Olympus Hall

University of Calgary

Friday late afternoon

Laura rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stepped into the living area of the apartment. Like many a caffeine junkie, she pulled out the ingredients for a cup of coffee by muscle memory, not becoming aware of her surroundings until that first hit of her drink. She leaned back against the kitchen counter and sighed with contentment. She noticed that El was standing before the large living room window that looked out toward the west. How long has he been standing there just looking at the mountains?

“Morning El, how ya feeling?”

“Ok, I guess,” his shrug and quiet tone said otherwise to her.

Well crap, guess I am not going to the mall today. Ah well, I need to get out of the city too. “Ok buddy, go get dressed.” She walked over to him and gave her taller roommate a push back toward his room.

“Uh, what?”

“You and me are going to the mountains this morning,” Laura said as she gave him a second light push.

“Yeah? Umm, thanks.” A grin spread across his face as he turned to head back to his room. Laura shook her head and took another sip of her coffee.

Highway 1

West of Calgary

Laura gunned the engine of her Ford Ranger pickup and accelerated around a large semi-trailer before she swerved back into the right lane ahead of it.

“Big trucks are the worst for throwing up rocks on the highways, and I just put in a new windshield,” she had to speak up over the Dustin Lynch song blasting over the stereo.

El remained gazing out the window saying, “Windshields don’t last long in Whitehorse either. Dad usually keeps driving until he can’t see past the cracks anymore.” The tall mountain peaks were calling him to explore. All that new territory to discover, run through, scents and scenes to investigate. Sharp peaks, steep-sided mountains, and green forests rose up on both sides of the highway.

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“I can lower the window so you can stick your head out if you want.”

“Wolf, not dog.”

Laura chuckled, “I think you will like the area around the Spray Lakes. I went hiking there with my brothers last year. Those sucks hate hiking with me since I don’t get tired, I just pound them into the ground. Do you have any siblings?” She jerked the wheel, guiding her speeding pickup around a slower sedan.

“Just one, he is younger than me and lives with Mom in Vancouver.”

“I thought you grew up in Whitehorse?”

“Mom tried living there, but could not take the winter. She moved back with my little brother. Dad stayed in Whitehorse so I had the wilderness to be in, you know as a way of exploring my animal forms.”

“I guess city people didn’t welcome a wolf running down the hallways?” This is the most I have ever heard the guy say.

“I do remember a lot of screams in the school cafeteria the first time I became a wolf. I only bit one boy who was beating up my friend. It wasn’t even a bad bite, just a nip on the arm.”

“City people are such wimps.”

“Truth.” El lapsed back into silence. A minute later Laura had to work hard to contain her laughter when he rolled down the window to feel the mountain air on his face.

Above the Spray Lakes

El lopped easily through the underbrush, swerving around trees and bushes. His long wolf body bunched and spray with each stride, eating up the distance up the mountainside. Laura ran behind him, working hard to keep up. His four legs certainly held an advantage running up the steep mountainside.

They had left the parked truck on a dirt road over an hour ago. Laura had pulled a daypack on, loaded with several good-sized water bottles as El pulled off his t-shirt and pants revealing his black unitard from the Academy. Without a word he started running, shifting into the wolf when he got past the treeline. During their run El had led the way, mostly keeping to thin paths in the forest, game trails Laura thought. He would occasionally slow his pace and sniff, gathering in the local scents before tearing off again. She would swear that he was smiling as he ran, his head held high, and his tongue hanging out.

Without warning El froze his legs in place, skidding to a sudden stop. Laura stumbled to the side in an effort to not run into the large timber wolf.

“Woah, what the hell? You trying to get run over?” Laura then noticed that El’s body was held lower to the rough ground, his hackles raised. He took several slow steps, his gaze going from side to side. “Dude, what is wrong?”

El turned to look at her and shifted, his features rapidly blurring and becoming human once again. He was hunched over, tense and wary.

“Can you smell it?”

“Smell what?”

“Human blood, lots of it.”