Silenced

Silenced Prologue

Tara squeezed through the opening in their small abandoned house, the house wasn't the most cozy place but it kept the dog pack alive and well. She carried a box with small bits and pieces of food she had found. It reeked of garbage but here food was food, she dropped the box infront of the Healer, a dog trained to heal the sick and wounded. The Healer was known as Ira, she was a kind dog, one of Tara's many friends in the pack. Ira refused the food, she knew Tara needed it more for she had a belly full of pups to take care of. Though Tara was starving and her stomach had a piercing pain in it, the senior dogs needed it more, so she slowly picked up the box, walked over to where most of the older dogs sat and passed it to them. She turned around only to see her Alpha's disapproving eyes stare into her own.

She knew why he was angry towards her, she was not supposed to leave the safety of the house because she was about to give birth to new puppies. Even though she was not aloud, the sounds and smells of the outside world were too much for Tara to be confined to such a small space. She slipped away from her Alpha known as Sparrow to seek her mate, Crow. Crow was speaking to their Beta, a small black dog with bright green eyes and missing tail known as Tonger. She nudged up against Crow and he turned and pressed his muzzle into her shoulder in comfort. They spoke about the lack of food and the concern the Healer had for future pups such as Tara's.

That night Tara curled up against Crow. She quickly fell asleep, but nothing about it was peaceful...
Dogs raced past her, the smell of blood blocked her senses and the howls of pain and terror rang through the emptiness that she saw. She turned but all she could see was darkness. Intill she was blinded with light and she opened her eyes to see 4 brick walls surrounding her. She was frozen with fear but suddenly found the power to run, only to step paw onto the Passing. Once again she was blinded but this time every time she tried to breath a thick liquid would choke her. It was blood, the answer hit her, she was choking on blood but there was no way out, no up, no down, just... Blood.
The thought terrified her, she was dying, she was going to die, right here, right now. She breathed in one more time only to have her eyes snap open into reality.

Her breathing was heavy and her eyes stretched wide with fear. She look up as the lights from passing cars lit up the the house, she turned to Crow, his dark pelt barley visible in the dim light. His sides moving as he breathed softly. Tara tried to relax but after what she witnessed.. it was impossible.

The next day, Tara's Alpha was organizing morning scavengers to go around the city in search of food. She begged her Alpha to let her be a part of the group, all she really wanted was to walk around and get her mind off of her dream. Her Alpha refused her request because her belly was very swollen. Tara groaned and curled up in a corner. Crow was assigned one of the scavengers and headed out soon after.

Angry and frustrated Tara stared at a brick wall infront of her, the floor under her was cold and hard but she didn't feel bothered to move.

Suddenly Tonger, who was out scavenging ran into the house barking and shaking. Alpha demanded to know what was happening. Tonger explained that during their search for food they met a group of dogs that had no intentions of sharing their food. Tonger told Alpha that they needed more dogs as they were outnumbered by many. Alpha gathered Tonger, Ira and and few other dogs and disappeared from the house. Crow was Tara's mate, if he was in any kind of danger, she was going to help even if it meant risking her life.

She followed Alpha's scent through the back ally ways and soon took a sharp turn and saw what was happening. Loud screeching and barking echoed throughout the ally, blood and fur was flying.

Her lipped curled back and her hackles raised, she was ready for anything that came for her. Suddenly she was shoved aside, the sudden hit startled her and she turned around and sunk her teeth into a tuff of fur. Tara instantly let go as she reconized the howl of pain, it was Ira.
Ira demanded to know what Tara was doing here. This was unacceptable! Tara protested, she hated being confined to such a small space. Ira and Tara kept arguing but then a flash of dark fur caught Tara's eye, it was Crow! She ran after him but Ira quickly ran in front of her, blocking her way. Crow was bleeding from his neck, badly, she watched as he chased another dog onto the Passing. The Passing was dangerous to any animal, humans would ride in weird metal boxes with wheels, we called them Beasts. Many dogs have been killed on the Passing. Crow soon realized where he was, he turned back around and his eyes locked with Tara's. A loud roar grew near and Crow started to run back in to the ally... But it was too late. The beast let out a screeching noise and Crow let out a loud yelp, Tara shut her eyes.

She quickly opened them again after she heard the howls of many dogs in her pack. What she saw was horrendous. She yelped and shoved pass Ira, and everyone else in till she reached the edge of the Passing. Sparrow, her Alpha glared at her with his dark amber eyes. Crow's lifeless body stayed sprawled out on the hard grey surface, his dull, dead eyes barely open. Alpha gathered a few dogs and quickly dragged Crow's body off the Passing. Tara pressed her nose into Crow's soft fur, she layed down beside him and stayed absolutely silent.

Later that night they buried Crow's body in soft mud that was behind the house. They moved a small boulder over it as a sign of a life that had been lost.