You'll Be Sorry

Fight or Flight?

Takoda above (ta-KO-da, native name meaning "friend to everyone")

As I made it through the first line of trees, the howling of the Elders began. A shiver went down my spine as I knew what was going to come. I urged my paws to go faster, to ignore the ache in my legs as they pushed me forward towards who knows what. Without the bonds to my pack, I was now a rogue, no longer loved by my peers. Now, I would be hunted unless I could get far enough away from my once home. Too soon, I could hear the thudding of paws on the ground behind me, loud enough for me to tell there were many wolves chasing me. They had no way of knowing what had happened to me, but I was starting to realize they wouldn't really care. The orders of the Alphas are taken blindly, the warriors would have no idea why I was to be captured. All they knew was I was now a danger to the pack, and they would do their jobs. I could hear a few of them getting closer, trying to herd me to a spot easier to take me down. I growled as a wolf I had gone to school with came up on my left side, trying to push me towards the river. Since I had been friends with him, I knew that they push the rogues to the river so they can drown them during a fight. As he drew closer, I pushed against his shoulder sending him sprawling, but he jumped up quickly. The other wolf took his place, and he was much bigger then I was. I wouldn't discourage him as easily as I had my former friend. He pushed against me, steering me off course. I fought to stay on the path my heart was taking me, but his weight was too much for me to handle. I dug my feet into the ground, determined to stand my ground on my own terms.

The warriors circled me, as I growled at them to back off. Part of me knew that they would not, but the sound continued all the same. I could pick out a few wolves that I knew, but there were at least 4 that I did not know. The ones who knew me had drawn back, the bonds trying to reach me to reason this out. But the rest continued to press towards me, crouching low in preparation for the battle. At seven to one, the odds were not in my favor. The larges wolf growled at me; an order to come back with them quietly. I thought about it for a moment, but knew I could never escape them if they caught me. My only chance was if I could beat them and keep running. But, there was no way I could do that. These were trained wolves whose only job was to protect the pack. If they failed, they faced death or banishment at the very least. I looked into the eyes of my pack members, and all I could see was hate. Only one wolf seemed to be out of place. He was farther back, by the tree line. He was watching everything happen with an unfeeling eye, seemingly just an observer. His eyes were a deep blue, not too common in the wolf world. I wasn't sure who he was, but I wasn't close enough to catch a scent. The warriors seemed to see my eye line and turned their heads. A harsh growl ripped through the line as they spotted him, making me realize it was not a pack member. I had run pretty close to the boundary line, but it was still pack land. If there was a rogue here, they had always been here. Or at least a little too close for comfort. It was possible that the noise attracted him, but the warriors didn't seem to care. It appeared that this rogue was more of a threat then I was. I stayed for a few more moments, but then I saw my chance. I turned on my heels and ran. I could hear a few confused barks behind me, but the rogue attacked one of the warriors making him top priority again. It sounded like a few wolves were following me, but I didn't dare slow down to check my flank. Since they were behind me, I couldn't smell them either. The wind was blowing from the East now, carrying with it a cold snap. Soon, snow would fall and the nights would be bitter cold. As I ran, I tried not to think about the future for myself and my cub. 

I don't know how long I was running before I tripped over an upturned root, and crashed into the dirt and leaves. I tumbled around, hitting myself with my own tail. My eyes stung as dirt flew into them, making it impossible for me to see. I tried to blink out the earth from my eyes, knowing that I couldn't stop yet. I couldn't let anyone catch me now, not when I was so close. To what, I didn't know. But something told me to keep moving, no matter how slowly. I stood and immediately fell back to the ground. My leg was broken, dragging uselessly behind me. I started to get up, making sure not to put any weight on my hind leg. Fingers of pain crawled up my leg and into my hip, but I kept moving. I listened for any sounds of pursuit, but the forest was quiet now, almost too much so. No birds chirping, no insects buzzing. Only the sounds of my feet shuffling, and my leg dragging. Exhausted, I sank to my belly, not able to go any farther. I closed my eyes, wanting the pain to end. Not only the pain from my leg, that was only a small part of it. I felt hollow inside like someone was slowly but determinedly spooning out all that I held dear. My love for my friends, my family, my pack. It was all fading away, leaving me with nothing inside but anger. Anger at Parker. Anger at Amira. Anger at whatever she-wolf Parker had decided was better to be luna then I. As the anger started to consume me, I felt a bond holding strong. It was keeping me from completely going insane, holding me back from turning around and destroying the pack that would turn against me. 

My cub.

That little thing that had taken hold inside me, keeping me from turning into someone I would never return from. As I thought about my little cub, a sound made my head snap up and to the right. I had heard a branch snap, and a sharp inhale of breath told me that a wolf was near. It didn't smell like my pack, but any wolf was a danger now. I still smelled of my pack, so a rogue would not know I was like them now. Even if I did smell like a rogue, I was not really one of them. I had heard tales about what rogues did to past pack members who ran from their family. I struggled to my feet and tried to hurry off not caring which way I was going now. Whoever it was followed me, causing me to change direction to the left. Running behind me made me hurry, but I could not outrun anyone with my leg in this state. Soon I would be caught, and that would put an end to this nightmare I now called my life. 

But, the person/wolf never got any closer than a few meters away. I caught a glimpse of the wolf only once, but only for a moment before it melted back into the trees, making me turn once more. Sweat was dripping from my fur, and my mouth had gone dry hours ago. But, I couldn't stop now. And, as suddenly has it came, the sounds were gone. I stopped and looked around cautiously, expecting a wolf to come bursting out of hiding and put an end to this game. But, I could see nothing more than the forest floor. I sniffed the air in all directions, but he was either downwind, or truly gone. I didn't want to hope, but it seemed like it was the truth. I was about ready to lay down again when I caught the scent of chopped wood. I inched my way forward, through the break in the trees. 

And there, right in front of me, was a small cabin. It looked like an old hunt camp, from when humans used to be on this land. My blood stained the rocks that led up to a large wooden door. I sniffed around the cabin and could smell rogues. But, the smell was old and stale. No one had been here in weeks, maybe longer. I peered through the windows, but the dust made it hard to see anything more than shapes of furniture. I shifted to my human form and cried out when weight was put on my leg. It took longer for it to change back, and when it did I could see that my leg was twisted almost all the way backward. It would take weeks to heal, and I would need to straighten it first. I leaned against the wooden door, gathering my strength before I turned the doorknob. I wasn't sure what I had expected, but the door was unlocked. Still, the weight of the door was a bit of a struggle. By the time I burst my way through, I was in serious need of a lie-down. As I passed through the room towards a lump that looked enough like a couch to get my hopes up, I saw a piece of paper laying on an end table. I picked it up, curious. 

I knew you would come - Takoda