Chapter 9: Thundersnow (written on August 15th, 2020)

It was P.E. class now. By this point, some piles of snow were reaching the heights of some of the Betas. It seemed like it would never stop snowing. And it was only getting colder. But my parents stayed on the course. My dad had us in a line, so he could lecture. The winds were getting so loud that we could barely hear him.

"Today I'm going to start teaching you guys the first stage, tracking! Since the weather has clearly been whacky lately, we'll start with tracking in the snow! In most cases, prints in the snow are very defined!" Mom gave him what looked like a hoof. "We keep a number of different hooves for education purposes! This is a caribou hoof!" He placed it on the snow and pushed it down with his paw. When he removed the hoof, it revealed a distinct symmetrical print of four shapes. The two shapes on the forward-facing side were much larger and resembled two crescent moons. "Get used to these prints because you'll see these most often!" My dad then made more prints using the various hooves that Mom gave him.

Each of us took our time comparing them. Moose were like caribou except the crescent shapes were overlapping. An ox's hoof lacked the two smaller shapes and the two crescent shapes that were left were less curvy. Wapitis were similar to the ox but the overall print was significantly smaller. Dad told us it was easy to confuse a wapiti of any age with a young ox. Younger ungulates tend to have smaller hooves, but some species kept small hooves throughout adulthood. "Tracking, however, is more than just looking at shapes!" Dad added. "If you're having trouble figuring out exactly what animal it is, use your sense of smell! In fact, your sense of smell will be your greatest asset when tracking! But we'll get to smell at a later date! For now, memorize these prints!"

Beside me, I heard Can-do sneeze. He didn't look good. His eyes were hardly open, and he shivered uncontrollably. On a normal day, I wouldn't care about Can-do, but I knew since he was a runt that he was vulnerable to the cold, and I didn't want him to suffer like that. As I've gotten older, I've realized how relentless nature can be. Nature doesn't care about anybody.

Later, during a lesson about scent marking, two more Betas fell ill. The weather only got worse and worse. Suddenly, a booming sound rippled through. It was thunder! Apparently lightning was enough to spook my dad. "Okay, everybody, we're going to have to go inside and wait this out!" Everyone replied with a sigh of relief. Can-do, Hutch, and I were assigned to the den known as Sleeping Quarters A, so that was where we headed for. Sleeping Quarters B was on the other side of the Learning Center. The group eventually split in two. Mom went with the B group and Dad stayed with me. After a hard walk against the wind, we met Loretta at Sleeping Quarters A, and Hutch and I huddled close to each other in the back of the cave. I noticed Loretta whispering something to my dad. Whatever it was had to be important.

"Attention, Betas! I have received word that a blizzard is likely..."

"What's a blizzard?" somebody asked.

"It's a really powerful snowstorm, one that can snow so much that you won't be able to see a thing. It's extremely dangerous. It's very easy to get lost." My dad could sense us beginning to panic. "Now, now, don't be afraid. We have at least one blizzard every winter. While this one, should it come here, is very early, it is nothing we haven't prepared for. We have Alphas in guard dens surrounding the training grounds. They are trained to know every inch of this place, even in a snowstorm, so they can find a lost Beta. All we have to do is wait the storm out and conserve heat. During a blizzard, all wolves will stay inside. I can request atmospheric statuses from around the territory via howls, so I can monitor the situation."

I was relieved to know that the weather was being monitored. It made me feel safer since that meant that the best possible decisions were going to be made in case of an emergency.

And as if the universe read my mind, an alarming howl was heard through the winds.

"It's an emergency howl!" said Loretta. My dad turned to her.

"Eve... Something must have happened to the other group!"

"Let me go, sir."

"No, Loretta. I'll go. I'll be right back, Betas." Dad took one quiet look at me before going into the yowling storm alone. I gasped. My heart skipped a beat. He quickly disappeared. The whiteness ate his dark fur with no resistance. I stared at the last sight of his body in horror. Please... Don't leave me, Dad. I then told myself to calm down. You're coming back, aren't you? Given his experience, it was probably likely, but nature looked like she had other plans.

Later...

An hour later, as the sun began to set, my dad still hadn't returned. While the other Betas had fallen asleep, I was very much awake as was Loretta. Instead of Hutch, I lay next to her. We watched the snow continue to pile up. Half of the den's entrance was blocked. No doubt it was a blizzard now. It happened so fast. I was still processing my emotions. Loretta could see me looking gloomy, so she gave me a soothing hug.

"Do you think my dad is okay?" I asked her.

"Your dad is very resilient," she replied. "It's not him I'm most worried about..."

"My dad is one tough wolf. My mom too," I acknowledged.

"You should get some sleep, dear. I'm certain he'll be back when you wake up."

"Okay..." I buried my head in my forepaws and closed my eyes. Before I slipped away, I heard another howl and some other noises, but I was too sleepy to respond.