2015-

  “How do you get into these messes, Rangifer?,” Rangifer Tarandus asked himself as

  he hid behind a tree. He didn’t think it was an adequate shield for a man of his bulk

  and head ornamentation. “How do I get out this time?”

  “All we want is the package, Reindeer.” The voice drifted through the forest,

  amplified by a vehicle’s sound system. “Drop it and walk away. We’ll let you live.”

  Rangifer doubted that. He had dealt with the Black Wolves before this. They always

  killed anyone in their way. As soon as he dropped the backpack he wore to the

  ground, they would fill him full of lead.

  The best thing he could do was keep moving and hope to sneak away like the coward

  he was.

  He looked for another tree to use for cover. He had to keep moving. People were

  counting on him.

  Stupid Wolves. They always thought they could just take whatever they wanted. Most

  of the time they got in his way while he was doing things for the locals.

  He ran from his tree to another one further down the hill from his position. He had to

  get to the bottom, and then try to cross a river to get to his destination. The swimming

  part would be hard with the Wolves right behind him.

  Bullets blasted by him. He felt a twinge in an antler. He ignored it as he dove behind

  the tree in front of him. He scooted as much as possible behind the cover. Pieces of

  wood drifted through the air around him as he waited for the firing to stop.

  He reached up and touched his antler. He shook his head. One of his points had been

  sheared away by a round as he ran. He would have to wait until next year for it to

  grow back.

  He grimaced. At least the bullet hadn’t hit anything important.

  All this trouble over some medical supplies seemed to be too much. Had he been lied

  to so he could be sent into a trap? Would the Mayor do that?

  Rangifer decided that didn’t matter. He had been asked to deliver a package to a small

  town on the edge of the Jostedalsbreen Nasjonal Park. He had run into the Wolves

  while crossing the mountains.

  Now he had to lose them if he wanted to make his delivery.

  He used the tree as a brace so he could get to his hooves. He looked behind him. He

  thought he saw black fragments moving along his back trail. He looked ahead. He

  needed to keep moving, and keep the trees between him and them.

  He ran to the next tree he marked out. He heard engines behind him. They were going

  to try to run him to ground. He ran to the next tree. He grabbed the lowest branches

  and pulled himself above people expecting him to keep running.

  He climbed as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to give himself away with moving

  tree limbs. He settled into a perch and waited. He hoped that he could fool the Wolves

  long enough to ambush them and then make his escape.

  Motorcycles buzzed to a stop below him. They spread out to search for his trail. All

  he needed was to let them keep going. Then he would be behind them and able to go

  off in another direction to get to where he was going.

  One of the Wolves looked up at the tree he was hiding in. He started to raise his

  weapon. Rangifer jumped down on top of the man.

  The Black Wolf saw the antlered Reindeer descending in a mass of fur. He decided

  to get out of the way. A fist of keratin fingers knocked him flat, sending his

  helmet/wolf mask flying.

  The other Wolves turned at the commotion. Quick reflexes brought weapons to bear.

  He threw the motorcycle at the closest one before ducking behind the tree he had

  climbed. Bullets chewed up the bark.

  Rangifer didn’t want to climb uphill to escape. His destination was on the other side

  of his enemies. He had to get through their line before they could surround him.

  He had to keep moving.

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  He threw himself at a tree next to his. He heard bullets whistling close as he landed

  behind the smaller tree. He threw himself behind the next tree in line. Then he had

  bushes to plunge through to a rock exposed in its bed.

  He peeked over the rock. Black figures were still trying to track his movement. It

  looked like they still thought he was behind the second tree. Maybe he could sneak

  away.

  He backed away from the rock. He descended sideways down the hill. He slipped

  through the trees. He thought he heard the sound of water. He was close to where he

  had to be. He needed to make it to the river and swim across to the other side. The

  Wolves would have to look for a ford to chase him if he could make it to the other

  bank.

  Rangifer kept moving. At least his fur helped him blend in with the surrounding trees.

  He should be able to get away as long as he was quiet and moving slow. He followed

  the sound of the water. He should have expected someone else would want the

  medicine he was carrying. Robbing one man crossing the park should be easy for

  professionals.

  Too bad he was a one man hreinn.

  Rangifer crept along until he could see the river. He shook his head. It was close. It

  was also at the base of a cliff. If he wanted to get down to it, he would have to climb

  down the cliff’s face. The only other way was to jump.

  Maybe he could walk the edge until he found a path down to the flowing water.

  Which way did he want to go?

  If he walked to the north, he would be walking into the Wolves looking for him. If

  he walked south, he would be going in the wrong direction.

  He decided on south since he didn’t feel like getting shot. He would make up for lost

  time once he was on the other side of the river. He could pick up speed if he didn’t

  have to look for troublemakers on his trail.

  A bullet whizzed by his head. He threw himself off the cliff, diving for the river far

  below. He didn’t have time to chide himself for his instinctive reaction to the sudden

  threat.

  He hit the water and headed for the bottom of the river. He hoped they didn’t throw

  explosives down after him. He swam into the current. Arms like a gorilla’s and legs

  like a goat propelled him away from the danger.

  He headed for the surface when he thought he was far enough away from his pursuers

  that they couldn’t shoot at him. He looked back at where he had jumped from the

  cliff. Black clad mercenaries stood at the edge of the cliff. He headed for the other

  side of the river on a slant, using the current to propel him away from his enemies.

  He exhaled a breath of air as he reached the opposite shore. He climbed up on the

  rocky shelf at the edge of the river. Water rolled down his fur as he tried to decide

  which direction he needed to get to his destination.

  He jogged along the rocks. He hoped he had enough of a lead the Wolves would let

  him go about his business without any more trouble. He doubted they would keep up

  the chase when they had to find a place to cross the river themselves. He doubted any

  of them would do what he had done.

  No one in their right mind would do what he had just done. That was a quick way to

  get killed, or injured so bad you might as well be dead.

  He found a small chimney he could use to climb away from the river. He flexed his

  hard fingers. He looked up at the top of the thing. He could do it if he wanted.

  He slid into the chute. He braced his arms and back. He set his feet. He started up.

  Rangifer dug in where he could. The stone allowed his random toe holes. He paused

  to take a breath about halfway up. He pulled himself over the grassy lip of the lookout

  a few minutes later.

  He took a moment to figure out which he should be going. Then he headed along the

  cliff to where he thought the path would be to head him toward.

  He doubted the Wolves would stay on his trail now. They knew where he was going.

  They could circle around on friendlier trails and roads. His only advantage was being

  able to move directly across the landscape.

  He found a trail into the forests. He smiled. Now he could pick up speed and reach

  his destination faster. Once he was at the town, the Wolves might peel off and hunt

  others. If they tried to raid the town, he had cover to use to fight back.

  Rangifer jogged into the trees. His internal compass pointed him on a straight line to

  the town he had to reach. He crossed the snow line and kept going. His hooves dug

  into the snow and ice as easily as they moved across dirt and stone.

  The town loomed above him. He spotted it through some trees. A mountain top

  loomed behind the wooden and brick houses. He climbed faster.

  He found a trail cleared of the snow. He turned on that and jogged in a small spiral

  to the top of a flattened mountain peak. The village formed a circle of red and tan

  around a brick plaza. He trotted towards the plaza, looking for the address where he

  was supposed to deliver the package.

  The residents didn’t look too friendly. Some of the kids called Krampus and hid

  behind their mothers. He supposed that was fair. He looked like Krampus a little.

  “Reindeer!” One of the men detached from the crowd. He wore a heavy coat and a hat

  with flaps for his ears. “Thank you for coming. Do you have the serum?”

  “Yes.” Rangifer took off the backpack he wore. “Can I ask what this is all about?”

  “It is about sheep.” The man pulled off a glove. He smiled at his guest’s reaction.

  “We have an outbreak here of something. We are trying to save the whole flock. I

  asked my friend, Dr. Nillsson for help since vehicles of any type are fairly restricted

  due to avalanches. When he radioed to say he had sent you, I knew things would be

  all right.”

  Rangifer opened the backpack and drew out the cushioned box inside. He handed it

  over.

  “Let’s see if this what we need.” The townsman led the way to where his patients

  waited.