We hit the ground running and took off across the lawn toward the parking lot that surrounded the grass. I glanced over my shoulder. The officers leapt through the hole in the window and raced after us. They were just a little faster.
"We have. . .a problem!" I gasped.
Orion looked over his shoulder and frowned. "I see what you mean." He pulled me into his arms and picked up speed. The officers didn't gain any more ground between us, but we weren't losing them.
We sped across the black pavement and yellow lines, and into the depths of the town. Orion slid into the nearest alley and ran down the dirt path. He pulled something out of his pocket and dropped a leather bag into my lap. The top was closed with a thick mess of string.
"Open the string and toss the bag over my shoulder!" he ordered me.
I picked up the bag and fumbled with the drawstring. "Why do guys always have to make these things so tight!" I growled.
I finally got the string untied. The top opened and I was hit with a powerful blast of fishy smell. I clapped my hand over my nose and coughed. Never was I so happy to get rid of something as I was to throw that bag behind us.
My aim wasn't great and the leather bag hit the exterior of a nearby garage door. The impact occurred even with the lead officer. The policeman skidded to a stop and raised his nose to the air. I could see his nostrils flare as he turned his head left and right. The others behind him stopped and did likewise. One of them whipped his head to the left where lay the bag. He lunged at the container just as his fellow officers figured out what they knew. They tackled him, and what ensued was a massive brawl for the bag.
We reached the end of the alley and turned a sharp right down the street. Orion didn't stop until we were halfway up the hill toward the tree road. He slipped into the mouth of an alley and set me down.
I sniffed my hands and wrinkled my nose. The scent lingered on my fingers. "What was that stuff?"
He grasped the corner of a fenced yard and peeked around the other side. "Salmon-scented fish bait. Most of the police for is full of were-bears, so I always keep some handy whenever I have trouble with them." He turned to me and smiled. "Besides, the fish love it."
I arched an eyebrow. "So you're telling me even a scent can throw a were-person into a feeding frenzy?"
He shrugged. "It has to be the right scent, and it has to be strong."
I stuck my hands into my pockets. "You're telling me."
He turned away and glanced around the corner again. "But it looks like the coast is clear. We should head out before they get a hold of themselves."
"Where exactly are we heading out to?" I asked him as he led me out of the alley and up the street.
"A friend of mine has a place outside of town. We can stay there until the patrol passes and then start our reporting," he explained.
We hurried up the hill and in a few minutes we reached the turn in the road. To our left lay the dirt road to the strange tree. I paused and glanced down its dark depths. My mind recalled that strange pull that led me down the lane to that mysterious grove. I felt a small bit of that, enough that I took a step toward the path.
I jumped when Orion's hand slipped into mine. He tugged me away from the lane and back to the road. "Come on. We don't have time for a detour."
I glanced one last time at the tree lane before he pulled me across the road to the forest of trees. We dove into a narrow, little-used path that wound its way through the thick trunks and brambles. Our steps had taken us twenty feet when we heard the wail of sirens behind us.
Orion ducked us behind a large tree and pulled my head down. The sirens stopped on the road, and I heard car doors open and shut. He peeked around the trunk. "Looks like they're checking out the tree first before they get to this side," he whispered to me. He took my hand and led me down the path. "That gives us some time to reach the junkyard."
I arched an eyebrow. "The junkyard? That's your hideout?"
He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me. "What better place for a couple of discarded werewolves? Besides, my friend runs the place. He'll shack us up for at least a night."
We zigged and zagged our way through the forest for a couple of miles before the path opened in front of us. The tree line stopped on either side of us and we stepped into a clearing some two hundred yards wide and long. In the center five yards from us and surrounded by an eight-foot tall metal-sheet fence stood the town junkyard. Stacked cars, fridges, and twisted hunks of metal towered above the fence.
Orion guided me over to the fence. He knelt beside a sheet of metal and peeled back one of the bottom corners. He turned to me and swept his hand toward the opening. "After you."
I squeezed through the hole and held the sheet open for Orion to wiggled through. He stood and brushed himself off as his eyes inspected the area. "Not a bad place, is it?"
I followed his gaze and cringed. Piles of diapers, rotten food, and broken appliances stood nearby. The stench of garbage invaded my nose. I clapped my hand over my nose and shuddered. "Just wonderful."
He grasped my hand and lowered it. "Don't do that in front of our host."
I arched an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He nodded at a nearby pile of composting junk. "See anything strange about that pile?"
I leaned forward and squinted. "Other than its resemblance to an ink blot, no."
He chuckled. "Your stripes are showing, Jerry."
My eyes widened as a group of orange and banana peels slunk off the pile on all four limbs. Orange paws crushed the cans beneath its toes and a long, ringed tail swung from side to side behind it. The creature lifted its head and revealed itself to be a large tiger. Its long black whiskers twitched as it stalked toward us.
I yelped and leapt behind Orion. He laughed. "Don't worry. It's just Jerry."
The tiger stopped five feet from us and raised itself onto two feet. The creature's form shifted into a half-man, half-tiger where the face wasn't quite as elongated and its back legs were longer than the front ones. I could discern the faint facial features of a man of Near-Eastern descent. "I thought I had you fooled."
Orion smiled and shook his head. "Almost, but your whiskers always twitch when you get excited."
The man brushed his fingers over his whiskers. "I will improve on that, but what has brought you here? Do you wish to buy some of my precious things?"
Orion pursed his lips. "This is more of a personal call, Jerry. We need you to hide us for the night."
Jerry raised one of his fur-covered eyebrows. "Hide? From whom are you hiding?"
The call of the police sirens came to our ears. Orion jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "From those."
Jerry frowned. "From the police? But why?"
Orion shook his head. "There's no time to explain. Just think of it as I owe you big time."
Jerry sighed and nodded. "Very well. Follow me."
He shifted into full tiger mode and loped into the jungle of junk. Orion swept me into his arms and we flew after our furry guide. The yard was a maze of piles and stacks. Everything from trucks to tea sets lay among the rotting debris. We reached the opposite end of the junk yard and found an oasis of clean among the desert of debris. A two-floor house stood in the far left corner of the junkyard. Its exterior walls were painted a bright white, and around its perimeter was a lush green yard.
To the left of the house lay the large front gates that stood on rollers. They were open, and a dirt road led around a bend in the trees and to the fence. A plow truck stood just inside the open gates. The noise of the sirens echoed down the road.
The front door to the house opened, and a familiar, and striped, face rushed out. It was Jasmine. Her eyes fell on us and she rushed over. "What's happened?"
Jerry nodded at us. "Take them to the basement room. I will speak with the police."
"But-"
"Please do as I ask," he insisted as he turne
d her back toward the house. He glanced at us. "Please follow my daughter. She will help you."
Orion smiled and nodded. "With pleasure."
I glared up at him. "Not with too much pleasure."
"Come with me," Jasmine spoke up.
She rushed back to the house, and we followed with the call of the sirens close at our heels.
CHAPTER 19