This is dedicated to Hyperactive Lioness!! Thanks for being a totally coolio bud!! And sorry for not writing this fast enough and posting it soon enough! You know how Drama is, right? Of course right! C:
And now, I present to you:
Through the Night
We stumbled on through the dark, the sounds of padded feet on the dusty landscape and sneakers being worn away. The rustle of desert grass made my ears go wild as I hobbled along with Master. Master was tired, her eyelids droopy and her spirits down. I could feel it; after all, she was my Master. I lolled my tongue to the side as I panted, nudging her hand as we continued onward. She patted my head, too weak to do much else.
"Orc!" Scared shouted into the darkness. "Orc man! Orc!" I looked over at Scared, who had his hands cupped around his flat snout. "Orc man! Orc!"
Scared was one of the prisoners of the coyotes. Master and I were prisoners, too. I called him Scared because he was frightened; he had lost his master. He had been howling for his master all night as we ran back to the cave. I felt bad for Scared, because I knew how it felt to lose Master for a while. I howled just like him when Master wasn't with me. But she was with me now, and even though I felt bad for Scared, I wasn't going to leave Master's side.
There was another prisoner, and I didn't like him at all. He was Mean. He smelled wrong. He didn't look nice. His eyes were dull and hollow. I didn't want him near Master. But he kept looking at her. He kept talking to her. He kept showing his arm; the one that looked like the doll I had chewed up. His arm smelled of metals, the scent of his blood thick in the air. I flattened my ears against my skull as Mean looked over at Master and began to curve towards her. I growled at him. He looked down at me and growled back.
"Leave him alone!" Master snapped in a hushed voice. It was the 'bad boy' voice. I flinched and put my head lower to the ground. I couldn't understand her talking, but when she looked down at me, I realized the 'bad boy' voice wasn't directed at me. It was to Mean. I then perked my head up a bit.
Mean ignored her. "Make him stop." Master kept walking, with me right beside her.
"What?" She gave him a look. "You mean Patrick? He didn't do anything!" I heard my name, and I looked up at her, but Master was looking at Mean with a sharp gaze in her eyes.
"Not the dog, you idiot!" Mean hissed. "Pack Leader."
"We're not stopping. He won't stop." Master said, looking away from Mean. Mean grabbed Master's arm and tugged at it. I growled again, the fur on my back bristling. Master looked at Mean with shocked eyes now.
"Just ask him." Mean's voice was low and serious. It sounded like Master's voice when I used to get caught burying one of her toys (that is, when she was littler).
Master opened her mouth once… closed it. Twice, opened it, finally uttering, "But he won't."
"You said you would heal it."
Master skipped a step, about to stop, but thinking better of it. The coyotes surrounding us growled a warning, but neither Master nor Mean understood our language. Mean gave dirty looks at them as Master whispered, "I know I said I would heal it, but see? We're not ALLOWED to stop."
"Bull." Mean spat, and Master wrinkled her nose.
Then, her eyes softened, as her eyes slowly gazed over Mean's arm. With a heavy sigh, she said, "Fine, I'll talk to him."
Scared looked over at Master, hearing her. "You're what? Talking to who?"
Master ignored him and shouted to the coyotes, "Pack Leader!" Some coyotes around us gave Master looks, beginning to bear their teeth. "Pack Leader!" Master shouted again.
A large shape came out of the brush. His shout was a gruesome sight to see. I backed up into Master's legs, the fur bristling on my back. Pack Leader was feared, he was respected, he was hideous. He also had me under his control. But if he touched Master… "No stop." Pack Leader slurred in his high voice. I couldn't help but envy his tongue. He could talk to Master in her speech. I could not. "No stop. Go to Darkness. Bring girl." He slurred a second time.
"At least let me TRY to heal his arm. Just for a little while, we can stop-" Master tried to reason, and though I couldn't understand her, I saw her begging with her eyes. But she was cut off.
"No stop." Pack Leader persisted. His voice came to a low growl. "Darkness want girl. Pack Leader bring girl."
"She's gonna heal my arm!" Mean snapped, bearing his teeth. They gleamed in the dark, almost matching my own. They made his beady eyes look more evil. "You said she could!"
"Pack Leader only follows Darkness. Pack Leader doesn't follow Stump Arm." With that said (whatever WAS said), the ugly coyote turned on his hind heel and began to trot away. But whatever he slurred, it made Mean meaner.
Mean's eyes widened and his nostrils flared. "WHAT did you call me?!" He pulled out a small, but loud, killing machine. I flattened my ears to my head for the umpteenth time that night. I knew how loud those killing machines were; I heard them all the time back where Master lived. I didn't like them, not one bit. But before Mean could make the killing machine bang, coyotes began to charge.
Scared yelped and began to run, four coyotes already at his heels. Mean began to bang his killing machine, pointing it like a sixth finger at the coyotes that lunged towards him. Some dropped, wounded, but more and more began to charge before Mean could bang. Pack Leader had turned around at this point, barking orders in my speech, telling the coyotes to stop and hold off. They did not listen. Master shrieked when a coyote snapped at her, herding her towards Mean, whose killing machine wasn't working anymore; he ran out of banging.
I bit at coyotes necks, snapping and snarling. But they would not back away from Master. I drew blood on one, as I sunk my teeth into their shoulder. The taste was repulsive, my own wild brethren's blood definitely not as tasty as a squirrel's. It was bitter and bile-like, but I sunk my teeth in farther, making the coyote yelp and pulled away. I hung on, and a chunk of fur was left in my mouth even when the coyote ran. I spit it out before biting another.
Through the mesh of bloody fur and gleaming teeth, I saw Mean grab Master and run, coyotes at their heels just as Scared had. I turned to run along, needing to be with Master, to protect her, but a grip suddenly was on my hind leg. I fell, flipping over to see a pack of coyotes swarm over me. They were biting, biting, biting, as I yelped and howled. "Master!" I howled. "Master!!"
She did not hear me over the yipyipyips of the coyotes. She did not see the single bite that sunk into my neck, sending me into darkness. She was gone as I spun into unconsciousness.
I woke up, my eyes swimming with mist and my head feeling like a woodpecker had found its way inside and had begun to peckpeckpeckpeckpeck against my skull. Though, the first thing on my mind, however much in pain, was Master. I began to panic, my heart racing as I began to whimper. Master! Master! I have to find Master! Where was she? Where IS she?! Mean! Mean had her! He had Master! I have to find Master!
Beginning to get up, a pain shot through me like the time I hit a shocking fence. This time, it hurt a lot more. I yelped and fell to the cold, dusty ground once more. My hind leg had given out on me. I turned my head to see my legs, only finding a bloody mess, dried and sticky on my fur. The coyotes had bitten me so much; they had eventually left me for dead. I tried to get up once more, but a howl escaped my throat when the pain was too much.
The smell of my own blood was thick in the air, masking the putrid scent of the coyotes. I couldn't tell if they were far, I couldn't tell if they were near. I was blind without my nose.
I began to get up again, driven to find Master. But my hind legs shook as my howls died to low, mournful whimpers. "Master…" I whined. "Mean has Master… I must find Master…" Then, I stood. I wobbled on my first step. The pain coursing from my chewed-on legs spread through my body like poison from a snake's bite. I felt as though I was on fire. I wanted to howl as loud as I could, but I couldn't smell the coyotes; they could be just a few trots away, thinking I'm dead right now. I didn't want to risk it. I had to be quiet if I wanted to find Master.
Standing on my four legs, I hobbled forward. I wandered off the dusty path and into the untamed desert grass. The aroma of my blood began to fade away as I left the scene of the attack. The fresh scent of dust and dry grass filled my nostrils, only the lingering odor of coyotes was left behind; they had left long before. I snuffed the ground, some dirt being inhaled, but the sure scent of bang in my nose.
Mean. Mean's loud killing machine. He was here nothing short of a few minutes ago.
I pressed my nose once more to the ground, smelling the sweet scent of shampoo and the fading aroma of home. I looked up from the ground.
Master.
Ignoring my body's pain, I bounded forward, following Master's smell.
The wind whistled in my ears, tiny dust clouds puffed up from beneath my loping legs, and the burned image of Mean grabbing Master, fresh in my mind. Her face kept me going forward, despite the pain waves shooting from my bloodied hind legs. I snuffed the air, her scent getting thicker and thicker. She was close.
Through the shrill shriek of the wind as I darted in and out of the desert grass, my ears picked up the tiniest voice. Voices. Human voices. Closer. I was getting closer. Another wave of pain shot through me and I only limped once, trying to get over the throbbing. My eyes began to squint as the woodpecker in my head began to peck harder. Peckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeck.
Closer. Louder. The voices got clearer. They were sharp, like they weren't happy. Not happy at all. Another wave of pain. Another limp. Peckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeck.
Closer. Louder. Clearer. Anger. Pain. Limp. PECK.
I ran forward, tripping over my front feet and rolling down a rock. A small whimper escaped my snout, "Master… Master…"
"Patrick!" A muffled shout answered back. I raised an ear and my head perked up.
"Master?" I whimpered softly.
"Pat-" The voice was cut off.
"Shut up!" A voice hissed. I felt my muscles tense as I put a name with the hollow, empty voice. Mean. "Do you want Pack Leader to come get us?!"
"Oh, shut up Merwin! It's your fault for getting us here anyway! It's your stupid fault!! My dog is out there! My Patrick! He's got to be alive, he has to be!" Her voice sounded dry, like my tongue felt now. I could barely howl let alone whimper loud enough for her to hear me.
"Does it look like I care about your mangy mutt?" Mean spat. "Do it now. Quick. Heal it."
"No!" Master finally choked. "Not until I find-"
Something cut her off, she was choking. I panicked, scrambling to get up. Limping over to the grass where they hid, I remained concealed. Peering through the desert grass, I saw both mean and master on the ground, sitting on their hind legs. Mean's hand (the one that remained) was against Master's flat snout. He was giving her a death glare. Master's eyes were wide. "You better be quiet, Healer. I don't need bullets to kill you with this." Master nodded stiffly, staring at Mean's face rather than the killing machine, which was at his feet. "Now I'm going to put my hand down, but you better shut your trap this time. Or the next time you open that pretty little mouth of yours to call your stupid dog, I'll bash your brains in with my little bullet-buddy over here." Mean smirked. "Bet you couldn't heal that, huh?"
Master just stared with wide eyes. Mean slowly put his hand down, staring at Master long and hard. She took a deep breath and began to reach for Mean's arm, but suddenly, he pulled it out of her reach. She gave him a look of distaste.
'What are you doing, Merwin?' Master mouthed. She didn't dare reach any further.
Mean just stared at her, his eyes hollow and evil. The circles under his eyes were darkened in the night, making his skin paler and his eyes shadowed; they looked like he had been through the most torture a human could endure. I almost whimpered.
Master had no time to react as Mean leaned forward, grabbing her hair and yanking her to him. He crawled to her, crushing his snout to hers, pulling her to him using his hand, wrenching her hair. Master's whole body shuddered as she whimpered out of pain; her eyes were wide open with shock and fear. Mean's brows furrowed and he closed his eyes tightly, as if trying to forget something, like he was in the anguish like I had been.
Mean let go of her hair, letting his hand trace her jaw. Master continued to shiver, like she was cold. But it wasn't. Mean finally opened his eyes, which were still dull as ever before. When they rested on my pained Master, though, they became steely. Master could only shake as Mean released his grip on her face, crawling away. Her quivering suddenly died down.
"My arm, Healer. Hurry up." His voice was bitter and hollow.
Suddenly, a rustle and the sound of padded feet came from behind and I hardly had the chance to bark out of alarm before the coyotes leaped over and around me. A few snarled curses were thrown my way when they noticed I was not dead, but going to be dead weight. I was a prisoner again.
Master and Mean got up as coyotes swarmed around them, snarling and nipping. One drew blood on Master's heel, but she hardly even winced. I hobbled forward, my head held down in shame for not protecting Master. "Patrick…" Master whimpered, getting down to her knees and placing her hands on my body, groping it for the weak spot. I whimpered when she hit it, and her hands rested on my hind leg until I felt the pain dull to a mere throb. "Good boy… That's a good boy…" Master was quiet, not even paying attention to the coyotes anymore. I wagged my tail weakly.
Pack Leader came forwards out of the swarm, and the coyotes settled down. He snarled in his high-pitched voice, "No. Stop." And briskly turned on his hind paw, trotting towards the cave path once more.
Mean didn't say a word, his eyes set straight ahead and his gaze every so often glancing over at Master, whom had her own eyes set ahead.
And so we stumbled on through the dark, the sounds of padded feet on the dusty landscape and sneakers being worn away. I lolled my tongue to the side as I panted, nudging Master's hand as we continued onward. She patted my head, too weak to do much else.
Miss Rouge Apple~ Aiyeeee... this took FOREVER to write. I had the idea long, long ago when Hype requested it, and I had written the first two pages when DRAMA CLUB reared it's ugly little head. I love Drama club, I really do, but it's just one of those things that takes your soul and ends up sucking all your free time down it's gullet. Oi vay, me and my over active imagination... ^^' Forgive me, Hype, this was so long overdue! I hope this pleases you, and if it doesn't, please let me know! I might be able to fix it or something, kay? Kay!
Those who enjoyed this, please review! And if you want to be a part of my writing and your reading, please go to my profile now and vote on the next fanfiction I write! THE CHOICE IS YOURS, READERS! 8D
Toodles until next time, luvies!~