Identity

Identity (Alternate Ending)

I look at Duplicity in shock. "You would kill him?"

"No, I shall not get my paws dirty. You will." He looks at me expectantly, as does Overcaste, who is looking on as if following through on his order would confirm something. Endure looks at me pleadingly. "He is the cause for all the humans turning into wolves! He was the one that bit me on my leg yesterday! If he says he's innocent, he's lying! Please, if we take them on together, we can defeat them."

I glance at Duplicity in shock, "Alpha, is this all true? Why would you tell me to kill him? Has he really done anything wrong?"

Seeing this chance, Endure continues. "Sage, when you woke up, didn't you have some sort of gash or wound? Like a bite mark?"

I stutter, "Well, I remember Duplicity was saying that was a bush scratch or something, not a bit mark!"

Endure's eyes shine with renewed vigor. "Duplicity said, Sage. Don't you see? You'd been living a lie! All along, you've lived assuming Duplicity was telling you the truth, you've been lied to! And he said so himself! He said just now that you were gullible, and he was exploiting that, or at least, exploiting your confusion!"

I take a deep breath and glance at Duplicity, then to Overcaste. Overcaste has a pained look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Duplicity, but, Sage?" Overcaste turned to address me. I feel so confused. "It seems you're the only one that has total faith in Duplicity. It's true, at first, I was like you, but Sage, the fact speak for themselves." Overcaste's voice died down slowly.

I turn to Duplicity, who was staring at Overcaste in a way I'd never seen before. What I saw in Duplicity was so frighteningly hostile, I whimper without meaning to. Overcaste, who had turned to face her mate, was also whimpering.

"I see, Sage, the wool of my sheepskin disguise has been lifted. Alas, the wolf among sheep is now plain to see." Duplicity chuckles at his use of irony, which, I find amusing as well, but that doesn't stop me from feeling very betrayed.

"Duplicity, I TRUSTED you! Doesn't that mean anything?" I scream at him, a tear wetting my fur.

Duplicity glances at me with the angelic look that makes me forgive him every time, but today it does not work. Upon seeing my face still unchanging, unwilling to forgive, he drops the charade, and his face transforms into an expression so dark, so evil, I'm surprised I'd never seen it. Duplicity charges at Overcaste so suddenly that when the impact is made, the only sound I hear is a huff as the air is slammed out of Overcaste's lungs.

Time rushes to catch up as I see out of the corner of my eye Endure, who was standing there, rush up and charge at Duplicity, knocking him off Overcaste. Unfortunately, Duplicity was tearing at Overcaste at that time, so Endure had made Duplicity tear out a fair chuck of meat from Overcaste's neck. I quickly rush to Overcaste's side and look at her wound. Her neck is a mess, white bone shone easily through the forest light, and for a second, a precious second, all I can do is stand and gape at the wound. Overcaste moves her head, and I see the bone move as it is being used.

"Sage. I'm going to die. Go help Endure...to endure...and help him...end...this..." Overcaste's eyes slowly close. I look at her wound again. Blood is pouring out, crimson against white as the forest floor hungrily drinks up Overcaste's life. She's right; she'll never last. I turn to look at the fight.

I see Duplicity on top of Endure, trying to rip at Endure's throat. Endure had his front paws up, trying to push Duplicity off. I run up and pounce, smashing into Duplicity, and I immediate seek out a major artery to hit, but he is also fast, and so the three of us begin a dance. We form a triangle, each making up a point, and begin assaulting each other, Endure and I against the one Duplicity.

Eventually, the three of us find ourselves next to a river, swollen with extra rainwater from possibly before we'd arrived, or in a region upstream. Endure charges at Duplicity, who sidesteps him. Unfortunately, Endure loses his footing on the slippery grass, and slides dangerously close to the water. I leap and, just in time, manage to hook paws with him, preventing him from the certain drowning the rapids promised him.

"Already bonding with your newfound friendship?" sneers a voice behind me. The panic the voice causes me gives me an extra kick of power, and I manage to heave Endure up. It wasn't really much, but it was enough to allow Endure to pull himself up as I turn to face the lie, Duplicity. Duplicity pads towards me slowly, like a cat who has already caught the mouse, but knows it can't escape. Duplicity lowers himself closer to the ground, then throws his body at me, I can't bring myself to step aside and let Endure take the impact- he'd done enough to just die so soon, so I closed my eyes and swept my paw out with all my might. I can almost hear cracking as I'm sure my bones, his, or both of ours, takes injury to this assault. I slide back a foot or two from the blow while Duplicity is thrown to a rather sizable rock. Endure pulls himself up next to me.

"Sage, let's finish this together."

I nod in response, and we both approach Duplicity, who struggles to get up.

"I'll never surrender. Never!" With that, Duplicity attempts to attack once more, but Endure and I both whip around and kick back with our hind paws, somewhat un-wolflike, but effective. I miss a little however, and stub my toes on the rock. Too bad, I suppose every victory comes with a price. As I watch Duplicity and the rock go tumbling down, I also think about Overcaste. Both me and Endure check back, but she had long since left her body. Then, we check the river again, downstream, to see if Duplicity had made it out of the water. He hadn't.

Years later, Endure and I raise wolf pups like a conventional wolf pack. Sometimes, we both reminisce about our fight with Duplicity, and sometimes I have nightmares of his haunting gaze. Some of me says I can rest easy. After all, a week later, Endure and I checked back at the river when the water had gone down. We'd seen Duplicity's rotting corpse in the water, his front left limb trapped under the rock I'd kicked in, and where Overcaste had died, a wonderful sweet smelling patch of dark flowers grew, but my other half of me is still uneasy. Duplicity's gaze will forever haunt me, engraved in my eyes for all eternity. Malicious intent- burning, searing, in the night.