"Well, Pretty Boy, are you ready to see a real dogfight?" Reily asked baring his teeth.
"No," Jack replied. "I don't want to fight. I just want you to leave so I can take care of the child."
"Yeah, right," Gangster said with a little laugh.
"Looks like we have a pup to fight. He's to chicken to be a real dog," Buck said.
"I'm not a pup," Jack replied in a stern voice. "I'm just not an idiot like you are."
"Watch your mouth, Old Timer," Reily snapped.
"Make me," Jack replied with a bit of a growl.
"Fine!" Reily said as he bared his fangs again, Jack baring his fangs as well.
"Finally, some real fun," Gangster said with a pleased smile as they lunged at Jack.
"Don't!" I tried to cry out but it didn't come out right. None of my words did. I came to find that when I whispered my words could be understood because my voice box didn't need to vibrate as much when I whispered as when I screamed. I couldn't cry out and I could barely move. All I could do was watch in horror as they attacked Jack. I'd never felt so helpless in my life.
"Not bad old man," Reily said with a smile as Jack dodged all their attacks. All he could do was dodge. He couldn't really attack because once he got his jaws on one dog the other two would get him from behind.
"Please be ok, Jack," I whispered as I closed my eyes not wanting to watch. The sound of snarling beasts filled my ears. I stayed like this for about five minutes but to me it seemed like an eternity. I wanted this to end so much. That's when I heard it. Jack's snarls turned to whimpers. I couldn't take it; I had to open my eyes. I opened my eyes to find Jack on the ground pinned on his back as Reily attacked his stomach while Buck was up nipping at his face and Gangster had his right left elbow clenched in his jaws, about to do to Jack what he had done to me only minutes before.
"Kill him, Reily! I can't keep him down like this much longer!" Buck said as he held the top part of Jack's muzzle in his mouth and had his body over the right side of Jack's chest, holding him down for Reily and Gangster to do their worst. We all knew Reily was going to try and tare open Jack's belly and get to his pancreas. If he gets the pancreas to burst then the fight will be over. The pancreas held all the bacteria and poisons that came into the body. If they are all released into the body at one time then the poisons will flow through the body and will result in Jack dieing a slow and painful death.
I can't let this happen, I thought to myself. This is all my fault. I won't let Jack die because of me, I said as used what little energy I had left to stand up on my three good legs. My left hind leg wasn't useable; it was too badly damaged to even hold up. It just hung there almost like it was dead. At this point the pain was unbearable. I thought it was bad before, but this was much worse. I thought I'd pass out from the pain before I even got close enough to help. I was about to give up and collapse on the ground when I heard it. It was the sound of Jack's bone snapping in two. Gangster had broken Jack's left front leg at the elbow.
"All right!" Gangster happily yelled as he chewed on Jack's broken leg.
Something about the sound of Jack's leg breaking and the sound of snarls powered something within me. It was like Jack's cries gave me strength to fight.
"I've almost got it!" Reily said as he pulled at Jack's skin, ripping it in some places.
"Owww! Why you!" Buck yelled angrily as Jack bit his muzzle sending a small trickle of blood down his face and dripping into the snow.
"Get off of him," I whispered. I wanted to yell but I couldn't. I knew I had to whisper so they could understand me. "Get off…" I said again as I started to slowly walk toward them on three unsteady legs. "Leave him alone," I said. My whispers came out in soft whines and I couldn't be heard over their snarls.
"Come on, almost there," Reily said as he continued tearing away at Jack's flesh.
More cracking sounds where heard as Gangster tugged at Jack's leg.
That did it. Hearing his leg crack like that fired a great rage within me. Running on pure adrenaline and the will to help Jack. I summoned up the strength to charge at the dogs. I went for Buck. I knew if I could get him off then Jack could get up.
"Watch it!" Gangster said. He must have seen me start running toward them. The only problem I had was that Buck was on Jack's right side and I was back on his left. So in order to get to him I first had to run over to where they were, then run around them and to Jack's left side. That could pose as a problem. I was sure they could get me before I got there, but I didn't care. I had to try.
Just aim for Buck. Forget the pain and concentrate on Buck, I thought to myself.
"Oh no you don't!" Reily said as he let go of Jack's belly and headed straight for me.
"Kid, don't!" I heard Jack yell. "Just get out of here!"
"I won't," I replied as I kept going. I saw Reily coming, but my mind didn't register fear. I wasn't scared at all even though I knew what Reily was going to do. I didn't care. I had to get to Buck.
"Say goodnight, Brat," Reily said with a smirk as he hit my left shoulder with his head causing me to fall and tumble over a few times before slowly sliding to a stop in the cold snow.
"Good going, Reily!" Buck hollered as he held Jack down.
"Leave him alone," I whispered in a low growl as I slowly brought myself back up ready to fight. I knew Reily was standing a few yards away, but I didn't care. I had my mind fixed on Buck and that's what I was going for.
"The little half-breed doesn't give up does she?" Gangster said with a smile as he watched me charge at Buck again.
"Yeah, she really doesn't know when to quit," Reily replied, "But that's ok. I need the exercise."
"Run, Brat, run!" Buck said with a laugh. Their teasing was making Jack enraged with anger. You could almost see the fire in his eyes.
"Whoa settle down old man. We're trying to watch this," Gangster said as both he and Buck put all their power into holding Jack down. Even both of them combined were having a hard time holding the angry German Shepard down. Jack would probably have both of them off and on the ground if he wasn't so tired from the race.
"You know what?" Reily said as he stopped running toward me.
"What?" Buck and Gangster both asked. I was curious to know why Reily stopped and I stopped to look at him as well.
"I changed my mind," Reily said as he looked at me.
He sure changes his mind a lot, I thought to myself, Can't he do anything without changing his mind at least once?"
"What's up, Reily?" Gangster asked. It was like everyone stopped what they where doing to see what Reily had to say. Even Jack stopped struggling to see what was going on. We all stood there looking at Reily, waiting to see what he was going to say. He was hard to see in the dark, but his black and brown body stood out against the snow pretty well, if we were in the woods however, he'd be impossible to see.
"I've made a new game," he said as he looked at me. His brown eyes evilly glimmered in what little moonlight there was.
I'd seen that look on his face before and it made me very uncomfortable.
"What, Reily?" Gangster asked again.
"I'm tired of this. So how about instead of playing around with this little brat we just kill her?"
"Sounds good to me," Buck replied.
"Alright then, it's settled," Reily said and looked at me again.
"Run, Kid!" Jack yelled as he began his struggle to get up again.
"Ok," I replied. I didn't want to leave Jack, but if Reily was chasing me and not hurting him then I knew he'd be ok.
"Get away from here!" Jack yelled. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was very worried.
"Right," I replied and began to head for the woods.
"Oh no you don't!" Reily growled and ran after me. With my injured leg I knew he'd have no problem catching me, but I still ran anyway. I could hear the snow crunching under the force of his paws as he came after me.
"There you go, Reily! You got her!" I could hear Gangster yell as I felt Reily's fangs sink into my left shoulder and pull me backwards. He pulled me backwards causing me to fall on my hind end. I flinched as the cold snow melted under the warmth from my blood and slipped into my wounds. He then pushed me over on my side. Luckily it was my good side so my bad leg wasn't in the snow.
"Reily, stop!" I howled. I didn't care if it was painful or not understandable. I had to cry out.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear that annoying half-breed voice of yours," Reily said with a snarl and with a smirk he pinned me to the ground and put his brown paw on my neck. Pushing down on it cutting off my airway again.
"No…" Jack said as he watched me struggle and gasp for breath. "Reily, stop this. Let her go please."
"Why should I?" Reily asked.
"Because it's wrong!" Jack said as he tried to get away from Buck and Gangster.
"So…" Reily replied.
"That a boy, Reily! Don't listen to him!" Gangster said as he tore at Jack's leg again.
"Please, Reily!" Jack begged. He forgot about the pain he felt in his leg and stomach and turned all his attention to Reily and I. I was feeling dizzy again and the burning exploding pain in my lungs and head returned.
"Kill her already!" Buck yelled as he held Jack down. Everyone watching could tell they were running out of steam and Jack would be up any minute.
Help me, Jack, I thought to myself. I felt so sleepy and my body was so heavy I couldn't move it anymore. I knew death was approaching. I could feel it creeping up on me like a loin creeps up on its prey. Just waiting for the right moment then would lash out and steal my life away. I also knew that if Reily didn't remove his paw soon and open my airway again I'd be dead in minutes. I could feel the warmth escaping my body as unconsciousness took control of me. I watched Jack out of the corner of my eye. I saw a look of pure terror on his soft brown face and even more so in his brown eyes. I studied his face for a moment hoping to save his features in my mind. I wanted to remember him so that I could watch over him and talk to him even in death. If I could see him in my mind then I knew I could do that. The look of terror on his face grew as my blue eyes slid into the back of my head and I fell unconscious.
"No!" Jack snarled as he watched my body fall limp under Reily's fierce eyes. The way in which they were killing me made Jack stronger and more vicious.
"Stop it already! Just give up old man. She's as good as dead," Buck said in an irritated voice. He was getting very tired of Jack's struggling.
"No, she's not," Jack replied with a snarl. The fire in his eyes grew to equal Reily's. His was different thought. It had a brighter and more pleasant glow. "Let me go!" he snarled again then looked over at Reily and I. Then they all fell silent and stared at me.
"What is she?" Reily asked as he started down at me. He was scared. Reily was actually scared. I could feel the pressure on my throat disappear as Reily removed his massive claws from my neck and slowly backed away in confusion and fear.
"What the heck?" Buck and Gangster both stared in fear.
"It's the wolf in her…" Jack said as he looked at me in amazement. The bloody little black cub they had been killing had disappeared; only an unconscious little girl with black hair and torn apart clothes lay in the bloody snow.
"Wolf?" Gangster asked, "That's not a wolf. That's a human child." The bloody little girl had short jet-black hair and she was very small, maybe three or four years old at the most. Her small thin dark tan-colored face was covered in old dried up tears. Her clothes only consisted of an old, dirty, torn, black dress that stopped just above the knee; it was stained with dark blood. She wore no shoes and was very thin, her appearance very normal for a street girl.
"It's the curse of the wolf!" Reily said as the fire and rage returned to his eyes and soul. He hated wolves and the curse that they set on everyone. He wasn't going to let me get away. He wanted to finish me off here and now. The spell that wolves were said to be able to cast usually didn't work on other animals, but this time for some strange reason it did. Jack and Reily guessed it had to have something to do with me being unconscious.
"Wake up, Kid!" Jack yelled when he saw that Reily was going to attack again. "You have to wake up!" he barked.
Jack? I thought to myself. I could feel my heart; the beats were starting to get stronger and faster. I was on the brink of death, but I was begging to come back. I could feel my chest moving up and down again and the warmth was returning to my body.
"Kid!" I heard Jack call again.
I followed his voice. It's almost like his voice was leading me away from death and back to reality.
"Kid, wake up!" Jack called again as I opened my eyes to see him lying a few yards away. Buck and Gangster still had him pinned down.
"She changed back," Gangster said in an amazed voice.
"I'll kill you, you damn wolf!" Reily said as he charged and jumped high above my broken black body. His fangs baring and his evil brown eyes ready to kill.
"Kid, watch out!" Jack yelled again as he watched Reily trying to attack.
"Huh?" I asked as I looked at Jack with sleepy glazed over blue eyes.
"Look, look up!" Jack hollered.
"Up?" I asked sleepily and slowly turned my head upward toward the dark sky. My blue eyes widened as I saw death coming down at me. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. It was Reily and he was coming straight at me. His pearly white fangs and brown muzzle where covered with blood from both Jack and I. I could smell his breath. It smelled of old blood and rotting meat.
"Get out of the way!" Jack hollered.
It took a few seconds, but after my mind finished clearing itself my reactions finally kicked in. I got a surge of energy as my heart pumped nonstop adrenaline through my veins.
"No!" Reily yelled out angrily as he saw I was waking up and beginning to realize what was going on.
"Ahhh!" I let out a little scream as my three good legs acted like springs and pushed my body out from under Reily's deadly jaws and claws.
"Damn you!" Reily said as he fell in the snow the same way I had done when Jack and I were racing and he used this trick on me.
"Get her, Reily!" Buck yelled as Reily shook the icy snow out of his eyes.
I was headed for the woods. I knew he couldn't find me in there even if my wounds left a trail of fresh blood. The trees could cover my sent without difficulty letting me hide from Reily's deadly sight.
"Get back here you Brat!" Reily stormed after me. Thanks to my sudden rush of adrenaline and the snow getting in Reily's eyes I was a ways ahead of him.
"Get in the woods, Kid!" I heard Jack call out to me.
I was going to do what Jack said. I was going to get away without a doubt and with Reily gone, Jack could get away from Buck and Gangster. He could lose them in the trees like I'm going to loose Reily. We'll be ok. I know it now. We'll be ok. We have too be. This is my fairy tale.
