Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

3

Stu saw the woman with a camping backpack walking by the road and recognized her right away, so he drove past her and pulled over. A moment later, Alex was by his window.

"Stu!"

"Al! Where are you going?"

"Boulder Creek."

"C'mon, get in. I'm taking a few barrels of ale to the Swift Creek campground, so I can drop you off at Jeff's."

"Stu, you rock."

"I know."

Stu's truck re-entered the road, pouring The Who out the rolled-down windows. Ten minutes later, Alex waved goodbye at Stu and headed for the campground. She paused when an ambulance came down the detour, driving toward Baker Lake Road with no sirens on. When she reached the campground, she headed straight to Jeff's cabin, looking around.

Too many people and vehicles. Another ambulance, the Mountain Rescue Squad trucks, even Graham's Jeep was there, parked right outside the Forest Station. The sheriff talked to Jeff at the porch. On her way to them, Alex saw the paramedics moving around the back of the ambulance. They were taking care of a young couple wrapped in thermal blankets. Another EMT talked to Clarence Jacobi, leader of the rescue squad. They looked like expecting something or somebody would come out of the main hiking track any given moment. A bunch of campers and hikers watched everything from twenty yards away.

"Hey, Jeff, Dave," she said when she reached the cabin. "What happened?"

They seemed surprised to see her there. Graham shrugged.

"Wolves," was Jeff's gloomy answer.

"What!?"

Graham nodded at the ambulance.

"Those kids over there and another couple their age set out yesterday to camp by the White. And they showed up here in the middle of the night, half naked, screaming that a pack of wolves had killed their friends before attacking them."

Alex raised her eyebrows, skeptic.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "That's exactly what I thought when I woke up to them banging on my door. But they were not high. Or at least they weren't lying: Clarence's squad already found one of the bodies."

"That poor girl," grumbled Graham. "She had marks of wolves all over her."

"Looks like the wolves attacked them when they took a night walk in the woods, two-hundred yards away from their tent. And they dragged her boyfriend away. The squad's still looking for him—well, most likely his body."

Alex sighed, glancing at Graham. "And I thought camping was a great idea for a few days off to clear my head."

Graham grimaced—I hear ya. He too would've liked a little vacation to try to forget what he'd seen in Murray's kitchen.

Clarence Jacobi approached them, talking on his radio.

"Hi, Al," he said, climbing the steps to the porch. "They've found the boy."

"Is he...?" ventured Graham.

Jacobi shook his head.

"Shit!" Jeff snarled. "I should close the ground and send everybody away."

"I'm calling Bass and the boys to canvass the whole area. We gotta put those beasts down," said Graham. "Any idea what way did they go?"

"My boys say the pack fled north," replied Jacobi. "No way to know if they're coming down this side or Park Creek's.

"I'm alerting the Park Creek Station right away," said Jeff.

"Good call. I'll keep you up," said Jacobi.

The man walked away, talking on his radio again. Alex stopped Jeff when he opened the front door.

"Wait, Jeff. D'you have a fire arm and a spare radio to lend me?"

"What are you up to know, young lady?"

Alex smiled at Graham's frown. He couldn't help playing everybody's acting father.

"I'm going to Crystal Hollow, up to the old trail. I can take a look around and let you guys know if I see any trace of the wolves."

"Forget it. You're not going up there alone." Alex kept smiling and Graham's frown turned into a scowl. "I'm not letting you go!"

Her smile became openly mocking—you and what army? Jeff waited, watching them as if it was a tennis match.

"I'm going, Dave," she said softly. "So Jeff can lend me a radio and a gun, or I can go empty-handed like a sitting duck. Your call."

Graham snorted and glanced at Jeff with a quick nod. Jeff hurried into his cabin. Alex rested her hand on the sheriff's arm.

"It's okay, I'll be only a couple of hours ahead of you."

"Enough to be the pack's lunch!" Graham snarled.

"Promise I'll check in as I go."

"You better."

Jeff came back out and handed Alex a gun with two extra clips and a radio. Alex whistled, inspecting a gun.

"An Eagle Desert, Jeff? This is one fine piece!"

"Thought you'd like it better than my old Winchester."

"Hell yeah."

"The radio battery should run for three days. D'you want a spare?"

"No, thanks. I should be back before it dies." Alex slid the Magnum in her waist and turned to Graham. "Dave, please don't bring Ollie. I'd like to know he's there to keep an eye on Claire."

Graham grunted under his breath and nodded.

"Then off I go, gents. Let me know where you leave here."

"Channel four," said Jeff.

"Got it."

"Check in every hour," Graham grumbled.

"Yessir."

She scoffed at the way Graham rolled his eyes and waved goodbye at them. She headed to an old narrow trail starting at the other side of the cabin from the main hiking track.