The wolf slicked her lips back over her teeth and snapped at Anton. He looked at her, startled. “Nowen? Are you in there? God, what did they do to you? Do you even remember me?” The wolf snarled and speared him with her eyes. She knew this one. He had lied to her and the other and led them into this trap, and if she were free she would gladly kill him.
Anton pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket and began to try each one in the lock that kept the cage door shut. “Nowen, if you can hear me, I’m sorry. I used you. For what it’s worth, Isaac used me. Almost everything I told you was a lie. Isaac’s been looking for you for a long time. Zoe did tell them about you, and I did meet them in our little suburb...but they’re not as nice as they name makes them sound. They rolled into our street like invading soldiers. They killed a lot of people; the Kaminski brothers, all the elderly people, and anyone who was sick or tried to fight back.”
He stopped speaking for a moment, staring absently at the key he was trying to force into the lock. The wolf sat, listening to as much as she understood of what the blonde-furred man was saying. He continued. “They gathered together those of us who were left, and said we were coming with them. No ifs, ands or buts. Isaac pulled me aside and said he had a job for me. He took me into one of their trailers, and showed me what that white-haired woman could do. I thought I was going crazy. He introduced me to Zoe, and told me that I would be responsible for bringing this black wolf to New Heaven.”
Anton looked at the wolf. “They had been watching you for a while. They thought the best way to you was to use a single person, and entice you with the chance that someone knew who you were. And that you weren’t the only one out there.” He dropped his eyes. The key ring fell with a jingle to the concrete. “I didn’t have a choice! Isaac had my mother. He said he’d kill her if I didn’t do what he wanted. I’m sorry. I couldn’t...my mother was everything to me.” Blindly he groped for the keys. “But when I got you here, and even brought those extra guns because I thought it would make them happy...she was dead. Isaac killed her not long after I left them in Colorado.” Anton looked at the wolf and she knew the rage in his eyes was the same as in hers. “So. I’m gonna let you out, and we’re gonna kill that bastard.”
The burning lights snapped on. Both the wolf and Anton flinched in surprise. The door to the small hut swung open and the thin male entered. He was alone, and as the door swung shut behind him he walked slowly toward the cage, his arms tucked behind him. He halted in front of Anton, and the blonde-furred human didn’t even try to rise. The thin male shook his bony head slowly from side to side.
“Oh, Anton. What do you think you are doing?”
The wolf watched as Anton’s hands clenched into fists. Tears were in his voice as he looked up at the other human. “I did everything you asked! Everything! I convinced her to come with me, I made sure that she could turn into a wolf, I-I-I brought you guns-”
“Anton.”
“-and you killed her! Why did you do that?”
“Anton.”
“She was counting on me, and I let her down. And now I’m going to let Nowen loose and watch as she rips your throat out like she did that white-haired bitch!”
“Anton. You are so foolish.” The thin male nodded at the wolf. “You plead with a wild animal. Nowen is gone. Perhaps she was weak, and found an escape the only way she knew how - by losing her human side in the wolf side. But even if Nowen was there, what makes you think she would help you? Do you know that she never even asked about you, or that red-haired woman, or that little girl? Did you learn nothing in your travels with her? Nowen cares only about herself. It is probably a good thing that she is gone. The wolf, while baser in her desires, is more honest.”
Anton looked at the wolf. She stared back and then her attention turned to the thin male as he stood behind Anton. He was bringing his arms out from behind his back and something long and pointed gleamed with a metallic shine in one hand. He spoke. “Anton, you are a fool, and you are no longer useful.”
A look of puzzlement crossed Anton’s face and was suddenly chased away by waves of pain. He grunted, softly, and raised trembling hands to the sharp point that protruded from his chest. Blood dripped from the metal. The thin male took a step forward and more of the metal slid out from Anton’s body. He looked down at his chest and then back up at the wolf. Thick red blood ran from his mouth and nose. His eyes grew distant, and his head sagged forward as his body collapsed to the side.
The thin male pulled the sharp object free of Anton. He looked at the wolf. She snarled and bit at the cage bars, her hatred of this human stoked to fever pitch by the smell of blood. He smiled. “It has been almost two weeks since you fed, yes? You are very hungry. I will give you a little gift.”
The thin male called out, words that the wolf didn’t understand. Two other humans entered the hut. The thin male directed them to the body, and at his orders they positioned it so one arm lay over the head. This arm they slid through the bars of the cage. The humans left and the thin male looked down at the wolf. He raised the sharp object and ran the point down Anton’s arm. The skin split and blood oozed slowly from the cut. “There.” he said, and stepped back. “You are hungry. There is food.” The thin male laughed and walked away. As he left the hut the bright lights winked out.
The wolf was alone in the gloom, and the smell of blood and fresh meat filled the air. She licked her lips and looked at the human’s arm.
Book Two
Chapter Fourteen
The wolf lay on her side at the back of the cage. The hillock of her ribs sloped down to the gaunt valley of her flanks, the bones visible through her staring fur. In the darkness of the hut the drip of water from the hose was more audible than her breathing. A scattering of white fragments, all that was left of Anton’s arm, surrounded her. The bones had been gnawed on and cracked open with even the marrow completely removed.
The wolf’s eyes were closed. Her ears twitched as distant sounds made their way to her, but her mind was far afield. She sought escape in her memories, where she ran free and unfettered across the prairies and mountains of home. As she traveled deeper into her mind she brushed occasionally across the dim spark of the other. But humans brought only pain and fear, and she turned away from the other and back to her memories.
Footsteps approached the hut’s door and the wolf dragged her eyes open a slit. Her body tensed; would the humans, and the thin male, come in? Would they drag her from the cage and beat her this time, or jab her with poles until she fought back, which would give them another reason to beat her? She heard herself whining, a low and fearful sound that she couldn’t stop. The steps passed without stopping and she relaxed back into her daze. Sometimes the thin male came by himself and talked to the wolf. He seemed to be expecting something from her but she didn’t understand his words anymore. The other’s influence had faded and the wolf’s understanding of human concepts had faded too. She didn’t know how long she had been in the cage. Time had become a nebulous stream that bled one day into the next.
The wolf was deep in a memory of running through a moonlit forest, chasing the night wind that soughed through the treetops, when she was startled awake by a noise. Wearily she opened her eyes and looked around the hut. The interior was completely dark. The noise came again and the wolf’s heart began to thud sickly in her chest. The door to the hut was opening.
In the widening space as the door was pulled back the wolf could see glimpses of the night sky between the trees. A faint and artificial glow in the distance limned the small shape in the doorway. The wolf smelled the hated scent of human, and terror iced her veins. The door slowly shut, cutting off the outside, and the she was alone in the dark with the human.
Panic warred with despair as the wolf tried to pull herself to her feet. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate, her body torn between the need to escape and the knowledge that there was no escape. The human came closer, speaking softly. The wolf, locked in the absoluteness of her fear of the pain that the
human would bring, dragged herself to the far back of the cage. She turned her head away from the human, a desperate, pleading whine rising from her throat. Still the human came closer, and then a hand stroked down her shoulder.
The wolf could stand no more. She yelped, once, and collapsed in a boneless heap. She was trapped, the pain would start, the thin male would yell at her, there would be more pain-her frantic, racing mind froze. There was one place she could go. One place where the humans and their frightening, confusing world could no longer hurt her. She turned her mind inward, and fled to the depths of her consciousness. She came to where the other used to keep her caged, but now the cage was gone and a deeply shadowed cave was in its place. The wolf plunged into the cave, sweeping past the other who stood at the opening, and kept running until all her senses were lost in the blackest of nights.
Nowen heard someone calling her from a far distance. She felt the wolf’s presence pass her as she walked the endless paths through the darkness of their shared mind. She barely had time to register what was happening and then her consciousness was pulled along like a leaf in a stream and she found herself back in her body. She opened her eyes.
Everything was unfamiliar, unknowable and unknown. She blinked and then the world dropped into place. She remembered where she was. And then she remembered everything that had happened to the wolf. Her body jerked uncontrollably as it fought to reconcile the recent agony of cracked ribs and bruised limbs with the lack of pain now.
Someone called her name again. She recognized the voice. Sage. Nowen opened her mouth to answer; all that came out was a harsh rasping. She moved her head to look at the girl and it was like trying to swim through molasses. Finally she could just make out Sage’s silhouette against the deeper black of the dark hut.
The gentle touch of the girl’s fingers traced across Nowen’s brow. “Nowen, can you hear me?” Sage whispered. With effort Nowen managed to nod her head. The girl sighed in relief. “I’m going to get you out of here, ok? But we have to hurry. We don’t have much time. Do you understand?” Nowen nodded again. The girl said nothing more but moved to the front of the cage. There was a quiet jingle of metal and the heavy lock fell free. It landed with a ‘thump’ on the concrete floor and the door swung open silently.
Sage leaned in through the opening and grasped Nowen’s hands. The girl pulled and Nowen pushed with her feet, and then she was free of the cage. “Can you stand up?” Sage asked. I hope so.
It took a couple of minutes and the aid of both the girl and the cage, but finally Nowen stood on shaky legs. There was a small rustling sound and then a bundle of fabric was shoved into her hands. “Here. Something for you to wear.” Sage said, and then darted to the exit. Weak light came through the opening door as Sage peered out at the night.
Nowen leaned against the cage and shook open the bundle. It looked like a long nightgown or shift of some heavy material and she pulled it on with care. A slight breezed slipped into the hut and she shivered. The air is cold. How long have I been gone? The girl was back at her side, sliding an arm around her and easing her upright. Did I shrink or is Sage taller? They moved toward the door at a halting pace as Nowen fought to coordinate her legs and arms; the urge to drop to all fours was strong.
They paused in the doorway. Nowen looked at Sage as the girl carefully examined their surroundings. The lost and withdrawn child she remembered was gone, replaced by a calm, composed, and alert young person. She looks older. And she is taller. Damn, how long have I been gone? Evidently Sage saw nothing to worry about. She pointed away from the hut and the larger clearing behind them. “This way. Careful.” Her arm tightened around Nowen’s side and they moved into the quiet night.
Their path took them through stands of trees. Nowen’s body was hers to command again but she felt very weak, and tired quickly. The rough forest floor hurt her feet with every step and to Sage’s evident dismay their pace slowed to just above a crawl. Still she stayed with Nowen, and by the time they had reached the thinning edge of the forest Nowen was leaning heavily on the girl and knew she would not have made it even this far without Sage’s help.
A rutted dirt road, really not much more than a path, lay before them. Off to the left of their position was the majority of New Heaven. The rumble of generators carried through the still air, and the glow of artificial lights rose above the trees. Something seemed amiss to Nowen. She turned to Sage and forced a question from her rough throat. “Guards?”
Sage smiled, her teeth flashing white in the dim light. “There aren’t that many, honestly. They don’t patrol that far at night. Also, I’m not alone in this, you know. I’ve got help, keeping an eye on the guards.”
“Anton?” Nowen asked without thinking. A flash of memory, Anton bleeding out on the floor of the hut, hit her like a thunderbolt. She almost gagged on the sudden rush of bile that flooded her throat.
The smile faded from Sage’s face and the girl looked away. “No. Someone else.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes. Nowen realized she was still leaning heavily on the girl and pulled herself upright. Sage turned to her and was opening her mouth to say something when she froze. Her head was tilted to one side in a listening pose. Suddenly her face lit up. “Here she comes!” she whispered and looked toward the dirt path. Nowen did the same, only now hearing the soft tread of footsteps approaching.
A woman walked into view, and even in the wash of faint starlight Nowen could see the waves of pale red hair that flowed around the shadowed face. “Suzannah?” she croaked, surprised. The woman turned at the sound and ran toward them.
“Oh, thank God, there you are! Come on, come on, let’s go!” Suzannah grabbed Sage’s arm.
“Where’s the car?!” Sage asked.
Suzannah waved her free hand behind her. “Just down the road. Move your asses, both of you! I don’t know how long Viktor will be out of it!”
Sage pulled her arm free and hooked it back around Nowen’s waist. “It better not be too far away - I don’t think Nowen can take much more. Here, help me with her.”
Suzannah stepped up to Nowen’s other side. “Shit! You look like five miles of bad road.” Sage hissed. The redhead slid her arm around Nowen’s waist just above the girl’s grasp. “Sorry, sorry. But it’s true. Come on, honey, let’s get you to the car.”
Nowen felt as if she were in a waking dream. “Wait...wait,” she said through a throat full of broken glass. “Why are you helping me? Who’s Viktor?”
Suzannah snorted. “This is no time for questions. Just hold on to them.” She and Sage started off along the rough road and Nowen was dragged along with them. Thankfully the car, an old hulk, was not far away. Suzannah opened the back door and eased Nowen in. The upholstery was cracked and faded but, after the iron bars and concrete floor, it felt as soft as goose down.
Sage sat in the passenger seat and Suzannah slid behind the wheel. For all its bad appearance the old car started up smoothly and silently. Suzannah eased it into gear and they rolled slowly down the rutted road.
Nowen’s eyes were drifting shut when Sage gasped in alarm. She forced them open and leaned forward to see what was going on. Suzannah was driving without the headlights on but it made no difference, since they were heading toward the gates of New Heaven and the generator-powered lights illuminated the road.
Sage was looking at Suzannah. “What are you doing? We’re supposed to be going away from this place!” the girl whispered, as if afraid that her voice would carry outside the car.
“Sage, sweetie, calm down. We have to go this way...the other end of this shitty road is impassable. It dead-ends at a big ravine. We go this way, we can be on the highway in ten minutes.”
“But, the guards! We’ll go right by the gates-”
Suzannah laughed wickedly. “Oh, I got a way to take care of that. Hand me that bag there on the floor.”
From her position in the back Nowen watched as Sage passed a crumpled paper bag to Suzannah. The entrance to New Heaven w
as getting closer, and Nowen shivered at the thought of being captured again. The taste of fear was bright and sharp in her mouth. I won’t go back in that cage. I’ll kill myself first.
Suzannah eased the car to a complete stop. The road here was still thickly wooded and they were shielded from view for the moment. Metal fence poles that supported thick wood panels came from the forest and marched alongside the road. The redhead was studying the fence, murmuring to herself. Nowen realized she was counting the poles.
Suzannah opened her door and stepped out. She pulled something out of the bag, and Nowen watched with confusion as the woman held the object, a stocky tube, in her hands. Suddenly one end of the tube flared brightly, spitting sparks and smoke. Suzannah threw it over the fence and then jumped back in the car.
“What was that for?” Sage asked. Nowen could hear the uncertainty in the girl’s voice and she tensed in response. Is Suzannah getting the guards’ attention?
“Just wait, honey.” Even without seeing her face Nowen could tell the woman was smiling.
A rattling sound came from behind the fence. Nowen looked in that direction. The sound died. Suzannah lowered the window and leaned her head out. Her disappointment was evident when she spoke. “Huh. I thought there’d be more noise, or something. You know, ladies, we might have to make a run for it through the woods -”
A massive boom shocked Suzannah into silence and then the air was filled with flying debris. A rain of wood and metal crashed down onto the car. Wild flames of orange and yellow raced away from the destroyed fence and into the heart of New Heaven. Suzannah whooped as she threw the car into gear, and the force of their launch pushed Nowen back into her seat.
The old car tore down the road, jolting over the edge where ruts turned to pavement. Through the open window came the sounds of people shouting, alarms blaring, and more ear-rattling explosions. “What did you do?!” Sage screamed as they raced past the entrance to New Heaven.
Wolf Hiding (A Wolf in the Land of the Dead Book 2) Page 10
