As the two Americans and one Canadian set down in their plane at the Berlin's Brandenburg International Airport, they immediately went through customs. From there they claimed their bags and passed into the busy reception area. There as Crissa, Mary, and Josh entered the main arrivals terminal, they looked for their project contact. The individual materialized soon enough carrying a sign simply with a wolf's head drawn upon it. There could be no doubt it was their specific connection.
The man carrying the sign was easily in his sixties. He had white hair and a short-cropped, equally white beard. He sported a pair round eye-glasses and could have passed for actor Sean Connery were it not that the Scottish accent was now closer to a homegrown dialect, sounding typically West Coast, American.
"You all look like you just stepped off a Stateside campus somewhere," the professor said smiling. "Hello again, you two . . ." This he said gleefully, extending his arms and greeting Mary and Josh both with a warm hug.
"And you must be Crissa," he added, reaching a hand out to her, formally. "I'm Professor Dekker, the expedition coordinator. But also, chief cook and bottle-washer for these things," he said, laughing heartily.
Crissa took his strong hand and nodded timidly.
"Yes. I'm Crissa Palmer . . . from British Columbia."
"Of course! Glad to have you along, Crissa. Impressive work for such a young person. Loved you letter of inquiry."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're going to thoroughly enjoy this project, I assure you."
Crissa was momentarily speechless. She just smiled back.
"Well," the professor announced, more officiously. "Are you all ready to get over to the Berliner Hof Hotel, where we'll stay a while?"
"Sure," Josh said, stepping up and taking charge. "So how do things look. Over near the border?
"Weather's been great here in Berlin. Wetter than usual for summer, but dry in the mountains where we'll be. And lots of sightings! Reports of sheep and cattle kills and nightly howling."
"Excellent," Mary weighed in. "Can't wait to get into the field!"
"OK then," Dr. Dekker happily responded. "As soon as we get you through a bit of jetlag, I'll share some info . . . then, yeah, we'll be out there in the village."
Crissa, though feeling extremely tired from a full day and a half in a plane, was excited by the camaraderie shown by the researchers. What a great life, she thought, to be able to go around the world, just studying animals.
Soon they were out on the street putting their luggage into a hotel mini-van. They then crowded themselves into the vehicle. The driver, a blond young man of nineteen or twenty, smiled back at them. He gave rehearsed greeting in English but it was heavily influenced by a strong German accent. Crissa realized then just how far away from her home she was.
"So. Welcome to the Saxony region of Germany," the professor began as the van pulled away from the curb. "We'll be here in the city of Berlin for two nights. After some rest and a debriefing, we'll head out to a rural area known as Rietshen."
Crissa, like the others, fastened her seat belt and looked outside to see the lights of the massive airport fade away in the darkening evening. The brighter lights of Berlin were up ahead.
"This area where we will be headquartering has mostly farming communities to the west toward the interior. Mostly hops growers. For that amazing German beer which you'll be sampling soon enough." He laughed.
Crissa looked over at Mary who gave her a sisterly smile and a wink.
"And east of those farmlands, are some primitive villages. They back right up to the vast forestlands of Poland where these wolves once called home. The reason for this sudden migration, involving these species, will be one of the thrusts of our study . . . among other more specific inquires."
Crissa saw Mary and Josh look at one another quietly.
"We'll be staying for the most part in the small village of Erlichtof," the professor pronounced in authentic German, more formally. There we'll stow our equipment, make records of our findings, and from that village journey out on a few specific treks into the forests for our observations and sample collections."
To Crissa, this was all sounding more exciting, but at the same time surprisingly exposed and risky. For as she knew from living in Canada, encounters with Gray Wolves, if these variety were anything like them, could turn out immensely frightening—if not deadly. She knew they must be treated with extreme caution and respected for their hunting and pack-killing behavior. She was certain Josh and Mary, indeed the professor himself, knew there had been historic accounts of wolves killing people, and even devouring them when they had found their own natural food supply depleted. For it was this voracious and lethal reputation the Gray Wolf had which had kept both creature and man apart for many millennia.
In addition to the insecurities Crissa had about her age and maturity on this trip, she now also harbored the fear she might be pushed out of her comfort zone. And this by the sheer brashness of the professor, and the other members of the team, to get up-close-and personal with these creatures. Until now, Crissa had studied wolves only while in a library or on the Internet. She honestly did not know how the experience would be, as in her recent frightening dream, to be stared down by such a dangerous animal exceeding her own size and weight. And with the sobering distinction of running down its prey and ripping out its throat to neutralize it.
When they got to the hotel, Crissa was impressed by the luxuriousness of it. The professor had made it clear in route from the airport that the small team would utilize, besides his own, three rooms. These would be occupied by Mary and Josh in one, the two male students from Alaska in another, and the last room was to be occupied by herself and the girl, a sophomore from the University of Alaska. These other three students were met in the lobby of the Berliner Hof Hotel when they arrived.
The two males were named Bradly Abbot and David Romero—both looking to be football players. Brad had reddish blond hair and kind eyes, while David was Hispanic with long dark hair, and a more brooding look. Both of them took Crissa's hand upon meeting, but it was David's striking green eyes which caught her attention, though neither older student seemed more than casually interested in Crissa's rather juvenal looks.
The other female, soon to be Crissa's roommate, was named Julie Chu, an energetic Asian undergrad, with straight black hair, cropprd just below her ears, and a cute, expressive mouth. Her face could easily have been that of a model, though she seemed to have boyish manners and was overly talkative, compared to the other two Alaskan students.
Once the team of six had been formally introduced to each other by Professor Dekker in the loby, the plan was to get their rooms established and rest a while. Then, later, a dinner was scheduled in the hotel dining room for the group at 10:00 PM. As Crissa took her suitcase, and Julie helped her with her carry-on bag, they paired off and took the elevator to the fourth floor, where they would be rooming together for the next two nights.
"So, how old are you?" Julie bluntly asked Crissa, as they entered the room.
"I'm eighteen. I know . . . too young for all this."
"No way! That's cool. "Look, I'm just twenty. I've been on a couple of these field projects already. But in Alaska, of course. This is my first time ever overseas."
"Nice. I'm . . ."
"Canadian. I read that. And you'll be at UBC next year?"
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"Amazing school! I have a friend there. At the inland campus. She is so happy. Canadians are lovely people. Everyone knows that. And the guys are hot!"
"Yeah OK, I guess."
"So what did you think of Brad and Dave?"
"Well, they're . . ."
"Super nice, both. Brad's got a girlfriend back in Fairbanks. Says he's gonna be loyal to her."
"OK."
"But David . . . now there's a challenge for you."
Crissa put her suitcase next to the unused bed.
"Oh? And why is that?
"He is so . . . closed up. But ever so hot! God. What do you think about his eyes?"
"Yeah. Nice eyes. Definitely."
"You might have a chance with him on this trip, you know."
"Well, I never . . ."
"Don't ever say never. A lot can happen in ten days."
"Well then. If you say you like him . . ."
"No. I 've already tried with David. We go to the same school, remember? I don't know. At first, I just thought he maybe didn't like Asians, you know? But then, he's not like that. No other girls seemed to interest him either. And I know he's not gay."
"You do?
"Yeah. He told me once. When we got drunk together. Said he thinks girls are cool, but so is . . . 'Nature', he said. Guess that's why he's in Conservation Science. But see . . . I just don't buy that. I think he can be conquered. You know, seduced. By the right girl, of course."
"OK."
Look, Crissa. While we're together, if you ever think I'm talking too much, just tell me, alright?"
Crissa smiled at her. "I actually think its fine that you talk too much, Julie. It makes it easier on me. Because I . . ."
"Don't talk much at all. I know."
"Right."
"Well then . . . we're perfect for roommates!"
"Seems so."
"OK then. So . . . what got you into wolves?"
Julie reached under pillow and took out a pair of lime green pajamas for later that night.
"Not sure, really. Their unique ways? Their survivability? Their strength, I guess?"
"What about their danger?"
"Yeah, I guess. But that's crazy if you're going to risk your life to see them."
"Nevertheless, you're here. Right?"
"Yeah, I suppose that's true. Still, I'm not crazy about getting too close."
"I personally think that's the thrill of the whole thing. Stalking them . . . and watching them. Above and beyond their conservation."
Well, I'll just have to see where this is all going. But for now . . . I could use a hot shower."
Julie just smiled and nodded. She then took out her smart phone and laid on the bed .
* * *
Over dinner, Professor Dekker once more welcomed the group and praised them for their volunteerism. After passing out several textual documents, outlining the species of European and Eurasian wolves, he became silent for a moment and then began speaking as if from his heart.
"This project is very significant," he told them. "As mankind encroaches upon these ancient creatures from the east, where they had lived as apex predators for hundreds of thousands of years, they have sought out a new territory. A territory we will explore shortly. Just how this species will ultimately behave in this new, even closer proximity to humans is of interest to many animal behaviorists. Including myself."
He looked around the table and each of the students, including Crissa were now giving him their close attention.
"Mary and Josh, here, will be cataloging their behavioral and communicative activities. In pairs, in packs, and among their young. You other four will be assisting me with some very specific inquiries. You see, the theory of epigenetics dictates that an organism's specific past behaviors and experiences can be transferred genetically to their offspring."
Crissa had touched on this theory as part of genetics unit while in Biology class. But the epigenetics idea about transferring behaviors was still highly controversial she remembered.
"This carrying on of an animal's experiences to the next generation is above and beyond the organism's physical attributes," he went on. "This is about blindly repeating complex activities from their past."
Josh and Mary were again looking at each other seriously.
"As you all know, there are many legends and I dare say . . . myths associated with these wonderful animals and their interaction to human. And there are dark periods in our human past when tales were told of interactions with wolves that . . . frankly defied scientific phenomena."
The group was now quiet and looking blankly at the pages in front of them.
"You see, I'm keenly interested in observing if there are any traces of those elements . . . those intriguing tales which are often extant in this region of the world."
The professor was now looking at them more intensely. "Frankly . . . there have been such reports coming out of this area we'll be investigating. And not far from the village where we will be staying. From where we'll be observing the forests and investigating them."
There were several furtive looks among the team into the eyes of each other as this rather unexpected, announcement was made. Crissa looked across the table at David, and his wonderful green eyes lingered on hers for a few seconds. It caused her to catch her breath for the moment. Was he just as surprised as the rest to hear this alarming comment? All remained silent as the professor then assured his team that their safety would be of his utmost concern.
At the end of the dinner, they all went back to their rooms somewhat perplexed about what the direction and procedures of the study would actually be. As David's eyes dispassionately connected and then quickly left hers again in parting, Crissa walked with a surprisingly quiet Julie back to their room. While Julie tried to make some meaningless conversations with her, it was only David's eyes and his attractive, aloof nature that Crissa remembered before drifting off to sleep.
* * *