CHAPTER 4: Attack
Ax

We spun around, and there, in the darkest part of the gorge, came yellow eyes.
Wolves! I cried, happily. I looked at Aur 1-6-2 to see how she was handling this.
The look on Aur 1-6-2's face was of pure terror. She turned around and stared at me.
"How could you be so joyful at a time like this? That pack is going to tear us both apart!" she said.
I looked at her skeptically. A thing humans do when they think another is being foolish.
First of all, a pack of wolves down here means a way out. Second of all, do you really think that I cannot kill wolves with my tail?
She nodded with cold, normal Yeerk eyes. "I see. Let us see how fast that tail of yours really is."
The wolves had most likely picked up Aur 1-6-2 and my's scent. A wolves sense of smell, I've been told by Cassie, is exceptionally strong. They can smell meat from up to a hundred miles away. And this pack definitely looked hungry. If I failed... I did not want to think about that now.
I did not tell Aur 1-6-2 this, I never would admit anything to her, but I was not exactly sure I could beat this pack.
There were, in total, an exact amount of eight wolves. I could most likely beat them, but my tail was still weak from the fall, and I was not exactly all that fast, nor at my full capacity for speed. It was not possible to kill them off with one swipe of my tail.
It had been a long day, and a tiring night. I was weak, hungry, and beat. It would be possible for these wolves to impose worse pain upon me.
But I had to have confidence. No matter what, I must always have confidence.
I stepped forward, and the wolves growled even louder. Took another step, and this time the pack began to descend on me.
The leader of the pack, the alpha male, was a large wolf, with sharp yellow eyes and ruffled gray fur. He was a strong one, I could see that.
I continued to walk toward them, and at first they hesitated.
Then- a leap!
With one bound the leader was on me, ripping at my flesh.
I swung my tail around and cut deep into his fur. He howled in pain, when another wolf began gnawing on my leg. Then another.
Sharp stabs of pain came from all around. I knocked the leader off and swung at the one on my leg.
He growled and dodged the shot, and instead I cut into another wolf that was attempting to attack me.
The one I had first swung at snapped his jaws around my leg again, so hard until I thought he would rip it right off.
I sliced my tail into his leg, and he jerked away whimpering with now only three legs.
More came from behind me. A wolf clamped down on my tail. I cried out in pain and snapped my tail high in order to swing him off. At first he did not, he hung onto my tail, piercing his sharp teeth into my tail, but when I tried again I sent him sailing into the rock wall.
More! Around me. I struck at one. Again and again until I was sure the wolf had fallen.
One clamped its' jaws around my arm. I swung my tail over blindly and only took off his ear. It was enough to loosen his grip. A little.
Again I whammed my tail into his side, swung it over, and slashed into his fur. He continued to keep his hold, and another wolf bit into my side. Then another.
I whipped my tail around and slashed into him again, while in the process continually shaking my arm to make him lose his firm grip.
Again! I slashed my tail into his side. Again, he loosened his grip only a little.
I stumbled and a wolf rammed it's head into my side. I got up all the energy I had to smash my tail into the wolf still clamped into my side. Finally with a whimper, he let go.
I snapped my tail and swiped it at the wolf that had been gnawing on my leg.
WHAM!
FWAP!
Again the wolf whammed itself into me. I stumbled again, barely taking a piece off another wolf that had been attacking.
WHAM!
Again, the wolf struck, this time getting it's teeth into it. I whipped my tail around me and struck it, cutting deep into his head.
The growls came louder until they were all around me.
Again and again I struck. I snapped my tail around, oblivious to the pain. There seemed to be none.
Another fell. Then another! And another! Then another, but he got bravely up and continued fighting.
And that's when I heard the scream.
"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" I swung around to see behind me. A wolf had decided to leave me and attack Aur 1-6-2. Better, easier prey.
I should leave the wolf to do the dirty work for me, I thought to myself. But then doubts arose. I had done all this just to save the host and now she was going to be killed anyway? I think not. I had been rushing Aur 1-6-2 the whole time so that she would just give up, leave her host, and then I could let the host leave. But she was stubborn, like many of her kind. I could not let her die. So I stumbled over; with one of my legs twisted and another having been ripped of completely.
She jumped back as the wolf snapped at her. She nursed her right arm with her left; it had been gnawed on by a lucky strike from the wolf.
Another wolf jumped in front of me, blocking my way to saving Aur 1-6-2. They were the last two wolves.
Pain came from everywhere, and so was the blood. My blood and the wolves was mixed together so much I could not tell whether it was my blood or the wolf's that lay splattered on the ground, or matted on me.
I smashed my tail into the wolf, cutting so deeply it went up, stuck to my tail, when I lifted the blade up. I snapped it into a wall, and after the wolf collided into it , it fell onto the ground.
Aur 1-6-2 screamed again as the wolf descended upon her, jumping on her and ripping at her. She fell to the ground, unprotected. Just as the wolf was about to rip her up, I swung my tail around and crashed it into the wolf with such force the wolf skidded on the cold floor of the gorge and slammed into the wall with a stop.
It was over. The wolves were beaten. But so was I.
There was blood, everywhere. And I was so weak. So very weak...
I collapsed on the ground. Aur 1-6-2 stood looking at me. Turned away, hesitated, then came back. "Morph," she said.
Which morph? I asked, dazed and confused.
"Listen, I have no idea what you have acquired," she snapped. "How about that human morph you have?"
I had no idea how she knew about my human morph. But I had not time to think now. I had to morph.
I began morphing. But I was so tired. So weak from the fight. It wasn't in enough time. My time was up...
Darkness fell around me, enveloping me. Presently, I succumbed to it.