Come morning, Amelia was again restrained on the dog sled as it flew down the mountainside. By late afternoon they reached the foot of the mountain and entered the small valley below. Amelia watched on with interest as a small clearing came into view, and in it, a small settlement.
The man let out a huge sigh of relief. "Good, I can finally get rid of excess cargo."
Amelia growled ferociously. She didn't appreciate being thought of that way!
"Save your breath." The man led the dog-team right up to a house, then shoved Amelia into the snow. After securing a rope around her neck, he untied the rope binding her legs.
"And before you think about running away..." The man grabbed the back loop of the rope around her neck, forcefully leading her up to the front door. He looked about before knocking on the door.
Loud tromping was heard from within, when suddenly the door was practically torn from it's hinges as it was flung open. "For the last time: LEAVE! ME!! ALONE!!!" an older man burst out.
The other man was unfazed. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see me, Chet!"
"Eh?" Chet blinked back, then got a closer look at his visitor. "Well well. So Marcus finally decides to show up. Where have you been?"
"I went to the city to get work." Marcus replied.
"Work? Pah! What's wrong with working for me?" Chet asked.
"Better pay, for one." Marcus grumbled under his breath. "Anyway Chet, I really came by to give you something. I hear you lost another guard dog?"
"Dang blasted mutt had it comin' to him. I did warn him." Chet growled.
"Maybe this one'll work better?" Marcus pulled Amelia to the door.
"You brought me a wolf? What kind of sick joke is this?" Chet bellowed in anger.
"Wolf? Hardly. She's nothing but a lot of bad breeding."
Amelia growled dangerously at Marcus.
"Ooh, pretty lively one at that. Maybe she'll do after all." Chet sized up his new 'guard dog'.
"Excellent. Now that that's settled, I have to be moving on. Oh, and if she doesn't work out, don't feel obliged to keep her on my part. There's plenty more where that one came from." Marcus gestered at the wolf.
"Have I ever before? Now lead her over to the dog house. I've no need of a house pet." Chet replied.
Marcus nodded in consent, then dragged Amelia to a small dog house in the front yard. Chet attached a choke-chain collar around her neck, finishing it off with a strong chain to keep her chained to the dog house.
"After all, a chained dog makes for a better guard!" Chet grinned.
"Yes, now I've got to go and take care of my dogs." Marcus started to sneak off. "Take care, Chet."
"Thanks for stopping by!" Chet called to the retreating man, and watched as he left. "Ingrate."
Chet looked down to Amelia. "And as for you, I have certain expectations that must be kept. See that fence behind you?"
Amelia turned to look.
Chet continued, "That would be my livestock, my livelihood, not to mention LIFE. Your job is to protect them from the wolves. Mangy scoundrels always raid my chickens and calves, but I'm on to them. See that back wall?"
Again Amelia turned to see what he was pointing out, but this time she nearly gagged.
Chet grinned. "On it is the skin of every wolf I caught killing my livestock. Now see the wall across from that? Those'd be all of the guard dogs that failed to protect my livestock. You'll join 'em if even one of my animals is harmed. Do I make myself clear?"
This man was absolutely mad! Amelia could only stare back at him.
"You'd better not fail me." Chet gave one last look at the shocked wolf before walking back into his house.
Amelia prayed that Lina would find her, and soon!
"So how's the new recruit holding up?"
Amelia looked up to her new 'owner' and cringed.
She had already been trapped in this horrid place for three days. She was beginning to tolerate the smell of her shelter, but still longed for the day when she could smell clean air again! (The previous tenant either had a weak bladder, or...died while still in it.) Then there was Chet's 'livelihood'; listening to the cows and chickens all day was beginning to unnerve her, and since she was chained, she couldn't get away for even a moment of peace!
Amelia halfheartedly thumped her tail, turning her head away in disgust.
Chet burst out into laughter. "Glad to hear it! Now then, I want to be sure you stick around for a while, so here." Chet placed a bowl just outside of the doghouse.
Amelia tried not to gag. The worst part about this place was the 'food' that he kept trying to feed her! It looked to be all of the unwanted scraps from his slaughters; the mere thought sickened her. She knew Chet wouldn't leave until she accepted her meal, so she pretended to be interested in it. She sniffed at it, but recoiled at the smell.
"What'sa matter, still not good enough for ya? Well tough. You better learn to like it, because it's all I'm givin' you. ...unless you'd prefer to dine on wolf." Chet grinned as he looked to the setting sun.
"Well, I've got chores to attend to before I hit the sack, not that you're smart enough to understand me." Chet ambled off to the barn.
Amelia cocked her ears back in anger. The nerve! If she could, she would have given him "the Justice Speech to End All Justice Speeches", but in her current situation that was impossible. She opted to growl at his retreating form instead.
She turned to her "supper" again, but turned away in disgust. She crawled into her doghouse to spend another night, trying her best to ignore her stomach's plea for nourishment. It still smelled horrible inside, but it did help her forget her hunger, and it did provide shelter from the elements. Amelia began to doze off.
A slight noise from outside the doghouse startled her awake. Amelia stayed silent, using her keen ears and nose to figure out what was out there.
A rabbit!
Amelia's heart lept, as her mouth began to water thinking of the succulent creature right outside her doghouse. What luck! Amelia listened as it slowly approached.
Closer...closer...closer...
The rabbit hopped right by the entrance. Amelia wasn't going to take any chances and lept out, startling the rabbit before she crushed it's neck in her teeth. The taste of blood in her mouth satisfied her animal instincts, as she tore into her fresh kill.
A short while later nothing remained, other than a few scraps of skin and fur. Amelia was a bit ashamed of what she had done, but she quickly forgot it as her stomach was at last at peace. She carried the remains behind her doghouse and dug a hole in the snow, dropping the rabbit inside. She then went to retrieve the bowl, and dumped it's contents into the hole as well. Amelia then buried everything under the snow again.
She checked to make sure everything was hidden, fearing what would happen if Chet discovered what she had been doing with the food he gave her. With any luck Amelia would be out of here before the snow melted, and wouldn't face his wrath.
Her dirty deed done, Amelia went back into her doghouse and curled up, intent on actually getting sleep. As she settled down, a faraway call rang in her ears. Amelia perked up, listening in hopes of hearing it again.
It was the howling of a wolf.
As she listened, other wolves joined in with the first. Amelia envied them, able to roam free and together while she was seperated from her own pack, and held against her will. She began to yearn for freedom, even to join up with the wolves. Surely being with them was better than dying here?
Amelia let out a mournful howl, then waited.
They heard her! Amelia wagged her tail happily, then let out another howl. From the response she got, the pack was far away from her location, but they were coming. Amelia was giddy. Freedom may come sooner than she had expected!
Light suddenly shone across the front yard. Amelia looked at the house to see it was coming from the front window. She could just make out Chet's shape as he peered out. She just looked at him. After a moment of silence the light winked out, and the yard grew dark once more.
The sudden intrusion made Amelia realize her plan wasn't foolproof. The wolves would have no way of freeing her, and she'd only put their lives in danger if they came. Amelia slumped down in frustration. Meddling human...wait! That's it! Perhaps Amelia could ask the wolves to relay a message to her friends, and THEY could come and free her?
Amelia wagged her tail happily as she continued to devise a plan...
"How long is this going to take? It's been a week already!" Lina tore angrily into her food.
"It wouldn't be taking so long if we didn't keep coming back to town every night." Zelgadis was just as aggravated as Lina, even if he didn't show it.
"Oh, so you'd rather freeze at night?" Lina quipped.
"No, but we're going to have to set out farther if we ever hope to find Amelia!" Zelgadis shot back.
"Yeah, she sure isn't coming to us." Gourry agreed.
Lina's shoulders slumped as she set down her fork, averting her eyes from her companions. "She isn't, is she?"
Gourry noted the change in Lina's mood and tried to reassure her. "Don't worry Lina, we'll find her."
"We'd better make it soon. Who knows where she is now?" Zelgadis added.
Lina stood up, a look of resolve on her face. "No time like the present, then."
"What, are we leaving?" Gourry asked.
"Yes, after we get a new tent -or two- and warm blankets." Lina replied.
"Wow, who's going to pay for all of this?" Gourry pondered.
"Let's just say I expect to get a huge reward from Phil for all of this." Lina grinned slightly. "A very huge reward."
"You're hopeless." Zelgadis groaned.
As the three stepped outside of the restaurant, Zelgadis looked up into the night sky. As he gazed at the moon, a lone wolf howled off in the distance.
"Did you two hear that?" Zelgadis asked.
"Hear what?" Lina glanced back at Zelgadis.
Zelgadis shushed her as he heard it again. "There, there it was again."
"Well what was it?" Lina didn't like being left in the dark.
"I heard a wolf howl just now." Zelgadis replied.
"Which way did it come from?" Gourry asked.
"Definitely south." Zelgadis pointed where he thought he had heard it from.
"Sounds like as good a lead as any. Let's get our gear and head that way!" Lina pumped her fist.
Zelgadis gave a small smile, hoping beyond hope that that had been Amelia just now, and hoping that they'd reach her in time. He then ran to catch up with Lina and Gourry.
Amelia paced about her prison. Three weeks. For three weeks she had survived in this horrid place, afraid to sleep at night should intruders ever come. Then there was the urge. It had been silent at first, but as time wore on it grew louder and more persistant, urging her to give in to it's wolfish desires. Amelia had tried her best to keep it at bay, but it had helped her to survive. She was beginning to rely on it more and more...
Amelia looked to her newest plan of escape. For the past week she had waited, and at long last she had acquired a piece of parchment. It did her little good at the moment, but soon that would change.
She looked up into the sky. At last the sun was setting. As if on cue Chet came and delivered her food, then left. Just in time, as the moon was beginning to come out. She crawled back into the doghouse and waited.
Within moments the burning sensation washed over her. Amelia grit her teeth, willing herself to not cry out with the pain she felt. She knew she had succeeded when she felt a cold rush of air hit her now naked body. Shivering, Amelia pulled her rug over her now human body. She had to work fast!
Amelia pulled out the parchment and a small twig she had found. Now she just needed some kind of ink to write with... Amelia's hands were beginning to go numb from the cold. An idea! She hated to do it, but didn't have any choice. Amelia ran her left index finger along one of her canines. The sharp tooth easily cut it, blood pooling to the surface. Amelia cringed at the sight, but set to work. Quickly she scrawled a distress note as best she could.
Her hands began to ache from the cold. At last Amelia finished! As she waited for it to dry, Amelia removed the collar from around her neck. She then rolled up the parchment and wrapped the collar around it. Now all she needed was a messenger. That would have to wait another night. For now, Amelia had to focus on staying warm just to survive the night.
She had already started to build a wall of snow to cover the entrance earlier in the day, now she just needed to finish it. Amelia grabbed snow from outside the doghouse and built up the wall until it nearly sealed off the door. (Much as she hated to leave a small hole, she still needed fresh air to live.) Amelia cried silently as the cold snow stung her hands. This had been so much easier when she was covered in fur... When she was finished she rubbed her hands together until she could feel them again. She then pulled the rug close around her and curled up in a fetal position...
Man, this part sure took longer than I expected it to, mainly because I had to rewrite a lot of it. (You've got to love when you get inspired to make it better after you've already written down the parts that need to be changed.) Sorry if this chapter was a bit more graphic than before, there just isn't a nice way of killing and eating food! I had intended to also include the next part, but I have to dash off to work for the rest of the day (working Satuerday evenings stinks!) I'll try and have it up as soon as possible. Now to see if Amelia can survive the night...