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Chapter 10 Freedom's dead echoes

BrackenClaw jumped in from the side and bit DominoFire, right in the neck. The Fortress wolf screamed, and quickly fell dead. Bracken was satisfied. There, they weren't all totally immortal unstoppable fiends of darkness. He smirked at Hope, who was nudging the wolf to make sure he was really, really dead. She smiled grimly and then took off.

Bracken quickly turned to his next victim. Okay, who was brave enough to challenge him now? But before he could lunge at RavenFlight, he tripped.

He snarled and glanced over.

His heart stopped.

"THORN!" He screamed. He ran over and shook his brother angrily. "Jeez." He howled through his teeth. Thorn's eyes feebly flicked open, and then closed. BrackenClaw glanced around for the nearest healer. Anyone. No, this wasn't the place.

He grabbed the dying wolf by the scruff and dragged him to the side without interruption. Everyone was far too busy watching their necks.

He stopped behind the huge oak tree that towered over the camp. Perfect.

Then he dashed back into the frenzy, and yelled at BranchThorn, the SnowPack healer. He glanced over and then hurried to Bracken.

"Hey I need your help! Its my brother someone got ahold of him real bad." He gritted his teeth, expecting a "No" from the SnowPack healer, but instead, the old wolf nodded and followed him to the tree.

He set to work, expertly threading and applying herbs he seemed to reveal out of no where. He reached inside a small hollow in the roots and pulled out an old cobweb, stemming the blood flow. It looked like he'd been healing dying wolves on the side of a war field all his life.

Thorn finally groaned and shifted.

"Thank the stars above." BrackenClaw whistled. There was the dilemma. What now? He couldn't possibly shove Thorn back into battle.

But he was distracted by an ear-piercing shriek.

Sky had finally made enough room to cast her favorite spell.... Her wave of thunder. She held it high in the air above them like a dome. When it came down, it would kill or seriously injure everyone but her pack, protected by the StarPack amulets they wore. Very convenient.

BrackenClaw peeked around the tree trunk to watch.

Sky was still holding the dome, smiling.

"I know you've all been through so much today." She said in a falsely sugar-sweet tone.

"But I'm here to redeem you poor wolves! You can come with us, get a new, pleasant home, or stay and fight until every last wolf here is dead." She fell quiet for a moment, casually letting her words sink in.

"And we know where your pups are. And we will find them, too." She growled on a more menacing note.

Some mothers in the crowd tittered.

"Well! I'm sure its a unanimous agreement."

Suddenly CloudClaw, a female from StormPack, yowled and raced at Sky.

She didn't make it half way before a bolt of lightning struck her in the chest and she fell dead.

The packs glanced around at each other nervously. Some crying was heard. The Fort pack had somehow separated itself from the rest of the wolves present to stand in a ring around Sky. BrackenClaw noted smugly that they all sported grievous wounds.

Sky waved a paw and at least ten carts, walled with slats, like the means of transporting cattle for the slaughter appeared. BrackenClaw groaned lowly. Then white barriers shoved the wolves forward, loading them neatly inside.

Small riots broke out, tearing at the Fort wolves who dared come near the line of wolves. Soon the seeking white magic found Thorn, BrackenClaw, and the healer, and shoved them forward too. Sky leapt in front of them. She then grabbed Thorn and let the magic continue. BrackenClaw watched helplessly as the wolf was loaded into a separate vehicle.

Even with the space of ten vessels, it was very crowded inside. He was shoved, kicked, bitten, and knocked over. All sense of pack unity was lost in those sweaty moments.

Bodies littering the field of battle were left behind, the Fort wolves ignoring them like they were part of the landscape, except for their one fallen, DominoFire, who was given a brief burial near the field.

The cart started to move, and he was confused at first, as no horses were attached. Then he saw beads of silvery light pushing them along. Sky trotted in front with her pack, without looking exhausted or weary. Her magic really had no limits.

He finally flopped onto the wooden floor, and cursed quietly under his breath. All those casualties, all the bloodshed, for nothing.

No, not for nothing. They had shown they were strong, were brave. If they had just handed themselves over to the enemy, they would be cowards. Suddenly he was filled with pride. But as he gazed around himself, he was sure crying mothers did not feel the same as their mewing pups were carried in a smaller cart away from them.

Their tiny paws grasping through the bars, crying out desperately. A burning hatred for Sky and all of her pack filled him. It was one thing to load up full grown wolves like pigs, but not pups. Especially away from their terrified mother.

Eventually, BrackenClaw Gray fell asleep amongst the din of his packmates. Because that's what they all were now, his packmates. All of them.

Even if all of them combined could not stop what was coming next.

*****

     Thorn awoke in one of the dreariest places he'd ever had the displeasure of visiting in his entire life.

     It was dank and bare, a clinical look to its bare wood walls. He'd no idea wood could look so sterile.

    Wolves all around him were milling around the dark interior, sniffing at the quilted blankets lining the floor. The room was made completely of blankets and pillows, little nests carved in the wood. He looked up at the far away ceiling to see bundles of sage hanging from the rafters. It smelled amazing.

     Suddenly it didn't seem so very dreary. In the very middle of the room was a small break in the wood and blankets, a small garden with lush grass and mushrooms growing. It teemed with magic, kept alive not by the sun but by the aura of StarPack Magic wafting through the air. The sage was full of it too.

     It gave the whole place a very warm and sleepy feeling. The dreary and sinister filter over his eyes flickered and allowed him to see an amazing room full of wolves. All male, in fact.

     He did a quick scan of the meandering wolves. Nope. No females or pups.

     "Where's EagleEyes and RainPelt and DreamCatcher and stuff?" He asked the nearest TigerPack wolf, CoalClaw, who was stretching.

     "I dunno. I just woke up here." He answered, then padded over to one of his friends.

     Thorn growled lightly and made his way to the door. It was unlocked, oddly. He pushed it open with his nose to see a thin dirt road in between scores of other cabins.

     There was a small campfire in a little clearing, surrounded by pups yapping and playing as their mothers watched, disgruntled and glancing around themselves nervously.

     Steel sheds outlined the cabins, filled with what looked like all manner of food. The only thing that didn't look completely friendly was the huge roughly cut wooden wall around the whole camp, with watch towers lined with pacing guards. No matter how many pretty enlightenments you added to it, it was a prison camp.

     Thorn walked back to his respectable sleeping area, and then jumped when he heard Sky's voice.

     "Welcome to your new home, Forest Wolves!" She chirped happily. He searched for the source of the voice, but couldn't find it.

"You're going to be happy here, I can already tell. I know you've been through a lot recently, but this will be good for you. There are plenty of jobs and volunteer work you can sign up for in the main hall, such as hunting parties or pup-sitting.  Thank you!"

There was a static sound, and everything was quiet
again.