Spirit's Bitter End

Chapter 6 ~ Fatal Wounds

        The pain was excruciating. It burnt, far worse then the fire ever could have. Ubron opened his eyes when he felt droplets of moisture seeping into his fur. Rain. That would put out the flames for sure. A smoldering log lay on top of him and the alpha, trying to crush the air out of their lungs. It hissed and popped angrily as rain showered onto it. They couldn’t survive the crushing weight of the fallen tree much longer… Ubron prayed that Ty would hurry and bring back help. Ubron clawed desperately at the ground in front of him, attempting to move the log, if only a little. But his trying was in vain. The log wouldn’t budge. He had no idea how big the fallen tree was, in fact. For all he knew, it would take ten wolves or more just to roll it off of him and the alpha. He glanced over towards the pack leader. There was a large gash on the top of his head; the ground beneath him was stained a deep red. Ubron shivered, despite the heat. What would the pack do without their fearless leader? Surely their lives would be thrown into chaos if he died.

        "Please hurry, Ty." Ubron whispered weakly.

        Pedrah ran through the burnt forest. Skeletons of squirrels and other various small prey littered the ground along with dead bushes and trees. The ground was still hot enough to burn the young pup’s paws. He yipped loudly as he stepped on a red-hot stone. He tumbled to the ground, his left forepaw badly burnt. Standing back up, he quickly dipped his paw in the nearest puddle that had been created by rainwater. The water was soothing. Ty came up behind him, panting along with several other wolves that had volunteered to come help the alpha and Ubron. They all wore concerned expressions. But it was Ty that looked the most worried. Perhaps he had something else on his mind other then the alpha. The small group of wolves observed the ashes around them that had once been a magnificent forest. Ty turned around and barked at them.

        "Keep an eye out for any other wolves that may have survived!" They all nodded; Ty lead them to where the alpha and Ubron lay. Several wolves gasped when they saw the horrid condition their alpha was in. His skull looked like it had been ripped open by some ferocious monster. Pedrah ignored the alpha and ran over to his father, licking soot from his muzzle, trying to wake him.

        Ubron’s eyes flicked open and Pedrah let out a loud sigh of relief. His worn out father smiled then his gaze shifted over towards Ty.

        "Help the alpha." He instructed in a weak, hoarse voice. Ty and the others immediately begun carefully removing the simmering log off the two wolves.

        Once the log had been rolled away, the small group of wolves crowded around the alpha. An old gray wolf appeared out of the smoke. It was the old healer of the pack, Bertha. She was very wise and knowledgeable in the art of medicines. She shoved through the small crowd, growling at them in an annoyed fashion.

        "Out of my way, out of my way mangy flea bags!" It was crystal clear that she was not the most cheerful wolf alive. She walked up to the alpha and began examining his many wounds. The wound on his head was not the most serious, it turned out. He had a large gash on his underbelly and his left shoulder was also ripped open. Pedrah recoiled as the smell of blood hit him. He pawed at his nose, trying the make the dreadful scent disappear.

        Bertha stepped back from the alpha, shaking her head. "There’s nothing I can do the help him. His wounds are too deep and I have no herbs to treat him with. All my supplies were burnt to a crisp." She announced. A few wolves began howling sorrowfully. Ty stared at the ground, his face revealing no emotion for the time being.

        Bertha padded over to Ubron and looked him over. "You got lucky. Slight bruising and a few burns. Shouldn’t take any longer then a week for you to recover." She sniffed, a hint of bitterness in her voice. It seemed as thought she wished that Ubron had died along with the alpha. Pedrah glanced at his father with questioning eyes. Ubron shrugged his sore shoulders as best as he could.

        "Oh, what happened to you my dear?!" Bertha exclaimed, noticing the dried up blood on the side of Pedrah’s head. She tried to lick the blood off, but Pedrah swatted her away.

        "I’m fine." He told the old wolf in a cool tone. He wasn’t very happy about the way she had treated his father. Despite Bertha's soft spot for pups, she was a mean old hag to everybody else. But Pedrah's attention was torn away from Bertha as the alpha wolf weakly called out his name.

        "Pedrah... When... when the times comes, you must accept whatever fate the gods have chosen for you... Your... your choices will someday play a great part... in the coming of a new era." With those last few words, the alpha drew his final breathe, and the world seemed to stand still as his life faded to nothingness.