Chapter 20

What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

Rusty turned, his head and ears perking up, and tail twitching in irritation. He knew that voice. That dreadful, horrible, hated voice. The wolf dingo immediately stood up, stiff legged now, head down and fangs bared, eyes burning with hatred.

"Bastard…" he snarled.

It was Steele. And god, he looked horrible. His once neatly kept fur was long and matted with blood. He looked somewhat emaciated, like he hadn't eaten in some time. Rusty thought he looked bad, but this fallen idol looked much, much worse. The malamute snarled back at his old nemesis.

More than once the two had butted heads. The only thing that had held Steele back from killing this miserable creature was his position as an officer of the law. If he'd killed an officer, a police dog, it would've been a mess. All this time, he'd thought the Inspector was dead, and so took temporary residency in the shed in the backyard. It was the ideal hiding place and no one disturbed him.

"I suppose I should welcome you home, seeing as how your little family's moved on. They forgot about you, Aubrey. The Inspector moved on without even a second thought to you".
"Go to hell!".
"Where do you think I've been living all this time?! Hm?!"
"You wanna talk about hell?! Oh you haven't experienced it yet, dog!" Rusty snarled in a very wolf like fashion.
Steele smirked. "You're more wolf like now. Tell me something, dingy boy, did the little half breed's daughter do that to you?!"
"DON'T YOU EVER INSULT ALEU IN FRONT OF ME!" it came out almost like a roar.

Rusty reared up on his hind legs, almost like a horse and pushed the malamute down with his front paws. Growling harshly, he put his claws to Steele's throat.

"Bet…you don't know…what happened" Steele choked out, "to your…pretty little…girl!"

The wolf dingo pressed harder on his throat, determined to crush it slowly, painfully. He was making it harder for Steele to breathe, whatever wasted breath he had.

"Balto…he didn't…get the medicine…to her…in time…she's buried…here…the cemetery!".
"WHAT LIES YOU TELL ME!"
"No…no lies…not this time!".
Rusty snapped his jaw above Steele threateningly. "Where is she?!"

For just a moment, the former cop dog took his paw off and let Steele up. He looked ready to attack again in case if the malamute decided to attack first. Steele spat in his direction.

"Piss off, old timer!" Steele growled, "Why should I tell you?!".
"You can either tell me or I won't hesitate to floor you and kill you very slowly. I'm not afraid to. It's your call".
"Oh please" Steele laughed, "You couldn't kill me back then, what makes you think I'll believe you now?!".
"I'm not a cop anymore. And I'm not afraid to let the wolf side out for once".
"I see…once a wolf, forever a wolf. Once a killer, always a killer. Is that how it is, Aubrey? Hm? To get leverage over one you kill. You were a monster then, you're a monster now. The only difference now there's nothing holding you back. Kill me now for all I care, but know this, it'll only tarnish your good reputation around the town".
Rusty rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You think I care about my reputation now, Steele? You think I give two damns about it?! See, I'm not like you. I couldn't give a DAMN what people think of me! I'd be more than glad to end your miserable life! If my girl is indeed gone, I'm holding you personally responsible!".
"Then what?! Will you end me then?! Hm?!"
"I'd rather do it now and call it a day…Where is she?".
"She's buried there, near one of the angels…Her stone is carved in the shape of a heart. Surely you can find it…now do it. Take your revenge!".
"With pleasure!"

Rusty rushed at his enemy and pinned him to the floor. With a savage growl, he bit down on the malamute's throat, hard. Harder than he'd ever bitten anything.

Stop this, Aubrey. Snowdrift's voice sounded in his head, You are not a killer.
"Stay out of this" he thought.
Let him go. He did not kill your child. It was the illness that took her away. Please Aubrey, let him go. What would Madeline say if you did this thing? How would Aniu react if she saw you do this? Think of them, think of your children, the ones you love. Speaking of which…

"RUSTY!" Aleu screamed his name as she ran into the room looking mortified.

The wolf dingo released the malamute, but kept him pinned to the floor. He looked over at Aleu.

"He deserves this! You know it!"
"No, no he doesn't! Rusty please…for god's sake let him go. Please, think of all the ones who saw the good in you! Please, please don't prove them wrong!".
"He has…to do this…c'mon dingy boy! Take your revenge!" Steele urged, "He has to show you just how powerful he really is! Show you what a wolf he is! What a savage!"
"Rusty…" she ignored him, "Please…This isn't the one I love. Please, come back to me. Don't do this, let him go".

Rusty looked from Aleu to Steele and back again. He wanted revenge, more than anything. This dog had caused a lot of people, a lot of dogs, a lot of misery just to make himself look good. But was revenge worth possibly compromising Aleu's love? And Aniu…god Snowdrift was right. The pup would never forgive him. He got off of Steele.

"Get out of my house. And if I ever see you again, you're mine. So you better hope someone else gets to you first" Rusty threatened and followed Aleu out.

"Thank you" she put her head under his, "They were right, and so was I. There's a lot of good in you".
"I would've killed him had it been for you. Aniu…I never should've told her my story".
"She's okay. She actually…feels bad for you. No one should have to go through the things you did. And I'm so sorry they treated you that way. I'm sorry about Maddie. But I'm not letting you go to her grave alone, not after that".
"I'll be fine".
"No. You've already been pulled out of the deep end once and I'm not letting that happen to you again. I won't…I won't lose you".

Rusty felt a little guilty at that. She was afraid she'd lost him. It was the first time in a long time someone admitted that. He gave Aleu a reassuring lick on her head.

"You'll never lose me, never entirely. I love you Aleu, and I would never do anything to hurt you. Please…let me go see Maddie alone".
"I can't. Not after that. No matter what you say I'm going with you".

He couldn't sway her. As determined as he was, Aleu wouldn't leave him. In a way it was both good and bad. Rusty appreciated her dedication but in this case, it was somewhat annoying. But he'd tolerate it to keep her with him.

"Alright, let's go see her together".