The Wyld Girls

Chapter 5 - Michelle

Wyld Times, Episode 20

It's dark and the cameras are set on night vision: Bruce and Michelle appear in shades of vivid lime and black. Their breath shows as trails of green vapour in the freezing air around their faces.

Bruce whispers loudly to the camera, "G'day, Wyldlings! We're here in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Today, we're talking wolves! These cheeky buggers have captured the human imagination for centuries-"

He cuts himself off, gesturing for the crew and Michelle to freeze. Somewhere nearby, a wolf howls, an unearthly cry that echoes around the snow-covered trees.

"Hear that?" says Bruce, his face childlike with excitement. He shakes Michelle by the shoulders. "I reckon he's just around the corner! There, darl! Look!"

The camera swings to show a rocky outcropping, where a single wolf is laying on his belly. He's skinny and he has patches of fur missing; as the camera watches, the animal raises his head and gives another dejected howl.

Michelle explains. "We've been tracking a single male wolf who has been dispersed from his pack."

"A lone wolf," says Bruce. "Normally a male who doesn't want to put up with anyone else's nonsense and decides to go it alone. Can't say I blame him!"

"There are actually many reasons why a wolf might leave its pack: food scarcity, avoiding violence, or rejection by the alpha male." Michelle's face creases as she stares up at the lonely wolf. "Lone wolves don't generally howl – if they give away their location and they're on someone else's territory, things might get ugly fast. This wolf must be injured or starving if he's making himself known – or he could be missing his family."

"He probably lost against a stronger male fighting for a mate – having a whinge because he wasn't 'wolf' enough to claim his woman," says Bruce. Without warning, he picks up Michelle and throws her over his shoulder, pretending to be threatened. "Back off, all of you! This female is mine!"

"Bruce!" hisses Michelle, batting helplessly at his back. "Put me down!"

"No way!" He winks at the camera, a loveable larrikin. "Wyldings - did you know that wolves mate for life? Once you claim a female," he pauses to slap Michelle lightly on the backside, "she belongs to you – forever."

"Holy hell," I pant, racing along the back road on foot, the summer sun baking me from above and the asphalt reflecting the heat from below. Sweat pours off me and my hair is a scraggly mess. I put makeup on this morning because I knew we had a film crew in today doing a live broadcast; it's long gone now, melted, sweated off or wiped away. Giant damp patches show against the thick material of my cargo shirt and I'm pretty sure I have chia seeds in my teeth from the breakfast smoothie I barely had time to slam down, spilling most of it on my clothes in the process. This is not how I want to appear on national television.

To top it off, my golf buggy is missing. No one knows where it is or who took it, but I'm pretty sure I know who the culprit is.

My two-way radio crackles and I hear Parker's voice. "Mish? Are you nearly here? They go live for your segment in five."

"Almost," I gasp, turning into the seal stadium public entrance. The giant wooden gates open at the top of the seating, giving me a perfect view of the mostly empty stadium. The breakfast show crew, Good Day, are set up on the outdoor stage, winding up a previous segment: the youthful blonde reporter is talking to the show's chef, while Briggs, our vet, weighs in about the fat and protein content of various kinds of seafood.