, “I was driving in a tank, they were riding on popsicle sticks. It’s simple physics.”

  Looking at his truck, he did see some new dents and scraped paint. At least Sam was alright.

  “It’ll buff right out,” she said with a broad smile.

  “Sam! You need to teach Cynthia how to make this sandwich, it was delicious.” He turned to Cynthia, “Babe, there’s no way you could burn this!”

  Cynthia and Tess looked at each other and laughed.

  “What?” Alex asked with a mouthful.

  CHAPTER 10

  Tess’s words were still thumping in the back of his mind.

  “Don’t go,” she said, “they can handle the rest of them. You’ve done enough. We’ve done enough.” She was urging him to skip out on the final battle with Torque’s forces. Something that he couldn’t do.

  He knew Torque better than any of the bears. He needed to be there to make sure that he finally went down for good. Henry was looking forward to giving Torque a good beating once again, anything to figure out who might have been the traitor that released him. But, Connor was out for blood. If he got his jaws around that bastard he would clamp down and wouldn’t let go.

  “You need to stay, Tess,” he said. “This needs to be done.” She didn’t give him any reply after that. All he met was a closed door and silence.

  How am I going to get out of this dog house?

  He didn’t have time to think about that at the moment. His mind switched back to the mission. They stood just up the mountain from the camp. The biker’s tiny fires illuminated the night, reflecting off the now still lake. Connor searched around the camp for Torque but didn’t see him. He had to be somewhere around.

  “He said soon,” Connor said,
“If we don’t attack now, there’s a good chance we’ll lose our shot. We have their truck so they can’t move their base quickly, but if you want to catch Torque or Eli, now is our chance.”

  They’d prepared the attack. Bears covered almost every point of exit. Torque’s diminished forces wouldn’t know what hit them. That is, if they attacked sooner rather than later. If Torque was given enough time to build up then things might get messy.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Henry said, “Not all of my bears are here yet. If we attack when we aren’t at full strength, we might get overpowered. Remember, they’re using guns with silver bullets?”

  “If you’d just accept the help from the rest of my pack-”

  “Your pack has done enough!” Henry interrupted, “Avenging my wife is bear business. If you want, you can just head on home. We’ll take care of this mess ourselves.” Connor stared Henry down silently. Connor was right, Henry knew it. He just didn’t want to accept that Connor might be right. His stubbornness was nagging at him. Was it better to be stubborn and fail? Or accept another voice and succeed? “Fine,” Henry said, “Let’s ride.”

  Those were the exact words Connor wanted to hear.

  Henry held his fingers between his lips, belting out a whistle that could be heard from space. The bikers in the camp hurriedly took up their rifles when they heard the strange sound. Some took cover in the burned out cabins while others ducked behind their motorcycles.

  “Such a damn shame,” Henry said, “These morons have perfectly good teeth. They don’t even count as wolves anymore.”

  “Preaching to the choir, Henry,” Connor replied. He was glad that he was the only one to come this time. Alex was still battered, recovering from his torture. Cynthia’s arm was damaged; it would take a few days to mend. Samantha stayed behind at the behest of her grandpa.

  Bears began to flood in. Connor showed them the hidden path to help them sneak in behind the hunters to surprise them. The few of them that remained in the camp fired as fast as they could, but they weren’t trained marksmen. The ones that did find their mark struck at legs and ripped open flesh but nothing more.

  Connor let himself give in to the wolf inside. It was begging to be let out to taste the flesh of any biker that might get in his way. He fell to all fours as he ran down the hill. His body grew to brutish height, showing his alpha heritage. His thick hide sprouted is usual mix of gray and silver fur and his nose smelled just one thing; fear.

  Henry too joined in the fighting. He was easily twice Connor’s immense size. While he ran a bullet dug into his shoulder but because of his strength it would take much more than that to take him down.

  Connor leapt on a pair of bikers hiding in one of the burnt out cabins. They were tossed like ragdolls into the wall. Their bodies fell limp and lifeless on the cabin floor. His beast was satisfied at the carnage and the chaos.

  Still, something didn’t feel quite right. It felt like the fight in these guys was weak, and they barely smelled like shifters at all.

  Wait a second.

  Connor tore the jacket from one of the bodies on the ground and sniffed at it thoroughly. It was a human. This wasn’t right at all. Either Torque had fled and left a bunch of guys as a sacrifice or …

  Shit. It’s a trap.

  It seemed Henry got the same idea. He bellowed out a roar to the rest of his men. The humans were all too easily defeated. Their rifles, destroyed. But, the trap was no set and they were squarely in the middle of it.

  A flare shot into the air from down by the lake. It lazily hung in the air while it burned bright. The light was blinding to look at. The shadows that came from the fires disappeared in to white light. The panicked bears searched around to understand what exactly was going on. Connor found the source, Torque.

  From behind the surrounding trees they could hear guns being prepped for a fight, a lot of them. The biggest and strongest of the bears were right here in the middle of the clearing, square in their sights. There was no easy escape.

  Why didn’t I smell them?

  In his hurry to join the battle Connor dismissed the usual array of smells; the gun oil, the smell of sulfur in the rounds, the hint of gasoline from the bikes, and the pungent odor of lake salt. It surrounded him. The bikers must have bathed in it to hide themselves. He cursed himself for getting careless and only trusting his eyes.

  Damn that bastard.

  The bears stood as statues, afraid to move. There was a good chance that if they did, they wouldn’t be taking another step.

  Torque’s shadow passed under some low lying branches as he grabbed his gun. He strutted upon the loose sand and patchy grass making his way to Henry and Connor. He knew he’d won, for now.

  Connor saw Henry clenching his teeth, growling just a few feet away.

  “I told myself I wouldn’t talk, but this is just too good. There are so many of you here tonight. I’m glad I get to entertain you this time, Henry.” Torque stepped in close. He stood within six inches of Henry’s grizzled face, stared with a cocksure smile then aimed his shotgun at Henry’s jaw. Despite his rage, he dared not make a move, or it would be over.

  Connor knew it would have been damn near impossible for him to keep his composure if he were in the same circumstance.

  “You made it so easy for me,” he said. “Tell me Henry, did you see this coming? I thought it was pretty clever.”

  Henry shifted back. The once 9 foot tall bear shrunk down to the old man who stood defiant against Torque. His face was stern. The whole thing reminded Connor of his time he spent with Samantha and Tess inside the restaurant where Greta’s father was killed. The helplessness, the need to protect those that mattered; those things were spelled out on his face.

  “You made a bunch of your own guys into live bait to catch us,” Henry said.

  “They’re not my guys,” Torque laughed, “They’re just a bunch of dumb humans too stupid to leave. I was surprised I even gave them bullets to fight back. Mutt sure did know how to pick ‘em. Didn’t he?” Torque walked over to one of the dead biker’s bodies, gun still pointed at Henry. He cocked his leg back then released it into a powerful kick. The sound of rib bones breaking was like nails on a chalkboard. The body flew ten feet before skidding into a small tree. “Yep, useless.”

  “Where’s Eli? Hiding in a tree again?” Henry mocked.

  “Not here,” Torque laughed, “He has his own plans.”

  “And they don’t involve you?” Henry scoffed.

  Torque got defensive. He lifted his pistol, the one he’d taken from the now deceased Scab. He leveled it as Henry. “You know. I’m glad I was there when your wife died. She begged for me to help her. Begged. Some wife she was. Couldn’t even die with a little dignity.”

  Henry boiled over. His rage overpowered his situation. His body began to change.

  Torque’s lowered his gun and shot, leaving holes in the old man’s legs. Blood spurted from the wound as Henry grabbed at the pain and doubled over, ending his transformation.

  “See? When you’re a king, everyone bows to you,” he said as he laughed, completely full of himself and mad with power.

  Then Connor saw fire explode on the lake. Thick gouts of black smoke billowed into the air. The sound of motorcycle engines blared at full throttle. The look of concern on Torque’s face was all Connor needed to see. These were not his allies coming.

  Another bottle shattered amidst the bears, filling the space with more black smoke. The thick smoke covered the light of the flare that still hung in the sky.

  “What the hell?!” Torque shouted, “Shoot them!”

  The confusion was enough. Gunshots rang out in the night hitting nothing but air. From down the road emerged someone that Connor was more than happy to see, Crunch. He was riding a beat up motorcycle that was less than half the size that he needed. The muffler was dragging on the ground, as was the suspension. It seemed like he was riding a mini-bike. In his hand was a Molotov cocktail. The saddle bags behind him were
stuffed with more of the same. He lit the wick with the flame of a cigar that was hanging from the corner of his mouth. He threw the bottle into the forest, toward the shooters. It splashed on a tree, starting the forest ablaze once more.

  Connor took a second to check in with Henry, still clutching at his leg. With a bloody hand he grabbed at Connor’s scruff.

  “Finish this,” he said. Connor howled as the old man released him.

  “Hey Torque, guess who’s home!” Crunch shouted as he skidded the bike to a halt only a few feet from Torque. When he saw Connor coming to join the fight he pulled the cigar from his mouth, “Hey kid, you miss me?”

  If Connor had a mouth he would have kissed him. Even though all he would have kissed was stubble and day old bacon grease.

  “Torque, you stupid, inbred, moron. I’m here to take back leadership of the gang. I’m even willing to give you a fighting chance. If you can beat me, then I’ll let you live,” Crunch shouted.

  That wasn’t the deal.

  Crunch waved a hand at Connor. This was his fight and nobody was going to take this from him. He circled around in front of Torque, tearing off his leather vest. Firelight danced across his tattooed chest. The spreading flames were filling in the camp. The bear shifters had escaped to safety and the gun shots ceased. They were all alone, just the four of them.

  A sense of Déjà vu came over Connor when he saw the burning buildings and chaos. Only a few days ago he strode through this camp bringing fire and confusion. Now Torque was doing the same.

  “I guess I don’t have much choice,” Torque said, “I accept.”

  Crunch cracked his knuckles, then his neck. With a broad smile of excitement he charged forward. Torque smiled back, he wasn’t here to play by the rules. He raised the pistol in his hand, shooting Crunch in the leg.

  “You dirty piece of shit!” Crunch shouted.

  “What was that?” Torque asked. He fired another round into Crunch’s other leg. Crunch fell to his knees as Torque came in closer to gloat about his win. “I’m stupid?” Torque asked, “You’re the one that ran at a man with a gun.”