Chapter 2

Linda came to a stop in front of a house she hadn't seen in thirty-one years. As she looked at it, she was flooded by an intense feeling of coming home.

She walked up the steps, and through the front door. Inside, she found that most of the furniture was gone, but that was ok. She had some in storage.

After she looked around, she started to unpack some of the things she had with her, making the house even more hers. When night came, she went in to the room her parents had used, and listened to the sounds of the night and the forest. She remembered all the times she used to do the same thing as a girl. On rare occasions, she had snuck out to be in the woods during the full moon.

She even remembered one trip, when she went farther than she should have. Not that she would get lost, but the woods did hold wolves, bobcats, and some other nighttime predators.

The sound of a commotion had caught her attention, and she had followed it. She was drawn to a small clearing, where several wolves were standing around. Two of the smallest were fighting something ... something that made them unable to leave. There were two little ones, who caught in snares.

Linda had always been fearless as a child, when it came to the creatures of the woods. So when she saw what was wrong, she knew she had to help them.

Linda also knew you didn't just walk into a pack of wolves. You had to be invited. So she signaled the pack that she was there, by simply stepping on a twig and breaking it.

The wolves turned and growled at her. Then for some reason she went to one knee and bowed to the pack. One wolf came forward, growling. Linda stayed still, but was surprised when the wolf just sniffed her, and then backed off.

"I'm a friend to those in these woods, I and my father. We follow the ways of the woods. I can help. Please let me help you."

The wolves all looked back and forth among themselves as if to decide when another wolf walked up.

"Please great one, it is a mistake that these traps are here. My father and I have not been in this area for a few days, or we would have found them and taken them away. Let me free the young ones, and make sure there are no more traps."

Linda never knew why she said and did what she did, but all the wolves moved back. They let her move over to the two that were trapped. One was bleeding a little, but the second was ok. Again it was strange as the two just sat. One by one she freed them, and pulled the snares from the ground.

Once free, they moved away, and Linda checked the area. She found three more snares, and removed them, too. Once she was done, the wolves were gone. She returned home to find her father standing in the shadows of her room.

She remembered how her father had reacted when she told him her story. That was the only thing that saved her from getting the belt. However, she was grounded for a long time.

What was worse, for her, was that he wouldn't let her go with him to hunt more traps. That was truly a punishment for her.

For two years after that, on the full moon, several wolves could be seen. They were standing at the edge of the clearing that surrounded the house, like sentinels.

The next morning, Linda was up, dressed and ready to go. She even had coffee made as she had found her coffee pot, and the travel package of coffee she had brought in with her. She then went out to stand on the porch to take in the morning air and let her mind wander back to the days when she lived there as a child, and how happy she had been.

Linda was brought back from her memories when she saw a man walking up to the porch.

"Can I help you?"

"Actually, it's more like how I can help you. I'm Jimmy Thompson. Weber-Baits and Associates have me on contract to take care of this place. Sorry we didn't meet you last night. My partner needed to make a run last night for something. Sadly, the little store in town just doesn't carry much. By the time we got back, you were here, and in bed, from the way the lights were.

Anyway, I wanted to know when you wanted me and my partner to start helping you bring in things."

"Oh," Linda had forgotten that there was supposed to be someone here. "As you can see, I got started already, but only with what I had in the car with me."

"Well, let me tell you about the place. It was mostly empty, with most of its contents stored out in the barn. Your bed, washer, and dryer came yesterday, and we got them set up. The bed is in the big room. We didn't make the bed up, but the bedding that came with it was in the room, too."

"I know, I made it last night, so that's fine. Let me look over the house, again, and then we'll check the barn to be sure I want anything brought out. If you want, you could open the POD. The boxes are marked. Just bring in the kitchen and bath & bedroom stuff, for now. Of the bigger stuff, leave the dinning room table. I want to see if grandma's table is in the barn. However, the dresser and the chest should be easy to get out, please put them in the bedroom, too. If you need more help, just give a yell."

"I think we can handle it," finished Jimmy, and off he went.

Linda walked back into the house to look around again. The house had a long living/dinning/kitchen room that took up most of the place. Then to the side was a door, which led to her childhood bedroom.

Next to that was the only bathroom. Her father had turned a small second bedroom into the bathroom when the house finally got water and power. There was a nice tub with a shower, but it looked newer than what had once been there.

The bed in her room, was a queen size bed that Linda had ordered before she came up. Linda would move it later, once she had a nightstand in the corner. Then she would move the bed so it was closer to the outside wall, to make more room to move around.

Linda moved back to the main room to see boxes on the kitchen island already. All the appliances were new, and either ran on the large propane tank she had installed or the solar electric units. There really wasn't much else to see, so Linda left the house and walked to the barn.

As she opened the big door and looked in, she realized that everything that was her life before she was fourteen was sitting in front of her. It was something she thought she had prepared herself for, but she had fooled herself. The enormity of it hit her. For the first time in twenty years, she cried.

Jimmy had just come back to the POD when he heard the sound of someone bawling. So he went to check it out. He was surprised to find the property owner on her knees, in front of the barn. She was crying her heart out, and was pounding the ground as hard as she could.

Jimmy didn't know what had happened, but he could see it was terrible. He moved over to her, and gently took the woman into his arms, so she had someone other than the ground for comfort.

Jimmy's partner, Greg Parkerson came around back when he heard the noise too and was shocked and confused at what he found.

"Jimmy, what happened? Is she hurt?"

"I don't think so ... at least, I don't think she has anything physically wrong. This is emotional crying."

"Any idea what caused it?"

"Not a clue."

Greg knelt next to his friend and rubbed the back of the woman who continued to cry out her pain.

In the woods not far away, looking at the two human males giving comfort to the female, was a lone wolf. If any had seen him, they would have been surprised. For from his eye, a single tear rolled down his furry cheek.

Linda didn't know what happened, at first. When she recovered from crying, she found herself on the ground and in the arms of one of the movers. She pulled away quickly.

"Easy, Miss, you're ok. I think everything is going to be ok, now," Jimmy said trying to be as gentle as he could.

Linda sighed, and as she sat there, she looked around.

"Ma'am, can you tell me what happened?"

Linda pointed to the barn, "Every detail of my parents lives, and mine up until I was fourteen, is packed into that barn. I thought I was ready for it but I guess I wasn't. I was more overwhelmed than I anticipated."

"That would be a lot for anyone to face. You should have had a friend with you," Said Greg.

"I ... I really don't have that many friends, and none that could come out here with me at this time. I don't know if any of my childhood friends that might still live near or in what's left of the town, so I was kind of on my own."

"Well, I'll tell you ... you had me and Greg worried there, for a little. He even wanted to call someone for help. I think, for the moment, I want you to consider that you're not alone. And if the ghosts of your parents get too much for you, you can turn to me for a shoulder to lean on."

Linda looked at the man in surprise but then smiled.

"Thanks," Linda let out a big sigh again, "I think we need to get up and get this over with. I know a few things I would like, but I have to find them."

"No problem. We're here to help you get settled in. I just don't think your law people thought this would be part of it; the emotional overload, that is. But then, most of them lose that by the time they get that degree of theirs," Jimmy finished with a chuckle.

The two got up, dusted themselves off, and went into the barn. By the time the sun went down Linda had most of her stuff from the POD in the house, or in the barn. She would get the rest finished in the morning. Out from the barn came the dinning room set, and Linda's father's desk.

The two men finished with setting up everything, including her entertainment center, then went off to the trailer that the two were staying in.

That night when Linda went to bed, she had the strangest sense of calm. Her whole body was relaxed, and her mind was quiet. Even the dreams she started with were gentle and full of good feelings.

The last thing that came to her ears before she was completely asleep, was the call of a wolf.

The light of pre-dawn woke Linda. For some reason, she felt vibrantly alive. She got up quickly, and dressed. Then, after her normal morning routine (which seemed rushed), Linda found her coffeepot and got it going.

With coffee in hand, Linda walked out to the porch to watch the sun come over the trees. It was beautiful, almost magical. After her eyes adjusted to the brighter light, she caught movement to the side of the clearing. What she saw made her very happy.