Little Wolf

Ch 39 Detour

"Rick, any chance of driving by the north access road on your way out," asked my boss John as I headed out Friday. He had already held me up so I was the last one out.

"I can," I answered. "What do you need?"

"I was just concerned about those tremors we've been having and wanted to make sure the emergency access road is clear for the weekend."

"No problem. I'll text you with its condition."

"I appreciate it."

I waved to John as I pulled out on my bike. I hadn't been able to figure out what was going on with him lately. My mind was still going over John's odd behavior when I saw a car pulled over on the main road out of Yellowstone. Slowing down, I saw Derrick standing by his car, with its hood up. I quickly pulled over.

"Problem?"

"I think my radiator blew."

I glanced underneath the front end of his car.

"Good guess," I said with a laugh. "Get on. I told John I'd drive through the north access road on my way out. We can stop by an auto parts store, get that stuff that stop leaks and bring some water back, see if we can get it going."

I handed Derrick the spare helmet and was soon heading down the access road. I hoped the delay didn't interfere with Sister's nightly call. Sister had been excited to learn that Mahina now knew about me. She was more excited that I had told her before I had told Mahina. And here poor Derrick was still in the dark!

I was passing a high point, just past where the tremors had been, when I felt something hit my arm. The bike wobbled a little. I straightened it out. It wobbled again. My vision blurred. I started slowing down. I felt Derrick grab me, yell something in my ear, but I couldn't focus. I tried my hardest to get the bike stopped. I wasn't sure I did before everything went black.

I came to slowly. It was dark. Was it night? My mind felt groggy. There was no wind, not the least hint of a breeze. There was solid rock beneath me, not grass or dirt.

I went to move, and found out I couldn't. I could feel the strips of plastic that had me bound, cutting into my skin. I laid still for a moment. I wiggled my fingers and toes, flexed muscles in my legs and arms, felt the breath within me, verifying I had nothing broken or damaged, just sore and scraped up.

I brought out enough of the wolf within me to look and listen. I heard ragged breathing next to me. I could smell Derrick, so whatever had happened, we were in it together.

I took a deeper breath, giving myself a moment, trying to get my bearings and not panic. I could faintly smell the drugs I had only gotten whiffs of. I could smell at least three different men who had been around this area. I didn't smell anyone close. I could hear someone, but it was distant and oddly muted. It took a second before I realized I was in a cave, and the sounds were echoing through caverns.

I move my arms slowly, feeling where they were tied. My ankles were also bound. This was something I could get out of. I wished there was a hint of light so I could see what was around me. I wiggled around. I could feel my phone in my back pocket still.

I had to try and reason through the fog in my brain. Something had hit my arm and I had blacked out. Someone had hit me with a tranquilizer. John had a tranquilizer gun. He used to be a sharpshooter and was the one who shot the wolves that got tagged.

So, John had kept me back, sent me along a specific road, purposely sent me out to get shot. The question was why? I was about to be gone for almost three weeks for training. To hold me made no sense.