Before the sun had even begun to illuminate the horizon, Machk and I were awake, gently pulling the bloody makeshift bandage from Sarah's neck. Beneath the crusted grasses was a thick, vicious-looking red gash, barely scabbed over.
"You sure we should be moving her?" I asked quietly.
"No. If anything, she should be staying right where she is," Machk grunted back. Crouching down onto all fours, he nuzzled his way underneath her, and gently flipped the sleeping timberwolv onto his back. "But I'm also thinking about your friend back at the creek, ma'iingan. That plane has not yet flown overhead again--we should return to your friend before it does and takes her, too."
I nodded quietly, and the two of us began walking back south beneath the stars. Slowly, we crossed the tundra field and returned to the treeline, making our way over the frigid landscape back to Daanis.
"I've gotta hand it to you," Machk whispered. "You sure did manage to run quite a long ways."
I raised an eyebrow at him curiously. He was beginning to look strained beneath Sarah's weight. "Oh, yeah? Is that so strange?"
"For you it is."
I bristled. "Why, because I'm a direwolf--a ma'iingan, as you keep saying? Or because I'm an Omega?"
He shrugged, jostling Sarah around on his shoulders. "Both. You also just shifted barely two days ago, you look like you've been starving yourself for months, and yesterday morning you could barely walk on your own four paws!"
I flipped my ears down, rolling my eyes. "Okay, you've got a point, I guess." I jabbed him lightly in the ribs, earning an annoyed growl. "I really am glad you followed after me."
"Yeah," he grunted thinly. "Darn, she's heavy. Ow!" Machk looked back to find Sarah pricking her claws at her side, her eyes now half-open.
"Don't...call...fat," she wheezed. A thin stream of blood ran from her lips, and she spat down onto the ground. "Put...down. I can...walk!"
Machk snorted, jostling the timberwolf on his shoulders. "Forget it. You almost died last night, Sarah."
"Fine...now!"
"No you're not. Just shut up and let me carry you," Machk grunted. He ducked through the trees, leaving the tundra plain behind him, and I trotted quietly after him, keeping pace as he wove his way through low-hanging branches and scrub. "Ugh, this is gonna kill me," he muttered, twitching his black nose furiously.
"Why's that? Aww, is the big, bad Alpha getting tired? I thought Alphas were supposed to be strong!" I teased. He sneezed, sniffing the air.
"No. It's her scent. It's drivin' me crazy!" He growled in frustration. "I hate spring."
"Why's that?"
Machk raised an eyebrow at me. "Because spring means hea--you're an idiot, you know that? No wonder you're extinct!" he mumbled. I scowled back at him.
Jerk.
I could feel a pair of eyes on me, and I twitched my ears nervously, sneaking a glance at Sarah. She stared straight back at me with wide, brown eyes, not bothering to break her gaze with even a blink.
I flinched, looking ahead instead. I hadn't really had a chance to take in the landscape on my run north just yesterday; I'd been far too focused on blowing off steam to care about sightseeing before.
It was...a different sight, to say the least. Numaykoos Park, while a wilderness reserve much like Atikaki, was also much different than it's southern counterpart. It was much flatter; while there were still thousands upon thousands of exposed sections of Canadian Shield up here, the Precambrian rock didn't form rolling hills like it did in Atikaki. The ancient mountains it did form were few and far between; even though they were relatively flat and low to the ground, the tips of the tallest hills were barren of trees.
A branch full of needles smacked across my face as the forest once again gave way to a field of dry grasses, littered with tiny, ice-rimmed ponds cutting through the expanse. And of course, all of the trees up here are coniferous. Makes sense I guess... Machk deftly wove his way around and between several of the marshes, skirting around the edges or leaping over narrows.
I looked down into one of the ponds, taking in my reflection. The water was mirror smooth, with several inches of ice clinging to the reeds that rimmed around the mash. I could see clear to the bottom as well as my mirror image; it was as if my face had been overlayed onto a dark, muddy surface on the bottom of the pond.
It was strange, seeing the thick, pink scar cutting across my face. Looks like Hutch. Looks a LOT like Hutch!
That is, if Hutch was a blonde-furred Omega...
Darnit, she's still lookin' at me! I bristled slightly, and turned deliberately to look back at Sarah. "Could you please stop doin' that already?"
Her brown eyes twitched, and she nodded slowly...only to keep her gaze fixed on me. I grit my teeth uncomfortably, and picked up my pace, pulling ahead of Machk. All the while, I could feel Sarah's eyes on my tail, as though she were physically pulling at my fur.
She is really starting to freak me out.
I skipped over a shallow creek and re-entered the forest, jogging lightly forward until the trees abruptly ended and the ground sloped sharply and suddenly downward, leading to the tiny, rock-floored valley where Daanis was.
Carefully, I scrabbled down the incline, stepping over large hunks of grey rock until the the ground flattened out into the relatively smooth, gravel-covered valley floor. Only a few paces ahead lay the edge of the icy creek responsible for creating the valley, and to my right sat the brightly colored canvas tent where we'd found Daanis.
I sniffed the air cautiously, and thumped my tail back and forth when I found no trace of the yellow airplane in the air--it hadn't been back to collect Daanis just yet. Though there was a rather rank smell emanating from the tent...
"Daanis?" I called, pawing at the canvas door flap. Ugh, what if she's soiled herself in her sleep? I don't know if I want to see that! I stepped inside, and wrinkled my nose in disgust. Daanis still lay exactly where I'd left her; her fur was clean and unspoiled, and her eyes had opened into narrow, sleepy slits.
However, the man Machk had killed still lay in the tent, slumped down and lifeless in front of his desk. I gagged at the stench. I can't believe he left a dead body in here with her! Machk, you frikkin' barbarian!
"Daanis. Come on, wake up already!" I pawed at her side, earning a lazy twitch of her tail. "Still out of it, are you?" I walked around her and nudged her with my nose. "Come on, let's get you some fresh air, shall we? You don't want to be smelling this all day, do ya?"
I sunk my teeth down into the scruff of her neck and gently pulled backwards, dragging her across the ground and out of the tent. "Hmm. I guess I know what Machk was talking about when he called Sarah heavy!" I grunted as I pulled her completely out of the doorway. "I don't know how Mingan can handle you! You probably throw the poor guy around like a feather!"
"Alphas are naturally more heavy-set than Omegas. Stronger, too--there's a reason Alphas and Omegas aren't supposed to mate, y'know!"
I flattened my ears, and looked over my shoulder at Machk. Thanks for ruinin' my moment. "Finally caught up, did you?"
He growled lowly. "Gimme a break. She's just as heavy as I am, ma'iingan!"
Sarah let herself slide down from Machk's back and steadied herself warily on the ground. She felt along her neck with her paw, touching the angry red wound cutting across her through lightly. "Ow," she mumbled. Slowly, she drew her eyes up and once again, fixed me an unwavering stare.
I lowered my head involuntarily, and tucked my tail in between my legs--as an Alpha, she looked a lot more imposing now that she was standing than she did on Machk's back.
"Humfrey...Michaels," she whispered, shaking her head slowly.
"That's my name." I nudged Daanis again, wishing that she would fully wake up so that I could hide behind her.
"You're...alive. You're supposed to be dead."
I twitched. "Surprise."
"What--gasp!--what happened?" She stepped closer, lowering her muzzle. "I saw them take you away, to the plane!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Machk look away uncomfortably.
"They took me back to Winnipeg. Sold me to a doctor that I knew once and left me there."
Sarah's eyes glassed over, and she put a paw to her lips. "I thought you were dead. I told your friends that Norman had killed you--thrown you out of the plane!"
I smirked dryly. "Well...I did almost bring the plane down!"
Sarah let out a watery laugh. "I can't believe you're still alive!" She leaned forward, gently running her nose through the fur on my neck. It was a welcoming gesture; one that I'd never really been comfortable with...but I didn't pull away.
I'd never had the chance to really know Sarah before I'd been carted off to the city, back to Scott Abrams; yet, it still felt like I'd finally found one of the friends I'd lost so long ago.
I ran my nose through the fur on her chest, returning the welcome. Her fur was thick with the scent of her own blood; I could also smell dirt, day-old fish blood...and another faint, barely detectable earthy scent. It was the scent of another wolv; one that not even time could erase from my memory.
"What happened?" I pulled my muzzle away. "I saw you that night--you were carrying food. What happened after they took me away?"
Sarah pawed at my muzzle, convincing herself that I was real. Her eyes were still wide and glassy. "I went back for your friends. Once I saw you being...taken to that plane, I was afraid that Norman was going to kill all of you. So I let them out."
"Were they okay? Are they okay?"
She shook her head, making my heart jump. "Not at the time, they weren't. Hutch had almost had his hand cut off, and his friend--Tara, ugh!--had been hit with a cattle prod."
My mind was reeling as I took it in. "But they're okay now, right? I m-mean, you said you set them free--you were talkin' about them just last night with Matthew! And, and, and...an' you even smell like them!" I sputtered hopefully.
"They're okay, Humfrey," Sarah answered. "They all think that you're long dead, but they are all still alive. They're safe. Hutch found them a den to ride out the winter in."
"How's Nadie?" I asked eagerly. Really, it was one of the only questions I wanted answered--did she miss me, like I did her? How did she deal with the loss that had ended up tearing me apart?
"She's fine."
I blinked stupidly. 'She's fine?' "That's it?!?"
"Yes, she's fine." Sarah looked down at me, catching sight of my almost crazed eyes. "What else do you want me to say?"
"What the heck do you think I want you to say? I've thought that she was dead for months already! Did she--does she miss me? She didn't move one and find someone else, did she--no, what am I saying, of course she wouldn't do that!"
"Uh, calm down a bit there Humfrey--"
"Is she at least eating well? When we last saw each other we were starving. Oh! Is she a better hunter now? I don't seem to recall her ever doing too well with big game...maybe I'm just not remembering straight, but--"
Sarah placed a paw on my nose, cutting me off. "You can ask her that yourself, Humfrey." She coughed, wincing and clutching at her throat. "The den isn't too far away. A day's journey north, tops!"
I brushed her paw away and shook my fur out. I was giddy with elation--my heart was pounding in my chest, screaming to be set free; my blood with thick with adrenaline, begging me to bolt.
"Where are they?" I whispered. Sarah smiled kindly, patting my head.
"Well...like I said, they aren't far. We...could be there by nightfall."
I bit down on my tongue, suppressing the squeal that was on my lips. I could feel my tail, swishing back and forth wildly behind me; even my paws were tingling with anticipation.
Sarah pressed a claw down into the soft, sandy gravel on the ground and drew a narrow line. "This is our valley. Here," she drew an "x" along her line, "is where we are now." Slowly, she carved a long, meandering line leading away from the valley, and ended it with another "x."
"And this is where they are. Their den is just north of a tiny lake. There's a little creek heading due north away from the lake; it turns sharply to the west only a few dozen hundred paces from the lake shore. You can't miss it--you'd know what I was talking about the moment you saw it."
Next to me, Daanis had finally managed to stand up. She was swaying back and forth ever so slightly, but her back was rigid and tall. She waved a golden-furred paw over Sarah's map.
"And where, exactly, is Mingan?"
Sarah cocked her head, sizing up the Alpha. "Who are you?"
"I should ask the same of you," Daanis shot back with a frown. "I'm Humfrey's Alpha."
"I'm Sarah," the timberwolv replied, lowering her head. "Who is this Mingan?"
Machk stepped forward, cutting Daanis off before she could speak. "There is only one place Mingan could be: the backwoods lodge up at Gyles Lake. There is nowhere else to go, let alone for a plane to land!"
Sarah shrugged, drawing a line from Nadie's location up further, to the northeast. "Gyles lake is over here. From here, to the den, to Gyles would be...maybe three days?"
"Three days!" Daanis breathed. She sat down heavily in despair. "So long..."
"Well, hey! We'll go meet up with Hutch and his gang, then head on over to Gyles Lake." Sarah's face began to fall. "Wait, why would anyone of us be up at Gyles Lake?" Her eyes widened. "This doesn't have anything to do with what Matthew was talking about, does it? He said that somebody burned Home to the ground..."
Machk nodded grimly. "I'm afraid Matthew was tellin' the truth on that one, Sarah. In fact...I don't even know where everybody went. None of this had happened when Norman and I left Minikwakunis!"
Sarah squinted. "Have you tried the winter den?"
"Passed it on the way here...there wasn't anyone there."
"Oh. Well, hey! Maybe Norman would know where--"
"Norm's dead," Machk stated coldly. He ruffled his fur quietly. "It's entirely possible that some of them are at Gyles Lake as well."
Sarah looked up at him questioningly, and Machk averted his eyes.
"There were several people back home who'd been...well, poisoned. This man, this doctor could very well be doing this again at Gyles Lake right now."
"What do you mean, poisoned?"
"Cured," I interjected. I held out my right foreleg, displaying the bite scars etched into my flesh by Mingan's teeth. "Abrams--that doctor--found a way to make people like us human again. Only human. He did it to me, too, after Norman took me away."
Sarah looked back and forth between Machk and I, disbelief evident on her muzzle. "I don't understand. You're not human, Humfrey! I can see your paws and your tail with my own two eyes, and I'm telling you, you are most certainly a wolf!"
I let my paw down to the ground. "It's a long story. Look, we're burnin' daylight here! What's say I tell you while we run? We really should get going!"
Machk nodded firmly. "It's settled then." He fixed me with a compassionate gaze, smiling slightly. "Looks like you're gonna see your girlfriend again today...Humfrey. An' then we're gonna go find your Mingan."
I shivered in anticipation as Machk turned away. I trailed behind the three Alphas, feeling every bone in my body aching to run forward. Nadie is only a day away. I'm going to see her again today! I almost couldn't believe it; just the thought of it was enough to make me dizzy. For me, she--along with Hutch and Tara--had come back from the dead.
I'm sure it'll be the same for them! They think I'm dead--what a surprise it will be when they see my face! I grinned happily, skipping joyfully along behind the Alphas. This is happening! This is really happening! It was too good to be true; I was tempted to pinch myself, if only to see that I wasn't dreaming.
My long, torturous nightmare was finally, finally coming to an end!
...But Mingan's has only begun.
My paws ceased moving, and I froze in place, watching the two timberwolves and my own Alpha draw away from me. My eyes flicked over to Daanis, and I felt my heart begin to sink.
Mingan should be next to her right now.
But he will be! We just need to go get some help first--it'll be what...two, maybe three days tops? He'll be fine--
I bit down on my tongue, cursing silently. How could I even think that?
He's with Abrams. He won't be fine, you idiot!
I'm the one who brought him up here. I brought the both of them up here! There had been a time--a year ago, almost--when Mingan had felt himself to be responsible for me. He'd bitten me; as such, he felt as though her were to blame for the suffering that I underwent as a result.
Now, it was my turn to feel guilt.
Who am I to make him wait?
Wait, what am I saying?!? I've been waiting to see Nadie all winter!!
Sarah flicked her tail in my direction up ahead. "Come on, Humfrey! What are you waiting for, let's run!"
I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't want to wait, not even for another second--I wanted to run. I wanted to run--no, fly!--away from this wretched valley, as fast as paw could carry, straight to her. I wouldn't stop to drink, I wouldn't turn aside to hunt; no, I wanted to close the distance between my mate and I, and I wanted to close it now.
And do what?
Leave Mingan behind? My eyes slowly opened in realization
Didn't you already do that once? You left him behind in Atikaki, and he nearly died because of it! I shook my head, wishing that the voice of reason would wither to silence in my mind...
Instead, my mind flashed back to the fall. I remembered finding Mingan, starving and covered in a thick layer of scabs from mange. I remembered his eyes, wild and terrified, gazing at my own, lacking recognition and filled with fear.
"You left me behind!"
"Wait!" I breathed, lagging behind. Daanis turned her head, revealing a black spiderweb of tears criss-crossing her muzzle.
The three Alphas looked back at me expectantly. Machk cocked his head, squinting at me. "Ma'iingan? Are you coming or not?"
I grit my teeth. "No. I'm not."
Sarah scrunched her muzzle into a frown. "Excuse me? Humfrey, what are you doing? Let's go!" she wheezed.
"I'm not coming. I can't."
"Like hell you can't!" She hobbled back to me and grabbed the scruff of my neck in her jaws, dragging me forward and through the air as though I was a pup. "Your mate thinks you're dead, Humfrey! How can you turn away--"
I pawed at her muzzle, pushing her jaws away and falling down to the ground. "Nadie is alive!" I hissed, shaking my fur. "I am aware of that! She's been alive this whole time, and I've been falling apart believing her to be dead!" I took a step back, extending my claws threateningly. "You said she was safe, didn't you?"
Sarah nodded. "I did...but only for the moment! It's only a matter of time before Matthew finds her!"
Daanis stepped forward. "Humfrey, why are you thinking about this? Why are you holding back?!?"
I bit my tongue, not believing what I was about to say. "Because of Mingan."
Daanis flinched. "What about him?"
"Nadie isn't alone, Daanis. She still has Hutch and Tara by her side--and she is safe! But Mingan isn't. He's all alone in that lodge, and who knows what Abrams is doing to him?" I shook my head vigorously. "We can't make him wait. Not again! He already had to wait to be rescued once--I'm not gonna let him suffer again. I owe him that much!"
Daanis's eyes widened, filling with tears. "You would do that? Humfrey...your mate is so close!"
"MY mate is gonna live. Yours isn't if we don't find him! Wake up, Daanis. Think about this; it's your mate, after all!" I looked over at Sarah. "That map you drew--it's only a day's run to my friends, right?"
Sarah nodded. "That's right. We could be there by nightfall!"
I shook my head, padding back to the sketch in the sand. I drew a line from the valley, directly to the tiny "x" marking the backwoods lodge. "If we go to Nadie's den, and then to the lodge, it'll take two days. But if we go straight to the lodge..."
"It'll only take a day and a half. We'd be there before sunset tomorrow instead of sunset two days from now," Sarah finished.
Machk swiped his paw across the map, making me jump. "Forget it," he growled. "Look around you, ma'iingan! There are only four of us--and you are only an Omega! We need your lost friends' help if we are going to get Mingan!"
"So send Sarah back to Nadie!" I replied. "She knows where they are, she won't have to guide us there. The rest of us will go on ahead to the lodge!"
"Now you're sounding even stupider," Machk argued. "Only three of us going to find that doctor instead of four, huh? We'll be slaughtered! You saw what that man did to my community!"
I flipped my ears back submissively, but refused to back down. "Please, Machk! The least we can do is go there and see what we're up against! If we have even the slightest change to save Mingan, than we have to take it as soon as possible!"
"Again, listen to yourself! Two Alphas and an Omega against what could very well be an army!"
"If it really is that bad, then we'll wait for Hutch and Sarah to arrive before we do anything!" I looked from Alpha to Alpha desperately. "Look, none of you have ever met Abrams before. I have! He tested his 'cure' on me--I was the first one to not die from it! It's horrible--HE'S horrible! He doesn't care who he hurts, or how much he hurts them!"
Daanis lowered her head, and padded away from Machk, taking place beside me. "He's right," she muttered. "Mingan is my mate. If there's any chance we can save him without Hutch an' Tara an' Nadie, than we have to take it. I am bound to him, as he is to me! I do not want Mingan to die!"
Machk twitched, flicking his gaze from me to Daanis, before stomping angrily on the ground, cursing loudly. "What the hell is wrong with you? You are so close, but now you're just gonna turn your back on your own mate? You idiot!"
I stepped back. "Machk, look--"
Daanis clamped a paw over my muzzle. "Machk, we would be turning our backs on MY mate if we didn't do this. Nadie, Hutch and Tara are alive and safe--and they will continue to be so, like Humfrey said. But my Mingan may very well be killed in the meantime!"
Machk pulled at his ears with exasperation. "I am NOT going up to that lodge alone!"
"You're not alone. You have myself and Humfrey!"
"Ha!"
Daanis stepped forward, baring her teeth at the brown timberwolf. "We are going to that lodge," she growled darkly, "and we're going to save my friend. You said so yourself--there could very well be some of your own people up at Gyles Lake, too! Are you going to let what's left of them die as well?"
"Don't you put this on me! I'm not the one who caused this!"
"You certainly were complicit!" Daanis snapped. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sarah nodding slightly, agreeing with Daanis's observation.
Daanis cocked her head, her expression softening. "You're afraid, aren't you?"
"What do you think? Of course I am! This man destroyed my home--an' killed who knows how many people with it! Only a fool wouldn't be afraid!"
"So then let's get even!" Daanis seethed. "Why wait another day? Why let Abrams fester up here any longer?" She turned and nipped lightly at Sarah's heels. "Go, Sarah. Go find Hutch, and bring him up to Gyles Lake. We will meet you there! Now go!"
Machk bristled. "Don't you dare move, Sarah. We're doing this together, like we discussed. We are going to the den; then, and only then, we will go to Gyles."
"No. We're not." Daanis sat down, and patted the ground next to her. I sat next to her, acutely aware that she towered over me. "If you want to go there, than so be it. Humfrey and I won't be with you." She squinted slyly at the Alpha timberwolv, smirking. "Your paws are covered with Sarah's blood, Machk. I can still smell some of Humfrey's blood on your claws, too--huh, I wonder how that happened--and I can assure you that Hutch will smell it, too. How do you think he'll react to that? How do you think Nadie will react to that? It'll be your funeral, mahikan!"
Machk's bristle turned into a glower. "You don't even know the way to Gyles Lake. You need me."
"And you need us. Where are you gonna go, Machk? You gonna go to Hutch an' hope that he'll let you in?"
"Nadie will remember you," I mumbled. "She saw you take me in the fall. She'll recognize your voice--" Daanis's paw clamped back down around my muzzle.
"You can't go to them alone. And you can't go back to your own people...wherever they are. They'll hunt you down, sooner or later for killin' Norm."
Sarah's eyes bugged, and she looked at Machk with horror. "Wait a minute. YOU killed Norman?"
"FINE!" Machk roared. He flipped his ears back against his skull in disgrace, speaking through clenched teeth. "You've made your point, Daanis." Oh sure, you call her by her name but not me, huh? "I have nowhere to go, and dammit I do need you!"
Daanis swished her fluffy, golden-brown tail back and forth. "Good! Now. Sarah...go. We will meet you at this 'Gyles Lake.' Hurry!"
Sarah nodded warily, casting a wayward glance at her kin. "I can't believe you killed Norman! Elizabeth is going to kill you!"
Machk scowled at the ground. "Yeah, well...I guess we both have that goin' for us now, don't we? Besides...Norm had it coming." He nosed at the rim of the valley. "Go on, get out of here, Sarah."
Sarah shook her head in disbelief, and slowly turned around, padding her way to the edge of the valley.
Machk let his ears twitch back up as she broke into a sprint, clambering up the rocky slope and into the forest above. "How long is it gonna take for me to live down what I've done?"
Daanis huffed, pushing him to his feet roughly. "Consider this making things right, once and for all. Let's go, Machk."
I padded after the two Alphas as they began climbing out of the valley, leaving the little fuel depot and the icy creek behind. Machk lumbered on ahead, staying silent...though I could almost hear him angrily gritting his canines together.
To my left, Sarah let out a series of barks. My eyes met hers, and her tail swished back and forth several times, before she turned away, forging her own path through the trees away from us.
I could go with her. I watched her brown fur disappear into the thicket, and twitched my nose sadly. No. Not yet. There's only one more thing for me to do.
My pace quickened, and I jogged alongside Machk, brushing my tail lightly against his side.
"What do you want?" he growled. "We're still a very long ways away!"
"I know. I just wanted to say thank you."
The timberwolf snorted. "Yeah, whatever. It's like you said, I owe you--don't I?" He looked down his muzzle at me, narrowing his eyes. "I'm almost willing to bet that after this, it still won't be enough for you. This isn't gonna fix you, Humfrey. You're in far too many pieces for that, and I ain't a shrink!"
My ears flattened and I growled lowly at him. What if he's right? What if we do save Mingan, and I do get to see Nadie again...what if I'm still broken, even after everything is right again?
"You're right, Machk. You're a good wolv." I huffed heavily, watching my breath condense in front of my nose. "I'm glad that you're helping us. I don't know if I'll ever truly understand why you changed your heart, but I'm glad you did."
He snorted again, but softened his expression.
Gradually, the forest ended and I found myself back in the long, grassy expanse where I'd found Sarah. Machk deftly navigated the clearing, stopping periodically and sniffing the air, before gathering his bearings and setting off again.
"Like I've said. The pack never really came up to Numaykoos at all. Forgive me if I don't know exactly where I am," he muttered. "Don't worry. We'll get there yet. We'll get there."
He leapt over a narrow water-filled marsh, and Daanis followed suite, jumping out ahead of me and landing awkwardly on the other side. She flexed her left foreleg, briefly flashing the scar tissue on her joint. I jumped out after her, and touched her joint gently.
"You okay?"
She nodded softly. "Yeah." She held out her leg, letting her paw fall limp. "It still hurts, you know. There are some days I can still feel the shot inside my bones."
"You gonna make it?" I looked down my muzzle at the expanse ahead of us. "It's a long way."
"Ha! You're funny, Humfrey."
"Why's that?"
She shrugged. "I've made it this far. Much like yourself, I ain't quittin' until we're done here."
Up ahead, Machk snarled. "Would you please try to keep up? You're already dragging me out here, th'least you could do is pull your own weight!"
I rolled my eyes and trotted after him. "Say, Machk. Where exactly are the rest of your kind?"
"Beats me. There's a winter den along the shore of Minikwakunis Lake, but they weren't there." He paused to scratch at his ear thoughtfully. "Matthew seems to have come from the east. I can only assume that what's left of my people have holed up somewhere there."
I nodded slowly, frowning. "Well, then. I guess they really aren't too far away!"
"No, I don't suppose they are."
"Hmm."
Machk shot me a curious glance. "'Hmm,' what?"
"Well, I guess I'm just thinking. It's been, what...five, six days since Minikwakunis burned?"
"Something like that. No, surely it has been longer already!"
"Right." I looked down at my foreleg, quietly eying the bite marks wrapping themselves around my limb. On my back, I could feel a cold wind, breaking through the thin layer of fur that had managed to grow through the burn scar along my spine. "I wonder why the survivors haven't stopped Abrams yet."
Machk stopped, and turned around. "Who's to say they haven't?"
"Well, for one, he's still operating a plane around these parts, and he still has people working for him. I can only assume that he is still alive!"
"What's your point?"
I ruffled my fur, all too aware of the many scars that dotted my pelt. Most of them were a result of Scott Abrams. "If it were me, I wouldn't have hesitated to seek revenge. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me that the timberwolves would just sit around while someone killed and experimented on their own kind. I know that Matthew said that they intended to stop Abrams...I just don't know what has taken them so long!"
"He burned our home to the ground, ma'iingan. That's not something you can pick yourself up from after a week."
"No, I guess not." I looked around the clearing, focusing my eyes on the surrounding treeline. I just hope we don't run into them yet, too. It didn't matter that we had Machk with us; he had, after all, killed the mate of the pack's Alpha. All three of us were fair game; and all none of us were in familiar territory.
"Looks like someone's been hunting here," Machk muttered sullenly. My ears perked and I looked up from the ground
A few paces to my left lay several caribou bones, nestled amongst the grasses. I pulled away and held my nose to the ground, sniffing at the remains. They were old and picked clean of flesh; whoever had killed the animal had finished it off weeks ago.
"Come on, Humfrey!" Daanis whined, her voice getting quieter as she and Machk continued. "Don't make me come back there and drag you!"
I kept my gaze on the bones, ignoring her. Dozens, if not hundreds of little teeth marks had been etched into the ivory surface of the remains; it was the signature of the predators who had felled the animal.
The old, yet still pungent smell of a scent marker found its way to my nostrils, and I padded away from the bones until my nose was pressed against a red granite boulder. I know this scent.
My knees knocked together as I inhaled once more. I couldn't exactly place it, but the scent was overwhelmingly familiar. I couldn't tell who's it was, but it definitely belonged to one of my long lost friends.
To the west, not even a hundred meters away, the treeline once again rose up from the clearing...and a narrow, worn pathway cut its way into the forest, leading away from the expanse.
They were here. SHE was here--they killed that caribou! Some of those teeth marks belong to her! I unconsciously took a step towards the pathway. The grasses of the clearing leading up to it had been thoroughly trampled down to the dirt; the trail was almost begging me to follow it. Where does it lead? It has to lead straight to their den, doesn't it? Where else would it go!
I sucked in another lungful of the scent marker, not caring that I was smelling someone's old urine. It was almost better than catching a whiff of Nadie's scent of Sarah's fur!
I'm close enough to touch! The path waited silently, taunting me eyes. Just another step--
"Humfrey! So help me I will carry you if I have to. Let's go!"
Daanis's voice split through my thoughts, and I shook my head clear, sending once last, longing glance down the trail.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" I forced myself to turn away, and once more I began jogging north, catching up to my companions. We padded into the forest, leaving the clearing behind us. I followed behind Machk numbly, my mind silently racing.
Hundred upon hundreds of pine trees towered above us, creaking ominously in the wind; the wind itself licked at the fur on my ears, whistling loudly as it raced through the forest...but none of it registered in my mind. The vast, dynamic landscape around me went unnoticed as I walked, for there was only one thing on my mind.
Where are you now?
* * * *
Alright, here y'all go! Sorry it took to long, I was out of province for a while there! Enjoy!
What do you think is still in store for our two heros? How do you think Nadie and her gang will react when Sarah finds them? Let me know below!