Home > A Solitude of Wolverines

A Solitude of Wolverines
Author: Alice Henderson


One

 


The wetlands dedication ceremony was a resounding success until the gunman showed up. Alex Carter had felt happy, blinking in the bright sunlight, gazing out over the green marshy area. The gold and scarlet of fall touched a handful of trees. Where the blue sky reflected in patches of visible water, a great blue heron stood vigil, gazing down for a glimpse of fish. It was sunny now, but huge cumulus clouds were building on the horizon, and she knew that a thunderstorm would descend over the city before the day was out.

Boston councilman Mike Stevens stood on a temporary stage, giving a speech to a gathering of outdoor enthusiasts who happily sampled the provided wine and cheese. From one corner of the stage, a perfectly coiffed TV reporter in a spotless white suit signaled to her cameraman to get sound bites. Her styled blond hair glowed around her pink face. Later, Alex had to do an interview with the woman, and nervousness churned in her stomach.

Alex looked down at her own outfit—worn jeans, a black thermal top under a black fleece jacket. Hiking boots covered in mud. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a quick ponytail. Alex couldn’t remember if she’d brushed it that morning, and suspected she hadn’t. While Alex’s best friend, Zoe, always insisted that eyeliner made Alex’s blue eyes pop, Alex had also neglected to apply any today. Ditto for any tinted moisturizer on her face, which she suspected was looking particularly pale and nervous.

Christine Mendoza, the founder of Save Our Wetlands Now, approached Alex, grinning as she tucked her wind-tossed hair behind her ear. She touched Alex’s elbow affectionately and whispered, “Thanks for coming.”

“My pleasure.”

Last year Christine had approached Alex, asking if she’d do a pro bono environmental impact assessment for the area. A development company had announced plans to build luxury condominiums and retail spaces on the spot, which would displace more than a hundred species of birds. For the last year, Alex had lived in downtown Boston, a far cry from the wild places her heart longed for. Helping to save a small corner of surviving wilderness was a delight.

After her report was submitted, the green-leaning community spoke its mind, attending town hall meetings and sending in petitions. In the end, the city designated the habitat a protected space and the development company withdrew its proposal.

And today was the big day of celebration.

Now she and Christine looked toward the mic, where Stevens was currently pontificating on civic responsibility, droning on about how providing open spaces for the public’s well-being was of utmost importance. Stevens had actually been one of the driving forces behind the condo project after getting a hefty kickback from the development company. Now he desperately tried to save face, pretending as if he’d been supportive of the wetlands protection from the start.

“Can you believe this joker?” Christine said quietly to Alex, nodding toward the councilman. “He fought us all the way. Even sent me hate mail. Now he’s pretending like the whole plan to save the wetlands was his idea.” She shook her head. “Sheesh. I know who I’m not voting for next election.”

Alex watched the man’s perma-grin. “I wonder if he had to give back all that money.”

Christine crossed her arms, her wavy brown hair framing her tawny face as she squinted into the bright sun. “He was pretty mad when the development fell through.”

A few more people had been upset, too, including the construction company who won the contract for the condos.

But now this beautiful place would be protected, providing sanctuary for wildlife and a place of reflection for residents. It wasn’t often that environmental issues swung this way, and Alex’s heart swelled.

After Stevens had droned on for ten minutes, Christine approached the councilman and looked at him meaningfully, signaling that he should wrap up his speech. “Enjoy your new park!” he announced to a smattering of applause, which grew more enthusiastic when they realized he was done talking.

As he left the stage, the reporter waved Christine over. “Are you the biologist? I’m supposed to interview a biologist.”

Christine pointed to Alex. “That’s her.”

Great, Alex thought. Thrown to the wolves. She forced a smile as the reporter gestured impatiently to her. “You’re Carter? Come up here. I don’t want my heels to sink into that muck.”

Alex stepped up onto the stage.

“Right. Roll it, Fred.” The cameraman clicked record and Alex found herself staring blankly at the camera. A few people lingered around the stage to listen to the interview.

A complete change took over the reporter, who went from surly to irrepressibly bubbly. “This is Michelle Kramer, reporting from the dedication ceremony for the new wetlands park.” She gestured around her. “This area will be set aside as valuable habitat for wildlife.” She turned toward Alex. “Dr. Carter, your study was instrumental in gaining protections for this area. What kinds of wildlife will use this space?”

“In addition to year-round species, many migratory birds use this as a stopover area after flying hundreds of miles.”

Michelle gave a very fake-sounding giggle. “Hundreds of miles! I hope their kids aren’t in the back seat, asking, ‘Are we there yet?’”

Alex was taken aback, momentarily derailed. She managed a little chuckle.

The reporter glanced down at some notes on her phone. “So we understand, Dr. Carter, that in addition to protecting areas like this, we can do other things to help our local birds.”

Alex smiled and nodded, feeling herself grow numb with nervousness, but she plowed on. “Many people don’t know that migratory birds actually use the stars to navigate.”

“Oooh! I love stars. The birds must have a stargazing app like the one I have on my phone.” She tittered again.

More of the crowd had moved over toward the stage, listening in on the interview.

“While I’m sure that would be convenient, unfortunately, they rely on having dark skies to see the North Star,” Alex said lamely, trying to keep on target. “But with so much light pollution in our cities, birds are struggling. You can help by turning off your porch light at night or installing a simple motion detector to turn the light on only when you need it. A light that snaps on when someone approaches is a better alert system, too, than one that burns constantly.”

Michelle laughed. “Well, why don’t we just do some remodeling and rewiring while we’re at it?” She grinned at the camera and cut Alex off. “And that’s our report from the field. Be sure to come out, Bostonians, and enjoy your new park.” Then she lowered the mic and Fred turned off the camera.

A murmur spread through the crowd, and Alex noticed that most people had turned and were looking in the opposite direction from the stage. People began backing away, staring at someone moving among them. Then a woman screamed and a man turned and sprinted away, fear on his face. He left the firm ground and splashed into the water, tripping and going down hard in the mud.

Then everyone got eerily quiet and backed away from the stage. A man strode forward, shoving two startled people out of the way. His hand, thrust toward Alex, held a gun.

Alex froze as he leveled the gun at her, stopping at the edge of the stage. She recognized him—had seen him at some of the community meetings. His construction company had won the bid to build the condos. Her mind raced through the possibilities. Should she dive down? Run? Try to tackle the guy? He waved the gun around, pointing it at the councilman, then at Christine, then back to Alex.

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