I pad silently through the inches of snow that blanket the ground. I wish I had taken the forest route, where at least I could have kept my paws warm. The snow is falling fast, and will be up to my knees soon. My pelt is wet and stuck together in frozen chunks, the pale grey of my back completely obscured by the ice and making me appear completely white. We're heading towards an empty human town, abandoned many generations ago. It's a good hunting ground, with lots of animals using the streets and buildings for shelter.
I turn my head back, counting the wolves following me. Nobody is missing. I'm elated that our Alpha, Granite, allowed me to lead a hunting mission. I mean, it's a pretty small one, only four wolves towing behind me, but it is my first time. Leading a hunt is a big honor, especially due to my young age. I've only recently reached adulthood.
"We're growing near the town! Get ready to take down a caribou!" I shout joyously, as to reach the wolves following me.
Braze, a brownish copper wolf is the nearest to me. He is the largest in this group, tall and muscular. One of the best hunters in the Whitetail Valley Pack, he's somewhat vain. But he has a good heart, and is always ready to please Alpha Granite's whims.
Behind Braze is a young female, who sought refuge with us when she was abandoned in the tundra as a pup because of the fact that she was a runt. She insisted that her name was Tundra Eyes, albeit the general oddness of the name. Two word names are almost never used in this forest. Her pelt is a light, mousy brown with a cream underbelly. She's not a bad hunter, but she's very unsure of herself, leading her to making many mistakes.
Directly beside her is Pitch. He is a long legged male, a fast runner with a quick tongue. His mind is sharper than a lynx's claw, and he's very charismatic. His yellow eyes are blazing with excitement for the hunt.
A very young wolf is trailing behind us. It's his first hunt, and Alpha Granite entrusted us to teach him. I hope to do a good job, as he seems to have a very promising future. He's not as modest as I would like, but he always tries his best. His pelt is a dark brown shade, and his name is Oak. He's panting furiously, but he puts out a bit more energy in order to run next to me.
"Are you doing okay, Oak? We can slow down if you need. We're in no rush." I tell him, lowering my head to his level.
"I'm okay, Cadmium!" He calls happily.
"You sure?" I ask jokingly.
"Yes! I'm going to do my best and not slow you guys down!" He exclaims, large paws stumbling over an exposed rock.
I start to slow down for him, but he gets right back up and starts to run back at the same pace as before.
"I like your enthusiasm!" I shout, nudging the smaller wolf with my snout.
He's lucky, as we've reached the center of the abandoned human town. I scent the air for prey or other predators that will be competing with us, but nothing reaches my nose. I'm not worried, because the caribou usually are deeper into the downtown area, as the mainly cobblestone streets repel a lot of predators. But not us, we're good enough hunters to fight through a bit of discomfort.
I slow to a walk, the rest of the group evening out beside me. The stones are not pleasant on my paws, the broken streets somewhat painful. But this is a good hunting area, so I suck it up.
As we near the downtown area, a distinct scent reaches my nostrils. The herd of caribou is near. I flick my long tail, motioning for them to be silent. My eyes, bright amber, scan the surrounding street for the sight of our prey.
Oak's ears are twitching excitedly, his tail wagging from side to side. I turn my nose up to the sky, searching again for the scent of the herd. Silently, we move down the street. Turning a corner, the herd of caribou is in view. I crouch down, whispering to the group.
"Alright. There's an older one near the back. A cow. See her? Okay, we'll have Braze go in first, and he'll scare off most of them. She probably won't be able to catch up to them. Once she's separated from the herd, Pitch and I will run at her from the front. She'll attempt to fight, but then Tundra will launch herself onto the cow's back and killing her will be easy." I instruct quietly, flicking my tail to point at the cow.
"What about me?" Oak asks, brown eyes glittering excitedly.
"I was just getting to that. Since caribou are large, I'm going to have to ask you to stay close to me and not attack. On our way back, I'll teach you how to kill rabbits. I'm sorry, Oak, but caribou are just too big for a pup like you." I apologize.
Oak's face falls, his overlarge pup ears drooping.
"I'm sure I could help out!" He protests, small tail lashing.
I do admit that I feel sorry, but knowing that one kick and his entire skull would be caved in gives me faith in my decision. That cow doesn't look very dangerous from here, but up close, she's huge.
"I'm sorry, Oak. But those caribou have strong hooves, and you're just too small. I promise you'll join a hunt when you're older." I assure him, speaking quietly so my voice isn't heard.
Oak huffs out a puff of visible breath due to the cold, and I know he won't argue with me anymore. I direct my attention to the rest of the grown wolves.
"Alright. Let's move. Braze, it's your time." I whisper.
Braze stands up, his coppery fur standing out against the snow. Just as he's about to leap into the open, a loud bang reverberates across the street. My ears flatten against my skull, my fur standing on end. Instinctively, I bare my teeth and move in front of Oak.
"What the hell was that?!" I hiss.
All of them shrug. Tundra Eyes looks terrified. Oak crouches low to the ground, pressing his side against my leg in fear. I peer out over the cracked cobblestones, my amber eyes blazing and searching for the source of the noise. All I see are caribou running in all different directions, a confusing disarray of brown pelts. A calf bolts past us, too panicked to notice the group of wolves right beside it.
More of the bangs fill the air, the distinct smell of smoke following soon after. Is it a fire? I've never heard flames make those noises. The buck of the herd is dead, along with most of the cows. Bright blood seeps from his skull, his large and majestic form crumpled on the frosted stones. The others have scattered so far apart that whatever killed them could never track them down. Blood weaves through the cobblestones, melting the thin coat of snow.
But what killed them? I narrow my eyes, looking for whatever managed to kill the herd without even touching them.
A chilling fear runs through me when I see what it was.
Humans.
I recognize them from Alpha Granite's description. When I was a pup, he used to tell my friends and I terrifying stories of the powerful creatures. He never had any run-ins with them, but he had seen them before. They never stayed for long, usually just passing through. The really scary stories were the ones about long ago.
Humans reigned supreme, killing prey needlessly and driving us to starving. We nearly had to flee the forests. But one day, they were gone. They fled on odd, wooden sleds pulled by odd wolves that looked very different from us. Some were wider, some more lithe. They were like us once, but they bowed to the humans and obeyed their confusing and meaningless words. They were dogs.
"Humans..." I whisper, eyes wide.
Tundra Eyes lets out a loud whimper, and I flick my tail in front of her face urgently, calling her to be silent. I'm scared that if the humans hear us, they'll come for us too. In the past, wolves have been shot like that before.
I motion with my tail, telling the rest of my group to stay silent and still. I creep around buildings, closer to the humans. Many of them are hiding in alleyways with their guns. It makes me angry. Humans don't even eat that much. They don't need those caribous. But my pack does.
I hide silently behind a fallen chunk of roof material, very close to one of the humans. I've never seen one before, but they match the description my Alpha Granite told us when I was a pup. They look so different for every other creature in the forest, and are quite ugly. Bipedal and bald, except the patch of messy fur on its head. Its skin is odd and pale, and thin. I've never seen an animal with no fur or feathers covering it like that. It is wearing another creature's fur, which I quickly recognize as a bear's. If it needs fur, why is it here? Humans aren't made for this cold. Why don't they just leave it to us thick pelted animals? It makes no sense to me.
I'm tempted to leap at it and bury my teeth in its throat, but I know that its gun can kill me in a second. So I bide my time, staring intensely at the back of the thing's head.
I thought that I was brave before this moment. I thought that I was a valiant hunter and loyal warrior, but now that I'm feet away from a human, I'm reduced to a terrified lump of fur. I slowly back away, suddenly turning around and skittering away before the human can see what I am.
I find my way back to my hunting group, pelt sticking up so high that I probably resemble a porcupine.
"We need to get back! Alpha needs to know about this!" I whisper through my teeth.
Braze nods, and we leap into action, running over the soft snow. It's very deep now, so it's slowing us down. But we need to get to Alpha Granite, and to warn him about the humans. This could be the start of something terrible.