The Moon Wolf

Chapter 3 (1st Draft)

But, several hours later, when the children stood at the edge of the black spruce trees looking up at the mouth of the pass, they fell silent with dread. Though Penn had talked to them briefly about the pass and what to expect, none of them were able to picture it. None of them had grasped how wide, how barren and how desolate it was. The howling wind and the wide open space, with no place to hide, frightened them all.

Penn could smell their fear even before she noticed their ashen faces and trembling limbs. She transformed into her skin, donned her dirt stiff clothes, and came to stand ahead of the group.

"It looks worse than it is," she told them even though it was a lie.

She lamented inwardly that the children were not comfortable in their fur. She knew it would be easier to make the crossing in wolf-form, but the children resisted living as wolves. It took her the first three weeks of their escape, but she had finally learned that forcing them into their furs and pushing them to behave like wolves did not makes wolves out of them. In fact, it usually resulted in meltdowns and a lot of crying. Consequently, there was no point in forcing the matter now.

What this meant was that a couple day journey in wolf form would now take the pups a week or more to accomplish on foot. It was discouraging what little confidence they had in their wolf form, but there was nothing Penn could do about it.  She couldn't make wolves out of them if their hearts weren't in it.

Not wanting to drag out their alarm concerning the next stage of the trek ahead, Penn cleared her throat to get their attention once more.

With all eyes on her she began in her typically unyielding voice, "Here's the drill, we stick together at all times. No one wanders anywhere for any reason. You follow me and nothing and no one else. Everyone has a buddy. You must stick with your buddy at all times. Do you understand?"

She let her eyes fall on everyone from the oldest to the youngest. Of course the four littlest ones did not understand a thing, but it didn't matter anyway. They would be strapped to Penn, Cassidy or Jackson the entire trip and no one would have to worry about where the little ones were or if they were keeping up. 

Cassidy stepped forward and smiled reassuringly at the others before looking at Penn and responding with, "Yes, Jackson and I have made it very clear to everyone. We've all picked partners to make the climb with."

Penn gave a nod of approval before diving into her next lecture, "You will listen to me at all times. If I give you a command you will follow it without exception. This trail is deadly and your lives will depend on you obeying me and watching me very carefully. Do you understand?"

The children looked around at each other anxiously, as was their habit whenever Penn was speaking, but they nodded their heads in agreement, which Penn acknowledge with a single curt nod. That nod was as close as they were going to come to getting a pep talk from her.

Cassidy clapped her hands together and spoke cheerfully to the children saying, "Everyone take up your packs and grab your partner's hand."

The children had left Griffin territory with the clothes on their backs and small backpacks filled with helpful supplies - food, water, extra clothing, flashlights, matches, pocket knives, rope, etc. However, their food supplies were long gone and much of their survival gear was useless. Still, the children would not part with the items their own parents or guardians had shoved hastily in these bags before they sent them off to an uncertain future.