Just a Rogue

Seth

We have to separate the pack. There’s no way for all of us to take the same route to the mountain cave. The four of us in human form hike back to where we left the car last night. We will have to drive the long way around to get closer to the area that the cave is in, but in human form, especially with the two females, we couldn’t do this on foot in one day.

The wolves are taking a more direct route, which will take them up and down over steep hills and through valleys until they arrive at the rendezvous point. They’ll have to run, it’s a fairly long distance, but I’m sure that they’ll also take any opportunity to hunt along the way.

We won’t be so fortunate. I peek in the glove compartment before I start the car and find some snack packs of peanuts, and give them to Xavier. He gives one to the girls to share, just a couple of handfuls of peanuts each, but enough to sustain them until we get to the cave. He and I eat the rest, and I am left slightly less ravenous as we drive.

We have to wind around and backtrack, and go along some unpaved roads, but in a few hours we have reached the rendezvous point. The car can go no further from here. The wolves apparently haven’t arrived yet, so we start walking. They’ll see the car and follow our scent. We don’t use this inconveniently located cave often, so they might not be quite as familiar with the route.

It’s another hour of hiking from the car. Snow still clings to the ground in most spots, the temperature is barely above freezing, but at least the sky is clear and there is no wind. The girls are shivering despite having jeans and jackets, clinging together as they stagger forward, led by the leash. I wish we could let them rest, but it’s too cold to stay still for long.

The wolves catch up to us, all ten of them running silently up behind, and as they pass I notice blood on some of their snouts. I’m glad they found something to eat.

As we approach our destination in the mid-afternoon, the sun is oddly warm and pleasant in the deep blue sky, making a contrast to the snowy patches on the ground. But at least the girls aren’t shivering as hard.

We begin climbing the last outcropping of rock that will lead to the cave, then Xavier lifts his face into the air, sniffs, and a look of shock crosses his features, followed by fury.

We all smell it. It happened again. The fourth cave ruined by the pack, claimed, marked as inaccessible to us.

Corinne

It takes me about eight hours to walk up to the cave, some twenty miles north of Arcata. I walk steadily, my new shoes remarkably comfortable. The weather is clear, the sky is blue, the sun is warm although the air is cool. I pretty quickly take off my sweatshirt and tie the arms around my waist to carry it there until I need it again.

I find the cave easily, having been here a few times before. It is one of Xavier’s favorite locations, near the ocean, only two or three miles outside a little coastal town called Trinidad. It is not at all remote - there are roads and little towns and businesses scattered all over this area.

The cave entrance is a concealed hole beneath an outcropping of rock, hidden behind thick brush. A person standing upright or walking past would never see it. You must enter it by crawling low to the ground under the brush, then squeeze into the two feet between the overhanging rock and the ground, to slide into the hole. The occasional hiker passing by would not bother to investigate under the spiky bushes.

I am relieved that I smell no fresh scents of any humans or wolves. Nothing from the pack, and the scents from the rogues are fading, clearly from the last time we were in this cave last month, the night that I ran away.

I glance around myself, and listen carefully, to make sure that nobody is nearby, then lower myself to the ground. I shimmy past the brush, tuck my head down so that I don’t bang it on the rock above me, and slip into the hole.

Once inside, the cave is spacious, a long underground tube going back towards the coast, where I know there is a much smaller exit. Sometimes the rogues use it to access the rocky cliffs overlooking the beach.

It is very dim in here, just a little bit of light able to filter through the heavy brush concealing the entrance. I look around at the belongings the rogues left behind. In the corner where I used to sleep, the blanket I expected to find is literally ripped to shreds. I shudder as I picture Xavier tearing it apart in a rage when he discovered me missing, probably imagining he was doing that to me. This evidence of his violence is frightening, but not enough to dissuade me from my task.

I’m trying to set aside the emotions that being back in this cave raises. I have to be practical and just take care of business. It will be very dark in here as soon as the sun sets, so I have to take advantage of the light still remaining. I set my backpack on the floor, sit down next to it, and start pulling out the equipment I need to set up.

I start with the hidden microphones. I put one on each side of the entrance, then another one further back, making sure to turn them on, adjust the settings, and cover them with the fake rocks that Darlene created to camouflage them. Exactly as I was taught. As far as I know I am doing it right.

Next I go outside with the webcams. I clamber up the rocky hill that stands directly over the cave, and find a spot where the camera can look out over the area in front of the cave entrance. It takes some extra time to get the camera positioned and on, then to set up the concealment so that the view is not obstructed. I am pretty sure that I get it correct.

The final piece of equipment is a webcam for a tree a few dozen yards away. I clamber up the tree by pushing myself up the trunk with my hands and feet, and wonder if this would even be possible later on in my pregnancy. When I get to a substantial branch, I settle the camera in the crook, adjust all the settings, and cover it with the camouflage.

Well, I hope that’s all set up correctly. Nothing to do now, really, but wait. I sit on the branch, high in the tree, next to the webcam, and look at the view. I am looking west towards the cave entrance, invisible from here, only the rocks and brush in view. The sun has set, and the clouds over the Pacific are a deep orange. I stare for a few minutes, watching the colors shift from orange, through red, and purple. I appreciate this peaceful interlude before the rogues return and I know that chaos and pain will ensue.

I hear something nearby, and glance over, startled, something shifting in my peripheral vision. A tiny whirring noise guides my eyes, and I focus on a small black device hovering in the air a few yards away from me. It’s one of the drones that Janine bought, I’m sure of it! Are they watching me already? I wave my hand at the drone, wishing that I could speak to it.

It hovers in the air, moves slightly left, then slightly right, then approaches a few feet closer to me. Then it rises further into the sky until it vanishes.

I think they were waving back.