EXCERPT I heard the growl. It was the same very low, very quiet growl I had heard from
the lobos the other night. It was behind me. Fighting down the urge to run, I
slowly put my hand on the laser at my belt. Then I slowly turned around. The
growling never stopped.
There was only deep shadow. I knew where the lobo was from the sound. My
heart was beating fast and my mouth had gone dry. All I could think about was
how fast those lobos had moved the night before. If this one attacked, would I
even have time to draw my handgun?
I recalled that when confronted by a wild animal, you should make no sudden
movements that the animal might consider an attack. That idea sounded good, but
the only thing I could really think to do was to pull my handgun out of its
holster as slowly as possible. If I could get it out before the creature
attacked, I might have a chance.
Suddenly part of the darkness before me was moving. Without time to think, I
drew the handgun out. At the same time, something crashed into me, knocking me
backwards into the ferns at the bottom of the ravine. I guess it was instinct
but I pulled back on the trigger and held it. Thin red lines were flashing
across my vision even as I felt a weight on top of me. I think I screamed.
I found out later that the laser handguns have a safety override. If the
handgun is pointing at something too close, it will stop firing to prevent an
overload of the weapon. My gun stopped firing by itself. Then I realized that
I had it jammed up against a large black body that was on top of me. I pushed
as hard as I could and rolled away from the lobo.
By the faint sunlight, I could see the large black shape lying on the ferns. I
had killed it. I did not know how I had aimed but somehow I had hit a vital
part. There was the smell of burnt hair and some other smell that might have
been burnt meat.
I staggered to my feet and backed away. The laser was trembling in my hand so
I put it away before I shot something else; like my foot. I picked up the comm
unit from where I had dropped it and with shaking hands took a bearing on Mark’s
unit. As I walked out of the ravine I realize that my left shoulder hurt. When
I reached some sunlight coming down between the trees, I could see that I was
bleeding down my left arm. My jumpsuit was torn and I could see where something
had sliced my shoulder. I began to shake again.
For a few seconds I considered sitting down and hollering on the comm unit for
Mark to come. But then I realized that the wound could not be all that serious.
I had picked up the comm unit with that hand. My shoulder hurt but my arm and
hand worked okay. I took the bearing again and set off through the trees.
Apparently I had not been all that far from our little camp because I came out
through the trees within two minutes. Mark was attaching something to a tree.
It took me a moment to realize it was a camera. He had mentioned that he
planned to leave one here to get photos of the lobos. I laughed as I came up to
him.
“Don’t worry about taking photos,” I told him. “I’ve got a real one for
you.”
He took one look at my arm and I saw him go white in the face.
“Some blood,” I said, “but nothing too serious.” I know I was trying to sound
casual, as if nothing important had happened, but I was glad when he made me sit
down while he fetched the first aid kit from his pack. My knees were more than
a little weak.
He washed out the wound with purified water. It really was not all that deep,
more like a good scratch than a real tear. He sprinkled some powder on it and
then put a dressing on it. We had both been given some basic first aid training
but the main thing I remembered was to stop the bleeding and holler for help.
He helped me put on my jacket. The weather was still clouding up and looked
like it might rain. Why was it that we always seemed to get rain when we came
to Rainbow Lake?
I insisted on taking Mark back to show him the lobo I had killed. It was not
that I was proud of it. It had been in self-defense, after all. But I wanted
him to see it. I was figuring that we would drag it back to the site for the
scientists to study.
He studied the animal for a while, and then picked it up to see how heavy it
was. Then he stood and looked carefully around the ravine, saying something
about them traveling in pairs. Which made me feel stupid. I had not even
thought of that possibility.
Mark pulled the lobo up onto his shoulder and began back towards our camp. I
was about to follow when I heard a sound. I froze and was about to call to Mark
when I realized that the sound was not a growl. It was more like a meow!
Nevertheless, I pulled out my handgun before I went a little deeper into the
ravine.
There was a small cave in the side of the ravine. I used my flashlight from my
belt to look into it. It was not deep, only a few feet in. But to my surprise
there was a small dark shape at the back. I knelt down. Yes, it was a baby
lobo! It looked a lot like a puppy. Its dark eyes were open and it was looking
at me. Then came that meowing sound again.
The realization of what I had done hit me with an emotional impact. I crawled
on my hands and knees into the cave. The lobo did not seem prone to attack. It
simply looked at me and meowed very much like a cat. Slowly I reached out for
it, ready to jerk my hand back if he seemed to want to take a bite out of it.
But he did not. He sniffed my hand then looked up again and meowed. I
carefully gathered him into my hands and backed out.
The lobo cuddled into my arm with no signs of fear or anger. When I stood up,
Mark was standing here, his arms crossed over his chest. “What do you think
you’re doing?” he asked.
“Mark, I killed its mother!”
He said nothing.
“I can’t just let it starve.”
“It’s a wild animal. You were attacked by its mother. Or father.
Whatever.”
“It was just defending its young,” I countered.
He sighed and turned, leaving me to carry the little guy back to our camp.
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Children`s Fiction
Non-Adult Fiction
