Chapter 21

Harley and Riker were dragged about a mile through the forest until they reached the base steep, stony slope. A rumbling could be heard not too far off—Harley guessed it was a waterfall. He was made to trudge up the slope, and the roaring grew louder as they ascended. Harley felt tiny droplets of water flying through the air and hitting him, as if the waterfall was very close. The slope leveled off at a small grassy area, rimmed with thorn bushes. To the left was a rocky wall with a small dark cave in the middle, and to the right was another slope, a lot less steep, that lead down to a large clearing.

Ari approached the entrance to the cave. "Boss, we caught two mutts straying into the territory. They were beating each other up, and they seem to be good fighters. You could use them."

A moment later, a massive, shaggy dog stepped out from the cave. Harley had never seen a dog so big—he wasn't even sure it was a dog. It looked more like a small bear. It was black and pale brown, with jaws so huge they could probably crush a normal-sized dog's head in one bite. It lumbered over to them, revealing several large, ugly scars across its face.

"Who are you?" The dog's voice was deep and cold. Just listening to it made Harley shiver. The dog's amber eyes glittered as he repeated, "I said, who are you?"

"I…I'm Harley…that over there is my brother Riker. Who are you?"

"My name is Zephyr, Wolfdog of the North." His amber eyes narrowed into burning slits, his voice still icy and emotionless. "I rule the entire northern half of this forest. I am surprised you have not heard of me."

"A…wolfdog!?" Harley gasped.

"I am half wolf and half dog. Everything around here—every tree, every blade of grass, even all the animals, belong to me. I decide whether every living thing here lives or dies." Harley shivered again as Zephyr leaned closer to him. "Ari told me you were good at fighting, so I will let you live. But you will not be leaving here. From now on, you belong to me. If you try to resist or escape, I will kill you immediately."

He turned to his henchmen. "Put them in the prisoner's pit. Give them food and water. If they try to escape, you know what to do." Zephyr headed back to his cave.

Harley and Riker were forced down the slope towards the clearing. A few other dogs stared at them from a distance as the prisoners were dragged through a clump of thorn bushes that lined a muddy ditch, about five feet deep. Harley and Riker were hastily thrown to the bottom. A few moments later, their captors threw down some soaked moss and a dead dove. Harley lapped at the wet moss, suddenly realizing how thirsty he was.

"What do we have here?" A pointed head was looking over the edge of the ditch. It was a bull terrier, with glinting eyes and a shark-like grin. "New prisoners? Did Zephyr say I could torture them if they try to escape?"

"You're a sick bastard, Ajax," Harley heard Brutus say.

"Well I don't see you giving them a warm welcome," the bull terrier retorted. "Whoa, they're really beat up. Did you guys do that?"

"No, they did that to each other," said Ari's voice. "They were fighting when I found them. Zephyr wants them as soldiers."

"They're pretty sorry looking soldiers to me." Ajax gave another creepy grin. "If you try to escape, then I'm going to have lots of fun with you."

"I'd like to see you try!" Riker called up to him.

Harley let out a miserable sigh and closed his eyes. The sun beat down on him and the mud soaked through his coat. He was in so much pain he wanted to die. He lay there for a while, until a scrabbling noise made him open his eyes. Riker was attempting to climb the wall of the ditch. He managed to get up a few feet, but lost his footing, stumbling back down.

"Don't even bother," Harley murmured. "We're both too weak to get out."

Riker ignored him, attempting to climb up again, but slid down once more. Harley didn't even care about getting revenge on his brother anymore. Killing him wouldn't bring Cedar back. Riker was most likely going to die anyways. He'd never submit himself to this pack, and he'd end up getting torn to shreds. Harley was just going to lie here and refuse food.

I'm so sorry, Quicksilver…and our pups…

The thought of the pups suddenly awakened something in Harley. He lifted his head, having a vision of Quicksilver, sitting in their den all alone, tears running down her long silver face as she licking her newborn pups, whispering, "I wish you were here, Harley."

"No!" Harley growled out loud. "No! I won't let my pups grow up without their father!"

He stood up, and charged straight at the wall of the ditch, digging his claws in and forcing himself to climb, ignoring the pain that shot through his wounded body. He scrambled up the five-foot mound of mud, and placed his paws on the edge, dragging himself up and over it. Harley collapsed in the grass, panting.

"Hey, one of them got out!" The weimeraner came charging through the bushes at Harley and grabbed him by the collar. He was about to throw Harley back into the ditch, when all of a sudden, a black and tan blur came flying up and knocked into the weimeraner. Harley got to his feet and saw, with amazement, Riker wrestling with the other dog.

"Grayson, what's going on!?" Ari and Brutus had appeared.

"Help me!" the weimeraner cried. Before they could act, Harley grabbed Ari by the neck and threw the saluki down into the ditch. Riker threw Grayson in after him, and the two of them faced Brutus together. The Akita was much stronger than his companions, but not terribly fast. Harley and Riker swiftly darted around him and raked their fangs across his flanks, then leapt through the thorn bushes.

"THEY'RE ESCAPING!" Brutus howled as the brothers made their way up the slope. Suddenly, Ajax leapt into their path, blocking them.

"Going somewhere?" he said in a slimy voice, giving another shark-like grin. "I don't think so."

Harley and Riker gave each other a brief glance and nodded. Even after all that had happened last night, they knew they'd have to work together to escape. Riker flew at Ajax, who opened his jaws, but at the last moment, Riker twisted around and kicked the bull terrier hard in the chest. He reared up on his hind legs, giving the hounds a brief moment to dart around him. Ajax chased after them, cursing and barking out threats, but they kept going, until they reached the area where Zephyr's den was. Beyond it was a narrow path that seemed to lead up to where the waterfall was. But there was a problem—Zephyr was standing right before it.

"Shit!" Harley skidded to a halt. How are we supposed to fight him? But that didn't stop Riker. He charged right at the wolfdog.

"He'll kill you, you idiot!"Harley cried. To his horror, Zephyr brought his brother straight down to the ground with a swipe of his paw, and gripped his throat in his teeth almost effortlessly. Riker struggled, yelling wordlessly as his air supply was cut off. Ajax came up behind Harley and slammed the hound into the rock wall, pinning him there.

"You're pretty damn stupid if you thought you could get away!" Ajax laughed. Harley looked over at Riker, who was now hanging limply from Zephyr's jaws, his eyes closed. The wolfdog set him down on the ground.

"No!" he cried.

"Sorry, looks like your buddy's dead. But I'll make sure you don't go as quickly as he did!" Ajax bit down on Harley's spine, making him howl. As he did, Riker suddenly sprang to his feet and whirled around, ripping out a clump of fur from Zephyr's chest and then a chunk of flesh. The surprised wolfdog let out a throaty cry. Startled, Ajax loosened his grip on Harley, who flung him off and followed Riker up the narrow path towards the waterfall. They could see that they were standing on the very edge of a riverbank, where the water fell several feet straight to the water below.

"We'll have to jump!" Harley tried to bark over the roaring water, but he was drowned out. But Riker seemed to understand. Before they could jump, though, Zephyr came hurtling out of the mist, jaws outstretched towards Harley. As quick as a snake, Riker jumped in front of his brother, and Zephyr struck him instead. His scream rang out above the roaring waters, and a gush of blood sprayed up from his throat. Zephyr threw him aside, and went for Harley. The hound darted around the wolfdog, grabbed his brother, and then sprang into the air, over the edge of the waterfall.

Harley let out an involuntary cry of terror as his body plummeted through the air. Wind rushed in his ear, and the water below was rising up meet him very, very quickly…just before he hit it he saw Riker's body falling next to his. Blood spurted from a huge, ragged hole in his brother's throat, and his eyes were wide open, but not seeing. Both dogs fell beneath the white, foamy water below. Harley flailed his limbs around, trying to get a sense of direction as the current spun him around. Bubbles blocked his entire vision, and his body was swept into the current, banging him against the stony riverbed. He saw the dark shape of Riker's body floating past him, his blood trailing in cloudy streams. Harley kicked up from the riverbed and swam upwards, grabbed Riker, and pushed his head above the surface, gasping for air. The river tossed the two dogs around, slamming them against a boulder and then sending them back underwater. Harley's body spun through the current, but he still held on to Riker. He waited until he floated into an area where the current was slightly weaker, and he kicked upward, breaking through the water once again. He struggled for the riverbank, fighting the current with every ounce of his strength. There was a tree with low-hanging branches just up ahead. Harley reached out as he approached it and grasped a branch between his forelegs. With a mighty heave, he threw Riker's body upon the shore, then grabbed the branch in his teeth and pulled himself up out of the river.

Harley collapsed next to his brother's body, coughing up water and gagging, and then collapsed, sobbing.

"Riker, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" he moaned before drifting off into unconsciousness.