Chapter 13: Thaw (written from August 24th to August 25th, 2020)
Three days later...
We stayed inside Tony's huge den for three days. By that point, the snowstorm finally loosened its grip on our world, so the thaw could begin. It was still colder than autumn but it warmed just enough for the fresh powder to turn into slush. The howling winds ceased, and the sun gave a friendly welcome to our frozen backs. I walked outside with glee. I bounced around and pranced but it was brief, for I was reminded of the many lives that had been lost.
I, my dad, Mom, and our group of Betas traveled back to the Learning Center. We met up with the other Betas of Sleeping Quarters A. Everyone started hugging each other when we arrived. Some delicious warm meat awaited on the butchering stone. I didn't realize how much I was starving until I had a couple of bites. The instructors had hunted it recently. Most of them were here too by the time we came.
"Sir, have you seen Loretta or Spade?" asked my Wolfish instructor, Mr. Dwight. Winston and I had to explain what happened to them, which prompted many tears and mournful howls.
"Kate, what were you thinking?!" said Hutch. "Why did you go out on your own?"
"I'm sorry, Hutch," I replied. "I don't know... I wasn't thinking... I promise I won't abandon you guys again." I then hugged Hutch. "We're a team now, hunt companions... We're all brothers and sisters."
As I reconnected with my peers, my dad, the pack leader, went around the territory to assess the damage. I would learn that all of the Betas had survived but many older wolves didn't. A number of my classmates' parents had died from collapsed dens due to heavy snowfall. A few wolves died of sickness and a few of hypothermia. A very similar story occurred in the East. My mom told me that it was the deadliest snowstorm on record. No blizzard since our ancestors first settled the Valley had left this amount of death in its wake. The things that contributed the most to the high mortality were the heavy snowfall and ridiculous winds. My dad was about five and a half years old. He told me he had lived through colder and longer storms, but this one was the most brutal. After hearing that, I considered myself lucky to have walked through the storm during its worst times and lived to tell the tale. I really thought on multiple occasions that I was going to die, that the legend of Kate had finally met a stronger opponent...
Later in the day, Winston addressed a rattled pack. He gave a speech detailing some of the lives that were lost. It was bittersweet but it was not despondent. We were going to continue Alpha School tomorrow, he said, as if nothing happened, as if no storm interrupted. It was going to be a symbolic message about our resilience. The dead were going to be buried in a special place within Shadow Forest, a place where only veterans of war were buried.
"The storm was our enemy," my father declared, "and some of our beloved citizens fought it 'til the end, so they shall be remembered!"
After the speech, I walked my way home, which was the Western pack leader's den. On the way up Mt. Victory, I bumped into another Beta, Can-do, who looked guilty.
"I don't think you heard..."
"Heard what?" I replied.
"Of the list of names of the dead, I don't think you recognized two of them."
"What are you talking about?"
"Kate... Two of them were Humphrey's parents..." My heart sank. I immediately thought of Humphrey. I knew why Can-do was guilty now. After the Games, Can-do ripped Humphrey a new one. And now, when Humphrey was probably going through the worst pain of his life, Can-do's shameful actions looked even worse. What he said next caught me off guard. "You should talk to him..." Can-do, the once Omega-hating Alpha-to-be was telling me, a future Alpha, to tend to the future Omega. It really emphasized how bad things were with my autumn friend, that Can-do, a wolf who wasn't selfless often, would want things to be better.
"Yes... I should talk to him."
I walked back down Mt. Victory and made my way to a group of dens that were a few leagues from the mountain. It was a place where Alphas and Betas from other areas almost never visited, a place where most of the Omegas lived. I used to visit regularly to play with Humphrey last autumn. It wasn't custom for an Alpha-to-be, especially one with as much royal blood as myself, to have an Omega friend, but Winston allowed it, for he had great respect for the Omegas of his pack. Despite being inferior, Omegas had important roles. Their duties were distinct from us, so much so that we went to different schools. I remembered officially parting ways with Humphrey. It wasn't hard, for I was excited—and still am—of being a real Alpha.
"Kate! It's time to go," my dad informed.
"I'm coming, Dad!" I wasted no time.
"Where're you going?" Humphrey had asked.
"Alpha School. It goes 'til spring."
"Spring? But that's like... a whole winter away." My dad got in between us.
"I know you're Kate's friend, Humphrey, but, by next spring, she will be a trained Alpha, the future leader of the pack... No doubt you'll be a clever Omega... Learn to keep the peace... And Humphrey... Remind us all to have fun."
"But... but..."
"Alphas and Omegas can't ma... Err... Um... How do you say it?" I then heard him clear his throat. "That's our custom, the law of the pack." He turned around and joined me. A few seconds later, I heard Humphrey's Omega friends ambush him playfully.
"Wolf pile!" they cried. I shook my head as I admittedly had a sense of entitlement.
"Silly Omegas..."
A minute later, Humphrey managed to reach me again before I left for the training grounds.
"Kate! Kate! Wait!" My father and I turned around.
"What is it, Humphrey? I have to go. Alpha School doesn't wait."
"Here." A rock exited his mouth. I didn't know what to think of it.
"Heh, heh, heh. Very nice... gift! Umm... what is it?" I asked.
"It's a rock!" he had answered while giving me his signifying smile complete with all of his teeth.
"And?"
"Not just any rock. It's the rock I tripped on when we were sightseeing in the mountains!" I guess I didn't actually understand the real significance of that rock when he gave it to me. "It's supposed to represent our time together," he had said. "So when you're sprinting laps or doing tree squats, you'll remember we're friends." I thought back to the sightseeing activity that he was referring to.
In between the Games, when our chances of winning had never been slimmer, we climbed up Moonlight Howl Rock to ease our minds. When we reached the summit, it was dusk, and my breath was taken away. I had never been so high above the canopy. There were different hues of orange, blue, yellow, and purple that were prominently declaring their own existence in the sky. It was amazing.
"You like?" said Humphrey.
"So this is what a bird's eye view is! It's amazing! Thank you!"
"Yeah, every spring, a couple goes up here to howl their hearts out. At least that's what my parents told me. Of course, we weren't even born yet when the last Moonlight Howl happened earlier this year."
"Yeah, I bet it was fun." All of a sudden, I began howling. It was horrible, and I could see Humphrey cringing. "Howling is so hard. It always makes my throat hurt."
"That's because you're trying too hard." He pointed at his head before putting a paw on his chest. "Don't howl with this. Howl with this."
"Wait a minute. Doesn't everybody already use their lungs to howl?"
"No, Kate, I was talking about your heart."
"Oh."
"See, you use your brain for making quick, informative thinking, but you use your heart for long-lasting, emotional thinking, and emotions are just strong feelings you express to others. To howl good, you must have emotion, thus, you must use your heart." I hadn't attempted to howl since then, but I couldn't forget Humphrey's demonstration. His voice was otherworldly and it made the end of the day worth so much more than expected.
It was on our way down the mountain when Humphrey tripped on a small rock. It was practically a pebble. Its small size made me laugh. It was amusing that such a small inanimate object could bring a wolf to his or her stifles. Humphrey, of course, was amused by my laugh, so he kept the rock as a reminder of our little moment. It was sweet.
I now came up to Humphrey's den. The entrance was on the other side where I couldn't see him. Before I decided to go around, I grabbed a random pebble that was in the grass. I planned to give it to him as a reminder that he was going to be in my thoughts while I was at Alpha School. I knew I held a special place in his heart now. Aside from his Omega friends, I was all he had left, and I knew how much he missed me already. I couldn't forget his uninvited visit to the training grounds.
I proceeded to go towards Humphrey's den when my dad's words came back to me.
"I know you're Kate's friend, Humphrey, but, by next spring, she will be a trained Alpha, the future leader of the pack..."
No... I couldn't do this...
"You must leave behind your puppyish behavior of sentimentality! It will get you killed. It could endanger the pack," Loretta had said.
No... Loretta was right! I shouldn't do this... Humphrey will be an Omega. I will be an Alpha. I must set it straight before things between us get weird. It was already unorthodox that we became friends as pups, but things were changing. A friendship was only going to be a hassle beyond this point. I had to draw a line in the sand as we were destined for totally different paths. Humphrey had to deal with his loss on his own or with friends like him, and I needed to become the Alpha I needed to be, for I was going to be a high-level one, an example for Alphas across the Valley. Sadly, I had to leave Humphrey behind... I had to forget him.
I dropped the rock and turned around. I headed back to the training grounds. I wanted to take advantage of the free day and get some exercise at the fields. That was where I belonged. I invented the spin-out. I charged through the toughest storm ever. I was born an Alpha! I was destined to meet a male Alpha one day, and together we will hunt and provide for the pack like all other Alpha couples do. By the end of spring, I could have an all-Alpha litter, and we would live a smooth peaceful life with zero complications and zero worries.
At least that's what I thought...