Angie asked, “Michelle, do you want us to order you a drink?”

“Yes, I’ll take a glass of house white.”

“Do you need help lugging your camera bag in?” asked Jessica.

“No, it’s a short walk. Just get us a table before the crowd gets here.”

The sound man was testing audio levels, and the band was making their final tuning adjustments when the server met Angie and Jessica at the door.

“Hi, I’m Lexi, just the two of you tonight?” she asked.

“No, there will be three of us shortly,” replied Angie.

“Will this be okay?” asked Lexi as she led them over to a table on the far side of the small dance floor.

“This will be fine. Our third will be a small blonde girl with a very large bag of equipment.”

“Okay, I’ll watch for her. What can I get you to drink?”

“We are all having a glass of house white wine,” replied Angie.

“Sounds good, I’ll be right back with three glasses.”

“That was a great show wasn’t it,” commented Jessica.

“It was, people really seemed to like it, and our girls got paid well too.”

“Where’s Caleb tonight?”

“He is out doing some research on a spate of cattle depredations on the western slope.”

“Oh, I wondered why Michelle was working alone tonight.”

“He really wanted to be here, but I think he’s supposed to be back tomorrow night.”

“Good, I hope he’s okay.”

“He wasn’t getting into any trouble as of this morning.”

Soon Lexi appeared, with Michelle close behind, “I think I’ve found the rest of your party!”

“That was quick!” exclaimed Angie.

“Yeah, I didn’t need that much equipment for this little show.”

“Did you get some good pictures?”

“I’m sure I did, you guys put on a great show tonight!”

Soon the band was introducing their members, who were playing little riffs as each of their names were announced. The remaining tables rapidly filled and the formerly quiet room grew boisterous as the band began to play their opener.

“Ooooh, I love this song!” exclaimed Jessica, “Let’s go dance!”

Michelle replied, “You two go ahead, I’m going to rest a minute.”

Jessica and Angie were still dressed in their fashion show outfits, and turning heads to the visible chagrin of many women in the audience. Michelle noticed a lone tattooed man staring at them, and wondered how he had even been allowed to enter the club. He was dressed in dirty blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt, revealing his fully inked arms and neck. His bald head was shaved and even it was covered in ink. He eventually noticed Michelle looking at him, and locked eyes with her in an intimidating stare. She quickly looked away and avoided returning his uncomfortable gaze.

Michelle’s heart sank when he arose from his chair, and soon felt a wave of relief when he headed in the other direction. However she was soon filled with dread once again, as the menacing figure strode onto the dance floor in the direction of Angie and Jessica.

Jessica saw noticed him first, and signaled to Angie to look behind her. Angie avoided looking at him directly, but took up a more defensive posture as the man drew near. They hoped he would just pass by and exit the club, but Angie heard him speak, “Mamacita, vamos a perrear,” as he grabbed his crotch.

A startled Angie shook her head no, as she and Jessica quickly exited the floor. They both looked back and saw the obviously angry man cursing in Spanish and flipping them the bird. Once back at their table, the three women watched with relief as he left the club in a rage.

“I knew we should have waited to celebrate until we were away from downtown,” commented Michelle.

“I thought this was supposed to be a high class place,” replied Angie.

“I did too,” added Jessica.

“Yeah, I was surprised they let him in here. Maybe security was afraid to cause a scene.”

“You never know,” replied Angie.

The shaken women finished their wine and asked for their check. Lexi brought the check and asked, “Do you know that guy?”

“No,” replied Angie. He just came up to me and grabbed his crotch.”

“I’ll have security watch for him. He shouldn’t have been allowed in here, especially dressed like that.”

“Okay,” replied Angie. “We are leaving anyway.”

Once in the parking lot, Angie grabbed one end of Michelle’s gear bag while Michelle walked along beside, holding the other strap.

Jessica exclaimed, “Oh shit, what’s this?” as a strange man exited the shadows in front of them.

“It’s him. It’s the guy from the club!” exclaimed Angie.

Michelle commented, I have a can of Caleb’s bear spray, and a brick in my purse. He was worried about us doing this show downtown when he couldn’t be here.”

“Good,” commented Angie.

“Maybe he will just leave us alone,” added Jessica.

Michelle handed Angie the bear spray, and said, “If it comes to it, you spray him and I’ll club him with the brick.”

The man quickly approached and said, “Fresa, you should have just danced with me.”

Angie replied, “I’m married. I don’t dance with strangers.”

He pulled a knife and grabbed his crotch again, “Now you are going to dance with me.”

Angie clutched the bear spray and let the man have it full in the face as he lunged toward her. He screamed and dropped the knife as he rubbed his eyes. However he quickly recovered and reached for the knife. Michelle swung her purse as hard as she could, catching him straight in the face. The attacker collapsed to the ground, lying motionless in a growing pool of blood.

Angie grabbed one side of Michelle’s bag and exclaimed, “Let’s get out of here!”

Michelle grabbed the other strap, and the three women ran for their car. Jessica looked back as Angie and Michelle struggled to get the heavy gear bag in the back seat, “Don’t worry, he isn’t getting up.”

“Should we call the police?” asked Angie?

Michelle replied,“No, what are the police going to do, nothing. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Is he dead?” asked a worried Angie.

Michelle and Jessica both looked back as the man finally rose to his hands and knees, while Angie sped away.

Michelle commented, “He’s not dead, he’s on his hands and knees now.”

“Wow, that was terrifying,” commented Jessica.

“It was,” replied Michelle. “It reminds me of the guy in Castlewood Canyon.”

“At least we aren’t the ones ending up in the hospital this time.” said Angie.

“Yeah,” added Michelle.

The trio continued south toward home on I25 in silence until Angie asked, “Do you want to just stay with us tonight Jessie? It’s getting pretty late.”

“Yeah, my husband is away on business again anyway.”

“Okay, good. I worry about you driving home late by yourself.”

“Can we stop and pick up a pizza or something somewhere?” asked Michelle.

“Sure honey, I’m hungry too,” replied Angie.

“Can we get pepperoni?” asked Jessica.

“Of course, we can get anything we want.”

Prologue & Contents

Warriors for wildlife begins in a difficult time for Colorado’s wildlife community. Many relocated wolves have died since they were first introduced to the Colorado Rocky Mountains in 2023. Some died of natural causes, others were killed by ranchers and hunters, one legally when it crossed over into Wyoming. The first wolf in recent times entered Rocky Mountain National Park, where it was alleged to have died of natural causes..

In another setback, the federal Fish and Game department sued Colorado, successful preventing Colorado’s Park’s and Wildlife (CPW) department from acquiring any more wolves from Canada, while other western states have declined to provide any more for transfer.

Most recently a prominent mother wolf of a young pack was killed by a rancher, prompting a criminal investigation by Colorado Park’s and Wildlife. I wasn’t going to write another book on this subject, but after reading the comments on the news by ranching and hunting advocates, I decided to embark upon another installment of this sweeping saga that has thus far spanned four western states.

This installment begins with our main characters, Caleb, Angie, Michelle and Jessica learning of the most recent wolf killing. Michelle, from her contacts from previous employment at the Park’s department, learns of an ecotage group named Warriors for Wildlife, and she and Caleb set out to investigate the veracity of those rumors.

Colorado’s wildlife community becomes enraged at the news of the latest killing and begins to take matters into their own hands with revenge attacks against ranchers, hunters and trappers. Will the main protagonist Caleb continue his relatively pacifist ways, and just report on the events along with his sidekick Michelle, or will they join the environmental terrorists? Will Colorado turn into a dystopian nightmare?

Introduction

Warriors for Wildlife is the fourth in this sweeping saga involving this eclectic set of characters. The series began with protagonist Caleb in the book entitled Spirit of the Wolf, as he settles in the Bay Area of California, following the second gulf war. Caleb leaves his special forces in the military to attend photography school in the quaint little town of Cupertino where he meets the love of his life. Lacey is attending fashion school and the two form a lasting bond which carries them into the next installment of the War on Wildlife series.

Caleb hears of the exploits of a famous real life wolf in Yellowstone National Park, and is eventually drawn to leave the Bay Area for the mountain wilderness of Montana and Wyoming., where he works as a nature reporter for the newspaper in Bozeman. Eventually one of his best friends Angie, invites him to visit Colorado, where he works to protect the Sand Wash Basin wild mustang herd in the second installment of the saga, Thundering Hooves.

The War on Wildlife picks up where Thundering Hooves leaves off, as the Colorado voters mandate a wolf reintroduction program. The newly transplanted wolves soon encounter trouble, and Caleb and his friends embark upon many harrowing adventures in their efforts to save the new wolves from a terrible fate at the hands of ranchers and hunters.

The latest in the series, Warriors for Wildlife takes a significant turn as the wanton torture and killing of wildlife continues unabated. The gloves come off as wildlife activists take matters into their own hands. Will Caleb and his friends continue their normal pacifistic methods of gentle investigation, reporting and fund raising, or will they join the impending violence? Find out as the story develops!

Although Warriors for Wildlife will be informative and entertaining on it’s own, there are frequent references back to the other books in the saga. I encourage my readers to acquire their own eBook or paperback copies of these novels to familiarize themselves with the characters and their individual struggles and triumphs.

This installment will be published as a serial novel on Substack, as episodes are made available on a regular schedule. The first few episodes will be free to read by everyone, however the bulk of the book will be published behind the Substack paywall, which readers can access, along with Krull’s many photography tutorials, environmental news articles, and many photo adventures complete with pictures and video from the Rocky Mountain Wilderness.

Contents

Episode One - Parking Lot Encounter