The War Within

Chapter 9

     Captain Reko took a few steps away from the shadow in disbelief, and the shadow then chuckled.

        “That’s right,” the shadow spoke, “I’m you, and I could kill you right now if I wanted to. However, I have other plans for you, specifically.” Captain Reko growled and put his swords in their sheaths.

        “What motives,” he asked, and the question made his doppelganger chuckle demonically.

        “Gnihtyreve yortsed lliw I ,ytilaer otni emoc I ecnO!”

        “What?”

        “Your time here is up. It’s time for you to wake up.”

        “Hang on a min-” The shadow snapped his fingers and in an instant, Captain Reko found himself back inside of the wolves’ den. He put his hand on his head, feeling a wet, warm substance on his forehead. He wiped his forehead and sighed as he looked around at the den. Everything was the same as before, except for Jake who now had his face buried in the beta wolf’s fur. Captain Reko got up and walked out of the den.

        “What is wrong with me,” he asked himself. “Am I going crazy? Did I do that to myself, or is there really a shadow version of me? Even so, this isn't the first time I've seen a shadow either, but it's definitely the first I've ever held a conversation with one and seen its physical form. I wonder if the one now and the one I saw years ago are connected...Let me not focus on that right now. I've got more important things to focus on.”

        “Still talking to yourself, I see.” Captain Reko’s ears perked up and he turned his head around to see the alpha wolf walking towards him, and at that, he chuckled and turned his head back around.

        “Still sneaking up on everyone, I see. What are you doing up this late anyway, Koura?”

        “Just wanted to check up on you. I know that you're not really yourself inside. I know about what happened to Agnus.” Captain Reko sighed and looked up at the sky. Concerned, Koura walked next to Captain Reko and sat down.

        “His death I'll never get over,” Captain Reko said then looked down at Koura. “I'll make Darzay and Zubelon pay for that, but I can’t do that if I’m still feeling terrible for what I did to Agnus. However, I'll still take care of Red as I promised, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep both Igneous and Red safe.”

        “Speaking of, when you plan to make your move on Zubelon, are you absolutely sure that you'll let your pup go with you?”

        “I wouldn't be having him go through this for no reason. One Tasoolian can make a big difference in getting our home back. At the same time, though, I just don't want him getting hurt, or even killed. How do you do it, Koura? How do you keep your pack safe?”

        “That’s hard to do when they will put their lives on the line to keep you safe. It's a good thing, but as alpha, you can't always rely on friends for help. Sometimes you must do things on your own.”

        “Do you think that’s the best thing I should do? I mean, I don’t mind going solo, but considering our current situation, it may cause more problems than it will solve any. Maybe with Igneous being second in command, it’ll be easier for me to go solo. Although, he doesn’t know the first thing about being a leader.”

        “Wolves are natural leaders, Reko. Your pup will do just fine leading your team when you can’t. It’s like you said, one Tasoolian can make a big difference.”

        “Now that I think about it, he has made things a bit different. He almost reminds me of me when I was his age. The only difference between us is that you didn’t raise him.”