Page 38 of Sheltering Instinct

“Okay, then,” Enrico hung his binoculars from the cord on his neck, “it looks like we’re mounting a search party. As we discussed during training today, radio signals in the hills are hit or miss because of boulders and line of sight. Mostly miss. I think we have to assume one or possibly multiple people are injured and incapable of getting down.”

“Is that part of the winery?” Goose asked.

“I don’t know their boundaries.” Enrico scooped his backpack onto his shoulders.

“Enrico, you know the terrain and how to track with Mojo,” Reaper said. “Goose, if there’s an injury, you’re the best man amongst us. Take your vet pack with you. Levi, I want you to observe Mojo. I’ll stay back and change the tire, then drive over to you.”

It was as if Mojo was holding himself back, waiting for the command. He wanted to leap into action. Once Enrico set him in motion, he rocketed over the open space.

The men picked up a steady cadence as they jogged in the direction that Mojo had streaked.

“I’ve lost sight of him,” Goose said. “He’s camouflaged against the colors of the terrain.”

“We just keep going in the same general direction. Mojo knows when he’s getting too far ahead,” Enrico said. “He’ll circleback and check on us if we lag behind on our wimpy human legs.”

“Ah, yes. Wimpy human legs,” Goose laughed, “but we make up for that with our opposable thumbs. How else would they get the lid off their dog food?”

Levi tapped his ear. “There it is. Three whistles.” He pulled his whistle from his strap and sent back three blasts.We hear you. We’re coming.

Enrico lowered his binoculars and pointed. “There’s a pickup parked in that shadow.”

Mojo had run back to check on them, just like Enrico said he’d do. When the whistle sounded again, the men stopped in their tracks.

No sense in running up in the wrong direction. With the sound riding the wind as it slid down the hillside, finding the source would be tricky.

Mojo’s gaze fixed on a spot. And that’s where Levi trained his binoculars. “There’s a woman on the ridge line waving her arms,” he called out, blading his hand in the right direction.

Enrico followed the line with his lenses and said, “That’s Gwen Metz, the owners’ daughter.”

Levi blew three more times. Then he watched as she lowered herself out of sight. Who knew how long she’d been signaling? The effort probably exhausted her energy stores.

The men were in motion, trailing Mojo.

Levi assessed what might have happened to Gwen up there. His first thought was a twisted ankle. “Goose, do you have a portable stretcher in your vet kit?”

“I do, but it’s K9 sized. It’s not going to help with the length of an adult woman.” He tapped his backpack with its K9 first aid patch. “This is just a stabilization pack. If she’s severely injured, we’re going to need more help. Do you think she’s up there on her own?”

“Trailhead,” Levi pointed.

“Looks like Gwen went for a hike,” Enrico said, “and her day took a turn.”

Reaper roared to a stop beside them and climbed out. “Anything?”

“A whistle signal led us to locate Gwen Metz on the ridgeline.” Enrico pointed. “Gwen is Iris and Craig’s daughter.”

“Is she solo?” Reaper asked.

“We visualized one,” Levi clarified.

“How are we doing this?” Goose dropped his heavy pack to the ground.

“Radio is line of sight only. Connectivity is sketchy at best in the hills,” Enrico explained. “We can try it, but we need a backup plan. Someone needs to hang back to communicate the situation.”

“All right,” Reaper said. “That’ll be me. Let’s start with a whistle signal. If there’s no time pressure to deal with the situation, we can try the radio or send someone down with the specifics. I’ll listen for a whistle blast and repeat back what I heard. We’ll go through the process three times to make sure the understanding is clear. One blast means the team can handle the situation on their own. Two blasts escalate the situation, and more help is needed. Three blasts are an all-hands-on-deck emergency, and I’m pulling in a rescue team.”

“Copy,” the men said in unison.

Goose moved off to look in the pickup truck.

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