Glinting Silver

Chapter 3

The days passed in a blur, and we got further from Domino's group. The rage that fuelled me slowly begin to subside. My furious running turned to a slow trot. Belle and Bliss loped at my sides. Their eyes were sunken into their heads and bones jutted out of their ribs.

June, it's been forever. We can't go much longer without food. Bliss complained. Ah, nothing like cold logic. I raised my muzzle to the air and scented, trying to find trees of deer or antelope or something. None of us knew how to hunt, but we'd take a good shot at it. A spotted a herd of deer down a slope and ran at them.

My paws skittered clumsily and I fell to the ground. The deer seemed to laugh at me before bouncing away and I growled, pulling myself up. Bliss and Belle were howling to the sky, and their laughs echoed in my head.

Lets see you catch a rabbit. I challenged. Belle got a sparkle in her eye and stood up. A rabbit a little way off glared at us and stamped its foot against the ground.

Bliss winced as she staggered backwards, blood on her nose. Behind her, Belle and I were sprawled on the ground and breathing heavily, both of us matted with blood. Our blood.

What the hell is wrong with nature? I growled. Maybe catching it human is easier. My paws were turning into hands as I spoke, my muzzle flattening grotesquely. Belle and Bliss were doing the same, wiping their wounds with their shirts. I turned towards the rabbit on unstable human legs.

"I've forgotten how to walk! I've forgotten how to walk!" Bliss wailed. "Its been too long! Juniper I hate you! Never let us stay wolf for three weeks again!"

I rolled my eyes but had to accept that she had a point. My legs felt weak and wobbly, my bare feet cutting painfully into the grass. We faced the rabbit, who contently cleaned his face. I bit my lip.

What followed next was a massacre. We ran and dived the ground, swallowing lumps of dirt and grass as we tried to catch the thing. I pounced and managed to trap it, pin it to the ground. My teeth sharpened so I could go in for the kill- and then a sound. A tiny squeak that was all it took to make me pause.

In a clump of grass sat three other rabbits, all tiny and brown and perfect. They squeaked and the rabbit under my hands honked sadly. I jumped off her and watched as she hopped to the three bunnies. Call me soft, but I couldn't orphan three baby rabbits. We would just go hungry until we passed a servo or something.

I started going back to wolf, and looked at Bliss and Belle as they morphed. Finally we could run again, as the sun reached its highest point. I veered sharply towards the scent of civilisation, but it seemed abandoned. There might still be food.

I held up three half formed fingers in a signal to wait until I had checked it out. Then I started walking into the buildings.

They were grey and crumbling, moss and vines snaking their way up the walls. A tiny sound behind me, I whirled to see nothing but tiny pieces of gravel clattering down a lump of concrete. I kept walking.

The streets were littered with trash and rubble. I looked around, stepping carefully over broken glass. The sine as shining weakly through grey clouds, making the buildings cast long shadows at me. I blinked and whirled, teeth bared as concrete rained down from the top of a building. This time I glimpsed a black tail whisking out of sight.

More on my guard now, I hunched my shoulders and started running. There was an aura in the air. Whatever was watching me was running beside me now, almost as fast as I was. In my panicked state I started shifting, furry hands slamming the packed dirt, broken glass cutting into my palms.

Rain was beginning to fall, a heavy pounding lashing curtain that seemed to bite me as I ran. Loud mournful howls rang out above the roar of wind and rain, shaking me to my boots. Ears flat against my head, I poured on some serious speed.

I could hear the sound of claws clacking and clicking on the hard stone, getting louder. My fur bushed up and I skidded to a halt, whirling to face the other wolves.

Thunder rumbled and a sopping wet black wolf lunged. He bared sharp yellow teeth and flew so close his pelt brushed mine. I turned to face him and growled, but a huge pain in my neck made me yelp. Another wolf, a grey one with dark flicks in her fur.

The two wolves lowered their heads and snarled at me. Refusing to back down, I took a step forward and growled, my mouth open and teeth flashing. The grey wolf turned to the other with a slightly amused expression.

Zack, what have we got here?
Well Michelle, it looks like a silver!

Zack and Michelle. The rogues had a name now. Suddenly the big black one stared at me in surprise. He had fiery green eyes.

You! He exclaimed, circling me. I remember you! Are you going to talk?

Michelle looked at him in surprise, her grey fur sleek in the rain. I stayed silent, anger building up inside me, amplifying the pain in my neck. This black wolf here had wasted my time and made me lose my Roar. I took a threatening step forward, and the rogues started circling me.

I have backup. I snapped. The wolves raised their eyebrows and kept circling. They knew I was bluffing, and I was. I had no idea where Bliss or Belle were. I had told them to stay.

Michelle lunged forward and snapped. I leaped to the side, her teeth scissoring fur off my cheek. Unfortunately I jumped straight into Zack, who chomped down on my neck and started death rolling like a crocodile!

I turned and started snapping and growling, slicing anything that came into reach. There was a yelp and Zack staggered backwards, blood running from a cut above his eye. He tipped his head back and howled.

Through pain of Michelle trying to tear me apart, I could hear the answering howls. In a state of panic I turned and started attacking Michelle. She snarled and backed away, licking blood from her muzzle.

Something hit me from behind and I stumbled. Something else leaped on my back and bit down on my shoulder. Zack was howling, and more wolves were leaping off buildings and attacking me. Red and black and white and grey and ginger and brown.... there were in a frenzy, all wanting to have silver fur to sell in the villages.

A human fist slammed the back of head and black spots exploded behind my eyes. My knees buckled. A big red and grey wolf whirled and kicked out with his rock-hard hind paws. My ribs cracked and my breath left my lungs with a whoosh.

A scrawny black wolf with crimson eyes zipped under me, biting down on my throat while kicking and clawing my belly. I was buried under a pile of fur and it looked like this was the end for me...

When a French Horn blew. My ears pricked and I caught a glimpse of the outside world through the crushing weight of the rogue wolves and rain. On top of a lopsided building, only five meters of the ground, stood a girl. She had flowing, ringlets of black hair, one ice blue eye and one light hazel eye, and the sort if smile that lets you know she's up to no good.

She blew the horn again and jumped off the concrete slab. Then she seemed to explode. When she hit the ground, there was a black wolf in her place. She snarled. Zack looked up and flicked one ear, signalling to the other wolves to get off me. I stayed still on the ground, bleeding.

Kim. He hissed. The black wolf cocked his head, and the rogues flew at the her. She turned to fight and I noticed something. A silver patch over one eye.