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5

I called Brandon Tuesday morning, hoping he wasn’t asleep as I listened to it ring. On the third ring, he picked up. 

“Hello?” His voice came over the device.

“Hey, Brandon, what are your plans for today?” I asked.

“Not much, just enjoying my time off. I didn’t have any plans.”

“I took the week off, do you wanna do something?”

“How about we go for a run?” he suggested. 

“Um…” I hesitated, running isn’t one of my favorite activities, or at least it never had been before. “I’m not all that into running, Brandon, you know that.”

He laughed softly. “I don’t mean going running, Nick, I mean go for a run.”

“I’m missing the distinction,” I was confused.

“A run is what we call it when we shift and run, play, or even hunt in our animal forms.” 

“Hunt? Why on earth would we want to hunt?” My confusion became distaste. I don’t really mind the concept of hunting for food, but I have a hard time with the skinning and butchering.

“For the skill of it, sometimes for the fun of it. There’s a thrill to running down your prey that you just don’t have anywhere else. Plus, it’s good to know how to do it, should you someday need to.”

“But do you... eat it... raw?” My disgust at the idea was clear in my voice.

“You can, but you don’t have to. It isn’t as bad as you might think. As a wolf, it’s natural.”

“If you say so,” I was willing to take him at his word. “I’m okay with going for a run, but can we skip the hunting part?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want. You know where the Hot Well Dunes hot tub is?” he asked.

“Of course. Who went to high school around here and doesn’t?”

“Let’s meet out there. In say… an hour? Don’t forget to bring something to eat if you don’t want to hunt,” he reminded me.

“That works, I’ll meet you there.” The rural location would be a good place for a pair of wolves to run around in broad daylight without being seen. I stopped by the grocery store on my way out of town and grabbed several pieces of fruit. As I was headed for the drinks aisle, I noticed cans of meal replacement shake on a shelf and grabbed a few, guessing that between the two, I should have enough for today. 

I made it out to the secluded hot tub with ten minutes to spare. I parked in the small clearing before getting out of my car and wandering around. As I looked around, I noticed little had changed in the years since I had last been here. The parties here had been a blast. I wondered for a moment if the teenagers still party out here, or if they’ve moved on because the cops had discovered it? That was nighttime entertainment and the place was empty in the light of day. I didn’t even see the usual evidence of a party hotspot, so it had probably become known as a party spot and kids had found somewhere new. 

In less than five minutes, I spotted the dust from Brandon’s car and wandered over toward the cement in-ground hot tub to avoid the worst of the dust as he pulled up. The tub was in good shape for being more than thirty years old; the water was always warm without being too hot. It was crystal clear from being continuously fed from an artesian spring nearby, and overflowed into a cooler pool downstream, cleaning out any debris that might blow into it in the process. 

After Brandon parked and the dust started to settle, I headed back toward both vehicles.

“Hey, how are you?” he unfolded from the small car.

“Pretty good. Bill had me take the week off work, possibly next week too. We’ll see how long it takes me to get used to my new strengths and skills.”

“How’re you doing with that?”

“Pretty well, I think. I spent yesterday morning working on my telepathy with Bill, and Karen tried to teach me to shield in the afternoon. Bill said I just need to practice. I have the basics down. I think shielding is going to take more work, it’s not as natural to me.”

“Understandable...” Brandon nodded. “I’ve had a bit of practice with shielding so I can stay out of people’s minds unless I want to. I have a talent kind of like yours, only I don’t hear things, I see them. Not thoughts though, it’s more that I can see through their eyes.”

“Oh wow, that sounds more than a little creepy. I’d want to learn how to control that too. That would be about as much fun as hearing random bits of information out of people’s heads.”

“You hit the nail on the head. You ready to run?”

“Sure, let me get around to the other side of my car to change. I’ll meet you down by the tub when I’m done.” He chuckled at my need for privacy to shift, but I ignored him. 

I walked around to the driver’s side of my car and opened the rear door before slipping my sandals off. I pulled off my shorts and tank top, folding them neatly and stacking them on the seat. I set my shoes on the floorboard and then locked and closed the door before I bent into position and shifted. 

As the skin-tingling sensation of shifting subsided, I moved and stretched my wolf body. Though I’d shifted once since I discovered what I was, I hadn’t been active and now I felt the urge to move and work my muscles. I was surprised to discover how much stronger my sense of smell was in this form. The myriad of scents was distracting. I could smell the sand and the acrid scent of the creosote bushes that grew so well in the area, as well as the gasoline, oil, and exhaust odors that surrounded the two cars. 

I padded the short distance to the tub where Brandon waited for me and discovered the water had a strong mineral scent, it wasn’t an unpleasant odor, just unfamiliar. Moving further downstream, I took a drink from the edge of the cool pond before turning back to Brandon.

Are you ready? I asked him mentally.

As ever. I heard his voice in my head as clearly as if he had spoken. 

Which way are we gonna head?

Over the dunes is boring, it’s just endless hills of sand. Let’s see if we can unearth a rabbit, chasing one will be fun. He started toward the brushy area on one side of the clearing. 

I followed his lead, watching carefully how he moved with ease in and around the brush we were headed into. I didn’t notice the sagebrush until he brushed up against it, the more intense odor of creosote seemed to overpower the mild scent until we were right on top of it, which surprised me. I pushed my way through the long branches of the bushes, ducked under the thorny arms of the occasional mesquite, and carefully avoided the frequent patches of cactus. It didn’t take long for Brandon to startle a jackrabbit and the chase was on. 

I moved at a dead run, dodging back and forth after the small creature. I found chasing the hare was more fun than I’d thought it would be. Brandon and I leapt over the smaller obstacles as we chased the smaller creature who easily darted under and through much smaller holes than we could manage. Before long, the two of us were working together without thought, working different sides of the chase, running parallel to the animal on either side instead of together. The small animal would turn one way and catch sight of one of us, turn and dart in another direction only to spot the other and dart back toward the first. After we had run several hundred yards, Brandon suddenly sprinted forward into the rabbit’s path and caught it. With a sharp snap of his jaws, he broke the animal’s neck. 

I didn’t want to watch him eat his catch, so I turned and started back toward the cars as he settled down to enjoy his snack. I made the trip slowly, in no hurry at all, taking my time investigating all the different smells along the way. I was about halfway through the trip back when I caught a scent I couldn’t identify. 

I called out through the mental channel we had been using all morning.

Brandon, can you hear me? 

Yeah, I’m not far behind you. Didn’t take me long to finish him off.

Come up here and tell me what this scent is, please, I asked. I can’t place it. His feet made small patting sounds on the soft soil as he came up behind me.

Where is it?

Right here. What is that scent? I was eager as he bent down to sniff the spot.

Ahh... That’s javelina. You don’t see them much during the day, but watch out for them around dawn and dusk. They’re mean little shits.

I’ve seen them before, I know what they are. But we’re bigger than they are, wouldn’t they be afraid of us? 

No more than they’re afraid of humans. Your best bet if you run across them is to just keep your distance and leave them be, they’re almost never alone, and they’re wicked fast too.

I’ll remember that. I continued my exploration as we worked our way back to the cars. 

Once we arrived at the parking area, I sensed Brandon was ready to shift. And worse, that he was going to do it right in front of me. I wished there was a way I could keep him from shifting until I could get to the other side of my car. He was my friend, I had no desire to see him like that. I quickly loped around to the other side of my car for a little privacy to shift myself. Once I got where I wanted to be, I shifted into human form as quickly as I could, then placed my thumb on the small panel on the driver’s door to unlock the car. I opened the rear door and dressed in the clothes I had left on the seat. I was just slipping my sandals on as Brandon came around the side of the car.

“Hey! Why’d you do that?”  

“Do what?” I frowned, not sure what he was talking about.

“Keep me from shifting.” 

“How could I have done that? I have no clue how shifting works. How could I have done anything to stop it?”

“You did something. I was going to shift and it was like I was being restricted, like someone was holding me in wolf form. Then you walked around the car, out of sight, and suddenly I could shift. It had to be you. You’re the only person here.”

“I didn’t stop you on purpose. I wished you would wait until I was out of sight, but I had no clue I could keep you from shifting.”

“It might be possible your wish for me not to shift in front of you kept me from shifting if you are developing that talent. The only person in the pack I know of with the talent is our Harmonia, so I’m not exactly sure how it works.”

“I’m supposed to meet her tomorrow, I think. Bill said it was the first time that everyone’s schedules made it possible.”

“Good. Be sure and let them know what happened here.”

“I will; I’ll tell Bill when I see him in the morning.” I pulled on my watch. Glancing down at the face, I was surprised to find we had been out for several hours. I sat down on the rear seat of the car where the door was still open. My stomach rumbled, reminding me to eat something. Reaching around behind me, I grabbed the cloth bag filled with stuff from the grocery store. I pulled out one of the shakes and shook it for a minute before popping the seal and draining it in one long drink. 

“You want one?” I offered the other to Brandon as he stood, watching me.

“No, thanks. I had the rabbit, remember? Those are a good idea, they might not keep well in the car during the heat of the summer, but they’ll work the rest of the year. Plus, they’ve got a lot of nutrients.”

“That’s what I thought when I saw them. Quick, easy calories and they aren’t totally nasty, like those protein bars, either.”

I pulled an apple out of the bag and offered it to Brandon, he accepted it. “Thanks.” He polished the skin against the front of his shirt before taking a large bite. I pulled a second apple from the bag and bit into it myself. The crisp flesh squirted juice into my mouth with every bite. It was the best tasting apple I’d eaten in years. After eating, we loaded up and went our separate ways.

That evening, Bill called reminding me I was supposed to be at his house the next morning, and that I would be there a while. Apparently, he had some information for me. Now the only question was, would the information give me answers, or leave me with even more questions.