Survival

26

Hey, 

I thought I'd treat you to a double update. I regret to say that this is the second to the last chapter. 

I really hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as the first one. Thanks for being so supportive. 

********************************

Hi's wish was fulfilled. Takeout was indeed on the menu.

My own wish, however, was not. Much to my despair, Whitney was my doctor and she made sure to watch my every move. Mr Wright was true to his word, and after driving us to pick up our takeout, he drove us home. Well, he didn't. His driver did, but he was in the car with us.

Whitney had crushed me into her chest, crying at the sight of me. The other females did pretty much the same thing- Maria was even there. Whitney crushed the boys into her chest too and even ruffled Coop's head. Once hugs, tears and words were exchanged everyone split their separate ways. The boys promised to call tomorrow but right now we all just wanted to be with our family.

I found myself curled on the sofa an hour later. Dinner was eaten, I had showered and I was feeling a lot better. My head was resting on Dad's shoulder, my hand clasping Whitney's surprisingly rather tightly and Coop was curled on my lap, his head having to rest on Kit's because he was so big. His tail occasionally wagged and hit Whitney's lap, but she only giggled.

It seemed everyone was alright.

Whitney hadn't asked many questions, only accepted that the boys and I had been mistaken to be freaks of nature and taken to be experimented on. She was now babying me- and not that I'll admit it, but I actually enjoyed her babying me. I guess I could get used to her soft side.

It was good to be home.

I fell asleep in that position; the exhaustion of the past few days finally catching up to me.

When I woke up the next morning, I was welcomed with the love of my large wolf-dog who refused to relent his kisses until I was breathless. His tongue swiped over my whole face, whining and wagging his tail. I sank into the softness of my mattress- I'm never complaining about my bed being hard again. This is heavenly compared to the one I'd been on recently.

Coop and I lay there, me on my back with his head on my shoulder and my hand stroking down his back. Coop suddenly whined, lifting to his feet. He looked down at me, and I could've sworn he frowned. "What is it?" he barked before launching from my bed. He barked once more and standing at the doorway. "You want to go out?"

All I got was a bark.

With a begrudging sigh, I heaved myself to my feet. I skipped down the stairs to the kitchen where Kit and Whitney were preparing a full breakfast.

"I know I was gone for a while, but seriously, I didn't lose that much weight" I joked, and thankfully they laughed with me. I was skinnier; perhaps a stone lighter, but they had forced my whole portion of takeout down me, and now this.

"We know. But we thought we'd do something nice" Kit shrugged, and in no mood to argue, I shrugged in return. Coop barked once more, scratching the bottom of the door. "Looks like someone wants to go out"

"Why don't you take him, honey? Tory should take it easy" Whitney instantly said, but surprisingly it didn't annoy me.

"Five minutes" I said, and she nodded when I pleaded with my eyes. I followed Coop to the bottom of the steps where he sat down and scrutinized me. "Alright, mutt. What is it?"

He barked, poking his nose forward. What was he trying to tell me?

"Hang on" I said, closing my eyes. I reached deep, and prodded inside. I prepared myself for the rush of energy and heat. I waited for the awakening DNA.

But nothing happened.

I frowned and did it again. But nothing changed. I opened my eyes and looked to the blue eyed dog in front of me. He whined, going to his belly. He snorted, flicking his tongue out to his nose.

Do it again. Try one more time.

So I did. But nothing happened. No flare came on.

"Why can't I flare?" I asked Coop, but he only snorted. It was gone. My flare was gone.

I felt hollow inside. Our connection was gone.

"I don't understand" I whispered, feeling the prickles of tears. The front door opened and Kit came out. Coop's ears perked up, but he didn't move. He looked as sad as I felt.

"Kiddo? Everything alright?" Kit asked. I slowly turned to my father and looked up at him. I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. I ran into the house, sprinting up the stairs frantically. Coop barked at my back, following me closely as I grabbed my phone and texted the boys.

Meet on the dock in ten. My heart was beating loudly in my ears, so fast I thought it was going to burst.

Please don't let it be true.

Coop watched me as I paced, eyes on my phone that was on my desk like a hawk. When it dinged, I dove on it.

I don't like the sound of this. Shelton.

Please don't tell me we've got more stalkers. Hiram, of course.

What's up? Ben.

Just come. It's important. I sent back in reply to them all, beginning to tremble slightly. I looked to Coop, and he whined.

"It's fine. It's just a small problem" I assured him, talking to myself as well. "I'm fine"

And yet the bitter taste in my mouth told me that I knew exactly what the problem was, deep down.

The boys approached the dock rather nervously, Shelton grabbing an earlobe as they stopped in front of me.

"Have you guys flared since we got back?" I asked instantly, not giving any of them a chance to ask why I asked them to come out. I only asked them to come to the dock so we were out of the view of our parents, and Whitney.

"No" times three. I bit down on my lip, calming my escalating nerves. They hadn't flared, so maybe it wasn't what I feared.

"Why?" Ben asked, probably knowing me well enough to figure out that something was wrong.

"I tried to flare this morning, because Coop was trying to tell me something. But it didn't turn on" I told them honestly. "But it might work if we all try to flare together"

"Okay. Let's light them up then" Hi shrugged, but I could tell he didn't think it would work anymore than I did. We all closed our eyes and reached for our canine DNA. For several minutes, we stood there in silence, reaching down deep for our flares. I was just standing in the darkness of my own subconscious, searching fruitlessly for something that clearly was no longer there. I swam deeper, searching desperately for the thing that connected me to the boys, the DNA that made me Viral.

But I couldn't find it.

"It's not working" Shelton was the first to open his eyes and point out the obvious.

"Mine neither" Hi confessed, sighing. His brown eyes were full of shock and worry. Ben met my eyes, and they mirrored my own confusion and heartbreak.

"Why can't we turn them on?" he asked, voice tense. I shrugged helplessly, and Coop whined, head ducking to the ground.

"We lost our flares" finally saying out loud broke something inside me. Tears peaked on my eyes, and I chocked back a sob. "We can't flare anymore"