camera, clearly looking for some way to destroy whatever footage was inside.
“I mean it. Hand it over or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Jack didn’t even bother to look up. “You don’t have permission to film here. This is private property, and as the caretaker, I’m telling you to get out of here before you lose more than your camera.”
Alex shook his head, his mouth working silently for a few moments. “That’s premium footage – that’s proof that there are wolves in these mountains. I thought Gus was full of shit. Who wouldn’t? But that’s mine, and I’ll have him and the network kissing my ass. Hand. It. Over.”
During his diatribe, Alex seemed to have mustered up some courage. He stood straighter than before, and he held his hands clenched into fists. They weren’t raised, but…
“Are you gonna leave on your own, or do I need to have my friend escort you off the property?” Jack tipped his head toward Ronnie.
“You’re trespassing.” Ronnie’s deep voice echoed from where he stood by his truck, as immense and still as an old oak trunk.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Alex sounded strangled as he cast a cutting glance toward Noah and Daniel, two dark wolves standing statue-still in the gravel. “Are you all feeding those things? Are they your pets?” He jabbed a finger in Ronnie’s direction. “And you – you’re a ranger! Je—”
“What things?” Jack asked as he finally removed an SD card from the camera.
Alex opened his mouth as he whirled to face where the two wolves had been standing, but no sound came out.
Daniel and Noah were gone – disappeared into the shadows behind the cabin, though Alex had been too busy flapping his jaw to notice where they’d gone.
“This is bullshit.” Alex shook his head. “Unbelievable. If you don’t give me my camera back, I’ll just get more footage. Or someone else will. People already know about the wolves. It’s not like you can hide them.”
“There are no wolves in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.” Ronnie spoke in a monotone, sounding like an overworked tour guide explaining something to an especially annoying tourist. “The only wild canines are coyotes, which may appear wolf-like to the untrained eye. So-called wolf sightings that occur here can be attributed to the abundant coyote population, or stray domestic dogs.”
“I know what I saw. Those were no freaking coyotes. They were the size of ponies!”
Ronnie nodded. “If you saw anything, they were probably dogs – pets left behind by tourists. Animal control is handling the situation. The dogs captured here tonight will be delivered to a shelter. They’re not going to harm anyone.”
Though much taller and thinner, Alex looked Gus-like as he quivered with irritation, his face a vivid shade of red, even in the silver moonlight. “Whatever. You assholes can steal my footage, but it’s not like I’m going to keep quiet about this.” He glared at Ronnie. “You’ll lose your job when people find out that you’re keeping the big bad wolves everyone’s so afraid of as pets .”
“You can say whatever you want to whoever you want,” Ronnie said, “but you can’t seriously expect anyone to believe you saw wolves out here. Not when you decided to sample these mountains’ famous wild mushrooms, anyway.”
“What?”
Ronnie reached into the cab of his truck and pulled out a small bag. Moonlight silhouetted the half a dozen or so toadstools inside. “You’re lucky you didn’t choose a deadly variety, really. These here—” he shook the bag “—will make you a little loopy for a few hours, but they won’t kill you. Not unless you eat them by the handful, anyway. In small doses, they have what some call psychedelic effects. Maybe you knew that and that’s what motivated you to consume them.”
“I did not!”
Ronnie shrugged. “I’m not judging you – I might be tempted to turn to substance abuse too if I had to spend my days
“I mean it. Hand it over or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Jack didn’t even bother to look up. “You don’t have permission to film here. This is private property, and as the caretaker, I’m telling you to get out of here before you lose more than your camera.”
Alex shook his head, his mouth working silently for a few moments. “That’s premium footage – that’s proof that there are wolves in these mountains. I thought Gus was full of shit. Who wouldn’t? But that’s mine, and I’ll have him and the network kissing my ass. Hand. It. Over.”
During his diatribe, Alex seemed to have mustered up some courage. He stood straighter than before, and he held his hands clenched into fists. They weren’t raised, but…
“Are you gonna leave on your own, or do I need to have my friend escort you off the property?” Jack tipped his head toward Ronnie.
“You’re trespassing.” Ronnie’s deep voice echoed from where he stood by his truck, as immense and still as an old oak trunk.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Alex sounded strangled as he cast a cutting glance toward Noah and Daniel, two dark wolves standing statue-still in the gravel. “Are you all feeding those things? Are they your pets?” He jabbed a finger in Ronnie’s direction. “And you – you’re a ranger! Je—”
“What things?” Jack asked as he finally removed an SD card from the camera.
Alex opened his mouth as he whirled to face where the two wolves had been standing, but no sound came out.
Daniel and Noah were gone – disappeared into the shadows behind the cabin, though Alex had been too busy flapping his jaw to notice where they’d gone.
“This is bullshit.” Alex shook his head. “Unbelievable. If you don’t give me my camera back, I’ll just get more footage. Or someone else will. People already know about the wolves. It’s not like you can hide them.”
“There are no wolves in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.” Ronnie spoke in a monotone, sounding like an overworked tour guide explaining something to an especially annoying tourist. “The only wild canines are coyotes, which may appear wolf-like to the untrained eye. So-called wolf sightings that occur here can be attributed to the abundant coyote population, or stray domestic dogs.”
“I know what I saw. Those were no freaking coyotes. They were the size of ponies!”
Ronnie nodded. “If you saw anything, they were probably dogs – pets left behind by tourists. Animal control is handling the situation. The dogs captured here tonight will be delivered to a shelter. They’re not going to harm anyone.”
Though much taller and thinner, Alex looked Gus-like as he quivered with irritation, his face a vivid shade of red, even in the silver moonlight. “Whatever. You assholes can steal my footage, but it’s not like I’m going to keep quiet about this.” He glared at Ronnie. “You’ll lose your job when people find out that you’re keeping the big bad wolves everyone’s so afraid of as pets .”
“You can say whatever you want to whoever you want,” Ronnie said, “but you can’t seriously expect anyone to believe you saw wolves out here. Not when you decided to sample these mountains’ famous wild mushrooms, anyway.”
“What?”
Ronnie reached into the cab of his truck and pulled out a small bag. Moonlight silhouetted the half a dozen or so toadstools inside. “You’re lucky you didn’t choose a deadly variety, really. These here—” he shook the bag “—will make you a little loopy for a few hours, but they won’t kill you. Not unless you eat them by the handful, anyway. In small doses, they have what some call psychedelic effects. Maybe you knew that and that’s what motivated you to consume them.”
“I did not!”
Ronnie shrugged. “I’m not judging you – I might be tempted to turn to substance abuse too if I had to spend my days
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