Wolf Pack: The Awakening

Chapter 15: The Big Five Wolf Pack

"Soph! Soph, wake up!"

     Sophia's slumber was interrupted by a strong commanding voice....Violet's? 

      Droplets of water splashed on her face. 

      She sat up straight, in a tub filled to the brim with water. Her whole body, with the notable exception of her head, lay submerged in the tub. Once again, just like in her simulation, Sophia's mind reached out to the water. She closed her eyes once again, feeling the flow of something she could not name within her. With each splash of water, the flow spread to every inch of her soul, every depth of her bone. All her pain, fears and anxiety seemed so far away...especially when her whole body felt so light, so free and unbreakable.  

     And yet, even as Sophia stood, climbing out of the tub, the magical bliss lingered, providing small comfort as she began to face reality.  "What happened?"

     Ashton reached out to hand Sophia a towel, realizing her friend was dry despite the long soak and retracted his hand sheepishly. "What do you remember?

     "The simulations......After that, everything's blank." She got out of the tub, walking past her friends out a door, into another room. It wasn't much. Five beds with matching cupboards and different symbols on the walls. Above them were words. Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Omega. 

     "We're alive," Sophia said, glancing at all her friends. "Does that mean we're....."

     "The Big Five Wolf Pack?" Rosemary replied. "Yes. But, there's something else we need to tell you."

     Now that Sophia was out of the water, the mystical feeling seemed to be fading away. Exhaustion overwhelmed her body and she limped to the closest bed, plopping herself onto the soft mattress. Her muscles ached and the LED lights above her head were like blades stabbing her eyes. "How long was I out? Where's Logan and the others?"

     Ashton sat next to Sophia on the bed, while Rosemary, Violet and Etsuki sat by the end to face them. He spoke first. "An hour, give or take. By the time we woke up, Logan had already put you in the water. He said that as your elemental power, the water would be able to heal you. The rest of us woke up about 10 minutes ago."

     Rosemary reached forward and took Sophia's hand in hers, rubbing warm circles with her thumb. 

      Sophia's heart sunk. "What's wrong?"

     Everyone turned to Etsuki, who looked at Sophia in the eye. She had the strength to say it, but it gave her pain to hurt Sophia more. "Remember that cartoon you and Vi and Rose loved to watch when you kids, 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'? How the spirit of the Avatar passes on after their deaths to the next generation?"

     "Ummm....yeah, I know that." Sophia still didn't get what the big deal was. "And the reason we're talking about that old cartoon is?"

     "Because Adrian said that's how the Big Five works too." She spat out. "The new Pack can only be reincarnated once the old Pack has passed on."

     Sophia was silent, still unsure where this was going. "Ok."

     Etsuki spat out a word. It was in Japanese so no one understood her. She wanted to just tell her, her instincts told her to. But this was Sophia. She deserved a proper explanation. "Logan just told us that Adrian's uncle was part of the previous Big Five Wolf Pack too. He said.... in the simulations, we harnessed elemental powers and shifted in the cubicles, making us the new Big Five Wolf Pack. That means that all the members of the old Pack, like your biological mom and Adrian's uncle......they're gone, Soph. Dead."