Little Wolf

Ch 21 Forest Fire

I had a sense of the direction I needed to go. The roads were empty as I pushed my motorcycle to its limits heading toward the fire.

I came upon a group of fire trucks and rescue vehicles. I parked my bike between a few that were in a small group by themselves further back. I stripped cautiously, putting everything in my saddlebags, leaving the heavy yellow work jacket over my seat. I shifted quickly.

I paused once I was in the woods. I closed my eyes, depending on spirit vision for a second to guide me. My path through the fire was suddenly clear.

I opened my eyes and took off. I don't think I had ever run this fast, four feet gliding over the ground. Leaps over obstacles were a smooth movement. Smaller trees and bushes were easy to weave through.

There were patches of fire now. My paws crushed the ash and burnt debris beneath them. Smoke swirled above me. There were times when the path through areas of flame was a narrow one. Long high leaps through the smoke had me clear.

I ran on. The vision remained true. I howled to let them know I was coming.

I heard another howl. Two more. Other rescuers as lost in the woods as my prey. They had no vision to guide them.

I heard a howl from my target. Fear and relief were in his short howl. It was as if I could hear words buried in his howl.

Hurry, please!

I came to a stop in front of a young teenage boy. He looked to be about thirteen. In his arms, he held a girl about eight or nine. My sudden appearance startled him. I smelt the wolf on him, but not her. He looked Native American. Considering the area we were in, I guessed Cherokee.

I shifted. The boy's eyes got wide. I grinned at him. Looking back at my return path, I knew running as a human wasn't going to work.

I partially shifted back to wolf, making sure my face was mostly wolf. My voice came out deep and growly. My hand gently moved the end of the blanket to the side.

"Little one."

She struggled to focus on me.

I took her from the boy, set her on the ground, examined her briefly. Her one leg was roughly splinted. I held it, sniffing deeply. I was guessing a fracture. Her arms at least were fine.

I looked up. Her eyes were big. The boy looked like he was about to freak out with me revealing myself to her.

"Little one, what are you doing on this side of the river?" I asked, hoping that in these circumstances, I could pass myself off as Spirit Wolf himself. "Come, I will carry you home. You must hold on to me as tightly as you wish to hold on to life. You must not fall off my back. Do you understand?"

She nodded. The boy helped her up. Her hands wrapped around my neck.

"Tighter little one. You cannot hurt me. Your hold on me, like your hold on life itself, must be secure."

I was three-quarter wolf. Her legs hung over my sides. My paws were partially clawed hands and feet. I looked at the boy, waited while his transformation took place.

He shifted behind me, out of the girl's view. He was a small wolf.

I howled. It was a summons for those other rescuers. My vision shifted for a second. I could see where they were in the woods. There were three of them, timberwolves all, like the boy beside me.

"We're going now, little one, hold tight. Run with me, my brother. Stay as close behind me as you can. Follow in my footsteps. Do not stop."

I took off gliding, as smooth a run as I could make it. I could hear the boy struggling to keep my pace. I wasn't going my fastest, but I dared not slow down.

The wolves behind me were gaining on us, their paths converging behind us. I was no longer concerned about them. They were adult wolves, capable of following my trail, even through the ash-filled countryside.

There was a tree down ahead of us, flames licking the ground. I didn't stop. I slowed for a second, grabbed the boy as he came level with me, my arms around his middle and behind his rear legs. I threw his wolf form over the area. My own claws scrabbled against the burning bark.

The girl was having trouble holding on. I shifted to two furred legs. I swung one arm behind my back, supporting her as much as I could. I felt her adjust. She was more stable. Four legs now, growls and barks, encouraging the boy to keep going.

Sometimes I was more wolf, pushing off against the ground. Sometimes I used clawed hands to grab small trees on either side of my path, vaulting myself forward.

The trail through the fire coincided with a deer trail for awhile. I pushed the boy in front of me. He was slowing, which meant I was slowing. I urged him forward, keeping my nose against his flank, pushing him.

The timberwolves finally caught up. They were now ranging around us. I left the boy to them, leaping ahead of them.

My vision shifted, the clear path veered from the deer trail. With a short howl that was part bark, I angled off again. I was trusting the timber wolves to follow.

I didn't hold back now. My body shifting between man and wolf and everything in between as needed. Wolf when I needed the speed. Partially man when the girl on my back needed help.

My vision kept shifting. Man saw flames, wolf saw smells buried under the smell of smoke, spirit kept an eye on the path through the wild fire and the wolves that followed.

There were man sounds ahead. The wolves around me had been barking and howling. Others had come. A man in jeans and flannel now ran behind me, carrying the youth who was now a boy again.

There were men in front of me blocking my path. I was feral, no numbers in my head to help me focus. I was consumed with protecting my burden. Wolf growled at them as I stood on four legs.

It wasn't until one of the men came closer, kneeling on the ground before me, that my mind shifted again. He wasn't bowing to me, merely lowering himself so we were eye to eye.

The girl stirred. I shifted enough so when I stood and twisted around she slid into my arms. My snout touched her face, her neck.

"Safe."

The word came out, but the sounds that made the word were sounds a wolf would make.

She smiled at me. She wasn't afraid. I smiled back, not even knowing how much of me was wolf and how much was man. I set her down carefully on the forest floor.

I looked at the man in front of me. The growl I gave him was a warning. I stood over the girl for a moment, back on four legs. She reached for my front leg.

"Thank you Spirit Wolf."

Wolf looked at her with fondness. She was still smiling. I took a step back.

Man sounds invaded my awareness, on all sides. It was too much. I couldn't focus.

I sprang away full wolf.