Chapter 23
Damien
Damien has been walking these damn woods for hours. He has been trying to find these damn samples, but the plants have been difficult to find. He had thought he spotted one near a small spring about three hundred yards from the main cabin. Once he got up to it, he realized there wasn’t any blooms on it. There were a few wilted ones, making it barely identifiable.
He turned from the plant to decide where to head next. He hasn’t seen any movement from Ryan or the others, so he didn’t have any worries on being seen. Deciding to head farther down the mountain, Damien shifted to his wolf for faster travel. He may be fast but his wolf is faster. The sooner he finds what he needs the sooner he will be able to leave this desolate place.
Damien couldn’t wait to get back to the city. There is nothing here in the mountains. He needs clubs, strippers, and alcohol. Although he did see a sign for a gentlemen’s club on the way up here. He may want to stop in and see if he can score another test subject he can play with. He’s getting rather tired of the one female they have now. Plus, the boss will expect her to go to the lab soon. She has already been there the longest. He’d like to have a replacement before he ships her off.
Keeping an eye out for more samples, Damien ran in a zigzag pattern down the mountain. He has a feeling he is going to have to risk going to the neighboring mountain. Maybe that’s why Ryan hasn’t sent any. The resources on this mountain must be used up already.
He was able to cover a lot of ground in short amount of time. Weaving through the trees, and dodging fallen branches. He saw a few more vines but still no blooms. Upon closer inspection, you can tell by the clean cut that it had already been harvested.
Almost an hour later he came up to a dried up, creek bed. Looking, on the other side, he noticed an area that may have what he’s looking for. He leaps to the other side of the creek bed. Damien knows he is no longer on the small mountain his boss’ cabin is on. Instead it is the larger neighboring mountain. If he stays in the woods, hopefully no one will see him. He doesn’t want to go too far up the mountain. He knows there’s a wolf pack on the mountain somewhere so he’ll stick to the lower elevation. The farther up he goes, the more noticeable he will be. The lake is to the north, and east of the larger mountain. He knows not to get too close to the lake.
He follows a small path he sees off to the right. He stays off the path so he’s not seen. After running about fifty yards up, he heard noises off in the distance. He crouched down near a bush close to the trail. He can just make out a woman’s voice. Suddenly the wind began to come in behind him; blowing his scent straight up the trail. A moment later he heard the noise of a shifter.
Damien doesn’t need a confrontation so he retreated a few dozen yards. Not hearing the shifter make any moves towards him, he tucked in behind a bush to wait them out. Maybe the shifter didn’t catch his scent.
Slowly a shifter pup came into view. The idea light began to brighten. If he can’t find the samples, the next best thing is to bring back a new test subject. He may earn a nice bonus for a pup. He needed to investigate this a little. No way would a shifter let their pup run loose. He took a step forward but he ended up shaking the bush, just enough that it drew the pups attention his way. The pup barked, and took off running in his direction. He heard a woman scream out for ‘Michael’, just before she came into view with a little girl beside her holding her hand.
Two humans are all that is with the pup? This is too easy, he thought. He could snatch the pup up, and there would be no way the humans would catch him. He crouched back down, so the humans won’t see him until the last minute. He couldn’t believe the pup is coming to him. The woman seems to be slowing. Either that or the little girl is slowing her down. This couldn’t get any more perfect.
As the pup neared the bush, he slowed down a bit. His nose was stuck up in the air. If he’s going to do this it needs to be now, or the pup is going to turn and run. Once the pup crouched down to see under the bush, he springs into action. The pup yelped when he seen the big bad wolf coming. However, Damien is too fast. He pounced on the pup to insure he didn’t go anywhere. The woman and little girl screamed out.
He picked the pup up by the nap of the neck. The woman released the little girl’s hand, and bolted towards them. Damien turned and ran straight down the trail.
“Damn you, Alexander!” The woman screamed. “Bring him back! You won’t get away with this!”
If he didn’t have the pup in his mouth he would be smiling. Not only did he get the pup, but someone else is going to take the blame for it. This couldn’t have gone better even if he had planned it himself.
The pup squirmed slightly so Damien tightened his bite. Causing the pup to whine but he stopped moving. He stopped on the trail and looked back. The woman and little girl were still running but there’s no way they will be able to catch up. Turning back around, he took off again. Once he was out of sight from the humans he turned off the trail. With luck, they will follow the trail instead of him.
He leaped across the creek bed, and ran up the other side. He could still hear the woman screaming for her child but she was no longer in view. Every now and then he would glance back to make sure no one is following him. Once he was on the smaller mountain he ran straight for his truck. No reason to stick around. He needs to put as much distance between them as he can.
It took some time to get back to his truck. His truck was halfway up the small mountain. He left it just off the main road, tucked behind some brush. Once he got up to the truck, he went around to the back. He needed to shift to drive. He knows the second he sets the pup down he will try to run off. Instead of setting the pup on the ground, Damien stood on his hind legs to set the pup in the back.
The pup scrambled to the other side of the truck, looking for a way out. Damien shifted with ease. Before going around to get the pup, he opened the passenger door, and pulled his clothes out. Not wanted to expose himself to the child, he pulled his pants on before going around the truck. He came around the truck just in time to see the pup’s attempt at jumping out, instead he landed on the edge, and more like tumbled out.
“Where are you going little fella?” Damien caught him before he landed on the hard ground.
The pup tried to fight him. So he did the only thing he could think of, pick him up by his scruff. He opened the driver’s door, and put the pup inside. Slipping his shirt on, he sat down on the seat. A small growl came from the pup. Of course, he ignored it. What’s a little pup going to do?
Just as he lifts his foot to put his shoes on, the little hellion bit onto his arm, and doesn’t let go. Damien popped the pup on the nose, making him release his bite. The pup whined, and jumped down to the floor board scooting as far away from Damien as he could. He nodded when the pup was all the way by the door. It’ll be good if he’ll stay there the entire ride back to the warehouse.
He didn’t waste any time getting on the road. He’s lucky he has a full tank of gas. This way he doesn’t have to stop until he is well out of the mountain range. The roads are full of twists, and turns. He’d rather be going much faster so he stepped on the gas. In the days he has been here, he hasn’t seen much traffic on this mountain. He came to an unexpected sharp turn, and the rear of the truck skidded sideways to catch up.
He knew his luck wasn’t going to last long. A golden jeep with a light bar on top happened to be coming around the next bend. He must have seen Damien’s reckless driving because the light bar on top started flashing blue, and a siren screamed out. Thankfully the siren was cut off when Damien slowed down. He can play this off. It’s bound to happen all the time on these roads. He pushed his jacket off the seat, so that it will cover the pup.
“Don’t move.” He ordered. “Don’t make a sound.”
Damien isn’t worried about humans, not even a human cop. He just doesn’t want the shifters to find out he is here. Regardless they will find out soon enough, he is sure of that.
He pulled over to the side of the road once he was around the turns. The cop pulled in behind him. The cop got out of the jeep, and started towards the truck. He’s an older man with head full of gray hair. He wouldn’t be surprised if the man is bald under his hat. As the cop approached the door, he rolled down his window.
“I’m sorry officer. The turn was a little sharper than I expected.” Damien explained, hoping he can get away with a warning.
“License, registration, and proof of insurance.” The officer held out his hand.
Damien opened the glove box to get all the necessary documents. When he closed the glove box, it must have scared the pup because he jumped, making the jacket slide off. The officer now had a clear view of the pup. He hoped the officer wouldn’t notice the pup. Seeing how the officer pulled his gun, and pointed it straight at him, it’s safe to say the pup had been spotted.
“Put your hands up, and get out of the truck.” The officer ordered.
Damien doesn’t have time for this but he will play along for a minute. He raises his hands so the officer can see them. Opening his door from the outside, Damien slowly got out. He made sure the pup didn’t slip out, and closed the door.
“Turn around, lean your chest against the hood, and put your hands behind your head.”
He did what he was told. He placed his hands on the back of his head, and leaned across the hood. He just had to wait for the right moment. When he heard to officer holster his weapon, Damien took advantage. He whipped around swinging his clawed hand out. It caught the officer across the chest, and face. The officer immediately went down to the pavement. Blood started pooling around his head. Damien didn’t see the need to do anymore damage. The old man will bleed out shortly.
Taking the officer’s gun, Damien jumped back in his truck, and peeled down the road. They weren’t far from the bottom of the mountain. Once they get on the interstate he will be home free. The pup whined, and let out some pathetic excuse for a howl.
“You did it to him. I told you not to move.” Damien informed him. “See what happens when you don’t do what you’re told? People get hurt.” In response the pup went silent, curling up on the floorboard. He didn’t make a sound the rest of the way.