To Protect Their Young

Part 5

Jarod finally stirred somewhat back to consciousness. He was completely dazed and had no idea where he was. He was lying down and it felt like a fur coat was wrapped around him. He gasped loudly when he realized that the fur coat was moving. His head swam with dizziness as he desperately tried to figure out what was going on. In a haze, he saw that the coat belonged to the mother wolf as she stood up and put her nose to his face. Once again, he recognized that same face of the animal he had been helping. She began l*****g him like a mother would wash a cub. He groaned softly as his head felt like it was going to burst into a thousand pieces. He felt the stickiness of his own blood that had dried in his hair, and he felt a slow ooze as more was running down the side of his face.

He started to shiver again in a combination of being cold and being in shock. His lips were blue and his teeth were chattering. After the wolf had finished inspecting him and cleaning him, she resumed her position next to him, trying to cover as much of him as she could with her warm body heat. Jarod drifted back into unconsciousness as he listened to her steady breathing and felt her heart beating as she tried to keep him warm.

After combing the woods at the base of the mountain for several hours, it was getting to be very late in the evening. The search for Jarod had to be called off until after sunrise and all of the volunteers went home. Amy and Derek were wracked with grief at the prospect of their son staying out all night in the cold and not knowing where he could be. Sheriff Johnson stayed with the couple and tried to keep them comfortable in their misery. They would not eat or drink, and sleep was completely out of the question. He hoped at least his presence there would offer them some small bit of comfort.

Amy’s small frame would shudder occasionally as she could not stop crying. Everyone knew that the chances of Jarod being alive at that point were almost none. The sheriff remained with them until the morning, when the volunteers began to congregate outside. Many of the women came from town and brought food and coffee for everyone before they began their search again.

Sheriff Johnson went outside with Amy and Derek and he began to address the gathering crowd. “Thank you all for coming here on this chilly morning. Your support is greatly appreciated by all of us here at the sheriff’s department and especially by Derek and Amy here who are desperate to find little Jarod. He is out there somewhere and we have to find him today, folks. I know you all know how you would feel if he was your own child and I know you are going to do everything you can to find him. Now, I think we’ve covered the woods pretty well, so our next step is getting up that mountain. Time is of the essence, so let’s get going!”

Many of the volunteers stopped to shake hands or hug Amy and Derek and they set off once again to find Jarod. Slowly they formed a blanket search and began to make their way up the mountain behind the farm. Thankfully, the sun had begun to warm up the area a little bit and the chill wasn’t quite so pronounced as it had been. If Jarod had made it this long, then they would have some time to find him before things cooled down once more.

All day, the people searched relentlessly for Jarod. They called his out name, and they made as much noise as possible to try and get his attention. During certain intervals, they would all be quiet to see he was answering their calls, but they heard nothing. As time moved on, the temperature outside began to fall again.

Jarod had woken up again to the feeling of being surrounded by fur. His senses had returned enough for him to realize that the wolf was still there and that she had protected him all through the night. He slowly put his arms around her and nuzzled his head into her warm fur. She responded by washing him again. His shoulders would rise up when she licked his ears, because it tickled him. When it got warmer during the day, she stood beside him at a short distance but she never moved far away from him. He finally started to try and assess his situation.

He looked around and saw that he was on a tiny ledge and when he tried to stand up, he couldn’t. He was very weak, and it appeared that his leg was badly hurt from his tumble. He looked helplessly towards the top of the cliff. There was no way he would be able to climb back up even though it was only about ten feet to get back up from the ledge. As he was moving around, and trying desperately to grab for something to pull him up the ledge, the wolf paced below him as if she was worried for his safety. After snapping some limbs and almost tumbling off the ledge a few times, he eventually gave up and sat back down, leaning against the cliff wall.

Throughout the rest of the day, the wolf remained by his side. Jarod knew she had to be terribly hungry and thirsty, and she could have left him there at any time, but for some reason, she had chosen to stay and keep him safe from harm. The two remained on the ledge, forming a bizarre relationship that no human could ever believe to be possible. Jarod was so thankful for her presence and he enjoyed speaking to her just to watch her head turn from side to side in a confused, and curious expression.

Jarod alternated between periods of wakefulness and sleep as he was becoming very weak from his injuries and lack of food. As the temperatures began to dip again and he began to shiver, the wolf retook her position by his side to keep him warm. At some point between consciousness and sleep, Jarod thought he could hear someone calling his name. But he was too weak to even attempt an answer. He thought maybe he was just dreaming as he slipped away into darkness once more.