The hyena snarled, prompting Aiden to step back.
"That doesn't make sense. Hyenas are in Africa. This place is a little too green to be Africa, isn't it?"
"I don't think they care about that," Vera said.
"We can have a decent conversation without getting messy, can't we?"
Aiden took a step forward. The hyena snapped its teeth at him. He jumped back.
"Then again, maybe not."
More of them came out of the woods, circling the duo and Juno. They were blatantly laughing at their prey.
"They shouldn't be this aggressive!" James said. "They're scavengers, not hunters!"
"Tell that to the alpha," Vera said. "He looks hungry."
She reached into Aiden's pockets.
"Hey!"
"Don't you have another cornade?"
"No, I only carried one. I wasn't ending up a stick of dynamite like Gino."
The other hyenas kept their distance. James knew what was happening. They were leaving the alpha to confront them.
"It's not a hunt," James said. "It's a territorial dispute. They want us to leave."
"That would be great if we could actually leave," Aiden said, looking at the hyenas behind them.
James looked at Juno. He looked like he was ready to fight.
"Damn it. I didn't want to do this, but.. don't have a choice."
"What?" Vera asked.
"Juno's gonna have to settle it... with his teeth."
"Can't you just shoot them or something?"
"Then the rest of them will attack you guys. There's nothing we can do. Juno has to fight."
"And if he dies?" Aiden asked.
"If he fails... run."
"My calves can't take this..."
"Juno, I'm sorry, buddy," James said. "It's your turn. Defend."
Juno barred his teeth in response. The hyena charged.
"Guys, get back!"
"Ah!"
Vera tripped and fell. Aiden picked her up and dragged her out of the way before the two canines could collide into them. They went sliding into the middle of the circle, the hyena snapping at Juno. He pushed it off and shot up to attack. The hyena hopped out of the way. Juno slid and went in for another attack. It hopped out of the way again.
"Hyenas learned to dodge lions," Aiden said. "It'll be tough to catch it."
The hyena moved out of the way again. When Juno tried to stop, the hyena ran in and snapped at his ear. Juno yelped. The hyena ripped off a part of his ear. Juno reared back.
"You got this, boy!" James encouraged.
Juno charged again. The hyena hopped away. When the hyena rushed in to take another bite, Juno rolled on his back to snap back. He caught the hyena's leg and chomped down. It screamed and bit Juno's snout. They let go of each other to lick their wounds. The hyena limped with three good legs, circling. Juno followed the hyena's movement, keeping his distance. Vera and Aiden could only get so close to the hyenas keeping them inside.
"Can he win this?" Aiden asked James.
"Juno was trained for this," James said. "He knows what to look for."
The hyena limped but didn't back down. This wasn't its first fight, which was obvious from the scars. Juno recognized the faded wounds. This wasn't going to be easy.
The hyena suddenly charged, no longer limping.
"He played being hurt!" Aiden said.
Juno leaped into the hyena. They went to the ground and tussled for a moment. Juno stood up. The hyena grabbed his backside. Juno whippped back and forth, trying to snap at the hyena's face. It jumped off. It was almost comical, like a circus act.
"Can't we do anything to help him?" Vera asked.
"If we interfere, then so does the pack," James said. "It's all up to Juno."
Juno panted. The fight was going on for too long. He was about to lose stamina just from dodging. The wolf had one last chance to gain the upper hand. He charged first. The hyena hopped away, but Juno was expecting it. He skidded and switched direction to where the alpha was landing. Juno tackled the hyena. It kicked and screamed, snapping at Juno on top of it. Juno snarled and aimed for the hyena's neck. Vera and Aiden looked away.
There was a loud *crack* then silence. The hyenas whimpered. Vera opened her eyes. The alpha didn't move. Juno stepped back, scratching at the tear in his ear. James fist-pumped the air.
"Yes!"
The Juno looked around at the hyenas that were suddenly silent. He barked at them. They tripped over each other, laughing in their escape. They disappeared into the forest.
"That son of a bitch really did it," Aiden said unbelievably.
"I told you," James said, landing on the ground. "It's part of his training."
He called Juno and scratched behind his head.
"And you did a good job, didn't you, boy? Yes, you did!"
"Oh, god. Not the puppy talk," Vera said.
James touched the back of Juno's ear.
"You've got your first battle scar, boy," James said. "It's so cool!"
"That's supposed to be cool?" Aiden asked.
"He's not dead, and that's all I care about. Little mementos like that stands out to other wolves and trainers. They get respected when they carry scars. It means they can fight."
"That's kinda cool, I guess," Aiden said. "But we've gotta go. They might come back."
"We're not far from our destination," James said. "The kid was telling the truth. There's a tower not far away. Maybe some buildings, too."
Vera looked at the fallen animal.
"I wish we could take it with us. It could feed a lot of people," she said.
"Yeah, me too," James said. "Hopefully, when we fix the comms system, we won't have to."
"I'm really not liking Earth so much anymore," Aiden said. "Why did we come back here?"
"Maybe we can ask my dad when he wakes up. He was close to Jason, Mark's father. He might know something that can help us."
"We should get moving. If they don't have a leader anymore, then there's nothing to stop all of them from attacking us."
"Except Juno. He can take on any of them," James said.
"Let's... not test that theory."
~~~
Mark was already regretting jumping into the water. He didn't know what he was doing. He just followed his instinct. The water wasn't murky like it looked from the surface. There was sunlight still reaching down into the cold water. He could make out Austin struggling with something on his ankle. Mark reached him and grabbed at whatever was wrapped around his ankle. He could barely make out a tentacle, suction cups pressed onto Austin's skin.
Mark tried to pry them off, but he couldn't get it free. Austin screamed and grabbed Mark. He felt himself get dragged down deeper into the water with Austin. He could feel the pressure pushing against his chest. His lungs were already begging for air.
He looked down and saw a glimmer of light blue. It was the ring! It sank, rocking downward, until another tentacle grabbed it. Mark pushed off Austin and swam down, hooking the ring with his finger. He gave a sharp tug, ripping it free. He slipped the ring on. Another one came reaching out of the depths, hooking on his wrist. Something sharp stabbed him, and he shouted.
He tugged as hard as he could, but the tentacles wouldn't let go. His skin burned. Something on the tentacle was digging into his arm. It was squeezing hard like a python with its prey. Mark summoned Wolfbane and sawed the tentacle off. One tried to wrap around his leg. He kicked it away. He caught sight of Addison's body being pulled down with her own underwater tether. Mark couldn't stay much longer. He needed fresh air.
He kicked his way to the surface. Something grabbed his leg. He thought it was another tentacle and tried kicking it off again. It wouldn't let go. He looked down and saw Austin was dragging him down. He was trying to kill him!
Mark struggled but couldn't get out of his grip. Austin pulled him down, reaching past his waist and grabbing his arm. Mark was now in a tangle with Austin, who was trying to push him down. He felt the tentacles wrap both of them together. Mark's lungs were on fire. He was getting dizzy. His strength was failing him. He was seconds from blacking out.
He had only one chance.
In his fight with Austin, he summoned Wolfbane. He twisted his wrist and thrusted forward. Austin stopped moving, mouth open in shock. He looked down. The sword went through his stomach. Mark pushed it in even further. Austin lost his grip, and Mark flailed his arms and legs, knocking off the tentacles that failed to latch onto his skin from the Silver Suit. He finally broke free and scrambled his way to the surface of the water.
His head broke the top of the river, gasping and coughing. He gulped in fresh air. He didn't hesitate. He swam to the edge of the shore. He dragged himself across the wet sand, grit digging under his nails. He grabbed a stick and stuck it in the dirt, pulling himself with it. When he was completely out of the water, he turned over on his back. The sun hit his skin, welcoming fresh warmth.
After a few minutes, he forced himself to sit up. He wanted to throw up, but there was nothing to come up. His head was still in the water, swimming aimlessly. He groaned. Something itched on his wrist. He went to scratch it and felt something slimy. He picked up his wrist and saw the piece of tentacle still attached. He yelped and wrapped his fingers under it. He ripped it off and threw it back in the water.
He looked at his wrist. He could see round, bloody circles from the tentacles. He remembered reading somewhere about octopi having hooks in their suction cups to help capture their prey. They could have been poisonous... if he was lucky. He was sure his luck would be running out at this rate.
He looked at the water. There were no signs of Austin or Addison. No bubbles surfaced. No tentacles whipped out to grab him. It was like nothing happened. He thought about it for a moment. Vera had mentioned something about people with the Rise being attracted to the water. He thought it was just from the Rise making people's skin burn, but... maybe it was the octopus or whatever was under the water that was the cause.
But that doesn't make sense, he thought. Blaez, Edon, and Juno were all in the water, too. They didn't catch anything.
If the octopus wasn't picky about its prey, then it would have an effect on other animals. It could be mutation, Mark suspected. Animals have had the chance to evolve for hundreds of years on Earth. The wolves didn't change at all. The Rise had no effect on them. This might be why LEDGE chose wolves as one of the species to survive in the first place. They were immune to certain elements that would allow them to thrive without threat of extinction. Was this the outcome they expected to happen?
If it is, then... why are people affected?
He had more questions than he did answers, and it was making his head hurt worse. He picked himself off the ground. He shivered from the water still evaporating off his skin. His Silver Suit sensed his body temperature dropping and kicked in with its thermal function. He almost collapsed from the relaxing temperature. He never thought he would appreciate warmth like he was right then. He took a quick look at the river, picturing Austin and Addison's bodies being pulled to the bottom of the river to be eaten. He shook his head at the invasive thought.
Mother nature really doesn't want us here, does she?