Part 6 (2/2)
Annja shook her head. ”You'd be surprised what else it can do other than just take a life.”
”Yeah, you'll have to explain it to me. So you got a wolf rummaging through your gear, huh?”
”You know it's a wolf?”
Joey pointed at the ground. ”Tracks. Yep, it's a wolf.”
Annja smirked. ”One wolf under the canopy and one creeping wolf outside. I'm surrounded, I guess.”
”At least you had the good sense to find some shelter. I smelled your fire a ways back, too. I would have come in sooner, but I picked up the wolf stalking you and couldn't interfere.”
”Why not?”
Joey shrugged. ”He's just doing what a wolf does. No sense interrupting him, you know?”
”Is it dangerous?”
”Sure. If he feels threatened. Most likely he's just checking out your stuff. We don't get a lot of humans out this way and the animals around here tend to be naturally suspicious, anyway. He's probably making sure he understands what your intentions are.”
Annja raised her eyebrows and glanced back at the canopy. She couldn't tell what the wolf was doing right then. There wasn't any movement in the darkness under the canopy.
”You should probably put that away,” Joey said.
”Why?”
Joey smiled. ”He's not going to hurt you. Let him get on with what he's doing and he'll leave. He's got other things to be doing tonight, like finding dinner somewhere. He was tracking rabbits when he veered off to check you out. Probably found you the same way I did-the fire.”
”I really needed it or else I would never have had one.”
Joey nodded. ”No sweat. With all that rain, it was a good thing you did build one. You must have been soaked.”
”I was.” Annja thought about Jenny. She would be soaked, too. ”You didn't happen to find any sign of Jenny while you were out looking for me, did you?”
Joey shook his head. ”No, but I thought I'd start with you first.”
”You took the kids back to town?”
”Yeah, they're fine. I think they're leaving tomorrow. They couldn't stop talking about the guns and stuff the entire way back. I've never heard so much talking in my life. It got ridiculous and I had to tell them to shut up.”
Annja smiled. ”Thanks for taking care of them.”
”They wouldn't have lasted without me. Guess you were right.”
”Well, every once in a while I get something correct.”
Joey pointed behind her. ”You really should put that away. The wolf doesn't want to hurt you.”
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