Chapter 19: Lament

Hey, everybody! Protege here with a crack at another of Mojo's more popular stories, The Weight. I know that many of you are expecting updates for Meanwhile, and I promise that im

working on it. However, I figured that while we wait, I'd start moving this story along as well. As is with Meanwhile, I've taken some liberties with certain plot points, but most of what will occur in this story is exactly what was Mojo's original intent. So kick back and enjoy this continuation of The Weight.!

Eve could not explain the dream that she had that night. She stood alone in an empty field, and all around her there was silence. No wind blew through her fur. No clouds whisked across the face of the cruel, hollow sun which burned down upon her back. No birds sang on the breeze, and no insects chirped in the green sea before her. There was only a silence that was so deafening she felt as though the world around her had died and all that remained was her and this barren field.

She called out just to make a sound, but found that as soon as her voice left her mouth it was swallowed up by the silence around her. This perturbed her slightly and she felt unease creep over her being as she ran her eyes over the vast expanse before her. She dared to take a step, but as soon as her foot made contact with the ground once more, the entire field shriveled and died in an instant and was then swept away by a single gust of wind. She had to shield her eyes against the dust and grass which blew up into her face, but just as quickly as the wind had come, it vanished and the world was cast into silence once more. Slowly, Eve peeled her eyes open and found that she was now surrounded by darkness.

Her breath quickened as she felt the immensity of the darkness crush her and she cast worrisome glances in every direction. Through the darkness she could see nothing, and quite soon she became disoriented. There was no way forward nor back. There was only an infinite void of black that she imagined only lied in the horrible depths of Nascha's dark face.

She closed her eyes in hopes that when she opened them again she would find herself in the hidden den that she had been so thoughtfully provided by Micha, but when she opened them, there again was the darkness. A faint voice suddenly whispered in her vicinity and she felt something touch her back leg. The suddenness of the contact caused her to leap in alarm. The fur on her back and neck stood on end as she turned to face whomever or whatever had touched her, but only saw darkness. There was a hustle of footsteps to her right and a low growl resonated from somewhere inside of the void.

Frantically she turned to it, but again saw nothing. The steps drew louder and the sounds the creature around her vocalized grew more haunting by the minute until without warning, she was cast into silence once more. Eve held her breath for a moment and kept sharp ears out for any sign of movement, but after a moment had passed, she released a long, slow sigh of relief. As this sigh passed her lips, she lowered her head and then she lifted it once more.

A set of ominous red eyes met her gaze and she jumped back in alarm. So sudden was her retreat that she stumbled upon her own tail and paws and tripped. The impact sent a searing pain through her side but she took no heed to this pain and quickly returned her gaze to the monster before her. It loomed in the near distance, red eyes glowing like hot embers against the night.

"Who are you!" she screamed at it, the horror evident in her tone.

A set of shiny, white teeth suddenly snaked into existence and a low laugh escaped the monster's lips. Then from out of the ground, a circle of fire surrounded her, shielding her from the beast before her. From behind, Eve felt the flames threaten to lick her tail, so she moved forward, but as she moved forward, the flames began to part and a muzzle appeared through them.

Fear locked her in place at this moment and she felt her limbs tremble as the creature pressed on through the fire. The face of the beast was the first to appear, and upon it was the most sinister of smiles as it fully emerged from the flames.

When Eve was finally faced with the full image of the monster, her blood turned to ice.

The creature in its entirety was a mortifying combination of flayed skins and body parts, and so shocking of a sight had it been that she momentarily lost her voice. The creature drew near to her, the amber face of what began as her greatest achievement, and ended as her greatest failure haunting her very soul. Her entire body trembled and she felt tears of agony and horror sting her eyes.

"No!" she finally managed to cry out and the beast smirked as it reached out to her with the snow white leg

"No?" the beast seethed in a voice that blended every soul that tormented her conscience, "you should be proud to look upon me. After all, you created me."

As it completed this sentence, the beast lowered its head and gritted its teeth. A low growl of pain began to resonate down in the depths of its throat and its entire body began to bubble like a sickly, bloody soup. The growl grew louder until it turned into a scream and flesh began to drip from the monster's body. Blood, skin, and body parts melted from the monster's being and fell to the ground in a horrible pile of gore until the beast before her metamorphosed into a young female whose face haunted her every waking moment.

"Kate?" she called out to her in a teary voice, but before another moment could pass, a train roared into her line of sight and slammed into Kate's body.

Eve cried out in horror as blood splattered across her face and chest, and then the next thing she knew, she awoke screaming and thrashing in her mother's arms.

"Eve!" her mother called firmly as the elderly female struggled to contain her daughter's fit, "Eve, wake up!"

"No!" Eve screamed as she continued to thrash without consciousness in her mother's grasp, "Kate, no!"

"Eve!" her mother yelled again, and this finally stirred the haunted female from her nightmare

When reality finally settled in on Eve, the veil was lifted from her eyes and the waking world came into focus. She found her mother sitting before her with a face which was lined deeply with worry. Eve's breath quivered and her body trembled as she reeled from her nightmare.

"Mom?" she asked.

Eve's mother nodded, and as soon as she did, Eve broke down and began to sob into her fur. The commotion had stirred the interest of several members of their former pack, and members of their promised pack alike.

"Is everything okay?" Micah suddenly addressed from as he made his way into their den.

His sudden arrival caused Amina to turn to him and upon seeing who addressed them, she nodded.

"Everything is fine," she assured, "my daughter has night fits sometimes."

Micah nodded.

"Okay," he replied, "if there's anything I can do to help, I won't be far."

Amina took her turn to nod as she pulled Eve in closer.

"Thank you, Micah."

With this said, Micah took his leave and Amina was left to console her haunted daughter alone.

A&Ω

Humphrey stood before the hole in the ground and simply stared into it blankly, almost as though it was the only place left for him to go. He panted breathlessly and winced as he tried to ignore the slicing pain that radiated through his wounded leg. He wondered briefly while digging if he should stop and give his leg time to rest, but he doubted by this point that there would be any point in trying to save it anymore. It was likely now too damaged to be saved.

To his left, under a pile of leaves and grass, lied the lifeless body of Jeriko- the wolf to whom he owed his life- the closest thing he had to a friend since he fled his home. Humphrey couldn't pinpoint the exact moment at which he died. All he knew was that when he lied down to go to sleep the night before, he was breathing, and that early this morning when he rose to check on him, he wasn't.

Humphrey recognized the symptoms early on. He had contracted the same illness whenever he was a pup, and had seen many others contract this same illness. Many pups that were stronger than he died, and yet somehow he survived. While he considered Jeriko to be much stronger than he could ever be, the illness was not so forgiving and proved to be far too strong for the old wolf to overcome. Humphrey cursed the nature of disease, as never before had he seen it take a life so quickly, but perhaps whatever it was that ailed the old wolf for so long had seized control of his will to fight, and now, he was but another empty body for Humphrey to bury.

Humphrey continued to regard the hole in the ground with empty, solemn eyes for a while longer as he temporarily contemplated the meaning of his own existence. Was he doomed to suffer the same fate? In this life that he had chosen, wherein he selfishly abandoned everything he had in order to flee a heartache that time would have likely healed, was a lonely death the only thing that awaited him at the end of his path?

He eased himself back onto his haunches and lifted misty eyes to the cloud-covered sky above. He knew now that he should have never left home. All that he had lost since he ran away paled in comparison to that which he thought that he had lost to laws and responsibility, but how could he possibly return with the way things were now? How could he face his friends? Or Kate? Or the pack ever again after he abandoned them all over love that had obviously been unrequited since the moment he felt it spark? The pain he would cause upon his return would be far worse than what he had caused when he left- if there was ever any pain at all.

He allowed these thoughts to linger for a moment longer as he kept his gaze locked upon the endless sky above. Then, with a deep sigh, he lowered his eyes to the pile of leaves once more.

Ignoring the stench of death, Humphrey rose to his paws the approached and removed the layer of leaves and grass that covered his face. This done, he simply stared down at the old wolf blankly.

"I'm sorry," he said aloud to the old wolf as tears once again stung his eyes, "you saved my life, and I told myself that no matter what, I would return the favor.

But I let you down," he continued in a broken voice to match what remained of his tattered soul.

He drew in a long, slow breath and then released it.

"But I guess what's what I do best," he continued, "I let my parents down. I let the pack down, and now I've let you down, too."

There was a moment of silence before he continued.

"I don't know if you can hear me," he began again, "I- I don't know if there really even is a Paradise in the stars, but if there was ever anybody who deserved an eternal life of peace, it's you."

He smiled.

"If you're there, don't bother waiting for me," he said, "selfish bastards like me don't have a prayer, but don't worry. A life alone will suit me just fine. It's all I deserve anyway."

With this said, he leaned down and used the strength of his neck to push the lifeless body of the old wolf into the shallow grave he had dug for him. Once the body fell into place, he stepped back and stared down upon it, panting deeply.

"Thank you," he concluded morosely, "for saving my life."

With this said, he then ripped a tuft of fur off of his leg and dropped it into the grave with him, and then began the arduous task of shoveling the dirt back into the grave. With each motion of sore paws, another layer of dirt covered the old wolf until eventually, all the remained in his place was a mound of freshly disturbed dirt.

He stood for a moment, panting as he stared down at the mound.

"Goodbye, my friend," he said and then turned to make his leave.