Chapter 13: Maggots
The first new tick was assigned to Gray Shadow. Others were soon assigned to the remaining wolves, including Runner, and then to Ann. Half of the ticks remained, and Mark carefully packed them away in the purse and put it in his pack. Med-ticks could go for weeks without feeding.
"Wow!" Ann said, as her pain abruptly disappeared. "I don't know why I objected to using a med-tick earlier; these things are great! With Walking Stone's help, when he gets back from emptying that last trash bag of fly parts, I'll cook us up some MREs. Do you think the wolves would drink some chicken soup?"
"I think they would do so gratefully," said Mark.
"Will you eat some of a MRE or do we have to find you a dead fly," Ann asked.
"I guess I'll eat some MRE," Mark admitted. "There was a note from Tribe Chief Ed in with the ticks that relaxed the quest rules just a bit."
"Really?"
"Essentially it said that I should stick with the quest rules if possible, but bend them if necessary to deal with sick wolves and with intruders," Mark explained.
"Intruders? How did he know about me? Did the owl tell him?"
"Not the owl. The jants must have told him," Mark guessed.
"The jants here can talk to him all the way back at Giants' Rest?" Ann asked.
"No, the jants here communicated with the jants at Giants' Rest. Jants anywhere can communicate with jants anywhere else," Mark explained.
"Anywhere?"
"Sure. Well, for several miles anyway. Anywhere world-wide where there are other jants they can relay a message using possibly hundreds of colonies. Isn't that common knowledge?" Mark said.
"Maybe for your Tribe it is. Some sort of mysterious jant to tick communications were claimed when the med-ticks and the jants were introduced to the public, but telepathy and intelligence to the degree you talk about is thought to be hyperbola. How smart are the jants, anyway?"
"Smarter than humans of course, when lots of them think together as one. Jant hives from all over the world tuned into the conference held yesterday. Billions of jant brains working together adds up to mega intelligence."
"What conference?"
"Tribe business I guess," Mark said evasively, suddenly aware that he was again blabbing about things he shouldn't be. "Where are those MREs?" he asked to change the subject. He went to the wolves and kneeled among them for several minutes before returning to tell the good news to Ann and Walking Stone as they heated MREs. "The jants report that Gray Shadow is already a little better. Got soup?"
Mark carried the soup around to the wolves and much to his relief they all drank a little. Even Gray Shadow opened her eyes and drank a little bit when she smelled the warm chicken soup. "DAWN OWL," she pathed weakly to Mark, before she closed her eyes and returned to her sleep, "COLD," she also managed to add.
Mark got his little camping blanket from his pack and spread it over the wolves, then fed them more soup. They were all a little stronger now, the jants reported. Mark himself breathed a little easier and chowed down on a MRE. It seemed to be mostly rice along with a healthy portion of reconstituted unidentifiable meat of some sort. It was the best thing Mark ever tasted, except maybe for the roast fly that he ate hours earlier. He was greatly relieved that the wolves were improving. He was also dead tired. After he finished eating he nearly dozed off as he sat propped up between Ann and Walking Stone.
"Should we set up my tent someplace?" Ann asked.
"I've been holding off on that until Long Fang gets back," Mark said. "I don't want to usurp his authority too much and upset him. This is his pack."
"The wolves seem to be waking up," Ann noted.
Indeed all the wolves except Gray Shadow followed Runner out of the den, and then returned a few minutes later to again lay closely around Gray Shadow.
"I could use a potty break myself," admitted Mark, which explained to Ann what the wolves had been up to.
"Me too. Do we have to hike to wherever the fly parts were dumped?" asked Ann as Mark stood up and Ann joined him.
"No. Anywhere a hundred yards from the den will do," said Mark. "Will you need help to walk?"
"No. The new tick has me feeling strong as a horse," said Ann. "I'll use my crutches and a pen-light to find myself a little girl's room. You can find yourselves a men's room."
After both humans returned from doing their business the wolves gathered around them. Even Gray Shadow lifted her head from under Mark's blanket and stared expectantly at the visitors.
"They seem to want something," said Ann.
"They want more of your MREs," explained Mark. "Cook up two more MREs for now and give each of them a little. Hopefully Long Fang will at some point bring them something more substantial."
A short while after the wolves again ate and returned to keep Gray Shadow warm Mark retrieved some small plastic bags from his pack and went to the side of the pack mother. "The jants say that she is strong enough to expel the maggots now," he explained. "I'll bag the disgusting buggers and try to keep all of the wolves calm."
"What can I do?" Ann asked.
"Stay calm yourself and pet them," said Mark. "You need to become better acquainted with them anyway. Start with Runner and get his scent on you. Let them all get your scent and most important get their scent on you. You just fed them so you should have no trouble. "
Ann had no trouble with Runner; the young wolf seemed much like a big puppy dog. He especially liked being scratched behind the ears.
"What about fleas and regular ticks?" Ann had to ask.
"The Tribe treats them with long-lasting anti flea and tick stuff," Mark reassured her. "But if there were any the med-ticks would have gotten rid of them anyway."
"They could still use a bath." Ann remarked.
"All of us could," Mark agreed. "At some point we should get back to the trout stream and its nice clean ice-cold water."
"OK, they are as calm and ready as they're going to be," Mark judged, after both humans had made a couple of circuits through the wolves. He uncovered Gray Shadow and had her lay on her side. Then he got his bags ready as instructed by the jants and waited. After about a minute thumb-sized maggots began to hastily crawl out of one of the wolf's stomach wounds: one, two, and three at a time. The other wolves that sat and watched moaned and howled, despite Mark's calming thoughts, and Ann had to turn away to keep from throwing up. With all that she and Mark had gone through already, they both thought that they could easily put up with anything but they were wrong. The sight of dozens of squirming slimy white worm-things erupting from the injured wolf was the worst thing that either of the humans had ever witnessed.
Mark skillfully caught them in his little plastic bag, every one of them. The bag was brown and opaque, so thankfully the maggots were soon out of sight, but the bag undulated with them. More and more writhed out of the wolf, until at last the jants informed Mark that they were all expelled. Throughout it all Gray Shadow panted heavily but remained calm.
"My God!" Ann exclaimed, as Mark tied the bag shut with twine. "There must be two pounds of them!"
"Two more wolves need the same treatment," Mark said, as he fetched more empty bags. The grizzly maggot exorcism was soon carried out for the other two infested wolves without incident. Mark gathered the small bags into one bigger bag that Walking Stone carried away to the Stone-Coat implant site where they would be consumed along with the other fly remains. He liked the fact that the maggots would soon be consumed by Stone-Coats.
When Walking Stone returned a few minutes later he was not alone.
"She:kon Long Fang!" Mark said in greeting, when he saw the wolf-pack leader closely follow Walking Stone into the den. Mark motioned Stone Coat and Ann behind him to one side of the cave where the packs were. Mark kneeled down in what he hoped was a submissive stance and Ann sat down next to Walking Stone.
"RONKWE EKSA'A," the wolf said as he placed himself between the intruders and his pack members, bared his teeth, and growled menacingly.
"
He called me man-child," said Mark. "But I can't say that he's happy to see us. Think friendly thoughts and don't stare into his eyes."
Even in the dim light given off by Walking Stone it was evident to Ann why the big brownish-gray wolf was called Long Fang. At the moment the big wolf seemed to be considering if he should immediately attack and tear out the boy's throat. Two other big wolves entered the den and took up positions on either side of their leader. The hair on these wolves also stood up and they stared menacingly at Mark and Ann just as Long Fang did. Whatever their leader did, they would follow.
There was suddenly more movement as Runner walked slowly around Long Fang and his lieutenants and with head, tail, and ears down head and a little whine presented himself submissively to Long Fang. The pack leader gave a little growl but licked the younger wolf on the face.
Then the young wolf turned and walked to Mark, licked the boy on the face, and pushed him over on his back with his paws. Mark responded with a little petting and hugging, which was the apparently best that a human could do. Long Fang watched attentively.
There was a lot of wolf communications going on here for sure, Ann figured; through scent, touch, body posture, and perhaps even telepathy. Long Fang was dominant over pack member Runner who was dominant over pack member Mark.
Long Fang visibly relaxed but maintained his defensive position. There was more background motion and Ann was startled to see Gray Shadow herself walk unsteadily to Mark and lick him on the face, and then do the same with her before lying down between them. The other injured wolves soon joined Gray Shadow, until there was a big mixed up pile of wolves and humans.
The tension in the den was all gone. Long Fang calmly walked to Mark and sniffed him extensively, and then did the same with Ann. "HURT?" he asked when he examined Ann's leg cast.
"HURT," Mark confirmed.
Long Fang walked all about the den, sniffing everything. "TSIKS GONE?" he thought, while staring pointedly at Mark.
"TSIKS GONE," Mark confirmed. "GOOD," he added.
The big wolf walked to where Gray Shadow lay and licked her precisely where the maggots had emerged from her.
"EKSA'A TSIKS GONE," Mark projected, preempting the wolf's next question.
The big wolf walked to Mark and licked him lavishly on the face. "GOOD," he projected.
And that was that.
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