“I’ll be waiting. Good luck,” Forrest said offering his hand.
“Thanks,” Wallace said before putting on his headgear.
They opened the outer doors while the remaining staff went behind the closed doors of their protected working areas. They filed out in a single line until the last man secured the doors. It was an overcast and cloudy day but not one indicative of rain. Aside from the few who were on the first raid, this was the first time they had seen the outside since before they were locked inside the mountain. They each experienced their own feelings about that as they went. They had time for reflection now, but soon they would have to focus on the mission.
ELEVEN
They left early the next day after a full breakfast. Moore was hesitant about eating until Bishop reasoned with him that he would need whatever nutrition he could get, and that it was better to have something to ’bring up,’ rather than nothing. True to his word, they were no more than two miles outside of the valley when Moore expelled most of what he had eaten that morning. They swung out to the east as they went. Bishop did not want a chance meeting between them, and any military force already on its way to Mezzo. By mid-day, they covered a considerable distance. Once Moore recovered from his sickness, he had no trouble keeping pace with Bishop. To their left, the mountain peaks could be seen reaching as far as the dark gloom, which cast its shadow everywhere outside of the valley. To their right, the open country was only disturbed by an occasional mesa standing as if in defiance of the land surrounding it.
They maintained their distance from the mountain range as they moved through the tall grass of the plains, and at times, followed the trail hidden inside of dry streambeds. They talked little, and that was fine with Bishop as he had a lot on his mind. The settlers were taking a chance on his course of action back in the valley, but he saw no other way to ensure their survival. He only hoped rationality would rule the day. His success in his own operation would have an impact as well.
As the evening approached, and the meager light, which penetrated the cloud layer abated, they searched for a place to make camp for the night. Even though there were no indications of rain, making camp in a ravine was a bad idea. They decided to take to the higher ground offered by a collection of moderately sized wild grass mounds. When they reached the middle of them Bishop stopped in his tracks, and Moore uttered his first words of the past several hours.
“Holy shit! It’s a rock wolf,” he said as he stood still, too frightened to move.
“Just take it easy Moore,” Bishop said trying to calm his companion.
The wolf looked at Bishop and he returned its gaze. There was no hostility evident, and Bishop instinctively knew this was the same wolf. “Whaddya say boy? It’s been a while.”
The wolf turned his head slightly as Bishop spoke. He looked briefly at the other man and could smell the fear. He did not warrant any attention. Fear to a wolf was weakness. Weakness had no use. He sat on his haunches still looking at Bishop.
“Well boy, we’re gonna stay here tonight. If you want to, you can as well.”
“Are you nuts?” Moore asked in shocked surprise. “I give him a minute until he decides he’s hungry and we’re his dinner.”
“No. We know each other,” Bishop said as he put down his staff, and removed the pack of supplies from his back. “Just stay close to me and don’t make any sudden or threatening moves. I think he’ll be alright.”
Moore wished he could be as sure, but he did notice that the wolf just watched Bishop as he went about his business. He heard the story that Bishop let a rock wolf out of one of their traps, the alpha male no less, but until now, he did not believe it. He stayed close to Bishop as he went about his business, while keeping a constant eye on the imposing animal.
“He won’t do anything to you. My guess is, we came close to his home and he came out to see who we were.”
“I’ve never heard of anybody meeting one this close, and live to tell about it,” Moore said still nervous.
“Moore, do me a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“Would you calm down, I can smell your adrenaline myself. If he hasn’t attacked us yet, he isn’t going to. Just go about your business, and try to ignore him.”
Moore finally took his eyes from the beast, “Ignore him? How in the hell do you expect me to ignore that,” he said pointing to the wolf.
Bishop smiled, “Just try, okay?”
It was an uneasy time for Moore as they set up camp. The wolf remained where he was, and watched the two men while they worked. When it came time to eat, Moore suggested he give the wolf some food to show he was friendly.
“I wouldn’t do that. I don’t think he would much care for what we have, and he is more than capable of feeding himself,” Bishop said.
Moore became more relaxed as time passed. The wolf got up and scouted the area. When he was finished, he returned to the camp and settled on the ground not far from Bishop. Moore swore he would not sleep that night, but the weariness of travel weighed in on him along with the withdrawal from the adrenaline rush. Bishop, used to sleeping no more than a few hours normally, stayed awake contemplating the reason for this visit. There was some kind of connection between him and the animal, and he knew it was not just because he had helped him. There was something more. While they did not speak the same language, he knew the beast understood him. Not only understood him, but seemed to support him.
Bishop awoke slowly as his senses came alive. Before his eyes opened, he could hear the sounds of the pre-dawn stirring, and smell the presence of his companions. He felt refreshed and decided to take stock of their surroundings before getting started with the final part of their expedition. The temperature on the high plains desert could fluctuate forty to fifty degrees in a twenty-four hour period. While Bishop was unaffected by this, he considered what it meant to others as he saw Moore wrapped tightly in his bedding.
When Moore finally stirred out of his slumber, he saw Bishop standing on top of the tallest mound looking toward the north. He also saw the rock wolf standing near him. By the time he packed his gear, the two had returned.
“I think we’ll make it before nightfall,” Bishop offered.
“What about him,” Moore said nodding toward the wolf.
“I think he’ll go along with us. At least we won’t have to worry about being surprised by anything.”
“I don’t understand how you can be so casual around him.”
“Maybe you just don’t understand him. Everything is trying to survive, but everything doesn’t have to be a fight.”
Moore was not interested in discussing the philosophical aspects of the subject, and decided to let it drop. They ate a small meal, collected their gear, and set out. Moore followed Bishop, keeping a close eye on the wolf while it scouted ahead of them.
Because of the darkness of the skies, storms were mostly undetectable until they were atop you. One such storm came unannounced that afternoon. The first sign of its presence was from the wolf. He veered out of the wadi they were following and crested its slope. He took one look back at his companions then ran off. Bishop and Moore also crested the shallow wash as the peculiar behavior of the wolf puzzled them. When they saw nothing in the immediate area, Bishop’s attention was drawn to the sky as purple flashes of light could be seen within the clouds themselves, not yet extending their destruction to the ground.
“We have to find a place to hide,” Moore said a bit frantically.