CHAPTER 2: HIGHER GROUND

The terrain along the dry creek bed was flat in spots, hilly in others, with an uneven course that would have been nearly impossible for a human to navigate at night and certainly not at a full run.

The wolves, mother and cub, were able to make strong progress on sheer animalistic instincts and athleticism, bounding up and over rocks, around tall cacti stands and other condensed packs of sharp brush and bushes. Their thick coats prevented any barbs or prickers from doing any damage where, if they were in human form, their skin would be cut, sliced and left bleeding.

There was no way of really knowing how far they had run, but they had to push themselves to their limit, although the mother knew she would have to eventually slow down for her cub. When the little one struggled and straggled to a near stop – needing to rest – the mother went back and used her snout to urge her onward.

Distance was harder to measure in these forms and instead the mother focused on objects – this strand of rocks, up ahead that group of cacti, over that rise a dry creek bed.

Eventually, with no sight of the little town and no accompanying noises, the wolves slowed to a jog, pushing and pushing, until they came to a gradual rise to the top of a hill. Upon this higher ground they came to a small cave, a little dark shadowy spot in a large rock formation.

The mother turned in a circle before standing still, her nose sniffing and her eyes steely and focused as she looked back at the direction they had come from. A wolf can pick up the scent of an animal – or a human or their machines – from up to a mile away and that sense of smell is a major key to their survival skills in the wild. The mother’s senses now were far more powerful than when she was in her human form, so she remained still to survey the landscape around her. Her cub sat down for a moment as she did this.

When the mother was content they were safe – at least for the moment – she slipped into the cave and returned after making sure it was safe and free of animals or other critters. Then she shifted into her human form, encouraged her cub to do the same, and slipped into the shadows, where it was sheltered, protected and a tad warmer beneath the sunbaked rocks around them.

Inside the little shelter, she removed a duffel bag stuffed into a spot between two rocks and pulled out two old blankets, protein bars and a couple bottles of water. She went back outside the little shelter and sat down on the flattest rock, encouraged her daughter to sit next to her, and they took a moment to eat and catch their breath.

The distant moonlight and a wide-open expanse of stars greeted them, bathing the vast land in a soft backdrop of natural light from this portion of Big Sky Country.

“I liked it there,” Bella said – just a simple statement.

Darcy knew, however, that it carried a weight far greater than just four little words.

“I know, honey,” she said. “For such a…’ She thought for a moment for the right words. “… outwardly harsh and unforgiving place at first glance, it was actually very pleasant. But we can come back, you know? I must figure this all out but, when I do, maybe we can come back.”

She wasn’t sure her daughter believed it or not – nor if she herself did – but it sounded good. It sounded like leaving was just a temporary solution while they worked on a problem to solve or a situation that needed resolving. The truth, she knew, was much worse.

When they had finished eating and downing the water, they crawled into the little shadowy cave, which was actually warm despite the rapidly growing chill outside. During the day, the sunshine warmed the rocks around them, providing a nice little heat pocket to cuddle into. Then, pulling the blankets tightly around them, they huddled together and sat in silence for a moment.

“When did you put this in here?” Bella asked.

“Escape plan, kiddo,” Darcy said. “I have two other ones in little spots around the town in different directions, just in case. The key is remembering where those little spots are.”

“The wolf knows, right?” The little girl asked, her cheeks bulging from another bar.

“The wolf knows – because the wolf has a better nose. See what I did there?”

They leaned against one of the rocks, all huddled up and warm and cozy, with only the distant and natural sounds of the open land beyond the rocks as their backdrop. No electronic equipment could reach in here – heat-seeking cameras, night vision equipment or infrared technology – so they were safe. No animals would come sniffing around because they would pick up the wolf scent and not want anything to do with them. At least for this moment, Darcy and Bella were okay and, in the morning, they would move on.

She couldn’t just relax, of course, and her brain was slow to ease down, but she could feel Bella breathing deeper and relaxing into her.

“Momma, can you tell me the Moon Girl story again?”

Darcy rolled her eyes, exhausted and using their body heat beneath the blankets to stay warm. She kissed the top of Bella’s head.

“Aren’t you tired of that story yet?” She asked.

“It helps me fall asleep.”

Leaning her head back against the rock but holding her daughter close, Darcy spoke in a soft, almost whispered tone, as she told the story.

It was a story she’d told a hundred times or so, only making little changes to spice it up a little bit, but she stroked her daughter’s hair as the telling of the story helped both mom and daughter relax.

“There once was a little girl – a very, very special little girl – who was being watched even when she was still in her mommy’s belly, even before she was born.

This little girl was going to be very brave and very smart and very kind – and she was going to make a big, big difference in the world and do amazing things. See, the world can be a very, very dark place, and this little girl was made of light and the world needs that light. She was so special – so super special – that the Moon Goddess really took a liking to her. Even before the little girl was born, the Moon Goddess could tell how special the little girl would be without even meeting her. Now, God knows that little girls and little boys that special have to be taken care of so that they can come into the world and do good things for everyone else.

But sometimes – sometimes – mommies can’t do enough to protect their special little ones.

The little girl’s mommy – who was trying so hard to protect her – was injured fighting some bad people, and the little girl was hurt while she was still inside her mommy’s tummy.

So, her mommy and the doctors and all kinds of good people – medicine people – tried and tried to save the special little girl, but despite all of the things they tried, they learned that the little girl wasn’t going to be able to live. She wasn’t going to be able to do all of the amazing things envisioned for her and the mommy and the whole world were really, really sad.

For a while the world was a dark, sad place and even the sun didn’t come out

Everyone, it seemed, was sad because the special little girl wouldn’t be able to be born and bring her light into the world.

But see, the Moon Goddess – who almost never, ever, ever got involved in things in this world – was so sad about what happened that she just couldn’t help herself. So, guess what she did…? She reached into the mommy’s tummy and she tweaked the little girl’s nose and gave her life! She took the little girl’s nose, like this… ((Darcy pinched Bella’s nose just a little, then held the tip of her thumb between her left ring and index fingers, making it look like Bella’s nose was caught there.)) … See? I got your nose! ((Then she touched the tip of that thumb back to Bella’s face, made a popping sound and fictitiously put the nose back.)) And the little girl giggled and started to breathe again and, very soon after that, she was born into the world to do great things!

And people could tell that little baby was special, because her eyes had this beautiful, mysterious silver tint to them – and that silver light meant she’d been touched by the Moon Goddess.

Yet the darkness remains, you see.

The darkness remains and there are some people in the world – the bad people – who, when they see light, they want to do one of two things with it. The first thing they want to do with is extinguish it, to put it out. They like the world being in darkness and they don’t want anyone or anything in it that might brighten it up a little. The second thing they want to do, the OTHER thing is, they want to use it for their own reasons. They want to study it, to capture it, and use it against people they don’t like.’

Bella was drifting off to sleep, sheltered by the sun-warmed rocks and the blankets and the darkness and she cuddled into Darcy, who kept her arms wrapped around her.

“And they named the baby Moon Girl?” Bella asked.

“They sure did.”

“Momma…?

“Yes…?”

“What about the Moon Girl’s dad?” Bella asked. “He’s not in the story, is he? Is he one of the bad people?”

Darcy took a long time before she ventured to answer that one.

“Well honey, that’s…” she said. “… that’s a story for another time.”

And she was grateful she didn’t have to elaborate on that, because felt her daughter’s head slump against her chest and – in a minute – she heard that rumbling snore the girl did when she was down for the count.

She needed her rest – they both did – so Darcy just held her, whispering ‘yes, honey – you are the Moon Girl’ before she, too, drifted off.

There were different versions of the story – longer versions and shorter versions – but with Bella being so tired, this short one would suffice. But there were other versions – darker versions – about who the people were that they were running from, who that main person was, and why Bella was so valuable and what those people wanted to do to her.

But Darcy wanted her precious little girl to sleep and rest as much as possible for the next leg of their journey.

Scary stories would only keep her awake…