10. SUNRISE
"Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important." -Paulo Coelho
MY HACKLES STOOD ON END WHEN A BULLET RICOCHET FROM THE GROUND BETWEEN MY FOREPAWS WITH A DEAFENING SOUND.
The gunshot caught me by surprise that I hadn't realized I let my disguise down. I swiftly darted out of sight just as another bullet whizzed passed my tail.
"Dogs!" Someone cried.
Soon the entire room was filled with screams of pain, roars of fury, and loud gunfire. Shrouded in wolf form, Hige, Tsume and Kiba sliced through the humans with skilled performance. I could see the rage burning behind their eyes as they maliciously executed their victims one by one. Crimson blood sprayed into the air from the arteries the wolves tore open, and the humans collapsed on the ground, lifeless. Some of the smarter breed fled the furnace room after seeing they didn't stand a chance against feral canines. As I watched the frightened sheep escape, I moved to chase after them, to kill them for what they done to my kin, but I stopped myself. I had more important matters to take care of. Instead, my wild eyes searched for Toboe. He was laying at the same spot. Just when I was about to go to him, a human shouting caught my attention, and I turned. A bulky man twice my size was running toward me with an ax hefted over his head. My body dropped low at the same time he swung the heavy ax, exposing his side to my fangs. I easily brought him down, getting stained with his blood in the process.
I rushed over to Toboe on the floor, and gently nudged him with my snout. Panic settled in when he didn't stir immediately. Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. A combination of relief and joy washed over me when he gradually opened his eyes a sliver. Toboe whimpered groggily, obviously fighting back the heavy dose of drugs coursing through his system.
"It's nice to see you again, Amber."
That familiar voice instinctively sent adrenalin pumping through my veins, and I snapped my head up. Much to my chagrin, I found Gino standing on stacked crates. My eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at the rifle dangling in his left hand. There was no doubt in my mind that he had been the one who shot at me earlier. My ears pressed flat against my skull, and a low growl vibrated from my throat like a distant thunder roll.
"And I see you brought some friends with you." He said, giving me a twisted grin.
"I can't believe you're doing this. Have you lost your mind?!" My ferocious bark echoed inside the large room.
But that didn't falter Gino's expression. He just stared back, smiling. "Me? Loose my mind?" Gino laughed a little too hard. "I'm simply doing what needs to be done."
"By helping these humans kill your own kind?" Tsume shouted incredulously, hands curled into fists by his side; holding himself back from lashing out at the city wolf. "You sick bastard."
Gino glanced at the grey wolf, the grin long gone from his face. "I had to help them. The mountains run dry with coal. How else will this city thrive without some sort of fuel?" He shook his head, as if there was nothing wrong with killing another race in order to improve the lives of others. "Besides . . . I'm doing these wolves a favor."
"All your doing is murder." Hige spat with revulsion.
Something cracked in Gino's black eyes then, and his true personality slowly leaked out into the surface. "They believed in illusions . . . of a place called Paradise. I was like them once . . . chasing a dream that would never come true. I was a fool to let such a ridiculous fairytale rule my life. Until one day, I snapped out of it." His fist came down on one of the crates, emphasizing his point. "Paradise doesn't exist. There's no such thing. I realized the world we live in now is all we're getting. Of course, I tried convincing my pack, but they wouldn't listen to me. Idiots . . . all of them. They attacked me . . . left me to die . . . I hated them," a dark shadow fell upon his face, twisting it into something that could only be described as insanity. "So I got my revenge." Those dark eyes fell upon me. "I killed them,"
"You said humans killed your pack," I reminded, hesitant.
"I told those humans where to find a pack of rabid dogs." Gino threw his head back and let out a sadistic laugh. "Afterwards, I decided to live with the humans. Make a few money as a coal miner. Then the mountains stopped producing coal. Can you imagine all the issues this city went through? No power, no fuel, no cars, no steel to build skyscrapers. So, I started this business. Nobody cares about burning the bodies of diseased dogs. Not when they might be spreading the sickness. I consider myself a very generous creature. After all, I'm helping wolves find true Paradise . . . in death."
There was nothing I could say. He spoke so casually, like it was okay to kill wolves simply because they dreamed of Paradise. All I wanted was to rip off that deranged, double crossing bastard's face. I planned to do just that, until Kiba decided to say something at that moment.
"I feel sorry for you." He said to Gino. "You allowed yourself to become this monster. You may not believe in Paradise, you may try to burn every wolf who searches for it, but you will never get rid of our Faith. Because there's no doubt in my mind that we will find Paradise."
Suddenly, anger melted away the carefree expression on Gino's face. The hand around his rifle tightened.
"Then die." He shouted callously.
Gino aimed the barrel directly at Kiba, and fired. I held my breath when Kiba never moved. He took the shot, the bullet blowing off a chunk of shoulder flesh. Amazingly, Kiba stood without showing pain. He growled viciously.
"Tough guy, huh?" Gino narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that!"
The two charged at one another head on. Kiba leaped onto the crates, and Gino raised his rifle. Bang! The bullet missed, exploding the crate behind Kiba. With the white wolf too close, Gino dropped his rifle to reach into his pocket. Kiba yelped when a knife bit into his side.
"Why is Gino fighting in his human state?" I wondered aloud.
"He is no longer wolf." Hige answered. "He has become human."
My eyes widen. "Is that possible?"
"When a wolf lives as a human, he forgets his origins and eventually becomes human." Tsume said. "I've seen it happen before. A long time ago."
I considered that for a moment, amazed. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. A scream tore me away from my own thoughts. Kiba hung from Gino's arm by his powerful jaws. Blood rolled over Kiba's muzzle, and he wrenched Gino's arm side-to-side. Gino desperately tried to pull the white wolf off, but ended up loosing his balance. The two fell from the tower of crates, and tumbled on the ground with Kiba still holding on tightly.
"I won't let you kill anymore wolves." Growled Kiba, fangs jabbed deep in crimson sleek skin.
There was nothing to protect himself from the white wolf since he lost his knife during the brawl. The fear on Gino's face was visible now. He wildly punched Kiba in the eye with his free hand, already feeling his limb being painfully stretched. But that did little to save him from what happened next. Gino fully screamed when I heard the sickening "pop" of his bone as it was savagely pulled from it's socket. And finally, a tear. Blood sprayed everywhere when Kiba completely dismembered Gino's arm from his body.
Gino screamed so hard, veins popped on his neck. The interior part of his shoulder was visible, exposing torn muscle strands and white cartilage. He attempted to cover the ragged opening with his other hand. His only hand. "You will pay for that!" Hollered Gino, rising from the bloodstained ground, and found a weapon on one of the corpses nearby. His black eyes looked crazy as he fired away at Kiba.
Kiba dodged the wild bullets until Gino used them all up. He tossed the empty weapon aside and made a run for it to a lever on the wall. He pulled the lever down with a sadistic grin. At that moment, the sound of rusted metal dragging warned me that something terrible was about to happen.
The large furnace door heaved upward, and a bath of molten hot fire spilled out.
"BURN!" Laughed Gino, blinded by his own revenge to notice he was putting himself in danger.
The room ignited as the molten fire spread out rapidly, eating everything in its path. Fire fell from the ceiling, burning easily through the wood that kept this factory intact. It was time to go. Tsume lifted the unconscious pup onto his shoulders, and the four of us raced to the storage room. I could still hear Gino laughing behind me as the flames roared higher, and smoke grew thicker.
"Hurry!" Shouted Kiba somewhere ahead in the black smoke. I couldn't see him or the other wolves. "To the broken window!"
Scared and exhausted, I avoided bumping into the tall crates as I tried to keep up with the others. The smoke prevented me from using my nose, so I had to rely on the sound of their retreating footfalls. I coughed from inhaling too much soot.
Finally, I saw the window, and immediately leaped through it without a moment of hesitation. Once outside in the cold brisk air, we ran from the burning factory. None of us stopped. We just kept on running. I looked at Toboe hanging behind Tsume's back with his tongue lolled out of his mouth. I had to admit, it was great seeing him again. Kiba led us away from Junction City into the desert. He followed the old train tracks that trailed off into the dark distance. Ahead, sat the looming mountains.
I turned to Hige who was running alongside me. "What's at the mountains?" I asked.
"Lunar flowers," he answered simply.
I furrowed my brow. He smiled.
"You'll find out soon enough." Was all the husky wolf said to me.
It seemed the sun would be rising any minute. Brilliant colors of oranges burned beyond the black mountains. Multiple soft sun rays stretched out across the sky, casting the night away.
As I watched the world unfold into a new day, I realized something. Today I experienced near death more than I thought was possible, I almost lost Toboe, and I witnessed wolves being grusomely slaughterd. Despite all of that, no matter what happens, life will always go on. It's strange to think the world continues to spin even though you sometimes wish it would freeze over for you. In a way, it's a good thing that doesn't happen. Holding on to the pain for too long ruins the chance of experiencing true happiness. As the saying goes, time heals all wounds. But only if you let it.
A few months ago, I never imagined leaving my little boathouse, wander into a city filled with humans, cheat death, and embark on an adventure with an odd pack of wolves. The sudden clarity of the whole thing inspired me to be more alive. Lydia would be so proud of me.
For the first time, in a long time, I actually smiled.
A/N: That was intense!
For those of you who reviewed, thanks a million! If I could, I would totally give each of you a scrumdiddlyumptious cupcake for your effort in sending me a piece of yo mind lol please let me know if i'm capturing the characters personalities correctly. Like I mentioned before, it's been years since I've seen Wolf's Rain, and I don't have time to watch online episodes - not with college assignments napping at my neck. So please feel free to bring it to my attention. I want this story to flow well.
Also, I'm super sorry for the cliffhangers. But I'm telling you guys, I really REALLY REALYYY enjoy leaving off on a suspenseful note. You hate them, but you know you love them ;D