The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 116

Dead silence accompanied the search party as they followed Pops towards, hopefully, a possible exit. No one spoke a single word, not even to complain about the smell or whatever they were stepping in or if they were hungry or not. They just walked in silence. It was actually a little comforting for Tiberius as he took up the rear of the group. He had put himself about six feet behind them. Head hanging low to the ground, he stole a glance at Gidget. She had been looking back at him but swiftly turned her head away when she saw that he had seen her. The old hawk wasn't sure if she was mad at him or sad. She was probably furious. Noticing that Sweetpea and Chloe were glaring at him, he lowered his gaze.

Just as the search party rounded a corner he would get around a minute or so later, Tiberius felt a searing pain in his chest. Gasping, he collapsed on the ground while his vision blurred and his head pounded. Struggling to even breathe properly, the old red tailed hawk wrapped his right wing around his torso as he tried to regain some breath. It took a while but eventually he could again. Startled by this, Tiberius glanced down at his left shoulder and the snake bite he had gotten. He was greeted by a horrifying sight. The bite was very close to one of his blood veins, too close for his liking. The vein had turned purple and the skin surrounding the area was a deathly white. Upon further investigation, Tiberius determined that it was spreading down his left wing and creeping closer to his chest. It was heading towards his heart. This could only mean one thing.

He was dying.

"How in the world did I end up with such a cursed life..." Tiberius mumbled sorrowfully, tears brimming in his eyes. Curling up into a tight ball, he covered his face with his wings and wept in silence. For years, the old hawk had prayed for death. He had prayed willingly for it to come and take him. But now that he was confronted with the aspect of dying, he was terrified and wanted it to go away. He didn't want to die, not like this with the kind of life he had. The red tail wasn't even sure where he would end up in the afterlife. Would he go to the Tribe of the Heavenly Stars or the Tribe of the Poisonous Savages? Would he even go anywhere?! More tears rolling down his face, Tiberius felt absolutely miserable when, all of the sudden, there was a small tap on his shoulder. Frightened, he looked up.

"Hey, you okay man?" Buddy asked, tilting his head slightly. Mel was knelt on the ground beside him, his paw retracting back after tapping Tiberius on the shoulder. Sweetpea was perched on his head. Glancing away from the trio, the old hawk prayed they didn't see the tears as he muttered, "Just go away and leave me alone." Feeling Mel nudge him, he huffed angrily and whipped his head around to snap at the pug. However, remembering the bite on his shoulder and how he had been acting earlier, the hawk forced himself to calm down as he mumbled, "What do you want?"

"We noticed you were lagging behind and decided to check on you," Mel answered. Nodding his head, Buddy added on, "Come on. We can't have the others leave us behind." Sweetpea hopped off Mel's head while the two canines helped Tiberius up on his feet. Reluctantly following the trio as they hurried to catch up with the others, the old red tailed hawk questioned, "Did... did Gidget orchestrate this?" Buddy replied, "Nah, this was on our own accord." Sweetpea chirped in agreement. Looking up at the hawk, Mel pointed out, "It's not fair to judge someone based off what they are or what they look like. Everyone deserves a chance at something."

Shocked by their kindness and words, Tiberius was about ready to cry again as he spoke softly, "Thank you..." A bit of hope entered his heart.