Page 64 of The Search

Silence.

“Monty!”

No sound.

“Answer me!”

A low moan in the distance.

Monty. She knew it was Monty. She flew over the hard-baked sand, the beam of her flashlight spearing a wide circle from side to side in front of her.

Then she saw him.

Blood.

Monty was lying in a pool of blood.

“Oh, God.” She flew toward him, tears running down her face. “Monty.”

He looked up at her, his eyes full of pain.

She was almost to him when she saw what his big body had blocked from view.

Gray fur, silver eyes staring fiercely in the light, and lips drawn back from gleaming white teeth.

And a front paw caught in an iron-jawed trap. The blood was trickling from the wolf, not from Monty.

Monty nestled closer to the wolf. Pain.

“Get away from him, Monty. He’ll hurt you.”

Monty didn’t move.

She knelt down beside them. “I’m going to release the trap. Just get out of the way.”

He didn’t move.

“Okay, be stupid.” He wasn’t the only one who was stupid. Trying to free the wolf from this trap without putting him to sleep first was asking for trouble. She took off her shirt and wrapped it around the arm nearest the wolf. “I’m going to get you out of this,” she said softly. “Give me a break, will you?”

The wolf snapped. Sarah snatched her arm out of harm’s way just in time.

“Okay, no break.” She reached for the iron teeth of the trap. Quick. She had to be quick.

The wolf snapped again. This time he drew blood.

She sat back on her heels. “Look, do you want to bleed to death? Let me help.”

The wolf lunged toward her and then collapsed with a cry of pain.

Monty crawled closer to the wolf.

“No!”

Monty ignored her and laid his head across the wolf’s throat.

She held her breath. “What are you doing, boy?” Any minute she expected the wolf to rise up and slash at Monty.

But the wolf lay still.