AN: Bheith imithe is irish for 'Be gone'

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CHAPTER 6

A Hunting We Will Go

Hardison stared in horror at his right hand that was still clutching the paintball gun. Parker gently tugged the plastic gun from his hand and pulled him into a gentle embrace. "It's okay." She knew it wasn't okay but she didn't know what else to tell Hardison right then.

"What the hell just happened?" Ewen looked back and forth between Abby and the trees that Eliot had disappeared into. "I heard Eliot yell like the rogue had torn into him but next I know the rogue is coming after me. I drove 'im off." He tilted his chin in the opposite direction from where Eliot had run. "But next I see Eliot in his wolf runnin' off like the devil were on his heels." Ewen was naked, bleeding, and shivering in the rain but all his attention was on the situation that had just gone so drastically wrong.

"Eliot has just been cursed." Abby sounded stunned and tears slipped from her eyes almost unnoticed as they mixed with the rain.

"Hardison? Hardison? Alec!" Parker patted at Hardison's face until he looked at her. "Can we track him?"

"I don't… I don't know." Hardison stared at the trees for another moment before he shifted his focus to Ewen. "What was Eliot talking about when he said 'tell him to do it' and there's a gun under his bed?" Hardison sounded angry and was glaring at Ewen.

Ewen was already unsettled and Hardison locking gazes with him was pushing him to the edge. He couldn't stop the growl but closed his eyes, turning his face away, and held up a finger to indicate that he needed a moment. He had to remind himself that Hardison was human and outside of his own pack. It took a moment to fight down the urge to meet such a blatant challenge with violence. "Just a moment." Ewen took a deep breath and when he looked back at Hardison the yellow faded from his eyes as he regained control. "I'm sorry sometimes I miss things when I'm in the middle of a change. I don't change as fast or as easy as Eliot usually does. I didn't hear what he told you before he ran off."

Hardison went back to Lucille and leaning in he queued up the audio file that had been recorded from Eliot's earbud. "There's a rifle in a case under my bed at the hotel. Tell Ewen. He... Tell him to do it."

"What is he talking about? He obviously thought that you would know." Hardison kept his back to Ewen and the others. He needed a moment to regain his own control. He'd been forced to shoot Eliot with silver solution, and while he knew it wouldn't kill him he knew it would be horribly painful and very slow to heal. He was also afraid that he knew what Eliot had meant about Ewen and the gun.

"We talked about the curse and what it would be like to exist like that. To exist in that kind of slow torture with little if any control over yourself, and the possibility that you could hurt or kill the ones that you love…neither of us want live like that. We promised that if something like this were to happen… Well Eliot laid in a contingency plan." Ewen looked Hardison in the eyes at the last and tried let him see just how conflicted he was feeling.

"That's where the bullet came from." Parker mused for a moment as she remembered the fifty-caliber round that Eliot had tossed to Keme. "Well that's not going to happen." Parker's face was thoughtful for another moment before she looked up and Hardison recognized the look of a Mastermind in the zone. "Hardison can we track him? Abby how did the curse get passed to Eliot? And can we use the same ritual on Eliot that you were going to use on the rogue? Ewen get dressed and then tell me what you remember about the rogue and the fight."

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Eliot could see the scared and helpless looks on his friends' faces but it was suddenly harder to remember who they were and why he should care. Eliot shook his head trying to clear his thoughts and for just a moment, he could remember, and he was terrified of what was coming. To be cursed into a torturous existence. To be a risk to Hardison and Parker and anyone else. To have no control over anything. . "There's a rifle in a case under my bed at the hotel. Tell Ewen. He..." The pain in his arm where the rogue had bitten him was suddenly too much and he couldn't stop the scream. "Tell him to do it." He had made Ewen promise him that if something like this ever happened that Ewen would end it and not let him exist as a mindless beast that might hurt his family. Ewen had demanded the same promise in return. Before Eliot could think on it anymore the fog seemed to roll back across his mind as the change pulled him under.

Pain, shifting, hunger, pain… The cycle seemed to continue until finally the wolf was free and he howled to the gibbous moon. He could smell prey. He was hungry. Turning with a snarl he could see the smaller one. She was closer and he lunged for her. Sudden pain tore through his right shoulder and spread across his chest. He couldn't help the yelp of pain and surprise. There had to be an easier meal nearby.

Trees, dirt, rain. The cold rain felt good. The dirt under his paws as he ran, felt good. The smell of the trees… the smell of… of… sheep. Hunger. Hunger bad. Sheep. Yes sheep.

The wolf cleared the woods and crossed a field that had been plowed and left fallow for the upcoming winter season. On the edge of the field was a pen with a few ewes. As the wolf approached low on his belly he could smell the farmer and his dog who frequented the edge of the sheep fold. It was dark and the farmer and his dog were nowhere to be seen. The ewes began to bleat when they sensed his presence but that was okay the smell of their fear was a heady perfume. The wolf darted under the railing and took down the closest ewe by her throat. It only took a few shakes to tear her throat out and taste the blood on his tongue.

"Hey! You Son-Of-A-Bi…" BOOOOM the famer fired the first round from his shotgun into the air, startling the wolf in his sheep pen. The wolf jumped the fence and the farmer leveled the next shot at the wolf's fleeing form. BOOOOM It was hard to tell if he'd hit the wolf but hopefully that would be enough to keep it away for now. "Tammy! Call Doug with Fish and Game. That damn wolf got one of the ewes."

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Hardison was only vaguely aware of what Ewen was telling Parker about the fight between the werewolves. Almost all of his attention was on his laptop. He couldn't track Eliot's earbud. The signal had died shortly before he'd shot Eliot with the paintball gun. The sound of the Co2 launching the paintball was clear in the recording from his earbud but the signal from Eliot's had died fifteen seconds before then. Hardison had to remind himself not to get lost in the details and to stay on task. Eliot's life could depend on him finding a way to track Eliot through the dark in the open country where there were no street cams or…, or anything he could hack into. Never mind Ewen and Eliot's asinine plan; and boy wouldn't he like to say a few things about that! Some trigger happy rancher might shoot Eliot before Ewen had a chance to. Some farmer… That was it! Hardison hacked into the local systems to monitor any emergency calls to any department in the county. Police, Fire, EMS, Sheriff, Hospitals, and Department of Natural Resources.

Hardison hadn't been in the emergency systems for more than two minutes when a call came in from Tammy Bray, reporting a wolf attack on their farm. Hardison pulled up the location of the Bray family farm and found it just a couple miles past their location on Bray road. "Guys I don't know if it's Eliot or not but the timing is right."

"Okay. Let's go find him." Parker hustled Abby into the van. Ewen followed Abby in and pulled the side door closed. Parker paused for a second to stare at the door with the claw marks torn through the metal.

"Babe I need you to drive so that I can keep on top of this." Hardison held his tablet up for clarification.

Parker hopped behind the wheel and started down the long driveway back to highway eleven.

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His right shoulder still burned and now there was an echoing sting coming from his back left hip, close to the tail. And he was still hungry. The wolf trotted across several open fields sticking close to tree-line wherever possible. Hunger, pain, hunger, hunger.

The evening was cold but now that the rain had passed the air smelled so fresh, Lorianne couldn't help lingering on her porch swing. The stars were peeking out from between the clouds and a cold wind was starting to pick up. Lorianne shivered and ran her hands over her arms. Her cigarette was almost finished anyway. She figured she might as well call it a night and head inside to warm up. The moon was no longer full but it was still bright once the clouds blew past. The light of the moon revealed movement across the road. Something was moving across Schackelman's winter wheat field. The wheat wasn't very tall yet but tall enough that whatever was moving through it had to be big. Squinting at the thing in the field she could tell it wasn't a sheep or a cow it was too bulky to be a deer. Suddenly it paused, and she felt the hair on her neck stand up when she realized it was looking at her. The thing let out a cry and sprinted right for her. Lorianne ran into the house and slammed the door. She turned the deadbolt for good measure, leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

The thump of impact as something slammed against the door staggered her forward a couple of steps. Something was snarling and snuffling outside the door. The thing outside threw itself against the door again and Lorianne could hear the wood creak and begin to splinter. She spotted her cell phone on the little table near the door and it took all of her courage to run over and grab it. Just as she did there was another terrifying cry outside her door and the assault on her door redoubled. The wood began to splinter further and she knew the door was only moments away from breaking completely. She screamed when a mangled looking paw came through the door. The claws were huge and the fur was matted and filthy but mostly she was struck by the strangeness of it. It was misshapen, not compact enough for a paw but too animal like for a hand. The thing pressed it's face to the door and cried out again in anticipation. The cry finally shook Lorianne from her spot and she sprinted for her hall closet.

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"911, what's your emergency?" Hardison answered the phone before the first ringtone was complete. Total silence fell over the van as they all listened to Hardison take the emergency call.

"Something is breaking into my house!" Lorianne was terrified.

"Something or someone ma'am?" Hardison stalled her for a moment as he pulled up the program to trace the call to a physical address.

"Some kinda monster thing!" Lorianne sobbed into the phone. "Oh God! It's in the house!"

"Are you somewhere safe?" Hardison shoved his tablet toward Parker and she nodded as she sped toward the address he'd showed her. The call cut off and Parker picked up speed.

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The wolf had smelled the cigarette smoke from across the field and some part of his brain that wasn't checked in right now new that the smell of cigarette smoke meant people nearby. The predator in him knew that meant food nearby. The woman had tried to hide behind a wooden door and that just enraged him. Finally as the door began to give-in he could smell her fear and what a rich scent. He couldn't stop his cry of excitement as she sprinted to her hiding place.

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"Will we make it in time?" Abby was clinging with both hands to Parker's seat. She was glad they were making good time but she was beginning to wonder where Parker had learned to drive.

"I hope so." Hardison's voice was somber even though he had a white-knuckled grip on his seat belt, he knew where Parker had learned to drive.

A few minutes later Parker skidded Lucille to a halt in Lorianne's front yard. Hardison was going to tell Abby and Ewen to wait in the van, but when he turned he saw that Ewen's eyes had gone a very bright yellow, and he decided to let them do what they wanted.

Parker had picked up the two guns that Eliot had dropped in the fight and now she took the tranq with her as they all ran for the house. There was a crash and a scream from inside the house and Ewen and Hardison made it to the top of the porch at nearly the same time. Looking past the splintered door Hardison could see Eliot's wolf form tearing at a door in the hall.

"Hey!" Hardison hollered to get the wolf's attention. The wolf went utterly still for a moment before it turned black eyes on Hardison. Hardison noticed the odd proportions of the wolf for a second before the wolf tensed to jump. Hardison quickly stepped to the side of the door and could hear the scrabble of claws on wood a moment before the wolf leapt through the remains of the door. The wolf landed with a thump and slid around to face Hardison. Hardison heard the sound of a Co2 powered gun but didn't dare turn to see what was going on. At almost the same time that Hardison heard the discharge three jaunty red tufts seemed to appear along the wolf's right side.

The wolf turned with a snarl and hopped down the stairs stalking toward Parker. Abby ran from the side of the van toward Parker. She opened her hand and blew across her palm. "Bheith imithe." Abby said quietly. A fine powder was cast from her palm and seemed to hang in the air in front of Parker. The wolf stopped his advance and shook his head a couple of times before sneezing. For a second his eyes glimmered yellow before they went black again and the wolf turned and ran.

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The wolf cut through a thicket and out into another field. Whatever had happened at that last house was causing him to feel tired and uneasy. That powder the woman blew at him stank and the smell seemed to have gotten into his nose he had wanted to bite and to tare but she said something and he couldn't. He had to leave, he didn't know why but it felt imperative that he leave. Now he was tired and hungry and his injuries hurt, especially the burn on his chest and shoulder. The burn made him angry but nothing could seem to eclipse the hunger. Hunger was all, and so far he hadn't been able to satisfy it. On the other side of the field he saw a light. He couldn't track any prey by scent since that powder had left such a stench, but maybe where there was light there would be food.

"Momma. I'm gonna go check on Missy." Heather pulled on her coat and grabbed a flashlight. The light was on in the yard and she could see the barn but the flashlight made her feel safe. She wouldn't tell anyone that she was still scared of the dark, she was eleven after all, but just in case there was something scary at least she'd have her flashlight.

Missy was the family dog and Heather was so excited about the new puppies that she just had to check on them one more time before bed. Heather was almost all the way to the barn when she heard a growl. She looked around but couldn't see anything in the yard. She took one more, slow step, toward the barn and the growl increased in volume. Her lip began to tremble and she clutched her flashlight turning it on. She shined the flashlight's beam into the corral next to the barn. There was something in the paddock but it dodged away from her light. "Go away! Shoo!" She yelled as loud as she could but the growls from the paddock only got louder. Heather started to back toward the house keeping her flashlight on the corral. Feet skittered and something dodged to the other side. "Momma! Momma!" Heather screamed in terror.

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"911, what is your emergency?"

"This is Dennis Fewless. I wasn't sure who to call. Um…"

"Can you tell me what's going on Mr. Fewless? Is there an emergencey?" Hardison did his best to keep his tone professional.

"Well I just drove past a dead cow. It was laying on the shoulder of the road on highway eleven. And it…"

"Do you know what mile marker it's near?"

"Well not exactly but it's near Endrizzi's place. But the thing is I think whatever killed the cow was still in that field. I know it sounds crazy but, it looked like a wolf but it was standing up like a man."

"Can you tell me what color it was?"

"Color? Why would that matter?"

"It may help Fish and Game or State Patrol identify it later. Just in case they need to know I want to get as much detail as I can."

"Umm…Okay… I guess it was brown, dark brown, kinda black and brown I guess."

"Thank you for calling in. We'll contact you if the authorities need anything else. Have a good night." Hardison hung up without waiting for a response. "Well at least we know where the rogue is at for the moment." Hardison had never been so thankful that Eliot's wolf was a lighter color and not the standard movie monster black or brown.

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The wolf couldn't smell her but he could see her just fine. So young and sweet. So tender. Not enough to satisfy the hunger but she would be a good start. The wolf pressed back, readying himself to leap the fence when he heard her cry out. Eliot recognized the terrified cry of a child for her mother but the fog rolled over him again even though he fought it. The wolf leapt over the fencing and landed just a few yards from the child.

Heather dropped her flashlight and tripped falling backwards landing hard on her butt. She reached for her flashlight when the biggest wolf she'd ever seen leaped over the corral fencing and landed right in front of her. She couldn't help it, she froze. Fingers extended toward the flashlight, tears rolling down her cheeks, she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't scream.

The wolf took one step and then another toward the cowering thing in front of him. Eliot saw the terrified child and tried to back away but he could barely move. The wolf saw the child's fear and reveled in it. Eliot heard the whimper that escaped the girl and it made him feel sick. Eliot fought against the fog that was stealing his mind as hard as he could. The wolf was already anticipating the taste of blood and meat. Eliot fought hard against the images trying to regain some kind of control.

Heather didn't know when she'd started to breathe again but she couldn't stop the whimper as the giant wolf moved closer. Her muscles ached with the strain of holding still. She wanted to run but she just couldn't move. She couldn't take her eyes off of the wolf as it stalked slowly toward her. She noticed even through her terror that something was wrong with the wolf. It's eyes kept flickering from black to yellow and back. Every time the wolf's eyes went yellow it stopped but every time the eyes went black it moved closer to her. She felt like she'd been trapped here forever. Why hadn't her momma come yet? Where was her daddy?

The wolf took another step and Eliot threw all of his will into the fight. Suddenly the sound of a screen door slamming jerked his attention away. The wolf recognized the sight of a double barrel shotgun and ran. The blast of the shot gun echoed around him as he ran into the dark.

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Hardison intercepted a panicked call to the Department of Natural Resources and he forwarded the call to the Sherriff's department to Parker's phone.

"Walworth County Sherriff's Department how can I help you?" Parker had a pleasant tone to her voice but her face looked almost robotically cheerful.

"I wasn't sure if we needed to call you guys or not, my husband is on the phone with the Natural Resources people, but I thought you all oughta know. My daughter was nearly attacked by a wolf. I scared it off but I… I think it mighta been sick or somethin'. I just thought you guys should know in case it goes after someone else." Margaret Bowey sounded shaken.

"Can you give me your address? We'll send someone by just to check on things."

"Thanks, we'd really appreciate that." Margaret sounded relieved that her concerns were being taken seriously.

Parker took down the address just in case Hardison didn't already know where this farm was. When she hung up she turned to see Hardison finishing up his call as well.

"Yes Mr. Bowey there will be someone there from the Sherriff's Department soon. I know that Doug would usually handle this sorta thing but he's already out on a call. I'll make sure that he knows what's going on. Alright. Okay. Thanks for calling." Hardison slipped his phone in his pocket. "Parker you know where we're going?"

"Yep. How many Sherriff's Department IDs do you have?" Parker made a u-turn and headed farther down Bray Rd. than they had gone so far.

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Parker parked the van on the shoulder of Bray Rd. and started walking up the driveway.

Ewen's voice came over her earbud. "Why is she walking? I'm sure she could have parked in the dooryard. Maybe one of us should go with her."

"I'm fine Ewen. Eliot's wolf already left here and so far he hasn't backtracked. And I had to park the van on the road 'cause it doesn't look like a Sherriff's car." Parker talked quietly as she walked.

Hardison snorted. "This van looks like it belongs in the X-files or something. Have you seen the outside of it? Claw marks, and wolf prints, and big ol' dents."

Parker was glad this van was a rental because Hardison tended to get attached to his vans. She didn't understand it but she thought it was pretty cute most of the time.

Parker was welcomed into the house and was regaled several times with slightly differing versions of what happened.

"Mrs. Bowey, you said that you thought that the wolf was sick. What made you think that?" Parker had her small notebook out ready to take down notes even though she knew that Hardison would be picking all this up on the earbuds.

"Well, we've lived around here my whole life and I've never seen a wolf go after a person before. I know Heather is still a child but she's tall for her age. I wouldn't think an animal would go after her in our yard like that." Margaret wrapped an arm around her daughter.

"So mostly it was just the aggressive behavior?" Parker made a note in her notebook.

"Not just the behavior. Tell her what you told me." Russell encouraged his wife and gave her hand a squeeze.

"There was something wrong with the way it was shaped. I can't quite explain it, but it just wasn't right. Oh, and the burn on it's chest. It looked like there was a burn or something because the fur was missing." Margaret leaned into Russell.

"And the eyes were scary." Heather whispered to her knees, which were pulled up under her chin.

"I'm sure it was very scary. But we're all glad that you are okay." Parker was pretty certain that, that was something that Sophie would have said.

"Ask her about the eyes?" Abby felt a niggling sense of curiosity about the child's comment.

Parker relayed the question. "Could you tell me about the wolf's eyes?"

"They kept changing colors. Yellow and then black." Heather told her knees.

"Baby, eyes can't change colors like that." Margaret ran a hand over Heather's hair.

"But they did." Heather's eyes were still red from crying and Parker finally got a good look at Heather's face when Heather turned toward her mother to argue her opinion.

"Okay, sweetheart." Russell tried to sooth Heather.

Parker finished up her interview with the family and headed back to Lucille. When Parker got back to the van Hardison was already behind the wheel with the engine running. She hopped up into the passenger seat. "What do you think it means that the color was changing in the wolf's eyes?" Parker glanced over her shoulder at Abby.

"I don't know for sure but maybe it means that Eliot is still in there somewhere."

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The wolf was almost as angry as he was hungry now. There should have been no reason he couldn't have killed that small human and drug her away before the bigger one came out with the gun. And now every time he tried to turn toward a farm something in his head seemed to thrash about, and it hurt.

Stopping under the low bows of an old pine the wolf smelled meat. Raw meat. Even over the stench that still seemed to fill his nose he could smell it. Wandering around between the trees for a little while finally paid off when he found the pile of discarded hamburger and gut meat, and some bone with marrow still in it. It might not be his own fresh kill but maybe it would take the edge off the hunger.