Alpha and Omega

Chapter 4: Idaho

The next morning...

Ugly sounds and vibrations sneaked into Caitlyn's consciousness. It appeared she lay on an unusually smooth surface, and her immediate surroundings were obscured by the lack of light. She lifted herself from the semireflective bottom when she felt the same unnatural texture on more than one side of her. The way her space was limited suggested that her circumstances were predetermined. But before she could think in greater detail, her hard enclosure randomly jumped, which erased any remaining sleepiness.

"Ow!" she exclaimed after her head hit the wall facing her. "Where am I?" The enclosure was so alien that it only meant the one thing that could also explain the weirdness of last night: humans. The wolves of the Valley knew humans, for they were regularly sighted in Jasper. As all wolves were taught, humans were the meddlers of Earth. Ancient stories existed of humans who came to do various things in the park. They built paths. They built strange-looking shelters. And rumor had it that they kidnapped wolves. But the worst thing was that no one knew why they did anything. The wolves could only assume the worst of intentions.

Caitlyn tried to look into one of the equally-spaced nine points of light she could see near the ceiling, but another jump made her lose her footing. "Ow!" she exclaimed again. Her place was unforgivingly restrictive.

Soon there was a sound of something striking Caitlyn's container on the left side. It was followed by groaning. The voice of someone familiar was present.

"Vi? Is... Is that you?"

"Caitlyn! Where are we?" She asked. Her voice was muffled. She was in the same setup as Caitlyn! It was a nauseating sensation. They believed they were on the ground, but their senses said otherwise.

"I don't know..."

"Oh, maybe we're dead?" She replied, being uncharacteristically pessimistic. Just then there was another jump, larger than the others, that made their containers hit each other.

"Ow!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Nope. Definitely not dead. Well... at least they left us some water."

"You got water?" Immediately upon tasting, Vi emphatically spat out the liquid that had been roaming around her body.

Nope! Definitely not water..." Suddenly, the Omega heard banging sounds of Caitlyn's container moving erratically. "Caitlyn! What are you doing?"

"Trying to get out! Ughhhh!" she screamed. They hit each other again, incentivizing Vi to offer a different perspective.

"Ah! Whoa! Calm down. Listen, maybe they're taking us to where there's more food."

"Or maybe we are the food." Just then, the fear of the situation settled comfortably in their minds.

"Oh, Caitlyn... You're right... Fight! Fight, fight, fight!"

The two wolves tried their hardest, but their attempts were futile. Their stainless steel kennels continued to rattle on the wooden bed of the truck. Avoiding their destination was impossible. It wouldn't take long for that to be clear, and they would still be tired by the time the truck ceased its movement, which made the vibration stop. They then became rejuvenated once the three rangers engaged in a coordinated action to lay their kennels on the ground. Caitlyn could smell the dirt up close. The absence of the vibration allowed her to hear the native chirping. Something was about to commence.

"What's happening?" said Vi.

"I don't know, but be ready. This could be our chance."

"Alright. Set 'em free," said one of the humans. The other two each grabbed the faceplates of the kennels and pulled them upwards. Ignoring the blinding light, the wolves took off.