"And they still haven't caught his kidnappers?" one of the women asked the other.
The other shook her head. "No, but they say they headed out of town south in this direction, so you'd better keep your windows locked, Almira," she scolded her friend.
Almira riled at the thought. "I have never locked my windows and I don't plan on locking them now. I can smell a burglar a mile away and don't need locked windows to keep him out."
"But they say these werewolves are hiding their scent," the other woman added.
Almira turned her nose up and sniffed in derision. "Hiding a scent? That's impossible, Darla, and you know it."
Darla shrugged. "I just know what everyone's saying, and everyone's pretty scared about what someone like that can do. They could sneak into your house and cut your throat without you ever knowing they were in the yard."
Almira shuddered and waved her hand at her friend. "That's enough, Darla. You're just spreading rumors now."
Darla frowned. "I know what I heard, and one of my sources is the Old One out on Cherry Lane. You know just as well as I that what she says is true, or usually is."
"Usually means she's sometimes wrong, and I think she's wrong about this," Almira insisted.
"Well, I know she wasn't wrong about that big place being just on the other side of the region border," Darla countered. "My old man went hunting around there the other day in the swamp forest and met a couple of unfriendly fellows who told him in no unfriendly terms to get, and he got out of there real quick. And you know what else he told me about them?"
Almira raised an eyebrow. "No, what?" she wondered.
"He said one of the fellows didn't have a scent. Not a single whiff of anything off him. Of course, my old man didn't mention that to them, but when he came back he was real shook up about it, and he hasn't gone hunting in those forests since."
"Excuse me," I spoke up. The two women turned towards me and I smiled at them. "But I was wondering where Cherry Lane was."
Almira looked me over and pursed her lips. "It's just outside town and to the east. You can't miss the sign," she replied.
"Thanks." I hurried off, finished the list, and rushed outside to the gas station. Luke stood outside the convenience store with a shiny container full of gas. He was relieved to see me.
"You are a very slow shopper," he scolded me.
I shrugged. "I'm a girl, I have to look at everything," I returned. "Besides, I was listening to these two old women talk, and they said something about someone on a Cherry Lane knowing about a place beyond the region border that was patrolled by people who didn't have a scent."
Luke smiled and gave a quick peck on my lips. Tease. "You surprise me more and more," he told me.
"That better be a compliment," I scolded him.
"Most assuredly. Now we had better leave for this Cherry Lane and have a talk with this someone. Do you know their name?" he asked me.
"They said she was called Old Woman. I figure we can recognize someone with that kind of a name," I replied.
"It won't hurt to try, and we are practically assured some information for our trouble," he pointed out. We hurried back to the truck with our stash and found the others anxiously awaiting our return.
"What took you?" Stevens barked at us.
"Information. We learned I am being accused of your kidnapping," Luke revealed.
Stevens sneered. "What a preposterous notion that you could kidnap me," he argued.
"Nonetheless the papers are shouting it to the world, but we may have some hope. We must head eastward onto a Cherry Lane," Luke replied.
"Eastward? But that won't take us any closer to the border," he pointed out.
"Correct, but it may take us closer to finding the facility," Luke countered.
We filled the tank of the vehicle, jumped into the back of the truck, and drove into the town. Luke kept himself below the truck and Stevens ducked down, squished between the seat and Steve's legs. We passed by the houses and smooth roads, and soon found ourselves back on the bumpy dirt roads of the countryside. Calling the road a lane was being kind. It was more like ruined architecture than pretty, delicious cherries.
After about ten miles the lane ran out and we found ourselves facing a large, old-fashioned two-floor farmhouse with a lot that served as the turnaround for the dead-end road. On the porch, shielded from the fall sun, was a woman of such age that I wondered if she'd invented the rocker on which she sat. She stopped her rocking when Rick stopped the truck near the porch, and Luke jumped out the back and I followed. Stevens gladly popped up and shoved Steve out so he could climb out of the cab while Rick got out his side. The four of us walked up to the old mother who looked at us with old but cunning and curious eyes.
Stevens pushed himself to the head of our little group and put on his most pompous face. "Good day, old mother. We are in need of your help."
She turned her head to the side without moving her eyes off us and spit onto the ground. "What fer?" she asked us.
"For the good of our region," Stevens replied.
The woman scoffed. "What's that mean to me?" she snapped.
"It means you could help us and a great many people by giving us some information about a compound that's rumored to be just on the other side of the region border," Stevens persisted.
The woman resumed her rocking and clasped her hands in her lap. "If that's all you got then I ain't trading," she replied.
Stevens frowned. "But-" Luke held up his hand in front of Stevens' face and the old wolf turned to glare at Luke.
"We have information to trade," Luke told her.
The old woman stopped her rocking and her wizened old hands grasped the arms of her chair. "What kind of info?" she asked him.
"Rumors for rumors," he explained.
The old woman's cunning eyes looked at each of us and returned to Luke. "All right, but you go first and I'll see if your gossip is good enough to give you mine."
Luke stepped up to the porch and put one foot on the bottom step. He leaned close to her and lowered his voice, and she unconsciously leaned toward him. "We heard a rumor that Stevens is on the run from the mafia because he owes them money."
"W-what!" Stevens exclaimed. His face was beat-red and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
The old woman glared at him and put a finger to her lips. "Hush!" she hissed. She turned back to Luke. "Go on. That's not enough to trade for what I know."
Luke lowered his voice so even I leaned forward to hear what he had to say. "Well, they say Stevens spent too much money on-well, on lingerie."
"For his daughter?" the old woman guessed.
Luke grinned and shook his head. "For himself." The old woman leaned back, slapped her hand across her knee, and let out a cackle that echoed down the road.
Stevens couldn't contain himself any longer. "I did-" Rick jumped forward and slapped a hand over Stevens' mouth.
"Shut up," Rick hissed.
"Well, don't that beat all! Ah don't care it that's true or not, that's a good one!" she cackled.
"Then will you tell us what we wish to know?" Luke asked her.
"About that place across the border? Sure yes. You go down the road outside of town to the south and follow it when it turns westward till you hit the swamp forest. You can't miss it. My great-great grandson was hunting out there a week ago and said he saw a big line of trucks riding down the road leading to the place and followed them to a bunch of big buildings. He was about to get a sneak closer, he's a curious sorts like me, when a group of werewolves jumped him. He didn't even smell them coming, but maybe he was upwind. Anyway, they told him to git, and he got real fast. They were a mean-looking bunch and he was all alone. Well, he came back and told me what happened, and won't go back there."
Luke smiled, stepped onto the porch, took one of her hands in his own, and planted a gallant kiss on the ancient skin. "Thank you. You've helped us far more than you know."
She blushed and pulled her hand fr
om his grip. "Bah. Wasn't nothing for the gossip you gave me. Now git along while I make a few calls. Ah I have to get this one worked around." There was a muffled mutter from Stevens, but Rick still held his hand over the werewolf's mouth.
"Well, thank you still." Luke stepped off the porch and we followed him toward the truck.
"It is a little strange, though." We paused and glanced back at the old woman as she rocked. "You're the second group to be asking about that place yonder in a week."
Luke paused and half-turned to her. "Was there a woman and two men in the first group?" he asked her.
She nodded and a soft smile graced those wrinkled lips. "Aye, and she was a pretty one, too. Gossiped with me for a while."
Luke bowed his head. "Thank you for that tidbit."
She waved her hand at him. "Wasn't nothing, now git along with ya."
We piled back into the truck and bumped back down the road. After a mile Rick glanced over his shoulder at us. "You think that was Stacy and them others?" he asked Luke.
"Undoubtedly," Luke replied.
"That means they have a head start on us," he pointed out.
"Then we will force ourselves to hurry," Stevens spoke up.
"Hurry to where from here?" I asked him.
"We go to the swamp forest and cross the region border," Luke replied.
"Sounds easy. Think we'll get killed doing it?" I teased.
He smiled. "Perhaps, but we have our friends ahead of us to clear the way," he pointed out.
I leaned back against the side of the truck and sighed. Then my teeth chattered when we hit a bump. "I hope I can walk straight when we get to this compound."
3
We came upon the entrance to a murky bit of woods that spanned several hundred acres across the border between Manutia and Scientia. The road led into the dark woods and I glimpsed large puddles in the tracks that were the first indications of the swamp. The second was the scent of rotting limbs and foliage that wafted from the trees.
"Stop here," Luke called to Rick.
Stevens turned in his seat with a frown on his face. "But why? We have yet to reach the border and Stacy is far ahead of us," he pointed out.
"We should leave the truck here and travel on foot to the border to see if we can find any recent patrols," Luke replied.
"Then Steve and I'll stay here with the truck," Rick offered.
The color drained from Steve's face. "Can't we go with them?" he squeaked.
"We can't keep up with 'em and I'm not leaving my truck," Rick told him.
"We won't be gone long," Luke promised as he climbed from the bed.
"See that yer not. I don't want to be having trouble without ya," Rick replied.
"I will come with you," Stevens offered.
"It would be best if one werewolf remained with the truck," Luke argued.
Stevens nodded toward me. "Then let your mate remain here. She is a poor fighter," he countered.
I growled at him, but Luke stepped between us. "Fine, we will all go," he acquiesced.
"We'll be fine with ol' Bessie," Rick piped up. He hefted the shotgun into his arms and patted the butt. "Nothing can get through all the spray shot from this, but if something does try you'll know from the shot," he told us.
"Do not fire unless you are threatened by werewolves. We don't need to be attracting attention," Luke advised him.
Rick frowned. "I won't, and don't ya bring any guests with ya, either," he retorted.
Luke smiled and bowed his head. "We will be as careful as we can," he promised.
We three werewolves set out on foot, our human feet, that is, into the woods. Luke led us along the road for a half mile and then into the brush and trees. Stevens wasn't kidding when he said nobody would want to patrol that place often. It was a mixture of heavy brush growing over ground that was swampy enough to make the bayou jealous. Every step I took was like walking on a slightly leaky water bed, but with the added fun of mosquitoes nipping at my skin and brush whipping at my face. Luke led the way with me behind him and Stevens bringing up the rear like the ass he was.
We tiptoed through the ugly tulips and trees, and far out of sight of the truck. Luke would periodically stop to sniff the air, and I plugged my nose. The stench from all the rot was nearly overpowering, even for my untrained sniffer. I wondered how the others handled the smell. Our path led us at a south-westerly angle and after a mile or two Luke paused and tilted his nose up.
"How close are we to the border?" he asked Stevens.
"Only twenty yards in front of us. Why?" he returned.
"I smell a hint of a patrol that passed this way a few hours ago. Four werewolves, all male," Luke explained.
Stevens sniffed the air and frowned. "You are not mistaken. A group of four passed by here not more than four hours ago."
Luke's stiff shoulders visibly relaxed. "This is good news for us," he commented.
"What? That they are four hours off?" Stevens guessed.
"No, that we can smell them at all. This suggests that Lance cannot supply all his followers with the de-scent pills," Luke pointed out. "That gives us hope that we may yet be able to stop any massive exports or manufacturing of the product."
This hopeful conversation was interrupted by the sound of shots, and they came from behind us. My eyes widened when my ears judged the distance. "Rick and Steve!" I shouted.
"We must help them!" Luke agreed. He turned around, but Stevens blocked our path.
"We can use this opportunity to infiltrate the region. The facility is only a day's run away from the border," Stevens informed us.
Luke growled at Stevens, and I noticed my mate's teeth and fingernails were a tad long. "We won't leave anyone behind," he argued.
Stevens scowled. "I am the senior wolf in this pack, and I order you to lead on into Scientia," he commanded us.
"You may be the eldest, but I won't recognize you as the leader," Luke bit back. He grabbed my hand and pushed us past Stevens, who sputtered his indignation.
"You would risk saving my daughter for a few humans?" he yelled at us as we hurried down the road.
Luke ignored him and I noticed the hand that held me was quickly changing to a claw. "We must transform to reach them," he told me.
Luke and I got furry and raced toward the sounds of the gunfire. We covered the ground in a few minutes and arrived at the entrance to the woods to find that Luke's sniffer was right about the patrol. The truck was surrounded by four werewolves, all male and transformed as we were, and on the top of the cab stood Rick and Steve armed with their shotguns. Though the truck was surrounded by the four werewolves, one of those attackers lay on his back in human form and wasn't moving. There was a lot of blood on his bare chest.
"You just keep coming! I've got plenty of silver buckshot for all of you!" Rick shouted at the wolves.
"Y-yeah, what he said!" Steve agreed.
The werewolves growled and snapped at the humans. Their fur was matted with blood from grazes of buckshot, and their eyes flitted between their prey and their fallen comrade. Blood and revenge were in their dark yellow eyes. Luke threw back his head and howled. The werewolves had been too distracted with their blood thirst to notice us, but now we had their full and undivided attention. Rick took the opportunity to aim his gun and shoot one of the werewolves in the chest, felling him and increasing the body count to two.
The remaining two werewolves, tired of being shot at with boiled-down silverware, sprang at us. One jumped Luke and the other tried to jump me, but I leapt out of the way. He was a large werewolf and when he landed on all four paws I felt a tremor vibrate through the earth. I decided a one-on-one would mean one less me in the world and raced for the trees. There was a particular tree that looked good to climb, especially with my pursuer literally chomping at my tail eager for a chance to say hello to me with his teeth.
I reached the edge of the woods just as a shadow sprang from the brush in front of me. The form flew over me and landed on the tailg
ater behind me. I skidded to a stop and turned to see it was Stevens who had flown over me. He and the other werewolf rolled around and around biting, clawing and gnashing at each other. Stevens gained the upper hand when he slammed their heads together. The other werewolf was dazed, and Stevens grabbed his head and gave it a quick turn. There was a horrible snap and the werewolf went limp in Stevens' arms. Stevens dropped him to the ground and snarled at him.
"Blasted pup," he growled.
While Stevens did away with his enemy, Luke was hard at work on his own. His was a little more experienced, but Luke managed to get beneath him and kick him in the gut. The kick shoved the werewolf closer to the truck where Rick was waiting with a silver bullet, and that werewolf was killed.
We all met at the truck, tired, furry, and dirty, and with four bodies around us in various states of reverting back to their human forms. Luke noticed Stevens and raised one of his bushy eyebrows above his yellow eyes. "Why did you follow us back?" Luke asked him.
"I cannot infiltrate an entire facility on my own," Stevens pointed out.
Rick knelt down and glanced over us. "You all right?" he wondered.
Luke stood on two legs and slowly transformed back into his human form. Stevens and I did the same, though I first made sure I had enough clothes to change back. "Yes, but what happened?" Luke returned.
Rick nodded at the four dead werewolves. "They came out of the woods to the west there all gnashing their teeth. Not a bright idea because it gave us time to get on the roof with a box full of bullets," he commented as he indicated the box between where Steve and he stood. "Didn't try to take us hostage or nothing, just wanted to drag us off the roof and eat us."
"Humans wouldn't be worth their time to take as hostages, not when Lance wishes to have us as a great prize," Stevens commented.
"That's what I reckoned, so we gave them all we got until you showed up," Rick agreed.
Luke glanced at the woods and tilted his head to one side listening. "We had better on our way. The noises may have been heard by other patrols," he commented.
4
We moved the bodies from the road, piled into the truck and bumped on our way. I leaned against the back of the cab and glanced over to Luke. He had his attention on a healing wound on his arm. "You okay?" I asked him.