Bloody Paw Prints

Ch 44 Lost in blood

I bark sharply, fear coiling through me as the machine draws closer. I back towards the shelter of the trees, growling as a man trains the machine gun on us, light shining off his glasses. I bark again, torn between trying to break up the group so they knew to run, and between slinking into the trees unnoticed.

That’s when the ballets rain down, striking the snow and hitting the rampant wolves that were fighting over a bloodied corpse.

The pack disperses, jumping away from Paul. Carson yelps and falls to her side, clawing at her blood drenched fur. Tori nearly falls over her and twists around with a sharp bark, snapping as the invisible attacker that had put a hole in her shoulder.

I was frozen, watching the others panicking, falling over their own feet and each other as they tried to figure out what was happening, what was attacking them. It was like watching a bad movie. But I knew I couldn’t turn away, it would still be happening.

A howl cuts through the sounds of the gun, and for a second everyone seems to freeze, just as the crude image of the mountain slams into my mind, the East and West faces caring a huge red cross. When the image dissolves the pack turns suddenly, moving south, towards the house in one unorganized cluster.

I follow, sprinting over the snowdrifts and glance behind to see if anyone was dragging themselves through the snow. Bray and Paul were dead, bloody and broken. Luke lay only half a meter away from one of his pack mates who had been ripped apart. One of the wolf’s, still half alive tries dragging him out of the clearing but the movement results in a hail of bullets.

The bullets were doing worse then we’d done to the others. The wolf wasn’t even recognizable, dark gapping holds through his body, fur and flesh destroyed til it looked like a chunky casserole, but made of raw flesh and fur.

I sprint beside the pack, unsure whether to join the pack for strength in numbers or turn away from them, making myself less of a target.

I scramble over a small mound of snow, my paws sinking through slush. A yelp draws my attention to the pack, where I could see some wolves falling over each other. Sky skirts around the crash, only to stumble and fall when he’s shot. He twists and snarls, trying to get away from the pain.

The pack had faulted to a halt again, trying to decide what to do. Every step someone was being shot and someone would stumble, making a collision. We couldn’t out run them and we couldn’t out wait them. We were stuck, like a mouse caught between cat paws. The group resumes moving but within seconds I see Vic fall, blood spraying the air around him.

Ash stumbles over the fallen wolf and trips in the snow. I move in beside him, half worries about Ash, and terrified of what had happened to Vic. The black wolf was motionless, blood making his back and neck shinny. I nose Ash forward, not wanting to look at the body. But Ash shoulders me aside to step up to the wolf. Ash makes a soft sound and presses his nose into the charcoal wolf, the wolf that had the best knowledge of being an Alpha. Our only chance of having someone fall into the position of Alpha.

Carson howls a strangled sound of pain and jerks sideways, blood staining her fur where a bullet had nicked her. Christian snaps next, twisting around at new pain in his side.

Pain strikes through my ribs, harsh and sharp. I yelp and start, jerking towards the wound only to twist around again when another shot pierces my shoulder. I cry out, wanting to seek somewhere to take cover.

Ash suddenly shoves me to the side, jostling me into a snowdrift where I fall over my own feet. He barks sharply at Christian who suddenly falls to his, jerking to the new wound then falls still on the snow, motionless.

I jump up but Ash snaps at my neck, growling menacingly before thrusting me back into the snow. Tori jumps away from Ally suddenly, yelping in agony. Ash snaps at her a second before another shot makes blood pool at her jaw. Tori collapses, blood leaving crimson splatters over the snow under her head.