The Wolf Experiments

The barn was pretty quiet today. The earthy smell of dry grass lingered like the last shreds of a phantom. Nick was bent in front of a horse. He lifted a hoof to check for cracks. Without turning around, he said:

“Hey there. Want to take Rebel out for another spin?”

Alex shook her head in disagreement. She instead moved towards the horse’s stall. She produced sliced pieces of apple and fed the horse out of her palm.

“Are things going well with Adrian?” Nick asked.

They were and Alex nodded her assent.

“I wanted to ask you a few questions about the stallion.”

Alex turned quickly, feeling her heart leap into her throat. Why was he asking her instead of Sultan?

“We released some mares out into the hills in hopes of beginning a herd. We knew the stallion drove them off somewhere but we have never seen them since. Did they survive?”

She shook her head.

“Do you know what happened to them?”

Alex bent down to the ground and wrote a single word in the dirt.

“Wolves,” Nick repeated. . “It’s a shame. That poor creature has been alone all this time.”

Alex had seen the stallion in action and poor was not a word to describe him. He could well take care of himself and he had Sultan watching out for him as well. She leaned against the wall as Nick looked in on another one of the horses.

“The man who came here seemed to know you. Was he the man who abducted you?” Nick asked suddenly. This was the first time he would be talking about Pretorius since the attack.

Alex nodded, wondering why Andy left Nick in the dark. Nick was the one that assembled everybody. He should be privy to every little bit of information. What with him being the one to make the rules.

“I’ve seen him somewhere, just can’t remember where exactly. Maybe in the media.” He thought about things for a moment before turning back to her. “Andy is taking many new precautions and measures to protect you. Hawk has been busy repairing the glitches that caused our security system to fail. We are doing everything we can to discover how he found you and how he found the valley.”

Nick seemed to be satisfied that he had expressed his support. Alex turned away with a lump growing in her throat. She still felt gross and ugly, a monster.

Nick suddenly put his arm around Alex’s shoulder and held her affectionately. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She stood for a while, watching Nick at work again. Silently, and without notice, she drifted back to the complex.

“Wake up! Wake up, dearie!” The urgency behind the voice was just enough to jar Alex out of this nightmare.

When she woke up, she was drenched in sweat and a foreign yet comforting arm was placed around her.

Adrian.

Alex breathed heavily and looked around furtively while Adrian crooned at her, repeating that it was just a nightmare.

“You must stop,” he whispered. “You have no concept of the time that has passed since these awful events occurred and as you find out more about your friends, you create their terrors, too, like Nick.”

A pained expression crossed her face and she blinked hard, fighting tears. Adrian sensed her struggle and his gaze softened.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It isn’t your fault. I’m merely concerned.”

His grasp tightened as he drew her closer. The tears she had tried to blink away welled in her eyes. Maybe he should have been afraid of her. But Alex wilted beneath his stare and pulled her bony, wobbly knees to her chest to hug them tightly. He hesitated only slightly before kissing her forehead. She sank into the cushions.

“I want to help you. Sometimes, you make me forget those who I have lost and give me a greater sense of purpose. When Nick first told me that he wouldn’t allow me to leave, I was angry. But now, I’m glad.”

It never occurred to Alex that Nick would go to such lengths to protect the valley and she suddenly felt horrible that Adrian had focused on her problems instead of his. Grabbing the notebook, she scribbled an apology and felt selfish. Then, the sudden realization hit that his feelings for her might be more than just friendship caused her to break out in a sweat and feel dizzy.

“Something good will become of everything. I just know it. Breathe,” he whispered. “I’ll stay with you for a while.”

Alex breathed deeply, and when she released the air, the tension left with it. She took Adrian’s hand and when his fingers entwined with hers, she closed her eyes knowing it was safe to rest. She drifted off to sleep with his fingers still entwined in hers.

When she opened her eyes, rays of the sun were bouncing off her bed. Adrian was nowhere in sight and Amandas was already prancing around the apartment impatiently. There were specks of dirt scattered around the floor so he had already gone on his morning walk. Alex walked over to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face before brushing her teeth and hair.

As she sprinted down the corridor, Amandas bounded beside her, gently nipping at her hand. From the hallway, she could feel a fresh breeze and knew Andy had opened the complex to let out the stale air. Amandas stopped, lifted his nose, and raced away with his nails clicking across the floor. Disappointed that the he wouldn’t share his adventure, her step was less energetic as she joined the others for breakfast. Adrian, freshly showered, smiled from the table. He had already set a place for her. She beamed and blushed simultaneously.

Hawk’s dark eyes held more curiosity than the others did, as if he tried to figure out what kind of relationship she shared with Adrian. They were together more than they were apart.

“Any adventures planned for the day?” Hawk asked.

Adrian looked at her. “We were thinking about exploring the valley.”

“Are you going by foot or horseback?” Eric asked.

Alex lifted her sneaker, pointing.

“That’s more exercise than I’d care for,” Eric said. “Why not take the horses?”

“Alex rides nearly every day,” Hawk replied.

“I have a wonderful little stallion that you might like,” Nick said.

“Do you mean Red?” Hawk asked.

“I know you had your eye on him, but Adrian is going to need a strong horse to keep up with Alex,” Nick said.

Hawk smiled mischievously, leaning his elbows onto the table. “Why not let Adrian take Rebel, and let Alex ride the stallion.”

“That’s enough of that,” Nick scolded, giving her hand a squeeze. “I still don’t know how I feel about that creature.”

Alex felt a spark travel across her body at the touch of his fingers. Nick had captured her attention. He slouched in his seat, merging with the chair, and his abrupt manner transitioned to bitterness.

“The stallion keeps his secrets and so does this valley. If only I could forget that my wife and child deserve a proper burial. One day, I will find them and have closure.”

The unexpected turn in the conversation hit Alex like a bolt of lightning and it occurred to her that of all the questions arising in her thoughts, she never wondered about how or why Andy had taken her from the hospital. Her fork fell from her thin fingers and clattered loudly to the floor. She saw a woman, her mother, hair plastered to her face by brutal, driving rain. A pale, ghostly form, Nick, bled heavily in the street. She visualized the images as if they were puzzle pieces—puzzle pieces that now fit neatly together.

Adrian reached out for her other hand and called her name.

The woman shrieked as her world plunged into darkness. A black bag closed over her head before she tumbled into a van. It drove for hours while she tried to protect her children. When the van plunged into a tunnel, her mother was taken out and Alex never saw her again. She might have been five or six years old. Nick had aged in sixteen years, and she knew there were times when he had nearly given up.

“Sometimes Alex is overwhelmed by her memories. They can be triggered by innocent conversation,” Adrian explained to the others. “I’ll take her back to her room. She is fine, but she should rest.”

Alex felt their eyes on her as Adrian led her away. She twisted her head around to look at Nick again, to see what had always been there. They both shared the same blue eyes, the same facial shape.

Once they were in the corridor, however, Alex moved instinctively to reach the lower levels. She knew what she was looking for now, and she knew where to find it. Nick came to the valley searching for his wife. He never knew about the old laboratory. Somewhere, the trail had gone cold.

When she reached the door, Andy blocked the entrance. “It isn’t there,” he said. “I know what you want.”

She turned to look at Adrian, not understanding what was happening.

“How long have you known that Nick was her father?” Adrian asked.

“For a little while,” he said. “Let’s talk some place more private.”

Alex was so shocked that Adrian had to give her a tug to keep her moving. Andy escorted them to his empty quarters. His apartment lacked warmth and personality. The walls and shelves were empty. There were no pictures, collectibles, or magazines—nothing soft or reminiscent of his past. The mattress had a pile of blankets folded on top of it, as if it was an afterthought.

“I spend most my time in the laboratory,” he explained as he noticed her stare and invited them to sit.

Someone set a can of soda in her hand. Andy flipped open a small tile square, revealing a hidden panel, and when that opened, a safe appeared. He quickly inputed the combination and another door popped open. Andy removed a book and dropped it on the coffee table.

“These measures are taken to protect Nick from the truth. He is not yet ready as I am sure you understand.”

Adrian’s face was grim. “Alex has fought tremendous internal demons. You don’t realize how it might have helped her to know that someone else could share this burden.”

“I wasn’t sure how much Alex remembered before awaking from her coma in the hospital. The doctor said she might have memory lapses.” Andy said. “I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“Alex has remembered very little,” Adrian said. “Her first memory is waking in the hospital after the car accident. Everything else, all of her life, are only fragments of memories that surface primarily in nightmares.”

“I’m sorry,” Andy said. “Why didn’t she come to me?”

Alex felt her cheeks growing hot and tightened her lips. I’m right here!

Adrian turned sharply and touched her hand. “We don’t mean to ignore you, and no one has forgotten you are here.” He kissed her forehead apologetically and returned his gaze to Andy. “Alex doesn’t know who to trust. She knew that someone was trying to kill her, and she thought you were hiding the truth from her.”

Andy stared at Adrian. “How do you know all of this?”

“Alex and I can communicate quite effectively.”

“I see,” Andy said. He stood up restlessly and crossed the room to the window. When he paced back to the table, he seemed to choose his words carefully. “My service to Nick began several years after his wife’s disappearance. Taking information from the police, I found clues that put me on the trail of Argon Pretorius. Nick lost nine years of his life in his pursuits before finding the valley, and as he began to rebuild here, I continued my search.”

“Alex and Sutlan have combed through as much information as they could salvage from the lower levels. In one of the other journals there is a vague description of another child,” said Adrian. “We suspected the existence of another diary. Alex learned a little of her creation, and knew that the rest of the answers had to exist elsewhere.”

Alex reached for the leather bound book and opened it to the first page. She showed it to Adrian.

“The Wolf Experiments,” he read aloud.

“It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realized the connection between Alex, Nick, and the experiments. With part of equation still missing, I went searching for answers. This is what I found,” Andy said, pointing to the journal.

A siren suddenly blared through the room. Andy leaped to his feet. “The valley has been breached. Alex, for God’s sake stay here.”

This is some kind of trick, Alex thought wearily. Whenever she was close to answers, a catastrophe erupted in its wake.

Outside, laser cannon fire blasted the fields and shook the ground. Her thoughts were suddenly upon Amandas. Adrian made a desperate grab for her legs as she shot through the window. Discomfort radiated across her thigh and hip. Where would she find him? She heard Adrian grunt as he tried to follow, and she sprinted quickly across the field afraid that whatever happened, Adrian would be hurt in the aftermath.

Amandas was probably running for his life. Blood thundered in her ears. A great weight sat against her lungs, hindering her breath. A whistle alerted her to the shadow of a stranger—an all too familiar song embedded deep in her memory. A man stood at the edge of the forest. Without slowing, she took the dagger from her boot, recognizing the doctor. As he leapt forward to meet her, she let the weapon fly, smiling with satisfaction as it embedded deep into the man’s shoulder.

“I hadn’t expected you to fight like this,” he said flatly, seemingly unaffected by the wound.

She felt her eyes burning. In the surrounding forest, the wolves raised their voices as if feeling her fear. Pretorius heard them, too, and let out a cry of triumph.

“I wasn’t a failure. Look at you!”

Adrian suddenly appeared beside her and glared at the doctor. “They are coming for you, man.”

Doubt flickered in his eyes just before the wolves crashed through the trees and into the clearing. Pretorius took a step back, and Alex simply pointed to him. As a pack, the wolves growled menacingly while Pretorius twisted his neck, vainly looking for an avenue of escape.

“Never look back,” Adrian said quietly. “That is what you told her.”

“Alexandra!” Pretorius screamed, lunging for her one last time.

He fell under the weight of the wolves’ bodies, their sharp teeth tearing at his flesh. Alex felt her eyes blaze with unexpected triumph despite the horror. His screams faded as the wolves tore him limb from limb. Someone ran toward Alex and she swung around, unsure what to expect.

Andy pulled her into his arms, guiding her away from the grisly scene. “It’s okay,” he repeated several times.

From the edge of the forest Sultan appeared, pointing toward another part of the field. Alex started to run in that direction.

“What is it?” Andy shouted after her.

Adrian answered, “It’s Amandas.”

Amongst the sharp outline of the trees, rocks, and brush, a form shuddered in the fading red sunset. Alex lifted the hundred-pound wolf easily into her arms but Sultan was beside her in an instant to take over with his greater strength. They reached the complex a few minutes later and Sultan slid Amandas into Adrian’s waiting arms.

It felt too cold in the building and despite the medical suite being unsuitable for animals, Adrian and Andy set to work. Everyone gathered around the wolf.

Nick appeared confused. “What happened to that man?”

“He died,” Andy answered.

“How?”

“The wolves killed him.”

“They attacked in the middle of the day?”

Adrian glanced at Alex and she nodded that he could try to explain.

“He came for Alex, and she asked the wolves to help her.”

“She did what?” Nick asked, obviously bewildered.

Alex kneeled beside her beloved wolf. Andy strapped an oxygen mask to the wolf’s muzzle and quickly prepped his leg to set an intravenous catheter.

“His body is in the west field,” Andy told Nick as he worked. “Someone should—should clean things up.”

“I’ll collect the remains,” Nick said.

“Take someone with you.”

“I’ll go,” Hawk said. “Come on, Nick.”

Nick threw her a sideways glance before leaving. The room fell silent. The big wolf swung his head a little from side to side, eyes deepened in concentration. As she spread her fingers through his coat, his body warmed. Blood and dirt matted his fur.

Andy continued their earlier conversation. “Had I found the journal earlier, it would have explained why Alex tested negative for radiation exposure. We need to be extremely careful how we proceed with this. Nick doesn’t know that his wife was pregnant with twins.”

Her head snapped up, registering those last words.

Adrian winced. “Alex didn’t know that either.”

A gust of air blew gently from the wolf’s nose, grazing her skin like a soft touch. The way Andy continued to discuss wolves and different methods of research disturbed her. Sometimes it was difficult to separate one scientist from another.

Andy stopped speaking when the door opened. Eric came inside, surveyed the surgery in progress, and put his hand compassionately on Alex’s shoulder.

“Will he live?” Eric asked.

“He will,” Andy answered. “Nick and Hawk will be bringing in a body. When they get here, will you help them take it to the morgue?”

The door closed and they were alone again. Andy continued to talk as he worked.

In a dreamy state, Alex suddenly wondered if the wolf might be her brother and stared into the wise, white face. One day he might become a man, as she felt like she was slowly becoming a wolf. She knew that over time, cells changed. What if all of the genetic manipulation made them both capable of transformation? Or was that only in movies?

Adrian looked at her as if he was about to say something but suddenly changed his mind and asked a different question. “When did you find Alex? Was it before the accident?”

“Just a week before,” Andy answered. “After interviewing a man Pretorius attempted to murder with an axe, he tried to help me get into the facility. Pretorius took off with the children. I didn’t have any confirmation that they were Nick’s—only that their mother was taken by the same man.”

“Where is her brother now?” Adrian asked.

“I don’t know.”

Alex looked at Amandas. The wolf whimpered softly.

Nick returned with her dagger and handed it to her silently. The blade was clean and dry. She slipped it into her boot.

“Are you all right?” Nick asked, hesitantly touching her arm.

Andy would not tell him the truth, and until he knew, Nick would suffer. It was almost more than Alex could bear.

After Andy finished treating Amandas, he asked to continue their discussion in his apartment. Alex’s mind and body were numb and she longed for her quiet apartment and warm bed. But she agreed. Soon, they were nestled in his soundproof walls.

“What are you waiting for with Nick?” Adrian asked.

“His emotions are still volatile, and he may not be able to accept the details.”

“Perhaps seeing that she is alive and well will help him to overcome his feelings,” Adrian suggested.

“Are you well, Alex?”

She faltered at his words, shaking her head slowly.

“Well,” Andy said. “Maybe it will be easier discussing everything with Nick once we discover what happened to Alex’s twin.”

Adrian shook his head, “I disagree.”

“Let me think on it a little longer.”

Adrian nodded and took her hand. “Why don’t you try to sleep a little?”

Adrain remained with her until dawn. Alex went to check on Amandas and had also decided to find Sultan to fill him in on the details. Eric and Hawk were out searching for whatever ship Pretorius had brought to the valley. They suspected he had some kind of technology that disabled their security. Alex retrieved the journal from her room before meeting Adrian in the barn. Nick was waiting there with his stallion, Red.

Adrian shook Nick’s hand. “I appreciate your generosity.”

“Consider him your horse for as long as you’re with us,” Nick replied.

Fleetingly, Alex felt her stomach churn. It never occurred to her that Adrian might leave now that Nick trusted him. What would happen if he did go? Alex shook the thought away, climbing into the saddle. They rode away from the barn and Adrian remained silent until they were well into the woods. He lifted his voice above the creak of leather, the soft clip-clop of the horses’ hooves.

“I won’t leave you,” Adrian said. “Things are different now.”

He suddenly became a strange presence, physically in attendance, but mentally off in a place she could not follow. She watched him intently, eyes burning, mouth in a rigid line. She thought about the religion he once practiced and wondered what prevented him from reuniting with his family. If he changed, maybe they could, too.

“It’s a confusing existence,” Adrian said a short while later. “People have the freedom to be foolish and naive. I nearly lost my life to carry the fundamentalist’s words beyond this planet. It was an extreme wake-up call.”

Reaching the stony passage to the hidden cove, they dismounted and walked the horses. She could hear the stallion’s hooves thundering against the rocks. Sultan appeared on horseback and apologized for his dramatic approach, thinking they were strangers invading his sanctuary. He ushered them to a cave Alex never before noticed and erected a barrier to keep the horses from running home. At the end of the tunnel was a sliver of light that opened to a large chamber where a small fire burned. There wasn’t any smoke. A thick pile of grass in one corner obviously served as a bed.

“I’d like to build a real home in this chamber,” Sultan said thoughtfully. “There are plenty of downed trees I could use, but I have no tools. Do you think you might be able to help me get what I need?”

Alex nodded.

“I like the privacy and open air after living in a basement for so long. It probably seems strange to you that someone would want to live this way.” Sultan looked at Alex. “How is your white wolf?”

Adrian answered, “He’s going to be okay.”

“Why have you all ridden out here?”

“There have been a few startling developments,” Adrian said. “Alex wants me to tell you about everything that transpired last night.”

Sultan grabbed several bottles of water and passed them out. Although he had logs burning on the fire, they were ceramic. Alex wasn’t familiar with the technology that kept them burning without a power source. Perhaps they were solar.

Sultan listened while Adrian explained how Nick was her father and that she had a missing twin brother. He went on to describe more about the research and asked if Sultan could help them convince Andy that Nick needed to know the truth. As Alex witnessed the exchange, she thought it was ironic that Amandas fought to become a man, while her body seemed to seek out the wolf. A heavy stupor clouded her mind from either fatigue or the way she convulsively clenched her fists, waiting for Sultan to erupt in anger. Her eyes darted from one man to the other, glowing sometimes in the artificial firelight. The wind still managed to twist and weave into the cave, and Alex moved closer to the flames, shivering. She noticed markings on the wall, a calendar of sorts. It grew foggy and dark outside and condensation clung to her skin. Alex disliked the dampness.

When Adrian finished, Sultan stared into the fire. His guarded expression flickered, his lips and ears twitching sensitively.

“I’ve never been very fond of Nick but he should know the truth,” he said finally. “There is a greater purpose to it all now.”

The fire crackled and beyond the cave thunder rolled. Sultan crossed the area to sit next to Alex in the shadows. He draped his arm gently over her shoulders. “From reading the journals, I think that Nick’s wife was the fourth or fifth woman taken. All of the women were in the early stages of pregnancy.” Sultan looked at Alex. “The case file on your mother had her picture. You look a lot like her. I’m surprised that Nick hasn’t figured it out yet.”

“All of them are dead?” Adrian asked.

“It appears that way.”

Alex held out the last journal that Andy had given her. She no longer had any desire to read it.

Sultan took it. “I’ll let you know what I find. Those damned experiments,” he suddenly hissed. “Doesn’t feel like they ever really ended.”

Adrian whistled softly. “The wolf experiments changed in nature.”

“The men now don’t do anything bad,” Sultan said. “I’ve watched them bring life to a dead valley and protect it. I understand the larger picture.”

“If that’s true, then why do you fear them?”

“I can’t help it,” Sultan said. “Do you think Pretorius continued his research elsewhere?”

“It would be very small minded of us to think that he didn’t recreate his laboratory,” Adrian admitted. “There could still be others. I wonder if Andy ever discovered anyone.”

When they returned to the barn, Adrian took care of the horses while Alex hurried back to the medical suite to check on Amandas, and she was overjoyed to see Amandas wag his tail and show his teeth in a happy wolf grin. Alex remembered how he had blown out the candles on her cake perhaps knowing it was a day they shared. It had been his birthday, too.

“There is one more thing,” Andy said. “I need another sample of your blood.”

After he finished Andy idly stroked her hair. He seemed almost apologetic. With nothing to do but wait, Alex went back to her apartment. She decided to shower but was overcome by the poundings of a headache that sent her crawling into bed, nauseous and aching. Alex had no idea how long she had been there when she heard footsteps.

“I let myself in,” Andy said and hurried to her when he saw her face. “You look pale. Are you feeling okay?”

She pointed to head.

“Do you have a headache?”

She nodded.

“I can fix that. I’ll be right back.”

She dressed while he was gone but dropped back down on the bed and covered her eyes with a groan. She started to fall asleep but awakened with a faint sting as Andy leaned over with an infuser. She could hear the wind rising outside and the lights flickered in the room.

After a few minutes, Andy asked, “Better?”

Alex nodded again, pushing herself up on her elbows.

“Do I need to talk to you about sex?” he asked abruptly.

A red blush warmed her face.

“Alright…good. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation,” he said, smiling faintly. “I just wanted to be certain. You aren’t a little girl anymore, Alex. The young men are very fond of you. We don’t want any, uh, surprises.”

Had she changed so much since she arriving? She went to the mirror to stare at her reflection. She had lost a little baby fat in some places, filled out in others. She turned away. This was all she needed, one more complication in her already very complicated life.