The Experiment of the Forgotten

Chapter Six

For the remainder of the uncomfortably cold and bitter late autumn day, the group of three had not done much since they had seen the gruesome events between the small, tri-coloured australian shepherd and the particularly intimidating mastiff. Keesha usually was not intimidated by any dog, regardless of their size. She was on the small side, but strong and agile. But there was something different about this dog. There was a just an insane look hidden within the depths of his round, dark eyes, something that perhaps had not been yet awakened for a many years. Or maybe he was just simply holding it back, waiting for the right moment to unleash all chaos on the other dogs.

Keesha just about scoffed to herself, her gaze hard as she stared ahead. There would always be dogs like him, possibly more than some would think. Maybe she was alike him in a way.

But much more stable, and capable of self control.

She liked to assure herself by saying that. She wasn't a ruthless monster, at least. She continued trudging along with the small party made up of her and two other male dogs. Since just that morning, they had spent most of their remaining free time scouting the woodland, weaving between tall trunks and dodging dark shrubs. The sweet songs of birds were noticeable growing more faint and less plentiful each day as the known threat of winter grew even more near. Every dog knew that winter was the hardest time of the year, whether you resided within the streets of the city or out in whatever plains were left. These days it just seemed like all that remained was glossy buildings for the humans.

Having the whole day to do so, they set a goal to try and make sense of their new surroundings more, and know the place a bit better. By the time the sun was beginning to sink down to the horizon, they liked to think they had done a good job of mapping out a rough idea of the place in their minds. After all, what other choice did they have?

What was visible of the tree dotted horizon was an intense shade of yellow-orange around the snow, casting a golden glow across the trees. The luminous rays of light crept between the trees, sending long trails of light down on the forest floor. Clouds were beginning to creep along the sky, giving the dogs no chance of seeing the glorious moon or stars on this night. They would be plunged into complete darkness. The sun made some of the deep gray clouds have a golden outline, accentuating their grooves and curves. Some small wisps of cloud were a nice light shade of pink, dotting randomly along the sky, that faded into a mesmerizing blue as you looked up at the sky.

Keesha, Faust, and Timber had begun to head back to their camp, using the sound of the rushing waterfall as their landmark. They had run into no problems so far, but they had quite a way to go still.

"Should we hunt?" Faust piped up from the back of the group. He had actively been keeping watch at the back of the group, voluntarily of course. Keesha was slightly annoyed at the fact, figuring it was because he thought that she couldn't look out for herself and needed him to do it for her. She ignored that though, deciding it most likely was not because he thought she was weak. She had assumed she had proved to him that she was fully capable of taking care of herself by this point.

The three had not done any hunting throughout the day, which seemed to be a stupid mistake. They all had been worn out from the long venture through the forest, and Keesha could feel the uncomfortable but familiar feeling of hunger beginning to gnaw through her stomach. Then, Keesha remembered her rabbit she had buried for later. Surely that would do until they had a chance to hunt for real tomorrow.

"I have half of a rabbit left from when I buried it. If we split it between us, I'm sure it would hold us off until morning." she suggested as the rock cave came into view. She turned to look at Timber and Faust, who were just a little ways behind her. They both nodded in agreement, and she hurried ahead. She slinked around the den, heading towards where she hid the rabbit.