Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read and review - all comments are appreciated. I must take a moment to say thank you to my patient and wonderful beta,JD, who has worked with me over the past year to help convert my notorious spelling and grammer into something more readable. Hence the increase in quality between the Delirium Series and these standalone stories.
I am posting chapters 11 and 12 tonight instead of tommorrow as I have been having some difficulties with uploading documents over the past two days - better safe than sorry, I always say.
Again thank you for all your comments, and yes, I have to admit, I do love cliffhangers but hang in there because the brothers are about to be reunited and the rest of the story will continue with them reunited:)
Cold Spell
Chapter 11
For one horrifying second, Frank was sure he was going to die – that the wolf would just lunge at him and rip his throat out…but it didn't.
Instead they locked eyes, and for a few brief moments Frank was treated to a rare glimpse into the carnivore's soul…a glimpse that he was not prepared for….
What he had been expecting to see, the boy wasn't sure – but it definitely was not what was there!
In place of a cunning cruelty and wanton bloodlust, he saw something more akin to fear and desperation; an undeniably shrewd and intelligent hunter, but one who did so from necessity and not from pleasure.
If only mankind had the same reservations that Frank saw in this predator's eyes….
The wolf was thin. For the few seconds that the boy got a good look at the 'enemy,' he had been able to see the animal's ribs sticking through the reddish-grey coat….
And then something distracted the wolf and it retreated, followed by the others, so silent they might have never been there.
"What the…?" he asked aloud, shaken and shocked by the encounter. Taking a couple of deep breaths, the teen crawled out of the burrow and stood up. There was no sign of the wolves anywhere.
Fumbling for the whistle, he blew it again and then sighed, still unnerved and feeling very vulnerable – what was taking rescuers so long to find them? He was sure they weren't going to be spending too much time here….
The only good thing he noticed was that the fog was lifting, and he hoped Joe would be 'home' soon. Glancing down at the pathetic fire, Frank tossed more moss on it and wished he had something to make it more a deterrent to the wolves. Apparently they weren't taking the smoldering as being worthy enough to fear!
The aircraft was mostly plastic and metal and the boys had already burned what feeble offerings it had in the first fire.
Frank thought about his friends and family at home and shook his head sadly. Man, he missed being home.
"Callie was right," he muttered, "She said nothing good could ever come from August snow!" A small smile graced his chapped lips as he thought about his blond-haired girlfriend. If she was here right now, being cold wouldn't' be so bad…she always knows how to warm me up….
Blushing at the thought, Frank couldn't help but give a little chuckle. "Now I'm beginning to think like Joe!"
He spent a few minutes stretching his aching muscles before deciding to go back inside. Having no idea what had stopped the wolf from devouring him right then, Frank figured he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth – time to go back into his hole.
As he was just putting down the flap, he paused, his keen hearing picking up a new sound echoing from somewhere across the tundra…a noise that sounded out of place.
Poking his head back outside, he listened a little longer but couldn't identify it – it didn't sound like any animal he knew….The sound was an odd kind of irritating noise, and as Frank stood up again and cocked his head to the side, he tried to determine from which direction it was coming from. He couldn't. But the noise gave him cold shivers as it echoed around him.
And then suddenly it stopped.
"That's odd," Frank said aloud, but then figured that it could have been just about anything! He listened for a few more minutes, and satisfied that whatever it was, it had been put to rest, he went back into the burrow to count off the next five minutes.
oooOOOooo
The wolves were unsettled.
They had been prepared to attack as soon as the creature came out of the old burrow again, but then a foreboding noise distracted them. Flighty by nature, they beat a hasty retreat until they could make sense of it. All they knew was it was something they had never heard before.
oooOOOooo
Joe was exhausted and lost.
The only thing that kept him going was sheer stubbornness. His body was begging to stop but his mind refused. He was being driven by the most powerful feelings that if he didn't get back in time, something terrible was going to happen to Frank.
And that was something the younger boy wouldn't allow – not as long as he thought he had the power to stop it. He would push himself to collapse first, but he'd never give up!
But slowly his body, limited by its own mortality and lack of food, began to shut down. One forced step after one forced step…that was all that was left…and not too many of those anymore.
He had been moving for hours now, losing count of just how many as he couldn't afford to expend the energy to look at his watch.
The weight of the 'sled' had become unbearable long ago, and every step required a tug to get it started again - even the nylon rope felt like it would cleave him in half if he didn't stop.
But he couldn't.
And now he was lost. Well, he didn't know that for sure, but that's how he felt. Nothing looked familiar, and the only glimmer of hope he had was that the fog was lifting.
Exhausted, red-faced and sweaty, the teen stumbled forward a few more steps before sinking to his knees on the ground.
"Can't do it," he sobbed when he tried to force himself to a standing position but couldn't. "Sorry…Frank…." He needed to rest. Bowing his head until it touched his chest, the boy closed his eyes…just for a moment.
oooOOOooo
The wolves had had enough. The racket had stopped and they were too hungry to put this off any longer.
The alpha raised his head and gave one long soulful howl and they advanced on the camp again.
oooOOOooo
Joe jerked awake.
What was that?
The echo around him chilled him even more than the dropping temperatures….Wolves.
Instantly he thought about the small pack that had accosted him at the tail wreckage, and he struggled to his feet. They'd tear him to pieces in a second if they caught him asleep!
And then his heart pounded as he heard something else…something he recognized…
A whistle.
oooOOOooo
Frank felt a cold shiver when he heard the alpha's song. He had just straightened up again and put the whistle to his lips when it started.
Hastily he blew the whistle and then turned around to go back inside… but couldn't!
Standing right behind him, blocking his escape, was one of the wolves – the alpha female. And she was crouched – ready to attack!
oooOOOooo
Joe's legs felt leaden but somehow he managed a shambling run – abandoning the 'sled', knowing he'd never get to Frank in time with it saddling him down!
Of course he might just be overreacting, but worst case scenario, his brother could come back with him and help him tow it the last little ways to the burrow….
And then he heard the scream!
The wolf leapt….
Frank screamed…..
And then a silvery white blur broadsided the female like a train on a transport truck, knocking her to the ground hard, and then stood over her, growling!
Paralyzed with shock, the teen just stood there, arms still raised over his face in a defensive stance. The sound of ominous growling broke through his fear, and he scurried away from the wolves, his hand quickly pulling out and arming his pocket knife.
It wasn't much but it was something!
"FRANK!"
oooOOOooo
Frank's head whipped around as he was flooded with relief and a bit stunned to see his brother moving towards him across the cantankerous terrain as quickly as possible.
And then he saw something that froze the blood in veins even as he tried to warn his brother!
The large alpha male had seen Joe and was now honing in on him at a horrifying pace!
"JOE, LOOK OUT!"
Frank was already moving, although he knew he was too far away to do anything….It was just like his dream….!
He screamed when he saw the alpha leap at Joe and then the younger boy went down beneath it…a flurry of teen beneath reddish-gray predator.
"JOE!"
oooOOOooo
Joe didn't see the wolf until it was almost upon him. He'd been too focused on Frank and his wolf problem.
"Pup?" he gasped as he forced the last of his strength into his legs. He could make out the large silver-gray animal, and then he heard his brother shout, and barely had time to get his arm up in front of his throat, before the unseen wolf attacked him!
Searing pain shot through his arm and shoulder as he went down beneath the canid….