Black Ghost Runner

by M. Garnet

Sally had finished her coffee. His deep voice was so relaxing that she could listen for hours. She took a deep breath, then set the cup down so she could ask her more important question.

  “I have heard that many tribes believe in shape shifters. Do the Shoshone have such myths in their history?”

  Now, she had his attention. He looked at her directly as he put the candies down, along with the coffee cup. He steeped his fingers, putting his chin down on the tips as he looked at her intensely with his dark eyes.

  “Aah. Shape shifters. Yes, interesting stories. Because of the wolves, there have always been many stories, but they are strange. There was a story a few years ago about an FBI agent at a Wisconsin reservation who saw an Indian he was chasing turn into a wolf in order to escape. Poor agent has probably been assigned to a damp basement in Cincinnati.”

  Sally sat, trying not to show her tight emotions as he continued. “Unlike the movies, the stories within the Indian lore have never had a shifter as a man or animal who killed at random. They have always changed to protect themselves or to protect the tribes. Within the myths of the Native Americans, it would seem that, to be politically correct, if there are shape shifters, they are like Spider Man or Superman, who live a normal life until their talents are needed, then change to protect the weak. Lovely tales to tell the young around the campfires at the many communal meetings where everyone likes to go and see the old dances and the costumes. Everyone needs a super hero.”

  She nodded, getting her thoughts together. “You don’t believe in the myth?”

  He laughed as he reached for the bag of chocolates again. “I didn’t say that. So many things out there don’t have logical explanations in life. I won’t say I don’t believe in them. I have never seen a molecule, but I believe in it. I haven’t seen the face of the Great Spirit, but I believe in him. Do you not believe in such things that you can’t touch or see?”

  It was her turn to laugh. “I guess you are right. There are a lot of things I believe in that I can’t touch, nor can I see, but I don’t believe in Spider Man or Super Man.”

  There was silence for a few minutes. Sally heard him crunch on the coatings of the small candies. Finally, he spoke again. “Did he bite you?”

  The question shocked her. This wasn’t going where she wanted. She decided it might not be a good idea to continue talking to a man who guessed that she had changed her name. He seemed to guess too much. “Chief George, I want to thank you for your hospitality.” She got up to go over to her coat. “Please thank your wife for me. I have a long drive back to town. I would like to get there before dark.”

  He came over and helped Sally get into her coat, then moved as he held the door for her. She was surprised that he went with her to her truck. Even Gloria hurried out to give her a cloth-wrapped bundle through the window.

  “Just some corn bread sticks and some honey from our own bees. You come back any time.” Gloria waved as she hurried back inside the warm house.

  Chief George stood by the side of the road as she started the truck. He looked over at her. He finally added a few words. “If he bit you, he can find you anywhere. He marked you.”

  Sally looked at him. “He wasn’t a wolf.”

  The man looked at the dead weeds beside the path leading to his door. “There are many types of grasses, yet they all have a purpose.” He turned, walking slowly to go back into his comfortable home.

  Sally didn’t move the truck until she saw the door close behind him, then slowly turned it around to start back towards town. She was off the reservation before she realized that all the kids had disappeared. She was alone in her borrowed truck.

  Chapter Five

  Spring in Wyoming was a shock for Sally. It was beautiful. That was what surprised her—everything turned green and flowers appeared everywhere. The trees had buds that were a light yellow green. They reflected against the dark green of the pine trees that had shed their dry needles with the winter storms. They now had a fresh, polished look.

  The snow melting in the mountains overflowed every brook to form streams in areas that needed water, so that more grass and flowers appeared. Driving along the roads, one could see animals of all types—deer, elk, rabbits, small rodents, not to mention the numerous squirrels. The skies were full of birds, all sizes, displaying an array of colors. Most of all, she loved the smell. The fresh odor from the fields was something no one could put in a spray, no matter how much money Fabreze spent on advertising.

  Whistle Stop Tours was busy in two areas. There were the tours to schedule for the next seasons and even the next year, in addition to the tours to handle that were coming in. These early ones were mostly fishing groups, small, some only one or two. Jim loved these fishing tours.

  The local rivers of every size were swift, overflowing their banks in some places. The fish were fat and feisty. The clients that came in liked to fish. They seemed to be a lot more polite. They also stayed in town, spending money with the locals. This made them welcome because the town liked the extra income from nice tourists. It was easy to take.

  Sally had extra duties that appealed to her. She picked up lunch baskets from Madge at the Diner on some days and took them out to the fishing sites. Jim always fried or baked fish for supper. Since everyone wanted to get in as much fishing as possible, he had her bring out lunch in the truck so that they could eat, take a short break, then get back to the rivers.

  Sally drove out with the windows down, finding an excuse so that she usually ate with them. She cleaned up after they went back to their fishing. She took her time getting back to the office, then dropped the basket off at the Diner for the next time it was needed. It was beginning to be her idea of heaven.

  This day, there was a father and son team fishing. They were getting along. Sometimes families weren’t good on vacation. It was a time to fight or finish a fight, yet these two were getting along helping each other, making bets over who would catch what. She sat back and smiled over their teasing of each other, watching them admire what the morning catch had brought. They were sitting, talking about what a great trip this had turned out to be and she heard the bombshell.

  “Well Jim, I think you topped it all with what we saw this morning. I mean in the last couple of years coming out here, we have seen, elk and bear, and about any animal you could name, real close up, but to see a black panther or jaguar was the most amazing experience we have ever had.” This was from the father.

  Sally stopped packing and rotated on her crouched down heels to look at the three men.

  The son added, “Not only that, he was huge. I almost pissed my pants. Oh, sorry, Sally.” The younger man smiled at the small cuss word. She had heard so much worse from some of the guys who were trying to shock her on purpose, to get her attention—this small cuss from the smiling young man was nothing.

  “Yes, that is rare. I’ve never heard of one in this area. When I get a chance, I’ll check with one of State Game Rangers and see if they have spotted this one. Maybe it moved north looking for food.”

  The boy smiled. “He looked like he could eat whatever he wanted. Maybe he escaped from somewhere. He looked like he took good care of himself. I don’t believe he’s lived out in the wilds for too long.”

  Finally, the dad had to get to the teasing part. “Yep, and I spent all that money on that camera equipment. Tell me, how many photos did you get of him?”

  His son threw a wadded up paper towel and they walked away, towards their equipment.

  Jim brought over the last of the scraps and looked at Sally. “Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale. Did the food not agree with you? I don’t need the guests getting food poisoning.”

  Sally jerked when she realized Jim was talking to her, then looked up at him. “No, I, oh, no, I just got some bad news. Yea, right before I came out. I will have to see what’s going on and I’ll let you know.” She went back to packing up, and even stumbled over to the truck.

  Fortunately for
Sally, Jim went back to his customers. She was able to get everything into the truck without falling down, without thinking what she was doing, since her mind was on something else. She was in the truck and back on the road when it dawned on her to look at the speedometer. She was doing eighty. She hadn’t realized the old truck could even go that fast as she removed her foot from the gas pedal.

  Sally let the truck pull off the road for a moment until she quit shaking. She needed to think things through. Not every black wild cat in the world would mean it was him. Besides, other than in a dream state, she hadn’t really seen him shift.

  Still, as she got back on the road, she could only think of gold eyes. She hated to leave Jim out in the cold the same way the last bookkeeper had done, but she didn’t see that she had a choice. She didn’t want to take a chance for two reasons. She didn’t want to get into trouble with the law by laundering his money. Second, she didn’t want to go through the erotic sensation of what had happened when the bastard bit her. She wasn’t going to let either one happen again.

  Even if this was some poor lost bobcat, she was not sticking around to find out. She parked the truck, went in through the back door, and left a sticky note on the computer screen.

  Sorry Jim, you were great. I have problems, so I am out of here. Sally

  From there, she went to her apartment packed her tote and backpack. Sally left anything that did not fit comfortably. She took what cash she had hidden, went down the back stairs across the lot behind, and turned down the alley to the next county road. She walked on the county road until she got close to the edge of town. A pickup truck pulled up.

  “Hey, Sally, need a ride?”

  She looked over to find it was one of the guys that helped Jim once in a while. He was from the reservation, so he was probably heading home.

  “Yes, I need to get up to the Casino, but the bus service doesn’t go there. Jim’s old truck finally went bonzo. He’s out with a fishing tour, so it’s up to me. I don’t want to let him down.” She smiled at him.

  “Well, I wasn’t going to go that far, but what the hell, it won’t take that long, get in. I’ll run you up.”

  She dumped her stuff in back and got in as he took off. “So, what? Jim sending you up there to wait for some tourists? I hate the ones that come in up there. Too much money and too little sense.”

  She laughed at him as she agreed. “I’m tired already, plus he has me taking them some of their equipment. These guys are real losers. How are things going?”

  Sally sat back, letting him talk. She tried to give the right comments at the right time. She already had a reputation of not being a talker, so he was apparently happy to spend the next couple of hours complaining to a willing ear. Finally, he pulled into the giant parking lot of the glaring Casino. Lights were already blaring to draw in the crowds from the main highway.

  “Hey, don’t fight the crowds, leave me off here.” She thanked him as she got out. Grabbing her stuff, she headed towards the front doors. When she was sure her ride was out of sight, she took a long walk around to the rear of the building where the deliveries were made. She saw a couple of trucks unloading. One was from a commercial bakery, while the other was a refrigerator truck. She decided to wait by the bakery truck, and when the driver came out, she approached him.

  “Hi.”

  He looked over at her giving her a head to toe inspection. “Hey, sweetheart, what cha’ up to?”

  “I am out of money. I need a ride.”

  He nodded his head. “Company policy. Can’t take on passengers, but I can give you five bucks for supper.”

  “No, thanks, I need the ride. I’ll try the guy with the ice cream.” She started around the front of his truck.

  “Hey, look, I am going to leave my door open. Get in. Just keep your head down until we’re on the road. When we reach the city limits of Buffalo, you’ll have to get out, and you’re on your own.” He went to the back of his truck without another word.

  Sally knew it was time to change identities. She looked around, and when she didn’t see anyone, she threw her stuff up onto the seat and grabbed the handle. She was into the truck as fast as possible. She tucked her items on the floor so that she could settle down on them. Actually, it was pretty comfortable, as there was a lot of room under the dash once she released the seat and slid it back. She didn’t say anything when the driver returned, not even looking at her as he settled in, belted up and changed gears to pull out. She was smart enough not to say anything, not to move until he reached over, turned on the radio, and nodded.

  “Okay, sweetheart, get up and relax because in this truck, we have a couple of hours drive before I kick you out. I don’t talk when I drive, so catch a nap.”

  It was as he said. The music was western, and low, the truck was smooth on the highway so she settled down. She didn’t sleep, but she did relax.

  Two hours later, the driver pulled over. Sally rose up, looked around, and saw that they were in an industrial area.

  “Look, this is fairly safe, just don’t hang around here. We are in between work shifts, so it will seem a little quiet. About two blocks that way will take you to a couple of main streets. You can find a bus station not too far away. Good luck.”

  “Thanks so much, you got a good heart.” She slid down from the truck, pulling her two bags behind her. The truck rumbled forward, then immediately turned down a side street. She heard another rumble right behind the truck.

  Sally swung around with her tote at her feet, her backpack only half way on. The big black bike was right there. Evidently, he had followed the truck. He was so close the driver either hadn’t seen him in the mirrors or just hadn’t paid any attention.

  She actually took a second to look around, thinking she might run, but then sucked in a deep breath. She froze instead as he got off, walked around, and reached down, taking her bags. Turning his back to her, he tied them to the back of the bike on each side. He returned to the other side and swung his long legs over. Although he had on dark glasses, she knew he was staring at her.

  “Come around to this side to get on.”

  Sally felt her identity going back to one he knew. Beth. His words also were not a request.

  She wasn’t sure which would take more fortitude—to get on that bike, or try to run. She knew she could not out run him, so finally she walked around. He held out a bent arm that she could hang onto in order to swing over the seat behind him.

  He showed her where to place her feet. “Your best bet is to put your arms around me. Hang on tight, because I drive fast.” That was the only warning he gave her, but it was correct. Sally barely had her arms around him when he applied the speed. She gripped as hard as her muscles could and laid her head against the leather on his back.

  So, here she was—the very place she didn’t want to be. Sally hated motorcycles, she hated him, and she hated being out of control and being used. Right this moment, she hated her life. She would give anything for a stiff drink of that Jack Daniels she had given the Chief.

  The day was quickly fading as the bike sped down a highway that was going north. She was now Beth as she saw road signs that said I-90, so she knew when they crossed into Montana. She ducked back down, protected from the wind that was beginning to get cold, as night settled in. She wondered where he was taking her.

  They passed quickly through a couple of small towns. They turned onto a side road, still paved, that led through the hills covered with forests, making the night darker. They passed homes that were set back as they traveled. The homes were further and further apart. He pulled into a driveway, then up in front of a house that, in the dark, was just a large black shadow. He stopped the bike and killed the motor.

  Beth was shocked as the vibration that had been pulsing through her body quit, but her ass still tingled. He moved around her to begin to take her two items from the bike, so she slipped off the side that tilted downward. He was ignoring her as he took her things and wal
ked up the steps entering the house. She stood, smelling the last of the exhaust drift away. The sweet smell of the large oak trees was adding to the deep darkness overhead.

  There was a low light that came on inside, so she decided to go on in to see where this nightmare was going to take her.

  The house was small. An old A-frame, probably made in the Fifties when A-frames had become popular. This one was in good shape. Someone had done a nice job on the inside. It was small, but complete with the open design of the A-frames. The first level, even though small, felt large because of the high pointed ceiling. The open room sat back under the second level. Under that second level was the kitchen with a couple of doors closed. She later found that thus led to a storage room led out to the back porch. The porch was very large, only partially covered by the extended overhang created by the balcony from the upper level bedroom with the free hanging roof.

  Beth saw that he had just dumped her bags on the floor. He was moving to the rough wooden table by the kitchen bar. There was a fat folder on the table. He pulled it over.

  “Beth, I have created a problem for you that I am sorry about.”

  She looked over at him. This was not what she had expected. He was talking like a normal human. His voice, although low and still sexy, wasn’t threatening. She put her thumbs into her back pockets and sucked on her bottom lip, wondering what the hell was going on.

  She felt his eyes on her for a long moment.

  “Please do not look so enticing. I am trying to do something for you. I am trying to get out of here without throwing you over my shoulder to take you upstairs. Now, help me and listen.” He looked back down at the folder as he opened it.

  His word, upstairs, hung her up. She knew that upstairs had to contain a bed. Shit.

  “Come on Beth, help me. Come over here and let me explain.”

  Okay, she was here in the middle of BF with an animal in man’s clothes. What else could go wrong? She moved over to the other end of the small table.