chapter 13
Three creatures bound up from the riverbed onto the river bank. They were just outside of the town of Nome on the trail that the dogs had used earlier. The three wolves paused to look at town and make sure that no dogs or humans might be watching them. When they were satisfied that no one was watching they formed a small circle to talk.
"Ok, now what?" young one eye asked Agrona.
"You two will fallow me. You two will keep silent and out of the way. And when I catch him and beat him into his place, you two will make sure that he doesn't try to escape again. Got it?"
"Got it." one eye and the older one responded in unison.
Agrona turned and began to track the team. He fallowed the tracks of the dogsled all the way to the foot of a building where he stopped. Agrona began making small circles in the snow, one eye and the old one stood in the snow watching Agrona circle them making five small circles, gradually getting bigger with each turn, then he stopped. He began sniffing at one spot in the snow.
"He lay here." Agrona said. But neither one eye nor the old one knew what to say.
Agrona kept sniffing, then moved over several feet. "He was drug here." Agrona moved his head in very small circles around the last spot where he could smell the dog. "He was picked up hereā¦" Agrona moved away from where he last sniffed and began sniffing at the snow again. "And carried this way."
One eye and the old one fallowed after him. Agrona moved through the snow towards an alley. He kept his nose close to the ground as he moved, at time bumping it against the snow and getting a nose full of snow.
One eye and the old one were a little bit afraid of the human village. They had never been this close to anything that the humans had built. These buildings were all so strange to them. They both looked up at the tops of the buildings in wonder at how these two legged creatures had built something so large and massive.
One eye being so curious moved over to the side of one of the large buildings. He lifted his right paw up off the snow and put it up against the building. It was solid like a tree. He put more weight onto his paw expecting something to happen, but nothing. He put his paw down and put his nose to the building. The side of the building smelled like the trees that were in the forest, but how did they make this out of that.
"Hey, hurry up." the older one said just before vanishing around the corner of the building. One eye hurried to catch up.
Agrona was already far ahead of them. They both picked there slow trot up to a light run to catch up to Agrona. They both caught up to him just as he was vanishing around the corner of a building. Agrona slowed down now and sniffed more often. They were walking up towards a street. The steady glow from the lantern lighting up one end of the alley. Agrona moved in close to the wall of the building and carefully moved towards the street. He paused at the corner of the building to scope the area out for any sign of humans or dogs. There were none.
He looked back at one eye and the old one to make sure they were still fallowing him. He then pushed out into the street and into the direct light from the lantern. He continued on down along the street for another two alleys before stopping at the stoop of a large building.
One eye and the old one looked around fearfully. They looked down either side of the street and alleys searching for any sign that something was coming.
Agrona didn't seem to concerned that something was coming. He sniffed at the bottom step for the minute stink of the dog. It was there.
Agrona moved up the steps fallowing the smell of the dog. He stopped at the base of a large green double door. He sniffed at the bottom of the door and could smell the dog stink there.
"He was brought into this place." Agrona stopped sniffing at the bottom of the door and began to move back down the stoop. "But he is not here. He was moved again." Agrona stopped in the snow at the bottom of the stoop; he sniffed at the snow then raised his head dramatically. "This way."
Agrona took off at a fast trot, his head kept low to the ground to keep on the trail of the dog. He moved fast for being in tracking mode, one eye and the old one ran after Agrona. Agrona moved up one street, then down another; he cut through alleys then came to the corner of a large old building.
He stopped suddenly at the corner of the building, one eye and the old one stopped right behind him.
"Their." Agrona said looking at a house set out away from the others. "This is the building."
"How do you know?" one eye asked peaking around the old building at the small house.
"Trust me," Agrona said with a growl. "I know."
Agrona moved across the snow in the trail towards the building. Agrona moved up onto the porch and to the door. One eye and the old one stayed off the porch and watched as Agrona sniffed at the bottom of this door as well. He then came back across the porch, down the steps, and curved around the front of the house with his head to the ground.
He came around the corner and was facing the small shed behind the house. Agrona went into a stealth mode. He no longer moved with such speed and carelessness. His feet carefully touched the snow with the delicateness of a cat. He stopped at the bottom of the door and began to sniff. But after taking only one quick sniff he stopped and stepped back to one eye and the old one.
"I can hear them inside." Agrona whispered making sure that the occupants of the building wouldn't hear. "There's two of them in their. It sounds like a male and a female talking to one another. So I don't think that there will be a problem."
"So what do you want us to do?" one eye asked.
Agrona smiled evilly. "I want you to knock the door down."
One eye took the words and knew what too do. He moved around the corner of the building and lined himself up with the door of the shed. He dug his feet down into the snow in preparation too hit the door. He glanced one more time at Agrona for the approved look that he would give him. He got it.
One eye bound forward with three bouncing hops and hit the door with his shoulder. The door flung open wildly and smashed the top corner into the roof, breaking the top corner to several sharp pieces. One eye fell to the floor just inside the shed to the gasps of it's inhabitants.
Agrona and the old one stepped in on either side of one eye. They both growled and held their body's low to the floor as one eye stood up.
"Who are you?" Kodi yelled, still lying down. Clover cowered in fear behind him.
"That's him." one eye yelled. Agrona bound forward and sunk his teeth into Kodi's shoulder. He pulled Kodi from his sleeping place. Then he threw Kodi against the side of the room. Kodi hit the side of the room with a crash. Then Agrona stopped and calmed himself to speak.
"So this is where you live?" Agrona said walking slowly towards Kodi, Kodi lay on the floor of the shed watching him.
"What do you want?" Kodi tried to bring himself to his feet; he stood half way up then collapsed back on the floor.
Agrona stepped closer to Kodi when his foot flipped the tin bowl of meat. Agrona looked down at the meat that had rolled out of the tin and rested between his feet. He then looked back up at Kodi.
"You must constantly have a full belly." Agrona said with a half grin. "Never have to fight for your food, never have to worry about starving to death like the rest of us. Huh?"
"What are you doing here?" Kodi tried to bring himself to his feet again but couldn't.
"I'm here to take you back to my den where you will learn your place."
"What if I refuse to go with you?"
Agrona smiled and stepped closer. "Then I'll take you." Agrona gave an even eviler smile. "Now pick this garbage up off the floor and take him." he turned and walked towards clover who still lay on the bed of old blankets.
One eye and the old one came walking to Kodi. One eye grabbed him by his left shoulder. He pulled him from the wall so the old one could get hold of the other shoulder. The old one grabbed hold of Kodi's right shoulder and they both tried to life. Kodi wouldn't move. They were able to pick Kodi up but Kodi was unable to stand for them. Kodi's foot was in too much pain for him to pick himself up. One eye and the old one soon dropped him.
"Agrona, this dog is to heavy, and he wont stand under his own feet." one eye complained.
Agrona had been staring at clover for some time already. Clover tried to hide behind the mass of blankets, hoping that they would just leave them both and go away, but she knew that it wouldn't happen.
"Well," Agrona began. "Like I said, if we can't get him to come with us, we'll just take something special to him."
"But that was about the half wolf." one eye pleaded.
"I said we'll take something special!" Agrona barked, fallowed by a sharp growl. He then turned and looked back at the female who was still quivering behind the large pile of blankets. "Something very special."
"No!" Kodi yelled. He put his foot down onto the floor and flinched at the pain coursing up his leg and down his spine. He stood up, tears beginning to flow down his face. "I can walk just fine." he declared gruffly.
"He isn't resisting anymore." the old one said.
"I told you what were taking." Agrona didn't bother to look at Kodi, but instead kept moving himself closer to clover. He gave her a quick huffing sniff.
"I'm not going!" clover bolted forward and snapped her jaws down just in front of Agrona's muzzle. She raised that hair on the back of her neck and growled, teeth gleaming at him.
Agrona bolted back when she did this. Then calmed. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to convince you to go."
Agrona turned, took a few steps and bit Kodi on the shoulder. Kodi fell over with pain from his leg. He lay on his side as Agrona brought his teeth around Kodi's throat. Kodi feared moving less he get the wolf angry and he ripped out his throat.
Agrona momentarily let go of Kodi's throat. "Now make a choice, you come with us? Or I leave him hear and take you with me anyway?"
Clover stared at Kodi, his eyes filled with fear as he stared into the void of the shed. Agrona began to bring his jaws closer on Kodi's throat. Kodi let out a squeak of pain and fear. Clover's eye bolted back and forth, up and down.
"ok." she finally gave in. "I will go with you."
"good." one eye let Kodi drop from his jaws. "Now lets get out of here before someone finds out were here."
The old one and one eye walked over to clover. One eye got on her right side. Clover watched him move in front of her with a glare, the old one stood on her left.
"Ok lets go." Agrona said gruffly while walking out of the shed. One eye waited for clover to move but she didn't. One eye opened his jaws and nipped her on the shoulder. Clover moved at the nip and glared once again at one eye. She then moved forward out of the door. Just before exiting the door she glanced back to see Kodi struggling to his feet; in her mind she hopped that Kodi would get up and fight them off, but she knew that Kodi was too weak.
Once outside the door they lead her around the corner of the shed and picked up speed away from town. Within moments they were on the riverbed and on there way to the den.
Kodi struggled to his feet. But he wasn't quite all the way on his feet. His shoulder was leaned up against the wall along with his head. Tears rolled down his muzzle, staining his fur with them. But something was happening inside of him, anger was growing exceptionally fast.
Kodi suddenly put his bad food down on the ground with a grunt. He limped to the door where he raised his head high to the sky and yelled. "Clover!"
