Survivors: Broken Vows

Prologue

Yip huddled in to corner of the makeshift dog house while the thunder crashed loudly above him. The young pup, barely 13 months, whimpered when his surroundings were illuminated by close strikes of lightening, as the chain around his neck rattled. He howled for his Mother Dog, who was no where in sight or scent. Yip closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself curled up in her dark fur next to his litter-mates, however his thoughts were all interrupted by the boom of thunder.

Yip decided to make a run for it inside. Gathering up his courage he stood with his tail tucked in between his legs, taking small steps towards the entrance of the dog house, dragging his chain with him. Whining, the pup took a deep breath and stared into the night and the dark house just 20 yards away. That's where he Mother Dog was, and he would get to her. Lightening flashed in the sky, thunder came with it, and Yip soon noticed a red glow coming from above. He looked up. A tree had red and orange fire spitting from its branches, the rain doing nothing. Soon the tree began to tip over towards Yip's shelter.

Terrified, the pup ran as quickly as he could, only to be stopped short by the chain. He stood, halfway to his Mother Dog's den, staring into the sky. Lightening flashed, thunder roared, rain soaked the pup's fur, and the tree came tumbling down, cracking and hissing at Yip. Yip watched in terror as the thin pine tree fell on his dog house, breaking everything just 10 yards away. The pressure of the chain then lifted and Yip had realized it'd broken when the tree fell. He took off, hoping to run to his Mother Dog, however instinct told him to get away. Yip stood on the wooden porch, barking into the glass door. It wasn't long until his Mother Dog came down, staring down at him, scratching at the door. She began to bark.

"Yip, get to safety!" She howled.

Yip stared at her, shaking his head "no."

"GO!" His Mother Dog growled. "We won't get to go with you!"

Yip backed off from the porch, crying as his Mother Dog returned to her other pups. 'Please don't leave...' The young pup thought. The close thunder broke his thoughts and Yip looked back at the dog house, only to see the fire was just feet away. Startled, he ran into the forest with his chain rattling behind him.

Yip ran, and ran, and ran, not giving up when his legs hurt or his breath short. He ran until he couldn't hear the thunder, until the rain stopped, until the lightening no longer flashed. Until he collapsed in weakness, gasping for air. As his vision began to fade, it was overcome with a veil of light surrounding a dog-like figure.

"Don't fret little pup, now is not your time. You have to fight," a voice called from the light.

As the light faded the dog figure did not go away. Instead, Yip could feel his body being nuzzled by someone's nose. However, to weak to respond, Yip faded away into a state of unconsciousness.