Hi everyone. Here I am again, spending another night writing. Now, I know it hasn't been so much since the last chapter, only I know the feeling you have when you read or do something you enjoy and you want to see the continuation, as soon as you can, because you are trapped in the story( or is that just me?). Anyway, a small thing to keep in mind: this story follows the story of Kate and Humphrey. I will not break the narration to go see what other characters do. If you want that kind of stuff, I will MAYBE write an alternate story, but, to tell you the thing, it bores me to not follow the main character through his doings, and instead to follow the secondary ones. I am not yet sure if I will do alternate stories from different points of views, but I will consider it.
Also, to answer the guest review: I will finish this story, but in my own time and when I consider it to be good. So, don't worry about that :D
Aaaaaaanyway, I have another chapter for you beautiful guys and girls out there. I hope you will enjoy it :D
One more thing…if you want to experience the full impact of this chapter, read it while listening to this : www. /watch?v= 0YRICEt7XiY
Just remove the spaces :D
Chapter 7 – Ground Zero
The morning sun shone brightly over the forest where the small clearing with the hill and the den was. Two wolves were still sleeping peacefully inside. Another one was watching the sky with a knowing face. There was a small breeze and the grass around the clearing moved. The wolf's silver fur moved with the breeze. The sun was barely up, lighting her face. For a second, her face betrayed her years. In the end, she nodded and walked inside towards the two wolves still deep in their slumber. With a paw, she nudged Humphrey's face, which opened his eyes slowly. Sally spoke:
"You two should get up soon, if we want to get some training done. I'll leave the pleasure to waking her to you. I don't do that kind of stuff. I'll be outside, waiting." Then, Sally got up, nodded one more time to herself and left the den. Humphrey blinked a couple of times to get rid of the sleepiness in his eyes and then stretched his neck for a couple of seconds, before gently nudging Kate and giving her cheek a few licks. Kate slowly opened her eyes, a smile creeping on her face. She sighed and turned around, giving Humphrey's chest an embrace and resting her head on him. Humphrey smiled and licked her other cheek a couple of times, while giving her a morning hug too. Her smile grew and their intertwined tails began wagging weakly. Humphrey nuzzled her neck a couple of times, before Kate finally opened her eyes and said with a sly smile:
"Are you trying to wake me up or seduce me and get me back to sleep?"
"To wake you up. But gently. Maybe make up for the other morning" Humphrey said, touching her forehead with his, his eyes focused on her eyes. Kate giggled and quickly kissed him, before breaking the hug and getting up to stretch. Humphrey stretched too, and then they walked outside. Sally was there, still looking at the sky. She turned to them and said:
"That took you two long enough. Well, let's get going. The training was supposed to begin at dawn, but today is the first day, so I'll go easy on you. But starting tomorrow, we will keep a strict schedule, which I want you two to respect. Got it?"
"Yes" Humphrey said with a smile as they both nodded to a Sally with her back turned to them.
"Good. Now, follow me. I will take you to the ancient ground of the Sentinels. But first…Humphrey come here" Sally said turning to them. Humphrey's smile faded a little as he came face to face with Sally. He was taller than her with about a head.
"Lower your head" she said lifting one of her paws. Humphrey did as he was told. When his head was low enough, Sally said:
"Kate, please come here and hold him. I am afraid that a fit of tears will follow what I am going to do." Kate had a suspicious look in her eyes and wanted to say something, but did as she was told. She went beside Humphrey and put a paw around him. Sally nodded and then said:
"Now, Humphrey, close your eyes. I will lift the sigil I put on your mind to stop your Sentinel abilities and your memories." Humphrey closed his eyes, searching with a paw Kate's other paw. She saw him searching and gave her paw to his, which he squeezed gently. Then Sally began mumbling under her breath. She drew several symbols in Humphrey's fur on his head and then erased them. Then, she mumbled some more, before she closed her eyes for a minute. Then she suddenly opened them and roared:
"RELEASE!"
Kate immediately felt a pain in her paw as Humphrey squeezed really hard. She also saw Humphrey's back arch as if he was shocked and a couple of tears appear in his eyes. Then he sighed in relief, his body relaxing. He released Kate's paw from his and wiping his tears. Sally opened his eyes with her paws and looked straight in them. She asked, a confused expression on her face:
"Do you remember anything from what happened that day? Did you feel anything?"
"I don't remember anything specifically…but I felt as if my whole body tensed for a second and then relaxed completely. Although, my head hurts a little" Humphrey said as he put a paw to his forehead. Sally smiled and said:
'You mind is even tougher that I thought…The things you describe prove that the seal has been released and that the limitations on your muscles and brain have been removed as well. You will now be able to achieve the strength and intelligence of a Sentinel…which brings us to the tears and the headache…they are merely the result of the sudden mental release. But, as far as your memories goes, because your mind is the way it is, my powers are not enough to force the bind your own mind made to block them. For you to remember, we will need some stimuli."
Humphrey and Kate looked at her, confusion on their faces. Sally sighed and said in an over-done baby-voice :
"For your memories to return, we will need to show you or make you feel something you felt when you lost them. So, to the grounds of the Sentinels it is. Follow me."
Both of their faces betrayed their understanding as they began laughing. Sally stopped and asked them:
"Did you two just trick me into using a baby-voice to explain stuff?"
"Yep. And it worked" Kate said with a smile.
"Totally" Humphrey said with a grin. Sally sighed and began walking away. Humphrey got up and followed her, with Kate by his side, leaning against him as she always did. They walked at an average pace through the forest.
"So how did you do it?" Sally asked, not turning to look at them.
"Do what?" Humphrey asked with a grin.
"Plan to fool me. I didn't see you talking or making any eye-contact while I talked" Sally explained with a confused voice.
"We just had the same idea at the same time. And we thought it would be fun" Kate said with a smile. Sally stopped and turned to them, a grin on her face:
"Did you two mate?"
Both Humphrey and Kate stopped confused, but blushing strongly.
"So you did" Sally said, her smile growing bigger.
"And what if we did?" Humphrey asked with a calm voice and he began walking again, following Sally who had started walking too.
"Well…I heard of cases where the mates of Sentinels could sometimes tune to the Sentinel's instincts, sometimes even doing the same actions and saying the same phrases as them. But I thought it was just a myth…Maybe it is real" Sally explained, not looking at them.
"So…basically we can read each other's minds?" Humphrey asked genuinely confused as how a thing such this exists.
"Yes…and no. Not the minds, but the instincts. So…let's assume that one of you wants to do something…and the other one kind of wants to do it too…you will both have the same idea, both of them doing the same thing…it's kind of difficult to explain" Sally said with a laugh. Humphrey and Kate too started laughing and all of them continued walking. That is, until Humphrey stopped dead in his tracks, looking at a tree. Kate stopped too and said:
"Humphrey, are you alright?"
When Sally heard this, she turned around looking at Humphrey, now moving closer to the tree.
"I know this tree" he mumbled as he grabbed his head in pain. His vision flickered in front of his eyes than faded for a couple of seconds.
-Humphrey's memory-
"My son, go now. You saw what they did to our home. Go with Winston. He is a good friend of mine. He will take care of you. You are the last hope of survival the Sentinels have" a big blue-ish wolf said looking at Humphrey. The eyes of the wolf were deep-blue and fierce but caring. This was Arthy, Humphrey's father. The cub he was talking to and who looked at Winston with suspicion was Humphrey.
"Okay dad, let's go with Winston" the small Humphrey said, taking a step forward.
"No Humphrey. You will go with Winston. I will cover your escape. The cycle must continue" Arthy said with a big smile as he nuzzled him.
"But dad, I want you to come too. We can all run away" Humphrey said as Winston picked him up and put him on his back.
"I wish I could, Humphrey, but you are far more important than I am" Arthy said, a tear forming in his left eye. The small Humphrey began crying and through his tears said:
"Will I ever see you again?"
"One day, we will meet again, Humphrey. And when that day comes, we will never part again. Now go and don't stop" Arthy said as the tear fell from his eye as he turned around where twenty black wolves were about to pounce on them.
-end of flashback-
"Dad" Humphrey whispered as he took the paws of his head, the pain subsiding. He didn't even notice Kate near him and looked around himself, as if searching for something. He found a small mound of dirt that was strangely placed and walked to it. His tears began falling as Kate walked by him and put a paw around him. He turned and cried for a couple of minutes in her fur. When he calmed down, Kate asked:
"What happened, Humphrey?" Humphrey sniffled a couple of times and said:
"This is the place where I last saw my father. And I just relieved that day. And this here is his grave." Kate's face was in shock as to what happened and looked at the mound of dirt. She pointed a claw to the dirt and began writing with the claw. She wrote:
'In the memory of Arthy, a loving father and a great leader.'
Humphrey looked at her as she wrote and nuzzled her when she finished. He then wrote something too:
'He will never be forgotten and his sacrifice will never be in vain. The cycle continues.'
Sally, who saw the scene now came closer and said:
"These are the tears I expected earlier. What did you see? What triggered the memory?" Humphrey looked at her and said in a pained voice and some irritation:
"The tree over there. I saw the moments the Wretches were about to attack and how Winston ran with me on his back. I relieved that memory. And I remember now that the last thing I saw before I turned around, not wanting to see my father die, was that tree." Sally nodded and said:
"Let's continue. We are close to the original grounds of the Sentinels. Up to this point is the territory the western pack used to have. But they made it smaller, fearing for an attack." Both Kate and Humphrey nodded as they walked again, side by side, leaning on one another and following Sally. They walked for a couple of more minutes, before Sally stopped in front of some bushes.
"Now, this is the entrance to the Sentinel's main grounds. Just so you know what to expect. Ready?" Both of them nodded and they all stepped through the bushes. What Humphrey saw, shocked him. In the clearing that was easily bigger than the feeding grounds of the western pack, sat only a very tall tree and several hills big enough to have dens inside them. And all over the clearing there were mounds of dirt everywhere he looked, each of them covering the body of one of the wolves in his old pack.
"So many…and they are all gone" he whispered for himself in disbelief, but he was heard by Kate, who too looked around and realized that there were easy over a hundred mounds. She turned to Humphrey, who now was looking straight forward. She followed his gaze and it fell on the greatest tree in the clearing they were in. At the base of the clearing, a den opened.
"My home" Humphrey whispered as he passed the mounds of dirt to reach the den. But he stopped as fast as he started walking, a strong pain hitting his head. He fell to the ground shaking. Kate was beside him in an instant. Sally too was there and she said in the calmest voice she could:
"Don't fight in Humphrey. Let it flow through you. Only then will you be whole again." Then she turned to Kate:
"Don't get in his way. Just watch for the moment." Kate nodded and looked at Humphrey who was no longer shaking but looking around him with wide eyes, the images of the memories and the images of the real world overlapping in his eyes. He again started walking towards the tree. This time, he no longer whispered, but spoke aloud:
"The Tree of Justice." The he turned around and walked to the nearest den that was away from the tree.
"Britney's den. She was the healer of the pack. She took care of me when my parents were hunting. She always knew the best bedtime stories" He turned again and walked past Kate, a tear forming in his eye, to another den that had the opening towards the forest.
"Tom and Jenny's den. The leaders of the Omegas and my friends. I used to play with them when I was small…"
He looked around him and pointed with his claw to the mounds of dirt. At each mound he stopped, he said a name of one of his friends, each time, one more tear escaping his eyes.
After he made a complete circle, he turned again and looked again at the big tree as he slowly walked towards the entrance of the den. When he was half way through, tears began flowing from his eyes, but his walking speed did not increase.
"And there is me. Playing with my mom and dad. And Tom. Britney is there too. And Jenny. And Michael. All the pack is here…all looking so happy and safe…"
He walked up to the entrance of the den, and then stopped and stood there for some time, his weeping being heard by Kate. She wanted to walk to his side, but knew that would only make it worse. Then he called, without turning:
"Kate, could you please come here?" Kate got up and walked towards her mate with uncertain steps. She was not sure what to say or to do. Any wrong word could tip the balance of Humphrey's feelings. When she reached him, she saw he was looking at another mound of dirt. Then she heard him speaking, pain clear in his voice and entire streams of tears falling on the mound. But there was something else there. Regret, love, misery:
"This is where she died. Protecting me. This is Senna's grave…my mother's grave." Kate couldn't hold back any longer and let her own tears fall. Her tears mixed with Humphrey's as they hit the ground. Humphrey put a paw around her and embraced her, crying in her fur, while she did the same. How could she not? Her mate's life was a mess. His family dead, his original pack, all his friends, all the wolves he knew when he was small and before he joined Winston's pack, dead. The grounds his pack once ruled, a ruin. The main grounds, full of graves. The dens, deserted. The wolves that lived here only lived now in Humphrey's memory. It was indeed soul-crushing. The train of her thoughts was interrupted when Humphrey broke the hug and began writing on her grave:
'Here lies Senna. A loving mother, a caring mate, a devoted Sentinel. May her life not have gone in vain.'
Humphrey stopped and looked at Kate. She raised her leg, her paw trembling, and wrote a little bit under Humphrey's writing:
'She won't be forgotten. The cycle continues.'
Humphrey smiled a watery smile and got up, with Kate following him. They turned to where Sally was standing, observing their reactions. They walked still side by side, their fur touching. Kate felt the need to comfort Humphrey even more, so she intertwined her tail with his. They walked like this until they reached Sally, and then stood there. Humphrey asked, drying his tears, but pain still in his voice:
"Thank you, Sally. Thank you for making me whole again. I will not forget this. Do you think me and Kate can spend this night here, when we are finished with the training?"
"Tonight and every night from now until your training ends" Sally said with a kind smile. Humphrey nodded and Kate smiled at her mate, drying her tears. Sally waited for one more minute, then asked:
"Are you two ready to begin training?" They nodded and Sally took them to the training grounds, which were a little distance away from the main grounds. They stopped under some tall pines that only had some branches. There was also a clearing some distance away and even a river. Sally sat down and turned to face them.
"From today and for the next month, you will train together. Humphrey, you will build muscle by running, swimming and hunting. You will learn agility by jumping from branch to branch in a course you will choose for yourself in the trees above us. You will train your mind by fighting off nightmares and my presence. We will have special sessions for that and I will explain how it will go then. Kate, you will do the same physical training as he does. I am not sure how well you will do on the tree part, but we will start easy. The mind training however, is only for Humphrey, since his mind works differently. Understood? Can we begin?" Sally asked.
"Yes" Humphrey and Kate said at the same time.
"Good. We will start by doing twenty laps around that clearing. Then we will do swimming for an hour. And so on until night falls." She stopped talking and seemed to fall asleep for a second, before another silver wolf seemed to shiver in existence beside her. Humphrey and Kate stood there wide eyes and both Sally and the other Sally opened their eyes.
"What is this?" Humphrey asked confused.
"As I said, I am a witch-wolf. And this is a mere image of myself. However, I can see through its eyes. I will observe the both of you as you train while I go hunting. If you do well, you will eat well. Else you will do it again, until it is done well" Sally said serious. Both Humphrey and Kate nodded.
"Off to training then" Sally said as Humphrey, Kate and the image of Sally walked towards the clearing.
-a session of training, a lunch and another session of training and a dinner later-
Kate and Humphrey finally managed to enter the main den under the tree. They were physically exhausted but happy that they managed to complete their training. Humphrey sat down in the middle of the den and Kate sat by him. She was more exhausted than she has been when she was in Alpha training. Humphrey put a paw around her and brought her closer. She licked his face and he smiled and nuzzled her neck. She put her head under his and he put his head over her head. They were too tired for words now. Humphrey intertwined their tails and they fell asleep very fast.
-two hours later-
Kate opened her eyes because she felt cold.
"Humphrey, where are you?" Kate whispered as she looked around the den. She was alone inside.
"Humphrey" she called again as she got up. She walked outside and saw Humphrey by one of the mounds, writing on it. She walked to him and asked in a concerned face as she saw him crying but with a smile on his face:
"Are you okay Humphrey? Why are you outside?"
He looked at her and said:
"I just thought I would give all of my friends a proper goodbye. They are in a better place now." Kate looked at him, before looking at the mound and at the writing. It said:
'A fellow Sentinel. The sacrifice won't be in vain. The cycle continues.'
She smiled, understanding Humphrey's desire. He needed to do this to be at peace with himself. She nodded and followed him, sitting by him and letting him cry on her shoulder each time he needed, until every mound had their own message. Then, after he wrote the last message, Humphrey turned at Kate and smiled. He then said through his tears:
"Thank you, Kate. For being here for me. For training with me. For understanding."
"Always Humphrey. Always" Kate answered in a whisper as she embraced him and they fell asleep like that, the moon shining over them. A new cycle of night and day was about to begin, and with it, another day of training.
Aaaaaaand…scene. Here it is folks. A slightly longer chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think, what you liked, and what you didn't. I'll be seeing all of you soon :D
Until then, LionPranskter, over and out.
