Silvershore

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The light upon Kiara's chestnut pelt, the heart that would beat no longer, the sound of her laughter still playing in Stormjay's ears and soul.

Kiara was lying in the pool of her own blood in the half-light, utterly still, eyes open as if admiring the sky above. As his footsteps approached, she remained still, and a cursory glance was enough to know she was dead. Her eyes were dull with exploded pupils. Kiara was as lifeless as the pine needles that gusted around her.

"I'm dreaming." Bright Moon spoke up. "I'm fucking dreaming. Kiara! KIARAAAAAAA!" She wailed.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!?" Stormjay yelped. "KIARA!" He sobbed. "OH MY GOD!"

Bright Moon sprinted to the deceased body of her lifelong mentor. "W-Who did this to you!?" She begged. "S-Stormjay...go get help..." Her former scream stricken with grief had lowered into a soft, but unrestrained cry.

Stormjay immediately sprinted out of the den. Wood would be his first choice to go to for this kind of help, but he was nowhere to be found in his sight range.

The first wolf he saw was Misa. Kiara's best friend, and Bright Moon's mother. How it would hurt for her to see the lifeless body of Kiara.

"Misa!" Stormjay darted towards the large, white she-wolf. "Misa, h-help...please..." He sniffled.

"Stormjay, what's the matter? D-Don't cry...just tell me what's wrong."

"Y-You need to come with me! Please!" Stormjay pleaded.

"Alright, I'm coming, lead the way." Misa accepted, Stormjay practically dragging her behind him as he led her to the shaman resources den.

"B-Blood!? Stormjay, what ever could have happened...!?"

Stormjay didn't respond as he rushed inside the den with Misa trailing swiftly behind her. Bright Moon's wailing could be heard from outside the den.

"...K-Kiara...?" Misa gasped, her ears flattening as far as they could go. "N-No...it's not true, is it...?"

"MOM!" Bright Moon sprinted to her mother's side, burying her face in her pelt. "M-Mom..." She sniffled, her voice muffled. "K-Kiara..."

"W-What happened to her!?" Misa had lost her composure. "W-Who did this!?"

"I-I...I don't know..." Stormjay wept. "W-We just c-came in here and...sh-she's...she's dead..."

Misa held Bright Moon close. "...E-Everything will be okay...but we need to find out what happened." She sighed. "I'll get Wood. You two don't have to stay here..."

"I-I'm staying with Kiara." Stormjay sniffled.

"M-Me too..." Bright Moon sobbed. "I-I'm staying with her!"

"I understand." Misa winced. "I'll be back. D-Don't touch her...we can't have any evidence destroyed on accident."

Bright Moon whimpered. "O-Okay...we won't..."

************************************************

"D-Dammit!" Wood's eyes widened as he saw the corpse of his sister. "Kiara...f-fuck...!"

"How could this happen?" Keaton sighed. "She didn't deserve this..."

"I'll tell you how it happened," Calvin snapped, "It was the fucking Pack of the Fire! Those dirty bastards! They made two pups motherless...!"

"E-Everyone...everyone needs to calm down..." Jupiter spoke up. "We need to find out exactly when and how this happened."

"Goddammit...he's right." Wood growled. "We can't let whoever...or whatever did this get away with it."