The Crimson Cape

Chapter Ten

The group gave chase after the alpha. As they ran through the village, they found quite a few bodies scattered around the village. The corpses of men, women, boys, and girls of all ages were scattered around the village. The villagers appeared to only be dead for a day or so and each appeared to have been mangled to death. Phoenix assumed that if they were not victims of the other wolves, they were recent victims of Big White.

Vengeance coursing through her veins, Phoenix tread directly over the corpses. In some cases, her legs kicked the corpses' limbs as she ran through the village. Phoenix never cared when she stepped on or kicked a corpse. Esmerelda tried to tell her to slow down and watch where she was stepping several times, but Phoenix tuned her grandmother's voice out and ran on.

"Phoenix," Esmerelda said "honey, please slow down. It's hard for me and Evan to keep up with you."

"The Alpha has to die!" Phoenix said angrily as she stormed on through the woods.

"And he will." Esmerelda replied "But, you need to slow down. It's not wise to go into this alone and angry like this. You saw what that wolf did to Calvin."

"Don't remind me!" Phoenix shouted at her. "I know what happened. That's exactly why I am going to kill this wolf. And Big White did nothing to Calvin, I did. I was the one who killed him."

Phoenix began to run faster through the woods and disappeared around a corner in the village. Esmerelda turned to Evan, who was keeping up behind her.

"Is she okay?" Evan asked.

"She's grieving, which she needs to do." Esmerelda said. "But instead of sticking with the people who are close to her and are here to support her, she's going after the wolf that put her in that position where she had to kill Calvin."

"Well," Evan replied "she is going through a lot. She needs the wolf's blood to re-enchant her cape. As frivolous as her reasoning is, one of her closest friends died over it. She's likely dealing with an extreme amount of guilt."

He was right, Phoenix was not only dealing with grief from the loss of Calvin, she felt responsible for his death. Had she not been so diligent to kill Big White, Calvin might still be alive. However, had she, Esmerelda, and Evan not gone on this quest, Calvin would be lost in the forest. He likely would never find his way home, and could have died from infections in his wounds from the first wolf attack.

Esmerelda and Evan rounded the same corner that Phoenix took and found her standing frozen in front of them. On top of a hill a few hundred feet in front of them, stood the Albino Alpha. The white fur on his leg was stained red from the arrow that Evander shot at him. The wolf's breathing almost echoed through the forest. He was dying. The tip of the arrow that Evan had shot at the wolf was dipped in the venom he had harvested from the snake they killed at the beginning of their journey.

"All of this for a stupid cape!" Big White said. He then stood up, turned around, and limped away.

"Come on," Phoenix said, beginning to follow the wolf over the hill "we can't let him get away! Crossbows loaded and ready!"

"Phoenix," Esmerelda said, "slow down. We know you're hurting but you need to calm down and let us help you."

Ignoring her grandmother, Phoenix ran up the hill and disappeared. Esmerelda and Evan follow Phoenix up the hill. On the other side, there was a series of caves in the side of another hill. There was no doubt in their minds that the Albino Alpha was hiding in one of those caves.