Ice -- Wolv book II

12 - Escape Attempt

Hutch looked up at the two of us warily, than touched noses with the two of us. It almost felt like we were preparing to go on a hunt.

"Alright. Let's get out of this place. I saw what looked like an exit door this morning, just a little ways past that hospital. Let's go!"

I followed after him, keeping myself fairly low to the ground, and creeping forward at a slow yet steady pace down the hallway. Hutch nudged open the door at the end of it and peered down the staircase that lead to the tunnel network; everything down there was pitch black. I blinked my eyes a few times, letting them adjust to the dark environment, and began wiggling my toes back and forth, forcing my claws to retract. The others did the same, and one by one, we began descending the concreted stairs. With our claws fully retracted, we could pad our way across the hard surface in complete silence. While Hutch still didn't believe there were people like us here--wolves, that is--on the odd chance that Nadie's theory was right, we couldn't risk moving around noisily; they would surely hear us if we did.

I rounded the a bend, and the tunnels darkened even more. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was pitch black, save for the faintest outline of Hutch, just inches in front of my muzzle.

While the tunnels were dark, they were not at all silent--far from it, in fact. I could hear the pipes overhead, hissing noisily as steam was pumped through them; the supports creaked and groaned as the conduits above expanded and contracted as they were warmed and cooled.

"Nohkom!"

My ears twitched as the word was whispered through the air, and I felt my back tense up involuntarily. I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to five, than opened them once more, hoping that my night vision would have improved. Hutch's tail flicked across my face--he'd heard it, too.

"Nohkom, nikimiskaw!" Grandmother, I found him!

Up ahead, I could see a faint light, coming from around a bend in the tunnel. Of course, that's the tunnel we need to go down. Hutch slowed his pace, but we still crept forward until we'd reached the bend in the hallway. Hutch sniffed the air quietly and flicked his ears around, listening. Slowly, he edged his way around the bend, stepping out into the light.

Two voices were speaking quietly to each other. Neither of them were speaking in overly hushed tones however; they didn't know we were listening. I rounded the bend next, and found myself peering down the white-washed corridor that lead to the vet clinic. The stainless steel door was wide open, and light poured out of the room. Feet shuffled around somewhere inside, and the voices continued.

"Is he alright?" I cocked my head, recognizing the voice; it belonged to Elizabeth.

"éhé, he is alright. He called in from the radio station a few minutes ago."

"What happened?" Elizabeth's voice was hard, completely lacking the warmth that she had shown us earlier today. "Why did Norman not return when he was supposed to?"

The man she was talking to answered back in a small, shaky voice. "His truck went missing, Nohkom. We found it a few miles south of here."

"Ah, I see. I'm sure our  guests will be able to explain that!" I flinched. Did she know we were here? How? Shoot, we're screwed!

But the old lady continued talking, apparently oblivious to our eavesdropping. "Anyways. What else did he say?"

"He said the caribou are strong this winter. The herd is solid; we should have more than enough for the season."

"Excellent! When will he be back?"

"Tomorrow. He wanted to run back here, but I convinced him to wait for the truck I sent for him."