Moonweavers (22 page)

                                                       
16

             
As the professor and his team drive down the road in the bronco, the wolf pack is barely visible, far off to the right in the woods next to the highway.  The perverted slave driver is having issues in the semi in front of him, driving straight down the middle of the road.  He honks in frustration as he drives by and speeds up the bronco.  The left front wheel slides off the pavement now and again as he glides by, making him honk more and get more frustrated at the same time.  They manage to get by the semi.  Tab is in the back seat and tells the driver, “Turn right here.  It’s far enough away from town that no one will get hurt.  Drive straight down this gravel road and stop right up there where the clearing is.  It’ll be a perfect place to set up.”

The driver doesn
’t say a word, but does what she says and turns into the clearing to park .  They all scramble out of the vehicle to set up the gravity mines.  “Hurry, hurry!” Tab yells to the others.  “I can hear them coming!”  The driver quickly sets the last one down.  The mines form a complete straight line next to the road.  The professor hit’s the on button of the remote control and points it to the VCR on the ground that controlled all the mines.  The electrical pulse hums once more like in the cellar.  They keep speeding on and on directly into the trail of the path that leads straight to the gravity mine.  As wolves enter the gravity mine field, they fall straight down, getting sucked down like a magnet to metal.  A few of the wolves attempt to crawl but can’t.  At the most, they can only wiggle their arm or leg just a touch.  They are all now completely stuck to the ground.  Tab laughs and jumps up and down yelling, “It’s working, it’s working! You did it professor,” giving him a big hug.  The professor wasn’t expecting this and drops the remote control onto the ground.  When it hit the ground, it hit the power button, therefore turning off the VCR that ran the makeshift gravity mines.  All the wolves are starting to get up from the dog pile they made from crashing into each other as they stopped suddenly.  Tab yells, “Oh, shit!”  As the smile runs down into a frown on her face.  The professor hit’s the power button on the remote control once more but nothing happens.  “There must be a loose connection from the wires that go to the cigarette lighter.”  He double checks the connection of the extension cord, making sure that it is plugged in securely and hops out of the bronco and tries the remote once more.  The little red light in the corner of the device pops on and the wolves drop to the ground again.  He pumps up the volume button to make sure they stay stuck as it makes the gravity force stronger.  He takes it from five to seven on the volume scale.  The wolves yip, growl and bark as they lay there motionless unable to do a thing.  The captain pulls his sword out and says, “Aye, matey, lets go thin the herd.”  He points to the wolf pile with his blade.  With his left hand, he reaches inside his coat and pulls out an ancient pistol.  He takes aim at one of the werewolves and fires.  The musket ball shoots out rapidly as the black powder flies through the air, making its mark into a wolf’s skull and out the back end, killing it completely.  The professor reaches into his pocket of his white coat and grabs two pens from his pocket protector.  He grips them tight with both hands.  Zoth and the others are so stuck to the ground, they can’t even open their mouths.  The only thing the guardians see when they look down at the pile are eyes jittering back and forth and the growls and whimpers from the beasts from the pile .  Jade grabs a big stick that is laying on the ground and Tab grabs a rock.  The captain was the first one to make an attack.  He cuts off the head of a wolf in one big swoop.  He kicks the head as far as he can.  He keeps using this method as he goes down the line.  The professor raises the pen with his right arm and jabs it into a wolf’s ear, completely submerging it in, then pulls it out and wipes it on his coat.  You can hear the thud from the stick that Jade swings.  It thumps and thumps with an eerie, squishy sound at every drop.  Tabs giant rock does the same with a little louder thud.  Soon the growls are silent.  The other humans and animals farther down out of the gravity mines field, stop and stare in awe as their leaders die they disperse into the woods, literally running in different directions for their lives.  Tab sees what is happening as she is holding up the big boulder ready to smash another skull.  She quickly tosses it to the side and yells, “Look!  Their getting away!”

“
We have to dispose of the leaders first,” the professor replied as he pokes his pen through another ear back and forth, up and down, making sure to wiggle it around within the brain stem.  Jade stabs her stiletto heal into Uno the rat, that even in death lays next to his master, Zoth.  They poke, cut and smash forever it seems, until they are positively sure that the whole area has been dispatched of the virus completely.  After the bloody deed is done, the professor walks toward the remote control, picks it up and turns the machinery off.  The perverted human driver, picks up all the mines and puts them into the bronco for the team without hesitation. 

“
Why didn’t the other people turn into their human form after their leader was dead?” Tab asks the professor.  “That’s how it always happens in the movies.”

Jade replies,
“Yea, they just ran off.”

The professor says,
“Because they are infected.  It’s not like the movies, young lady.  We will have to just wait and see if they can infect others or not.  If so, we might have an epidemic of epic proportions.  We will never be able to find them all.  The only thing we can really be thankful for is that they are not running into the town. “

Tab suddenly yells,
“Oh my God!  Patty!  My daughter lives out that way!  We have to go check and see if she is alright.   Please, Professor!  Don’t let anything happen to my baby.  She is all I have.”

“
We will have the driver swing by there, Tab.  I promise.  But we will have to keep a low profile and park down the road.  Anyone sees this guy driving around, they will be sure to be suspicious,” the professor said while pointing toward the perverted driver. 

Jade grabs Tab shoulder and escorts her to the vehicle.  They get in and head to Patty
’s house.  Just before they get onto the highway and off the gravel road, they see a convoy of red and blue flashes from police lights heading away from town, their very direction.  They stop only four miles from where the battle took place, at the truck stop just before town. 

“
It must have been the wolves!”, Jade yells  “Before their attack on us.”

The captain laughs,
“Aye, you mean before their demise, me lassie.”

They gawk harder as they drive by. 

“How are we going to capture the rest of the wolves, Professor?”  Tab asks.

“
It will take some time, that’s for sure,”  he replied.  “We will have to ask Links when we get back to the cabin.  He’ll know more about it.  He can figure this out.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for the man.”

Jade says,
“I just feel terrible for all those innocent people that got hurt.” 

“
It is a shame, isn’t it Jade.  But think how much more carnage would have happened if we didn’t intervene,” the professor said.

“
You’re right Professor,”  Tab interrupts.

“
Aye, it is so.”  says the pirate.  “During the black plague, the bodies were piled three stories high to  be set on fire.  Stench was awful.  There is some things that you just don’t forget.”

“
Oh my God, Captain, you saw the black plague?”  Jade asks astonished.

“
Aye, it is nothing I care to remember.  I told Links when we first met, knowing he would understand living back then, it was hard times.  People just didn’t get as old as they do now, aye.  And that damn plague.”  He looks into the distance at nothing when he says this, “was the biggest curse on humanity that the moon ever bestowed on all of us.  The black death took out a big chunk of the population.  I was just a kid.  My mother and father were dead.  My brothers and sisters left.  I never saw them again.  It was the day I started my sea voyage.  All I wanted to do was to get as far away from that damn disease as I could.  Scared for my life, I stowed away on a boat.  They found me three days later, cold and hungry, trying to get me some food out of the galley.  That’s when they hired me to help the cook, who took a liking to me and showed me the ropes of the sea, to make me the captain I am today.  I thank ole Jim.  He was a very good man.  The work was cold and hard, but I managed to grow to love the ships and the sea.  For the rest of my living days, I lived upon the oceans.  They were hard times indeed.”  He looks down and becomes silent in the back of the bronco.  Tab who was sitting next to him, gives the captain a hug and tries to comfort his memories.  The rest of the drive is pretty silent. 

Now as they pass where the carnage from the accident happened a few days before on the highway, they see the flowers and the crosses set out along side the road.  Just a block down from there, they turn to get on the dirt road that leads to Tab
’s old home, where Patty is now living at the ranch.  They  pull off the dirt road and get out of the bronco, walking the rest of the way to Patty’s, very slowly looking and surveying the whole area for any wolves.  The driver waits patiently at the truck, motionless like a zombie.  Jaws, the dog, is the first one to see the ghosts approach on to property.  He gives a low growl and runs toward Tab, after he recognizes who she is.  Jaws is happy to see his old owner and tries to lick Tab’s leg.  All his tongue touches is air as it sweeps right through her body.  He looks confused, but happy at the same time.  He happily follows the group as they approach the house. 

They walk right up to the front door and straight into the house.  They walk right through the door and are now in the living room.  The television is blaring.  Patty and Frank are huddled on the couch, laying together asleep with a blanket over them.   Jade remarks how cute the couple look as they slumber.  Tab exaggeratedly clears her throat trying to get Frank
’s attention, with a very stern look on her face.  Franks eyes open quickly.  When he does, he sees the whole group staring at him and freaks and jumps up off the couch.  Patty remains asleep, totally oblivious to what  happenings  in the house.  The dog scratches at the door, trying to get in to see his old master.  Frank looks at the door when he hears the moans and scratches and then back at the group. 

“
Something bad happened, didn’t it?” he asks the lady in the blue jean jacket.

“
It was a massive wolf attack.  It almost made it to town.  If we hadn’t stopped it, it is hard telling how much would have happened.”

Frank looks down and quickly looks back up the group and says,
“That’s terrible.”
“We took out what we could,” said the professor.  “Could have been a lot worse.”
Tab says, “I am just glad you two are all right.  Frank, you have to take care of my daughter.  No one else can do it.”
“yes ma’am,”  Frank says politely.

“
Thank you, Frank.  I know you don’t have to do all this and you could be on your merrily little way, but I do appreciate what you are doing for my family.  I am forever in your debt, sir.”  Then Tab walks over to the couch and runs her fingers ever so lightly through her daughters hair as she sleeps.  She gently kisses the top of her forehead and whispers, “I love you, baby.  I will always love you.”  Patty doesn’t hear a thing and remains asleep with her mouth slightly open, breathing slowly and stays asleep.

“
Let’s go to the kitchen,”  Frank says quietly.  “I don’t want to wake Patty.  I don’t want to scare her.  Not tonight.  She has had to many things that she has been worrying about, like how to get money for the ranch.  I just don’t want to scare her anymore.  She is already freaked out about all those missing people.”

They all walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table.  Frank starts to make a pot of coffee, then joins the others. 

“Just keep a sharp eye out, okay?  We gotta go.”

They all vanish from the table and appear in the bronco with the driver patiently looking forward.  In a hazy trance, he says,
“Where now?” in a strange voice, totally absent of emotion.  The professor says, “Back to the cabin.”

Meanwhile, Patty hears Frank talking to himself in the other room.  She gets up, groggy from her nap and heads to the kitchen to investigate. 

“
Frank, I am going to bed, baby.  And who were you talking to?  No wonder you never sleep.  Why you making coffee?”  Her eyes widen now with excitement and stares straight at Frank and says, “Did you see another ghost?”

Frank wonders if he should tell her or not. 
“It was your mom and some others again.”  He looks down at the table.