'We have to try,' I said pushing the barrel of the gun away from the horse. 'Please, put the gun away.'
Sela sat down, put her head in her hands and cried hard. I put my bloody hand around her neck and massaged it slowly.
After a few minutes, I went to Hope and finished cleaning her wounds. I wrapped her leg with some of the damp shirts. Sela went over and examined Tempest. She hugged the horse and continued crying.
Hope's breathing was also very strained. I took our wool blanket over toward the horse, slid my pack with Jerky resting on top near the horse's belly and lay down. I continued to pet both animals and whisper soft words of encouragement.
The morning sun hit my face and felt warm, comforting. At first, I had totally forgotten about the attacking wolves. I inhaled deeply and could smell the fresh scent of the morning dew. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Sela kneeling with her hands in prayer, looking at me.
'Are you all right?' I asked sitting up slowly and rubbing my eyes. 'Are you praying?'
Sela just stared at me with an expression of awe and reverence. Her eyes were like saucers.
'You're scaring me,' I said.
She extended her arm, pointed and with a controlled, soft voice said, 'Look.'
Hope was standing next to Tempest and eating grass.
Sela jumped up, came to me and helped me stand. 'You did this,' she said, putting her arms around my neck and hugging me.
The grip on me almost made me choke. 'I don't understand.'
'You saved them.'
As if on cue, Jerky came from around one of the bushes with a dead mouse in her mouth. I ran up to the cat and picked her up. For a change, she didn't protest. I examined the cat and there were no signs of any wounds. Her neck was normal and strong.
'You did this,' Sela said once again, coming up to me. She petted Jerky who responded with purring and nuzzling into Sela's hand. I looked back and forth from horse to cat as if I were a spectator at a tennis match.
Now I was absolutely freaked out. I handed Jerky to Sela and went to Hope. The horse lifted her head and immediately licked my face. Tempest looked up, came over to us and also licked my face.
'See, they know you did this,' Sela said with tears streaming down her face.
I examined Hope's wounds. They were completely healed with not even a hint of a scar or new pink flesh. It was as if nothing ever happened.
Sela announced again that somehow I had cured them, restoring them to the picture of perfect health. Being dazed and practically in shock, I quietly turned away from the horses and walked to the stream. Sela kept her litany of praises going as she set Jerky down to put more wood on the fire.
At the stream, I knelt down and splashed water on my face. 'What in God's name is going on?' I whispered. 'There has to be some sort of explanation. Hell, I haven't been to church in years. For that matter, neither had a lot of other people. No, there had to be some weird supernatural explanation. I didn't do anything.'
I sat by the stream for a long time, staring into the clear water.
'You okay?' Sela asked, coming up behind me and putting her hands on my shoulders. Her voice was calmer.
Shaking my head from side to side, I muttered, 'Yeah, I just can't figure it out and…um…I'm a little scared.'
Sela sat down next to me. I picked up a handful of stones and started tossing them into the stream.
'There's a power in you, Heckel. I know it now without a doubt. I saw what you did to end that horrible storm and now this. Not to mention what you told me about how you had that extra strength in your legs to push that old rusty VW Bug that you and Leonard used to get away from Madeline.'
'Well, I didn't ask for this…whatever it is,' I said, throwing a stone harder.
Sela sat quietly for a while staring into the water, watching as I threw the stones.
'What am I suppose to do with this power? That is, if I really have a-'
'Stop Madeline,' Sela said with a hint of excitement.
'Oh, riiiight,' I said with a full load of sarcasm. 'Me, a short, half-scared, shy, wimpy-'
'You are not wimpy!' she said defiantly. 'And stop putting yourself down. You have a power in you that is destined to save humanity.'
Laughing nervously, I just threw more stones in the water and shook my head in disbelief. 'Oh, come on.'
'I know this must be hard to accept, but I'm sure I'm right after what happened last night.'
Trying to change the subject, I asked, 'Do you think those wolves were sent from Madeline?'
'I don't think so. They didn't have that weird, demonic aura to them or glowing eyes. No, I think these were just a pack of hungry wolves.'
We continued to reenact the whole violent scene, praising each other's actions.
'Look, can we not discuss this for a while. I mean, I…um… I am really confused.'
Sela stood up, offered her hand and pulled me up. She put her arms around my waist, leaned into me and kissed me deeply. The kiss was reassuring and comforting. It made my head swim and my insides melt.
After the kiss, Sela continued to hug me. Softly she said into my ear, 'I love you and will always be there for you.'
'I love you too.'
Jerky had walked up behind us and with her back arched and purring loudly, she curled around our legs.
'Guess someone wants some breakfast,' Sela said looking down at the cat.
'Sounds good to me too.'
The three of us walked back to the camp. As Sela bought out the food, I walked over to Hope and petted her. 'Whoever named you Hope surely had it right,' I said softly. 'We definitely need all the Hope we can get.'
Chapter 11
The next week passed smoothly and without any trouble, either natural or supernatural. As I rode Hope, I kept thinking of the attack from the wolves and what had happened afterwards. My mind reeled from all the unexplained occurrences and question after question put up billboards in my brain.
As we progressed south, warmer weather thankfully tagged along. A few of the days were unseasonably hot and the nights offered cool, pleasant sleeping temps. There was an occasional shower, but no severe storms.
Along the way, we cautiously stopped at small towns to scavenge for anything useful, but we mostly looked for food. The pickings were slim. Jerky found us a rabbit again and we triumphed in her hunting skills. And of course, I started looking at my traveling companion in a new light.
Sela and I avoided talking about the wolf attack. The last time she brought it up, I got a bit testy. Why? I don't exactly have an answer for that. I think the flood of emotions associated with the real answer or answers most likely caused my snippy retort.
Sela always rode ahead of me and kept the pace fairly steady and fast. Jerky traded off riding with both of us. Today, she was on Sela's shoulder. Sela slowed down and pointed to a creek off in the distance.
'Looks good to me. I could use a break too,' I shouted. As we got closer to the water, Jerky jumped off Tempest and ran ahead. 'Guess she needs a break as well.'
After we dismounted and led the horses to the water, I said softly in my most apologetic tone, 'I'm sorry.'
'For what?' Sela asked looking down at me.
'For…um…snapping at you. That was rude of me.'
'No need. I understand how you must feel,' she said caressing my cheek.
'It's just that…well, I've never been a very religious person or thought much about the whole supernatural stuff.' I could tell Sela chose her words carefully so as not to rile me up. I resisted the urge to get defensive.
