Cold Spell
Chapter 12
Adrenaline tore through Frank's body, propelling him across the tundra with only one thought on his mind – Joe! He had no plan, only instinct driven by the sound of his brother's cries, muffled beneath the wolf's body!
oooOOOooo
Joe cried out as the wolf shook his arm, sure it was going to rip his arm right off! He tried to get his feet under the animal to throw it off, but the animal held fast, giving his arm another vicious shake…and then it was gone!
oooOOOooo
Frank threw himself onto the wolf and got his arms around its neck as the animal twisted beneath him! The pocket knife slipped from his hands and fell uselessly to the ground!
Immediately releasing Joe, the alpha tried to get his head around to get the older boy off his back, but the teen held on for dear life!
Frank was surprised at the raw power he felt beneath him as he tried to keep his grip, not even bothering to try and figure out how this might end!
"R-run," he gasped through clenched teeth, not daring to break his concentration long enough to look at his brother – he just hoped Joe wasn't hurt too badly.
oooOOOooo
Joe heard his brother's voice but it seemed surreal against the wall of pain that threatened to crush him. His arm was burning with pain but it was nothing compared to the agony that tore a begrudged gasp from his lips when he tried to move it!
Not good, his mind screamed as he clutched his arm tightly to his chest with his good hand and then tried to roll away from where Frank and the wolf were locked in a deadly wrestling match!
Wait…his foggy mind protested, I'm the wrestler….
oooOOOooo
The alpha female lowered her head, tucked her tail between her legs and then rolled onto her back exposing her underside to Pup. She knew she was no match for this new wolf.
Pup sniffed her and then gave a short bark at the two beta wolves, stopping them from going after the alpha. The betas recognized the bark and understood….The new wolf was going to challenge their leader!
This had suddenly moved from a hunting excursion to a dominance match!
Lifting his head back, Pup gave a clipped howl, and then moved in on the struggling pair….He'd just made his intentions known….
The alpha heard the challenge and gave one more violent twist, throwing the tiring boy off his back, but instead of going in for the kill, he turned to meet his challenger!
oooOOOooo
Shocked when the silver wolf's timing couldn't have been better…again…Frank staggered to his brother and dropped down beside him. He quickly glanced around to make sure the other wolves weren't stalking them, and was satisfied that for now they were more interested in the power struggle going on between the other two wolves, than they were in dinner!
"Joe?" he asked, his voice leaden with concern as he saw the pained grimace on his brother's face. "Are you okay?" He knew it was a stupid question as it was obvious he wasn't, but he needed to start somewhere.
Taking off his mittens and shoving them in his pocket, he tried to check the younger boy's arm, but Joe cried out in pain and pulled away.
"Joe, what's wrong?" He could see the blood seeping through tears in the jacket, but had no idea how bad the injury was yet.
"Arm," Joe hissed as he closed his eyes and tried to get a grip on the pain. "Hurts…bad…."
"Okay, okay," Frank soothed, "Joey…I need to take a look at your arm….You're bleeding," he added, fearing his brother might be going into shock and not realize what needed to be done. Joe's face had gone pale and his breathing was rapid but shallow. His eyes were closed and the older boy knew he was in a lot of pain.
Just how bad is this? he worried, taken aback by his brother's response. Joe had a high pain threshold; it must be bad to make him react like this!
"I… I need to take your arm out of the sleeve," Frank said, a bit shaken by seeing Joe in so much pain, but when he tried to move the arm out of the jacket, the screech that shattered the tundra made him jump back as if he'd been slapped!
"Joe! What's wrong?" Frank was starting to panic, desperate to see the injury that was doing this.
"Sh-shoulder," Joe mumbled, his voice trailing off.
"Shoulder?" Frank repeated and then his eyes widened in alarm as he suddenly realized what his brother was trying to tell him. One look at the way Joe's left shoulder was drooping a bit more than the right, and the protective way the younger boy was holding his arm, was all the confirmation he needed – the wolf had dislocated Joe's shoulder!
No wonder he was in so much pain!
"Oh baby brother," he said softly, knowing how painful it was going to be for his brother to re-locate the bone – but it had to be done. And soon. There was no choice.
oooOOOooo
Pup was momentarily distracted when Joe screeched, and the smaller wolf went for his throat! However, his size and strength still outmatched the alpha, even with the advantage of distraction. And within moments, the struggle was over, with Pup pinning the old leader beneath him, his teeth buried deep in the other wolf's throat. Deep but not deep enough to draw blood…only enough to make his point.
Immediately the smaller wolf became submissive – he knew when he was beaten.
Only then did Pup release him, and the old alpha, with his tail tucked tightly between his legs, took off as quickly as he could. He was now an outcast, and if caught in this area again, his old pack would kill him.
It was survival of the fittest.
Once he was sure the old alpha was gone, Pup raised his head, opened his mouth and sang, quickly chorused by his new pack.
They sang of the coup; they sang of hope this new leader would bring; and they sang good-bye….
Pup knew there wasn't enough food here to sustain the pack. The old wolf knew it too, but had been too stubborn to move them away. But the white wolf didn't have those reservations. He was from the north and he knew exactly where they were going….
He glanced over at the boys and watched them for a few moments, sniffing the air and curious. But his curiosity had been mostly satisfied and while he didn't consider them a threat, they were a distraction. And living on the arctic tundra, they could not afford the distraction!
Avoid at all costs, was implanted in his mind, along with something else…something even stronger. Not prey… predator….
With one final yelp, he moved his pack out of the area. They had caribou to hunt….
oooOOOooo
Casting a furtive eye on the wolves, Frank had seen the new wolf overthrow the leader and wasn't sure how he felt about that. The silver wolf was much larger, and he felt a creeping worry that he'd resume the attack now.
But he didn't. In fact when the wolf looked at them, Frank saw something else. He saw an understanding, but of what he didn't know.
Next to him, Joe moved his head, saw Pup and managed a smile. "B-bye Pup….See you l-later," and then he closed his eyes again and tried to deal with the pain.
Frank gave his brother an odd look, but decided it was the pain talking. He still had to try and stop the bleeding, regardless of what was happening with the wolves; and to take care of that dislocated shoulder before it caused damage to Joe's tendons, muscles, blood vessels or nerves!
First things first though, he needed to see the bite.
Realizing it would be impossible to get the injured arm out of the sleeve; Frank retrieved his pocket knife and as carefully as possibly, cut the jacket to get a better look.
Joe moaned in pain but forced himself to keep still as Frank spoke low and soothingly to him trying to distract him.
"Well one thing about this place, never a dull moment!" His brother groaned in response and Frank continued with his banter, "Man, I'd kill for a cup of coffee. I'm not even particular what kind of coffee – as long as it's hot and someone insinuates it came from a bean, that's good enough for me right now!"
The dark haired boy grimaced as he got his first look at the bite, and immediately pressed his hand down to try and stop the blood which was running down Joe's arm and dripping off the end of his fingers.
The younger teen didn't seem to notice as he started to shiver, and this increased Frank's concern.
"Joe?"
His brother didn't answer so he tried a little louder, "Joe!"
This time there was a mutter and Frank leaned in close to hear what he was saying before pulling back and eyeing him critically. "Pizza? What about pizza? Joe, you're not making sense!"
Oh God, he's going into shock, Frank thought as he pressed down a bit harder on Joe's forearm and felt how cold and clammy the skin was beneath his fingers; warmed only by the blood seeping down the forearm. He knew he had to get his brother back to their camp and warm him up, soon.
The wound had four puncture sites from the powerful canines that had torn through the jacket with little hesitation, and they were bleeding freely.
"Crap," Frank muttered his mind on overdrive, "I'd kill for a first aid kit!" He needed something to use as a bandage. The one Joe had fashioned for him was back at the burrow, but Frank would have been reluctant to use it anyway, as it was already soiled with his blood, and the last thing they needed was for Joe to get an infection.
"S-s-sled," Joe shivered, and Frank frowned, was his brother delirious already?
"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"S-s-sled," Joe tried again, forcing his heavy eyelids open and taking in the confusion on his brother's face. It was very hard for him to focus as his whole body was growing numb, except for the lancing pain in his arm whenever he tried to move it. "K-k-kit…on sl-l-l-ed."
Again Frank shook his head; his brother wasn't making sense. And then comprehension hit him like a ton of bricks – a sled! Of course!
That must have been the strange noise he'd heard a short time ago. Joe must have found the survival kit and was towing it back on something!
It fit. The noise he heard could easily have been something metallic or plastic being dragged across the ground! And knowing how stubborn Joe could be, he would not have returned without it!
"Where is it, Joe?" Frank pressed, afraid that his brother would pass out before he could tell him. "Where's the sled?"
"B-b-b-back…th-th-th-ere," Joe stuttered, his shivering getting worse.
"Okay, kiddo, I need you to move your hand…your good hand," Frank amended. "I'm going after the kit, but I need you to keep pressure on that bite, okay? Joe?"
It was taking a lot of effort for the younger boy to concentrate on what he was saying, and after a moment, Joe gave a brief nod indicating he understood. He released his grip on his arm and moved his hand down to cover the bite as Frank removed his own hand.
Frank put his hand over Joe's for a moment, shocked by how cold it felt, and pressed down until he felt his brother grasp a bit more tightly.
It would have to do.
Swiftly, he got to his feet and began backtracking in the direction Joe had been coming from; it only took a few minutes to find the 'sled' laden down with the survival kit and duffle bags!
"Way to go, kiddo," he whispered proudly as he raced the rest of the way and hurriedly snatched at the orange backpack, pausing only long enough to cut the rope binding it to the others. He marveled at his brother's foresight in using the plane door for a sled but wasted no time in admiration, he needed to get back to Joe now!
Dropping to his knees beside his brother again, Frank gave a start and quickly checked for a pulse when he saw the closed eyes and still form.
He found the pulse - rapid but weak. Breathing a quick sigh of relief Frank tore open the backpack searching for a first aid kit, and it was right on the top!
Snatching it out, he opened it and then just stared down at it in stunned disbelief.
"What the…?" he asked, dumping the contents out on the ground, and then he grabbing the survival kit and dumping it out too. "Where's the rest of the first aid kit? Where's the pressure bandages?"
He stared down at everything in shock –
While there were plenty of Band-aid wrappers, there were no Band-aids left!
The small tube of antibiotic ointment was half empty….
The white tape, almost gone….
A bottle of nail polish remover?
A tube of toothpaste?
No scissors.…A handful of large pink elastics?
Pink lipstick?
Peroxide….
And a ton of eye pads!
Frank sank back to the ground and shook his head. "This has to be some sick joke."
"F-F-Frank?" the voice was barely a whisper, and startled Frank as he thought his brother was unconscious.
"Yes Joe?" he said, leaning over to touch the cold cheek with his warmer hand, "I'm right here, kiddo."
"D-d-did you…get the k-k-k-it?"
Smiling gently as he reached for the eye pads and tape, Frank said, "Yeah, I did."
And then he actually couldn't help but laugh, as Joe shook his head slightly, opened his eyes a crack and asked, "P-p-packed b-b-by…m-m-m-oron?"
"Yes, little brother," he laughed, "It was packed by a moron." And then he amended, thinking of the nail polish and lipstick, "A cross-dressing moron!"