Wolv

Epilogue

   Escaping Atikaki was easy--at least, it sure felt that way. The terrain was full of ancient mountains that had been swept away by the glaciers of the ice age, leaving innumerable ups and downs etched into the Canadian shield that flowed beneath our paws. At the lowest points, the bedrock was cloaked with grasses and pine tree roots; at its highest points, the reddish granite clawed at the sky, barren and exposed.

    The four of us traveled through the landscape unhindered; each one of us was far too broken--be it physically, emotionally, or both--to notice the daunting terrain.

   By comparison, my journies into the park had taken much longer and had been much more difficult.

    I scrabbled up a granite hill after Hutch, my paws clawing at the lichen beneath them as we ascended yet another long-lost mountain. As the former best tracker of the pack, it made sense that Hutch would lead--he knew how to avoid obstacles and predators betters than the rest of us Omegas.

    We reached the top of the hill and stopped for a moment, each one of us panting.

   "I figure we've got about another days' run before we're out of the park," Hutch stated.

    "Good. I'm tired of lookin' over my shoulder, waitin' for some Alpha to show up and kill us," Tara huffed. While we were running, Tara would send a glance rearward every few minutes. When I'd asked her about it, she'd gotten angry.

    "They killed my mate. What's to stop them from coming after me and finishing the job?" she'd snapped. I hadn't brought it up again.

    I looked out over the woods, scanning the horizon for any recognizable landmarks. Out to the east, a silvery band of water glinted in the sunlight. From our elevated vantage point, I traced my eyes along the river...and watched it split into three smaller tributaries.

    "Huh," I chuffed. It had been a long time since I'd seen that cursed river, yet it was still rich with memories. I shivered as a few of them drifted through my mind.

    I caught Nadie sending me a confused look, and I smiled dryly. "That river over there. The one that splits into three. You see it?"

    She peered out at the waters, than nodded. "What about it?"

   "If it hadn't been for that fork in the river, I never would've been bitten. I would've continued paddling to Breresford Lake; I would've got into my car, and driven home. None of this would've happened."

    "Hey, don't go gettin' all sentimental on me. What's done is done." She chided me gently with a nip to the ear.

    "Oh, don't get me wrong, I know that. It's just funny how something that seems so inconspicuous can lead to so much."

   Hutch stood up and motioned us forward. "We should keep going. Personally, I'll feel much safer once we're out of this place."

          *         *         *         *

    "Almost there!"

    I blinked myself out of my trance and focused my eyes up ahead. Hutch had begun to full-on sprint, his tail swishing back and forth with excitement. "I can see the edge! We've made it! We're free!" he cried.

    My tongue lolled out of my mouth as I struggled to keep up with the rest of them. I'd fallen behind; and now that everyone had turned on the afterburners, I was being left in the dust. "Hutch!" I called out between pants.

    "C'mon, Humfrey!" Nadie shouted back at me as she darted even further ahead.

    The treeline raced past me, and the next thing I knew, I was running through shoulder-height grasses. The sun was still obscured by the clouds, but it was much brighter now that the shade of the forest was behind me.