Cory Lambert was making his way through the snowy alpines in Wyoming, checking the tracks in the snow. He had received a call earlier from Mr. Threadson that some chickens and vegetation had been going missing from his property. Cory was the town's known tracker- everyone knew that he was the only one capable of solving cases like these. He was mindlessly making his way up the snowy hill when he came across some tracks behind a tree. He bent down to take a closer look. They looked like….human footprints? He squinted at them, and noticed that the toe was pointed outwards. Meaning that whoever's these were was running. Probably to get out of the snow. But who would be out here in their barefeet to begin with? He slowly started wandering around. Maybe the person was close by. He walked for about 6 more minutes, before he came upon a hole in the ground. He shined his flashlight in the whole, and his mouth hung open. There was a girl inside. She was covered in dirt, with matted bloodied hair, and clothes that would be too small if she had any meat on her bones. She had an athletic build, and as he looked inside, her dark green eyes glared back at him in a mixture of fear and warning- "like an animal", he thought. She had some chicken parts in the hole with her and her mouth was bloodied from eating it raw. He cringed at the awful condition she was in. He decided he needed to be careful, she would probably scare easily if he made any sudden movements. He turned off his flashlight and put his hands up in defense. Then he slowly bent down and started talking to her in a soft voice, like he would a child.
"Hello, there. I'm not gonna hurt 'ya."
She made a quick dart with her eyes toward his gun, and then looked back into his eyes, breathing heavily.
He quickly but softly took off his gun sling and tossed his gun aside. He put his arms out in a "come here" motion, but she wouldn't budge. He inwardly wondered how she had survived for what looks like a long time in these conditions. The hole she was in probably shielded her from the snow and harsh winds, and with the land nearby she could easily sneak food. But the question is, how long had she been out here? Obviously long enough to not trust people, je thought.
He started to crawl inside the hole, but she just moved deeper inside it, so he quickly decided that wasn't a good idea.
"Do you have a name?" he asked.
She just stared back at him, confused, and scared still.
He waited there trying to get her to come out for a good couple of hours. Finally, he decided to go home and come up with a plan. But he couldn't just leave her like this. He went back to his snowmobile and dug in his pack for the granola bars he kept in his sack. He unwrapped them and went back to her hole. He reached out, holding the bar, until he realized she wasn't going to take them from him, so he dropped them in the entrance and stood back. He watched as she quickly made a grab for them and scoot back in her cave. He made his way back into town, and met up with his indian friend, Sahoe. He walked up to the door and knocked on it until his friend answered.
"You won't believe what I found in the mountains." He explained everything to him.
"So, what are you going to do?" Sahoe asked, taking a sip of his beer.
"I don't know. I can't just grab her, I don't know what kind of condition she's in, and I might hurt her. She won't come out willingly- she doesn't trust me."
They talked through ideas until it got late enough that Cory had to go home. He stayed up late that night though, thinking of ideas until he got one. Oh yeah, this would work.
The next day, he went back at the same time and gave her food by leaving it in the entrance of her hole. He went back again and again, and every day, te food would be gone by the time her returned. The day before his big plan, he went into town to visit the doctor.
As he walked into the small clinic, the bell on the door chimed.
"Hey, Cory!" The doctor smiled.
"How you doin, Jeb?"
"What can I do you for today?"
"Well, it's a big ask, but I really need your help."
With that, Cory explained to the doctor about the girl, and his plan to sedate her with the Etorphine he used on some of the animals he caught.
"That's a risky plan, Cory. I mean, what do you plan to do with her once you've got her?"
"Well, that's where I was hoping you could step in. I was thinking i could handcuff her tpo the bed while you checked on her- make sure everything's all right."
"And then what?"
"Well, I'll keep her at my house while I send out "Found" signs."
"And what if no one claims her?"
"We can't think about that right now. So, you willin to help?"
Jeb gave a long sigh that said "you're a crazy man, Cory.", and then walked back into the pharmacy to grab the sedative.
The next day, Cory got up and got dressed in his snow gear. Then he packed a bag full of supplies- a few granola bars, the sedative, handcuffs, and a sleeping bag he could put her in to attach to the snowmobile while he rode home.
As he neared the hole area, he stopped and got out the granola bars. He then injected the sedative into them, and left them at her hole entrance. Then, he waited. Luckily, he had to wait for a living, as it was his job to track animals. He waited a good two hours before he saw her head poke out of the hole. He inwardly smiled when she grabbed the bars and started eating them. He waited about 10 minutes- enough time for a girl her size to be sedated by now. He walked to the hole and shined his flashlight in. Her eyes were barely open, and she lazily looked at him.
"Hey there." He said softly.
He crawled in and scooped her out of the hole. She tried to fight him and resist it, but the drugs made her weak, and he just said; "Shhh Shh Shhh it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."
She didn't stop fighting though, and as soon as he set her down to get the snow bag, she stumbled up and tried to run. He was impressed with how good her motor skills were, given the dose he had given her. He easily caught up with her though, and held her on her stomach with one arm, while he handcuffed her with the other. Since he was a sheriff part time, he always had handcuffs handy. She whimpered and made argumentative sounds, but he just scooped her struggling body up, and zipped her into the bag. Then, he strapped the bag to the mobile and got on. He looked back at her before he drove off, but she was asleep now.
He took an exasperated sigh, and said,"Finally" with a laugh. Then, he made his way to his house.
When she awoke, she was drowsy and confused. She heard men talking outside the door to the room she was in, and tried to immediately get up. But as soon as she tried to move her arms, she found that they were stuck to something cold and metallic. She gave an angry groan, and clanked them against the bedposts. Someone had wiped the dirt from her face, and had given her clean clothes to wear. The door creaked open and two en made their way in. It was that mad- the one that had taken her. She snarled, and he looked at her concerned.
"Are you sure it's safe?" The doctor said. He wasn't used to working with wild things.
"Yeah, she's not goin anywhere." He said, crossing his arms.
She started breathing heavily, as the doctor approached her. She writhed and twisted her body in spite of the cuffs.
"Well, just as a precaution…" The doctor pulled out a huge needle with a clear liquid in it and started moving it toward her body. Cory went over to hold her down as she got injected, and her body immediately relaxed- against her will.
Cory looked up at her and smiled, softly saying; "See, that wans't too bad, was it." He then ran a hand across her face to wipe her hair away from her eyes.
Her breathing slowed, but she just glared at him. She was sure she hated him, if she even knew what that meant anymore.
The doctor carefully examined the bruising on her face, and along her jawline. She had a black eye and cuts around her eyes and forehead. Then, he moved onto her ribs and abdomen. She started squirming as much as she could, but the drug had made her too weak to stop his efforts.
Cory cringed as he saw her stomach. There was black and blue bruising all along her left side, and not to mention the scrapes and cuts on her thies and legs.
Cory looked at the drugged up girl with deep sympathy in his eyes. The hell she must have been through….
The doctor pressed on a particularly nasty looking bruise to check if any of her ribs were broken. But when he did so, the girl whimpered like something broken and writhed her body away from the touch.
"I think that's enough for now." Cory said, looking at the girl.
"Yeah, me too. She probably has a few broken ribs. Major bruising, concussion, and deep lacerations on her face and thies. You'll need to clean them out while she's still sedated, otherwise, who knows how she'll react."
"Thank You." Cory said as the doctor left out into the cold fall day.
He took off his hat, and started walking back into the bedroom. The girl was obviously dazed from whatever the doctor had given her, as she kept pulling on the handcuffs half- mindedly.
She whimpered a few times in frustration as she tried- and failed- to get free. Cory went and grabbed some rubbing alcohol, a washcloth, and some bandages to clean her wounds with. As he neared her though, she glared at him with distrust. He poured some of the alcohol on the washcloth, and moved it towards her face, but she pulled her face away from his touch.
"Come on now." He said sternly, yet calmly, not knowing if she could actually comprehend what he was saying.
She made a sound of disagreement, but laid still. He gently wiped away the dried blood and dirt from her cuts. Then, he put clean bandaging on her legs and stomach. She had fallen asleep a little while ago from the drug, and he now sat on the side of the bed staring at her.
"What happened to you?" he asked to himself.
He went to get a blanket from the closet and covered her in it, though her arms were still handcuffed to the bed.
He went and sat in the kitchen and started making a cup of coffee while cleaning his guns. The Indian Reservation chief was coming over today to help and see if he could recognize her. When he came to the door and said hello, Cory said it back in a whisper, not wanting to wake her up, despite knowing that the drugs in her system were likely not to let that happen.
"Where'd you say you found her?" The chief asked.
"Down by Wind River Mountain."
"Ayeeee." He cringed, looking at the state of the girl.
"I know. So, d'ya recognize her?"
"Can't say I do. Not that anybody would be able to with that black eye."
"Yeah. Well thanks anyway."
"What are you gonna do with her now?"
"I'm thinkin' bout putting up some posters for a found girl. Inquire with the state police, that sort of thing. She has to have a home somewhere right? I mean she couldn't have just appeared out of the snow."
"Just be careful. You don't know where she came from."
Cory just nodded half heartedly while staring at the girl. The chief stayed around another hour or so while they discussed the animals in the area causing trouble.
After he left, it was well past dark, and Cory went in to check on the girl. She was still sound asleep.
"Whatever he gave you, I'm glad it's letting you rest." He said while putting his hand to her face. Even with the black eye, she looked peaceful like this. This is probably the most sleep she's gotten in who knows how long.