The Order Of The Seekers

Kierra

I crouched down in the brush, two large green/grey eyes stared back at me. White fur bristled in the wind, and a white face loomed before me. He let out a low growl, but it didn't feel threatening. I reached out to touch his scruff, and he leaned into my touch. "Kierra!" my mother gasped, her heart shaped face peeking out the back door. I glanced back at her, my hand still buried in his scruff. "Get away from that thing!" she screamed. He tensed, I felt his muscles tighten beneath my hand, and he growled at my mother. He stepped out of the brush and stood behind me, his tail brushing my back. My mother stumbled backwards into the house, the backdoor slamming shut. I spun around to face him, and was lost in admiration. He seemed to shimmer in the fading sunlight, like a ghost, the sunlight dancing across his coat. "Phantom," I whispered softly. He let out a lofty bark, and nuzzled his nose into my hand. I couldn't help but smile, "You like that huh?" I asked him quietly.

I sat up on an old box tomb -empty, I checked- , with Phantom curled up beside me. Surrounded by woods on all sides, I felt at home. Phantom laid his head on my thigh, and sighed. I petted his head, earning a little huff from him. "Are you bored boy?" I asked him quietly. His ears pricked up at my voice, and he nodded. I bent down and picked up a stick from the ground, and held it up in front of Phantom's face. His tail started thumping against back and his muscles twitched. Then, quick as lightning, he snapped at it, but I pulled it back, smiling. He barked, and lunged for it, his tail wagging. I laughed, and threw the stick and watched him as he tore after it. He trotted back over to me, stick in his mouth, and he dropped it into my outstretched hand. He sat down obediently in front of me, ready for me to throw it again, his tail going like a motor. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was a wolf and not a domesticated dog. But, since I had spent years with him as my companion, I was able to pick up on the wildness of him. He even smelled like the wild, it clung to his coat. It held that sweet, musky scent of a dog mixed with the earthy, piney smell of the forest. It was honestly my favorite smell, and I sometimes wished I could bottle it up and keep as air fresher or perfume or something. I couldn't wait for the sun to set so I could hear his lugubrious call. I wished, also that I could capture his howl, the melancholy feel hung in the air hours afterwards, and I always longed to hear it. Phantom cocked his head at me and barked impatiently, bringing me back to him. I raised the stick, and he half rose up. I grinned at his eagerness, and chucked the stick. He dashed after it, just a blur of white.

A branch cracked behind me, and I spun around, startled. Men stepped out from the trees, some in Kevlar, some in riot gear, and a few in vests that I've seen dog trainers wearing to protect themselves. I blinked. "Ca-can I help y'all?" I stammered. A couple of the men broke off and searched around the clearing. "She's alone, it's not here. Grab her before it comes back," one of them reported. Two men stepped forward and grabbed me, and I started screaming. "Phantom!" I shrieked. I heard an angry snarl and the sound of Phantom tearing through the trees. "Hurry!" a masked man shouted, putting tape over my mouth. I kept screaming despite the tape, and kicking out and writhing. Some material was put over my head, and I was engulfed in darkness. I felt the sting of a needle in the crook of my arm, and the fight was slowly drained out of me. I felt numb all over, and my eyes felt heavy.

I woke up on a cold stone floor. I sat up and started when I heard the jangle of chains. Looking down I saw cuffs clamped down on my wrists and ankles. I looked around to see that I was in a small cell, no window, one barred door, and thick bars lining the front of my cell. I shivered as a draft drifted through the cell. Why am I in here? What did I do? I wondered to myself. I felt groggy and sluggish, which I was guessing was because of the drugs they had injected me with. "Hello?" I called out, rising to my feet, and peering out through the tiny slits between the bars. I swallowed back a scream when I saw blood smeared across the far wall. "Where am I?!" I screamed. Footsteps sounded down the hall, and I jerked back from the bars.