Wolf of the Tesseract

Chapter 14

Rob shuddered and woke, but not from the cold. A subtle shift in the plane's trajectory startled him, woke him up. He shook the crystalline frost from the tips of his mottled, charcoal fur and looked down at his two female charges. They still snoozed peacefully despite the circumstances.

The descent took its due course. Jackie and Claire eventually awoke, but little could be done except await touchdown. Conversation proved nearly impossible over the roaring noise box that confined them.

Claire stared at them both, still a little wild-eyed, but she did not panic; Jackie's presence was a big comfort to her. The other two assumed her relative calm was a good sign and that some of her memories must have returned. As soon as the plane bounced down on the foreign pavement and the engines began winding down, the group quickly began formulating an escape plan.

"They're going to park the plane either inside a giant warehouse, or alongside one. That's where they will unload the cargo, refuel and check the plane, and then start the process all over again," Jackie stated, drawing on her cursory knowledge of shipping operations.

"I'm still confused," Claire interjected. "What's going on?"

"We'll fill you in when there's time," Jackie said. "Please, just trust me, for now. What's your plan, Rob?"

"When they open the door, I'll show them this lycan form, and when they run away screaming we can escape."

Jackie scrunched up her face at his plan. "Wouldn't stealth be better?"

"Is that an option?"

"I have a plan. Quickly, we've got to move to the front near the pilot's section so we'll have enough time to pull this off. What time is it?"

"Almost five in the evening, I think, based on time zones and how long we traveled."

Jackie scanned the immense cargo bay and paused for thought. "I think this might work, if we get lucky. If we don't we'll consider your American Werewolf in London idea as a plan B."

. . .

Alfie spun the wheel on his forklift and turned it around quickly. He urged the machine forward even as the ramp lowered from the rear of the immense cargo plane; his ruddy hair flapped in the breeze as he accelerated.

He sighed as he climbed the ramp next to the corrugated steel warehouse and checked his watch. "It's gonna take forever to clear this lot," he muttered to himself as he got to work. Dropping his forks, he picked up the first pallet of freight shipped in from the United States.

Even though it was against company policy, he popped in a set of ear buds and cranked the music up. He had to do something to kill the monotony of his job and help the time pass.

Several pallets deep, he couldn't help reflecting on his life's course. A twinge of guilt for wearing his headphones momentarily niggled at his introspective train of thought; he really needed to keep this job, and he was lucky to have it, especially so soon after his release from incarceration.

Alfie debated pulling the headphones out; everyone else on the floor broke that same rule, though. He cussed at himself for his brooding as he dwelled on what a burden he'd become to his poor mum. He slowed the forklift and checked his iPod. A slow, melancholy song had somehow worked its way to the top; perhaps that had been what prompted the meditation. Alfie cursed whoever invented random-repeat, and skipped ahead to a hard rock offering so he could continue his work without his thoughts interfering.

With the cargo bay cleared to about ninety percent, he slowed the loader to a stop and noted an area where several boxes lay scattered around the floor. Alfie got out and walked around the pallets nearby. They'd all remained properly chained down and none of the pallet's wrapping plastic had been cut or burst.