In Dark August

Chapter 7

At the far edge of the crowd erupted in a scream. Heads snapped toward the commotion, all faces stern or surprised. The people, who included a few families, turned around to face the scream, but found that they ended up stepping away in fear. Before Alpha turned to address the sudden event, a few high ranked members ran to meet whatever it was.

Titan slipped past my side to trot across to it. I wanted to grab his wrist, to tell him to stay with us, but before I could make a decision he was too far.

Alpha had turned away from Naomi, whose hand was issuing her toward my family and I. She took a few moments before hurrying to us.

The far end of the crowd broke open to reveal the commotion in front of Alpha. Tahki, the woman with tan short hair, was lying on the ground, her face flat on the grassy floor. It didn't look like she was breathing. Behind her body, stood three men in dark suits. The middle one had taken out a hanker chief from his chest pocket, and wiped his hands. By the looks of it, my stomach twisted into a knot, was blood.

I could see Titan notice this too, as well as the other high ranked, and he stepped forward, his hands tightening into fists, but Alpha made a noise between a bark and a growl. Titan stopped at once.

Alpha cleared his throat, as if lowering his temper, and said steadily, "What is your business here, killing one of my wolves?"

The middle man finished cleaning his hands, wiped his bloody mouth, then looked up at Alpha. He grinned, pleased that he set Alpha off.

He tucked his hanker chief in his front chest pocket, and cleared his throat, casually, "Alpha Nahele, I was sent here by The Council to discuss our little agreement." He stopped for a moment to look down at the dead body then said, "Oh, excuse me for that. I got a little carried away, didn't I?"

Alpha frowned and looked around the pack. He caught my eye, and seemed to stay. I started to panic; did he know I had sneaked into his office and picked up the phone that was supposed to be his to answer? I looked away, too scared to keep his gaze.

"Yes, shall we take it to my office?" I hear Alpha say. "Tommy, can you keep the pack at peace?"

"Yes Alpha."

The middle man spoke up again, "Well, shall we? I hope you don't mind my men coming with us, they just add a little, reassurance!"

I looked up to see that Alpha was leading the three men to the pack house, choosing to break through people and avoiding Tahki's body.

Once Alpha had shut the front door behind him, the pack slowly came to their senses. Even Tommy was stunned. Titan was the first one to come close to Tahki's body; bending down to examine her. A group of people came to his side, blocking the sight of the body. Then the cries came, cries that were low and long sounding. It was always sad when the pack made that sound, especially when some part of that cry was wolf. Something about hearing an animal be in such pain and sorrow made my throat clog with rocks. I could hear Tahki's son, _, deep within the crowd, crying out for his mother. I soon felt my Dad walk past me towards the crowd, Mom walking towards_  . 

I couldn't come to terms with what had just happened. One moment we were awarding Naomi and the next, one of our people was slaughtered. Who would do such a thing? How would The Council let this happen? My entire life I was to think that The Council was so important that going to council meetings was the greatest honor. The Council was our savior, our protector against the non-wolf, yet now I fear they're murdering maniacs who like to have their way. Right then I remembered the call from Alpha's office, the stern woman on the phone, and the unbelievable situation Alpha had made. I realized it was probably my fault for picking up the phone, for telling the lady he couldn't talk right then, but then it wouldn't have mattered anyways because they would've sent someone when nobody had picked up the phone. My mind then wandered to what was going on in Alpha's office. Would they kill him, bite him like they did to Tahki? Or would he be carried out of the house, beaten to a pulp, to trial for his errors? Would the pack be punished as well, having put so much faith into him? I could imagine my family lined up, facing the threat on hand. They would never give in to anything, even to The Council; they were brave, noble, and strong. While I would give in to the system, surrender my life and dignity because I would never be brave or strong like them. I'd watch them stand before the three men, leaving no fear or strain in their eyes. I'd see the men raise their guns to them with a twisted grin. Then there'd be deafening clatter and the bodies of my family would crumble to the floor, never to stand again. There I'd be, watching it happen, watching the people I love leave my life.

Suddenly, Naomi was there in front of me and held me up before I could collapse onto the floor. I realized I was crying, wet droplets running down my face. We both kneeled down, I let my head fall onto her shoulder and heaved some cries. She wrapped her arms around me and touched my head, rubbing it gently. Naomi is here, I thought. She's actually here, comforting me. She's here. That made me cry even more, knowing she was there holding me. Then I felt other hands on my back, warm ones that reminded me of home. Taby-cat was rubbing my back, making shushing noises into my ear. He was there too, he was always there to comfort me. He was my only friend, my best friend that knew more about me than anyone else. He was strong and loving, and that's what my sister needed. And he needed her. Suddenly this made me choke, and I tried to gasp for air. My lungs were squeezed tight and my body began to tremble. I couldn't feel hands anymore, though I could hear murmurs. It wasn't Naomi's or Taby-cats, but it was a soft yet firm voice that seemed to get louder the more pain that let on. My arms and legs were on fire and my stomach felt as if it was packed with rocks. But my head, my head was the worst part, like someone was repetitively punching it and causing that spinning feel. The voice I could hear was closer than ever and everything seemed to triple it's worth. The voice kept coming and all I could do was twist in agony. It was there, I was so close to make out what it said. And there it was.

Don't let your fear take over. Let your strength gain control. Let my spirit in, and I grant you power. Let me in and you will never feel fear again.

It was almost so painful that I couldn't feel anymore, like my nerves were burnt away and that all I could feel was melting. Something huge, something massive was definitely fitting into me. I was it's mold, it's new shell. Everything all at once was happening and I couldn't stop it. It dawned on me; this was worse than death.

Suddenly everything stopped. No more pain, no more head spinning, no more fear. All I could feel now is cool wet grass below me, soaking into my fur. The trees around me were a blur of wonderful shapes and light. The color that was supposed to be a green was more like a gray and the light was silver. The damp air was so nice on my body, like a nice cup of refreshing water. I could smell wet soil and dead leaves dancing in the breeze. I could hear birds chirp and the leaves on the trees clap. Everything was so peaceful, so elegant, that all I wanted was to stay here forever. 

I shifted a bit to test my body. My body ached as if it was hit by a million pound bus. I relaxed again, concluding that it was better to stay here and enjoy the forest floor. I'd be happier anyways.

You'd be a lot more happier if we tested out this body.

What a coincidence.