Chapter 5

Amerie dreamt of a snarling white wolf covered in blood and something black. Red dropped from the trunks of the trees. It looked like the trees themselves were bleeding. The hawk that Amerie had seen earlier was strewn out on the forest floor, its wings bent at unnatural angles. Lightning illuminated the sky, but no rain fell and no thunder sounded. A sinister laugh echoed. A man’s voice screamed her name-

Amerie awoke with a start. She was breathing heavily and covered in beads of sweat. Her hands were tightly clutching the sheets. Milo sat up and looked at her, whining. Amerie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then patted Milo on the head.

“I’m okay, boy. It’s okay.” He whined and licked her face, then laid his head on her stomach.

Amerie ran a hand down her face and grabbed her phone to check the time. It was just a few minutes before seven. She groaned and rolled over. It had been after 2:30 when she got home this morning, but she already knew she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. Still, she tried for almost an hour, seeing the blood coated wolf every time she shut her eyes.

Amerie groaned again and got up. She turned on the coffee machine and let Milo outside. The lupine flowers from the doorstep sat in a vase on the kitchen counter.

She thought about the odd dream she’d had. It was abnormally morbid and unlike any dream she’d ever had. It felt… real. It made her feel uneasy and on edge. She tried to shake it off but couldn’t.

She poured her coffee and went outside. Milo trotted up onto the deck and laid down at her feet. Amerie watched the steam rising from the lake and listened as the forest wildlife switched shifts. Nocturnal animals returned to their roosts, one owl flying over her head. The animals of the daytime were awaking, birds chirping. She strained her ears for any howls and repeatedly glanced at the tree line.

She stayed out there when the sun rose, having only gotten up to refill her coffee once.

She stayed out there as the sun reached the highest point in the sky.

As the shadows began to lengthen, Amerie sighed. She stood to go inside when an eagle landed on her deck railing.

A black eagle.

Amerie stood, shocked, gazing at the bird. The bird blinked at her and rustled its feathers. Amerie blinked back.

Another minute passed before the eagle spread its wings and flew away. Amerie blinked after it. She glanced towards the tree line expectantly, but saw nothing. The bird screeched at her from the sky.

Amerie went inside and slammed the door after Milo padded in after her. He whined and went over to his dog bed.

“I’m going crazy. This is crazy. Who the hell do I think I am, Snow White? These animals are just animals. I’m just a little lonely. And tired. Things will be better when I start work and have something to do.”

Amerie went out and got a television, then came home and watched N*****x shows for the rest of the night. She ended up falling asleep on her couch, a half-eaten ice cream pint in her lap.

When she awake the next morning, the pint was on the counter. She must have had the sense to move it in a half-asleep daze last night. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. Only forty minutes before she had to leave to head into meet the rangers she’d be working with along with most of the people from the sheriff’s station.

She quickly let Milo outside and hopped in the shower, eventually making it out the door with barely a minute to spare. She’d opted for a black button up shirt and straight-fitted tan pants that hugged her figure from her hips to her knees. She hopped in her car and slipped on her black flats as she started it and pulled out of the driveway.

On her way to the office, she thought about Everett. He was very attractive and seemed like a very nice guy, but maybe a date was just too soon. She’d only been here for a few days and hadn’t even started work, not to mention the rough relationship she’d gotten out of four months ago. She decided to think about it before mentioning anything to him. Maybe it would be fine. What could it hurt, anyway?

The Forest Ranger offices were in the same building as the Kurkonope Forest’s Visitor and Nature Center which was ten minutes in the opposite direction of town. Amerie parked in the gravel parking lot behind the building and hopped out of her car. A middle-aged man with broad shoulders, tan skin, and salt and pepper hair waved at her from beside the back door, a binder tucked under his other arm. He was wearing the uniform gray shirts and green pants but had foregone the flat brimmed hat at the moment.

“Welcome to Kurkonope Forest, Amerie. Nice to finally meet you in person.” The man smiled and extended his hand to shake hers.

Amerie took it and returned the smile. “Thank you, sir. Nice to meet you too, Allen.” She’d had multiple phone calls as well as a video interview with him. He was to be her supervisor and was the most senior ranger in the forest.

The two entered the brick building. The walls were a muted beige and the carpet was a dark green. The doors to the individual offices were a dark wood with windows next to them. A few cubicles sat in the open room with papers stacked on every desk. A large copy machine sat against the wall with a water cooler next to it. On the opposite wall, a large counter with baskets of chips and fruits sat beside a coffee machine. A small black fridge sat in the corner with a microwave next to it. The lighting was a warm yellow glow, not as harsh as she had expected. Double doors led out to what she assumed was the Nature Center.

A woman with strawberry blonde hair and a face covered in freckles exited one of the offices with a folder in hand.

“Laney,” Allen called. The woman walked up to the two, smiling faintly. “This is Amerie. Amerie, this is Laney. She’s currently keeping track of the elk population through hunting season. She also takes care of tracking a lot of the owls we have.”

Laney smiled and took Amerie’s hand. Her eyes were an ocean hue of blue with a darker green rimming the pupil. The uniform she wore hugged at her hips and thighs.

“Nice to meet you, Amerie. Allen said you came from Tennessee?”

“Yes ma’am I did. Needed a change.”

“Well, small town Montana is certainly a change. We’re happy to have you though. It’s hard finding enough Rangers for this forest,” Laney said with a hand on her hip.

“Certainly is,” Allen grumbled. “Well why don’t you come meet everyone else that’s here and then I’ll walk you through the Center.”

“Guess that’s my cue. I’m headed out to survey elk and see if I can track down one of my tagged owls that seems to be playing hide and seek. It was nice meeting you, Amerie.” Laney gave a small wave and headed out the door.

Amerie smiled after her then followed Allen around the office to meet the other rangers. She met Matt, a tall man with long blond hair pulled into a bun; Casey, a short, energetic woman with kind eyes; Tyler, a stocky man about her height with shoulder-length black hair; and Maya, a curly haired woman just an inch shorter than Amerie with a powerful athlete build that seemed wise beyond her years.

Allen walked Amerie into her new office between Matt and Maya’s. There were bookshelves on either side of the window on the far wall and an L-shaped desk that was littered with scratches and dents but still held its shine. A gray, three drawer filing cabinet sat beneath the window. The office chair seemed relatively new and supportive. A single painting of the forest with the mountains in the distance adorned the wall to the right, and a green arm chair was on the opposite side of the desk with its back to the door.

“You can set your stuff down here and then we can go to the center. I think some of the blues are out there. Thought I heard the sheriff. Anyway, this is the official training manual with the employee handbook. There’s some papers I’ll have you take home to sign and bring back tomorrow.”

Allen handed Amerie the binder that he’d been carrying. She set it on the desk along with her purse and keys, then followed Allen through the double doors. The Nature Center was rather impressive. It showcased stuffed life-size versions of most of the animals in the area, from chipmunks and birds to moose and grizzlies. There was even a wall dedicated to the fish found in the streams and lakes and a small area about the different bugs in the area as well. In front of each life-size creature was a placard that said a little more about the animals and showed pictures of their prints in mud. A replica of large wolf caught Amerie’s eye just as she heard someone call her name.

She turned and met Everett’s emerald green eyes. He was beaming at her and walking over with two other officers behind him, one dark-skinned man that was about Everett’s height and one shorter woman with auburn hair.

Amerie smiled. “Hi, sheriff. Nice to see you again.”

Everett grinned. “Just Everett, is fine.” He looked like he wanted to say something, but simply looked into Amerie’s eyes, almost appearing lost. The dark-skinned man cleared his throat and Everett blinked. “Oh, right. I’m sorry. This is Deputy Daryl Henderson and Officer Kayla Wright. Guys, this is Amerie.”

The two smiled at Amerie who smiled and nodded in return. “Very nice to meet both of you.”

Daryl chuckled. “I’m sorry you had to meet this one first,” jerking his chin in Everett’s direction. “You just let us know if he bugs you too much.” He winked at Amerie as Everett rolled his eyes.

Allen chuckled from behind Amerie. “Thanks for coming out today guys. I think Matt had some more information for you. He’s back in his office now.”

Daryl and Kayla both nodded and walked back to Matt’s office. Amerie raised a brow at Everett but he waved it off. “Just some teenagers that keep coming out and setting fires. They stay contained but we’ve been trying to find out who it is to stop it before they’re dumb enough to do it again on a windy day. Matt stumbled across one of the sites a week ago when he was out hunting. Enough of that though. You seemed interested in the exhibits. Want to have a look? That is, if Allen is okay with me stealing you?”

“Certainly. Go on ahead. I’ll see you in a little bit Amerie. I have a few things to finalize in the system for your first day tomorrow. Come find me if you have any questions.” With that, Allen turned and walked back through the double doors to the offices.

Amerie smiled at Everett and walked over to the wolf. It was as tall as her at the shoulder and stood with its front paws atop a rock. Its facial expression was alert yet calm. The placard in front of the animal stated that wolves had primarily been gone from the region for several decades, but there had been occasional sightings of gray wolves.

“My mom had a run in with one when she was a teenager,” Everett said. “Leapt out front behind a tree and grabbed her foot. She claims a white wolf saved her, but they never found any evidence of either wolf. There were only one set of tracks in the snow, too. Mom says it was a guardian angel. She’s worn that wolf necklace ever since.”

Amerie tried to hide her shock. Could her white wolf be a descendent of the one Beverly claimed to have seen?

Amerie and Everett walked around looking at the other exhibits. The two kept flirting to a minimum, but the glances Everett kept throwing her way told her plenty. She caught him looking at her again and looked away quickly, blushing. Just then, Daryl poked his head out from the double doors.

“Hey, Everett, you ready to head back?”

Everett signed. “I guess that’s my cue. “So,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “are we uh… still on for Friday?”

Amerie smiled. “Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”

Everett gave her a lopsided smile. “Good, good. Well, maybe I’ll see you around, but if not, I’ll see you Friday. Have a good one, Amerie.” With that, he turned and walked out.

Amerie checked back in with Allen and gathered the paperwork she needed to fill out before heading home. She saw Matt in the parking lot, putting gear in his truck.

“Hey. Welcome to the forest,” he said over his shoulder as he tied things down in the truck bed.

“Thanks. Need a hand?”

“I’m not dumb enough to say no. Can you hand me the crate right there?”

He pointed at a crate near the left rear tire. Amerie grabbed it and handed it to him.

“Are you heading out into the field?” Amerie asked.

“Yeah, but hunting for a day first. I’m camping out tonight and hunting tomorrow, then I’ll finish the field task Wednesday and Thursday. I’m supposed to be focusing on tracking bobcats in the forest, but these damn fires have pulled me away a bit.”

“Hopefully they catch the teens and put a stop to it soon,” Amerie said.

Matt paused and got a far off look in his eyes. “Yeah. Damn teens.” He stood and hopped down from the truck bed.

“Are you all right?” Amerie asked quizzically.

“Just fine. I have to get going. I’ll see you when I check in tomorrow afternoon, though.”

“Okay. Well it was nice meeting you. Good luck.”

Matt didn’t answer and drove off. Amerie only took a moment to wonder what that was about before she climbed in her car and headed home.

Amerie went to work the next few days without seeing Everett. Matt checked in on Tuesday afternoon with news of two more fires. He’d seen one burning Monday night, but no one was there by the time he got to it. They hadn’t gotten any more clues, but it was too dry to let people continue setting fires.

Everyone at the office seemed very nice and helpful, except for Tyler. He kept to himself, and he was very short and curt in any interaction she did have with him. He wasn’t quite rude, but definitely not pleasant.

Amerie was remaining in-office for the first week. She watched mundane training videos, completed paperwork, set up her computer log ins, and caught up on the current status of most of the projects. She was to consider the three available projects and choose an assignment on Friday.

As she was making copies of the files on Thursday, Allen called out from the doorway of his office.

“Has anyone heard from Matt?”

Amerie looked around at everyone shouting the negative or shaking their heads.

Allen sighed. “He should have been back this morning. His mom just called. She hasn’t heard from him so she wanted to see if he’d made it back. I’ll head out to his site. Amerie, want to ride along?”

Amerie nodded and grabbed her things.

Allen toluene’s back to the other rangers. “Call or radio if he shows up.”

Allen opened the door to the back lot and paused. Amerie around his arm that was still holding the door open. She spotted Matt’s truck and…

Blood.

Prints tracked through a puddle of blood and led into the forest. Wolf prints.