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Post by Evangeline on Dec 2, 2008 23:04:56 GMT -5
Layla gently guided the mother and the rest of the family away, allowing Ebony to get onto the trail.
Randy and Jastrow blinked at the shape-change, then looked on anxiously as Delfina's lupine form disappeared into the brush.
"The Commander won't forgive me if anything happens to her. Hell, I won't forgive me." the patrol boat jigged in place nervously.
"She'll take care of herself." Randy sighed. "Though we can't help worrying."
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 2, 2008 23:16:24 GMT -5
Ebony went to the backyard of the family's home where the mother had said that she had last seen Maya and began to track the little girl's scent to see where she had gone.
*****
Delfina raced through the brush, avoiding and dodging around the vegetation. She stopped on a ledge and lifted her nose and sniffed the air, trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing. That would help her find the starting point of the fire.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 2, 2008 23:29:14 GMT -5
The little girl had wandered out of her yard and into the woods behind the house. Her mother had told her to stay in her yard, many times, but children, of course, are famous for not listening.
Hans and Gonzo also watched from a distance, using a binocular camera attached to a notebook which was perched on the Mercedes' hood. They were looking out for one person in particular who they hoped would be drawn to the site of the fire.
Hans smiled as the camera's powerful magnification caught the image of the red wolf. "I think we have her."
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 2, 2008 23:42:59 GMT -5
Ebony followed the scent into the woods and called out, "Maya! Maya, where are you?"
*****
As Delfina was following the acrid smoky scent, she was also sensing electricity, which indicated that it was coming from a powerline. She turned in that direction and headed toward it.
That must be where it all started, she thought.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 2, 2008 23:54:15 GMT -5
From deeper in the woods, a child was crying. "Mommy! I'm stuck and I can't get out!" Indeed, the child had gotten her foretire wedged between a couple of rocks and was effectively caught.
Hans loaded a tranquilizer dart into an airgun, and proceeded down the slope on Delfina's trail. "Wait here and keep listening to the radio." he told the van. "Holler if you hear anything and don't let the helicopters see you." He had tires with pyroclastic treads, which could help him on hot surfaces, but had to stay clear of conditions that could ignite the gas in his tank. He wanted to get to Delfina before she got to the source of the fire and hoped that it was sufficient distraction for her to him to get in and do what he intended to do.
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 3, 2008 0:12:35 GMT -5
"Maya, stay where you are and don't panic," Ebony called out, as she shifted into gear and continued to follow the child's trail, "I'm coming to get you unstuck, okay?"
*****
Delfina kept following the trail toward the starting point of the fire, unaware that she was running into a trap.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 3, 2008 0:23:28 GMT -5
Maya quieted a little, but trembled with fear as she saw smoke coming through the trees and getting thicker. "I can't move."
Hans paralleled Delfina's course, bringing the well-mounted pistol rig to bear on the wolf as she concentrated on the fire. The noise and the smoke obscured him and his scent, but a slight shift of wind could just as well trap him, and he was all too aware of that. Finally, he had a good bead on her, and hoped that the tranquilizer that Carl had sent to him would do what it was supposed to. He inhaled deeply and pulled the trigger...
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 3, 2008 0:44:57 GMT -5
Ebony pulled up to where Maya was stuck and quickly accessed the situation. "Maya, I want you to stay absolutely still," the Viper said as she drew her side spikes out, "I'm gonna get you unstuck. I won't hurt you, alright?"
*****
Delfina was caught by surprise as something hit her in the shoulder without warning. She only gave out a sharp yelp, stumbled, and, unfortunately, the momentum of her run caused her to tumble head over tail until she lay still in a crumbled heap, as the tranquilizer was already taking effect on her.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 3, 2008 1:24:04 GMT -5
"Uh-huh." Maya trembled and shut her eyes as she saw the spikes come out. What kind of car had spikes?
Once Delfina was down, Hans moved swiftly. "I've got her!" he called back to Gonzo. "Get down here and get her loaded!"
Gonzo already had a cage in the back, rigged up for this purpose. The Mercedes pulled the wolf onto a board also supplied by the van, and used that to lift her in before slamming the back doors shut. "Now we have to get moving and meet the shell pilot before she comes around again." The two headed off, ripping through the underbrush and back towards a fire road which would take them to the highway.
Randy weaved nervously from side to side. "Dammit, something's happened to her, and it wasn't the fire."
"What do you mean?" Jastrow asked.
"OK, I might as well come clean with you," Randy began. "I've just been coming to the realization that I'm also a user, though not nearly on Delfina's level. I could trail her as she went into the brush, but now she's completely winked out. We've gotta tell the others. Now."
At the CG station, Bree was notified by her deputy commander that Ensign Jastrow had called and notified that Delfina had gone to check the source of the blaze and had suddenly gone missing. She blinked at the location he gave, wondering how he and Randy got so far inland, but passed the information to the others also in on the effort and growled in frustration. There was no way that the doctors were clearing her for flight anytime within the next few days. She was even starting to lather, an indication that even this modest level of activity was more than she should be doing at present.
Greg, one of the few people who could get into Bree's personal bubble unbidden, gently patted her side and let her know it was time to take a break. The deputy commander was a capable type and could hold down the fort for the time it would take. He vacuum-cleaned the lather off of her and put on a blanket. She was still wondering. "How in hell did he get so far inland?"
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 3, 2008 2:09:35 GMT -5
"It's alright," Ebony said softly in reassurance as she wedged her spikes beneath the rock that was pinning Maya without touching the child with them. She then hefted it up off the girl's tire, freeing it from it's rocky prison. "There, you can get free now."
*****
Delfina was out like a light and would be for some time. She would not know what had happened to her until she would wake up again. That would be awhile, though, since she had taken a good dose of the tranquilizer.
*****
"AH!" Raven yelped, gripping his head in his hand, and trembled. He had felt the sharp sting of the psychic snap and then cold nothingness. Like something had snuffed out the mental flame without warning. Something was wrong. Way wrong.
(((((OOC: Going to sleep too... Night...)))))
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 3, 2008 14:19:57 GMT -5
Maya moved out from the rocks, now staring up at the Viper with a mixture of gratitude and awe. "Can we go back to Mommy now?"
The Mercedes and the van drove on up the road some miles, very careful not to go anywhere near Phantom Cove. They pulled up at a small inlet, and made another call on the radio. Soon, one of the diving shells, with a forklift in control, surfaced.
Hans pulled the entire cage out and with Gonzo's help, he waded in and placed it in the shell's back compartment. "Get this creature to your boss quickly." he warned. "You wouldn't want her waking up before she's properly contained."
"Got it." the forklift growled. The compartment was shut and the shell submerged again, leaving the two ground vehicles at the shore. "He'd better pay us good for this one."
Dawn turned about as Raven cried out. "What's wrong?"
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 3, 2008 14:32:14 GMT -5
"Yeah, we can," said Ebony, "Come with me. I'll take you to her."
*****
Raven groaned, "Something happened to Delfina. I can't tell what, but it isn't very good. I can't get any life signs from her."
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 3, 2008 14:46:17 GMT -5
"How did it happen?" Dawn asked. "Was it sudden or just fading out?"
Maya followed along with Ebony, back to the subdivision. "Why is everybody leaving?"
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 3, 2008 15:03:29 GMT -5
"It was too sudden," said Raven, "I couldn't get anything after that. It's like she disappeared from my radar."
*****
Ebony decided that she couldn't mince words, "There's a fire spreading and everyone has to leave so they could live."
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 3, 2008 15:32:11 GMT -5
"OK, I'm definitely smelling some foul play here." Dawn scowled. She turned, picking up her radio and relaying the news to the ships. "Delfina's dropped right off the radar, and she wouldn't just do that. Something's definitely going on."
"A fire?" Maya's eyes grew big. She looked back towards the streets. "Mommy!"
"Maya!" her mother called back. "We're over here!"
The Outback child scampered back to her mother's side, frantically nuzzling her. The mother was relieved to have her daughter back safe and sound. "Thank you so much." she said to Ebony, on the verge of tears.
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