Chapter 15

From Legend of the White Wolf
By Max Elliot Anderson

“We gotta get out of here,” Tommy warned.

“No. I’m not leaving him.”

“Throw him in a cage with the others,” a deep voice ordered.

“Brian. Now!” Tommy said in a growled whisper.

“You go. I’m staying.”

“But…”

“Go home as fast as you can. Tell your parents to call my Dad. Tell him about the collar. He’ll know what to do.”

Tommy hesitated even as it sounded like the men were right outside the truck now.

“Go!” Brian whispered.

Tommy slipped out of the back, let the canvas down, and dropped to the ground. Now Brian was all alone…except for those men and the sleeping wolves. He hurried in between cages stacked near the front. There he found a place where he could crouch down and hide under another tarp. Just as he made it to the floor, the tarp at the back went up and flashlights made him squint. He felt sick all over. When he poked his head out from the corner, he saw that the men wore helmets with night vision for their hunt.

“That’s it for tonight, boys. You can go back to the van and get out of here. We’ll take this load to the usual place.”

“It’s gonna be fun to watch that white one die,” another voice said.

Tears streamed down Brian’s face as he cried silently. Three of the men lifted a wolf into the truck where three other men had already climbed in. They took the gray wolf, opened a cage, and dumped him in like a sack of bones. The wolf hit the floor with a sickening thud.

“Nothing but a bunch of worthless wolves anyway,” another man said.

Brian wanted to rush out and fight them, but he knew he’d be no match for that many men. He wished he could open all the cages and let the wolves go, but they were unconscious. Still, he couldn’t leave his friend. Just then one of the wolves groaned. Brian turned to see him as the truck started.

“What am I going to do?” he whispered. The truck began backing up. It turned around in the road, and headed out of the forest.

The cages bounced around with every bump in the dirt road. Brian did, too. He was afraid they might all come crashing down on him. He reached up into Snowball’s cage and his hand found the wolf’s big head. He began scratching the ears. Snowball let out a low groan.

“It’s gonna be okay, boy. I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.” He felt the truck bounce back onto the blacktop road. From there the ride wasn’t so bumpy. The corners still scared him, but he felt safer…for now.

Brian had ridden most of these roads with his father, but from the back of the truck, in the dark, he had no idea where they were. He was also getting tired. Glancing at his watch he whispered, “Two o’clock! No wonder.” He slumped down onto the tarp and fell asleep as the truck roared down the road.

Brian wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but he felt the truck slowing down. Then it turned onto another bumpy road. When he looked at his watch, he saw that his nap had only lasted for about ten minutes. By now some of the wolves were beginning to wake up, and they were not happy. He heard them snarl and growl. A few whimpered. He moved away from the cages, just to be safe.

“I’m gonna get you guys out of here,” he whispered.

Just then one of them began to howl. The sound was the most pitiful thing Brian had ever heard.

One of the men inside the truck pounded on the top of the cab and yelled, “Shut up back there!”

It made Brian’s mouth go dry. He moved to the back of the truck, lifted the canvas flap, and looked out, but there was nothing but trees in all directions.

“Where are we?” he whispered.

Then the truck’s horn blew as they turned onto another road. Brian stretched his head around the back of the truck and looked toward the front. He saw an open gate where two men stood. He ducked down inside again, and then raised up to peer out over the back of the truck. As they passed through, the gates were closed. He could hear dogs barking and that made some of the wolves growl even louder.

The truck came to a jolting stop, which made the cages slam together. Several of the wolves cried out.

“I told you to shut up back there!” a man warned as he pounded on the side of the truck with something.

The back flap opened and Brian heard another motor driving up. Headlights shined in as a forklift moved into position to remove the first cage. Brian knew it wouldn’t be long until they found him. He looked around and noticed that the canvas covering the back of the truck had a place on the other side where he thought he could squeeze through.

After the forklift took the first cage, he climbed the other side of the truck and pushed his way out. Just as he crawled onto the top of the truck, the forklift was back. He crouched down and waited until another cage was taken out. Then he climbed down to the ground.

“How many did we get tonight?” a man asked.

“Ten or twelve, I think.”

“That’s a good night if you ask me. Let’s get them cremated as soon as we can.”

Cremated? Brian thought. He was able to sneak away from the truck and hide near a dumpster. From there he looked up to see sparks shooting out of a tall smokestack. He crawled along the ground until he found a dirty window. He spit on the glass and wiped it with his shirt. That’s when he saw several men inside. Next to them were a few of the cages with wolves inside.

The forklift drove in where they were, and the lights shined out the window. Brian ducked down. When he looked back in, one of the men opened a heavy metal door to what looked like a big furnace.

“What in the world,” he whispered as his heart began pounding harder.

“Hey,” a man said with a laugh. “Are wolves good to eat?”

“I don’t know,” another answered. “Why?”

“I just thought, since we’re gonna cook ‘em…why not eat ‘em at the same time?”

“You mean like wolf burgers?” another asked.

“Why not?”

The leader walked up to the group. “Look,” he said. “There isn’t anything lower on this earth than a rotten wolf. We burn up the evidence, and go out and find more. There’ll be no talk about eating any of them.”

Right now I’m looking at something lower than a wolf, Brian thought. Then he saw the forklift truck bring in a cage with a pure, white wolf inside.

“Snowball,’ he said right out loud. The men couldn’t hear him over the sound of the lift truck. He stood to his feet and gritted his teeth. “I gotta do something,” he whispered. Slowly he moved toward a door near where he’d been hiding. When he tired it…it was locked. He went back to the window and looked in.

“Which one you wanna fry first?” a man asked.

“Doesn’t matter to me, only we’d better hurry up before they all wake up.”

“How about that white one over there?” a man said as he pointed right at Snowball’s cage.

“Go for it.”

“NO!” Brian screamed before he could stop himself.

All of the men turned toward the window and looked straight at him. Brian’s legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

“Get him!” the leader ordered.

I hope Tommy makes it in time, Brian thought.

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