Wolf at Heart

Chapter Fifty Four: Unexpected Help

Blinking with a momentous amount of effort, I stared at him. "Do you happen...to see any water...around here? I can't...do anything...without it."

The serpent furrowed his brow at my slurred speech, glancing over and flinching in shock. He took in my battered state, at the blood seeping through the bandages, and his eyes widened.

Muttering a curse word, he did something that jolted me enough to stay focused.

He slammed his fist into the ground and the walls shook in response. Quickly, the stone walls curved to form a sort of barrier against the rest of the world. The top was left open, though, and the Serpentine pounded the walls impatiently once more and we were locked in. For now.

My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dim light, my sensitive ears picking up the erratic noises from outside. My legs gave out and I slid to the sandy floor. We were safe for a few moments at least.

"It's you," I said with finality. "You're the thief boy."

Nodding absentmindedly, the green mamba pulled a multicolored cloth from one of the bags on his belt. He began to change my bandages, and I was so tired that I just let him.

He paused at the sight of my uncovered wounds. "This is a bite from a wolf, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "A result of my stupidity."

I could almost see the gears turning in his head. "You went to the Raven's Claw. And you survived?!"

I sighed again, this time from relief as he spread some sort of ointment on the bandage and applied it. "Yep. Like I said, a result of my stupidity. What'd you put in the medicine?"

The serpent worked quickly, knowing time was limited. The pounding was growing louder, the walls threatening to fall soon. "Just some herbs from here and there. Some pain-relieving stuff. Some with healing properties. It won't be good enough to mend the bites permanently, but it'll stop the bleeding."

Looking down at my newly bandaged limbs, I stood, getting ready to get back in the fray. I felt better and more clear-headed than before. "Thanks, but now we have to -- "

"No, you shouldn't be moving right now," he interrupted with a worried grin. "I'm okay at medicine, but my work isn't that great."

"I have to go," I insisted. "The guy who's causing all of this. I know him."

"Wait, you know the fox guy who's kinda trying to kill everyone? Are you...?" The Serpentine trailed off suspiciously, taking a step back.

"No no! I'm not with him. I'm trying to stop him."

He visibly relaxed at that, and I fired a slightly more important question at him.

"Why the heck didn't you come and help earlier if you're the Earth's Chosen?!" I questioned angrily. That way we might've been able to defeat Dakota already.

"Woah, woah, chill out." He put his hands up defensively. "There were a lot of complications just for me to get here. I can explain later, but right now -- "

The rumbling noise increased and the walls came crashing down.

All around, Predators screeched in annoyance that they hadn't caught their prey yet.

" -- We have to deal with them first."

"Yeah," I said, focusing my anger on the disturbing creatures. "Agreed."

We went back to back, each drawing our weapons. I didn't know what the serpent used as his weapon, but it didn't matter as long as it worked on Predators.

In quick succession, Predators fell left and right, though I was suspecting that most of the time it wasn't because of me. We were tiring quickly, me because I was wounded, him because he was probably doing more work than I was at the moment.

"Stand close to me for a sec, I have an idea," the serpent said, a mischievous glint in his eye despite the fact that we were battling for our lives.

I didn't respond to save my breath, stepping over and nearly falling when the ground shot up under our feet. Only his grip on my arm kept me from tumbling back down into the maze.

"Phew," he breathed, panting a bit. "That took a lot more energy than I thought."

"Great, sure," I blanched at the heights. "But how long can you keep it up?"

"Uhh, my skills are a bit rickety. Not long."

"Fine, just don't drop us."

Looking around the stands, I saw the crowds going untouched. The Serpentine hadn't been attacked yet and weren't aware of the danger they were in. Just us.

"Can you send a message to them and get them out of here?" I asked worriedly.

He nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes in concentration. "I'll send a code to my dad. He'll get it and get the rest of them out of there."

True to his word, someone in the officials' box stood up straighter. Then he looked like he was sending an order out, and gradually, like a ripple in the water, the crowd hushed. They swarmed out the doors, slowly but surely.

That was one problem averted. And Dakota seemed to be too busy to notice.

Ah, that's right! Where's Sora and Ash?

A quick search later, I spotted Ash circling us in the air while Sora had retreated to the stands and out of the maze. Dakota -- that traitor -- was still in the center of the maze, the extent of his range stretching farther still.

"We have to stop this soon," I whispered to myself.

"I agree," the thief boy standing next to me said. "Which is why I'm calling a sketchy friend. Probably not the best option, but the only good one right now."

"Wait -- "

Thief boy brought his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. I covered my sensitive ears and when I lifted them, my heart stopped for a second.

Howls rang out, eerie and determined, surrounding the entire stadium.

Wolves.

(Side Note: Alright hi I'm back~~ Sorry for the break in posting there. I needed some time to come up with more plot stuffs. I also started another short story -- it's not published or in draft mode yet, it's on paper -- called The Last Day of June. Hopefully, I'll finish soon and it'll be up for you guys to read! I'm planning to keep it short, but who knows how long it'll turn out to be ._. See you next week!)

Bonus: Here's a recently drawn pic of a modern(ish) Ash! :3