The Rage (Very rough, rough draft) Chap. 6

We reach the mountains at sunset, the light spilling over the snowy peaks.

By midnight, our paws sore and clumsy, we finally make it to the Eastern Healer’s hideout.

And something is clearly very wrong.

“Stay here.” Dake orders, leaving us at the entrance to the Healer’s camp, a large cave carved into the mountainside, with complicated passageways weaving throughout the entire mountain. The moonlight casts our shadows far out in front of us as we watch Dake trot into the shadows. After a moment has gone by, I take a step forward.

“He said to stay here.” Crow warns.

“I know. I’m just not going to obey.” I murmur, creeping farther forward into the camp, following Dake’s scent. Lane sighs heavily.

“Well, I’m not going to be left out of the adventure.” Glass pipes, trailing after me.

“I’m in.” Crow mutters, following as well.

“No way are you guys leaving me here alone!” Lane hisses, stepping after us.

I trot forward, my muzzle to the ground. Dake’s scent leads into a tunnel, and as we trek inside, I instantly realize what made Dake leave us. The heavy scent of blood lingers in the air. Lane whimpers. Crow shushes her and I, more slowly, walk forward, squinting into the darkness. A scuttling sounds to my right and I whirl, knocking into Glass, who yelps and scrambles backwards, into a protesting Crow and a shrieking Lane. I smell wolf. I’m pretty sure it’s Rage. I almost shriek like Lane, then decide to turn my fear into energy. I growl, crouching low to the ground. A faint whimpering comes from in front of me. Rages don’t whimper. I stalk forward, still growling, tensed to defend if the creature should suddenly attack.

I can make out the dim outline of a small wolf, huddled next to the side of the tunnel. Blood stains its fur, and it’s shaking all over, eyes huge and terrified.

“Hey.” I say softly, warily. Glass and the others are crowded behind me. The wolf looks over at me, ears flattened to its head.

“He killed them. They’re all dead.” The small wolf whispers, sinking to the ground. I can see the source of the blood now. A deep gash running across the back of its neck. And I can smell Rage. I take another step forward and the wolf cringes.

“It’s okay. We’re friends. Pures.” I murmur softly, crouching to the wolf’s level.

“We were only trying to help. We were wrong. We were wrong.” The wolf pants, a shiver wracking its slender frame.

“Help what?” I ask.

“Rage. Rage. Killer!” the wolf wails, tucking its head under its paws. Pebbles clink over the ground somewhere behind us.

“Rage! Rage! RAGE!” The wolf screeches, trying to scramble back into the stone wall. I whip around, ears pinned to my head, teeth bared. Crow stands beside me, snarling. Lane crouches protectively in front of the small wolf. Glass stands behind Crow and I, growling low in her throat. Paws thump on the ground, and the scent of a stranger washes over us. A dark gray wolf slips out of the darkness, only to be sprung upon. The little wolf is still screeching.

I pin the wolf under my paws, and Crow’s jaws are at its throat. The gray wolf’s green eyes are huge.

“Y-you.” It stammers. A silver crescent moon hangs around its neck. Healer. I scramble back.

“Gosh! Sorry!” I stumble. Common Pure courtesy says not to attack a fellow Pure wolf. Oops. Crow backs away as well.

“Y-you are P-pures?” The wolf asks, still on its back.

“Yes, sir. Sorry for, um, attacking you. We thought you were an, uh, Rage.” Glass says, padding up beside us. The gray wolf rises slowly to his paws. Lane is still in front of the small wolf, who is quiet now.

“Come. Quickly.” The gray wolf orders, bold now.

“Come, little wolf.” Lane coaxes, nudging at the small wolf. I turn and follow after the gray wolf, every sense strained for sound of Rage and hoping we weren’t being led into a trap. What if the wolf wasn’t really a Healer? What if he was heading the wrong direction? What if he was bitten and already infected, like the little wolf? How were we going to deal with the little wolf? I wish Dake was here.

The gray wolf leads us expertly through the dark tunnels, heading for some unknown destination. Crow pads silently behind me, and I can almost feel his nervousness. I wish to give some kind of comfort to my team, but I have none to give.

And, of course, there has to be a Rage standing in our path, jaws gaping.

Crow and I take off instantly, carving off into a darker tunnel with Glass and Lane on our heels. It got the Healer. It looked like it was a Healer. Lane left the small wolf. There wasn’t any hope for it anyway, I convince myself. Our paws sound like thunder in the eerily quiet tunnels. I just know there are Rages crawling everywhere. My pelt bristles and I veer, the others following. I hope I’m not leading them to their deaths.  I nearly run straight into a wall, and scramble to turn, only to hit another dead end. I turn sharply, forced to slow, and shoulder past Glass, searching for a way other than the one we’d come through, prodding through the darkness.

My paw stretches through empty space and not rock, and I take off, hearing the yelps of the team racing after me.

“Katya! Go right!” I hear Crow bark, and turn instantly, not questioning, and slam straight into a wall.

“Other right, Katya. Sorry.” Crow laughs nervously, trotting towards the left. I grumble and follow after him. We’re walking now, and eventually Crow stops us and we crouch, panting, listening for anything. It’s dead silence. We press close together, our hearts hammering in our chests. I feel sure a Rage could hear them pounding from a mile away. I close my eyes, not like I could see anyway, and try to crowd out the thoughts flooding my mind. Are all the Healers Rages now? Where are the Rages? I can’t hear anything. Are the others hurt? Where’s Dake? What if he was bitten? Would I have to kill my own brother? Will we be bitten? How could the Alphas think we were ready for this? We’re so much more inexperienced than I thought. What if we die out here? What happens then? Have we failed?

Glass shifts beside me and I glance over at her, or the dark space where she is, anyway.

“What do we do now?” Glass whispers.

“I don’t know!” Lane hisses from her spot behind me.

“Stay calm. We’ll be fine.” I say, sounding way more confident than I feel.

“Yeah. We’ve just gotta think. I mean, we’re Pure Warriors, right? We can do this. We’ve trained our whole lives for this.” Crow encourages, rising slowly to his paws. Lane shuffles nervously.

“Actually, I’ve only trained six months.” Lane admits. I mean, it’s perfect to just say that in the middle of a life and death mission that requires full training. Because nobody has time to get mad. Until, ya know, you live. Or die.

“What?” Crow demands, his voice way too loud in the silence.

“It’s a really long story.” Lane mutters.

“I thought you were one of the ‘most trained’!” Glass growls, and Lane sighs.

“I’ll explain later. But, can we just get out of here?”

“Yeah. I’ll kill you later, when we’re sure we’ll live through the night.” I say and walk forward, trying to be quiet as possible. The others follow my lead. We need to get out of these tunnels, out of this mountain. Then we can…figure something out. And we need Dake. Definitely need Dake.

I’m following our scent trail, and realizing how easy it would be for a Rage to do the same, and hoping we’ll get out. I try to look confident, hoping it’ll rub off on my team, but inside I’m terrified. My claws click on the cold stone floor, and I prick my ears, raising my tail and motioning the team to a stop. The sounds of a fight echo ahead. I crouch, trying to listen harder. There’s a thump, like a body being dropped, and the sounds fade. Paws sound closer, and blood scent floods over us. I spin and run, the team already bolting away into the darkness, again. We can’t fight Rages in the dark. Not like this. We just need to get out.

I put on a burst of speed, hearing the predatory snap of jaws. The Rage has located its prey. Lane whines. I race after Glass, hoping not to run into anything. I can hear the paws pounding closer.  And then a thought slams into me, out of nowhere. If I split away from the team, the Rage will follow me, because I’m in the back. It wouldn’t go after the team. I decide not to give it a second thought. I skid to a stop, bite my own paw for good measure, and race off in the opposite direction. The Rage follows the scent of my blood.

 And now I give my plan a second thought. Bad, bad, idea. Good idea? Bad idea? Bad idea.  Maybe Dake will magically save me. No, Dake should save the team. Good idea? I speed up, but the Rage is faster, and only chasing for fun, I know. I growl angrily, darting into another tunnel. The Rage’s jaws clack just behind my heels and I yelp, kicking out, catching it in the face. Score!

The feeling gives me joy. Ha. But no time to stop and celebrate. I keep running. The Rage is mad now, and it’s ready for the kill. I can feel its hot, diseased breath on my heels. It’s going to kill me. I swallow my fear and get angry. I snarl and whirl, slamming my fangs into the side of its face. It’s so surprised, it doesn’t move for a moment. Then it screeches in anger and slings its head up. I release it and dive for its throat. Its jaws slam down and into the back of my neck. I howl, trying to scramble out of its grip. My claws tear at its pelt, but it doesn’t let go, biting down in a shock of pain.

I yowl and kick wildly, trying desperately to free myself. Then I go still. Remember training. There’s nothing in training for this! I feel slightly hysterical. Because once you’re caught, you’re dead. Okay, a lot hysterical. Black creeps at the edge of my vision. I can feel my blood seeping into my fur. I imagine white stained with red. Like a rose petal on the snowy ground. I go limp, my limbs going numb. The Rage snarls in delight, and I catch a glimpse of its dark red eyes. I have failed. I’m sorry Dake, Crow, Glass, Lane, Mom, Dad, Alphas. I can’t believe I’m going to die at the jaws of a Rage. Not like this…I just…excepted something greater. But, there’s nothing more, is there? Only this world, and this disease, and this war.  What’s it all for? Why…are we still fighting? I cannot go on, but you can. Keep fighting. Because I know there’s something greater. And I’m…not going to die without killing this Rage!

I roar and twist, gouging at the Rage’s eyes with my claws. It actually releases me, it’s so surprised. I lunge, ignoring the pain in the back of my neck, snapping at its throat. It’s blinded now. But it still dodges, knocking me over easily. I slam onto my side, then snarl, scrambling to get my feet back under me. The scent of my own blood is strong, and black dots dance in my eyes.

“Take a break.” A voice barks calmly, and the Rage is suddenly pinned to the ground, strange jaws at its throat. The jaws bite down hard, and blood sprays them. The Rage struggles for a moment, then goes still, the dark light leaving its eyes.

“Hmph.” The stranger snorts, straightening and shaking itself off. I stay still, panting in a pool of my own blood. The stranger approaches and I flick my eyes up, trying to see its face. I only catch a flash of gray eyes.

“Who’re-“  I start to mumble.

“I’m Kyran.” The stranger barks, and then everything fades away.