The Terminator
I opened my eyes, the clock read 4:57 a.m. I sighed. “Is this my life now?” I chuffed through my nose as I rose slowly to all fours and stretched.
The house was silent except for a slight vibration in my pads coming from the living room. I smiled then padded forward towards the hallway.
When I reached the living room, my heart filled with so much pride I could have floated away.
Jayce, my brother, lay there with his back pressed against the couch, fully shifted into his tiger form. My golden fur was boring next to the regal orange, black, and white patterns across his fur.
His tongue hung limp from his mouth, shaking as he snored softly.
Near his feet, curled up on the lounge, was Luna. She wasn’t the most graceful sleeper. Her hair had poofed into her face and I saw the faint sheen of saliva leaking from her mouth. But seeing her there, resting peacefully after saving my life, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I padded carefully past Jayce, being careful not to step on his tail or paws, then nuzzled the door to the garage open.
Tony and Girard were still here, and both fast asleep. Tony was crashed out on a military-style cot we had. His shirt rode high on his belly. A ground-rattling snore shook the cot.
Girard was asleep on his back, with his laptop tucked beneath an arm. Weirdest pillow I’d ever seen.
Tony stirred, mumbled something, then settled.
As adventurous as these two claimed to be, they weren’t early risers.
The garage door was slightly ajar, so I nuzzled it gently and the springs pulled it out of my way. Cool, crisp air flooded the garage, flowing over my feet. It stung my nose, but my fur coat lavished it. Being warm and comfy on cold mornings was deeply gratifying.
As I emerged from the garage, the icy ground crunched beneath my pads. Fog rolled from my mouth as my eyes adjusted to the dark.
I stepped forward, listening to the silence of the morning. The absence of sound can be as beautiful as the presence. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, holding the breath for a moment before slowly releasing it.
I loved the morning. So much.
That’s when I decided I needed a run and a climb. And I knew just where I wanted to go.
A smile crossed my muzzle as I coiled my legs. I pulled back, and just as I was about to release, a voice called my name.
“Hey, Al.”
My legs sprang forward two steps before I caught myself and awkwardly skidded to a stop.
I let out a laugh. “I was about to sprint.”
“I could tell,” Luna said. “Your tail was all waggy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Total happy butt,” she laughed.
She strolled up beside me, holding a flashlight. She wore her usual running gear as well as a warm smile.
“You going on your run?” I asked.
She stared at me for a moment, then I laughed. “Sorry, dumb question.”
She chuckled. “Well I’m going onsomebody’srun. Either mine or… if you’re not too busy…”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah! I’d love that.”
I swallowed several times, trying to act cool. I knew I’d have to go slow, but that was a price I was eager to pay.
She reached out and tousled the fur between my ears. “Try to keep up, lion-man.”
“Challenge accepted,” I said.
We departed John’s house and followed the Kookumchuk Valley trail up the valley. She set the pace and I sauntered beside her.
“Where do you usually run in the mornings?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “I… uh… don’t really… run.”
“Oh? I figured getting out and thinking was a thing for you.”
“No, actually,” I said. “I’m usually the stay-in-bed-under-the-comforter-as-long-as-humanly-possible type of thinker.”
“What changed?”
Then Luna huffed. “Whatdidn’tchange?”
“Yeah, right?” I laughed. I glanced away. “I guess I just needed space to think. John’s house is great, but it’s… kinda small.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “What are you thinking? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Never,” I said, too eagerly.
The heat in my face told me I was blushing. Thankfully, fur hides lion-blushes.
I gathered my thoughts. “There’s a lot. Dorian’s not coming after us anymore, but…”
“John?” Luna asked flatly.
I offered a small smile. “Yeah.”
Luna nodded, dodging roots.
“I really miss him. I know I should be angry, but…” I sighed. “How can I be? He’s… I just want him back.”
Luna shook her head and focused on the trail.
“What?” I asked.
She huffed. “John abandoned you knowing you were going into a life-or-death situation. He ran. That’s not what a father… godfather… orwhateverhe is does. A father doesn’t abandon his kids.”
“He saved my life. Jayce’s life. Then he carried the burden of what happened by himself for fifteen years. All that pain…”
I didn’t have any more words. Luna downshifted from anger to frustration, then back to neutral.
“Part of what I like about you, Al. You’re faithful. To a fault.”
I sighed. “Thanks, Lu,” then immediately winced.
She wrinkled her nose. “Lu?”
“Yeah. Tried it. Hated it. Never doing it again.”
“Thank you,” she said with a sharp nod.
We came to a fork in the trail. To the right, a branch snaked up the hillside. The main trail wound up towards the ridge. I felt the pull of the hill and paused.
Luna stopped beside me. “You going uphill?”
“I think I am. You wanna come?”
The corner of her mouth pulled back slightly. “Nah. I’ll stick to the trail. Give you some thinking time.”
“Oh,” I said. “You sure?”
She smiled. “I’m slowing you down and you know it. Run. Stretch those legs. I’ll see you at the house when you’re done.”
A smile curved across my muzzle. I’d have hugged her right then if I could.
After we parted ways, I let loose. My legs ate up distance as the trail blurred beneath me. I ran claws extended, digging into the earth with every step.
The trail sloped upward and I quickly gained elevation. The sky was painted in gradients of blue and black. Old growth firs and ancient cedars lined the trail, eventually giving way to rocky outcroppings as I broke through the tree line. The temperature dropped sharply. Patches of snow dotted the ground, crunching deliciously beneath my pads.
As I neared the ridgeline, I slowed to a trot and peered out over the valley.
Below, Rockport glowed, its smattering of streetlights illuminating the few storefronts and homes. The approaching dawn tipped the mountains with golden light. I looked beyond Rockport, slightly up the valley, and saw the massive lumber mill: the site of yesterday’s near-death experience and likely the stupidest thing I’d ever done.
The ridgeline was only a few steps away now. I padded up to it and peeked over the jagged rocks. The valley stretched beyond, rowed with glowing mountains. A flat slab of granite bathed in light from the rising sun called my name, so I padded over to it, stretched, then settled down, crossing my paws and laying my head on them. I could feel my nerves unclenching as my body settled into peace.
As the sun stroked my fur, my mind wandered to John. He’d abandoned us when we’d needed him, but it was hard to be angry. I knew what drove him. And he was out there. Alone.
A steely determination arose within my chest. For all his faults, he was still the closest thing I had to a dad. I knew I had to find him. Bring him home. If not for myself, for Jayce.
“Alright,” I said. “Find John. Check.”
Then my mind drifted to Liam. I suspected the only reason he didn’t hop the train last night was impending hypothermia. That and the fact he had two massive predators tucked under his arms begging him to stay.
Convincing him to stay one night was one thing. Convincing him to stay longer? To start a new life? To become… family? That was an entirely different thing. And did I even want him as family? He wasn’t the kind to care. But I didn’t abandon people. It’s not my way.
Then finances. Cursed, crappy finances. Our jobs, like those of everybody else in town, were linked to the operation of the mill. With the main building in ruins and its owner behind bars, the mill was in dire straits. If it stayed closed, it would quickly go out of business, and all of Rockport with it.
But the most stressful thing to think about was food. I knew I could easily eat a hundred pounds of meat in one sitting. Now with Jayce also fully shifted, I couldn’t imagine feeding both of us with runs to Kim’s General Store. Normal human-food options were off the table. We’d need to hunt. And to hunt, we’d need to go far, far out. Deep into nature. I knew I could go several days without eating, if I had to. It was painful but not eat-your-housemates painful.
I shifted my weight, moving so the sun could reach the cold spots.
I laid for a few more minutes letting the sun’s radiating glow kiss my fur. An internal pull drew me toward home. I knew the time had come to return. I stood, stretched, and took one last look at the valley. I didn’t know how it was going to end, but I knew it was all up to me now.
The Protector of Rockport knew his mission. I giggled through my nose at that thought. Sounded crazy, but true.
Going down was harder than going up. My weight shifted onto my front paws. My claws weren’t designed to dig into the dirt going this direction, so they’d slip against the ice and patches of soil, forcing me to constantly stabilize myself.
I was focusing on my footing when a foul odor stabbed my nose. I covered my muzzle with a paw, trying to block out the smell, but it only seemed to get stronger.
Then my pads picked up vibrations. Heavy footsteps. Somewhere ahead. Crunching in the frosty dirt.
Someone was coming.
My heart leapt into my throat. I scanned my surroundings for a place to hide. A boulder had broken free from the hillside and rolled to a rest against an ancient cedar.
That would have to do.
I tiptoed on my pads as gently as I could, not wanting to leave pawprints in the dirt. With claws retracted and pads treading lightly, I left barely a trace behind me, although the deep gouges I’d left on the way up still rutted the trail’s surface.
I nestled into my hiding place behind the boulder when a voice broke the stillness, humming a rather militant tune. I peeked through a gap between the tree and the boulder.
Moving up the trail at a fast clip was a man dressed in a forest green uniform. He wore a wide-brimmed, matching green hat similar to a drill instructor and a gold badge with the word “Ranger” emblazoned on it. Brown military-grade boots gripped his calves.
He was huge.
If he hadn’t been so obviously dressed, I would have guessed him to be a bodybuilder or a weightlifter. Every step he took shook the earth beneath him. The vibrations rattled across the ground into my claws then up my spine. He walked like a man on a mission, eyes glued to the trail ahead of him, not looking to the right or the left. On his shoulder, he carried an enormous, double-barreled shotgun.
Then suddenly, he stopped.
My blood froze.
The skin on his nose flinched twice. Was he smelling the air?
The man sneered and squinted, scanning the forest around him. He locked onto my boulder, then turned and faced directly toward me.
My heart pounded in my chest.
Who was he? Sheriff Rawlins surely didn’t call him in—he knew we were safe.
Ranger? Forest Ranger?
I’d been hiking up here for years and had never once seen a forest ranger. Why was a forest ranger with the personality of the Terminator now staring murderously at the rock I was hiding behind?
My heart thudded so sharply, my jaw ached. I pressed my side against the boulder, trying not to move. Heavy footsteps crunched, off path. Ferns snapped as the stranger approached my hiding spot.
