Ok. Here is the fifth chapter. You might like this one. I have a feeling.
====================
Chapter- 5
Noah woke up in the cave. His body feeling like fire from all of the running, the climbing and all the lands they had traveled by foot in such a compacted time. Although, there was also another type of ache he must try to fix first before he continues on his adventures first.
His stomach felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He was very hungry, and he had not gotten anything to eat since that malnuerished squerrel two days ago. But unfortunately, he was in no shape of hunting for food. Climbing up the rocky beach ledge proved it, as it was very painful. But if he dosent eat soon, he may be too tired to do anything about it and die.
"Noah! Go! Now! Be smart!" Messenger's voice echoed in Noah's brain.
He was watching a seagul that jumped off a stone wall and flew across the stream to the jungle side of the stream when his mind had hatched an idea.
"What about stealing?"
Nah. Stealing is wrong. He could do just about anything. But stealing was just considered just soo dirty; so low-down. How could anyone like Noah commit such crime like that?
In a life or death situation like this, why not? What choice does he have? He could steal some coins, go to a cafe and order something edible, or lie wasted in the sun and meet Death.
Noah had walked around the bend of the hill when he saw a deep navy blue wolf with yellow eyes drop his sack of coins onto a brick wall and left it there in the bright afternoon golden rays of the sunlight as the wolf was distracted, being busy with something. Noah had the chance to make use of such convient moment. It was now or nothing. He slowly, yet caustiously, approached the bag of money. He nabbed it with his maw, but made too much noise when the coins jungled in the bag. Noah did not have a moment to achnowledge hat the bag was full when the navy blue wolf's ears flicked to the sound of his money running away, turned around and caught Noah red handed-... or red mawed, if you will.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the scolding bellowing of the blue wolf had only made Noah's adrenaline shoot for the sky. His aches and pains had lessened only to a percentage, enough for him to run to the brick wall to jump over it. He did make a break for that, and the blue wolf followed pursuit. Noah quickly gotten himself to the brick wall and used all his remaining strength to jump as high as he could and soared over the wall, followed by the blue wolf, who jumoed more strongly over the wall.
Noah took the fall quite hard, with his stomach grazing the pebbled ground of the trail as soon as he made touch down, and tried to recover quicly for a sprint for the clear. His heart sank when he heard the blue wolf land just inches from his tail with a loud thud before exclaiming with his angry voice "You better give that back!"
Noah ran this way, down the bend of the pebble covered road. The blue wolf was catching up quickly, he could almost feel his reath on his back. Noah's mind raced. He tried to think smart, but couldn't. With the money bag jingling in his mouth, he was unsure what move he should do next. He was beginning to think about stopping and just fighting him.
His eyes caught a distant wagon food stand just in time and he started thinking critically. He had an idea. He took a sharp turn right and went for the foodstand and charged at full speed. The blue wolf nearly biting his tail. Noah sprinted as hard as he could. It was not until when the owner of the foodstand saw Noah advancing at crazy speed, this only alarmed the foodstand wolf as he stepped infront of the foodstand and blurted some words Noah could not understand at the moment yet. Could it of been "stop"? It had to be, judging by the face he wore. But it didn't matter anyway. Noah's wild chase ended when he got to the foodstand, fell on his side, and slid underneath the foodstand and then recovered back on his paws and took off. The blue wolf couldn't pass this tactic, only crashing into the foodstand owner and the wagon, causing the food to shoot up in the air and onto the pebbled floor, and the foodstand breaking in a few sections.
Noah looked back before running through the patches of bushes, relieved now that he had taken that blue wolf off of his tail. But while he found himself within the swamp, counting the coins inside the bag like he had won a massive jackpot, he had a painful shimmer of guilt within his heart. What if this wolf just got this money as a miricle? What if this money was the only way he could get his food, as he probably cannot hunt for any? Maybe he worked extra hard for this cash, and he had taken it all away from him.
Well. He too, is in a desperate position. As selfish as this may sound, he's got a life to save. Himself and Messenger's. Where ever he went, where ever he is, unfortunately, him not coming around looking for Noah only gave him the truthful answer that he was captured just to save him. But he could only do the best he can, now that he is alone.
His stomach growled to remind him from his deepest dwelling of thought that he needs to eat now. And Noah knew quite the place to spend this money.
Noah went back to his home world with the rolling hills and the oaks that seemed to dot everywhere he looked. He sighed a relief and nostalgia. Good to be back. But apart from that, there was a cafe he sometimes took himself over to when he could afford the treat. Yes, the wolves in this world host cafes. But this one was a nice one. There was a hut that was fixed against the side of the collapsed wall of boulders at the edge of the hill. All around, wolf-sized boulders were fixed in a large rock pen where there was tree stumps used as tables and seats. The boulders were covered in a rug of moss. Even the floors of the cafe was covered in this smooth, damp moss that offered a theraputic cushin everywhere he stepped within the pen area of the cafe. Aside from all the clean and fancy wolves who dined in with friends and families, Noah came in looking like a complete wreck. Black under eyes from stress, grey dust dirst collected into his fur from escaping that blue wolf, and that limping gaite he had as he entered the realm.
A white wolf gave a short glance at Noah as he approached. Then she looked eager to take a customer's order.
"Welcome to our cafe! How can I order you!" She gasped after speaking un such a hurried tone, Noah could barely follow. A bit twitchy, she was.
Noah stemmered. He looked behind the wolf who was serving him and saw at the far corner the crusants and the fresh cookies, which lied fresh on the rack after long time sitting in the brick oven. Then Noah said "How about, ug. Four crusants and... 3 cookies... and a coffee." And the twitchy hurried wolf who was serving him closed her eyes in a quick blink and said ""Ofcourse. That will be 16 coins, please."
Noah gripped the sack of coins and placed it right onto the table infront of the wolf. The sack of coins had mass, causing the counter to shake a littlebiut. The wolf gave Noah a concerned look, wondering what kind of wolf carried this kind of wealth without getting it stolen.
Noah took the bag of food, and a cup of coffee to a free tree stamp. He did not realise how quickly he devoured his food and drank all of his coffee. But he finished it all, and he was satisfied. Nothing could describe how well he was feeling at the moment. After running across the maps, fighting that ghost dog, having nothing but that malnuerished scraggly squerrel, sometimes you have to love yourself.
Now, before he could mourn or do anything to save himself, and possibly his friend, he has to take a small nap first.
After getting up, carrying the sack of coins with him, and leaving the premises of the cafe, he had come to realise that his strength had came back. Not completely. When he decided to turn towards the ocean to find the beach cave, he came across the third before the very last wolf he would like to meet.
The blue wolf's fur was standing up. His fangs were baring through his lips. His eye lids were curling in a angry scowl. He had came across the wolf he had stolen the coins from. And now with a new dried blood stain on his forehead, he was standing face to face with the wolf. Most likely looking for revenge, and his coins back.
"I finally found you. I've gone through all my troubles, and now I'm getting my even." The wolf advanced on Noah as he closed the space between them slowly, preparing to attack. Noah had to find a way to avoid this fight as he dropped the coins and pleadedly said "Please. I was just hungry. I was trying to survive. There's a lot of coins in here. Like 200 coins? 300 coins?" The blue wolf backed Noah against the corner of a wall and Noah added in pleaded tones "Listen. I only spent like 16 coins. Here. It's all yours. You can take it." The blue wolf chuckled softly, yet in a way that proved that his anger was making him lose his mind, and he said "Oh, sure. But you know what I also want now? A little deduction from you."
Before Noah could ask what he meant by "A little deduction", the blue wolf pounced onto Noah and he pinned him to the dirst. The dirt was thrown into the air as Noah made fruitless kicks at the blue wolf, but that was when the blue wolf bit down onto Noah's neck and clasped down onto his neck, cutting the airway from entering into his lungs. The ruckus ended when the weight of the blue wolf was picked off of Noah. Noah opened his eyes as he wondered where the teeth that was squeazing around his throat had left when he saw that the blue wolf was nowhere up from where in his sight. He heard some painful yelling and whining, and he got up from where he was laying to see where the sounds of the blue wolf was coming from. He turned his head to the left and saw the blue wolf being tackled by the ghost dog.
Noah's chest sucked in.
It was that ghost dog. The ghost dog that had ambused Noah and Messenger. How could she had followed him when he had swam in the water to cover his tracks? Noah took a few steps back as he watched her take down the wolf who he had stolen money from.
"Stop!" The blue wolf bellowed beneath the restraints of the ghost dog "This is my fight. He stole money from me!"
"I am not interested in what this young wolf had done. He's mine, and I need him so I could be free." rasped the ghost dog, and already, Noah had gotten the desperity to how much this ghost dog needs Noah to be taken to Death. But she was too busy fighting the blue wolf, maybe he could like sneak out of this fight.
Noah stepped gave a glance to the blue glistoning water of the stream, then he took his gaze to the left to look at the ghost dog and the blue wolf who were still tied up in their fight. He suddenly made a dash out and around the boulder, heading for the stream. The ghost dog saw him make his escape, and she made a dreadful roar that sent shivers up his spine. She got off of the blue wolf and allowed the wolf to get up off the ground. Once he got up off the ground, the ghost wolf shoved him back on the ground before she dashed off, running after Noah.
Noah was running as fast as his worn legs could carry him. His breath huffing and puffing with exhaustion as he reached the rows of the oaks. He gave a gaze back, hoping that he could outrun the ghost dog, but the ghost dog was catching up, gaining on him too fast for him to outrun. She didn't even make a sound when she ran. She was silent like a ghost. His legs gave up, and he had to stop. He wanted to push further, but his legs said no. They could only travel soo far. And he was exhausted. Noah thought it was time to give up. After running for soo long, he had to stop.
He turned around before he stared eye to eye with the ghost dog, who had not shedded a single sign of exhaustion. She stepped forward, ready to pounce. All Noah could do was speak.
"Ok. You got me. For whatever reason you are trying to find me, I am right here. I am tired, and I had a good, long time with this game of cat and mouse." Noah said as he stepped back a pace, ready to take the fatal infliction from the ghost dog. "That's fine. Whatever makes my job easy. Just stay where you are." Said the ghost dog as she moved in. A small grin was creeping up her face. Noah's mind was brainstorming with all kinds of ideas to escape this situation. But there was no other idea that he could use that could help him get out of this than the one about convincing this ghost dog. But what can he use to convince her?
"Excuse me. Before you kill me, I just want to ask one question." Noah's question caused the ghost dog's ears to perk up in curiousity. This was a good sign. "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me and my friend... that Messenger guy?"
The ghost dog froze for a moment in deep thought. But then she shook her head and grimmaced "I'm not answering that silly question. I'm here to take you back to Death."
"You know, my friend, Messenger was probably just like you. He was just a normal wolf until he was taken by Death. He didn't want to stay stuck down that terrible place for the rest of eternity, but he also had to become the henchmen of Death. That sounds like someone like you. Were you... once a normal wolf?" Noah tried to negotiate with her. It seemed what he said had gotten to her.
"Yes... You are right, Noah. I was once a normal, young wolf who once loved going to school and learning. I had lots of friends. Those memories seem too distant. He must of erased them from my memories after he claimed me." She looked to of been reminicizing about the past. "But that's all in the past. For now, you are mine, and after I kill you, I will be free!" She started growling while at the same time starting to approach Noah with ferocious teeth bearing. Noah started backing up. It was when she pounced on Noah, pinning him down with her ontop of him, limiting his movements to only useless squirming. Noah looked up with panicked and saw the creeping insanity forming on her smiling face as she was about to maw his neck open. He then blurted as loud as he could "Wait! Please! Wait!"
"Why!" She roared in his face impatiently. Her breath smelling like cynders.
"You don't have to do this. You can still be free. Just trust me. Please listen."
"I don't have much time for conversations, Noah. You must die."
"You can relive being a normal wolf again. I promise you. You don't have to do this. We can fight this. Me and Messenger were looking for the two crystals. We already found one. And you have the other. It's on your neck." Noah said, and it made her look at her chest. She studied the little crystal in a golden casing, which dangled from her chest. "You can be that wolf who loves school and learning again. And you can have friends too. Me, and Messenger... I'm not tricking you."
The ghost dog was in a world of unknown. She could easily kill Noah and be free for herself. Either that, or spare Noah, and work together to find her freedom and her memories back.
She got off of Noah and turned her back, taking her weight off of Noah. Noah took a deep breath, relieved that the weight was off of his chest. He stood up from the wavy wild wheat of the meadow before the row of trees. He looked at the dark, cloud dog who was staring out at the stream of water, which now stood distant. He did not bother thinking of abusing this situation as a chance of getting away as her ears were up and swiveling, obviously making sure he dosen't pull any of those moves on her while she kept her back turn on him.
"You know. You might just be right. Maybe I should do this with you. Perhaps, what if this is not true. What if he might not allow me to leave after I capture you afterwards?" She said in a worried tone. She turned around slowly and looked into his eyes. Her yellow, fierce blazing eyes now looking mournful and hurt. "Exactly. And if that's true of what you said of you once being a normal wolf before the whole Death capture thing, then I know that old self is still in you somewhere. And if you want to really be free again, we got to work together." Noah said as she started approaching Noah, slowly. So Noah continued "My friend, Messenger was already captured. Me and him were on the same mission. I have absolutely halfway not sure what to do after this. Perhaps, may you fill in the gaps of what Messenger left behind for me?" She stopped as she looked down at her own toes, in deep thought, and Noah added "You probably need some new friends. You got us." Then she looked at Noah again, and she nodded her head up and down and then said. "Yes. Ofcourse. I want my old life back. But not in the way where I have to kill somebody just so I can live in harmony in the overworld." All this agreeing made Noah smile with pride. It seems like he is not a dumb, lazy wolf after all. He is now stepping in the shoes of Messenger; That being couragious and risk taking for the better.
It seemed that everything was working with him now.
Ok. I have finally posted all of the chapters that have been completed. I have been snoozing on productions because of the stress and me being busy. I have not worked on this story for a month. But a review and some new visitors would be something that I would certainly enjoy. The next chapter will be when I finish the 6th chapter, finally. Possibly by November 30th. Thanks for reading this far. -11/16/20 3:02AM