Tension Builds
Kemo felt as though he hadn't slept in ages. After a night of trying to convince the human that everything had been nothing but a dream, he was now seriously worried about his sanity. I don't care if that human did save my life. Letting him know that I understand their coarse speech was a mistake. He had just begun to finally doze off when he heard the young researcher stirring about his cave. He raised his head and saw that the human was gearing up for a journey. Finishing his preparations, Russell Lupus walked out of the cave.
Curious, Kemo stood and followed him. He watched the human enter an abandoned cave a few hundred yards away, and he caught the scent of several dogs. That must be where he hid his sled team. Very considerate of him not to bed them in my den. He was probably afraid he would offend me. A few minute later, the human had his sled loaded and his team harnessed in front of the cave and he spurred his dogs into motion, and the white wolf quickly noted the direction. South. This could be interesting. Kemo broke into a run parallel to the sled.
Balto trotted behind the sled carrying James Ramsey to the camp. Dash had decided to accompany him that day, and was surprisingly keeping pace. "You run well for a Southland tenderfoot.."
"Thanks. You run well for a Northland sled-dog."
Balto stared quizzically at him. "What do you mean by that? We Northlanders are born to run."
"We border collies were bred to herd sheep and other livestock, and that entails a lot of running. What's it like to run on a team, anyway?"
"It's some of the hardest work a dog can do," Balto snorted. "But it's rewarding. I don't know how to explain it, but when a sled-dog runs, it's like being enslaved and free, tired and refreshed, disappointed yet satisfied, all at the same time."
Dash frowned. "Kind of confusing, don't you think? When a border collie runs livestock, at least things stay exciting. I'd think that doing nothing but tugging a sled would get monotonous."
Balto shook his head and continued in silence. Running a sled was something that no one but a sled dog could understand. He turned his attention to his current mission. Things had to be looking bad for the wolf packs if Russell Lupus was back in the neighborhood. He had to find out what was going on soon. Time to pry for some information. "You wouldn't happen to know exactly what your human is working on out here, would you?"
The border collie chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say."
"Come on, Dash. What am I going to do, spread classified data all across the Yukon?"
"Of course not. But if my human doesn't want anyone of his own kind to know anything, I'm sure the same rules apply to me. I can't tell you, but if you listen well, I'm sure my human will drop a few hints today." Dash stopped. "Why are you so interested anyway? I wouldn't have thought you the type to pry information from me."
Well, so much for subtlety. "Just curious, that's all."
Moments later, they arrived in the camp, with its loud and bustling activities. Balto remained close to Ramsey in spite of his dislike for the man, determined to catch every word.
Dash watched him, an amused smirk on his face. "Just curious, huh?"
Balto pinned him with a hard glare. "Yeah. Curious."
An hour passed before the humans finally began to debate their orders again.
"Look, Jim," one foreman said. "We don't know nothin'. We just work here. That means we follow orders as they're written."
"But I follow orders as they are explained," Ramsey countered. "This is too intrusive. We don't want New York City, just a . . ."
A startled yelp sounded from the far side of camp, and the humans broke off their discussion and turned to look. Balto growled lightly. Just my luck. What's the problem now? He stood and looked around the dozens of frozen human legs and saw Russell Lupus approaching the camp on his sled. All this commotion about one man? Then he saw the researcher's companion. KEMO!
By the time they reached the outskirts of the camp, Kemo's breath was coming in ragged gasps. He'd run for days before, covering distances far greater than the jaunt he'd just traveled. Tiring so quickly was so unlike his usual performance that he could not understand it. What was in that thing he shot me with?
Russell Lupus hopped lightly off his sled and walked into the camp. He had noticed Kemo running beside his sled during transit, and now the wolf was walking beside him. Not a bad way to emphasize why I'm was here. Kemo stuck close to the researcher, remaining just slightly ahead of him. Many camp dogs, recognizing him as the wolf who had caused their teammates' disappearance, growled menacingly him. Kemo kept his head high and his gaze straight ahead, retaining his proud stature in spite of them. He noticed Balto and another dog staring in silent shock as he passed. Forcibly resisting the urge to lock gazes, he gave no sign of recognition.
The foremen and Ramsey heard the commotion long before they saw the source. They stared incredulously as Lupus walked straight toward them with a wolf in tow.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ramsey thundered.
The researcher offered his hand. "My name is Russell Lupus. I work in conjunction with the . . ."
"I don't care who you work with!" a foreman interrupted. "What's that creature doing here in my camp? You've got no right to be here!"
". . . governments of the United States and Canada to study wildlife and report my findings back to their respective governments," Lupus continued, ignoring the angry supervisor. When no one took his proffered hand, he lowered it to his side. "My primary focus is on the behavior and patterns of wolf packs, and this 'creature,' for your information, happens to be a wolf."
James Ramsey glared hard at the younger man. "We are well aware of that fact, Mr. Lupus. The question is, what are the both of you doing here?"
"Like I said, I am working in conjunction with the governments of Canada and the United States to study wolves, and I'm here to find out exactly what you are doing here." He reached down to pat his companion. "Consider him an ongoing project, if you will."
The foreman glared at him. "Look, College-Boy, we're also working on a government contract, and we happen to be very busy right now. So if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to work." Kemo growled at him and he eyed the wolf distrustfully. "And take your pet with you."
Russell Lupus flexed his jaw muscles but remained otherwise calm. He looked down at the wolf. "Well, it looks like they're going to be touchy about this." Returning his attention to the other men, he nodded once. "You haven't heard the last of this. Good day to you, sirs." With that, he turned and walked back to his sled with Kemo following close behind.
To Balto's annoyance, the humans of the camp changed the topic of discussion from blueprints to plans for damage control. He heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Looks like I finally got to see my wolf," Dash growled indignantly beside him. "What was that all about anyway? A wolf coming into a human camp? What next?"
"Trouble, and lots of it."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Never mind, Dash."
Why? What . . . Hey! Where are you going?"
Balto was already running.
Finally entering the surrounding forest, Balto slowed to a walk and tried desperately to sort everything out. "If these surprises don't stop, I won't find out what's going on until it's too late."
"Too late for what?"
Balto jumped and looked to his right. Walking quietly beside him was Kiska. He had never liked being taken unaware, and after what he and Tricksy had discovered last night, he certainly didn't like the idea of not noticing the packleader. "Kiska, you know I don't like you sneaking up on me like that."
"That is why I tread upon as many sticks and leaves as possible before approaching you. What in your life that has you so preoccupied as to not notice my arrival?"
Though he wasn't fully certain he could trust her, he decided to test her with the truth. "A lot, unfortunately. Should I start before or after Aleu ran away?"
Kiska's eyes widened. "Again?"
Balto shook his head. "One time only. Hopefully the last."
"In that case, please start after."
"Kemo and I had an argument the next day. He accused me of betraying our kind."
"Did you?"
"No!"
Kiska held up a paw. "Just a question. When Eyak sows seeds of discord, trouble soon sprouts."
"How did you know about Eyak?" Balto asked suspiciously. "I never mentioned him to you."
"I have received Kemo's interpretation of the facts."
"Then you know that he now refuses to acknowledge me as his brother?"
Kiska nodded. "An unfortunate situation, to be sure."
"I assume you know that last night, Chehalis saw Kemo chased by several dogs and shot by a human north of here?"
"Yes. He told me that he had given Tricksy a message for you."
"She told me. But when we went to the clearing to find the dogs who had chased him, they were all dead, and messed up pretty badly at that."
"Shot?"
"Slaughtered. By wolves."
Kiska showed no reaction. "Which pack?"
Balto stared hard at her. "Yours."
That brought a startled gasp from the Anvil Creek leader. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. Many of the pawprints had the scent of Anvil Creek."
"I knew there is some dissent within my pack, but it can't have gone this far. Not without me knowing it. Unexpected, this is. And troubling."
Balto's face remained neutral. "Is it?"
"Of course it is! I . . ." Kiska hesitated before shaking her head sadly. "Ah. I, too, am suspect."
"I didn't say that, Kiska."
"It is not necessary for you to say it," she said. "Were you in my position and I in yours, I would be uncertain as to your motives as well. What next?"
"I've been trying to find out exactly what the humans' intention is toward the clans, but before I could discover this, Kemo arrived at the camp with Russell Lupus."
"The researcher who visited last year?" Receiving a nod, Kiska shook her head. "This is ominous news. For him to be looking into this matter signifies great danger to us."
"If I was you, I would look to danger from within your clan. If there are any more attacks, it could provoke a similar response from the humans."
Kiska hesitantly nodded. "The only members of my pack who should have been in the area are Chehalis, Akkide, and Nootka. All three I trust without question." Kiska stood. "I shall investigate this matter personally. I do not wish our friendship to suffer because of this incident, so I shall bid you farewell for now. May we meet again under better circumstances."
