The Great Eight

Chapter 53

Riley awoke the next morning to a horrible throbbing in his ribs. He whimpered and gritted his teeth. For several long, terrible moments, all he saw was red. Then, gradually, the pain died down, but still lingered as a dull ache.

He raised his head, taking in his surroundings. He was in Matt's den, in the same room where he'd first met Snowball. Soft, clean towels had been laid out on the floor, which all the dogs were curled up on. They were pressed close together, their pelts creating a colorful patchwork. Sunlight was streaming through the window, casting glowing pools on their fur. Birds chirped loudly from outside.

Riley couldn't remember much of the evening before, or even coming into the den. A dark, murky fog clouded his mind. His head pounded as he struggled to make sense of things. Very slowly, images of the previous day began to emerge. There had been a battle, a lot of blood, screaming, barking, guns, and then Riley had stabbed Mogui in the chest.

He knew he was missing some important event, but he couldn't recall it. It seemed to be hiding deep in the recesses of his mind, not wanting to come out.

Violet, who was lying with her head on Ricochet's flank, whimpered in her sleep. Riley noticed for the first time that her stomach was slightly swollen. He felt a rush of concern for the pit bull, who must be exhausted, having to fight in that battle while carrying her unborn pups, and then after seeing...

The image of Blackjack's brains splattered in the grass flashed violently in Riley's mind. The horrible knowledge returned to him as if a knife was plunging into his own chest. He let out a gasp.

"Riley?" Nimble groggily lifted her head. "What's wrong?"

Riley buried his face into Nimble's thick chest fur. She sighed, and rested her chin on his head. They lay there for a while, until a loud bark sounded from outside. Startled, Riley and Nimble leapt up and hurried to the entrance. Riley gave a silent thanks to Matt upon seeing the door cracked slightly open. He nosed his way out and onto the wooden platform at the front of the den. Standing by the steps leading up to it was Sasha.

"Riley, what is going on!?" she demanded. "Where have you all been? We were so worried when you didn't come back from hunting!"

Riley tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He felt as though thick mud was bubbling up in his throat. He choked, and then hung his head.

Slowly and quietly, Nimble explained the events of the previous day to Sasha.

"Oh no," the gold and black dog whispered in horror. "I...I am so sorry...I should have come here sooner..."

"It's not your fault," murmured Nimble.

"You said Mogui is dead?" asked Sasha quietly.

Nimble nodded stiffly. "Yes, Riley killed him."

Sasha sighed deeply and hung her head. "At least that brute is finally gone."

After a long pause, she lifted her head. "I know you all have been through a lot, and you probably need rest, but do you at least mind sending Nikolai and Jesse back? Holly is worried sick about them."

"Yes, we'll go get them," said Nimble.

She and Riley went back into the den. Nikolai and Jesse were curled up together at the edge of the nest of towels. The two little dogs were dead asleep, not even stirring when Nimble gently shook them with a paw.

"Hey," she said somewhat loudly. "Come on, you need to wake up."

"Huh?" Nikolai raised his head, his eyes clouded with confusion.