The War on Wildlife is free for everyone, but donations are always welcome! The War on Wildlife is the third in the wildlife series with these characters. If you enjoy this novel, the prequels, Spirit of the Wolf and Thundering Hooves are available in paperback! Click here to see all the episodes plus background information and the introduction! If you’ve joined the novel late, please click here to start with Episode One!
Episode Ten - Christmas Incident
It was a bitter cold morning on the day before Christmas when Michelle walked into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. She was scheduled to run the north entry at the park later that morning, but there would be plenty of time to open up her laptop and check messages and social media posts. Angie joined her just as the coffee finished brewing, and asked if her if she wanted a cup.
“Sure, is Caleb going to join us?”
“He’s already out the door. Snowshoeing probably.”
“Have you seen this about Yellowstone?” asked Michelle as she read an article in her news feed.
“No, what are you reading?”
“It’s called Deadliest Season, it’s about the wolf hunt that the Turner administration unleashed on their way out of power,” replied Michelle
“Oh, what does it say?”
“I guess Turner removed wolves from Endangered Species Act protections right before Dolittle was inaugurated, leaving wolf hunts up to the states. By the time Wyoming and Montana got done with their killing seasons, a third of Yellowstone’s wolves were dead.”
“Isn’t there a law against killing collared animals?” asked Angie.
“Apparently they are fair game. In fact the hunters use signals from the collars to locate the wolves.”
“That’s terrible, does Caleb know about this?”
“I don’t know, I imagine he does. I know he keeps up on all that sort of thing,” answered Michelle.
“Maybe he just didn’t want to upset us, and kept it to himself. We can ask him when he gets back from his run.”
“What are you doing today?” asked Michelle.
“I don’t know, I guess I’ll run up to the mall and see if I can find a couple more little gifts. Want to come with me?”
“I would love to, but I have to run the park entrance today.”
“Bummer, I guess I’ll give Jessie a call and see what she’s doing.”
Just then the sliding glass door to the deck opened and Caleb stepped in, carrying his snowshoes.
“Why the long faces?” asked Caleb.
Angie answered, “Did you know about this Deadliest Season article about Yellowstone?”
“I know about it but haven’t really wanted to think about it, much less talk about it. It’s more than I can deal with, but on the upside all kinds of lawsuits have been filed by environmental and wildlife groups. Hopefully wolves will soon be put back on the endangered list.”
“Are they really just waiting for wolves to leave the park so they can have target practice on them?”
“Yup, just like back when our group used to meet at the Alpine Tap in Bozeman.”
“Why would they shoot the very wolves that visitors come from all around the world to see?”
Caleb answered, “I don’t know, selfishness, vindictiveness, maybe just plain mental illness. It doesn’t even make sense. The environmental tourism industry brings in a billion dollars more than the cattle industry, if you add up all the revenue for the state and surrounding towns. They are shooting themselves in the foot and they are too dumb to understand it or care.”
“Maybe ranchers and hunters can’t handle simple math.”
“I guess hunters just want to make a name for themselves by killing a Yellowstone wolf. They hate the parks, they hate the wildlife, and they hate the tourists who provide them with their main source of revenue for their state. The politicians know this, but I guess they are too dumb to care as well.”
Michelle added, “I wish people would just boycott beef, it isn’t even good for people. If nobody bought their products it would take away their leverage with all the crooked politicians.”
Caleb replied, “People could at least support a boycott against Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. I would support any boycott that I see cross my news feed.”
Soon Jessica popped in, cheerfully announcing “The front door was unlocked.”
Caleb replied, “Hey Jessie, what are you up to today?”
“Nothing much, I just stopped by to see if Angie wanted to go shopping.”
Angie laughed and said, “I was just getting ready to call you about going up to the mall.”
“Cool, I’ll drive if you want,” replied Jessica.
Michelle said, “I’ve got to run off to work, so I’ll catch you all later.”
“Have a great day Michelle,” the three friends responded in unison.
Angie said, “We were just talking about the wolf slaughter out in Yellowstone.”
“Why are they slaughtering them?”
“I don’t know, I suppose some do it for the fur.”
“That’s terrible, maybe we should try to raise awareness with our fashion site?”
“I guess we could do a faux fur show, to help spread the word.”
“That’s a great idea Jessie!” exclaimed Caleb.
“That is a great idea,” added Angie. “Let’s try to get something going. We can start putting out some feelers on our website. Caleb, do you have some pictures we can borrow?”
“Sure, just look through my website. Let me know which ones you want, and I’ll get them ready for your site. I can also print some big ones that we can hang at your show when the time comes.”
“Thank you so much Caleb, that would be awesome!”
“No problem,” Caleb said as he stared intently at his phone. “Hey!” he suddenly exclaimed.
“What is it Caleb?” asked Angie.
“My book, Thundering Hooves just went to active status online.”
“What does that mean?”
“I published it earlier this morning and it was just approved. Thundering Hooves: Spirit of the West is officially out for distribution!”
Almost in unison, Angie and Jessica congratulated him and Angie rushed over to give him a hug.
“This day has been a long time coming!” exclaimed Angie.
“Congratulations Caleb, I know you worked hard on that book!” added Jessica.
“Wow, it’s almost a let down,” commented Caleb.
Angie asked, “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, I guess all the work doing the research and writing, the travel and the pictures, the excitement of publishing, and then suddenly it’s just done. I’ve lived that book for over a year, and now it’s just done. I have literally given no thought to what comes after the book, and now I’m sort of feeling a sudden void.”
Angie replied, “Well don’t think ahead just yet. We should go out for champagne breakfast or something.”
Jessica leaped to her feet and said, “I’m ready, let’s go! That omelet place up by the mall is kind of fancy, maybe they have champagne. I can call up there and see if we need a reservation. What do you think Caleb?”
“Heck yeah, let’s go celebrate!” he responded.
“What about Michelle?” asked Angie.
Caleb replied, “You are right, it wouldn’t be right to go without her. Tomorrow is Christmas and I know she has the day off.”
Angie asked, “Jessie, can you make it tomorrow instead?”
“Sure I can make it tomorrow, but what are we going to do today?”
“How about we crack open a bottle of wine?” offered Caleb.
“Works for me,” said Jessica.
Angie laughed, “Why not, after all it is after 10:00 in the morning!”
Caleb said, “I’ll go downstairs and get a bottle. I picked up a really smooth plum wine for Christmas, but since we are having champagne tomorrow we might as well drink it today!”
“I love plum wine,” exclaimed Jessica.
“That will be fine Caleb, I’ll get out the glasses.”
Caleb quickly returned with the chilled bottle and opened it. He poured three glasses and handed one to Angie and Jessica, and took one for himself.
“To Thundering Hooves,” he toasted.
The three clinked their glasses together and took a sip.
“To the wild horses,” toasted Angie.
The three clinked glasses and drank once again.
“To a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year,” toasted Jessica.
Three glasses clinked again and the trio sat back to enjoy the moment.
As they basked in the glow of Caleb’s achievement, a sharp pop pierced the silence.
“Did you hear that?” asked Jessica.
“I did, it sounded like a rifle shot,” replied Caleb.
Two more pops in quick succession prompted Caleb to say, “Sounds like an M16. I’ll never forget the sound of that weapon. It’s probably somebody’s AR”
“It sounds like it is coming from the park. Are people allowed to shoot in Castlewood Canyon?” asked Angie.
“No, there is no hunting allowed in the park. In fact, guns aren’t allowed at all there.”
“Maybe we should call Michelle,” commented Angie.
“I’ll try her cell phone.”
Caleb picked up his phone and punched in Michelle’s number. He let it ring several times but there was no answer. After a few seconds he tried her number again, and this time she answered.
“Hey Michelle, I thought we heard gunfire in the park.”
“Yes, it’s up here not too far from my booth on the north end. I called Heather and we are shutting down the park. She wants me to go down by the river and investigate.”
“Be careful Sweetie.”
“I will.”
Caleb hung up his phone and said, “There’s someone with a gun in the park. Michelle closed the gate and is going down by the creek to check it out.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” exclaimed Angie.
“No, I don’t like this at all. I’m going to drive around to the north end and see what’s going on.”
Caleb laced up his shoes and raced to his truck in the driveway. Several Douglas County Sheriff cars were already making the turn onto Highway 86 when he arrived at he intersection, so he waited for them to pass before making the left turn at Franktown. Soon he was speeding down the dirt road toward Michelle’s post, right behind the deputies.
In the meantime, Michelle holstered her weapon and drove over to the north parking lot and trailhead. She checked her radio and proceeded down the trail toward the creek, where it sounded like the shots had come from. As she carefully looked around, she heard a woman screaming from the other side of the creek., “Help, somebody help me!”
Just then a man came running up the trail carrying a military style rifle. She drew her service weapon and commanded him, “Put the gun down,” but the man kept running toward her.
“Stop, and put down your rifle!”
The man still didn’t stop, so Michelle fired a warning shot into the trail near his feet.
At the sharp crack of the pistol discharge, the shooter appeared to regain his senses and stopped running.
“Now throw down your rifle.”
“I have the right to carry this gun. I have my second amendment rights.”
“Your second amendment rights to carry a gun ended when you drove through my gate. Weapons aren’t allowed in a wildlife reserve. Drop it NOW!”
“The man put down his weapon and she slowly approached to detain him.”
“Turn around and put your hands over your head.”
She reached for her handcuffs and clamped them around his left wrist. As she reached for his right arm, he suddenly snatched it away and elbowed her in the head. The blow sent her to the ground and he fled without his rifle, running toward the parking lot where his vehicle was parked.
By then two deputies were already running down the trail toward the incident. The perp was violently knocked to the ground as one of officers clotheslined him as the man tried to run past. With one knee on his back, the officer handcuffed the offender and dragged him to his feet to read him his rights.”
The other officer was checking on Michelle as a third deputy hustled past to check on the woman on the other side of the creek. As the deputy neared the creek, the woman emerged from the brush screaming and sobbing, “He shot my dog!”
“Are you hurt?” asked the officer.
“No, it’s my dog. He’s been shot.”
“I’ll go check on him, you walk up the hill and join them,” as he pointed to the deputy taking Michelle’s statement.
Caleb ran towards Michelle, until the officer ordered him to stay back.
Michelle saw him and told the officer that Caleb was her friend, and the officer then motioned for him to proceed.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asked.
The officer replied, “It looks like she is going to have a pretty good shiner for a while.”
Michelle replied, “Yeah, I think my pride is bruised worse than my eye.”
Behind them, a grim faced officer climbed the steep trail from the creek bed, carrying a motionless Siberian husky. As he neared he said sadly, “He was already dead when I located him.”
As the the deceased husky was placed on the ground before the group, the grief stricken hiker collapsed onto his lifeless body in with the inconsolable despair that only a dog owner could comprehend.
“Ma’am, do you have someone you would like me to call for you?” asked one of the officers.
She was unable to stop crying long enough to respond, but eventually summoned the strength to barely shake her head, indicating there was no one who could help her.
Paramedics were quickly on the scene to assess the victims, immediately noticing Michelle’s rapidly swelling cheek. Another medic approached the victim while a nearby officer said, “I think she’s in shock. She doesn’t seem to be able to speak but I don’t think she’s physically injured.”
“Okay, I’ll see if I can get her calmed down.”
After examining Michelle’s bruised cheek the medic said, “Why don’t we get you up to the truck. We can get you some ice packs and we are going to want to take you in for a quick exam. We have to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“No, I’m okay. I’ll be alright.”
“Sorry dear, it’s protocol. We have to take you in after an incident of this nature.”
“I’ll follow you,” Caleb assured her. “Where are you taking her?”
“We’ll be taking her up to the regional hospital in Parker.”
“It’ll be okay Michelle, I’ll be right behind you. Angie and Jessie can drive up and take your car home.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at the hospital then,” she answered.
Caleb followed the ambulance and parked outside the ER, where the ambulance entered. He went in and asked about Michelle, and the receptionist informed him “They are looking at her right now, but I’ll let you know when you can go in and see her. Just a take a seat for a little bit while they check her over.”
Caleb sat down and opened up his phone to call Angie.
“Hey Caleb, what’s going on?”
“Michelle is gong to have a black eye, but she’s okay.”
“What, a black eye, how did that happen?”
“There was a shooter in the canyon and he punched her when she tried to cuff him.”
“Oh my God, are you sure she’s okay?”
“We are up in Parker at the hospital right now, and they are checking her over. Looks to me like she is going to have a black eye, but she’s able to walk and talk so I think she’s generally okay. She said her pride is bruised worse than her cheek.”
“That sounds like her. Was anyone else hurt?”
“The guy shot a woman’s dog as they were hiking along the river.”
“Oh my God, I hope they throw the book at him.”
“Well for sure he’s going to be charged with assault on an officer and unlawful possession of a gun in a protected area.. It will be up to wildlife officials to charge him with felony animal abuse, but he’s claiming he thought it was a coyote.”
“That’s ridiculous. Even if it was a coyote he wasn’t supposed to be hunting there.”
“Yeah, I imagine that will be taken into consideration, but hunters literally get away with murder around here. A few years ago a guy shot and killed a woman in her driveway. He claimed he thought she was a deer, and got off with a slap on the wrist.”
“That makes me so mad, there should be an extra penalty for stupidity. You can bet I’m going to be at his trial to do everything I can to make sure he gets the max.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. By the way, do you think you and Jessie could drive up to the north entrance and pick up Michelle’s car?”
“I don’t know, let me see if her spare keys are on the hook.”
After a few seconds Angie answered, “Yes we have her spare keys so we’ll go pick it up.”
“Thanks Angie. I imagine we’ll be on our way home shortly.”
“Okay, see you then.”
Soon a smiling Michelle was wheeled into the lobby saying, “I guess I’m done here. They gave me a prescription for pain and some ice packs, but it’s just a bruise.”
“Sounds good. Angie and Jessie are going to get your car, but they should be back home by the time we get there.”
As Caleb pulled into the driveway, Angie ran to the car and opened the passenger door to greet Michelle asking worriedly, “Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”
Michelle smiled and said, “I’m okay, really it’s not that bad.”
“Are you sure, do you want me to get you anything?”
“Seriously, I’m okay!”
Michelle snagged the ice packs as she got out of the car, saying “They gave me these ice packs to keep the swelling down.”
“Okay, let’s get you in onto the couch and we’ll fix you up with one.”
Jessica greeted Michelle at the door with a big hug and exclaimed, “We were so worried about you!”
Michelle returned the hug and repeated, “I’m okay, it’s just a bruise!”
“Well it had to be terrifying, wasn’t it?”
“For a little bit I guess, before he put down the gun.”
“What about when he punched you?”
“That happened so fast I didn’t really have time to think about it.”
Caleb mused, “I wonder how many people are shot by hunters every year?”
“I don’t know, why don’t you look it up,” replied Angie.
“Good idea.”
Caleb reached for his phone and typed in the question.
“It says here that over a thousand people a year are accidentally shot by hunters, with around a hundred fatalities. The guy who shot a woman in her driveway was charged with manslaughter, but pleaded down to criminally negligent homicide.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Jessica.
“I’m looking it up.”
After a few seconds Caleb answered, “Looks like the difference is basically the degree of recklessness. Manslaughter seems to involve simply not caring about your actions, while negligent homicide is just not understanding the possible consequences of one’s actions.”
Jessica added, “This guy will probably get off with nothing then, since he didn’t kill a person.”
Michelle replied, “He will at least get the penalties for hunting in a no shooting zone, and maybe lose his hunting license for a few years.”
“Oh okay, well I guess that’s something. Hey, did Caleb tell you about our Christmas celebration tomorrow?”
“No, what’s going on?”
“Caleb got his book published this morning and we are going to celebrate with a champagne breakfast in the morning at Pierre’s up by the mall. Do you think you will be up for it?”
“That sounds like fun, but I imagine my eye is really going to be a mess in the morning. I think I’m going to have to pass, but you guys can still go, right?”
“Hey Caleb, can you run up to the store in Parker and get us a bottle of champagne? We are going to skip tomorrow and celebrate tonight”
“Sure, no problem. Take me about a half hour I imagine.”
Caleb was soon back from Parker with a nice bottle of champagne, and went into the kitchen to pop it open while Angie retrieved four wine glasses.
As Angie poured the bubbly she asked Jessica, what are you and Rick doing tonight?”
“Oh, nothing. He had to travel out of town for his job.”
“That’s sad, on Christmas even?”
“Yeah, some BS about a deadline.”
“Well why don’t you stay tonight and spend Christmas Eve with us. We can drink and open presents, and watch movies later.”
“Well, I guess I did pick up a couple things for you guys. I’ll go out to my car and get them.”
“No hurry, let’s just sit and enjoy our champagne and relax for a little bit. It was a rough day.”
“Of course.”
Angie held up her glass and repeated the morning’s toast, “To Thundering Hooves!”
“To Thundering Hooves,” they all repeated and clinked their glasses together.
They took a sip and Jessica added, “Merry Christmas!”
All four downed their glasses again and Angie asked, “Should we open presents now?”
“Sure,” responded her friends in unison.
“Let me run out to the car and get mine,” exclaimed Jessica.
“Okay, I’ll start passing around the ones under the tree,” replied Angie.
Jessica put on her shoes and went out into the cold night, while Angie sat beneath the tree reading labels and passing out gifts.
The four close friends each opened their gifts one at a time, until they were all opened and paper was strewn throughout the living room.
“Let me help you clean this up,” said Jessica.
“Okay, wasn’t that fun?” asked Angie.
“Thank you guys so much for having me over. I really didn’t want to spend Christmas alone.”
“Of course Jessie, you are like family to us. We wouldn’t think of leaving you alone tonight!”
Michelle picked up the remote and asked, “Should we watch some more Christmas movies?”
Eventually the little group grew drowsy from the champagne and the days excitement, and Angie announced “Well that’s about it for me. I’m about to fall asleep!”
Michelle took a couple of aspirin and said, “Yeah, I’m going to bed too.”
“Caleb, will you go get Jessie a blanket?”
“I can just sleep on the couch.” offered Jessica.
“Of course honey, Caleb will get you a blanket and a pillow.”
Caleb returned with a heavy blanket, and Angie spread it out on the couch for Jessica.
“Good night all!” exclaimed Caleb.
“Good night and Merry Christmas” replied Jessica.
“Merry Christmas Jessie!”
Episode Nine ««« »»» Episode Eleven
