The sound of the shotgun blast followed by the pain from Travis, and the panic from the others, told Alpha Calvin immediately that something had gone horribly wrong. He took off at a dead run for the next street, as his Pack members had been spread out to search the houses along the way out of town. He passed the horrified students in the hay wagon and burst into the yard where his naked Pack members were kneeling over a prone wolf.
With Eric up on the tractor, James was the only one not surrounding Travis. James was also naked but had a middle aged man by the throat and was holding him against the wall next to his front door. He could see the shotgun at his feet and a scared family staring out the window. He shifted, looking at Travis he knew it was bad. He had taken buckshot to the head and chest and was bleeding from multiple wounds. "Get him in the wagon, and get pressure on the wounds. MOVE!"
He didn't wait for them to pick him up, he had another problem right now. "JAMES! Stand down. Let him talk." James hesitated briefly then let the man go; the man sank to his butt as he tried to get his breath back. "What happened here?"
"We were searching for survivors, Travis smelled something and howled. As he came into the yard this asshole stepped out and shot him."
Calvin looked at the man who was scared to death and shaking. "It was a big fucking wolf," he said. "I didn't know you were real. Werewolves... I didn't KNOW! I was just protecting my family!" The door opened and his wife handed out a stack of shorts; smiling, he put a pair on and held the rest. When he was decent, his wife and ten-year-old daughter came out.
"It's my fault," Calvin said. "I should have known that a big wolf might scare someone, it's not the first time tonight a human has pointed a gun at us." He looked at the hay wagon where they were loading Travis up. "Look, we're evacuating survivors to Corvallis. There are people there who can help, food, shelter. You can come with us, but we have to leave RIGHT now. I've got to get him to the hospital."
The man stood and pulled his wife into a hug, talking briefly they turned and nodded. "We're in. It's too dangerous here."
Calvin waved them and they moved towards the tractor. "What about our stuff? I'm Carol, by the way."
"No time, if it is still here the next time we come up here we can grab what you need. Come on." He helped her up into the back of the hay wagon while her husband Mitch helped their daughter Emma up. The two of them jumped on and Eric put it in gear, accelerating down the road. Calvin tossed the shorts to the other naked men, much to the disappointment of some of the college girls, and went to check Travis. They had laid hay down in the center of the wagon to try and make him comfortable; he couldn't reach him over the bond as he had passed out. Two of the girls had first aid training, they were using strips of clothing to try and stop the bleeding. "How is he?"
A blonde-haired girl looked up. "I'm not a vet, but only two of the holes are bleeding bad. His breathing is labored, he might have a collapsed lung. He needs help now."
Calvin walked to the front where he could talk to Eric. "Eric- give me as much speed as you can, I don't care if we all throw up back here, we need to get him to Corvallis."
"This IS top speed," he replied.
They were moving at a decent pace, about as fast as a wolf could run, so there wasn't much else he could do. He moved back past where Travis was laying; the family was at the very back, looking warily at the people in the wagon. Calvin opened the bond to his Pack members so they could hear what he was saying, and a number of students were listening in as well. "This... this was an accident. It's not your fault, I don't blame you for shooting him and nobody else will either. We needed to be smarter than that, we didn't think about how we would be seen, and that is on me."
Mitch watched as Calvin's head looked down, he could tell he was blaming himself. "No, it's my fault too. I heard the tractor, I should have thought about maybe using dogs for the search. I was scared... I just reacted. It's on me too." He sat forward and pulled Calvin into a bro hug.
"Lots of bad shit has gone down lately, Calvin. We'll get past this too." His hug was soon joined by his wife and daughter, and pretty soon all of them were crying. The students gave them some privacy and in a few minutes they sat back and wiped their eyes. "So, we've been hiding in the basement since the world went to hell, what has been happening out here?"
Calvin waved Rob, Derek and James over and they moved more to the center, as the students were all interested in what all was going on. They traded stories as the miles passed slowly by and the wagon swayed side to side. It was a good diversion from the bleak landscape, the uncertainty, and the raspy breathing of a badly injured wolf. The survivors were glad they avoided the criminal gang that had taken over the town, although Calvin didn't linger on their crimes against women. They were all interested in werewolves, how they lived and how the Packs were coming together.
Calvin kept trying the bond as they passed through the small towns along the Bitterroot River valley, and eventually he was able to reach a pack member in Corvallis. Unfortunately, Candice was farther south in Henderson and was out of range. The message would have to be relayed, and that took a little longer.
Eventually Candice's message came back. "Doctor Jenkins just got here, she has Silvia's car. Doc Marcus is down in North Fork." He relayed what the injuries were as best he could, and a few minutes later got the relayed reply. They were leaving the Henderson clinic in a few minutes; Silvia was driving and bringing the Doc and a nurse.
"Sounds great, we're a couple miles south of Lolo. The tractor can only do about twenty, so haul ass up here." He moved forward to update Eric, and set the other boys up front to watch for her. Moving back to where the two girls were still tending to Travis, he knelt down by them. "We've got help coming, a doctor and nurse from Henderson are on their way."
"Thank God," the blonde said. "This is beyond my training, and I don't have any supplies. I can tell his blood pressure is low, and his breathing is getting worse by the minute. I don't know what else to do."
