FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Migratory birds- Chapter 4- Part 1

Flight

by kodayu

Note! Continued from Chapter 3, Part 2!

Her head was droning like a steam engine and it was so heavy that it was anything but a small effort just to lift it up a bit. But somehow she managed it and instantly dull pain swirled throughout her skull, colors danced in front of her eyes and the blood rushed in her ears but nevertheless she was instantly fully alert as she had scented the other one's presence even before she had consciously grasped it and instantly she was upon her feet, jumping up with a quick movement of feline grace, extending her claws and ready to defend herself. But almost as quickly she regretted it because the pain increased and for a short moment everything blackened.

"Slow!" A male voice advised her. "I do not want to harm you. Despite what my family has done to you."

Breathing heavily she was able to fight back the pain and now she noticed that her view was not troubled by her headache but that she stood in an almost completely dark room which was only illuminated by two dim candles.

Her lynx eyes pierced through the darkness and she percepted the familiar shape of the wolf which stood opposite her, leaning against the stone wall next to some decorated corner.

"We are safe in here... For now," Wheel said and blinked while the lynx girl let herself drop down on the low bench with the quilt she had been laying on. "Can I help you somehow?" the wolf added cautiously.

Angrily she waved her head and growled lowly.

The wolf gulped and watched the ground beneath his feet. "I am sorry for you being kidnapped. It's my fault. I have lost my temper and told them that you are the real winner and now..." He rose his eyes up to her again. "...Actually I have no idea what they have intended to do with you. That's why I brought you down here." He wet his lips. "They won't look here for you. At least not as long as they are busy up there..."

She growled once again while running her hand over her aching head. At least she seemed to have no wound.

Wheel watched her in silence and the lynx did not hurry. But when she looked at him again, she was startled for a moment as the bigger wolf was looking completely different than the wolf she had seen during the race: There was no trace of this feverish energy of his left, he was sunken eyed, his hair messy and every movement he made displayed such weakness that it had to be an incredible effort of his just to keep standing where he was. He looked like misery itself. For a moment she watched him too but then her eyes wandered through the small room they were in: The ceiling was rather low, wooden beams in the wall seemed to stabilize the stone walls which were decorated with colored wall scrolls she was not able to see properly because the only light was the dim light of two candles which burned inside the corner, Wheel stood next to. This corner contained something like a wooden staircase with three steps or such where small idols, figurines, cups with some oily fluid, old, extinguished candles (and lots of molten wax) and similar stuff stood upon. These steps were covered with straw which had been dyed red and in the middle of the last one stood a very alien idol, an ornamental stone carved in the shape of an owl which was completely painted black and the strange eyes of the bird looked coldly down on them.

Wheel who had noticed her looks also observed the altar for a moment.

"That's our totem," he explained. "The owl. That's why we are called Nighthunters. It also represents Koda, the black moon which is our guiding star. As far as I know the other clans possess similar totems. Nickel's star is Heya, the golden moon. Storm's End is linked to Tezu, the red moon. Each of us represents one of the three moons. Sometimes I believe that's why we are hostile towards each other. We are all the same and nevertheless forever separated from one another. It's always been that way..." He fell silent and watched the black owl, lost in his thoughts. Although not looking at her he said: "I hope you don't mind lying on this bench. It's a deathbed. Whenever one of us feels his end approaching he comes down here and rests here, so that our totem might guide him to the Spirits..."

After a while she stated shortly: "It's OK."

He could not resist smiling faintly.

"Where're we?"

"We are in the shrine in the basement. All the other rooms down here are storage rooms, except this one."

She nodded and instantly pulled a face as the faint movement had triggered another wave of pain. Thus she closed her eyes for a moment to get rid of the pain but when she opened them up again she looked directly at the Silver Arc upon her nude chest and noticed for the first time that her shirt was missing and that her vest was partly opened, opened wide enough to let the base of her small breast show. Screwing up her eyes she looked at him again. "Where's my shirt," she snarled.

The undeniable aggressiveness of her snarl made his fur bristle and he turned his head away. "I am sorry I had to use it as a diversion. It had your smell and the absence of your smell would have been what my family would have noticed first."

"Y'know..." she hissed.

He gulped. "Yes, I know," he said lowly. "I know...," he whispered.

Although her dizziness and her headache she stood up from the bench. "So? What's next?"

"I..." Wheel fell silent. Suddenly his tail was as stiff as a metal bar. "I wanted..." He gulped and then inhaled sharply. "I want to suggest you another deal."

"Not interested," she said coldly, glaring at the wolf. "I just wanna 've the fifteen red stones you owe me, not 'nother rotten deal of yours."

While her refusal was still echoing in his ears the surprise he had felt at first left him and it seemed to him like it robbed him of every other feeling as well, left him behind empty and helpless. He felt like falling into the gaping hole of desperation he had luckily been walking alongside. But now this shady feline, this mysterious girl, this blasphemer, this traitor, this... She was his only hope ever to get Shannanah's love back again and before he had any time to reconsider his thoughts he had been walking over to the lynx girl and had laid his hand upon her shoulder. "Please..."

She shook his hand off.

This was too much for him. "Please, you are my only hope," he blurred out, hardly able to restrain his tears. "I... I don't know what to do anymore. It's... it's..." He gulped, hot tears flowed down his cheeks. "I am not selfishly asking you for help. It's about my cubs... They got to get away from here. They belong to their mother and I am..." Now he was no longer able to keep his voice in check as well and he started to whimper. "You are the only one whom I could ask. You are a roamer you know how to get along in the wilderness. You can't refuse it... I... My cubs are less than three months old, they do not deserve to die..."

She had not shown any emotion during his speech, nor did she seem to have been impressed by his emotions but when he had just finished the last sentence her ears twitched and her tail started wagging anxiously. "What're you talkin' 'bout?"

"The fight will... They said... The other clans will attack us! The priest told them that they...," Wheel blurt out.

"Who?" Jiddy interrupted him brutally. "Who're you talkin' 'bout?"

She collared the bigger wolf and shook him in excitement. "The armadillo? Are you talkin' 'bout the armadillo?"

Tears flowed down his cheeks when he nodded weakly, making no attempt to free himself from her hold.

"Shit!" She let the wolf go and turned around, lost in her thoughts for a moment. Then she spun around again. "That's a trap!" She screwed up her eyes and approached him, looking deep into his lupine eyes. "Do y'get it?" Her rhombic pupils had narrowed, tiny spots in her eyes, much more animal than furry. Her glare seemed to pierce right through him.

Still shaking he gulped, sniffed and then forced himself to calm. He nodded. "Why..." He gulped again. "Why are you so sure?"

"This armadillo's told me somethin'. I don't remember. Somethin' 'bout ancestors and payback. He's used magic on me or drugged me or somethin'. I dunno. But I could feel it too: He was serious 'bout it," she mumbled.

Wheel nodded although he did not really understand what she said.

"Whatever he's up to and whatever jerk-offs you and your fuckin' family are: If y'got a chance to stop him..." She glared at him.

"What about my cubs?" he asked.

For a short instant her eyes narrowed even more, flashing hatred at him, her tail wagging strongly.

"Please! They belong to their mother. I do not even know what happens to them if their are not fed by her..."

"What's 'bout their mother?" she snarled impatiently.

"They..." For a moment he was frightened by her glare but then he remember the picture of Shannanah and thus something changed for him. "They abducted her," he heard himself say with an alien straightforwardness.

"Who?"

"My family," he whispered.

"What?" she almost cried out.

"They have separated us. They brought her to her hometown at the Silver Coast against her will..." His hand formed a fist and he rose his head and looked straight at the lynx girl. "She's my wife. We belong together. But most of all our cubs need her. You have to help! I am not experienced with the wilderness. You have to bring me to the Silver Coast for my children's sake." For a moment he was silent and now it was up to her to turn her face away. "Someone has to bring them to her... And you are the only one who could help me right now... Please..."

"Shut up!" she cried out. Her agitation had suddenly changed and she started to walk around inside the small room with powerful, angry steps, her paws closing to fists and reopening constantly.

"I...," he tried to say.

"Shut up!" she cried again, walking even faster. Her tail wagged as if she was about to hunt someone down and there was just one possible prey in sight...

They were quiet for a moment and the only sound was her strong breath and the noise of her feet on the ground.

"OK," she said lowly. "I'll do it. But it'll cost you!"

"When we get there I will give you whatever you want," he answered while he started to feel light and easy like never before. His relief was far beyond words, whatever might happen from now on, Rush and Shade would be safe and there was nothing else he desired.

Angrily she waved her hand. "I don't need any pittance," she grumbled.

Steel sat beneath the window and listened to the noises of the feast outside. He was impatient, because on one hand he was able to feel the strange tension everyone else was obviously feeling too, on the other hand the chatter of the people outside, the sounds of their drinking and eating was so tempting and peaceful that he was hardly able to believe that a fight was supposed to take place any time soon. But the cold metal of the shotgun in his hand was all that he needed to be reminded of his duties.

He would have preferred guarding his cousin but now he had been designed to keep an eye from the office window as long as the party was going on outside. If there was any sign of the foxes or the deer he was supposed to pull the rope which was connected to the sticks which held the shutters open. Then most of the front windows would shut within an instant and the sawmill would transform into a small fortress. It had been build this way a long time ago and that it was still standing proved its steadiness. But in the end none wanted to harm it anyway because it was the heart of the town. The town would not be worth anything without the sawmill which was the only facility to cut the trunks within a very large area and its machines were almost irreplaceable. Maybe that was the reason why the other clans were envying the Nighthunters.

The wolf carefully peeped out of the corner of the window: There were just the people of the town, talking and eating. It had already gotten rather dark outside. In between the large trees which surrounded the village there was just few light coming trough and although the richly colored sky suggested that the sun had not fully settled yet some people had already lit a few lamps. Of course the they were roasting the moakrens now and the light of the fire which burned brightly beneath the large animals. Usually the clan of the race's winner had to pay for the meat but of course, this year everything was different and Steel could not resist smirking a little bit. It stay had to be decided who was paying what.

He licked his lips because he had seen a group of bears at one of the stands which were just about to empty their huge tankards of beer and just by watching Steel was getting thirsty as well.

Quickly he turned away and sat down beneath the window again. He folded his arms and tried not to think about it.

After some time the door opposite him opened very slowly and as quickly as he could Boulder slipped into the room, rushed over to Steel and sat down by his side. "What's up?" Wheel's father asked.

"Nothing as far as I have seen up to now," Steel responded, partly pulling a face.

"Any sign of them?" Boulder nervously eyed the window above.

"Not as far as I know, there is absolutely no fox, nor any fucking stag to be seen."

Boulder nodded and then turned around and looked cautiously out the window. "Yeah, none to be seen," he mumbled. "But that just means that they are preparing for something." And he sat down again.

"Seems like the priest was right," Steel mentioned.

The older man pushed his hat from his frowns. "Yeah, strange. As we'd ever heard anything than lies from this damn armadillo."

Steel nodded. "I really can't understand why you have accepted him for so long."

Boulder eyed him. "He's this town's priest," he exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, whatever..." And with a yawn he rubbed his eyes.

They kept silent for some time, just listened to the noises coming in from outside, the humming of the conversations, the droning of the fire where the giant birs were sizzling, the occasional cries of children, someone was playing a flute somewhere. Suddenly a larger group broke out in laughter.

"Seems like they are having a good time," Steel mentioned.

Boulder grimaced. "I would not want to swap places right now," he grunted.

Steel nodded. "I hope it is as quickly finished as last year."

"No," the older wolf replied coldly. "They will not make the same mistake twice. This time it's really them or us!"

They fell silent again.

In the meantime the entire sawmill had become quiet. There was not a single sound to be heard and thus the noises from outside sounded like they were all lost inside a very vast room. The sounds seemed to be strangely distant like they were not even real at all, maybe they were just the magical echoes of a feast which had happened a very long time ago.

Suddenly there was a change: It got all quiet for an instant and then there was something like a murmuring.

Instantly Boulder turned around and looked outside and his eyes went wide when he saw stags armed to the teeth, walking through the crowd which gave way to them. The metal of their rifles, swords, knives and axes glistened in the last rays of sunlight and then a single ray pierced into Boulder's eyes and he was just able to duck when the shot broke through the window.

"Shut the windows!" he shouted.

But Steel had already pulled the rope and with a slam all the windows of the first floor were blocked while the cries of the panic-stricken crowd echoed in their ears.

The wolf girl had retired to the opposite wall, trembling, holding the crying cubs as tightly as she could, she stared at Wheel in obvious terror.

Awkwardly Wheel got onto his feet and made a step forward. "Quill! You have to give me my cubs," he said, still panting hard.

The girl just stared at him and held the two small bundles even tighter.

"Get away," she stammered.

"Quill, they need their father, they need their mother. Please give them to me," he said very slowly and approached the trembling girl a little bit more. He was a complete mess now that the splinters of the door hang in his fur. With his blood-shot eyes he looked at her and made another step forward.

"I warn you, Wheel," the wolf girl replied with a quivering voice.

"Do not come closer!"

"I want my cubs!" Wheel hissed. He was trembling as well, nothing but a dark shape in dim light, his tail wagged excitedly.

"Wheel!" Quill stammered. "Do not come closer." And as quickly as she could she took the two cubs in one arm and grabbed a small gun from beneath her skirt. Trembling she aimed it at Wheel, pressing herself against the wall.

For a moment Wheel hesitated, exchanging looks between her and the gun in her hand. He gulped. "Please, Quill, I just want my cubs."

"Do not come closer!" she almost cried.

"Quill, please..."

"Stay back!" Her entire face was distorted, her lips quivered and beneath her cramped frowns her eyes shimmered.

"Rush and Shade need their father..."

"STAY AWAY!" she cried as loud as she could. Now tears were flowing down her cheeks and she was not even able to hold the gun straight anymore.

Wheel tried to look at her and she looked at him: Their eyes met and for a moment the girl tried to fight against his look but then she turned her head away, sobbing and trembling and her hand dropped down and she started crying.

Wheel cautiously went over to her and laid his paw upon her shoulder.

"Thank you, Quill," he said lowly while he took his children out of her arms. "Thank you," he whispered.

The gun dropped to the ground and she covered her face with a paw and cried without end.

He dashed out the door, down the hallway and around the corner. For a moment he was confused because the lynx was nowhere to be seen but then a small feline shape stepped out of the shadow. "Let's get going," he said quickly and they run on, through the different hallways.

Shots seemed to be everywhere around the house, echoing all around, resonating inside the wooden building with deafening intensity. There were shouts and cries as well, angry and desperate ones, the whole sawmill seemed to drone with anxiousness and then shots broke through it just from below their feet and a massive explosion followed behind, almost sending them off the ground. The entire building seemed to rock, everything seemed to be thrown around, when they almost dropped to the floor after the shock wave had hit them. Rush and Shade were crying at the top of their small lungs, expressing the fear everyone felt and Wheel jumped to his feet just when he heard the collective triumphant cries of a large group of men and then there were even more shots as the ground beneath them seemed to erupt.

"Dear Spirits! They must have blown up the loading ramp," he mumbled.

A panic-stricken cry from one of the distant rooms pierced into their ears and there was some kind of a rumbling noise.

Wheel was getting pale, when he heard that. "Oh, Spirits! They have left the women all by themselves!" he stammered and then he stared at his cubs and at the lynx who was looking at him with strangely cold eyes, and then again to his cubs and to the feline again.

"Take them!" he shouted and laid the two small bundles into the arms of the surprised lynx who looked at the two canine babies in total amazement.

"I have to help them!" Wheel stammered. "I'll join you later!" And then he was off, running down the corridor where the cries had been coming from.

It took him no time to find the room. Cries were coming out from behind the door and before he even knew himself he kicked the door open and dashed inside. He did not even have the time to notice the wide opened window or the three stags standing there. With a cry he crashed into them, threw them over and the third one was just able to cry out when he fell out the window. The second one was just able to grab the window ledge, hanging outside. The first one had been thrown to the ground and tried to stand up but Wheel was faster and jabbed him so strongly that the was thrown against the wall and collapsed to the ground.

The shot hit him from behind and the pain pierced into his side like it was suddenly set afire. He stumbled for a moment, turned his head in surprise to see two foxes which had been standing behind the door holding shotguns in their paws, aiming at him.

The shot hit him directly, ripped his flesh to pieces, blood jetted from him while the lead sunk into his body, a painful howl escaped his throat and then he was thrown over, dropping to the ground.

He heard the sounds of women screaming. It sounded like underwater.

His hands were cramped around his ripped chest and belly and the pain was beyond his grasp. There was a rush, a flow, which carried him along, bathed him in pain and while he felt like his body writhed and bucked he was feeling disconnected from it like an uninvolved observer. There was just this droning sound that carried him along, dissolved him. Sometimes he cried out when a new impression hit him then he was thrown upwards and he cried out at the top of his lungs, screaming while his mind was blown apart by the indescribable pain and then it subsided and a strange feeling of peace was taking over again while he tried to keep on breathing.

Everything that happened around him was nothing but a blur, like hidden behind a crimson curtain: There was a light brown flash passing by, screams, cries reached his ears, there were shots and everything fell apart, transformed into a mess of incomprehensible impressions, a whirl that tore him down.

Everything went black and suddenly was back again, time raced by and paused, tearing bits off him.

After some time he could no longer measure he screamed again. The pain got insupportable, it tore him to pieces and it forced him back into this bleeding body of his that writhed on the ground. His voice gave up working but he went on screaming, burned alive by his wounds.

He did not notice that somebody got hold of him but when he fell backwards again, after the pain had subsided for a short instant, he was falling into that one's arms and was looking into a familiar face and with quivering lips, coughing up blood, he said: "Tell her... I... I... didn't know... and that... that I am sorry... I love her... I... love... her..." Suddenly he dropped down and then his entire body was thrown about by spasms, he breathed stertorously, the blood in his throat kept him from screaming, burning hot lights of pain shot through him, tore his mind apart...

Someone let him go and then there was a click and a shot.

It was pretty high above the ground and the roof was particularly slippery here but at least she did not have to care about light. When she stood on the wooden planks, the thick smoke swirling around her, the cries and shouts of battle coming from the front side of the building, the sound of shots, the hammering of steel upon steel, the blaze brightened her surroundings so much that she saw every small crack in the wood beneath her feet. She inhaled deeply and the smoke instantly filled her nostrils and lungs and triggered a wave of unwelcome memories as she recalled where she had smelled this specific scent before. To her sensible nose this smell was far more than just burned wood because this scent was mixed with uncountable others as well and the most terrifying of these was the unmistakable smell of burned fur.

The blaze had caused strong gusts of wind which swirled around her with increasing strength, let her hair flutter while she turned around to get an impression of what might happen on the other side of the building.

But she was unable to percept anything visual but her pointed ears were able to recognize the sound of carnage she was supposed to know pretty

well.

A small, weak hand at her chest moved and the wolf cub in her arms yawned and reminded her that she had to hurry.

She ducked her head and shoulders as much as possible while she approached the edge of the roof, a quick look indicated that there was none to be seen and before she had had any chance to worry about the height she had already jumped down, flew through the air and hit the ground so strongly that in this instant pain shot into her shinbone. But before it was able to influence her she was already running through the darkness, a shadow rushing through the blackness which reigned there because the sawmill screened off the light of the fires.

This part of the building which adjoined the forest directly had been made of solid stone without any openings in the wall. Maybe this was the reason why nobody had tried to enter the building by this side. But while she dashed through the night her skilled sense were still constantly alert.

Thus she had already noticed his movements long before he had been stepping out of the darkness.

"You stop..."

Before he had been able to end her feet already crashed into his vulpine face. She could almost feel like his bones gave in to the impact and a jet of blood sprayed over her feet when the man was hurled backwards and slammed on the ground. But she was already past the immobile fox, running on further towards the bright cleft in between the sawmill and the next house. It was something like a burning crevice as the light of the fires danced on the ground and before she reached it, she slammed herself against the wall and looked around the corner.

The blaze had taken control of most of the buildings in the town center now, men ran around, weapons in their paws, she saw many antlers and the fluffy tails of vulpines as they rushed by. Suddenly one of them seemed to stumbled and fell down but the sound of the shot which had burst through his chest just reached her later when the reflections of the flames were already dancing in a pool of blood. Like merciless thunder the noise of many guns pierced through the night and suddenly the powerful attack stopped as everyone was trying to get a cover. Cries of the wounded drowned out the droning of the fire.

When the smell of blood reached her nose, she could instantly feel its force of attraction on her. The iron fragrance tickled in her nose and cast everything in its way aside while it rose directly into her head.

Her muscles twitched in response, her features hardened and she screwed up her slanting eyes until they were mere slits in her face. She bared her sharp predator's teeth and an instinctive growl left her throat while her heart started to race, pumping blood into her veins until she was no longer seeing anything but a blurred red.

It was another weak whimper which brought her back and for a second she stared at the two lupine babies in her arms with total confusion, unable to explain to herself how they had gotten there. But when she recalled again and there was nothing which could have hold her back anymore. She did not even feel her injuries anymore when she raced off again, no longer worrying about the dying men which battled against each other beneath the burning, twisted oak in the middle of the town's center. But this short moment had released her remaining strength and when she dashed off she was fueled by a fire inside which she had rarely felt in a moment of consciousness.

Before she understood it herself she transformed into a racing shadow which rushed by the backside of burning houses, shortly she noticed a group of fighting men in between the next houses she passed by and she was certain to hear a shot which was fired at her but she did not stop. Mud sprayed around her feet when they hit the ground, the noise of the battle was deafening but she was no longer aware of that. A bullet shot past, another one and her lynx eyes percepted the two men in front of her which were about to load their old-fashioned guns again, slowly the two man, still too far from her, rose their arms again, the barrels pointed at her while the men lowered their heads to aim at her and then a moment of silence followed while they locked on their target. Then she was off the ground and for a very short instant she feared that she had miscalculated the distance, being too far from them. The two men had no time to pull their weapons upwards, to aim at the flying lynx and for a moment they just stared at the furr who seemed to fly over to them, their jaws dropped down in disbelief and then she was already above them and let her feet kick right into the first one's chest. Something broke when she landed hard on him and the man was on the ground but she was already off again, her entire body spun around while her leg pierced through the air and with the whole power of her momentum her feet hit the much bigger stag in his face and threw him over. He seemed to fall in slow-motion compared to the speed with which she was stopping her spin and ran off again. The second stag did not touch the ground until the lynx was nowhere to be seen anymore.

Covering some distance to the square the noise was partly fading and the shots rather sounded like distant thunder than gunfire. But the cries and shots, the painful howling and the battle cries could not been misunderstood.

The poorer houses (which did not belong to the clans' families) she approached now seemed to be completely lifeless although her instincts told her that somewhere in the darkest corner of these poor huts a family was hiding, hoping that this fight would not reach them, hoping that the knife and clubs they had found would be sufficient if they were less lucky. Of course, no one paid any attention to these families, they were not worth worrying about and maybe this was the only reason why they were not involved in this fight.

They heard it, they knew, they had to know about the battle but it did not matter to them which one of the clans was in charge, it made no differenceand thus they did not want to get involved with the clans' business. Nonewanted to! In a situation like this it was a death sentence.

She did not understand it until she stood in front of the house of Mlala's family and wondered why the door was opened...

Breathing hard, her legs ached, every limb seemed to be sore and her wounds hurt again, she stood in the door frame of the poor hut at the very edge of the town and her lynx eyes illuminated the twilight inside with merciless clarity. She had not cared about the smell first, pushed it aside as a reminiscence of the battlefield, but then she had run to the door, her tail wagging frantically, her ears twitching, her lips quivering and when she had looked inside something inside her had broken, a strange strength had suddenly taken control of her, had hardened her features and had stopped her racing heart which had skipped a beat when she had percepted the corpses on the floor.

Mlala lay closest to the door, face downward in a pool of blood. A hunting knife lay close to him, it had been no use against the bullets which had exploded in his chest. His father lay on the table, his blind eyes stared to the ceiling. There was nothing but a single bullet wound on his forehead. His right hand was cramped around a small piece of reddish cloth and this cloth belonged to Enja's dress. The girl sat on the wall, her face was strangely peaceful, her eyes closed but her head leaned against the wall in a terrifying manner: Her throat was cut, it did no longer support the weight of the head and the blood of the girl had flowed down her side, stuck to her light brown fur and her poor dress, even her hair was full of blood.

Jiddy stared at the dead lynx, unable to move, even unable to think.

She did not feel anything, it seemed like every single limb of hers had gone numb. There was nothing but the sound of her blood rushing in her ears. But while she stood there the scent of blood rose into her nose and enveloped her mind, swirled inside her like an iron butterfly which brushed her with its wings of death. A shower of memories flowed over her but before it had started she already saw Mlala, Enja and their father again, unable to ignore the dead and before she understood herself she was growling, a painful noise which echoed through the small hut as an instinctive but honest lamentation and when she ran out of air and the sound died away.

A murderous sparkle lit in the emptiness inside her, it spread into her blood and for a moment it seemed as if the the painful desperation was replaced by uncontrollable fury but then felt the faint breathes of the two cubs at her chest again and she knew this was no time for mourning.

Although whoever had committed these murders had searched the small hut, they had forgotten the hayloft and thus her back pack was still lying there, like nothing had happened. As quickly as possible she took it up, shouldered it and climbed down the ladder again, picked up the cubs she had shortly put down on the table and then she let her eyes wander over the three dead lynx for one last time. She hesitated.

Quickly she grabbed the only oil lamp which stood on the table and ran outside. She stopped some steps from the wooden house, put the cubs down for a moment and then lightened the lamp with a fast movement. When the wick burned brightly she hurled the ceramic container back inside.

It shattered on the opposite wall and instantly the oil was spilled all around and was set afire, the wood caught fire and in a matter of an instant the inside was burning brightly while she already picked the two lupine babies up, turned around and walked away, right into the forest. Meanwhile the flames were already shooting out of the door, smoke billowed upwards into the night sky where it mixed with the smoke of the battlefield in a single cloud of death which lingered above the small settlement.

Searcher slammed against the crate and the sharp edge pierced into his shoulder. He screamed when the stag forced him against the wood and the corner dug deeper into his flesh.

"Got ya, dog!" the stag hissed.

But before the stag was able to move again Searcher's jaw closed around his arm and the sharp canine teeth were buried in the muscles and the deer screamed while blood flowed around the wolf's tongue and the stag let him go, stumbling backwards, holding his bleeding arm and then Searcher was up on his feet again and he threw his fist around and hit his opponent's chin from below and this one fell to the ground and lay motionlessly there.

But Searcher already moved on and grabbed the deer's rifle and he run over to the other side of the storage room where the other stag was kneeling, burying his knife in a screaming wolf's body again and again.

Thunder heard just a click.

"Don't even blink!" Searcher hissed.

Thunder's bell ringed slightly but then the stag could feel the cold metal of the barrel at his head. He gulped and rose his paws. The knife dropped to the ground.

Beneath the stag Chimes was just shivering, he was no longer able to cry, bathing in his own blood he stared at the deer above him in total shock, unable to grasp anything but the pain. His eyes were unnaturally wide opened while there was coming something out of his throat, a trembling, sobbing sound, just interrupted when he coughed blood.

"Seems like ya little plan to blow up the ramp was no success, eh?"

Searcher sniffed, his nose was bleeding but he did not mind. "Get off!"

Very carefully Thunder rose from Chimes, holding his paws up.

There were a few shots on the other side of the storage room, yells and then something was collapsing and then all of a sudden almost everything got silent.

"Seems like the roof could not take that much damage," Searcher noticed and tried to scrutinize the stag's face: It was cold and expressionless.

"Hey! Over there!" Steel was running past the crates, a gun in his paws and two other wolves followed him after. They were covered in dust and debris, hardly recognizable anymore, as they had just witnessed the collapsing of the roof. When Steel saw his cousin on the ground he run over to then and instantly kneeled down.

"Dear Spirits!" he gasped, grabbing Chimes' paw and when he looked up his face showed nothing but terror. "Who did this?" he was just able to gasp.

"You may thank our dear Thunder here," Searcher hissed.

Steel looked up at the stag and his eyes reduced to mere, flashing slits. "If he does not survive this I will make you pay I swear!"

Thunder showed no emotion.

Steel leaned over Chimes and whispered something to him and with his dirty paw he stroke the quivering wolf almost gently, trying to calm him but then all of a sudden Chimes bucked and then he screamed at the top of his lungs. It pierced through the entire large room and cut into their ears but then he fell down again and lost consciousness.

Steel was trembling, breathing strongly and then he jumped to his feet and grabbed Thunder.

"Hey!" Searcher was just able to cry.

"Okay!" Steel hissed at the stag. He had grabbed him by the collar and forced him backwards. "We can finish this right here and now!" And then with a growl his mouth opened and exposed the sharp line of teeth and he pushed the stag down and instantly he was above him, his teeth piercing into the skin of the deer's neck. His hot breath flowed around the pulsing flesh.

Searcher paw lowered onto his shoulder. "Don't! He is much more valuable as a prisoner."

Steel could feel Thunder's instinctive fear although the stag tried to control himself but the wolf could smell it and most of all he could feel the fast pulse of the blood between his teeth.

"Don't," Searcher said again.

Slowly Steel stood up again. He was still trembling and his eyes flashed hatred at the stag who was daring to face his glare but did not express anything at all.

"Help the others to get Chimes up to the women. They might help him. I'll bring this one to the front." Searcher held his rifle at the stag again and made him a sign to stand up while Steel was walking over to the two other wolves who where trying to lift up the unconscious Chimes.

There was a series of shots from the front and then there was a bang like from a muffled explosion and instantly Steel's and Searcher's eyes met. The creaking sound of cracking wood reached them.

"They wouldn't dare," Steel gasped.

Searcher was speechless.

"They are burning down the house?" Steel gasped in disbelief.

Searcher gulped. "Let's hurry!" He turned around and noticed a faint smile on Thunder's lips. He took his rifle in both paws again. "If we are going to burn you will die with us," he hissed and then gave the stag a sign to get going.

They walked through the darkened corridors which resonated with the echo of the shots, cries and screams.

Long before they reached the offices they could already hear the yells of the wolfs which cried out for ammunition, for water, for help and for reinforcement. But the noises of the fight almost drowned all this out, it sounded like a torrent that swept away everything and when Searcher pushed the door open smoke instantly surrounded them as half of the room was afire while two younger wolfs were doing their best to get this under control while the men were defending the sawmill. They leaned against the wall next to the windows, hid behind temporary barricades which blocked the windows, shooting whenever possible. They cried out orders, almost unable to deal with all the action and the sulfurous smoke of the gunpowder stitched in the eyes of the two newcomers.

For a moment Searcher was totally lost and looked around in confusion. He was barely able to recognize the members of his family among these.

"DUCK!" Someone cried and the wolf and the stag were on the ground even before the had really understood what to do. But it was just in time because the whole window closest to them exploded in a blast, the debris shoot around them and the deafening crash ringed in their ears but the fighting men were already up again and shot with all what they had. There were Trunk and Steady Vane fighting side by side, the hair fluttered in the gust caused by the fire and they shot and shot at whatever got into

their sight. Steady Vane had a wound at his shoulder but he did not even seem to notice.

"Get up!" Searcher yelled at Thunder, trying to drown out the noise of the battle and clumsily the stag got on his feet and the wolf led him on to the opposite end of the offices while they tried to evade the bullets which got in through the windows. But finally they reached a door and Searcher pushed it open and forced the stag inside.

Searcher stood still.

The stillness in the room was overwhelming, it seemed to make all the noise from the outside disappear as did the light of the few candles which were so unlike the explosions and the blaze outside this one.

For a moment Searcher was confused, looked at the three wolfs which kneeled on the ground and then he percepted the body between them and the only thing he could do was gasp. Every drop of blood disappeared from his head and for a moment he could feel like he was about to crack. His vision was blurred, the sounds were nothing but a muffled drone but every heartbeat of his was close to crush his skull as it hammered inside his veins with unknown strength.

Even Thunder had gone pale and did not even dare to move.

In between Trunk, Boulder and Grampa lay Big Wheel. He was hardly recognizable anymore as shotguns had ripped his chest and his stomach apart. Except for these there was a small wound right at his temple, the entry of the bullet that had killed him. He lay there and even though his indescribable wounds his face expressed a strange tranquility like he was asleep, dreaming of something beautiful.

Grampa stood up. Unlike Boulder who had obviously been crying, the old wolf did not show anything like that. Instead his face was absolutely cramped so that even the smallest wrinkle of his features looked like a crevice. He trembled, very lightly but he did and when he walked closer he bared his sharp lupine teeth. "Somebody..." he hissed. "SOMEBODY IS

GOING TO Pay for this!" And his voice cracked and it sounded like a whimper for a short moment but then with unexpected speed he had dashed over to Searcher and had torn the rifle out of his hands, aiming at the surprised stag.

"NO!" Searcher cried.

End of Chapter 4/Part 1.

Copyright 2002 by kodayu. All rights reserved.

To be concluded in Chapter 4- Part 2.

More on my website: [www.furry.org.au/kodayu](%5C)