Chapter 19

Power Drain

Lying in the clearing was the missing children, all with different problems. As Halt looked around trying to find Will, he found their friend Kipp. The young man could only be told by his scent, his body was mostly wolf, that was in the shape of a man. He had no fur on his body but his face, hands and feet were that of a wolf.

Halt was just about to ask Kipp where Will was, when Gilan gave a shout, he had found Will. As Halt got closer, he could see that he was breathing, his pale chest moved only a little but that was enough for Halt to know he was alive. Unlike Kipp, Will was mostly human but Halt could see that he still had the tail and pointed ears of the wolf. His body showed signs of torture, of claws that had ripped into his skin.

"Gilan go back to the village. Get Chase and the others back here, many of these wolves will not survive if help does not come soon" Halt said as he curled his wolf body around Will, to keep him warm.

Halt watched as Gilan raced off and he then turned his attention to Will. The boy was freezing, but slowly warming as Halt's fur coat warmed him up. Halt looked around the clearing at the others, he could hear their fluttering heart beats and he was sure that some of them had stopped, but what and how were the boys like this? he looked down at Will again and could see that the wolf features were slowly going away, as on the others they were slowly returning back to their human forms as well. For now all Halt could do was wait, and find out from Will what had happened.

Halt was sure that when Will woke he would tell him and the others how they ended up this way but as to when that would happen he was not sure. He could now hear the sound of many wolves racing to his position. He breathed a sigh of relief, Will and the others would heal and he would get his answers.

Will was still asleep a few days latter, in all that time he had not stirred once. He had been totally exhausted, his energy gone, his mind and body shut down, drawing new strength from the total rest.

As his subconscious mind stirred and began to dream of what had happened to him, of the chains, of the pain and the screams.

And then he sat up, wide awake.

"Halt!"he yelled to a startled Halt, who grumbled at the yell, but then seeing Will was awake he soon gathered the boy into his arms and started to softly kiss him.

Will soon put his hand up to stop him and said "Halt as much as I want to have you comfort me, don't you think answers would be better. I remember what he did to me and I need to share it to get rid of this pain".

Will was shivering in Halt's hold and Halt realized that Will was right but he would make sure that he would have to tell the story only once.

"Gilan, Chase come here" Halt called out and when they did and after they got their hugs of happiness out of the way at Will's awaking he continued "yes I am happy that he is back with us too, but it is time that we get the answers to why Will and the others were out there and who did this to them and why they were half transformed. I think he should only have to tell us once though, don't you?".

"Yes"said Gilan and Chase together. They could see the pain in Will's eyes as he remembered what had happened and what he was about to tell them, for it was not something he wanted to ever tell anyone.

"Alright and I am glad that I only have to say this once because it fills me with terror that only time will heal"Will said before taking a breath and continuing on "on the night we were taken, I remember being sleepy and then I felt as if I had to move, and it was almost like my body moved on its own. As soon as I was out the door my body transformed into my wolf form and I took off for the forest. Next thing I knew I was in a stone walled room being hit by this weird light. The pain of what that light caused my body to do, I don't want to say. When I was able to turn my head , I could see Kipp laying next to me. He looked mostly like a wolf but he still had some human form. Then the light changed and it felt like it was drawing out all of my energy. I heard him, the monster that this was the last ingredient for what he was working on, and then I past out and the next thing I knew I was waking up here".

"Will don't worry, what ever that light did to you and the others is over and Gilan and I will find and kill this monster before he does anything else, he will not go unpunished for what he did to you and the others"said Halt.

Will knew as his eyes closed that the monster would die and he, Halt,Gilan and the others would never have to fear him again.

An: sorry it took so long.