Florence
“Are you ready?” Steven asked, and I nodded in response. We were finally putting our plan into action.
We had finished our road trip, stopping just outside of Casper, in Wyoming. It had taken a few days to reach the city, and we’d made sure to stop near forest, so the transition was easier. There was no one else around – we’d found an old car park that backed onto the forest, and our car was the only one in sight.
“Alright, time to shift.” Erik and I both walked into the tree line, and changed form to our wolves. We trotted back out with our clothes secured between our teeth.
Steven collected the clothes off of us and threw them in the truck, fiddling around with a few boxes before bringing out two silver looking, metal collars. They were smaller, designed to fit around the leg of a larger-than average sized wolf, and were fitted with small trackers, and in my case, a discrete tranquilizer that could take down a ‘bear on steroids’ apparently.
Erik had his clipped on first, it needed to be locked with a few different clasps before it was snugly fixed to his hind right leg. Steven then moved to me, and I felt the cool metal chill me as it came into contact with my skin. He tightened it and clicked it on, giving it a shake for good measure.
“Okay, trackers are on. You need to head northwest for about three or four hours until you reach the National Park. There you’ll find the fences that border the reserve, and you’ll need to wait for a while until a patrol comes by. As soon as you get in, you’ll need to try to find Kyle as quickly as possible.” Steven clicked some buttons on his watch. “I’m giving you two days to find him. The tranquilizer will keep him under for three if you’re lucky. When that timer stops, I’ll be at the fence that you’ve marked, but I can only stay for a few hours until someone will find me. You’ll have to be quick.”
There was a silence as we all deliberated the mission, and comprehended the extreme consequences and risks involved.
“Good luck. I’ll be waiting.” He gave us a nod, and climbed back into the truck. The engine started with a splutter, and he swung out onto the main road and out of sight, though we could hear his car for a few more minutes as he drove away.
Erik gestured for me to follow him, and we entered the tree line once more, now a part of the local wildlife. We blended right in.
We ran for an unknown amount of time. Without a clock or watch handy, I wasn’t sure how long we’d been in the wild for, or how far we had yet to run. We had to rely solely on the sun’s position, and that wasn’t easy to decipher. It was still high in the sky.
A handy part of our mutation was that our stamina was increased, and we could run for hours on end without tiring, as long as we kept a steady running pace. Erik led the way and I followed, copying his stride and stepping where his footsteps left marks in the dirt.
It was a strange type of rhythm, and I let my mind wander, as I didn’t need to concentrate too hard on the path ahead. I thought about the challenge ahead, and the numerous problems we’d inevitably encounter. For one, there were some human settlements in Yellowstone, guest accommodation and such. There would be cameras around the park and perhaps rangers studying the wildlife. We needed to be careful not to be seen shifting or in human form. The second challenge was finding Kyle. If he didn’t want to be found – which I’m sure he didn’t – then it would be easy for him to stay hidden. The park was nearly 9000 square kilometers, and we needed to search every one until we found him, all
under our time limit of two days. The task was daunting and near impossible.
Additionally, when we found Kyle, I had to administer the tranquilizer. It was hard to imagine sticking a needle into a crazed, out of control Alpha werewolf, without getting hurt in the process. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to conjure up the scenarios in my head.
