Midnight's Dream

Midnight's Dream Chapter Four

Dream ran until she could run no further, dropping to the ground like a wounded moose. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and the edges of her vision seemed to blur. Fear, anger and adrenaline were still coursing through Dream, her head full of all her possibilities. She had heard the sounds of pursuit at first, but now they'd subsided. Both relief and sadness swelled inside Dream. They don't care enough to find me. Good. Dream stood up, shaking herself fiercely. All these new emotions and feelings, they were so weird. She instinctively turned her nose to the wind and sniffed, searching for Mama. Then she remembered that her mother was gone, taken, stolen. Distraught with how her life had taken a turn for the absolute worst, Dream tipped back her head and howled.

She howled until she heard the bushes moving, leaves rustling against each other in the still wind. Stopping her howl, she stared into the forest as a familiar scent caught her nose, and fear burst through her.

"I told you I smelled her!" Shadow's voice sounded proud, and for a second Dream felt sad that Shadow wasn't worried about her, but she shook it off. She wasn't supposed to care, she hated these wolves. Who am I kidding? She thought. Shadow is my brother, it's not his fault he happened to get Papa-no, Kra, as a father. And I don't think he could be worried about losing his own pelt.

"We've been following her trail Shadow, she isn't that hard to find," Papa sounded tired, and for a split second Dream felt guilt spreading through her. No. He doesn't care about you, you shouldn't care about him. Dream stood, spreading her legs slightly to give her a more dominant stance, just as Papa and Shadow broke into the clearing. The first thing Papa did was leap at Dream, gripping her throat in his teeth and forcing her to the ground, until she was sure she felt blood seeping down her neck. Still full of anger and fear, Dream did something she had never done before; fought back. She twisted so she was lying on her back, and thrust her hind paws into Papa's underbelly. A loud grunt followed, and the force on Dream's neck was slackened for a moment, just long enough for Dream to twist again, using the rain-slicked leaves on the clearing floor to her advantage. As she swung away from Papa, he thrust his muzzle down for another bite, barely missing her but still colliding with the ground. Dream turned to bite him, but was stopped in her tracks by a loud yell.

"STOP" Shadow screeched. "We must stay together if we want to find Mama." He growled, glancing at me. "We must also get. along." The last two words were spat out like venom. Shadow's threatening tone was enough to fade Dream's anger. Shadow never yelled, at least not seriously. Papa took another second to glare at Dream as he lifted himself off the ground, and Dream gave herself a thorough shake. A sudden red dotting on the bush next to her confirmed Dream's fears. This time her father had really hurt her. Sitting down, Dream looked over at Papa, trying to look as sullen and hurt as possible.

"Are you quite done now?" Shadow snapped. An odd light still shone in his gaze, and at this point it was Shadow's piercing gaze that scared Dream more than her father. For a fleeting moment, a flash of panic shot through Dream as she took in the thought that her brother could have the Madness, which makes an animal's mouth foam, eyes craze, and all in all go insane. Dream shook her head again. No, Shadow doesn't seem to have the Madness. he's probably just scared, like I am. Once the Treasure Pack had come across a wolf who had the Madness. They had found him turning in tight circles, snapping at the ground and trying to eat rocks. Mama had quickly ushered Dream and Shadow away, and Dream had never found out what Papa did, but she had never seen the Madness wolf again. Shadow isn't doing any of that Dream thought. He's just being serious. But with Shadow, that was a concern in itself. Papa seemed to have regained himself, but he was looking a little less arrogant. It had started to snow again, and Dream knew that they would have to move quickly if they wanted any hope of catching Mama's scent.

"Let's go," Papa barked, and Dream knew that Shadow and Papa were thinking the same thing. Wordlessly, all three wolves stood up and headed towards where they had last seen Mama.