Chapter 9

Kate's Perspective.

I laid here, on the shore of the lake. My head rested on the ground; my ears flat on my head. I sniffled every so often, just so exasperated with myself. I've been here for a while. Maybe an hour or so, and to be honest I've had no intention of getting up.

Eventually, -without reaction-, I heard the howl of another train incoming. I gazed over toward the direction of the train tracks. My thoughts immediately were drawn to the event with Humphrey. When we were little, I never understood- but I'm having a feeling that I remember having when I was a pup. It's a feeling of longing, of a love. Of course, being a pup I didn't know what it was. Maybe I just thought I missed my friend.

I forced myself up, weakly. I coughed once more, expelling whatever water was left in my lungs. My eyes stung as they looked around at my environment. My tail drooped, dragging on the ground a little bit.

I pushed through the tall grass, meeting the tracks once again. I don't know why I wanted to come over here, but I sat awaiting the train.

Eventually the wind shifted directions, and soon the train came whooshing by. I watched each train car go by, empty and open. It was moving just fast enough that if I looked directly straight, I could see the trees through the gaps between the cars. It sort of put me in a trance, I just couldn't look away.

The last train car was pulled away, revealing once again the other side of the tracks. I looked over to where the train came from, seeing someone trotting along the tracks. My ears perked, she didn't look familiar.

The wolf kept trotting by, but eventually spotted me in the grass. My tan coat among the green shrubbery likely gave me away.

The wolf wasn't too far away, but they were getting closer. I didn't move.

"Hello?" She asked once she was within conversation distance.

"Hello." I replied peacefully. She looked me over briefly.

"Are you okay..?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. Perhaps she's taken notice of my rough condition. I took a few moments to answer.

"Probably not." I began. "It's been a long day."

Humphrey's Perspective.

I awoke, feeling an intense vertigo overtake me. I covered my eyes, not that they were open anyway. I could hear muffled voices close by. I couldn't tell where I was, though.

Suddenly, one of the walls containing me was lifted away with a loud metallic sliding noise. The light flooded its way through my eyelids, but it wasn't too intense.

I felt a few human hands slide beneath me, picking me up slightly. I made no attempt to prevent it. My weak arms drooped, and I barely had the strength to open my eyes. Everything was blurry but I could tell that I was in a human area. The person carrying me delicately placed me on a padded table; I assume.

"What happened to you, buddy?" I heard a human say. I assume they weren't actually talking to me. I felt the human carefully examine my condition.

"Looks like whatever he did to himself, it's healing okay for now. Dianne, can you get me a pair of shears?" I heard him say. My stomach twisted when he said that. What's he going to do to me?

I felt him cut away the bandage around me, carefully sliding it away from under me.

"Just gonna clean you up, okay." I heard him say.

I felt him rubbing a cold, wet cloth around my injury. It didn't hurt, but it smelled intense.

"Oh wow, David look at this; it's started scarring already. We don't have to hold him here, I think he'll be fine on his own."

"Put a grey wrap on it just in case. Make it thin so eventually he can just tear it off." I heard another human say. He had a deeper voice.

"How old is he?" I heard a female ask.

"Mmm, doesn't look much older than 2, I'd say." The human was pretty close to be honest.

"Alright, give him a dose and load him up. Gotta start transport within the next hour." Someone said.

"What? Transport to where? Oh God, don't tell me I'm going back to Idaho."

I suddenly felt a slight pinch in my thigh.

"Goodnight, buddy. See ya when you wake up." I heard a human say. The female human walked over to me and rubbed my head softly. I opened my eyes a little more, and I could see her face a little clearer.

I saw her smile.

"We're not going to hurt you." I heard her say, as it echoed around in my mind. The world became fuzzy, and I couldn't feel anything. My eyes involuntarily shut slowly, and I drifted to sleep.

Willow's Perspective.

"...It's been a long day." The she-wolf said.

"Well.. same here." I replied passively.

"What's your name?" She asked. I was partially hesitant to reply.

"Willow, what's yours?"

"Kate."

Kate? THE Kate?

I was taken aback. I began to stutter over my words.

"Uh- W-well this might be awkward, depending on where you're from.." I said, mentally bracing myself.

Kate looked at me strangely.

"I'm.. from the Western Pack." She said, confirming my assumption.

My eyes widened slightly. I took a few steps back.

"You're Kate.." I said, basically whispering. "You're looking for Humphrey." I said, assumedly. Kate's eyes went wide, and she stood up from her seated position, taking a step forward. I took another back.

"You know Humphrey? Do you know where he is?" Kate almost frantically asked me. Her ears shot up and her tail wagged briefly.

I paused.

"Kate, after what Humphrey told me about you I'm not so sure I should tell you where he is." I paused again. Kate's tail stopped dead in its tracks. She seemed to retreat slightly.

"W-what do you mean?"

I scoffed slightly.

"What do I mean.." I repeated, almost mockingly. "You destroyed him.. he said that he loved you and you threw him away for some other wolf like he was nothing!" I said. I immediately took another step back, as I seemed to get a lot closer to her in my words. I stood taller, and I felt.. anger.

My ears fell flat. My eyes widened in response to how I just said that.

"I.. I'm sorry I don't know why-" I tried to say. I've never been verbally aggressive like that, really.

Kate seemed stunned by my words. Slowly, her eyes dropped, her posture diminished, she seemed just stricken by my statement. In reality I shouldn't have said what I did. I don't know this girl, what if Kate had a different side to the story? Maybe I was just being defensive.

"You're right." She agreed. I watched a tear fall from her face quickly after. "-and I regret it. I-" She continued. I didn't say anything. She paused for a while. Every few seconds, another tear would fall from her muzzle. She made no obvious sign that she was crying, though. "It's my fault he left, I know that. He doesn't deserve to feel the way he does, I just want to make it right. I ignored my feelings up until the very moment that it was too late.. And-" She halted.

My ears slowly rose in interest. I tilted my head slightly as I waited for her to continue.

"And, what?" I carefully asked.

She looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

"I love him." She finished, looking back down to the puddle she's created. She sniffled just the once, and I sighed.

"Kate." I said. She shot her head up to meet my gaze. "I found him on the train bleeding out. I patched him up and took care of him until he woke up. When he did, we started walking back to my pack, the North. We were on the train tracks and humans found us. They shot him with darts and took him in a truck. I'm on my way to find where that truck went."

Kate took a minute to process what I had said.

"What do you mean he was bleeding out, was he attacked?"

I shook my head.

"It didn't look like it, he didn't explain how it happened either, though." I explained.

"Do you remember if the truck had anything written on it?" Kate asked, investigatively.

I nodded.

"It did, Purcell Wilderness Conservancy." I said.

"That's where they took us before!" I know where he's going!" Kate said.

"Then let's go." I said, although I wasn't exactly ecstatic that I'd be going with Kate. After how she made Humphrey feel I almost wish I hadn't run into her.

Kate wiped away her tears, composing herself.

"We need to get on the train, but going the other direction."

"I've only ever known it to go one direction, though.." I said.

"Yes, but it's a big loop. Eventually, it ends up back where it started."

"Okay. How long is the loop, though? Would it be worth just walking there, instead?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." Kate said, looking out to the tracks.

"What about the humans, Kate? Who knows how many times it stops along the way. I say we just walk. Less risky. Plus, we can stop and find food a lot easier." I suggested.

"You're right. Also-" Kate began, pointing down the train tracks. "If we follow the tracks, it will lead us directly to where he'll be. The train runs right by where the park is, it's how we got home last time." Kate said.

"Then we have no time to lose." I said.

With that, we began the journey. I sure hope Humphrey's okay. I can only imagine what's going through his head. Hopefully I can learn Kate's side of the story along the way.