The Beast Within

by T. L Smith

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The Ranger office was buzzing with activity. It had been some time since a case like this had grabbed their attention and everyone seemed to want to be a part of catching the person responsible. As Julie shuffled through papers and evidence, she had something pulling at her, something she thought felt familiar, but how was that possible? She had never been involved in any of the investigations connected to this type of violence. From the beginning, given her history, everyone felt the need to 'protect' her from it. They felt she'd had enough violence in her life while young. She had tried to convince her boss, Joe Warner, that she was a big girl now and could take care of herself. Even still, he refused to budge on the decision.

  Joe Warner was head Ranger for this station. He was a big guy standing a bit over six feet. He had arms like tree trunks with legs to match. He was a former Marine and felt staying in shape was the only way to handle his job. He always seemed ready for whatever life could throw at him. He had an outer shell of iron, but the heart of a teddy bear.

  Despite her frustration over his decision to keep her out of the action, Julie cared a great deal for Joe. She remembered him from the days when her family would come camping. Her father, George, always stopped by the station to check in, making sure there wasn't something he should know for their camping trip. Joe was always full of smiles and warm handshakes. Their conversation always held some good natured ribbing and friendly banter.

  Yup, Joe was 'good people' and had taken on the role of watching out for her after that horrible night long ago. She may be frustrated with being kept out of the action, but her heart always warmed whenever she saw him and could only respect his experience and sense of duty to keep those he cared for safe. She smiled and turned back to organizing the evidence that was slowly coming in.

  Joe felt Julie's eyes on him. He knew that she was eager to get out in the field and take part in the official investigation for this new case. He struggled with his decision to keep her safe, physically and mentally, versus his desire to let her do the job she was hired for. But she hadn't seen or dealt with anything this horrific in any of her short years on the job.

  At 52 years old, there wasn't much he hadn't seen, including the results of the murder of Julie's family. That wasn't something he wanted to jog her memory on. It was apparent that her counselors had done a good job of getting her through it, even if it was to bury the memories. Now, he could only hope that the burial they had managed was deep enough to carry her through life. If that wasn't to be the case, he was glad that he was involved in her life and could be there if it all started to unravel. His gut told him that the chance of that happening was becoming closer to reality than he cared to see. That major of a life event wasn't likely to stay buried forever.

  Sighing, he turned back to the roster sheet to complete his assignments. The best option to ease her into it would be to keep her on a day shift, and in his company if possible. He could only hope that having daylight instead of darkness would throw it all into a different light, and would help with a subtle reintegration of her memories. If it had to happen, he wanted it to be as gentle as possible. After all, he couldn't keep her sheltered her entire life.

  Finishing with the assignments, he stood and came around to the front of the desk. He sat back on it and cleared his throat, signaling he had an announcement to make. "Good Morning everyone. I know you're all excited to find out what shifts you're on and with whom you'll be working." Everyone scurried around to take a seat and the room became quiet. All attention turned to Joe. "As I'm sure you all know by now, we've gotten ourselves a rather gruesome case thrown in our laps. The State Police will be working with us throughout this investigation and I want you all to give them your full cooperation. I've assigned teams to the different territories, and those territories will connect so that you will always be coming into contact with someone periodically throughout your shift. NO one is ever to wander off alone. Safety is our number one priority during this investigation. The perpetrator has not been located and since we don't know if he's left the area or not, we will not be taking any chances. Do I make myself clear?" Joe let his eyes make contact with each Ranger in the room, coming to rest on Julie's. Everyone nodded their acknowledgement and waited for him to continue.

  Julie noticed Joe's look and cocked her head to the side with a curious frown. She wondered if his look meant she would finally be included in an investigation (since usually being excluded) or whether it was his way to plead with her not to bring up including her in it. She sat a bit taller in her seat and paid better attention to what was being said.

  Joe continued with his instructions. "I want Mike and Eric to take sector 1, Keith and Jim take sector 2, Roger, Julie and I will take sector 3, Steve and Robin take sector 4, John and Melissa take sector 5 and Frank, you and Beth take sector 6. I want each pair to begin at the border on the west side of your Sector and move east to the next sector. Groups 1 and 2 will meet at the border between 1 and 2. Groups 3 and 4 will meet at the border between your sectors. Groups 5 and 6 will meet at the border between your sectors. Once you meet up, reverse your direction and meet back up with the group you began with. Get the pattern of this detail? The path that runs through the grounds seems to be the path our perpetrator is following, so sweeping back and forth should give us a thorough search pattern. If our perp is out there, we'll find him. Does anyone have any questions on how this will proceed?" Joe paused to see if there were any.

  "You will make your routes continuous, being sure to make a connection with the other teams before continuing on through your sector. Given the terrain, I would expect you should be able to connect with each other about every hour. This will not be a stroll in the park. Stay alert and stay moving. Use your radios to keep in touch and let the others know if you've fallen behind, or if you come across any trouble or anything unusual. If you do come across our perp, do NOT try to take 'em down alone. Just continue surveillance and call for back up. Am I clear on this point?" said Joe, pausing again for acknowledgment. "Good. Everyone, gear up! Julie, I want to see you in my office before we go."

  Julie glanced over at Roger to see if he knew what this meeting was about. He simply shrugged his shoulders and jerked his head towards Joe's office as if to say "I don't know, but you need to get going".

  Julie jumped up from her desk and walked quickly towards Joe's office. She stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind her. Joe was already seated at his desk. He looked up and smiled at her. "No need to get nervous", he said. "Sit down, I just want to talk to you for a moment before we get this detail started".

  She took the seat in front of his desk, and laying her hands in her lap, turned her attention to him. "Julie, I know you've been wanting to get involved in the investigations that our unit is responsible for. I also know you've been frustrated with me for holding you back. I want to be sure you understand why I've done it."

  She nodded saying, "I know that it has something to do with what happened to my family 17 years ago, right?"

  Joe dropped his head and took a deep breath. This was the conversation he had been dreading for so long, but knew it as a necessary one. Squaring his shoulders, he looked up into her questioning eyes. "From the moment I saw you all those years ago, I knew this day would come. What I need from you now is your promise that if it is more than you can handle, you say so. Is that clear? We'll all understand."

  She looked at him, searching his eyes to see if she could get a peek at the news without having to hear it. The sense of dread was slowly building and she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear what he had to say anymore. However, she had worked long and hard to build the trust and respect she now had, so she wasn't going to wuss out now! "Alright, I understand. You have my word."

  Joe struggled with where to start. He guessed the beginning was the only place. "Seventeen years ago your dad came to see me. He was on his way to a camping trip with the family and he wanted to see if there was anything he should know first. Georg
e was so excited to be able to share the love he had for the outdoors with his children. I think that's where you get your love of it from. You were a spirited one. You and your brother were merciless when it came to pranking each other." Joe chuckled as he remembered watching the two in the back of the car, teasing each other to the point they didn't trust anything said by the other. He sighed again as he thought of the tragic events that would unfold before that night was over.

  "I told him we were aware of a problem but he assured me he could keep you all safe. If anyone could do it, he sure could. I watched as you all drove off down the road towards the camping area, never realizing that our paths, yours and mine, would take a turn that would affect the rest of our lives. It wasn't until around dawn that we got the report. There was a couple of hikers trying to get an early start on their long trek that came across your campsite. Curt Williams, one of our new recruits, took the call that morning. The others were still filtering in, about to begin their day. He said he had a situation he had to go check out, probably a bear ransacking a campsite. Said he wouldn't be long. It was your family's campsite that he'd been called to. He never was quite the same after that, resigned his position shortly after. Can't say I blame him. It was pretty gruesome." Joe seemed to slip off into the memories as he gazed out the window into the trees. There was a haunted look behind his eyes that told Julie it wasn't a place he wished to be.

  She cleared her throat with the sense of foreboding that hung in the air. She knew that her family had been killed while on a camping trip but she couldn't remember any of the details. Somehow, through the years, she had buried those memories. Whether avoiding knowing the details of their death and the suffering they endured, or for her own self preservation, she didn't know. She got the feeling that her time for preservation had passed. She kept her eyes on Joe and waited for him to continue.

  "Honey, I know what I have to tell you will not be pleasant. I just ask that you let someone know if there's anything we can do for you to help you handle it all. That night so long ago was horrific for the strongest of men, without it involving a family member, so we'll understand."

  Julie nodded with a look of confused apprehension, "Ooooook,. . . sure". Joe continued his story. "When Curt reached the location of the call that night, what he found apparently resembles what we have today. The big difference is that he found a survivor. A little girl about the age of 7 was lying in the bush. Whether she crawled there to hide or was thrown there isn't clear. Curt heard a sound coming out of a bush nearby, went to check it out and found her. She had injuries over a good deal of her body and had lost a lot of blood. It's fortunate for her the way she fell put pressure on the largest and deepest of her injuries, stemming the blood flow. Probably the reason she's alive today."

  "That's horrible!" Julie cried. "Does anyone know where to find her now? If that night was the same as what we now have, perhaps the perpetrator has come back and she could be of some assistance." Julie stood up. As usual, she paced as she worked out the details of what she was thinking. Somehow being on her feet helped her process things. "If we knew more about his MO, maybe it would help us track him and hopefully prevent any of this from ever happening again!"

  As she paced and talked about how finding the girl from that night could help their case, Joe searched her eyes, hoping to see some glimmer of recollection in them, but she really had forgotten that horrible night. He knew it was a blessing for her, yet extremely inconvenient for everyone else. They could use her help on this! What he did see was excitement. Oh, not for the horrific incident of course, but the chance to finally be involved in one of the biggest cases they'd ever been involved in. If ONLY she had retained some memory of it all and had taken the time to heal and move past it. Now, they'd have to deal with it as if it just happened once the memories return. He was NOT looking forward to what was to come and his heart ached for her all over again.

  "Julie, listen to me honey. This isn't going to be an easy case for you to work on. In fact, you will probably regret ever becoming involved." Joe moved closer to her and guided her over to a chair.

  "What do you mean?" she asked. "You know I love the whole process of researching, canvassing and pulling a case together!" Confusion and worry passed over her face as she waited for him to explain how it could be so awful to be involved.

  Slowly, Joe tried to assemble his thoughts. HOW was he going to tell her that the little girl was HER? That it was her family that had been attacked by some animal that had torn them apart, and that being in the bush was the only reason she was still here? As conviction settled on his shoulders, he knew the only way was just to get right to it. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, preparing for what was about to happen.

  "Honey, you know I've watched out for you for a very long time." She nodded her head, waiting quietly for him to go on. "I knew your father, and it was always understood between he and I that, should anything ever happen to him, I'd watch out for his family. But, the reason has more to do with what happened 17 years ago. Do you not have ANY memories from it? From the night you lost your family?"

  How he hated to be the one to jog her memories. He was loathe to cause her pain. But, if she was going to be working this case, she could not afford to be out in the woods when her memories returned. That would leave her not only crushed from the memories, but vulnerable to all that's out there. He would not put her at risk.

  Julie looked at Joe, becoming confused about what he was asking. First of all, how did THAT night have anything to do with now? More importantly, how did he know that she had no memory from that night? Was he aware of her nightmares as well? Joe never meant her any harm so she slowly shook her head, admitting to the awful secret of lost memories. "No", she said slowly, "I can't remember what happened. I don't remember anything after getting ready for the trip. How is that important now?"

  Joe's face softened, full of concern. "Honey, . . . the little girl that survived so long ago, . . . was you."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  As Luke ran deeper into the forest, he let his mind wander a bit. He knew he should be focusing on Levi and how to stop him, but he rarely had time alone these days, and it was only in those alone times that he allowed himself to think about Julie. He found he was enjoying watching over her more and more. He drew pleasure from seeing her hair flow behind her as she traveled against the wind. He admired the strength he saw in her long lean legs as they carried her on her runs. He would find himself imagining a day when they would run together, sharing the freedom it brings to let go and be a part of nature as they were intended. He knew that she would indeed be a mate to be proud of, but he also knew that he had no set claim on her yet and that she would be one that many would seek for their own.

  After running for most of the day, he arrived at the location they had claimed for their territory. This was their claim, and they saw to it that all knew it. Being second in command he knew that it would be his one day, but he didn't waste time thinking about that day. He was satisfied to follow under Adam's leadership. He had learned many things from him and was in no hurry to unseat him. As was tradition, the only way to become the leader was for Adam to die or for Luke to challenge him. This was not something he'd be doing anytime soon!

  He slowed to a walk as he approached the group. He dropped his head as an acknowledgement to him and waited for the gesture to come closer. The gesture had become their version of a bow of submission, without having to drop to the ground. Adam felt that, though submission was required in his presence, and he was quite capable of commanding it, he didn't feel the need to overly use the dominant display. He felt that a bond of trust and loyalty from his people was a deeper bond than a forced display of compliance would ever provide. He had proven to be a better leader than any they'd had before. He was their Alpha. Nope, there'll be no challenge against him anytime soon.

  Shifting from the swift wolf he'd become, he returned to human. Since nudity wasn't something that his kind ever got hung up on, he walk
ed up tall, proud and naked.

  As those in attendance watched Luke approach, Adam raised his eyes to acknowledge his presence. He straightened to his full 6' 4" height and waited for Luke to begin his report. His physical presence was a commanding one, with jet black hair and hazel eyes that were striking to anyone who dared let their gaze linger too long. With broad shoulders, and strong, muscular arms and legs, he projected the strength and power he carried.

  There had been a meeting among the older ones of his pack, known as the council, to decided what to do about Levi, and whether the time had come to address the situation surrounding his disappearance. Everyone knew that Levi was a risk to the secrecy that came with their kind. All kills that took place were to be discreet and all traces erased so the human world would not catch on to their supernatural existence. Levi seemed to be doing everything he could to get noticed. Was it intentional? No one knew, as no one had seen or talked to him in quite some time. If the last deaths at his hand were any sign of his intentions, Levi had slipped over the edge and seemed no longer worried or careful about protecting their secret. Once that was made clear, a target would be placed on his back and his chances for survival were slim at best. Any wolf that could stop another that had 'fallen' would increase their status within the pack to a more desired level of respect. Something every wolf ever born, male or female, aspired to achieve.

  Adam addressed his second in command. "Good evening Luke. Have you anything to report?" "Sir, I've come from town and can safely say that everything seems to be the same for now", Luke replied. "I do have concerns that the day is nearing when she will awaken. I've heard her cries at night. The nightmares she's been having are increasing. It seems like her memories are fighting to surface. I've also notice that she seems to be carrying herself a bit differently as well and her runs have increased in numbers. I think it's only a matter of days before the transformation begins. It's been a long time coming. She's done very well in blocking what must be done, longer than any others. I would like to request that I be allowed to stay nearby until it does take place so that I can help her through her transition and guide her here to the pack where she'll belong."