Spirit Of The Wolf Collection

Chapter 2-1

Nicole stepped around a pile of wooden fence stakes held together with twisted wire and bent rusted nails. Sheet metal leaned up against the rotted remains of a wooden bench and picnic table. With broken down buildings and tetanus filled piles of trash overtaken by vines, rodents, and reptiles, this wasn’t the area of the river most people saw.

She knelt beside the riverbank and took another photo, careful to center the image and adjust for lighting. Everyone teased her about her film camera, saying she should switch to digital, but she was always the first one they called when they needed high quality photographs. Nicole glanced around, seeking her next shot. How could anyone question the fact that something terrible was happening to the lake and the surrounding area? All the plant life around the lake’s edge was wilting and dying. There had also been many cases of illness reported from people who swam downstream during the summer.

Besides those signs of pollution, an obvious warning of trouble was the orange-red coating beginning to collect on the surface of the water. That could only mean something was being leaked or dumped into the river and connecting lake. It would only get worse, unless someone did something. Maybe when the water and soil samples came back from the lab, the SES could do something. They would have already had the results, if the test facility hadn’t mysteriously burned down with earlier samples inside at the time. After that it was her parents’ accident, putting things on hold for quite some time. They were finally doing something again, but the new samples needed to be sent off to a test facility located several hours away, and with a long list of specimens to test before they would get to the SES samples.

Nicole leaned against the side of an old, abandoned warehouse while she took one final picture. The wind was blowing, enough to move the leaves in the trees, and making for a very nice picture, if you overlooked the signs of pollution. The breeze felt good, cooling her off a little and a welcome relief in the unseasonably warm weather.

She snapped another photograph and stiffened. She could hear low sounds coming from inside the warehouse, which sounded like voices, but why would anyone be out here? These buildings weren’t used by anyone, they were practically condemned. She walked around to the other side of the building, following the noises until they were loud enough to confirm they were voices, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She searched the immediate area and located a spot where there was a hole in the wood, an oddly-shaped opening between two planks in the wall. It wasn’t large, just big enough to see through. Bracing her hands against the wall, she leaned closer and peered in through the small opening.

It was dark inside, and it took a minute for her eyes adjust, but when they did, she was able to make out at least five people standing inside the abandoned building. Three of the men carried battery powered lanterns and moved around the back of a work truck parked near the far wall. The other two men stood in front of the light provided from the truck’s headlights. Nicole recognized one of the men right away and experienced a rush of excitement. It was Rodney Steagel, the Vice President of Steagel & Company. Rodney was also the nephew of the President of the company, George Steagel. Nepotism was obviously alive and well in this particular company.

Rodney wasn’t the picture of leadership his title suggested in this instance, dressed as he was in a Hawaiian shirt, black leather pants, and wearing several gold necklaces around his thick neck. They gleamed whenever they caught any stray beams of light in the abandoned building. He had long dark hair, and teeth which were just crying out for the attention of a dentist, which was surprising, considering how much money his family had.

That money hadn’t stopped Rodney from leading a particularly shady life, complete with numerous run ins with authorities. Even though he’d been in regular trouble with the law, his uncle’s considerable influence and money always kept Rodney out of jail. Nicole suspected if his uncle would get out of the way and let his nephew pay for his own mistakes, everyone would be better off. Steagel & Co. was a reputable business, before he he’d taken over. Rodney Steagel had no respect for anyone – least of all his family – whose good name and company he was running into the ground.

While Nicole watched, Rodney directed the other men while they loaded huge barrels into the back of a truck. The labels on the barrels read, ‘Caution, Toxic Materials’.

Nicole’s heart beat faster. This was her chance. Even if she couldn’t prove they were dumping the toxins, she could prove the fact that Rodney Steagel and his henchmen had the toxins near the lake. Up until now, he’d been denying even that fact. This might be just the kind of evidence they needed to stop him. Nicole held the camera to the small hole and started snapping pictures. “Nancy Drew, eat your heart out,” she murmured to herself.

She got several clear shots of the barrels, and some photos of the men helping Rodney. Unfortunately, Rodney was never standing where she could get a clear picture of him. If she couldn’t get a photo of him with the barrels she wouldn’t be able to prove he’d been there. On the other hand, if she got caught, none of the pictures could be used, and even if she didn’t have a photograph of him, some of those other men could lead the police back to Rodney. Something was better than nothing. She was about to give up when he finally moved into her line of sight. She triumphantly snapped one last picture and quickly started to curse silently when her camera began to rewind the film, loudly.

“Hey, what’s that noise out there?” one of them men cried.

Nicole scrambled backwards, nearly falling, stumbling over her own feet in her hurry, and ran as fast as she could back through the building toward the treeline.

She was instantly struck by how dark it had gotten. Preoccupied with getting a photograph of Rodney with the barrels, she hadn’t noticed the sun setting. She noticed it now, though, barely able to see where she was going. Somehow, she made it as far as the woods. Shadows crowded in around her from every side, making each step a risk, because she had neither the light nor the time to see where her feet were landing. She only prayed she wouldn’t hit a dip in the ground at a bad angle and twist an ankle, or worse.

Branches scraped her, catching and pulling on her hair and clothes. Pain emanated from multiple cuts, and her scalp was sore in several places. Still, she ran faster, the pain only feeding into her adrenaline.

She could hear them getting closer. The covering of the trees thinned enough to allow some moonlight to shine through. Nervously, she cast a quick glance over her shoulder. A gasp escaped her mouth when her toe connected with something hard. A raised tree root caught her eye when she fell forward and pain shot up through her knees and elbows. After the initial shock passed, she hurried to stand, ignoring the pain, but she froze on her hands and knees at the sound of a soft click behind her. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw a big, burly man standing about eight feet away with a gun pointed at her.

“Well, what have we got here? You’re a cute one. Too bad you had to nose around, or we could have had a little fun.” He chucked and the hairs on Nicole’s neck stood on end. “Maybe we still could.”

He leered at her, and a shiver of revulsion ran over her skin. The grin left his face when he noticed her reaction., It was replaced by a menacing glare, filled with rage. He aimed the gun at her, and slowly pressed down on the trigger. A muffled shot rang out.

Nicole dropped to the ground, the bullet barely missing her. It had been close enough that she’d felt her hair being ruffled by the movement of the bullet past her head

The man cursed under his breath and took aim to fire again. She peered up at him from the ground and swallowed heavily. This time, she had nowhere to go. Her heart pounded in her chest as he pulled the trigger again.

Out of the darkness a large, black creature appeared. It jumped from its hiding place in the forest and landed hard on the man’s back. His second shot went wild, and the gun fell to the ground. Nicole scrambled to pick it up and the black creature, a wolf, backed off as she aimed the gun at the man.

“Stand up, slowly,” she commanded. She managed to keep her voice steady, but it was a struggle. Out the corner of her eye she saw the wolf. She took a careful step away from the animal, but it’s eyes were trained on her attacker.

“Whoa, wait a second. What do you think you’re doing?” The man held his hands up, slowly getting to his feet.

In the distance, Nicole could hear the sounds of the other men searching. She didn’t have long. The gunshots had been muffled by a silencer, so they couldn’t betray her position, but if this man could find her, so could they. She felt panic threaten to bubble up and squashed it down. That wouldn’t help her. She could break down and be afraid once this was over.

“Turn around,” she said holding the gun steadily at his chest. He took a second or two before complying, muttering to himself as he turned.

She reached down and grabbed a fallen tree limb, one that looked heavy enough for her requirements and tested its weight in her free hand. Gathering her strength, she stepped up behind her would-be murderer, careful to keep her distance from the wolf, and swung the wood at the back of his head. It connected with a hollow crack which sent a shudder of revulsion through her as he fell limp at her feet. She stared at his prone form in amazement. She hadn’t really thought she had the strength to knock someone out in a single hit, but the proof was lying right in front of her. The noises in the woods around her began to get louder, drawing her attention from the man lying at her feet. They were clearly getting closer, but she didn’t know what to do. Should she just start running again, trying desperately to feel her way through the dark patches of the forest where moonlight failed to reach?

The wolf startled her from her thoughts and gripped the corner of her jacket in his teeth, pulling her to one side. She yelped and stared down at the wolf with fear. She contemplated using the gun or the wood against the animal, but he let go of her clothes and took a step back from her. His muzzle lowered deferentially. A wave of calm came over her. She experienced a strange certainty that the animal was trying to lead her away from the approaching danger, but could she even consider following a wild animal through the night?

Nicole mentally shook herself. Yeah, right, a strange wolf was just going to show up and rescue her, showing her exactly which way to go. That would be the day. Nicole cast a quick look over her shoulder, in the direction of the sounds. She didn’t have much time. Turning in the opposite direction from the one the wolf was pulling her towards, Nicole began to run. She ran for several minutes, before admitting to herself that she was completely lost. The trees were too thick in most spots for her to see even a hint of the stars overhead, and she had to admit to herself that she’d lost all sense of direction. For all she knew, she could be headed back toward the water or in a completely different direction. Taking a moment to catch her breath in one of the rarely lit areas, an oasis in the darkness, she collapsed on the ground, resting her head in her hands.