"Everyone on yer feet!" One of the dogs, who had been left in charge, was barking orders. "I want to see all of you, right here, right now, in front of me." While he spoke, William and Bill had begun herding the already huddled crowd of dogs together. They moved as though they had no fight left, like lambs being taken to the slaughter. Only Annette, and the weakened Kilian, seemed to have any resistance in them. There was no telling what the poor canines had been through recently.
The harsh death of Polly's pup seemed to have broken their last shred of willpower. The only dog who didn't move was Polly. She was still lying on the ground, only cringing from time to time as someone tripped over her or kicked her to get up. Annette and Kilian looked at each other. They couldn't just leave her to endure more punishment like that. Annette called out in her soft voice, asking the chocolate furred dog to get up. She only huddled further into herself. Kilian stood, shaking slightly, and left Annette's side for the Labrador's. Annette was behind him, carefully watching over him to be sure that he didn't fall. "Hear that, Polly?" He shoved her back with his muzzle, trying his hardest to have her stand up. "On your feet, they said! We ent' letting you go out like this."
Annette, though she didn't have strength to match the compact terrier mix, began pushing as well. "Come on. You still have pups! They need you." Annette grunted with effort. The bigger dog sat up, but didn't respond. Her head still hung limp. Her chin was practically touching her chest. Finally, even though she seemed not to hear, she stood and made her way to the carriage.
Annette and Kilian didn't have time to watch her nosing her babies out into the cold world. Bill was already on them, herding the two as he had done everyone else, while his brother, Scoomp, and an wiry, black mongrel barked instructions to the crowd of despondent prisoners. "Everyone will stay together. One of us to one of you, and the rest will watch for runners." William woofed.
"Stragglers will be punished, big time." Scoomp growled. While the two were giving these orders, the black dog began dividing everyone into pairs. Polly was pushed into the crowd, and left with, of all dogs, Scoomp. Her puppies stumbled around her feet, wide-eyed and scared. He gave her a malicious smile. She didn't react or look him in the eye. One of the pups, the little gray, bravely crept forward to sniff the brindle dog's white tipped paw. He pushed it over, making it fall on its back. Its little paws waved wildly until Polly nosed it gently onto its feet. She still had love for the rest of the pups, even if they weren't hers by blood.
Annette's mind was working hard to figure this out. Surely there was some way out of this mess. Perhaps they could make a run for it when they reached the tracks? She glanced at Kilian. They would be separated soon. He was weak, but he could still run if he needed to. "Kilian." Annette said quietly.
He shot her a frightened look. "Don't run. Promise me, you won't try it." He said urgently. "I don't want to see you hurt. We'll figure this out, okay? But not now."
Annette hesitated. The brown and white dog was now pleading with his eyes. He was scared. "I promise."
Kilian let out a loud sigh at her answer, as though he'd been holding his breath. He pressed his muzzle to hers for a split-second. "We don't have a lot of time." He said quickly. "They'll separate us soon." Annette nodded. Many of the dogs had been matched up now. Polly was quietly keeping her pups rounded up, Boomer was crouched timidly beside the black mutt while he paired the dogs and Pepper was nearby with a shaggy black and white dog, who was almost wolf-like in appearance. "Don't fall behind. I know your feet must hurt awful bad, Ma'am. But I need you. I gotta plan." His eyes sparked like lightning. Annette felt a strong sense of warmth and hope when he looked at her like that. Everything would be okay.
She didn't have time to respond. Kilian was roughly shoved away by the black mongrel, who practically tossed the terrier to Bentley, who placed a paw on his back as he hit the ground. Kilian yelped from his injuries, making Annette cringe. She was glad that he was with the gentle Bentley. "Go on, Brian. I got him." Bentley said calmly to the black dog, who, with a huff, turned his attention to Annette. Annette herself was paired with Bill. Brian pushed her so strongly that she ran into the Shepherd's long legs. The wounds on her neck still ached terribly, and even oozed blood through their scabs every once in a while. She wasn't ready to face the wicked Shepherd again. He glared down his nose at her and pulled his paw away, like she wasn't worthy to touch him. He tossed his head for her to follow, and when she didn't get up fast enough, he nipped her scabby neck. She bit back a cry and scrambled to her feet.
Everyone was paired now. Sunny was sorrowfully watching William, who was staring at the sky, looking bored out of his mind. He was mumbling something under his breath that only the hound could hear. Annette saw Sunny's big, drooping ears perk and then fold back. He looked slightly offended. Deedro was in front of Mona. The golden dog was watching him carefully, seeming that she was afraid to even let him out of her sight for a moment. It appeared to Annette that she had been placed in charge of him after his punishment.
Stella appeared around the mound, looking utterly proud of herself. Her head and tail were held high and she wore a little smirk on her aggressively tightened face. Annette hadn't even noticed her absence. Traitor.
Walking at her side was the massive Harley. He was licking the last traces of blood from his muzzle. Annette fought back the urge to vomit. There was no guessing anymore what he'd done with the little brown pup. He was the stuff of nightmares, come alive.
On Harley's other side was Azriel, who appeared as calm and collected as ever. "Hello, my children! Are we ready? William?"
He cast his eyes around until they landed on the Shepherd, who had already bowed his nose into the dust at the sound of his name. "Yes, Father. We are ready."
"Wonderful!" The odd, blue-eyed canine smiled. "Let us be done here. Follow, my children! To the tracks. We will depart there." Annette wanted nothing more than to gather Kilian up and bolt with him. She had made a promise though. And aside from her promise, it would be impossible with the formation the dogs were packed in. Every one of the six...no, five, prisoners was pressed firmly into the side of one of their captors. Surrounding them tightly were five of the stronger dogs, plus Stella. Annette had suspected all along that the gray female was bad news.
Azriel headed the party, swinging along at the front of the pack like he didn't have a care in the world. Harley strode beside him confidently, guarding the smaller dog as if it was his human master. Azriel was nothing on his own, Annette thought angrily. It was his pet that had the power. If Azriel wanted to control the dogs, it was Harley that struck fear into them.
Annette was deep in thought, watching the wicked dog, when she felt a small impact on her legs. She immediately looked down to find one of Polly's charges, the tiny black female, belly flat on the ground. She had fallen, and was unable to keep up with the other pups. The little black dog whimpered, and Annette leaned down to scoop her up by her scruff. "Come on, little one." She murmured soothingly. The infant instinctively tucked itself into a little ball when Annette picked it up. The cocker mix raised her head high to protect her bundle from the frosty ground below. Bill muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes to the heavens. He gave Annette a small kick in the rump with one of his forelegs to hurry her up. "Don't you dare fall behind." He grumbled. "Or its on both of our heads." He sounded as anxious as everyone else looked.
They were all being rapidly torn from their home at the expense of 'unity', as Azriel called it. Annette strained to look around the crowd of dogs, trying her best to take in as much of the landscape as she could. Kilian, who was in front of her, gave her a warning look over his shoulder. Don't try to leave. She told herself. Kilian had a plan. They reached the train tracks at the crack of dawn. By this time, Annette couldn't feel her paws. In a way, she was glad. They didn't hurt anymore. They were too numb to hurt. The tiny pup in her mouth was shivering badly.
Annette lowered her head, pressing the pup against her chest to share her warmth. As if it had spoken that night with Azriel himself, a train was screeching to a stop on the tracks. Perhaps the crazy mutt had known it was coming. The thought only saddened Annette further. Everything had been planned accordingly. Azriel was bold. He held his head high as though he owned the entire world, and nothing could stop him. The mottled black and white dog led his followers directly to the train, which was now stopped.
Humans were jumping into and out of cars, already hard at work. He swerved abruptly as he reached it, with a little sound like, 'ah-!' and a chuckle. A few of the exhausted canines exchanged glances throughout their group. Where was this deranged dog going?
The answer became clear soon enough. They reached the tail end of the train, where a faded red rail car stood with its door slightly ajar. "Come, my darlings. Into our carriage. Hurry now, or Harley will eat your ears!" One look at the massive, bloody-mouthed monster told Annette that Azriel probably wasn't joking. The white dog was a killer.
The taller and more agile of the prisoners were already scrambling into the carriage. Scoomp and Mona were harassing them to move faster, snapping at their rear ends and casting nervous glances at their leader. The threats applied to them as well. The smaller canines were lifted roughly into the rail car,including the pups, one by one by their pairings. Mona and Brian both seized a chunk of Boomer and hauled him into the car after them. He whimpered and closed his eyes tightly when his feet left the ground. There was no trouble for the muscular dogs to lift the underweight Beagle.
Annette was next. Bill crunched his teeth into her tender neck, making it bleed again. She sucked in a scream of agony for fear of losing her pup when the big dog leaped into the car, tugging her up after him. He nearly threw her when she reached the car, spitting her blood from his mouth. "Ugh." The Shepherd muttered through his teeth. Annette simply collapsed onto the hay strewn wooden floor in exhaustion and released the black puppy.
She remained alert only for Kilian, who was being carefully loaded into the train by Bentley, who was speaking through the terrier's fur in his mouth. "Easy dush et, shun." He said. Annette could barely pick up the kind dog's garbled words. "Don' wuna flawre up dose cutsh" He didn't want Kilian's injuries from being quickly and brutally mauled by Azriel to hurt him. Annette was grateful to the gray dog.
Azriel was losing patience though. Annette could see real emotion on his face now, for the first time. His jaw was tensed and twitching madly. His icy blue eyes were narrowed. "Quickly now. Bentley." He addressed the gray dog, who was standing on his hind legs, with his front paws braced on the car. He had just managed to help Kilian in when the black and white dog spoke to him.
He turned to look over his shoulder, speaking as kindly as ever. "Now, see here, Azriel." He protested lightly. "This one's a little hurt and I didn't want to make it worse. We're all done now." He said. Annette's fur stood on end when she heard a growl rip from Azriel's throat. She almost didn't catch the swift eye contact that Harley had with his leader. In the blink of an eye, the massive white dog lunged at Bentley. Annette heard a sickening crack as the gentle canine's middle thrust forward without the rest of him. His front paws were still hooked on the rail car when it happened. He let out a deep yelp and fell to the ground. His paws slid off of the car and landed with a thud on the cold ground around him.
There was a shocked quiet before Annette scrambled to her feet and crept to the edge of the car with the rest of the prisoners to see what had become of Bentley. "Get back! All of yeh, get back!" Mona barked suddenly. She lashed her exposed teeth in Boomer's face, almost making the quiet dog faint with fear. Deedro and Pepper pulled him back with their paws to prevent him from being bitten. Bill kicked Kilian into Annette's side, and the two tumbled over each other. Stella looked on with amusement. As a former prisoner, she was too weak to shove anyone around.
The only dog who hadn't moved to investigate was Polly. The chocolate mix was still lying where she had been left. Her pups, including the little black, hid behind her fearfully in the commotion. No one had gotten a look at Bentley. "He's dead isn't he?" Pepper wailed. "He was kind to us all and now he's dead!" Deedro hushed her gently and pressed his muzzle to her speckled cheek for comfort.
Azriel hopped lightly into the train car, making everyone shrink back in fear. He laughed like he was enjoying a good joke with his friends. "No, see? Look! He's alive, my beauty!"
Annette was close enough to Deedro to hear a light growl rumbling. "Don't call her that." He said, too quietly for anyone to hear or acknowledge.
Harley hopped into the car next, making surprisingly little sound for such a huge animal. He leaned heavily out of the car and pulled Bentley in, dragging him by only a foreleg. His flesh seemed to tear like wet paper in the big dog's grip. When he was laid in the wooden floor, Annette saw him breathing slightly. He was alive. He opened his beautiful silver eyes for a moment and rolled them around. Annette found herself clutching Kilian tightly in her paws. He was doing the same to the spaniel mix, and both were silently praying for the gentle natured dog to live through the trip.
The train suddenly lurched into motion, making everyone but Azriel and Harley fall backwards. Annette held Kilian tighter when they hit the floorboards hard. She shuddered hard and let her eyes fall back on the dying Bentley.
Kilian whispered in one of Annette's silky ears, and though she struggled to hear him, his words gave her comfort in the start of their unwanted journey. "Don't you worry. I'll get you home. I promise."