“No, you’re not going to kill it.”
Fletch was shocked that he would even think such a thing. Cane was a wolf shifter and he wanted to kill a real wolf.
“Look, Fletcher, this is a wild wolf cub, not a shifter. It’s not going to grow up and become the woman of your dreams. It will never survive on its own. Let me put it down and we can be on our way.”
“Sorry, I’m not going with you, I’m staying here.”
“Charles asked me to pick you up and take you to him. He was going to help you with the situation you’re in.”
“What situation?”
“Leaving your job, flying without a license, flying an uncertified helicopter. Shall I go on?” Cane was getting annoyed and wanted to get moving.
“Look, I appreciate you saving my ass, but I’m not ready to go back. I’ve been through a lot of shit over this past year and I think I’ll stay out here for a while.”
When he found the tracking beacon, he threw it as far away as he could.
“Tell Charles, thank you. Tell him I’ll contact him when I’m ready. Thank your team for me, I’m glad you showed up when you did.”
Cane knew his mind was made up.
“Alright. Do you have any supplies?”
“No, I can hunt.”
“Bullshit. I know you won’t trust me enough to walk back to the chopper with me. I’ll drop a bag for you, and you can pick it up after we’re gone. There are some extra clothes and some k-rations. That’s the best I can do.”
“Thanks, man.”
“I’ll tell Charles the wolf is dead, and you needed some time off. The rest is up to you. Catch you when we catch you.”
Cane gave him a salute and took off through the woods.
Fletch looked at the little wolf cub, she had climbed into his pack. He heard the helicopter take off. “It’s just you and me, kid. We’re on our own.”
The little pup looked at him and whimpered.
“I’ll be right back.”
Fletch ran to get the bag Cane had promised. He carried it back to where he left his backpack and the cub. He picked up his backpack with the cub still in it.
“We can’t stay here, little one, we want to get as far away from that dead wolf as possible. It’s going to attract all kinds of nasty critters.”
Fletch carried the cub and hiked through the woods until it was almost dark. He finally found a sheltered spot to camp for the night. He had stayed close to the stream so they would have water to drink. He built a small campfire and knew the k-rations would have a small cook pot. He warmed up some water from the stream so he could clean the wounds on the cub. At first, she tried to bite him, but finally realized Fletch wasn’t trying to hurt her.
After caring for the wolf cub, he fixed a packet of dehydrated stew. He thought it was terrible, but the cub liked it.
“Well, little one, I think we should get some sleep, what do you think?”
The little cub looked up at him and as if she could understand, answered with a giant yawn.
“Okay,” Fletch chuckled, “I agree.”
Fletch undressed and placed his carefully folded clothes into his backpack.
“Now, don’t panic.”
Fletch laughed, he was talking to a wolf cub. He shifted to his bear and laid on the ground. The cub yipped and jumped backwards. She sat looking at the bear. She growled and slowly approached it and sniffed. When she realized the man and bear where one, she scooted up to him as close as she could get. The bear gently pulled the cub close to keep her warm and they went to sleep.
Chapter 30
Things were very quiet around the Idaho Air Rescue. No one mentioned Bradley Fletcher or Weston Cruz. Shannon was getting around on her own, she had another week before the stitches came out. When she was on the ground floor, she used the wheelchair. She had taken quite a wallop to the back of her head when she fell. The doctor didn’t want to take the chance of her getting dizzy and maybe falling again.
It was early on the fourth day after Shannon had been rescued and Kenney had returned without Fletch. The phone in the office rang. Shannon, Kenney, and Stan, all tried to hear if it was something important but none of them could hear what was being said. Finally, they heard Gary say; ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ and they waited.
Gary came out of the office and down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom step.
“That was Charles McCormick. The wolf is dead.” He looked at Shannon. “Weston Cruz is no longer a threat. You’re safe now.”
“What about Fletch?” Kenney asked.
“He has requested time off.”
“For how long?” Shannon finally found her voice. “Is he alright?”
“I don’t know. I asked McCormick to let Fletcher know that he still had a job. He didn’t think he would be hearing from him for a while.”
“Well, at least we know he’s still alive,” Stan said, relieved. “Now I might be able to get some sleep.”
No one said anything, but they had all lost sleep worrying about Bradley Fletcher.
“Do you know what happened?” Shannon asked.
“Why don’t we all go into the kitchen and get some coffee; I’ll tell you what I know.” They all followed Gary.
Stan fixed coffee, while Kenney brought coffee cake to the table. Once they were settled, they waited.
Gary sipped his coffee, then set down his cup.
*****
Bradley Fletcher took it upon himself to follow Weston Cruz. We already knew that. Not knowing the area, Fletcher thought they were going in circles. By the middle of the third day, yesterday, Fletcher realized they were headed back here.
Because the dumb shit forgot to charge his phone, he had turned it off to save what battery he had left. When he turned on his phone, he barely had enough battery to call Charles McCormack. He told Charles that Shannon was still in danger. He felt Cruz was on his way here to kill her.”
Shannon was speechless. Fletch had placed himself in danger for her. Gary continued.
“Fletcher asked Charles to send someone to get him. He wanted to get back here to warn us.”
“So why isn’t he here?” one of them asked.
“I’m not sure. Once the wolf was dead, maybe he felt he no longer needed to rush back.”
Before Shannon could question him, he continued.
“Shannon, I don’t know why he didn’t return, other than he needed some time off. Fletcher has a history that you are not aware of, and knowing that history, I don’t blame him for wanting the time off.”
“What history?”
“I'm afraid that is something only Fletcher can tell you.”
Shannon looked around.
“You all know, don’t you?”
“Yes, we do,” Gary replied, “only because he told us voluntarily of his own accord in confidence.”
“That’s not fair, I want to know.”
“Sorry Shannon, you’ll have to ask Fletcher.”
“Well, he’s not here, is he?” Shannon was getting pissed.
“No, he’s not, and I wasn’t finished. May I continue?”
Shannon opened her mouth to complain but snapped her mouth shut.
“Thank you.”
Gary sipped his coffee again and took a breather before continuing.
“First of all, Weston Cruz was a psychopathic killer. He was locked up in a mental hospital for murdering his parents. He felt they deserved to be punished for making him a freak. He hated them for what he was. When he was caught, he told everyone that the wolf killed them; he had nothing to do with their deaths. Naturally, they declared him insane, unfit to stand trial.”
“Why didn’t he just show them his wolf?” Stan asked.
“He might have eventually. I'm sure he showed the real Weston Cruz just before he killed him.”
“So, who was he?” Shannon asked.
“His real name was Barnabas Green. Like so many shifters before him, he was put up for adoption at birth. His shifter status was never disclos
ed or was never known. He didn’t know anything about shifters, which we are finding out is quite common. He didn’t know what he was, and it drove him mad. When Barnabas confronted Fletcher in the shop, Fletcher shifted into his bear. That must have confused him terribly.”
“But why did he attack me? I didn’t know anything about him being a shifter.”
“All we can surmise is that when you refused to answer his calls and messages, he associated you with all the people that had betrayed him. His real mother and father, his adopted parents, the doctors. You were very lucky to get away from him when you did. Excuse me for a moment.”
Gary took a quick break. When he returned, he brought everyone a bottle of water.
“All right, I want to finish this. Barnabas Green left a trail of bodies in his wake. It started long before he ever met Shannon. The doctor that treated you at Angel’s Hospital was lucky. The staff got suspicious after a couple of nurses went missing and called authorities. If the police hadn’t shown up when they did, Dr. Myers could have been added to the list of casualties. Unfortunately, Barnabas got away.”
“So, how did he find me?”
“Adrianna Colfax worked in the personnel office at NY General Hospital. He used his charm to find out where you were through her. She had no idea he was using her. He was a dashingly handsome man, probably promising her the world and then some.”
“He had me fooled. She actually brought him here?” Shannon was shocked.
“She did. Once he found you, he had no further use for her. She wasn’t the only one to get fooled by him. She was lucky EMT’s arrived when they did.”
“So, it’s really over.”
“Yes, it is really over”
“Is there any way to contact Fletch?” Stan asked.
“No. Apparently, the agent that located him, told him about the tracker in his backpack.”
“He had a beacon?”
“Kenny, care to explain how he managed to have a tracking beacon?” Gary asked.
“When I walked back to Grumpy, after you picked up Shannon, I found it on the side of the road.”
“I dropped the one I had,” Shannon mentioned, “and I couldn’t go back to look for it. I had to get away from there.”
“Just before we split up,” Kenney continued, “I gave him a hug to say goodbye and dropped it in his pack. I called Charles McCormick and gave him the frequency of the tracker, just in case.”
“Then we can track him,” Shannon said excitedly.
Gary shook his head.
“He found the tracker in his backpack and tossed it. The only thing you would find in the vicinity of that beacon is a dead wolf.”
Shannon gave Gary the oddest look.
“I don’t understand. Wouldn’t we find Weston’s body? Barnabas? Whoever he was?”
“Let me give you a lesson on shifters. When a shifter is killed in its animal form, it remains an animal. Barnabas had shifted to attack Fletcher. If he had been killed in his human form, they would have brought his body back to the authorities. As things stand, they will report that Barnabas is dead, and they were unable to retrieve his remains.”
“Wow. What about his phone? Fletch has his phone.” Shannon wasn’t going to give up.
“McCormick said it was dead. He can’t even call us if he wanted to.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“We have breakfast, I’m starving.”
Shannon rolled her eyes.
“Shannon, all we can do is wait and hope he comes home.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Oh, he’ll come back if he wants to free our hostages.”
Everyone stared at Gary.
“His precious helicopters.”
Chapter 31
Fletch woke to something tugging on his fur. When he opened his eyes, the little wolf was tugging away. Fletch shifted and the change caused the wolf cub to jump away.
Hey, little one,” Fletch said with a chuckle, “good morning. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to seeing me shift.”
Hearing his voice, the cub instantly ran forward and cuddled up to her new friend, sticking her cold nose under his arm.
“Hey, I’m awake. Your nose is cold. I imagine you’re hungry.
The cub cocked her head to the side.
“Alright, let me relieve myself and get dressed.”
While Fletch took care of business, the cub walked off a bit and squat, taking care of her own business. When she was done, she returned to Fletch.
“Let me take a look at you. You had some nasty puncture wounds.” Fletch looked for any signs of infection. “You know you are a lucky little one.”
The cub licked his hand.
“Hang on, I’ve got something.” Fletch pulled some beef jerky out of his pack. While she chewed on her treat, he looked around.
“Looks like we have a long walk ahead of us, little one. I guess, if we’re going to be traveling companions, I should give you a name. My Grandma used to call me ‘Piccolo’,” he chuckled, “it means ‘little one’. I think she would approve. I think it’s a sign; what do you think?”
Piccolo swallowed the last of her treat and licked her lips.
Fletch made sure his fire pit was cold. He spread out the ashes, checking for hot spots. He didn’t want to start a forest fire.
“Okay, Piccolo, time to get moving.”
The cub didn’t move.
“Alright, into the backpack. You are kind of small for a long trek through the forest, I don’t want you falling off the mountain side. He left the flap open so Piccolo could look out. Most of the time she slept.
By the end of the day, Fletch was ready for a decent meal. The last thing he wanted to eat was another K-ration. He came to a small lake and hoped he could catch a couple of fish.
Fletch brought out his compact survival kit. Piccolo watched her new friend.
“Shall we see if I can catch us some dinner.”
Fletch tied some fishing line with a hook to a long stick. He walked along the shore looking for bugs. He was in luck; he was able to snatch a fat grasshopper.
Fletch sat on the shore and threw his line into the water. Piccolo ran to the water's edge, looking for the grasshopper.
“No, you don’t want that.”
Piccolo gave him a look that said, “yes I do".
Fletch thought about his life as he sat there. He thought about his grandfather, his friends, all the things that happened over the last couple of years. He thought about Shannon. If she didn’t know what he was by now, it was time she knew. Just when Fletch was about to give up fishing, he got a hit. He pulled in a large trout.
“Ha, ha, would you look at that. Dinner!”
Piccolo was ready to grab the fish and take off but Fletch beat her to it.
“Oh no you don’t, we’re going to share. I’ll have to teach you some manners.”
He cleaned the fish and gave the guts to the cub. He used his fishing stick as a spit to roast the fish over a small fire. After sharing dinner, they topped it off with a k-ration peach cobbler.
“Dessert wasn’t too bad, eh Piccolo?”
She looked up at him and yawned.
“You’re ready to go to sleep. We can’t sleep here, little one, we need someplace a bit more secluded, you never know when someone might hike through here.”
Fletch doused his fire and packed up his gear. They walked away from the lake into the forest.
“Piccolo, you’re a fine bunk mate, but there’s another lady I know that would be a much better one.” Piccolo whimpered. “Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you, you have officially become my first lady. I don’t know if the other lady will even have me. I think we should head her way and find out.”
Fletch found a thicket of trees that was perfect. This time, when he undressed and shifted, the cub didn’t run away. Piccolo cuddled up to her warm, furry, friend and went to sleep.
*****
“But it’s been three weeks and not a word.” Shan
non complained to Stan over coffee.
“Shannon, he’s out in the middle of nowhere with no phone. His friend, Charles McCormack, said it might be a long time before he comes back.”
“I know, Stan, but I miss him.”
“I do, too.”
“Maybe we should go look for him, he might be lost or worse, he might be hurt.”
“He’s a bear, Shannon,” Stan laughed, “he’s fine.”
“Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. At least I'm cleared to return to work. Sitting around here has been driving me crazy.”
“You’ve done a fantastic job on the ground; it has really helped Gary a lot.”
“I had no idea Gary had so much to do. All that paperwork, running the rescue, watching and worrying over us. I always thought he had a gravy job; answering the phone and being our pilot. It’s so much more. He needs to hire a secretary.”
“Ha, that’ll be the day, never happen.”
“Do you think HQ will still send Fletch to the new rescue center.”
“I don’t know. He has learned what has to be done, that’s what he came here for.”
“I know, but after taking the helicopter and leaving the way he did, you don’t think he’ll get fired when he does return?”
Stan shook his head.
“I don’t know. I asked Gary the same thing. We’ll have to wait and see.”
The alarm blared and they were off. It was the first time in weeks Shannon was able to return to work. The rescue was a lost hiker. Springtime brought out numerous inexperienced hikers to the mountains, and dozens of rescues.
As they flew to the pickup location, Shannon looked below. She was never interested in the forest, to her, it was nothing more than a bunch of trees. Now, her eyes searched the ground below, hoping for the off chance of seeing Fletch.
“You seem to be a lot more interested in what is on the ground, I thought you didn’t like the forest?” Kenney teased.
“I’m entitled to change my mind. I might even try camping.”
“Heads up, time to go to work,” Gary announced. Everyone focused on the job and thoughts of camping were tucked away. Shannon took one last look before she turned away and concentrated on her job.
Haunted by the Wolf- Shannon Page 16
