"Fucking idiot !"
Louis' throat threatens to close again, and he realizes with horror that he's about to cry.
Get a damn grip.
He tries to take deep breaths and think.
Must get the team.
He lurches to his feet and takes stock of all his limbs.
Everything is still there.
Melting snow drips down his back.
His sleeves have jammed up to his elbows and his arms are red with freezer burn.
His whole body feels as if he's gone through the rinse cycle.
He's probably black and blue underneath.
But right now, he has to get his dogs.
He begins to jog with jerky steps, following the tracks the dogs have made.
The last time he lost the team, after their headlong charge through the ditch, the snow hook had knocked loose with the bouncing.
It had embedded itself in the trail finally, too late to prevent Blitzen from getting knocked up, but it had at least stopped the team.
Louis can only hope that happens again.
He thinks of the upright sled, sliding happily along.
If only the sled fell over, it could slow the dogs down.
His heart races at the thought of the dogs facing that moose.
Have they caught her?
Please, don't let them be trampled.
Louis runs, pumping his legs as fast as he can manage.
He doesn't care how much he sweats, He's dead anyway if he doesn't find the team.
The soft trail slows each of his footsteps, like running in a nightmare when you can't get anywhere.
He finally makes it around the corner, but the tracks keep going over the next ridge.
Don't think. Just run.
One foot, then the other. Keep moving.
Must get dogs. Must get dogs.
Louis chants this as he runs and it becomes the only thing he cares about.
Keep moving. Get the team.
He crests the ridge and still no sign.
He stops to suck in wheezy breaths. The adrenaline is keeping him moving, but his energy tank is almost at zero.
Then he hears it.
He holds his breath to listen, and his stomach feels as if he's just swallowed lead.
Faint, horrific screaming.
Louis bolts ahead and skirts around a white birch stand.
Finally he sees them.
The dogs are in a ball with Blue tangled in the middle.
The gangline is wrapped around his front leg. Dasher and Donner are locked in battle—pulling the gangline tightly, pinching Blue.
The other dogs have jumped him, egged on by his screams of pain. It's all so horrible that Louis can barely look.
"STOP!"
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Outlasts
FanfictionLouis has dogs. Lots of dogs. Lives in Alaska, and has a sled. Which you can guess, is for dogsledding. He's determined to win the White Wolf race in remembrance of his mother and tries to go cross country to find more dogs. He gets lost along th...
