Chapter 12: Grief (written from August 18th to August 23rd, 2020)
"We're almost there!" said Loretta strenuously. The winds were stronger than ever. I thought at any minute I was going to be carried away. I stayed close to Loretta as promised but it wasn't without perseverance. Although a harder job, carrying Spade kept Lorreta on the ground. At least that was what I thought she hoped.
I had no idea how she was navigating. I was not aware of a sixth sense. "Amazed, huh?" she said after glancing at me. "Heh, heh. It's okay, little one. Perhaps I'll teach you once this is all over. It's pretty simple actually. It's all about training your eyes and your nose. You must always be aware of your surroundings... Speaking of which..." Loretta then stamped one of her paws. "Just as I thought. We're on a frozen pond. Here, Kate, get in front of me. Your paws won't have any grip on the ice, especially in this windstorm. Let me push you along."
"Okay." I got in front of her. It was then that I heard a faint cracking noise. "What was that?" We stayed still for a minute. It sounded like a creature was sneakily moving beneath us. We soon found out that it was no creature, but if anything was trying to swallow us whole, it was the wintry Earth. The ice in our vicinity broke into a single piece; a crack encircled us. Our concentrated weight began flipping the plate of ice that we stood on, and we were immediately in danger of slipping into the water and becoming trapped. I desperately tried to make it to the center of the plate to balance it before we slipped downward. I jumped and hit the center of the ice, but I fell back down since the weight on one side was too great; however, during the panic, Spade slipped off of Loretta's back and fell into the water. This allowed the much heavier Loretta to do the same thing I did with much better success. The ice leveled but, sadly, that meant trapping Spade in the water below us. We both took the opportunity to jump off the unstable ice plate.
"NOOOO!" Loretta screamed. "Don't move!" she ordered me. "I'm going to get her!" The she-wolf went back to the ice piece and allowed herself to be dropped into the water. She was going to rescue her sister who couldn't swim because of her injuries. I was breathing heavily, petrified. I watched the ice level again after Loretta easily slipped in once the crack widened. No wolf was in sight now. They were underwater, underneath the frozen surface of the pond. Maybe Loretta would tap the bottom of the ice and that would be a signal for me to help. I decided to wait and see.
Seconds turned into minutes. Eventually, too many minutes had passed. No... Something went wrong... and I didn't want to go back to that death trap to inspect. Some of the water had splashed my butt. It was the coldest thing ever. Frigid water was more unforgiving than frigid air ever could be. A wolf could only take so much abuse. I understood this. So that meant they had to be gone by now... Loretta and Spade didn't make it... They drowned or froze to death down there... I was alone... seemingly in the middle of nowhere...
Later...
l didn't have time to express my sorrow. I had to find some shelter soon. I almost died twice... I didn't want to stretch my luck again. I wandered aimlessly in the Eastern territory. It looked just as white as the West. I prayed for another miracle, and thankfully, a higher power answered. A lonely den came into view. I went inside and shook the snow off again.
"Hey!" said someone. It was someone my age. It was a black wolf all by himself.
"Hi! I'm so sorry! Is it okay if I stay in here?" I asked. "I assume you're a Beta."
"Yes. You're good!" he answered. "I don't want anyone out there. Who are you? Are you a Beta too?"
"Yes. My name is Kate. I'm from the Western Pack."
"A Western? In my den? I wasn't expecting that... I'm Stormfast, but you can call me Storm." He held out a paw. I never thought I would get a pawshake from an Eastern. Back in autumn, an incident happened between our packs that prompted my dad to make a call for peace. I was too busy playing with Humphrey in those days to hear his speech, but my mom informed me of the great cold war that had been happening since way before I was born. They called it the Age of Aggression. Eastern wolves still were our enemies, but it was apparent that the storm was our common enemy and it made us brothers and sisters. It was odd but welcomed.
"Why are you by yourself?" I asked. "Where's your family?"
"That's who I'm waiting for. I've been in our den since the blizzard got really bad. My parents are supposed to be here with me, but I don't know what's going on. You haven't seen anybody that might look like my parents, have you?"
I shook my head.
"It's a mess out there," I replied. "I think my Alpha School instructors just died..." I finally let out my sorrow and cried. The black Eastern hugged me.
"How'd you get in the Eastern Pack? Are you lost? Are your parents gone too?"
"Umm... Well... I'm trying to get to your pack leader's den. That's where my parents are."
"Oh... You know, Tony's den is only twenty yards away."
"It is?"
"Yeah," said Stormfast. "Tony is my uncle. His den is just twenty yards to the east."
"I can't figure any directions out there."
"Oh, you're right. Well, the mouth of this den faces south, so east is that way." He took a step outside and pointed in that direction. "You won't miss it. His den is huge."
"So I hear," I replied. "Thank you so much, Storm."
"No problem. Hopefully, we'll meet again when our packs aren't hating each other."
"Ha, ha! Likewise! I hope your parents come home!"
"They will! Thank you!"
Later...
What I heard was right. Tony's den was huge. It was larger than the sleeping quarters. And it was really warm too. There were a lot of wolves here, but my eyes were quickly attracted to the Betas near the back. I joined them, and they were happy to see me too.
"Kate!" It was my mom. We hugged each other passionately. "I'm so glad you're safe! Winston! Kate's here!"
"Kate!" I then hugged my dad. "How'd you get here by yourself?"
"Long story," I said. "But Ms. Loretta... Ms. Spade... I think they're gone... They were taking me to you, and they got trapped in a frozen pond!"
"Goodness!" my parents exclaimed in unison.
"Why were they taking you to me?" Mom asked.
"It's more complicated than what I'm saying. You left the sleeping quarters, and I stupidly went out to look for you, and I got lost then I found Ms. Spade then Ms. Loretta found us and—"
"Okay, okay," Dad interrupted. He hugged me tighter. "You've seen enough for a day..."
"Ms. Spade told me what happened with Sleeping Quarters B."
"Yes. The den's structure was compromised. I had to get your mother and the Betas out of there."
"I can't believe they're gone," said Mom forlornly. "This storm has taken its toll on all of us."
"And it continues," Dad whispered as a familiar Eastern entered the den. It wasn't Stormfast but his cousin, the first Eastern wolf I met, the orange-reddish wolf named Garth. He was crying. All of the Eastern wolves in the den bowed their heads as Garth made his way to his father whose presence I never noticed before now. Dad walked over to Tony. It was like he knew something was brewing within the Eastern.
"She's gone, Dad," said Garth. "She's gone..." Tony stiffened his lips and tried to hold back the tears. My dad tried to comfort him, but he growled when the Western got close."
"Tony..."
"This is none of your business, Winston!" Tony scared me. I had never seen anyone talk to my dad with authority.
"Tony... I'm sorry..." I saw Tony eye my mom with strong feelings on his face. Perhaps it was jealousy... "Tony," my dad said again.
"I let you Westerns stay here... It is a privilege!" he yelled. "I stayed by your side, Winston! I could've been with my beloved Martha!"
"Tony... Don't put this on us," said Dad. "You told me she was sick in this cold and wouldn't last long. Your generosity saved us and our Betas!"
"I shouldn't have helped you," he whispered. "I should've been with my mate and my son."
"Tony! You're stricken with grief..."
"Whatever!" he snapped. "Let me mourn in peace, Winston..." My dad slowly nodded and backed away. Garth hugged his father and the two cried together quietly. The Easterns in the den lifted their snouts and howled a song to commemorate the fallen she-wolf I've never heard about or seen. Meanwhile, all I could think about was Loretta and Spade, the instructors who were sisters. I was then reminded of my sister, Lilly. I wondered where she was and if she was safe. I didn't want to return home to find out she had died. I also wondered when we would return home. When would this storm end?