Title:Guide Wild

Guide Wild
by Queen of Randomness

Blair was psyched he was finally going to graduate and get his Ph. D. He successfully defended his thesis just the other day. It was the most nerve- wracking time in his life. At only 23 he was officially a Doctor of Anthropology. He had numerous other degrees and even more minors. Thanks to Naomi's constant praise and assistance he was able to finish high school way early and soon after got accepted to Rainier.

To celebrate his success Blair and a few friends went clubbing. Now as a result he was five minutes late for his work-study job with Professor Allen. Blair had been working for Allen for a little over a year. He graded papers, transcribed notes, and generally made himself useful. Quiet frankly though Blair rarely saw Professor Allen. He was always somewhere else. Generally Blair was given a list of things to do and he simply did them. It was no different than any other assistant's jobs.

Man, he thought, this hangover is killing me. He opened the door to Allen's office just in time to see two guys in trench coats raise two really mean looking guns and shoot Professor Allen. "Holy Shit!" Two faces whip around to stare straight at him. One had black hair and brown eyes. The other was blonde with hazel eyes. Both sets of eyes looked cold and vicious Blair then realized what a bad move he had made by making himself known. Both bad guys looked straight at him and opened fire.

Blair immediately ran as fast as he could away from the killers. Sirens were wailing closer the college. Someone must have noticed something strange going on. Blair had just reached the lobby when he saw two uniformed officers walking in the doors. Then he saw the shooters calmly walking over and talking with them. Blair nearly gagged when they produced two badges.

Panicking Blair went out the back door of the office building. He then got in his beat up Corvair and left the college as fast as he could.

*

A few hours later back at the College . . .

"Sir we have a video." Ryf said. A camera had been hidden in a burial urn. Forensics just found it in a bookcase near the door.

"Great find out what's on it and fast." Simon said. The victim was Professor Gerald Allen an anthropologist of good standing. The building was virtually disserted at this time of day due to afternoon classes. A secretary in a nearby office heard muffled shots and called it in. It was a very messy scene. Seven shots connected to the body of the victim. One right through the eyes. One went through his neck and rest hit near the heart. Blood had splattered everywhere.

"Hey Simon take a look at this." Detective Jim Ellison said from the hallway. In the wall opposite the door were nearly a dozen bullet holes. Simon only needed one look at the wall to understand what was going on. Somewhere on the campus or nearby area was a terrified witness.

"Lets go and check what's on that video." Simon said.

A few minutes later the murder scene was completely played out neither of the shooters got into camera range. However the Major Crimes Division plainly saw the door open up two black-coated shoulders walk through and the door closing. They saw the professor look up and look scared. The victim then got up and pointed back towards the door. He reached for the phone an instant later and the two figures pull out guns. Then the door opened a second time just as the gunmen shot and killed their victim. A second later door shut again. Then reopened as the gunmen went after the witness.

Then Taggert walked into the room. "We just found a second camera. It was located just over the desk. This college is nuts about surveillance especially with all of the artifacts in this guy's office." He put the tape into the viewer and proceeded to watch to the point of the murder.

Simon walked over to where Jim was watching the video. "Jim find this witness he or she is in a lot of danger until we find them and put them into police protection. We have two killers on the loose who have seen their witness get the point?"

"Yes sir." It didn't take long to find out that Professor Allen had a work- Study student who was supposed to come in and work at about the same time the murder took place. Security was really helpful and gave him everything they had on the kid.

When he got to Sandburg's listed address he noticed the neighborhood as one of his favorites back from the Vice squad. Sandburg's file listed him as a levelheaded young man who just finished his doctoral program in Anthropology. No listed warnings, tickets, or arrests on file.

While rare wild guides tended to be stronger than trained Guides are. They also tended to be more uncontrollable and need more time to develop their powers. Then a distant tingling of Jim's senses filled in another part of the kid's life. He was an unbonded wild Guide. As a sentinel any guide within a certain distance is immediately picked up on some inner sensor. Hopefully he wouldn't be too hard to control. Wild Guides be headstrong. Many Sentinels believed that be early training Guides you generally lost more than gained. Guides instinctually knew how to handle their bonded Sentinel. It was trying to get two unbonded people to work together artificially that you got problems.

Over ten years ago the government outlawed early training of guides. It was required that the guide be at least 18 before he or she went through training. Before the laws were passed Guides were trained from the moment they were weaned from their mother's milk. After massive human rights abuses were uncovered and new independent studies were commissioned it was discovered that somehow Guides no longer led the Sentinel but was the Sentinel's slave for life. This was not how it was supposed to be. The new regime began to return the bond to its more natural equal state. They said that a guide shouldn't train until he or she was 18. However, many people still had their children who were found to be guides unofficially trained by private tutors. Then the child when they reached 18 would find him or herself in a college dedicated to teaching, training, and bonding Guides to Sentinels. More studies conducted these new Guides while stronger than the guides of the old regime were still extremely weak when compared to Wild Guides. Even guides who were never trained until going to the university were still much weaker than a Guide who had no training.

Jim wasn't the only one with an inner sensor. Blair was in his apartment in the warehouse. For the past half an hour he had been stuffing cloths into empty bags and tossing them into his car. He froze up when he felt a nearby, unbonded Sentinel. Great just what I needed more to worry about.

"Open up police I need to talk to a Blair Sandburg." Strong masculine and unemotional Blair thought to himself. One of the first things Blair bought when he got into the warehouse was a camera for over the front door. He plainly saw that whoever this Sentinel was he was not the shooters. Please let him be a Blessed Protector and not a crazy cat. Blair cautiously walked to the door and opened it up to let the detective in.

Just as he opened the door shots rang out from a nearby, parked Cadillac. Blair hit the floor with the Sentinel shielding him with his body. At least one bullet hit its mark though as Blair felt a sharp burn fly it's way through his right shoulder. The pain of it made him pass out.

*

Ellison hadn't known anything was wrong until the first bullets rang out. Sandburg already being keyed up from the murder hit the deck first. Every cop instinct made him immediately get on top of him to protect him from potential harm. At some point he smelt blood and felt the small body under his go limp. Thankfully when it was over he still felt a pulse. Probably passed out from the pain Ellison thought. He immediately called for an ambulance and for units to meet him at the emergency room. He then called Simon to update him on his status. By the time he got finished with his calls the ambulance had arrived and was securing Sandburg to a gurney. Uniformed officers were taking control over the scene and questioning potential witnesses already.

The bullet had passed right through and didn't hit anything vital. Apparently he was riding the edge of exhaustion though. Sometime during the examination he passed from unconsciousness to sleep. Simon walked into the emergency looking like a thundercloud..

"We just found out that the shooters are two FBI agents. Two uniforms saw them on their way out and they claimed to have already been in the area for an unrelated case and were willing to help. Thankfully the uniforms refused and sent them on their way. It's a good bet that our witness here saw them flash their badges. Cameras have him hidden out of the line of sight." So close they had the shooters right under their nose and let them go on their merry way. "How bad is it?" Simon feared the worst without a witness the case would still be prosecutable but just barely.

"He'll be fine. They'll be releasing him as soon as he wakes up. The bullet didn't hit anything major and went right through." Ellison was concerned about the mating instinct though. It was the first stage of bonding and he was feeling it urgently. The kid wasn't going to stay single for very much longer.

Doctor Knells walked in just then. "Detectives. He just woke up and we'll be releasing him soon with some prescriptions to fill." Knells asked to questions and kept her statements brief. She was a competent doctor that most Police Officers liked. Wordlessly she handed the prescriptions for the Detectives to take. Simon grabbed them before Jim got the chance.

"I'll fill these out. You bring Sandburg to the safe house. We'll talk there."

"Right. Lead the way Doctor."

Ellison got a glimpse of black hair as it rushed into a nearby bathroom. Apparently more urgent matters needed to be addressed. The sound of a toilet flushing and the door opening. "Mr. Sandburg, I presume?" Ellison asked softly.

"Yeah that's me alright. Who are you?" Blair had had the queen of all bad days. It started out with a hangover, progressed to be shot at not once but twice, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

"My name is Detective Ellison. I was assigned to investigate the death of Professor Allen. We saw that a witness had escaped the scene. A quick glance at Allen's day planner gave your name and a time of when Allen was killed. We also found today's To Do list. The University cooperated and gave us your current address. I was coming to question you to see if you were our witness. It seems I was right." The guide was definitely nervous and wired for sound. His shields must be in tatters between the gunshot and the stress of the day. He wondered idly how wild this guide was. He couldn't feel any taming influence on or around him at all.

The government may have outlawed early training of guides but most Americans felt that the guides should still be trained from an early date and would often pressure those parents who disagreed to get the child-guide into unofficial training. To be a true wild guide was a major feat even today when training was optional. Nearly every guide had a 'tutor' hired to help preserve shield and begin the training process. But even those guide who didn't start legal official training were considered weaker than the guides not given as similar training.

Whole studies had been funded to study the phenomena. The result was always the same the wilder the guide the more power he or she truly was. However trained guide bonded faster and stabilized their sentinels faster than wild guides could. Many saw this an even trade off. Sentinels petrified the populace. They went insane and would be virtually unstoppable except by another more powerful sentinel. Get the guides trained and get them bonded. Unbonded Guides frightened the population only slightly less than unbonded Sentinels. Many people saw the bond as a leash that would keep both parties from becoming a nuisance to society. This was a myth that no one was trying to fix.

Jim's thoughts were finally interrupted as Blair finally spoke up. "Yeah you got it right. I went clubbing last night and got a little more drunk than I should have. The killer hangover made me five minutes late to get to work at Professor Allen's office." He had seen a life get snuffed out. The sudden mental scream had ripped at his shields. But knowing that a man that he had worked with and had breakfast with was now dead hurt worse than his shields. He had never known anyone killed by violence before old age, a drug overdose, and cancer yeah but not violence.

"Then you walked into the office and saw the gunmen kill him. You saw a couple of cops start to come into the building you start to go to them but the gunmen greet them and flash badges. You run as far away from the scene as you can. Are we now up to the present Chief?" The Guide was still in shock. It would be easier to get the full statement and descriptions while he was like this. Otherwise the he might start to try and overanalyze and get confused. "Let's get your statement down and maybe some descriptions of the shooters okay? While its still fresh in your memory." Jim got everything he needed in a good clip. Years of handling witnesses told him which questions to ask and when to simply let the witness talk. He got full descriptions and a good accounting on what happened. Satisfied he finally stopped Blair saying, "Okay Chief we need to get you to a safe house. We got one of your suitcases and your laptop." Handing Blair both, "I'll call the nurse in and she'll help you dress and we'll get you to the safe house in time for dinner."

"Did you get the location of the safe house?" one man asked. Hs voice was gravely due to smoking but his body was hard and that of a federal agent that still took care of himself for field work. He had a family with three kids but had a mistress and two more kids on the side. With all those kids he began to take bribes to make certain people disappear permanently.

"The boss gave it to me. He said, 'Don't screw up this time.' The Safe house is on Fifth and Parker. It's a corner lot house with brown wooden siding. Boring as they come and a perfect spot to hide a hot witness." He had just graduated the academy but was already crooked. He found out his partner's secret and demanded to be cut it. Easy money for easy work. A witness was sloppy. Messes had to get cleaned up. This was one canary that would never live to see the inside of the courtroom. His voice while pleasant did not cover for his evil snake like eyes.

"When is the next shift change?" gravelly voice asked.

"Tonight at ten pm. He'll be digesting dinner and have dessert of a bullet to the head." Snake eyes stated. Time was of the essence they had to kill that witness before they found that the artist that did the drawing was already dead without finishing the sketch.

"Perfect. Lets get set up then." A quiet drive over to the house. They hid their car in a nearby alley. They waited for the witness to come. Twenty minutes later they saw a nondescript Cadillac drive up into the driveway and into the garage. A few minutes later it left. Their prey was bagged and ready for death. A blue car parked on the road they were the guard detail.

At ten the guards changed. The new detail arrived a few minutes later. However they already missed two black forms jumping over the fence and penetrate the interior of the yard. However, they were in for the shock of their life.

"FREEZE POLICE!" Jim had heard them climb over the fence. In the window shrouded by curtains was a dummy with a wig on. Sandburg was waiting in the truck to be placed in a safer safe house.

Shocked one gunmen shot at Jim. The other hit the dummy square on the head. While Jim and the first gunmen exchanged fire Jim behind a tree the gunmen behind a bush the second gunmen checked to see if the witness was dead and found wood. With sirens getting closer and the two cops from the street joining in the fight they threw a smoke bomb and flash grenade and disappeared

Jim was on a mission now. To save the guide. He stalked back to where his truck was hidden behind the house. The guide was still there. He got into the truck and they sped off into the night. Blair petrified didn't say a word for a long time.

PART 2

Must protect the guide. Must protect the guide were the only intelligible things going through Jims mind. In the house had watched as two jackals had stalked in an attacked his guide's wolf spirit. The wolf had been napping in front of the fireplace as the jackals attacked and started to bite him with their powerful jaws. He had hunted the real jackals outside and sent them running. Now while the time was right he would get his mate away from all interference and mate. It was long since time to claim the guide as his.

The jackals were not following. His fellow pack members were trying to handle them. He would go deep into the mountains and claim his guide. Once he had claimed his mate and the bond stabilized they would hunt the jackals together. He smelled fear rising up in the cabin. His mate was scared. Those jackals would pay.

Blair was scrunched as far away from Jim as possible. The only noise Jim was making was grunts and growls. Those guys had attacked him tonight. They nearly killed him if it wasn't for Jim's mysterious but accurate actions. But now the Sentinel was definitely primal and was scaring him. Though the thought of the murderers catching him scared him far more.

Jim drove in total silence as they turned off the country road onto a smaller dirt road. Slowly they made their way down the surprisingly smooth road. They hiked two miles to find a cave half way up a nearby mountain. Jim helped Sandburg up to the cave. Inside hidden away from the world and everyone in it was a beautifully engraved door with an amazing scene curving around the door. Around the door on the left side was a mountain scene with wolves all around. On the right was a jungle scene with various cats all around. In the middle at the top was a Wolf and Jaguar jumping into each other. It was exquisite. Jim let Blair look at his handy work. When he was first diagnosed as a Sentinel he went up to these mountain and made himself this home. As more time passed it became larger and more detailed. He was very proud of his home in the mountain.

He waited for his guide to go thru the door on his own. Blair cautiously wrapped his hand around the doorknob. He somehow knew that by going thru the door he would be accepting the bond. He was afraid but at the same time calm about the event to come.

Blair for fear his shields would collapse never had sex or even made- out with anyone. Now he was two steps away from a life bond with his Sentinel. He had heard stories of bonds gone wrong with the Sentinel becoming Master to a slave. He had even heard of Sentinels killing their Guides and taking possession of another more agreeable Guide. Blair asked what his instincts were telling him. They were screaming out to trust the Sentinel. Taking a leap of faith and a step of bravery he opened the door and walked in.

Without pausing to let Blair look at his homemade furniture he ushered him to the bedroom. He was afraid that Blair was going to reject him it took so long to open the door. He was not going to chance the younger man having second thoughts. He needed to mate. He needed to finally claim his mate and finish his pack. When they got into the bedroom he quickly stripped his mate of his clothes and did the same for himself. His mate's shields were perilously close to falling altogether. The bond had begun.

He laid his unresisting mate onto the bed. Holding his head between his hands Jim mentally met Blair in the middle. A jungle scene emerges. He saw the wolf running in his panther form he gave chase. He had to prove himself worthy of his mate. This was a wild guide he would not roll over and let the panther pounce. He had to earn that pounce first. He chased for what seemed like days until they came to a large temple. At the top was his mate already morphed into human form. When he reached the top he turned from the panther to his own human form. Together they laid on the alter. In the real world as well as in the jungle the two men came together. Jim initiated again by kissing Blair breathless. Blair was so awash in sensation he couldn't help as Jim carefully entered his guide for the first time finishing the bind. As he claimed his mate Jim played with his body learning its ins and outs. He liked his nipples played with. His cock was really sensitive and came the moment that Jim touched it. Jim scooped up his mate's come off and tasted it. Seeing Jim do such an erotic thing made Blair shudder and relax. In one last lunge Jim was fully seated in Blair. The bond was complete nothing could separate them. With one last shudder a few moments later they came and the jungle faded as the cave house came back into view.

They stayed in the cave for nearly three weeks making love and learning how to use the full extent of their now unlocked powers. The discovery of the powers was by accident. Blair had been meditating quietly on the newness of the bond and how this would affect his life when he pictured his spirit guide. He became one with his spirit guide. He then heard Jim's shocked exclamation. "Holy Shit!!!How did you do that?"

"Do what?" only to Blair's shock it came out as a soft woof. He leaped up and whirled around looking for the dog that had found its way into the cabin. All he saw was the dog's tail. Then he saw the mirror. There was Jim and a wolf but no sign of himself. He walked closer to the mirror and realized that somehow he turned into the wolf during his meditation. Tracing back his pattern of thought he realized how it might have happened. He concentrated on becoming 'Blair' again. He watched in awe as the wolf slowly morphed back into himself. When the process finished all Blair could say was, "Cool!"

"How did you do that chief?" curiosity lacing his voice. In less than hour Jim had it figured out. He turned into his spirit guides form that of the black panther. Blair turned back into the wolf.

Both men became shape changers and spent nearly three days frolicking in the woods as a wolf and jaguar. Jim could only change into the jaguar but Blair could turn into any animal he wished. If he could picture it in his mind he could turn into the animal.. He even turned into a dragon once. They also discovered that Blair could heal wounds and predict the future. At night they would retire to the bed built out of the wall and make love until the air mattress threatened to pop. By the end of the three weeks Blair knew who he belonged to. Jim had written his name on every part of his body in one-way or another. A few left him begging and shuddering. Tomorrow they would return to civilization and take care of Blair's pursuers. Those poor fools were doomed.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Gravelly voice asked. He hated the woods. Of course where does their prey lead them the fucking woods. They'd escaped from custody during the prisoner exchange. Unfortunately several cops and a fed both died during the escape. They were both heading for long trips to Rio or Africa. The contract had to be fulfilled first though.

"Yup Ellison owns it and comes here when he's having sense problems." Snake eyes was dreaming of when he'd get his hands on that guide. Someone once told him that guides were amoral and would fuck anything in sight. Regardless the little slut was gorgeous so one way or another he'd get his fill before killing him. He could imagine the way Sandburg would look bound to a bed with his back covered in whip marks and screaming as snake eyes took him with only the blood to use as lubricant. The kid was a screamer he could tell. His cock hardened at the thought of finally fulfilling his fantasy.

They searched for the better part of two days until they found Ellison's hidden cabin. But by then their quarry was gone. But not to far.

"Chief, I hear them coming up the mountain we need to leave." He watched as his guide woke and stretched. They'd taken a nap after a particularly wild session. Jim had been watching his guide sleep. Blair was like an angel when he slept. Jim had resisted the temptation of waking him up by slowly arousing his body awake. Blair's body was extremely sensitive to any touch. Arousing him was easy and after a few lessons from his Sentinel very long lasting.

"How much time do we have?" Blair wasn't worried. Before the bond he would have been having a panic attack by now. He trusted Jim with his whole being. He also wanted a quickie.

Jim saw the sensual interest alight in his guide's eyes, "Enough time to leave but not enough to have fun." They got up and got dressed. Just as they left the cabin in the mountain the bad guys opened fire. They were a bit early. Imagine that.

They rushed towards the emergency exit. Suddenly Jim remembered something very important as he looked down a tunnel. An idea occurred to him. "Chief give me your shirt." The assassins got a better look at Sandburg then they did him.

"Sure. Why?" He took off his top layer of flannel. Jim insisted that when they returned to Cascade that all of the flannel had to go. Blair insisted that Jim replace them. They had made love in the bathtub and agreed that ripped flannel made a fun sound. But Blair would be needing new cloths. Jim had a playful side.

"A little surprise for our friends." He gently placed the offered shirt over a coiled form. A faint rattle was heard before the cave quieted again.

"I see." Rattle.

By the time the bad guys found their way to the shirt Jim and Blair were long gone. They were on the Interstate going back to Cascade. The bad guys on the other hand went left instead of straight and ended up hopelessly lost in the maze of caverns that the Sentinel made into his home. They thought their luck was changing when they found the tunnel with the trap.

"Hey, it's the kid's shirt." Gravely voice said. He kneeled down to pick it up. Why would they abandon it here? Maybe one of their bullets hit there mark and hit him. He picked up the shirt to examine it and didn't see the flash of light as it struck his chest. He did feel the second and third strike though. The rattlesnake made a desperate lunge at Snake eyes only to miss. He fired a wild shot towards its head. The snake slithered back into the den. Now they both heard the rattles coming from inside the cavern. As Grave voice died, "Kill them both and make it messy. Avenge me."

Snake eyes ran back the way he came. He found the original entrance and fled back down the mountain. They both would pay dearly for this.

end part 2