Owen stood from the table. He made his way around the cabin with incredible speed and closed all the curtains. He paused for a second and looked out of the last window before he drew the curtain closed. The silence in the air started to make Daniella nervous.
“What is it?” She said as Owen returned to the table. “Is it an animal snooping around or something?”
“No,” Owen replied. “Wouldn’t be that… That wouldn’t get the dogs on an alert.”
“Someone’s out there.” Jett replied. “There… There it is again. Closer this time. You heard it, right?”
“Yep,” Owen said. “Get up right now… Both of you.”
As Daniella rose from her seat she said, “Who the hell would come all the way out here? Does anyone even know about this place?”
“They do now.” Owen replied as he gestured for them to move towards the living room. “Go…”
Daniella watched as he walked into the living room ahead of them and rolled up a large carpet in the center of the floor. She noticed it attached by wires to a door of some kind cut into the floor. Owen reached down, lifted a handle in the middle of the door and pulled it upward.
“Now,” he said as he pointed into the blackness below them, “get inside.”
“I don’t want to go down there,” Daniella said. “You can’t see a damn thing! Really, can’t we just check outside first?”
“Daniella!” Jett said as he snatched her by the forearm. “Not now.”
His force startled her but it became crystal clear that whoever, or whatever, was outside the cabin walls spooked them. So rather than argue, she decided to trust their instincts.
“Nevermind… Jett,” Owen said. “You go first. As soon as you hit the third rung, reach to your right. There’s a light switch. Turn it on.”
Jett released Daniella and descended downward into the darkness.
“Daniella, after Jett turns on the light, get down that ladder as fast as you can.” Owen said.
“What about you?” She said. “And the dogs…”
“We’ll be down right after you.” He replied. “Now, go…”
Daniella made her way down the ladder and into what appeared to a survival bunker. Shelves full of supplies and provisions lined the walls. It was enough to last for months or perhaps years.
“Jett,” Owen called out from above them. “I’m lowering the dogs…”
“Okay,” Jett replied as he made his way back to the ladder.
After Owen lowered Max and Amigo, he made his way inside the bunker. As Daniella looked upward, she noticed he’d turned off all the lights in the cabin. Once he was on the ladder, Owen closed the entrance above and pulled on two long wires that hung to one side which concealed the hidden door from view.
“Now we wait…” he whispered as he reached the bottom of the ladder.
Daniella started to ask a question but as she did, Jett and Owen shushed her. All of a sudden, a loud noise rattled from above them. It sounded to Daniella as if someone pounded at the front door.
Owen raised his finger to his lips.
There was a moment of silence and then once more, the sound rang out only this time it came with a verbal warning.
“Mr. Carmichael, open the door!” The voice yelled. “Pine Hill Sheriff’s Department. We have a warrant to search the premises, sir!”
Owen and Jett looked at Daniella. “Were you followed here?” Jett whispered.
Daniella shrugged. “No!” She answered in a loud whisper. But the truth was she really didn’t remember. Like the conversation she had with Billy earlier, the drive up was pretty much a blur.
“You are harboring a known felon, sir!” Another voice said. Daniella and Jett exchanged glances. That voice was one they both recognized. Billy Holder was up there as well.
“What do we do?” Daniella whispered.
Owen raised his finger to his lips again as several seconds passed in silence above them.
“Do it!” Billy shouted as several hard thumps rattled the front door. In the next instant, the door burst open and they heard a clamor of footsteps overhead. Owen listened for a few seconds and then held up eight fingers indicating the number of men he suspected.
“Check every room,” Billy said. “You four, I want a perimeter established around the property… A minimum of fifty yards in each direction until backup arrives. No one gets in or out. Got it?”
“Yes sir.” One of the officers replied.
For several minutes, the three of them listened as the police went from one room to the next. By the sound of things, they were anything but gentle as they went about it. The officers gradually moved away from the entrance to the bunker overhead and as they did, their voices became muffled and indistinct. Finally, the footsteps of the officers that remained inside returned to the living room.
“Jett!” Billy yelled. “I know you are here somewhere. Need you to listen up, bud. Your parents are in custody for harboring a fugitive.”
Jett grimaced and almost slammed his fist into the wall before he stopped an inch away. Daniella’s eyes widened. She now remembered exactly why Billy dismissed the officers from surveillance and tore out of her neighborhood. The next item on his agenda was to arrest Jo and David after she’d… All of a sudden, she felt as if she would be sick. Billy must have forced them to disclose the location of the cabin.
“Daniella, I know we aren’t communicating well right now but you need to understand what will happen to you if you continue to stay involved with him.” Billy said. “If you don’t turn yourself in, right now, I will have no choice but to arrest you as well. You will go to jail, Daniella, and be charged with a felony. Now, is that what you want for yourself? Is that the life you envisioned? Because if it isn’t, this is your last chance to turn it around…”
Daniella remained silent. She was already going to jail and she knew it. Billy proved to be a liar and the last thing she was about to do is take any promise he made at face value.
Billy continued, “Mr. Carmichael, sir… I don’t know how you got mixed up in all of this but the same warning goes for you. I know you are an old man. A friend of Jett’s parents or something. The last thing I want to do is throw someone my grandfather’s age in prison but… I will.”
Owen cupped his ear as he listened to Billy’s warning. Once he received the message, Owen raised a middle finger skyward. From Daniella’s perspective, it looked like they were in it together until the bitter end. For several minutes, they stood together in silence in the basement as the police ransacked the rooms overhead. At last, all the footsteps congregated once again near the entrance to the bunker.
“Well?” Billy said. “There’s still warm food in the kitchen so they’re around somewhere.”
“Nothing…” one of the men replied. “If they were here, they managed to sneak out just ahead of us.”
“Shit!” Billy exclaimed. It sounded to Daniella as if he kicked something over though she couldn’t tell what it was.
“Where’s Cunningham?” Billy asked.
“Outside… you want him?” Another voice said.
“What do you think Johnston?” Billy replied. “Would I f*ckin’ ask for him if I didn’t? Now, get your head out of your ass and get him in here. I swear, don’t make me regret getting you out from behind the desk.”
“Right, Sergeant, sorry…” the man said. Daniella heard footsteps go to the cabin entrance. “Cunningham!” the same voice yelled. “Sarge wants you!”
It appeared as though Owen’s plan was to just wait things out. Daniella wasn’t exactly crazy about the idea but she didn’t have anything better to offer so she decided to sit tight.
A few seconds later, they listened as another officer came into the cabin. The only difference was that instead of human footsteps, the scrapes of animal claws and multiple feet clamored about as well.
Owen slammed his head against the wall. “Shepherds…” he mouthed.
“Take the dogs,” Billy said. “Start in back…”
“Sarge,” another voice said. In the very next instant, the room above fell silent except for one distinct sound. The unmistakable noise of canine noses sniffed overhead, aimed directly at the entrance to the bunker.
In a flash, Owen took off and ran to the far side of the room towards a door. As he ran by Daniella and Jett, he motioned for them to follow. Max and Amigo jumped to their feet and out of sheer excitement, started to bark.
“Down there!” Billy shouted. “They’re underneath us!”
“Damnit…” Owen cursed as he opened the door. As he did, Daniella glanced down the length of what seemed to be a dimly lit tunnel.
“There’s no time,” Owen said to Jett. “Take her and head down the tunnel. When you get to the end, take the ladder up. Once you are outside, you will see a deadbolt there. It’s unlocked. Use it to seal up the tunnel and take the key. Got it?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me.” Owen replied. “Just go!”
With that, Daniella and Jett took off into the tunnel. As they did, the large steel door they’d passed through slammed shut behind them. At that point, they could no longer hear anything that happened in the house. Seconds later, they reached the end of the tunnel, climbed out and did as Owen instructed.
***
They emerged from the tunnel but at first neither of them had any idea where they were. Soon however, Jett spun in place and tapped Daniella on the shoulder. As she turned to face him, she discovered the tunnel dumped them into a thicket about fifty yards across from the cabin.
“Get down…” Jett said.
Daniella knelt down and peered through the shrubbery.
“Do you see Owen anywhere?” She asked.
“No,” he replied. “He could still be inside the cabin. Hard to say…”
As they looked on, Daniella noticed a handful of officers around the cabin but otherwise she didn’t have a direct line of sight inside of the home. For several minutes, the area in and around the cabin was quiet… too quiet.
“What do we do?” She said as she looked at Jett.
“Well, let’s give him a few minutes.” Jett replied. “For all we know, he’s got a half dozen tunnels carved into the ground around here.”
Daniella nodded. Jett had a point. There appeared to be no end to Owen’s ingenuity. The entire perimeter of the property probably had explosives wired to detonate by remote control or knowing Owen, mind control. So she remained in a crouched position and waited to see what would happen next. As fate would have it, they didn’t have to wait long at all.
Out of nowhere, there erupted a tremendous commotion inside of the cabin. A cacophony of sounds pierced the calm night air. Dogs barked, men yelled and all of it came to a pinnacle with a familiar roar. In a flash, several deputies ran out of the front door and hot on their heels was an immense grizzly bear.
They dove in all directions as the beast tore across the front of the property. From behind, Billy and another officer came out of the house and without a moment’s hesitation brandished their pistols and fired round after round in the bear’s direction.
Their aim was true and almost as soon as they began to shoot, the animal cried out with an anguished bellow. In one swift motion, it crashed to the ground. A huge cloud of dust, grass and rocks sprayed in all directions as he came to a stop, utterly still.
“Owen, no!” Daniella screamed from the bushes. In the next instant, she jumped up, burst through the shrubbery and started to run towards Owen.
From behind, she heard Jett scream, “No! Daniella come back!”
But it was too late, she ran as fast as she could and once she came upon the downed bear, she threw herself on top of him. As she did, Billy and two other officers ran up to her.
“Daniella?” Billy said as he looked down at her. “What the hell are you doing? Get away from that f*cking animal. If it’s not dead, it will kill you with a single swat.”
She turned to face him, tears streamed down her face. “This is not an animal you son of a bitch! Owen… shhh…” she whispered. “You’ll be okay.” In the distance, Max and Amigo yelped as Owen remained still.
A concerned look came over Billy’s face. He holstered his weapon and knelt down next to her. Daniella was inconsolable as she lay draped across the hulking brown mass of fur.
“Daniella…” he said as he reached out to her. “That’s… a bear. Please before you get yourself hurt, give me your hand.”
“Don’t touch her you f*cking dirtball.” A voice to Billy’s left said.
Billy’s head snapped up to see Jett. Billy staggered to his feet, reached for his gun, aimed at Jett and said, “On the ground, hands behind your back, right now!”
From behind his back, Jett produced the service revolver he took from Billy the day of his arrest.
“As soon as you call for medical transport for him, I will surrender.” He said as he aimed the weapon at Billy. “If you don’t, I’ll kill you. I swear I will. I am going to prison for life anyway so I have nothing to lose…”
“Sargeant?” One of the deputies who stood nearby asked. “What do you want us to do?”
Billy’s eyes jumped back and forth between Jett, Daniella and the animal on the ground. He bit his lower lip and then looked down at Daniella.
“Daniella!” Billy exclaimed. “You need to tell me exactly what is going on, right now… This is your only chance. I’ve known you too long to have things end this way.”
For several seconds, Daniella continued to sob, overcome by grief. She wouldn’t even know where to begin to explain the world she’d discovered. This was especially true when it came to a hotshot a*shole like Billy Holder. But she knew that she had to say something to try and convince him. What that was, she wasn’t sure but she had to try.
She leaned away from Owen for a moment and looked up to Billy. As she wiped away tears from her eyes she began, “Billy, you have this all wrong. I don’t know any way to convince you of that right now but trust me when I tell you that it’s true. I…”
But as she looked up at Billy, she noticed his expression go blank. He dropped his gun, staggered back and collapsed on the ground into a seated position. At the same time, the deputies nearby retreated in a similar manner. Billy sat on the ground and extended his index finger in the direction of Owen’s body. She traced the line of sight made by his shaky digit. Where a half ton animal lay still and lifeless not moments before, an older man, a third the size and covered in blood, was now in the same spot.
***
“What the hell?” Billy said. “That’s… not possible!”
“Billy,” Jett interrupted. “It is possible and it is real. Daniella and I will explain everything to you but right now, we need medical attention for this man. He will die without it.”
For several seconds, both Billy and his men looked on in stunned silence.
“Billy!” Daniella screamed. “Snap out of it!”
Billy shook his head and managed to get to his feet. His eyes never left Owen’s body as he stood.
“Yeah, I…” he began. He looked at one of the deputies and said, “Call it in.”
“Sergeant…” the man replied with a tone of disapproval.
“I said call it in, goddamn it!” He barked.
The man nodded, pulled out his cell phone and walked towards the cabin. As he did, Daniella heard him ask for a helicopter transport.
About a minute later, he returned to the group still hovered over Owen’s body. “Twenty minutes, sir…” he replied.
“Twenty minutes!” Daniella exclaimed as she looked down at Owen. “He’s barely breathing as it is!”
“Well, what do you want me to do about it, Daniella?” Billy asked. “I mean, maybe he’ll hibernate until help arrives. To be honest, I don’t care. Just be grateful aid is coming at all.”
Daniella glared at him and shook her head. As she moved close to Owen once again, Jett knelt down next to her and rubbed her shoulder.
“Thanks Cunningham. Um, let’s stand down on the perimeter.” Billy said. “Get the rest of the men assembled in front of the house. We’ll need to begin evidence collection.” He gestured towards Daniella and Jett. “Take them into custody. Mirandize them and let’s get ready to head out once the victim is stabilized.”
“Arrest us?” Daniella said. “Billy, what are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, Daniella?” He asked. “I am an officer of the law sent here by a judge with a warrant which means I am required to execute it. Now, I have no idea what the hell is going on with this… man here, I’ll admit, but I do know that the court saw fit to put both of you in jail and that’s what I intend to do.”
“Billy,” Jett interrupted. “Be reasonable. Just hear what I have to say.” He dropped Billy’s service revolver on the ground and kicked it back towards him. As he did, the two deputies that stood near Billy began to walk towards Jett and Daniella with handcuffs.
“Jett,” Billy said. “You are in big enough trouble as it is. For once, you need to just be quiet and cooperate.”
“Or what, Billy?” Daniella said. “You’ll make up another lie like the one you told about Jett’s escape?”
Sergeant Holder wrinkled his brow and replied, “What the hell are you talking about, Daniella?”
“Oh come on, Billy.” She said. “Jett told me what happened. He told me that you lost your balance in the mud after you dragged him out of the back of your cruiser to ‘teach him a lesson’ about hurting me.”
“Bullshit,” Billy replied with anger in his voice. “That’s a goddamn lie. Why would you believe anything he tells you anyway, Daniella?”
“Fine,” Daniella replied. “Tell you what, Billy. I’m sure your fellow officers, the chief and the judge would be quite interested to find out who’s really lying here. If what you are telling everyone is true, you’d be fine with taking a lie detector test, right?”
Billy cast an awkward sideways glance at the two officers nearby. He cleared his throat and said, “I’ll, um, deal with these two. Go help the others. Come get me when the scene is secure.”
“Sir?” One of the officers replied. “That’s not the correct procedure in a situation like this. You risk their escape by…”
“You let me worry about that.” Billy interrupted.
For a second or two, the officers looked at Billy with confusion.
“Go.” Billy said.
At last the other policeman did as he said and Billy watched them until he felt that they were out of earshot. He moved within a couple of feet of Jett and Daniella.
“Alright,” Billy began. “Enough bullshit. Fine, I lied about Jett and what happened, okay Daniella?”
She nodded as he continued, “But if I’d gone back to the station and told them the truth, I’d be in deep trouble.” He paused and looked over his shoulder toward the cabin for a moment. “Even so I still have to take you into custody…”
“Billy!” Daniella pleaded.
“Daniella, damn it…” he said. “Let me finish, would ya?”
Jett put his arm around her as Billy continued. “I have to arrest you but I am willing to listen to whatever it is you want to tell me.” He said. “In exchange, you have to promise me neither one of you will breathe a word about what happened the day I arrested Jett. Got it?”
“But how do we know that you will do anything with the information we provide or if you will even believe us at all?” Jett asked. “You’ve already lied before. Why should we trust you now?”
“Because I told you so.” He replied. “Look, you don’t have a lot of options at this point so if I were you, I’d shut up!”
“I should have waited until you woke up that day and beat your ass myself!” Jett fired back.
“Well, I’m right here!” Billy said. “Why don’t you…”
“Stop!” Daniella said with a loud whisper. “The both of you. Jesus! You both want the same thing… Kane.”
“Who the hell is Kane?” Billy asked.
“He’s the one responsible for Wyatt’s death.” Daniella said. “He’s the whole reason we’re even way out here in the middle of nowhere. And this poor man you shot is the only chance we have of getting to him. If he dies, everything is ruined!”
For several seconds, the three of them stood in silence over an unconscious Owen.
Billy rubbed his face with his hands and exhaled. “Daniella,” Billy began. “Look, we aren’t going to get to the bottom of anything out here. Even though you may not trust me right now, I promise, I’ll agree to take the lie detector test if I don’t give you every opportunity to explain your side of things.”
“But you’ll fail the test, Billy.” Daniella replied. “Because you did lie.”
“Exactly, that’s my point.” He said. “I am telling you that I will investigate your side of things but in exchange, I must take you into custody. I cannot let you leave here so you can run off seeking vigilante justice against this Kane guy, or anyone for that matter.”
“Well, can we at least go to the hospital?” Jett asked. “Like Daniella said… If Owen doesn’t pull through…”
“No,” he interrupted. “Not right away, anyway. You’ll have to be booked and processed first. After that, I will take you to the hospital but you will be under the supervision of either me or my deputies the entire time.”
“The dogs…” Daniella said. “Max and Amigo… What will happen them?”
“They’ll be fine.” Billy said. “I’ll make sure they are taken care of.”
As he finished speaking, he extended his hand towards Jett. “Now, do we have a deal?” He said.
Jett paused for a moment and narrowed his gaze at Billy. Finally, he extended his hand and said, “Fine.”
As Billy took it, he produced a set of handcuffs and slapped one of them on Jett’s left wrist. Within the hour, they were on their way to jail back in Pine Hill under a full police escort while Owen began a fight for his life.
***
As they drove, Daniella and Jett sat in the back seat of Billy’s patrol car.
“Alright,” Billy said. “Let’s start at the beginning. That man that we shot, Owen Carmichael, I am assuming that you know all about whatever happened there. Is that true?”
“Yes,” Jett replied. “We do.”
“So before the Chief of Police laughs me out of his office and kicks me off the force, would you mind explaining it?”
In the simplest terms possible, Jett spent the next fifteen minutes or so trying to convince Billy to believe what sounded like little more than a fantasy. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the desired effect. Almost as soon as Jett finished his explanation, Billy shook his head in disbelief.
“Okay,” Billy began. “So what you’re telling me, Jett, is that your brother is dead because you are the orphaned son of the leader of a clan of bear people.”
“Uh, Billy!” Daniella exclaimed. “You saw with your own two eyes what happened to Owen. How can you sit there and say that? Everything Jett says is true!”
“You know what Daniella?” He said. “Maybe I imagined it or it was some kind of trick or something. I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s not possible for a person to turn into a bear.”
No sooner did Billy finish his sentence when a huge paw slapped against the plexiglass divider. Daniella glanced over at Jett to see his entire right arm had changed.
“What the f*ck!” Billy yelled. He looked back at Jett and then swiveled his head back towards the road in front of him. The vehicle swerved on the street as Billy fought to keep it under control.
“Now, do you believe me?” Jett asked. His arm changed back as he leaned into the seat.
Billy shook his head and remained silent for several moments. At last he spoke and said, “Alright, alright…”
“Sorry I had to do that, man.” Jett replied. “I know it sounds insane, trust me. I only recently discovered all of this about myself.”
“So you haven’t always been like… this?” Billy asked.
“Not that I knew. That’s why we were at Owen’s cabin.” Jett replied. “He’s helped me to learn how to control that part of myself.”
“You can do it at will now?”
“No,” Jett replied. “That’s what he worked with me on. Without that ability…” he said as his voice trailed off.
“What?” Billy asked.
“It’s a long story.” Jett replied. “For now, we have to hope that Owen pulls through.”
As he finished his thought, Daniella glanced at Jett. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared out the back seat window. She reached over and took his hand in hers.
“No, I get it…” Billy began. “I mean, shit, I have no idea what to think about any of this.” He gripped the steering wheel, looked to his right and said, “Hold on…”
All of a sudden, Billy slowed the vehicle to the side of the road. As he parked, the other officers pulled up behind him and stopped as well.
“I’ll be right back.” He said as he exited the patrol car.
“Wonder what’s going on?” Daniella asked.
Jett shrugged as he turned and looked out of the back of the vehicle. Billy leaned against the cruiser behind them and talked to the office driving it.
“Poor Owen,” Daniella sighed. “I’m so worried about him.”
Jett nodded and took her hand in his. “I know,” he replied, “but try not to think about it too much right now.”
“You’re right.” she said. “I can’t help it.”
As they talked, Billy walked past them and around to the front of the vehicle. It looked as if he was on a phone call. Over the next ten minutes or so, he made a number of calls and then walked back towards the car.
“Okay,” he said as he climbed inside of the vehicle. “Slight change of plans…”
“What?” Daniella said.
“The old man, he’s…” Billy began.
“Oh no!” Daniella interrupted. “No, no, no!”
“Daniella!” Billy replied. “Calm down. He’s fine. In fact, they’ve managed to stabilize him. He’s conscious and asking for Jett.”
“That is such good news…” Daniella groaned.
“Yeah, it is,” Billy said as he started the engine. “I’ve got a few questions of my own for the old guy.”
As they pulled back onto the road, Jett said, “So does this mean we are going straight to the hospital instead of the police station?”
“That is does…” Billy replied.
***