I told the cats to go around one of the little buildings and get into the trees to see if anyone is back there watching us. They took off like little streaks of lightning. Meow.=Ooo, men with guns. Meow,meow.=Yep, we put to sleep. Just then they began to shoot at Sky and myself. I was hit and fell to the ground. Sky did not know where the shots came from so she just began to shoot everywhere, making sure she did not shoot low so as not to hit the cats.

The shots got everyone running over to us. Muffin and MC got themselves in position and “Thwock!”, then a moment later, “Thwock!”, and both men lay on the ground. The cats looked around a bit, then came running back out and over to us. Meow.=there 2 men, now lie down in big sleep. That is the cats way of saying the men are dead. Meow,meow.=We also see huge wolf dog back there, he watch humans, not pay attention to us. Meow.=Yep, he really big huge, not see wolf dog so big before.

I was okay since I was wearing my Kevlar vest. “I should slap you for scaring me like that,” said Sky sternly. “I am sorry, really I am,” I replied, “I just wanted them to think they had shot me and maybe they would move around so we could see how many there was.” I am not sure Sky liked my reason or not, but she seemed to accept it. I was telling the truth though. “I do not know if there are wolves around here,” I said to the cats, “but perhaps someone here has a large dog, some can get to be very large indeed, especially if it was bred with a wolf.”

Meow.=See, it wolf dog. We moved around to the front of the house to wait for Rock and the others. “Look!” exclaimed Tracy as she pointed to the porch. There was a man hanging from the roof. We went to check and discovered it was Marven. He had been dead for a while, but he was not hanging there when we first arrived. We had been on that porch shortly after arriving when we checked to see if the door was locked.

“Did they hang him there after we arrived?” asked Sky. “Yes,” I said, “but Marven was dead already when they hung him up. I think this is just a warning to us to leave or we will suffer the same fate.” “Nice sort of people,” said Astrid. “Yes, so we need to be very careful from now on,” I said to everyone. I called Rock to see how long it would be until they arrived. But there was no contact. The others tried also, but nothing from anyone.

We were able to contact each other, however, so that was good. “Well, who has the ability to stop our signals?” I asked everyone. “Lavina,” said Tracy, “but she is dead.” “Right, but Toledo is still around,” I reminded them, “and he is the one that invented this ability to stop signals. I guess we just have to wait for Rock to return.” “Um, are we planning to stay here at night?” asked Kristina. “Getting a little nervous?” I asked her.

“Well, now that you mention it,” she responded, “perhaps just a little.” “Well, since we only have one chopper, that would mean two trips each time,” I told everyone, “so it makes sense for us to stay out here until this is over.” “That is okay with me,” said Tracy, and the other girls agreed with that too. I hope that is the right decision anyway. Guess we will find out. Meow!=Chop, chop come! I tried listening but heard nothing. After nearly 5 minutes I could finally hear the chopper coming in the distance.

Finally Rock was landing on the pad. “Hey, look what I found, a hitchhiker,” said Rock, all smiles. John had met them at the airport. He had called Baldwin who told him where we had gone, so Baldwin sent him along in one of his jets and he arrived just before Rock returned for the other girls. “Nice to have you along for this one,” I said to John, “we have had company already, 2 men that are now dead, and Marven, who is still hanging on the porch.”

“Well, that means that someone else knows about those jewels,” said John, “and does not want any competition. Leaving Marven’s body out here was to let you know it is not healthy staying around.” “Yes, that is what I figured too,” I said, “Rock, did you not get a call from me?” “No,” he said, “and I tried to call you, but the phone was dead, or something.” “That is the work of Toledo,” I said, “but I doubt he is working by himself, more likely he is working with, or for, someone else.” Suddenly this huge wolf appeared behind us, grabbed Muffin and ran off into the trees with MC and Storm in hot pursuit…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.