Blood

18. Death in the Forest

The ground got spongy as we approached the moose. We stopped. We were silent. We were downwind. But we needed firm ground to take an animal that big. Wet moss and water tangled with marsh plants wouldn't do.

I studied the wolves, then picked two that seemed to be a pair, always running side by side.

I sent images of them working their way quietly to windward, then howling and spooking the moose.

They loped silently off into the darkness.

I sat on a log to wait and the four remaining wolves sat down on the grass around me. We were very quiet. A fox didn't notice us until it was nearly upon us, then ran off so rapidly that it scared a pair of grouse that had been sleeping in the low branches of a spruce tree. They squawked and, with a mad rush of wingbeats, disappeared into the forest too.

It was quiet again after that.

Then we heard howls, followed by the yip yip of the distant wolves telling us they'd startled our prey.

It didn't take long to hear the moose coming our way. It was moving casually, not afraid of just two wolves, more annoyed than anything, but it was so big that it made a lot of noise as it came through the forest.

The wolves with me got up and the hair on their backs rose, but they did not make a sound, they just looked at me. I was their leader now and I was supposed to tell them what to do. But did I know what to do?

I guess I did. As the moose lumbered into view, I found myself running straight at the massive beast.

It hadn't expected that. Human hunters are careful not to get too close to a moose. Moose can take out a person with one kick.

The moose lowered its massive antlers toward me just as I leapt but I cleared its head and landed on its back, spinning around and throwing myself forward to slash its neck with my long canines. And then I leapt away before it could shake me to the ground and kick me.

As I landed clear of it the wolves closed in, strategically biting tendons in its legs and, as the blood loss from its neck weakened it, adding their own sharp fangs to the injury.

In less than a minute it fell on its side with a tremendous thump. I came back over and examined it. It was definitely dead.

I wiped its blood off my face with the back of my sleeve. "I'm sorry," I told it. And then I raised my head and howled to let the rest of the pack know of our success. As I did that I found I could sense them all the way back at the cabin, and I wondered if I could push a thought to them.

I focused on their leader, who had stayed behind to supervise the other half of the pack. And I focused strongly on Hedges too. I hadn't told him about sharing thoughts and messages with Amira, but I hoped he knew me well enough to figure out it was me. Or maybe he'd think it was his own thought. Either way would work.

What I showed both of them was an image of the lead wolf carrying Hedges' knife to me. I could've just sliced chunks of meat off with my canines, but I didn't want to be an animal. Well, any more of an animal than I'd already been that night.

So I sat down on the log again to wait.

Meanwhile, the wolves with me were already beginning their feast. They growled and fought over the best pieces. Which was silly, I thought, because the moose was way too big for them to eat in one night's feasting, but that must've been their way.

When the lead wolf came trotting into the clearing with the others trailing out behind him, my group of wolves stopped feeding and turned to show him their respect. His was the right to feast first while they waited.

But before he approached the kill he came over to me and, yes!, there cross-wise in his mouth was Hedges' sheath knife. It was still in its leather sheath, which I hadn't visualized, but that's Hedges. Always thinking. I suppose he didn't want the wolf to get cut.

I took the knife and, slipping it free of the sheath, went over and cut a very large steak from the shoulder. Then I turned and jogged back toward the cabin.

I won't say I didn't want to eat with the wolves, sharing the steaming raw meat right there on the forest floor. But I did not do it. I was determined to wait and eat a proper meal with Hedges. Whatever else I had become, I was first and foremost a human. At least I sure hoped I still was.