The Great Eight

Chapter 49

"DAD!" Ricochet wailed. "DAD, NO!"

"Dad!" Riley furiously shook his father's body. "Wake up!"

Rex did not budge. His throat was scoured with massive bite marks, and his neck was bent at an awkward angle. His face was bared in a snarl, and his fangs were bloodied, as if he'd gone down fighting his attacker.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck..." That was Maverick. The coydog staggered towards Rex's body in a stupor, dry heaving at the smell of death that hung thickly in the air.

Blackjack silently stared at the body, his jaw dropped as low as it could go. The others stared silently as well, their ears pinned back and tongues lolling in absolute horror.

"DAD!" Riley plunged his face into his father's silky coat, hoping that perhaps one last scream could wake him up. But the coldness of Rex's pelt bluntly told him there was no use.

Riley didn't know how long he lay there on top of the collie. But at some point, Ricochet went running towards the farm, and Riley found himself following.

"MOM!" Ricochet howled. "MOM! RASCAL! ANYONE!?"

They seemed to cross the field and reach the barn in almost no time at all. As soon as they entered, the smell of blood grew much more powerful. It was all over the hay, coloring it a dark scarlet. Throughout the barn lay several bodies, all of them bearing horrific wounds. They were so heavily covered in blood that Riley could hardly recognize them. It took a few moments of staring before he recognized two of the bodies as his foster sisters, Russet and Ruby.

A thud came from behind Riley. Ricochet had passed out cold on the barn floor. Near him lay another body, which was in pieces. Its head had been torn off, and was staring blankly up at the roof. Judging by the size, Riley knew it was the old terrier Tufty.

He forced himself to look around more. In a pile of straw lay Lyra's mate, Soot. The small black dog's side had been completely ripped open. Then, Riley spotted a red and white pelt, lying face down in the hay. He didn't see any blood on this dog.

"Mom!?" Riley leaped over to his mother and shook her. "Mom, are you..."

Rose was stiff. Riley rolled her over, and saw that chunks of her throat were missing. Her eyes, once a beautiful sky blue, had rolled back into her head, revealing only the whites.

Riley dropped to the floor on his stomach, covered his head with his paws, and screamed. He screamed until his throat was in too much pain to continue.

And then, he recognized a scent, buried among the bloodied hay.

His snarl thundered throughout the barn, making everyone flinch violently.

"Mogui." Riley rasped with what was left of his voice. "He's still alive. He did this."

"Riley...what?" Nimble crept towards him. "Are—are you sure?"

She jumped back as Riley whipped his head around. Though he couldn't see the fury on his face, he could feel it boiling through his body, heating his pelt and surging through his blood vessels. He ran for the opposite exit of the barn, with nothing on his mind other than the feeling he got split seconds before he killed prey.

"MOGUI!" he howled. "WHERE ARE YOU!? COME OUT YOU COWARD! I'LL FUCKING SHRED YOU!"

He imagined his fangs clamping down on the Tibetan mastiff's spine. He could almost feel the crunch of bone in his jaws, and the gush of blood that filled his mouth. He would tear Mogui's body apart until there was nothing left of it.