Alpha and Omega

Chapter 10: Caitlyn's Requiem

EVERYONE, RUN! RUN!" yelled Winston.

"TO THE SIDES OF THE VALLEY!" Tony added.

The wolves dispersed, running to whichever side of the gorge happened to be closest The pack leaders made sure they were last to leave the area, so no wolf could be left behind. The stampede entered the wider part of the gorge and trampled the Speaking Rock. As the pack leaders tried to make their way to the western side, one of them faltered to a stop and screamed in pain. Winston looked back and saw his friend, Tony, stuck in place with his butt in the air. He ran back to him to see what the problem was.

"It's that darn disk in my back!" Tony explained. Winston gave a hard thwack to his lower back with one paw, pushing the old Eastern's shoulders back up.

"Come on!" Winston urged. As soon as the grey wolf turned around, a caribou collided with his face. The way to the western side was gone. Tony looked to his left to see a similar thing on the eastern side. The pack leaders were now forced to run in the same direction as the stampede, down the gorge.

Meanwhile, high on the western slope, Caitlyn looked down and saw the pack leaders' dilemma.

"Oh, no! They're trapped!"

The wolves on the western slope began to run in the stampede's direction to keep up with the trapped wolves below. The wolf known as Caitlyn was running alongside a ridge when a red blur came out of the nearby forest and nearly crashed into her.

"Vi!" she exclaimed. Her heart skipped a beat. She did not think she would see her again.

"Caitlyn!"

The Alpha allowed herself a second of bliss before gesturing to the gorge.

"We have to help them!"

"Look!" said the Omega, pointing her nose at a log sitting on the slope. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah," Caitlyn responded, running past her. "Where are those bears when we need em?"

"Faster, Tony! Faster!" yelled Winston. The front edge of the herd was forming a crescent shape behind the pack leaders. Soon, they would be engulfed by the herd. Once inside, the caribou would show no mercy.

"Go left!" Vi ordered. The log slid down at the fastest speed it could. "Roll right!" She ordered again. Caitlyn leaned accordingly. She sat in front of Vi again, but she began to take over steering. "Whoa! You're getting good at this!" She remarked.

"I had a good teacher," she replied with a smirk. The log suddenly slowed down as they slid over bare rock. "They're too far ahead! We'll never make it!"

"Hold on!" Vi warned. She spotted an upward ledge jutting out over the valley. Caitlyn let the Omega steer again. Vi made a hard right lean before they went over the ledge and shot up fiercely. The two wolves gripped the log tight.

Look!" said Winston. Twenty yards ahead of the stampede, the logboard hit the ground at an angle. Vi and Caitlyn's momentum hurled them from the crash site, but the log itself was mostly intact. The pack leaders jumped over it and nestled in the shadows. As Vi and Caitlyn expected, the pack leaders used the log to shield themselves from the hailstorm of sharp hooves. Vi and Caitlyn exchanged smiles after groaning in pain. They then slowly crawled on their elbows and knees as caribou after caribou galloped above their heads. The entire area was engulfed by a thick cloud of dust. There was no sky, only the color of brown being slashed and punctured hundreds of times per second. Vi and Caitlyn could barely see the log as the dense center of the stampede arrived. They were totally exposed to the hooves but it was the risk they took to help Winston and Tony. They looked at each other again and ignored the intense thunder in their midst. Their eyes locked as they inched forward.