Chapter six
The Evacuation
Sky's eyelids slipped down momentarily with sleep as she finished off nursing a suffocating badger called Portchie badge. Sky fed him some squirrel droppings with a hint of coriander to relieve his clogged throat which made him retch out blood and get diarrhea. Sky passed him on to Hoot who would escort him up wolves coat with the rest of his band. Once that was done Sky took a quick snooze with a fruit crushed remedy to help her relax. As Sky woke she left Fay and Lance with the rest of the animals and went to chew on a strip of wood to clean her teeth of all germs. Sky then took a quick stroll down the trees fringe feeling the slight breeze ruffle her fur making it puff out.
As Sky neared a small lake she marveled at the little ripples on the lakes surface. The orange sunset little the sky like a beacon Sky sighed audibly her night's kayos had left her drained and her paw steps where loud and audible from miles away. As she trudged gloomily forward and allowed herself to lap at the water she craved the cool water against her fur so she slipped in swimming gratefully through the water removing all traces of sweat and grit making her feel refreshed.
Sky felt a small tug on her hind-leg but gave it little thought blaming the water weeds but as the pressure increased she started to struggle forgetting all her dad had said about how struggling made things worse. When she finally calmed and assessed her position it didn't look good her limbs were tiring from keeping her up and her paws were tangled in what she thought were reeds but were moving feeling slightly sick she lashed out at the snake that bound her. Biting, scratching, kicking, writhing seemed to make know difference.
Suddenly a numbing cold came over her and she started to sink. Her breath came in gasps making water fill her lungs that were already bursting. Remembering an ancient proverb said in her pack 'wolves that drown their soul never makes it instead it roams the earth for eternity' she started to quail till all went black.
Sky woke on the far bank of the river unable to move feeling the poison slowly taking its toll. She tried to be relieved that the current had brought her to this bank saving her life but in the corner of her mind she was thinking that this would be a more painful death. Hearing the distant howl of her new packs distressed call made her feel slight hope till she found that there was a terrible pain in her throat and a pair of swollen lungs that gave her tremendous pain and no howl. Sky lay there waiting for her death while her system slowly broke down.
Sky tried to growl at a rustle in a nearby bush but no sound came. She had grown worse there was no feeling left in her body and she'd probably be dead if she wasn't so determined for life. But this rustle saved her life cause out padded Smoky looking terribly anxious till he caught sight of me. Dead serpent still clung around my hind-legs, Stiff as could be, soaking wet and only the tiny moving of my lungs saying I was clutching onto life. Letting out a piercing howl to the others he examined me carefully so when the others came he had the story.
"She's been bitten her bodies breaking down and she's close to death", said Smoky gravely as Lance and Fay set to work. Grass Hoppers anguished cry announced there arrival Hoot immediately went to be briefed while Ed tried to examine best he could and Jack just stood staring in shock.