Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer's Island

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  “How do you know this?”

  Coming out of her daze, Rose looked away, unsure. “I…I don’t know. It all seems familiar some how. Even your beautiful words. They seem familiar to me, as well.”

  Wolf shook his head. It can’t be. It hasn’t happened yet. Has it?

  Wals put his hand gently on the side of her face. She leaned into the warmth. “Well, wherever the pendant came from, however it came to be in the rocks, it belongs to you now. I did mean my words. Wherever they came from,” he added with a smile. “You will always have my heart.” He pulled her close for a lingering kiss to seal his promise.

  When she finally, reluctantly, broke the embrace, she asked if she should touch the red diamond to see if its power worked on her. It was obvious she didn’t believe the tale—Merlin or not. Wolf came to stand next to her, wishing he could take it from her and spare her whatever it might show.

  “If you want to.” Wals didn’t tell her what he had seen. He was still trying to figure out the meaning. “I’m right here. Go ahead.”

  “Do I have to hold it or do something special?”

  “Yeah, you have to hold out your right arm, turn in three circles, say ‘Miska, Mooska, Mouska’…,” he broke off and started to laugh. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself,” when he saw her right arm extend. “No, no, no, you don’t really have to do that. I was just kidding,” he exclaimed when the wolf growled low in his throat. “You just have to touch the gemstone itself. That’s all I did.”

  Wolf moved over closer to Rose again. If she seemed distressed, somehow, some way, he would knock the diamond from her grasp. It seemed to him that Wals thought it was nothing more than a cute parlor trick.

  Rose again picked up the pendant, but this time by the circles in the back. She let out a short scream and dropped it.

  At Wals’ startled look, she smiled coyly. “My turn!” She laughed at the expression on his face and waved him off. “You deserved it!”

  Settling back on the grass, she put a tentative finger on the bright red faceted surface. She was instantly transported…but where? She saw herself swimming in a moat, her feet webbed and orange, a mask of black across her face. In another instant, she was dressed in a blue ball gown. No, it was pink, and waltzing with a red-caped prince. He was very handsome and looked a lot like Wals. The ballroom faded into an angry cloud of smoke and a huge black dragon screamed at her, blowing fire….

  Her hand dropped from the stone on its own. The smoke vanished from her mind and Wals’ intent face was close by, anxious. “Did you see that?” She was still shook by the specter.

  “Are you all right? You went pale.”

  Glancing around at the two anxious faces in front of her, she gave a weak smile. “Yes, I’m fine. Whoever heard of a fire-breathing dragon! What a funny trick.” But, she didn’t look very amused. Before Wals could question her further, she stated they really needed to get back to the camp. The sun was getting lower and Wals could see she was starting to shiver. He just wasn’t sure if it was from the change in temperature or from the vision.

  Arm in arm, the couple walked slowly along the trail on their way back to the Pinewood’s encampment. Wolf trotted ahead of them deep in thought. He knew the Shaman thought the pendant was still in a safe hiding place, but the now the missing pendant had been found. He also needed to tell his father about the treasure Wals had left behind in the cave.

  “We have no need of gold or trinkets,” the Shaman had told him stiffly. “Others lust and kill for those things. They’re of no value to us.”

  “I know that,” Wolf nodded. “But life is more complicated in the other places. That gold and those trinkets are thought to make life easier.”

  “Easy enough to kill for?” The dark eyes regarded his son closely. Wolf had tried to describe his other life, but things such as cars, television, and even Disneyland had no meaning and certainly no interest here. These people proudly lived off the land. Everything they needed was right here. And sometimes the land offered them special items like the feathered hats and fancy wear that had washed ashore from time to time. Even then, the odd items had been shared. No one would dream of harming another for such things.

  Wolf sighed. He, on the other hand, understood having to work for a living in his other time. There was no land to live off of in the middle of a sprawling city. “No, it is certainly not worth killing for. I just wanted you to be aware of what was in the cave and where it was located. If the pirates find some of the coins and a sword missing, they might come looking for them.”

  The Shaman snorted. “They should understand the gesture. Someone stole what they themselves had stolen.”

  The wolf opened his mouth to grin. “I doubt they’ll see it that way.”

  “It matters not what they think. Things have a way of getting back to their rightful owners, like the red gem around the wiya’s neck.”

  Wolf looked closely at him. “Will you explain that, or are you getting all mysterious on me again?”

  His father’s face broke into a wide grin. “I’m the Shaman. I’m supposed to be mysterious.”

  With that, he turned his back to the wolf and strode majestically back into the camp, his face again a mask of seriousness. Wolf looked after him, amused. His father never failed to amaze him.

  Rose balked at staying hidden in the tipi for days on end, only being allowed to venture out at night or on wood-gathering expeditions deep into the forest with the entranced Wals. With her lavender shawl covering her tell-tale blond hair, Rose attempted to help the Cooking Woman at the community fire. It wasn’t very successful, but the amused Cooking Woman appreciated both her efforts and the opportunity to get to know the mysterious wiya from across the River who was being protected by Wolf. The efforts to communicate were getting nowhere, but they had still formed an easy friendship.

  As the days slowly progressed, the four companions became edgy. Only Wolf and the doctor knew exactly what they were waiting for. Not being able to communicate very well with the Pinewoods, Wals and the doctor continued to do what they could to help around camp, not wanting to venture too far away from Rose. Both men now had a vivid memory of the whirlpool that had brought them and sincerely hoped that it wasn’t their only option. If Rose had any memory of her arrival in this time, she never spoke of it. She just knew they were waiting for “something” and that Claude was really not looking forward to it.

  On the fifth day, Wolf got the familiar tingling along his spine. Wals was next to him when he lifted his head and sniffed the air.

  “I wouldn’t do that with all those ducks floating by!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he got the strangest sense of déjà vu. Frowning, he looked at Wolf and remembered saying the same thing to a different Wolf in a different time. He shivered in the growing cold. “Wolf?”

  Wolf turned and looked expectantly at him, tilting his head.

  “I never did ask how you came to have my nametag and the doctor’s lighter tied around your neck, did I?” His eyes were growing a little wide.

  Wolf looked back at the coming fog. It was going to be tonight. Finally. Wolf whined softly and lifted his head toward the storm that rapidly approached the bank.

  Wals broke out of his confused thoughts and saw the fog. It looked just like it had at Disneyland that night. “Is that it? Is that what we’re waiting for?”

  Wolf walked over to the stack of canoes and put his paw on one of them.

  “Oh crap,” Wals muttered. “I was afraid you’d say that. We need to talk, buddy.”

  Wolf’s sharp hearing picked up something else. Though it was muffled by the fog, he could distinctly hear a couple of boats approaching from the direction of the Fort, their oars splashing noisily the water. He knew the boats were not theirs. He gave a low short bark and howl. Immediately joined by Mato and his father, they looked in the direction the wolf indicated, listening intently. Wals still hadn’t heard the noise and was confused by the sudden interest in the foggy River.

  Af
ter a brief conference in which the wolf seemed to play a large part, the two men took a canoe off the stack and placed it securely on the River’s edge. Wolf ran to the back of the camp and returned dragging a protesting Rose with him. When he released her, Rose stood next to Wals, anxiously clutching his hand. Doctor Houser heard the ruckus and came in from the forest to join the others. Giving a shrug at her questioning look, he too wondered what was going on. They could only silently watch as three more canoes were placed in the water that became more and more agitated. Mato and his men, armed with spears and bows and arrows, quickly jumped into their canoes and started paddling toward the approaching boats that now even Wals could hear.

  “It’s the pirates!” Wals yelled over the noise, and immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw fear jump into Rose’s eyes. He tried to give her a reassuring squeeze of the hand.

  Mato’s men were going to try and head off the pirates so Wolf and the others had the time they needed to get away. The Shaman hurried to the back tipi, briefly disappeared inside, and emerged with Wals’ elaborate sword and the doctor’s black medicine bag.

  Wolf pushed Rose to the remaining canoe, Wals and Claude following. “Can you paddle?” Wals handed her an oar. She gave a fearful glance at the braves’ canoes that were being swallowed up by the fog. The pirates could barely see Mato and the other braves come toward them, and knew there was no longer any need for secrecy and quiet. They let out blood-curdling yells and curses as all the vessels neared each other at far too fast a pace.

  Nodding in response to Wals’ question, the frightened, yet determined Rose grabbed the paddle. “Yes, but I’d rather have my musket.” She climbed unsteadily to the front seat with Doctor Houser right behind her. Wolf jumped in the middle of the wobbling canoe as the Shaman gave some parting words to his son and handed the tarnished sword and the medical bag to Wals with a curt nod, saying, “Doka.”

  When they were shoved far enough out into the water, Wals dug in deeply, paddling as hard and as fast as he could. With growing trepidation, he steered the canoe directly toward the densest part of the fog that started to swirl over the green water, away from the conflict on the river behind them. Over the roar of the wind that suddenly sprang up, they could hear shots being fired as the first bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Distracted, Wals turned to look back at the battle. Wolf had to break his silence and yell at him. “Paddle, Wals! Paddle like you did before! Go!”

  With a look of panic and recognition, Wals’ head jerked back around to stare at the wolf for a long moment and then applied himself to his job. He aimed straight for the black water and could see the odd pink sparkles starting to fall from the heaving sky.

  Trying to paddle, sweeping more water into the canoe and onto Wolf, Rose let out a terrified scream when a jagged streak of lightning hit the water and came straight at them.

  Daniel Crain, in the middle of the lead boat, waved his sword and urged the pirates to row even faster. Ignoring him, the men did what pirates were supposed to do and pulled out their own swords and knives when the yells of the braves got louder and closer.

  When the first arrow flew past his head, Daniel gave a frightened yell and dropped to the bottom of the boat. His shipmates, seeing that he had deserted his post, started cursing him, shouting at him to get up and fight like a man. As he attempted to regain his composure, they called him a coward and one of them angrily cuffed him in the head.

  “Yeah, but I’m a living coward,” he muttered under his breath as another arrow found its target and lodged in the neck of the one who had hit him.

  Knowing it was not going as well as he had promised the men it would, he realized he would probably be the next target if he stayed in the boat. Daniel moved to the edge of his boat and was just about to throw himself into the water. With wide eyes, he saw it as it was flying through the air—just like in that nightmare he had had on Tom Sawyer’s Island…. With sudden mental clarity, his previous life came rushing into his jumbled mind. That conniving niece of his, Kimberly, she had been the cause of all his problems! And that playboy Lance. He should have hit him harder with that rock…. All this swept through his mind as that flaming arrow arched over the bow of the little boat and headed right at him. Jerking to the side, the arrow just missed its target and lodged into the bottom of the boat, setting it on fire. Flinging himself over the side, the water immediately engulfed him. Not caring about the screams coming from his shipmates dealing with their burning transport, Daniel saw, way up in front of him on the River, the swirling nightmare that he now remembered as the maelstrom that had brought him to this wretched place.

  Ignoring the calls and curses from his mates who were in a pitched battle with the braves, he swam as fast as he could. That had to be the way home! He could now clearly see a canoe heading directly into that whirlpool and the blond head in front, paddling for her life.

  “Kimberly!” he spat out. Using hatred to propel him, he struggled but kept swimming in the choppy water. He was getting closer and closer, spitting out water as he went under, but never losing sight of that canoe.

  Just then, the lightning struck the water and he saw the canoe disappear. With a loud, “No!” he continued his frantic push toward the bright light with all his remaining strength. The canoe vanished, but the lightning didn’t stop. It seemed to turn and bend and, suddenly, it struck right in front of him. Terrified, Daniel rethought his actions and tried, just as frantically, to turn back, to get away from the yawning bowels of Hades.

  Still fighting the current, he managed to turn around, his arms flailing as he tried to get to the shore of the Island. Eyes wide with fright, Daniel saw the bow of a canoe come out of the smoke and fog. Hoping it was his friends coming to rescue him, he yelled. “Over here! Help!” The words died on his lips when he realized it was Mato’s face that materialized out of the mist. Daniel saw the arrow notched in Mato’s bow and knew it was pointed straight at his heart. He then saw the fingers holding the notched shaft of the arrow release.

  That was his last observation when the lightning hit him with a direct, blinding flash.

  Disneyland – 2008

  A small canoe was half submerged under the low-hanging branches that reached over the slow-moving Rivers of America in Frontierland. One broken paddle bobbed quietly in the mist-shrouded. Wals once again awakened near the rocks of Keel Boat Rapids and managed to pull himself onto the clearing in front of Rose’s cabin. Clutching the other paddle in a white-knuckled death grip, Wals struggled to regain his equilibrium and get to his feet. Head swirling, he dropped back to the ground and could only lie there, staring at the familiar scene. The split-rail fence zig-zagged over the yard. The brown mare stood in her paddock. A few barrels stood next to the open front door. Some laundry was pinned to the sagging clothesline. The body of Uncle Jed bent backward over the fence, an arrow piercing his heart. But there was no smoke rising from the chimney on the side of the little log cabin. It all looked so small to him. “Rose?” He tried to call out, but only managed a croak out of his dry throat. He remembered hearing screams and wondered if had been him. He stared at the horse. Sukawaka hadn’t moved. Eyes closed again, he tried to stop the spinning in his mind. It’s not real, his mind told him,his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. It’s supposed to be real!

  “Wals? Wake up. Are you all right, man?”

  At the familiar voice, Wals opened his eyes a slit. Had he fallen asleep? First seeing the tarnished sword, he weakly reached out to touch the engraving. Why are my initials on it? He couldn’t remember. Dr. Houser bent over him, an anxious look on his dripping face. The doctor’s wide eyes betrayed how shook he himself was, but he was still trying to help his friend who had been unconscious. The black medical bag was over to the right, apparently forgotten in the confusion they had just experienced. Neither man knew what to tell the other. Were they all right? At this point they couldn’t have said.

  A loud groan broke the uneasy silence. Wolf was sitting next to them on the grassy clear
ing. Mani Wolford’s right thigh was wrapped in a soaked bandage.

  “Why are you always naked on Tom Sawyer’s Island?” Wals managed to ask in a voice that was finally starting to clear. His eyes drifted to the odd white hair in the middle of Wolf’s muscular chest. Not wanting to put the obvious two and two together, he shut his eyes again. Maybe there would be clarity in the darkness. “Where’s Rose? Did she make it through that inferno? And what happened to the wolf? Where’d he go?”

  Wolf rubbed his aching leg. “I can’t find Rose. I’ve gone over as much of the River as I could. I’m not sure where she went.”

  Dr. Houser stood on shaky legs and walked over to the edge of the River. His first thought was how small it all seemed. He noticed a lump of what might have been a lavender dress submerged near the rocks. In a panic, thinking Rose was trapped under the water, he splashed out to help, only to find it was just the dress along with her white chemise. Dazed, he could only stare at the clothes, unsure what to do or say to the others.

  Wals hadn’t noticed what Claude had found, and struggled into a sitting position, his eyes wide. Momentarily forgetting the necessity to locate Rose, he stared at his friend Mani. “The wolf. You didn’t mention finding the wolf.” His heart started pounding again as he stared at Wolf’s intense blue eyes. “Your leg is hurt…that white hair….” Starting to freak out, his head shook side to side. “No, this can’t be. This kinda stuff doesn’t happen in real life.” He wanted to back away, but didn’t have the strength. Unconsciously, his fingers closed around the hilt of the sword. “Tell me it isn’t what I think it is.”

  Looking down at his leg, Wolf could see blood seeping through the dirty, soaked bandage. How am I going to explain this to First Aid? He had hoped Wals would have figured it out before they came back like the doctor did and they wouldn’t have to go through it now. No such luck. He looked in the direction of the Friendly Village, unseen through the dense trees. He didn’t want to lose his best friend. He gave a silent sigh. What happens happens. He kept his eyes on his leg. “Yeah, I’m afraid it is what you think.” His voice was quiet. “I am a wolf in that alternate time.”