A Town of Howls

Chapter 1

"Damn it, boy! I told you to double-check the locks!" James shouted as he ran out the open gate.

"Sorry sir!" Ethan proclaimed trailing, his voice already showing signs of fatigue. He was a good kid but if he wasn't James' son and free labor, he would have been fired long ago. This is the second time he failed to secure the horse's pen properly. Last time a full-grown stallion wandered off and James never did find the damn thing. It was a promising breeder with buyers lined up in the lower Montana towns. That was thousands of dollars gone for something so stupidly simple. Now it was a set of females that could cost him ten times that amount.

He could still see them walking in the distance, about two hundred yards or so. Their black coats bolded against the falling snow. If they decided to gallop he'd have no chance but thankfully they stayed at a trot. James didn't know if it was the snowfall that kept them cautious or the unfamiliar surroundings, either way, he welcomed the luck.

"Keep up boy, it'll be a bitch to stop both of them by myself!" He shouted. James knew even before looking back that Ethan was fading.

"Too much time on that damn computer. He needed to work more and yell less at that damn game." James mused. He was only at a jog, thinking it would give Ethan a chance to make up some ground but soon he began to give up on him entirely. At Ethan's age, he would have caught up to those horses already, yet his son could barely run without a struggle.

"I'm coming!" Ethan wheezed. James now knew he was on his own.

Then more ill luck, the horses had suddenly decided to ignore the trail. Their new route took them on a more scenic tour up the mountain. One littered with small crevices that, when covered with snow, were almost designed to break legs. James just hoped they would stop to admire the surroundings like those dumb ass tourists that he catches on his property doing that stupid monster tour every summer.

James gave a look of disapproval back at his son. Ethan was even farther back now, putting the last nail in the coffin on the basketball scholarship that seemed so promising two years ago.

"Screw it" James muttered. "I'll show him what he gave up." His strides became large as he broke into a run through the snow. The storm was still a night off but even its outskirts dropped a half inch already.

"This was going to be a bad one." James thought as he followed the horse's tracks deeper into the mountain.

He ran for a good fifteen minutes straight, only resting with slow jogs. The depressions of hooves were all that remained to guide James to his missing pair. Their trail led him to a familiar small valley, one he knew very well from his hunting days. There was even a good size cave near the rear of the passage, one he spent a night in due to a freak thunderstorm. He used to lure deer in there for an easy kill but that was years before horse breeding became priority one.

A sharp whine suddenly echoed out from the valley. James' pace quickened to a run again as he muttered curses for his son's blunder.

"You dumb bastards better not of broken anything!" He said grinding his teeth in anger. James didn't want to have to put them down, that would be an expensive mistake to the boy's college fund.

James weaved through trees and rocks trying to discover the source of the cry only finding more white as he cleared one obstacle after another. Then in a flash, he saw one of the horses galloping towards him. He shook off the surprise long enough to aim her for a group of trees. Even with the shock of its sudden arrival, he knew trying to stop her outright would have ended with him trampled. He raised his arms, waving them slowly back and forth, trying to look as imposing as possible. For a moment the horse stuck to its course but as it closed the distance it tapered off into a line of close-knit trees. She bucked in frustration as she found herself pinned. James quickly rushed up to her not wanting to give her a chance to run again. He took hold of the small harness around her head after one near miss, that almost led to a hoof finding the side of his head.

"Whoaaa girl, easy girl." James pleaded in his sweetest voice which his ex-wife compared to sandpaper, but to him, it seemed to do a pretty good job with the horses maybe it just didn't work on bitches. James laughed to himself as he searched for signs of the other horse. His breath was taken as he found a large black lump on the whited out canyon floor near the mouth of the cave.

"Shit." James barked with his Montana draw, "I am going to kick that boy's ass." He pulled the other horse forward leading them both towards the fallen shape. He only made it a few steps before the horse objected by bucking up on to its back legs which almost yanked James clear off the ground.

"What's with you?" He questioned as he turned to his reclaimed horse. That's when he noticed it, obscured on the opposite side of the horse, there was blood... a lot of blood. Three large gashes were torn down her side. They seemed to be claw marks but their size made no sense, even if it was one hell of a big bear. He stared trying to make sense of them as he fought to keep the horse under control. Another loud whine came from behind. It was the desperate scream of his other horse that cut into his ears like a dagger. Then in an instant, it was silenced with the loud crack of bones that echoed off the rocks. He quickly turned to find the former black mass was now covered by a gray hulking figure.

At first, James thought a boulder had come loose from the cliff side and finished the horse. Though that thought was quickly pushed aside as the mass seemed to be breathing. He no longer questioned the horse's hesitation but James still stood his ground. Even against the agitated horse's pulls, he was determined to see what took his mare, and more importantly his money. Yet that desire eroded as two large emerald eyes rose to meet his gaze.

Bareback always hurt his junk but in that moment, comfort was irrelevant, he just hoped the horse wouldn't succumb to its wounds before he was well away from this place. Even if it ended up dying he would call it a good investment. The horse's terror seemed to be more of a factor than its pain and they were back at the ranch within ten minutes.

Ethan was at the gate, head low in defeat as he saw his father riding back at full tilt. He knew his father hated bareback and in his eighteen years, he never saw the man do it once. So as he saw his father riding without a saddle and at a gallop, he knew it was not good news.

"Close the gate boy!" His father yelled as he rode through the opening. Ethan was confused as he didn't even stop to sculled him. Something was really wrong and if he made his old man wait it would only get worse.

Ethan closed the gate hard. The rebound almost toppling him as he slammed it into place. He did a double check that it latched properly this time and then was in a sprint to the stable where he found his father with a bottle of whiskey aimed high and draining fast.

He had tried to find that bottle for years in the barn but his father took care not to give him any hints on its location. Yet, here he was, his spot a hollowed hay bale, lying on the ground with one side open.

"Dad?!" concern riddled Ethan's voice as he saw his dad sweating profusely.

His father gave no notice as he gulped down the last of the bottle. He pulled it away giving a labored breath as he turned to his son, blood soaked into various parts of his clothing.

"Call Vanessa for the horse... and call the Sheriff." James labored to get out.

"What?!" Ethan question but his father's frightened expression sent him into the house in search of the phone.