Warriors for Wildlife is a serial novel, with a new episode published each week. Start from the beginning with the prologue and contents, or jump right into Episode One. If you are enjoying this project, I encourage you to purchase the prequel War on Wildlife trilogy!
Episode Eight - Smoldering Hate
The sun was setting as Caleb pulled into the BLM camping area near Easton, Wyoming. Much to his surprise, the campground was packed, and it didn’t take long to find out why. Supporters of Asha the wolf pup were pouring in from all over the country to witness the sentencing of her killer. He found a nice flat spot and got out to open the back door of his camper topper and lower the tailgate. Gripping an ice-cold beer from the cooler, he took a seat on the tailgate to survey the landscape. Motor homes and camper trailers steadily filled the campground, while people gathered in small groups around campfires.
A raven-haired woman, wearing leather and beads, holding a beer in her hand, approached approached Caleb and invited him to join their group.
“Come on over, we are cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows.”
“Are you all here for Asha?” asked Caleb as he slid down from the tailgate.
“Yes, everyone here is waiting for the sentencing.”
“Me too. I’m Caleb, by the way,” he said as he extended his hand in greeting.
“I’m Pam, nice to meet you,” she said as she gripped Caleb’s hand.
She took him by the arm and led him over to the campfire to introduce him. “This is Caleb everyone! He’s here for Asha too.”
Caleb was roundly welcomed into the circle, and he took a seat beside Pam.
One of the other visitors recognized Caleb and said, “Hey, aren’t you that wild horse guy with the book?”
“That’s me!”
“Cool, good book.” the man replied.
“Thanks,” replied Caleb. “I guess all these people aren’t going to fit in the courtroom.”
“No,” replied Pam. “It’s a closed hearing. We’re going to wait outside to hear the results.”
“Gotcha,” replied Caleb.
“Are you here by yourself?” she asked.
“Yes, my clan had obligations and couldn’t come with me.”
“You have a family?”
Caleb chuckled and replied, “I have a wife, Angie, a young friend of mine from Gardiner, out near Yellowstone, and Angie’s model friend and business partner who has become a permanent fixture on my couch.”
“Have you always lived near Yellowstone with your wife?”
“No, I started out in the Bay Area with my first love, Lacey. Actually, she looked a lot like you.”
“Was she Indian?”
“No, she was Hispanic.”
“You said was...”
“Yes, unfortunately she died of cancer up in Bozeman.”
“So how did you wind up in Colorado?”
“Angie is also from Montana, and I met her when she was working at a microbrew I frequented, in Bozeman.”
“Oh, so you got married and moved out to Colorado together?”
Caleb chucked again, “No, she moved to Colorado to pursue a career in real estate, while Lacey was modeling in London.”
“So you were married to Lacey and in love with your current wife? Sounds complicated.”
“It’s a long story,” replied Caleb.
Pam took a long swig of beer, and after a few seconds replied, “Yeah, life can be like that.”
“What about you? Are you married.”
“Was.”
“That sounds like a short answer to another complicated story.”
“Not really, we didn’t last long. And it was a while ago.”
Caleb drew a long swig from his bottle before asking, “So what’s your involvement with the wolf people here?”
“I run a social media animal rights group, and quite a few of us here are just activists who know each other online. We circulate petitions and publish news and events.”
“That’s awesome!” replied Caleb. “That’s kind of how Angie and I got started with wildlife up in Bozeman. I used to publish a wildlife report for the newspaper there, visiting the park to check on the animals. My little friend Michelle from Gardiner was in high school then, and she became a ranger for the Forest Service. We frequently swapped intel.”
“Now she’s a ranger in Colorado?”
“No, she was a park ranger for the state for a while, but now she works for me, shooting pictures and doing research.”
“Wow, that is the most amazing story!”
“Yeah, life is full of twists and turns.”
“That it is,” replied Pam. “I’m going to get some marshmallows to toast, would you like some?”
“I would!”
Pam’s dark eyes glistened by the light of the fire as she stared intently at her marshmallow sizzling at the end of the stick. Caleb felt a twinge of sadness as he gazed at her beautiful face, illuminated by the golden flames. Her resemblance to Lacey was uncanny, but he didn’t allow the dull ache in his heart to spoil the moment. The enticing smell of roasting marshmallows wafted through the camp as they each pulled off the crusty outer layer. Caleb watched with silent adoration as Pam leaned her head back and carefully placed the hot treat in her mouth.
As she swallowed the sugary concoction, still staring at the fire, she asked, “Do you think he will do jail time?”
Caleb shook his head as he replied, “I doubt it. Wildlife abuse is rampant and traditionally accepted as normal in this state. If we are lucky, there will be enough to set a precedent and make others think twice. If things go wrong, the sentence will just piss them off, and instead of learning that times are changing, they will react with vengeance.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“Based on my experience, unfortunately the latter will be the case.”
Pam sat in silence for a few seconds before sadly agreeing, “You are probably right.”
The group slowly began to disperse to their own quarters, and Caleb finally said, “I guess I’d better get some sleep.”
Pam nodded, but remained motionless beside the dwindling flames. Caleb looked back and asked, “Where’s your camper?”
“I hitched my way out here from South Dakota. I’m just sleeping on ground.”
Caleb stared at her in silence for a few seconds. “This isn’t South Dakota. There are grizzly bears and wolves here.
“I’ll be okay.”
After another long pause Caleb asked, “Where’s your backpack?”
Pam pointed toward a rock off to the side, and Caleb could see she had a sleeping bag tied onto the frame of the pack.
He walked back and reached for her hand. “C’mon, you can sleep in my camper topper with me tonight. The hard top is much safer than sleeping on the ground in this country.”
She looked into his caring blue eyes and took his hand as he pulled her to her feet. “Are you sure? What about your wife?”
“It’s okay, she knows I’d never betray her.”
“Okay, thanks..
By that time they were the last to leave the fire. Caleb grabbed a bucket of water someone had left behind and doused the embers. He turned to pick up Pam’s pack, and she clutched his arm as they walked through the darkness toward his truck. She spread her bag out in the truck bed next to Caleb’s and crawled inside. Caleb closed the tailgate and crawled under his own blanket. “Good night,” he said.
“Good night, and thanks Caleb. I really wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the ground.”
“No worries. See you tomorrow.”
Episode Seven <««« »»»> Episode Nine
