The Legend of Black Wolf - Sully's Journey Home

Chapter Three

        The days turned into weeks for Sully as he made his way back across the plains, back to Colorado. His abilities as a sniper had sent him on distant campaigns in the past year and a half, and he had no real way of telling just how far he was from Colorado. Without benefit of town names and main roads, he had nothing to rely on but his training. Following the sunsets through the trees and keeping the moon at his back, he kept himself on a westward trail. There was a compass in his knapsack, but the last time he had used it, he had orphaned innocent children. He was loathe to touch it now.   

        He'd managed to find an isolated pond one early morning a week after he'd fled, and there he threw the rifle in, as far as he could. The water covered the evidence with a settling ripple, and his load felt a little lighter without the deadly weapon ever on his shoulder. For some reason, he didn't trust the patches to the same fate, and they stayed in his pack as he traveled on.

        The prayer he had sent up to Heaven that first night he deserted was a prayer for guidance, and he continued it as the miles dragged on before him. Feeling he could never be forgiven for all his mistakes, the only place he could think of to go was the only place that had ever truly felt like home to him. And so he sought out the land where he had once known his only love. He searched for shelter and hiding places until he could return to the forbidden land where he had buried his sweet wife and their tiny baby.

        It was there and only there that he felt he could die and rest in peace.

        By mornings, if he couldn't find a cave or an outcropping, he would hide himself in the trees to be sure he wouldn't be seen as he slept. But with only thoughts of Abigail on his mind, his sleep was scattered with haunting dreams of her. Sometimes, he woke himself up, calling out her name.

        They weren't all bad dreams of the night she died. Some of the dreams were sweet memories that time and tragedy could not turn bitter. Most were ordinary times that they had spent in the small cabin he had built for both of them after her father had disowned her. Nights they would play checkers close to the fire, or days they had spent together, tending her little garden out back. During those times, all his regret was lifted from his heart, and he felt himself smiling again. He loved seeing her shining young face, her dark curly hair framing that sweet smile that she reserved only for him. He felt young again.

        One night, he dreamed of the day he decided he would stay in Colorado Springs and not continue on with the mining that had driven him to Pike's peak in the thirst for gold. He had lived through a cave-in that had nearly ended his life. Sully figured that, if he couldn't be sure of when his time would be called up, he wanted his last moments to be filled with memories of beautiful places, not just of dirt and the cries of crushed men being smothered in inky blackness.

        And so, Sully had followed the gold rush west, thinking he could be climbing mountains and seeing the vast untamed wilderness while searching for the nugget that would make him rich. He'd found that the nearby town held a beautiful view of an entirely different nature.

        She had been out in front of Bray's Mercantile, restocking a cart full of apples the day he'd come in to pick up supplies. The shop keeper had been instructing another young man on the importance of watching for any ruffians who might be lingering outside to steal merchandise. She finished with her task just as Sully approached. As she straightened, Sully's young heart hammered in a way he'd never felt before.

        She was in a spring green dress with long sleeves that were fashionable, but not too delicate. Her hands were used to work, but from the look of her long fingers, he imagined she could be wonderful at playing the piano in a grand parlor, too. And that hair! Black curls that hypnotized Sully were framing her face. He had never known a woman, and all he wanted to do from that moment on was to run his hand through those lush, silky curls.

        Their eyes met and she gave him the private smile he would grow to love deeply. But before he could even smile back, the store owner, her father, ushered her back inside to help with another task.

        "Come along, Abigail. Your mother needs help with those notions we got in, if you're finished." The store owner had said. And Sully's poor smitten heart had been ushered inside right along with her.

        This dream had resulted in him waking up, sobbing. It had been a while since he had thought of that first moment of meeting Abigail. Sometimes, the nightmares of her death eclipsed how beautiful her face had been in happier times. With all of this in the forefront of his mind, Sully became more depressed than ever. The pain in his heart drove him on. It was because of him and his passion for Abigail that he had wooed her away from Martin Anderson, her betrothed. It was because of Sully that she was disowned by Loren when they ran off to marry. It was because of his love that she had gotten pregnant and died in the cabin, too far gone for even Mrs. Cooper to save either one of them by the time he ran for help.

        A few days after that, Sully had tried to keep from sleeping, making up more miles than he should've attempted to on such little food and rest. The woods and secluded trails became a blur as he covered the terrain at a breakneck pace. He thought that he could avoid the dreams if he avoided sleep. But after sitting through a downpour early one morning, he not only had to admit to himself that he was completely exhausted, but that he was coming down with a fever.

        

        Weeks had passed since the buffalo feast. Crops had been good, hunting had been even better, and everyone in the tribe was at ease and ready for the coming winter season. But Cloud Dancing still held the worry in his heart that the bad omen of the black wolf dream still lingered in the shadows, waiting to strike at his people when they least expected it.

        Snow Bird said nothing, but began cooking larger and larger meals. He knew without asking that this meant she worried. Whenever he communed with the spirits a long time and did not eat enough, she started making bigger meals, full of delicious extras just for him. She considered it her job to keep him well and strong to be able to take care of the tribe. He tried to eat more to keep her from worrying.

        Yet one night, he could not take it any longer. He told her he had to stay in another tent for a while, praying for a sign that he could not tell her about yet. It was too cold and too late in the year to go on a vision quest, but he could isolate himself within the tribe and seek spiritual counsel that way.

        After two days and nights of prayer, he fell into a deep sleep. There again, he saw the black wolf, but this time, he studied it more. He did not want the dream to end like before. As he watched, he noticed that the black wolf was still alone, still walking slowly, and that there was something in its fur. In his dream state, Cloud Dancing watched from afar, and, as the wolf passed in front of him, he could make out that they were broken off shafts of two arrows. Both arrows were deep in the wolf's side, almost as if they had entered at the same point. But this was all he saw.

        Upon waking, Cloud Dancing felt this was a good sign. That he saw the black wolf again was still a bad omen, but a wounded omen meant that it was not as severe a threat to his people as he had thought. There could still be trouble, but they would be able to survive it. He began to think the sign referred to the coming winter. There were two new brides in the tribe that were with child. Perhaps that was what the two arrows symbolized. He decided to watch the two women more carefully and be sure he had given them the proper herbs to protect their new children from any growing harm.

        It eased Cloud Dancing's mind enough that he took back to his own tent with Snow Bird. His appetite returned in earnest, and he formulated his plan to battle the bad spirit as best he could. He confided in the tribe elders about what he had dreamed and what it meant. They agreed on Cloud Dancing's interpretation.

        But the black wolf had other plans.