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Wolf Girl
by William Falo Eli pocketed the wolf hunting permit and gritted his teeth when he shoved his way past the protesters that made mock howls at him. One of them in a wolf suit stepped into his path, and howled into his face. He shoved the person backwards until they fell, then he turned and saw a nightmare of angry faces. “You’re real tough shooting defenseless animals from a plane,” someone yelled from the back of the crowd. His face turned red and he clenched his fists. The person in the suit tried to get up and grab his jeans. He kicked their hand away with repetitive kicks until he heard the sound of crying. He looked down and saw the wolf person’s feet. The suit didn’t include paws and their toenails were painted purple. "Stop,” someone yelled. Other protestors gathered around him. “I don’t even have an airplane,” he said. It didn’t stop the protestors from howling at him when he pushed through them. He drove faster than normal to get home. He stood on his back deck looking out on the wilderness. He saw a line of wolves walking through the meadow below the cabin. They looked up when he stumbled over a broken plank. The binoculars shook in his hands when he pointed them at the wolves. He held them tighter when some of the pack started to play. A few of the smaller wolves tumbled down a hill in mock fighting and a smile crossed his face. His favorite wolf trailed the others due to a wounded leg; its white-tipped tail brushed the ground when it walked. The sound of an approaching jeep scattered the wolf pack into the Alaskan wilderness. “Eli,” a man called out while jumping out of the jeep. “Yea, what’s up?” “Did you get your permits?” He limped toward him. “Yep. There were protestors.” “I know. Damn animal freaks. They’ll give up in time.” “I don’t know if I want to go through that again.” He remembered the purple toe nails on the wolf mascot. “You know how much money the hunters are paying you to guide them. Look at this place, it’s a disaster. When winter comes, it will fall apart. You’ll never make enough taking fisherman out. Hunting is where the money is and wolves are the biggest money maker.” Eli looked up at the cracks on the walls and ceiling. The wood below them splintered in spots. The roof leaked when it rained. “What are you looking at?” He pointed at the binoculars. “Nothing,” he said and turned away. Jason stared into the meadow. A wolf flashed between green bushes. “They’re right below you. Shit, you’ll make a fortune. You can then use that money to buy a plane. Aerial hunting is the way of the future.” He huffed and nodded when Jason jumped into the jeep. “You’re father would be proud of you for becoming a hunting guide just like him. He wanted that for you.” Eli watched the jeep fade away into the distance. He noticed the purple wildflowers still on the side of the road despite the cold weather. Where did they come from? His mind drifted to the purple toenails and when the jeep vanished he kept staring in the direction of the town. The silence of the night fed his loneliness and he drove toward town despite needing sleep dreading the long hunts. A group of men from Los Angeles were due the next day. Since, the aerial hunts were booked up they took him. His walk-in hunts took longer and he didn’t guarantee success, but they were desperate. They all wanted wolf pelts or a stuffed one to brag how strong they are. The heads of various animals sat in a pile out back. Their eyes stared up in disbelief from being killed by an invisible bullet. Once his father died he removed them, but he never lit the match to send their spirits to heaven. He put the picture of his mother on top. The thought of her leaving with a hunter from Texas made him angry. No letters ever came despite her promises to send for him. He drove to town and saw The Northern Lights club. It lit up the dark road with signs that flashed green and purple. Cars and pickup trucks filled the lot since the club attracted both locals and outsiders due to its mixture of music and sports. The sound of laughter made him pause before entering the bar. It sounded like memories of his father laughing at him when he couldn’t lift a dead dear’s head, schoolmates laughing when he couldn’t spell, and the girl from town when he asked her for a date. He ordered a beer and stared at the football game on one of the televisions scattered through the bar. In a corner, he saw a group of people set off from the rest. A girl with dark hair smiled and sipped wine. The light from a candle created sparks in her eyes. Hypnotized, he realized that she was staring at him. His cheeks turned red and he looked away then started to get up. When he turned around the girl stood there. “Where are you going?” “I’m leaving.” “Not until you tell me why you were staring at me.” He stepped backwards and put his hands in his pockets. “Well,” she said. He noticed the dark eyes that sparkled in the candlelight also sparkled in the fluorescent lights. It reminded him of a wolf he once saw in his flashlight, the yellow eyes sent goose bumps up his arms before it darted off. The goose bumps spread up his arms again, but this time he rubbed them to try to make them disappear. “Your eyes sparkled like diamonds in the moonlight.” It was a cheap pick up line that had no chance of working on her. She remained quiet for a long time while he continued to rub his arms. Finally, she sat next to him. “That’s about the nicest thing I heard in this town. I’m Julia.” He opened his mouth then closed it. He didn’t want to tell her that he read it in a poem somewhere. “Do you live in the town?” “Snowshoe. No, up on the mountain.” “Cool, you must see a lot of animals.” “All the time.” "What kind,” she moved closer to him. He knocked the glass of beer over. The bartender cursed and wiped it up with a stained covered rag. "Can I buy you a drink?” “Sure,” she said. “A white wine.” “And another beer,” he said. “Haven’t you had enough,” she said and laughed. He laughed too. “What kind of animals do you see up on the mountain?” "Deer, fox, mountain goats, bear, and wolves. Sometimes.” She stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder. Sparks spiked through his body causing his hand to shake. “Wolves?” She stood up. Her hand remained on his shoulder. It felt like it was on fire. “Yes, all the time.” “I love wolves. I am here because of the aerial hunt. A group of us came from Fairbanks to protest. I go to college there.” He couldn’t think straight, but knew not to mention the wolf hunting expedition. “Oh, I can show you them sometime.” She smiled and her eyes lit up again. She removed her hand, but it still burnt his arm. He was tempted to see if it left burn marks. “I would love that.” “Okay, when do you want to go?” “Is tomorrow okay?” “Sure,” he said. “I’m Eli.” “I’m Julia.” They shook hands. He didn’t want to let go. “I can meet you here in the morning. I have to go back to my friends now.” “Okay,” he said. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek at the same time the television announcer yelled, “Touchdown.” When she walked away he noticed that she wore sandals despite the cold night. He gasped. Purple toenails flashed when she walked. She was the person in the wolf suit. It can’t be. He kicked that person violently. It was her. He shivered and his hand began to shake. He could never let her find out. When the applause died down, he walked out of the bar. The gasoline covered the open eyes of the stuffed animals in a glaze. It was time. The girl could never see them. He threw the match on it and watched it flare to life in the darkness. The eyes of a bear seemed to fill with tears before it melted into ashes. Unable to watch their destruction, he walked away and while the fire crackled he heard crying. A sad howl echoed through the woods. The wolf seemed to know what would happen when the aerial hunts began. The morning came fast after a night filled with tossing and turning with no sleep. He drove into town after shaving and using ten year old cologne. The girl stood outside the Northern Lights Club. Her dark hair was tied tight behind her head and it made her look even more beautiful than before. Her face was bright and smiling when she waved to him. He got out just as another car pulled up. The window went down and a man leaned out. “Eli,” he said. “Yes,” he said. “I recognized you from your ad. We’re here for the wolf hunt. We’re from Los Angeles.” “I’m…” he couldn’t say anything else. Julia stared at him. “You’re hunting wolves. But you told me.” “I’m sorry.” “Wait, I recognize you. You hit me. You’re the one who knocked me down the other day.” “But, I didn’t mean too.” She ran down the street and he heard the sound of sobbing despite the engine of the car. “We’ll.” The man in the car said. “The hunt is cancelled.” “You must be joking. We came all this way and gave you a deposit. We’ll take you to court.” “Okay. Hold on. Follow me,” he said and got in his truck. He led them to his cabin. “You can stay here.” “This is a dump,” one of the men said. The other remained quiet. “It’s hunting. You’re not on a tour.” “Okay,” they said. “I’ll be back.” “You can’t leave us here. We want to hunt wolves.” “I’ll be back. I have to get something in town. You can start hunting on the other side of the river, cross the bridge and walk until you see a green marker then keep going for a hundred yards. There is a large pack in that area.” “But we paid for you.” “Then you can wait.” “Let’s go,” the other man said. Eli went into town to look for Julia. A few protestors gathered outside the permit office, but there was no one in a wolf suit. He entered the office. “There are men hunting on protected land up by my cabin.” “Why didn’t you warn them?” “I did.” He lied and knew it would cost him his hunting permit. The man picked up a radio and called a ranger to investigate. Despite, the legal wolf hunt, you needed to carry a permit and stay in certain areas. When he left, only a few protestors walked around. “Does anyone know Julia?” “Yea, I do,” a girl said. “Where is she?” “Down at the airfield. Some people went there to protest.” His truck screeched around the corner and bounced over ruts in the dirt road. A few planes taxied on the runway, while another one unloaded their gear. Draped across one wing were three gray wolves. Their mouths hung open. They would never howl again. The girl sat on a bench with the head of her wolf suit in her lap. He approached slowly. His hands searched deep into his pockets for words to say. She looked up, and started to leave. “Please, wait.” “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you or kick you.” He looked down. She remained quiet. “I was upset. I needed money, and listened to the wrong person.” He looked up and noticed her eyes glistened with tears. “I’m not taking the men hunting. In fact, I set them up to get in trouble for illegal hunting.” “Oh,” she said and walked away. “I hoped you were different than most people around here.” “Can I show you something? I promise you’ll like it.” “You hurt me.” She looked at the wolves lifeless bodies slung over the plane’s wing supports. “I’m sorry. Please, let me show you something tonight. Give me one chance.” Another plane unloaded dead wolves. One with a white-tipped tail flopped onto the ground. “Oh, no.” He fell to his knees then got up and saw his father’s old friend get out. He charged the man. “Eli, did you come to help.” “You killed that one near my cabin. I followed him since he was a pup.” “You’re crazy. You wanted to hunt wolves too.” “No, I didn’t. My father wanted me too. I wanted to show them to people.” “We’ll your father was right.” “No, he wasn’t. He never cared about what I wanted to do.” He walked away and Julia followed him. They drove up a curving road to his cabin, and he led her around back past the ashes from the fire as the sun set. At the edge of a path, they sat on a fallen tree overlooking a meadow below them. Giant snow flurries drifted down like pixie dust. “Is this it?” Julia asked. “Wait,” he said. He looked to the sky, and said a silent prayer. A lone howl broke the silent night. Another one followed from a distant ridge. The howls filled the night around them. Below them, a pack walked into a clearing with one less member. He tapped Julia’s shoulder and pointed down. “Oh my God,” she said. “This is beautiful,” she touched his arm. The electricity of her touch sent sparks through his body and seemed to ignite the sky as the northern lights flared overhead. |
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