Cynthia Cooke - Lying with Wolves

Finally they reached the end of the street and tore up the side of the hill, bolting up the embankment. Running hard. Running fast. There were a million ways for this to go wrong. They’d only just begun, and Celia wasn’t sure they were going to be able to make it.

Below them on the highway, people stopped their cars and stared at them, two wolves racing up the hill, chased by the police. Their shouts filled the night air, some with excitement, others of fear. Soon there would be a party of men with guns searching for them, not because of what they’d done, but because of what people were afraid they would do.

When they crested the top of the hill, Celia stopped and turned back, taking one last look at the cop car parked at the bottom of the hill, the cops on their radios calling for backup, the rear door of her shop swinging wide-open as Abatu filed inside, tracking their scent.

She hoped and prayed they wouldn’t touch Ruby when she arrived to pick up the keys to Malcolm’s truck and their clothes. If only she could warn her somehow. But then she saw a cop go into the shop, and she hoped he’d take care of them and lock up behind him. Though that was probably too much to hope for.

She heard a bark behind her, turned and saw Malcolm waiting impatiently for her at the top of the ridge. He was right; they still had a long way to go before reaching the rendezvous point. Reluctantly she pulled her gaze away from the shop. It wouldn’t be the last time she saw it, she promised herself, then tore off after Malcolm into the night.

They crested the next hill and disappeared into the mountains, running fast and free. Sand shifted beneath her feet as she bolted up the mountainside. Small animals froze in fear or scurried from their path. They ran through the canyons, around, up and over mountains, following the moon as it rose higher and higher in the sky. Finally she was running free, stretching her muscles, breathing deep the sweet desert air. And all she wished was that she was back in her shop, not having to face the horrors to come. The thought that she could be trapped in the Colony; the fact that her mother was dead.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as they dropped down into a dry riverbed traveling its meandering path up to the red rock canyon, where hopefully by now Ruby had already left Malcolm’s truck and was long gone.

Malcolm .

She didn’t have to look to see if he was there; she could feel him next to her. His emotions were wide-open and easy to read in a way they hadn’t been in a long time. Their connection was stronger than ever. She tried to block it. She didn’t want to feel him, even if he had changed. Even if he really was sincere about wanting to make amends.

Even if he really did love her.

So what? It didn’t matter if he loved her or not. Some love wasn’t worth having. It was too late for them. There was too much damage between them. Too much to forget or forgive. What she needed to focus on now was her future, and how she could save the Colony without becoming trapped there.

Chapter 4

“Did you see that?”

Ruby’s eyes popped open as her sister, Jade, pushed on her shoulder. It was the middle of the night and a chill had seeped into the air and under her skin. They’d dropped off the truck as their cousin Celia had asked but then parked out of sight down the road and walked back up the hill to keep an eye on the truck. Something was wrong with their cousin, and Ruby knew Celia wouldn’t let them help her. She was hiding something from them, something big.

Ruby shook herself fully awake and yawned. “What?” she asked.

“I saw something,” Jade whispered.

She stared into the darkness and repositioned against the boulder, trying to find a smooth spot. “Where?”

“There.” Jade pointed.

Ruby peered into the darkness lit only by the blue glow of a full moon. “Are those wolves?”

“Or very big dogs.”

“Shit.” Ruby rubbed her arms. “We’ve been out here a long time. Who knows what kinds of animals roam the desert at night? What is taking Celia so long?”

“Who knows?” Jade said. “She was too cryptic on the phone. I hope she’s okay.”

“Me, too. She’s in some kind of trouble, I just know it,” Ruby said. “My scalp has been prickling all day, and you know that only happens when something bad is about to happen.”

“I know, I know,” Jade said. “But after that huge mess at the shop, why do we have to be so sneaky? Someone broke in and trashed the place, and her apartment upstairs, too. Add that to her phone call to bring her a vehicle and clothes in the desert, well, it would be very logical for us to stay and tell her about the shop and demand some answers.”

“True,” Ruby agreed, and sighed. “But if she wanted us to know about it, she would have told us already.”

“Maybe we should respect that and wait for her to tell us what she’s hiding instead of spying on her.”

“I would, if it wasn’t for what happened at the shop,” Ruby whispered. “That and the fact that my scalp is dancing all over my head. As long as she doesn’t find out we’re spying, no harm, no foul, right?”

“I suppose. She’s definitely been hiding something. Even I could tell that, and my scalp doesn’t dance.”

“Look!” Ruby gestured into the dark ahead.

Celia and the man they had seen in the shop earlier walked out from behind a large outcropping of rocks. Naked!

“Well, would you look at that?” Jade whispered, amazement ringing in her voice.

“They don’t even have a blanket or anything,” Ruby added.

“That is weird.”

“Doubly weird.”

Celia opened the back door of the truck, took out the sack of clothes and quickly dressed, glancing around her as she did.

“What in the world is going on?” Ruby whispered. “How did they get here? They aren’t even wearing shoes.”

“And it’s not as if they look all that...friendly to me. If you know what I mean,” Jade said, her eyebrows raised in that knowing look.

“I know,” Ruby agreed. “I thought she couldn’t stand that guy. She didn’t even want to see him. Hmm. Something weird is definitely going on.”

Celia and her man friend climbed into the truck and drove away.

“Is that it?” Ruby asked as they hurried back down the road toward their car.

“Well, what did you expect?”

“I don’t know. An answer or something. We’ve been here for hours.”

“But they never even saw us.”

“True,” Ruby agreed, and sighed. “Now what? Did we spend all night out in the desert for nothing? What do we do now?”

“Now we follow them.”

“What?”

“Obviously something is going on here, something wrong. Celia’s in trouble,” Jade said. “If we don’t help her, who will?”

“You’re right. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Several hours later, Celia woke to Malcolm’s hand softly stroking hers. In the haze of half sleep a feeling of warm contentment spread through her at the feel of his touch. She started to reach for him, but then the haze cleared and the memory of why he was there surfaced, bringing with it the shadows of regret and pain.

She opened her eyes and the wide expanse of freeway greeted her as she stared out the windshield. They were barreling through the desert, heading north toward home.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, the warm tendrils of his voice reaching deep within her.

“Tired,” she admitted, though she didn’t know how that was possible considering all she’d done was sleep since she climbed inside his truck the night before. “Where are we?”

“California. You’ve been out for seven hours. You hungry?”

“A little,” she admitted.