Chapter 5: En Route to Hell (written from June 24th to June 27th, 2021)
For twenty minutes, I followed the strange birds in the sky. They flew in a zigzag pattern, so I could keep up. I jogged across a long manmade clearing that stretched past the horizon. The birds had told me there was a building I should be familiar with near "Hole 17"—whatever that meant. I noticed on the horizon the peaks of various mountains adorned with snow, an established jagged wall in the distance. Spectacular and refreshing but not familiar, I thought.
Then, without warning, the wind was knocked out of me. The blow to my right side came from someone else's head that dashed from out of nowhere. I recognized the raw energy from earlier attacks. It was one of Jasmine's pups who was now a Beta. He stood on top of my chest and became puzzled.
"What the hell?! Kate?!"
"Jessie?"
"Damn, I thought you were a caribou! No offense." I got back up and coughed the mucus that was pushed into my throat.
"What are you doing here?" I managed to ask. His partner-in-crime, Jordan, came to the scene equally surprised.
"Hutch is teaching us to hunt!" she informed. "We're seeing which one of us can bring a caribou to him first."
"Screw that noise, I'm gettin' a fat ass buffalo," said Jessie. "What are you doing way over here, Kate?"
"It's Katie now, at least for the time being. Hutch let me go... It was for the best."
"What?! You were just gonna leave us?! Just like that...?"
"Yes," I answered flatly. "But there's been a development... The real me may come back!"
"What do you mean?" Jessie asked. I pointed my nose at the sky. The goose and the duck had been circling above, presumably waiting for me.
"You see those birds? They know who I am! Or who I used to be... They're taking me to this manmade structure on the other side of this clearing. It's a place I used to know. I might be able to get my memory back! Hey, if you guys help me, I'll be so grateful."
The two black pups looked at each other. It seemed they didn't know how to react which was understandable. They were the only ones who only knew me without my old memories. Since the old me was a completely different wolf, it was like I was asking them to destroy one of their friends.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" asked Jordan. I nodded emphatically.
"The entire time I've been like this, I just wanted to be my own individual, but if there's a way to reverse the effects of the accident, I must do it for my daughter."
The black pups exchanged more looks. Since they were close siblings, they spoke a silent language that only they knew.
Just under a minute, they nodded in agreement.
"Okay, Katie, we'll help you," said Jordan.
"Hell, I'm curious of what the real you is actually like," Jessie added. "Hutch won't shut up about how great of an Alpha you used to be."
"Oh, yeah, what are we going to do about Hutch?" I realized he could worry about the Betas if they were gone too long.
"Don't worry about him. He wouldn't care if we showed up at midnight with all of our limbs missing."
I informed Marcel and Paddy that the two pups were joining us then we continued on our way. The Betas followed behind me, constantly chatting to each other. Those two were inseparable.
They were like Jasmine in many ways: rambunctious, curious, crude, yet unbearably loving. The one major thing that set them apart from their mother—and other wolves—was their morphology. And that was due to the fact that they actually had two mothers! Sort of... Hutch and Sasha didn't believe Jasmine when she first told them, but when her pups reached a certain age, the evidence strongly supported her words.
"I met an intersex wolf," she told us as she was subjected to labor. We had crowded around her inside her den.
"Her name was Dani," Jenny had informed. Apparently, the pups' other mother was one of Jenny's friends from Alpha School. Jenny had spent a brief time at Alpha School before switching to Omega School.
"Yes, Dani. She was a different wolf. She was a special wolf, unlike any other. She had the curvature and voice of a female but the genitals of the most masculine males. She was really somewhere in between a male and a female."
"But she identified as female," Jenny added, "just because the female part of her was the thing wolves would notice first, especially with her voice."
"And you had sex with this... thing?" Sasha said to Jasmine with a raised eyebrow.
"I felt like I had to. She was going to take her own life... and she did... at Bear Teeth Edge." Jasmine and Jenny struggled to hold in their sadness. "But at least... I was able to bestow some happiness before she went to the Great Beyond. She died with happiness, and that happiness gave me this belly. Even though I didn't know her then, I am honored to help pieces of her go on. I was once in her position long before I was taken in by Humphrey. I was abandoned by my family, and I contemplated suicide. Wolves in that position feel like their lives don't matter. I want to send the message to the world that Dani's life mattered."
Roughly two months after my rebirth, the pups were born. At first, things looked normal, but things changed dramatically when the summer kicked in. At birth, Hutch had announced that there were three males with black fur, and Jasmine named them Ethan, Sebastion, and Caleb; however, over time, Ethan and Caleb's body shapes began to slowly transform until they resembled those of typical females. Additionally, they formed pronounced nipples which, in theory, could discharge milk. While Ethan and Caleb developed masculine voices, their male genitalia shrank in size. Concurrently, Sebastion endured the greatest transformation of the three. Sebastion's body became more feminine and curvy than the other two, and his voice became feminine, but his male genitalia actually increased in size. In light of these dramatic changes, Hutch renamed them, giving them gender-neutral names with the first letter being the same as Jasmine's. Ethan and Caleb became Jessie and Jamie respectively, and Sebastion became Jordan. At the same time, Sebastion was given the opportunity to decide his own gender identity. She—formally a "he"—chose to be a female for similar reasons why Dani identified as one: she thought of herself as a female, and it created less confusion when communicating with other wolves.
"It's weird to think about, but I have a bigger dick than you," said Jordan.
"So if you had sex with a regular she-wolf, would that you make a lesbian?" said Jessie. Behind me, I could sense his sister shrugging her shoulders.
As we walked across the clearing, the Betas continued with another one of their odd sex-filled conversations. It was a recurring thing whose frequency would surely escalate. The first day of winter also meant the first day of their adolescence. More changes with their bodies were expected to take place, and I was already aware for weeks that Jessie and Jordan had been... well... exploring each other's bodies for lack of a better phrase. It wouldn't surprise me if some degree of intercourse had already taken place. In contrast to their runt brother, Jamie, those two were always sexually frisky.
Later...
We arrived at the location. The birds each spiraled down and met us where Hole 17 was. Thirty yards away was a human structure made from wood. Contrary to what I hoped, I didn't recognize it.
"This is the home of Garn Theocarcus," said Marcel. He pointed his left wing at the building which looked dilapidated. There were large cracks on the walls, and the wood seemed rotten. The general area was ugly. There were piles of manmade objects strewn across the surrounding fields, including multiple ones of clothing. One pile had a bright, extremely hot light raging on the top. A large dark cloudy column rose continuously from it. It was as far away from nature as one could get here.
"What happened to this place?" I asked.
"This was the honeymoon cabin for Garn and his wife, Debbie, but they split up last year," Paddy informed. "Rumor has it Debbie cheated on him. They had a nasty argument, and Garn gave Debbie a black eye. In the human world, that's really illegal, so Garn was locked up for many months for domestic abuse. When he got out, he made this place his home, but he still travels to Jasper occasionally."
"That's his 'camper,' right?" I referred to the car sitting in front of the cabin.
"Yes, ma'am! That is it! That is the same one you and Humphrey rode on more than two and half years ago. Do you remember it?"
I then sighed disappointedly. This place was supposed to evoke a sense of nostalgia. If Humphrey was involved here, this had to have been connected with our relationship, but alas, I felt nothing. I was still Katie.
"No... I don't remember any of this... But I'm not going to give up this easily!"
"Umm... what are your friends doing?" asked the goose. The Betas were running around the piles of stuff, chasing each other. The chaotic land provided the perfect play area for them. There were a lot of small spaces to hide in, tons of objects to chew, and millions of new smells to inquire about. Jessie sniffed the ground intensely. He and his sister followed a scent until they walked on the wooden platform in front of the entrance of the building.
"Something smells good!" he exclaimed. "Hey, can you birdies get us somethin' to eat? We heard that human food is the best-tasting thing ever!"
"Garn must be inside cooking bacon and eggs again," Paddy informed, dismissing the pup's request.
"I have no idea what that is but it smells delicious!" He then dragged his tongue against the wall in a show of desperation. Jordan came to his side and whimpered. She clawed at the large piece of wood that covered the entrance in order the get the human's attention.
"Uhh, I would not do that if I were you," Marcel warned.
"It's time to grow a pair, birdie," Jordan replied. She then chuckled at her own statement, for she had literally grown a pair.
Suddenly, the piece of wood moved. I gasped and took a step back. Garn, the human, could be seen, and he was within two feet of the Betas!
"He's opening the door!" said Paddy. The next thing I knew the "door" was opened all the way, and the human was staring directly at the two wolves sitting in front of him. The man was huge and carried muscles that I didn't know a human could have. He had a large patch of brown fur on the bottom side of his chubby face. It reminded me of a bear's face. The Betas, seemingly fearless, tilted their heads and smiled, letting their tongues dangle as if they were panting. "Oh, my... Marcel and I have traveled through many grey wolf-inhabited regions of the world. We've never seen anything like this."
After staring at them for some time, the human turned around and walked further inside. A few seconds later, he came back with a considerable number of strange-looking strips of meat, presumably bacon, in his hands! He then chucked the bacon straight over the wooden platform. The strips each landed on a patch of white gravel near the camper. The black pups tripped over themselves multiple times as they raced to the free snacks they begged for.
"Que diable," Marcel said in another language.
Watching this was making my stomach irritable again, and I considered begging myself. I somewhat pitied the birds, for they lacked the snouts to fully embrace the splendid aroma. I then wondered if I could have a share of the bacon. But I rapidly realized it wouldn't be possible since the Betas were devouring the strips like it was the last food they'll ever eat. The human gave a good chuckle as he watched them, but he eventually retired further into his home again and closed the door. Jessie finished his share first and forcefully burped. He then trotted over to me and the birds with a look of satisfaction that was unlikely to dissipate in the near future.
"Aw, man... They weren't lyin' about how good it was." He proudly sat next to me and began picking at the small pieces between his molars. "I like how it's brittle and chewy at the same time!"
"Are you stupid?" I said. "What if it's poison?!"
"I'll take poisonous bacon over your parasite-infested fish any day," he replied.
"Oh, it's gonna be like that, huh?"
"Yeah, it's like that."
He playfully pounced on me and pulled my right ear to get me to submit. We giggled for a solid second when the loudest boom mutilated our eardrums. Everyone was alert. Initially, I thought we experienced a lightning strike in the vicinity, but shortly we saw Jordan drop to her side while the human stood by the now-reopened door. He held a narrow object in front of his face. There was a hole at the end of it where a black cloud was exiting. The birds gasped.
"RUN! HE HAS A GUN! HE JUST SHOT THAT WOLF!" Paddy shouted.
"What?! What's a gun?! What does that mean?!" Jessie said frantically. He instinctively ran towards his sister. The human pointed the "gun" at him, and another boom ensued, sending dirt flying in multiple directions. I couldn't process what was happening exactly, but I was extremely relieved to see Jessie running back to us. He was shivering out of pure fright. The birds then pushed us into a shaded area next to the camper where the human couldn't see us.
"What's happening? Is Jordan okay?" I asked.
"Shh! I'm afraid your friend might be dead!" said the duck.
"WHAT?!" me and Jessie exclaimed in unison.
"Shush! Now listen! When humans attack, they normally use this thing called a gun! It shoots a piece of metal so fast that it is invisible! Like Alphas, humans can hunt as well!" Paddy turned to Jessie who kept shaking his head in disbelief. "He probably threw that bacon out to keep you guys still, so he could get an easy kill!"
"WHY DID YOU TAKE US HERE IF IT WAS THIS DANGEROUS?!" Jessie cried. I rubbed his shoulders as he sobbed.
"We have watched him for years! He was never like this! We did not know he had a gun!"
"I've got to do something!"
"Noooo!" The birds held their wings up to block him. Although our ears were briefly incapacitated by the gunshots, footsteps could be heard getting increasingly louder. Garn was coming to the camper! The birds pushed us to the restricted space underneath the car. Jessie and I had to lay on our hocks and elbows. From our position, we could see the human's legs and where he was moving. He was walking towards Jordan! Her head faced us. That was when Jordan opened her eyes! She was alive! But she then closed them when her body was casually lifted from the Earth. Garn's legs moved to the back end of the camper, and the car above us shook slightly.
"He's taking her somewhere!" said Marcel.
"Trader... He's taking her to a trader!" Paddy clarified.
"What's a trader?" I asked.
"This is what most hunters do. They take their kill and swap it with something that another human has. The other human is the trader."
"What does the other human do with the kill?" asked Jessie.
"Well... often they rip off the skin, cut off the head, remove the abdominal organs, divide the remaining muscles and fat... and give them to many more humans for widespread consumption..."
"I'm gonna be sick..." Paddy's explanation triggered my gag reflex.
"Next thing you know, the skin ends up on display at Edmonton's Cabela's," Marcel muttered. We then heard the door on the back of the camper slam shut. Garn's legs moved to the shaded side of the camper before disappearing. The car shook again. "He's getting onto the driver's seat. He's about to take off!"
"We've got to do something!" said Jessie. "My sister's alive!"
"Hold on!" said Paddy. He stuck his wing into the green object strapped to his chest and brought out a pointed stick. He gave it to the goose.
"I can open the camper's back door!" he revealed.
"Great! C'mon!" Jessie led us out from under the car. We came to the back where Marcel horizontally inserted the pointed stick into a small hole on the door. He wiggled the stick which only caused the top half of the door to open. Impetuously, I leaped through the opening.
I felt fur on my paws upon the landing which freaked me out. I thought I landed on Jordan, but I became even more freaked out once I realized it wasn't a wolf but multiple raccoon skins. I was then even more frightened when I saw that the entire inside was filled with skins, skins of raccoons, rabbits, foxes, caribou, buffalo, moose, elk, and even wolves... and there were skins of animals I couldn't identify hanging from the ceiling. Most of them were stained with blood which disclosed the brutal nature of each of their deaths. I took a deep breath and scanned the bottom of the room. Jordan lay directly in front of me.
I examined her body. Remarkably, I couldn't see any fresh blood or holes. In fact, she looked incredibly normal. There was only one reason that made sense.
"Ow!" she exclaimed after I slapped her face with my paw.
"Get up! You're fine!"
"What?!" Jordan stood up and checked herself. Even the side she had lain on was perfectly normal. "I could've sworn I saw the light!"
"You fainted! Why didn't you run to us when you had the chance?!"
"I... I thought I was dead! I thought I was in my afterlife!" she replied. Her sincerity put down any thoughts that this was some sort of prank.
"Well, we're both going to be dead if we stay here any longer! Let's go!"
Just then, the car shook violently, causing both of us to lose our footing. The top half of the door swung out farther in response to the forceful movement. It then bounced off the back wall, and the energy was enough to close it when it came back. We had no escape... and the camper was on its way to our doom!