The legend of friendship: Never losing faith again

Chapter 8: The start of a life-changing journey (part 1)

Arvid stopped dead on his tracks after hearing what Madeline just said and turned around. "Come with me?!" He cried in shock. "No! You will not come with me! I will go on my own!" "It's dangerous out there." Madeline said calmly. "If you allow me to come, you will be safe. And, I do not want you to go alone." "Am I still a hostage, Madeline?" Arvid asked selfishly. "Or are you a stalker? Which one?" "Neither, Arvid." Madeline said kindly. "I am only trying to help you. And, I only want what is best for you." "What's best for me?!" Arvid snapped. "You already know I'm afraid of your kind, so you must leave me be! I told you that countless times!" "If you allow me to come," Madeline said, still calm, "you will not feel any fear anymore. Please.....trust me. I am begging you from the bottom of my heart." Arvid really didn't wanna let Madeline come with him, but he knew she wouldn't let him go alone. "Okay..." Arvid sighed. "However, you must follow one condition! You cannot lay a paw on me! I still feel uncomfortable around wolves like you." "Yes, of course!" Madeline said happily. "But, you mustn't fear me or my kind. I will never hurt you, no matter what happens. Will you trust me more than what your negative thoughts are telling you?" "...........I will try." Arvid said, slightly nervous. "But, you still must follow the condition. I am still uncomfortable around you, but I will work on my fears." "God bless you, Arvid." Madeline said, happy. "I will meet you at your small cave at the crack of dawn. I hope I will see you there." Madeline walked out of the cemetery with Arvid following her.

Meanwhile...

"What?!" Father wolf cried. "Patriots are in the woods?! What are they doing here?!" "I think they are looking for Madeline!" The wolf guard from earlier cried. "They can't be!" Father wolf cried. "If that were the case, Madeline would have been talking to a human!" "We are all aware of that!" The other wolf guard cried. "But, we cannot have those patriots in our woods! We have to kill them!" "The patriots are armed!!" The wolf guard shouted. "They would kill us before we kill them!!" "That is enough!" Father wolf bellowed. "We will find Madeline before the patriots do, so everyone find her immediately! Search every inch of the woods at once!" "Who made you the alpha male?!" Another wolf shouted. "You never led the pack since the day you lost your Mother!" "Will you be quiet?!!" Ben, who is sitting next to Father wolf, shouted. "Grandmother died from a heart attack! Father was too depressed to lead the pack again at the time!" "He still is, isn't he?!" The wolf replied angrily. "He has always mourned over the death of...!!" "SILENCE!!!" Father wolf roared. "You are all acting childish! For once, you need to act like vicious, strong, and ruthless beasts instead of complaining about my decisions!!" For once, all the wolves stopped talking. "If I have to lead this pack again for Madeline's sake, I will!" Father wolf continued strictly. "But, I cannot if you are all going to growl over me! NOW! Will everyone help us find our daughter?!" No one said anything. "No...one?" Father wolf said in shock. "No one is going to help us find Madeline?!" "I will!" A wolf said. "I am nothing without my lo.... Madeline!" "Okay..... Thank you so much!" Mother wolf, who is also next to Father wolf, shouted with joy. "I will help as well!" Another wolf cried out. "Madeline was always there for me when I felt nothing but sorrow!" "....Everyone?" Father wolf asked, almost speechless. "Will everyone help us? Madeline's means a lot to me and without her, we're all nothing. She helped all of you! It is our turn to help her! Now, who is with us?!" No one spoke. But, one wolf said, "We are all here for you, sir. I know I've complained about you not being the leader and then lied about you not knowing about leadership. But, none of us hate you. You were a great leader in the past and you are a great Father today. I want to.... No. WE want to make up for our actions. We are all here for you....my alpha male." Father wolf teared up a little. "Everyone...thank you." He said, extremely grateful. "Okay..... Let us be off. We have to save Madeline from the Patriots."

Meanwhile...

Madeline and Arvid returned to Arvid's small cave as the sun began to set. "Sunset?" Arvid said in confusion, standing in front of the cave. "It is not 5:00 yet. How is it getting dark so soon?" "It tends to get more darker here, Arvid." Madeline said kindly. "It does not do that very often, but it's very peaceful when it does get darker more quickly." "It does?" Arvid asked. "That is......quite marvelous." "It is!" Madeline said cheerfully. "You should get some sleep right now. We leave at dawn." "Okay." Arvid said, deadpan. "Farewell, for now. We all need our sleep." Madeline smiled and nodded. Then, she walked off. Arvid walked into his cave and sat on his rock. Madeline.... She...is not like other wolves. He thought reluctantly. I believe she and I may get...along. I...never had any friends growing up.

During Arvid's childhood...

Arvid Williams, an 11 year old child prodigy, walked into his dining room where his parents are eating breakfast. "Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father." Arvid said. "It is an honor to see you today." "Good morning, Arvid." Mr. Williams said. "Did you sleep well?" "No, Father." Arvid said, slightly upset. "I cannot stop thinking about the future. MY future." "Do you want to talk about it?" Mr. Williams asked. "Yes, Father." Arvid said, as he sat at the table. "I am.....very afraid of what will come ahead in my future. What I will become. What the world will think of me. What God will think of me." "God will always show love towards you, son." Mrs. Williams said. "It will never change as long as we live." ".....I beg your pardon?" Arvid asked. "God will never stop loving us?" "He will always love us, Arvid." Mrs. Williams said. "No matter what we do, he will continue to love us." Arvid smiled a little. "I....am also still struggling in my classes." He continued. "My classmates refuse to say anything to me. They refuse to be my friends as well." "Your classmates underestimate you. You are a good student, Arvid." Mr. Williams said. "Do you understand?" "Yes, Father. I understand." Arvid replied. He started eating his food. "Having no friends is a bigger nuisance for me." He admitted. "I wanted to focus on making friends rather than anything at all. But, no one wants to.....be my friend." "You will make a new friend, Arvid." Mrs. Williams said. "And, even if you struggle, God will always be with you." God.... Arvid thought. I will never forget God's love for me..... and my entire family.

Let's return to the story...

Arvid stared at the ground. Madeline... He thought. ......You are the only wolf that truly understands my sorrowful life. I......I really enjoy your company.

Meanwhile...

Madeline rested under a large, shady tree, thinking about her encounters with Arvid. Arvid is really depressed... She thought remorsefully. I.....had no idea. He must have suffered a great deal of depression. I do not want him to feel upset. I want him to find happiness. But, that may take some time. He is in a lot of pain and I should not pressure him. She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. Poor choices do not make mankind truly evil. She thought. In God's eyes, there is no such thing as an evil man...

The next morning...

Father wolf and the entire pack have been searching for Madeline all night. They never found her. "Sorry, my alpha." A she-wolf said, standing in front of Father wolf. "No sign of Madeline." "You checked everywhere?" Father wolf asked strictly. "Every area that doesn't have any patriots." The she-wolf replied. "The patriots are everywhere! Keeping us from searching any more areas, my alpha!" Father wolf looked down. ....If the patriots find us, we are both doomed. He thought. What are we gonna do? "We found paw prints, commander!" A voice called out, much to Father wolf's horror. "There are wolves out here! We must be vigilant!"