Wolf Hiding (A Wolf in the Land of the Dead Book 2) (13 page)

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 was 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.

“I just splashed a little gasoline around. Must’ve hit something important, huh? I wasn’t expecting all this - but then neither were those fuckers!” Suzannah laughed and swung the car onto the road, speeding away from the burning compound.

Nowen turned in her seat and watched the raging fires spreading through the forest like red and orange veins in a poisoned body.
Will all of New Heaven burn?
It seemed likely. The conflagration grew smaller in her view as they sped away, but it was still growing, she knew. Questions came to mind and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answers.

Will Vuk survive?

Please...let him die.

Chapter Fifteen

The old car sped through the night. Nowen slumped across the back seat, half-listening to the quiet murmuring from the front of the car. Savannah and Sage were discussing what to do next; it didn’t sound like their escape plan had extended much beyond just getting out of New Heaven.

“We need to get off the highway. They’re going to come after us, right?” Sage was saying.