"Down With the Sickness"

Quick note, there might be a little bit of disturbing content at the end of the chapter. But nothing terribly over-descriptive and gross.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot.

Warnings for the entire story: Violence, language, blood, possible disturbing images

Chapter 4: To Be a Wolf

It's amazing that a world can be the polar opposite of itself. While the mainland was dying, Oyashima was thriving quite well. I didn't expect Oyashima to be thriving as much as it is. It seems as if it's untouched by humans. Do the humans harbor fear of anything outside their town? Do they have a fear of exploring new territory?

Oyashima was the home to a great forest. It was lush and healthful, unlike the wasteland south of Agata. It looked untouched, like it was the virgin place of the world. If it is such a virgin place, then why was I sent here? It's the wilderness that resides here. It would be a great place to hide a secret. I wonder if the humans will one day destroy this place as well?

Kairi was talking to Riku behind me. We trotted through the forest using an old worn out path. Leaves from the previous autumn covered the forest floor. Occasionally a fallen tree proved to be an obstacle. There were numerous small ponds and rivers in the island. When running here, I saw a large mountain of some sort. Could it be a volcano?

I stopped suddenly, causing Seifer, whose place was right behind me, to run into me. Kairi and Riku ran into Seifer, causing all of us to crash to the ground.

'Why'd you stop, Kiki?' Kairi asked me, using a nickname that I hated. Kiki was a girl's name, in my opinion.

'Quiet.'

They remained quiet for a few minutes. Their ears picked up on what mine had picked up only moments before I stopped. The branches and twigs on the forest floor were rustling. By the sounds of it, it was a big animal. There were more than one, I could tell, as the noise became louder. Instincts told me to howl. And so I did. I got a howl in response.

The noise makers appeared on the path in front of us. There were wolves...and humans? Something wasn't right with the humans if they could live here without destroying the area. A human, presumably the alpha male of the pack, walked towards me. "Hark! State your names!"

The human was young and had the fighting spirit within him. He was noble in nature, and talked with an accent that I never heard before. His hair was a fierce golden, much like his eyes. His hair fell to his ears limply, but it seemed to be full of life at the same time. His attire was modern, like that in Agata, but seemed to be more handmade, like the attire of the other tribe was. I was confused. Was there some sort of cross breeding between the people of Agata and the exiles?

'I'm Kisei,' I told him, not believing he'd hear me.

"Ah. What about those who follow your path?"

'I'm Kairi, and this is Seifer,' Kairi said, motioning to Seifer.
'Riku,' said Riku, observing the human.

'What about you?' I asked him. 'What is your name?'

He seemed to beam with pride. "Pardon my rudeness for not telling you earlier. I am Seki, the ruler of this wolf pack. We reside on this queer island of Oyashima."
Seifer seemed to chuckle.

"Is something the matter, golden wolf?"

Though we told him our names, he refused to call Seifer by his. Perhaps it's because Seifer never introduced himself, but rather had someone do it for him.

'Nothing, just like how you describe things here.' Seifer said in a cocky tone. Seki's wild eyes narrowed at Seifer.
"Watch it, golden wolf. You may find yourself unwelcome here very soon. We do not take kindly to impolite strangers."

'Whatever,' Seifer replied, sitting on the ground and yawning.

Seki made us come with him to his residence with the other members of his pack. There were 40 or more members at least.

'It must be difficult managing this many wolves,' I remarked, looking at Seki curiously. Perhaps he could teach me to be a better leader.

"You're giving me well too much credit, Kisei. I let the wolves make their own decisions. It's uncommon for all of us to be together in one spot of Oyashima at once."

'Then why are you all together?' Kairi asked, deciding to walk by my right side, almost as if she was afraid something would happen to her should she get too close to Seki.

"It's nearly time for a celebration of sorts. Every so often we all gather here to hike up to the top of the distant mountain. It's how we pay our respects to the gods."

He saw our blank stares. "You see, young wolves, we recieved the power to go between wolf and human form a long, long time ago, when the world was created. We are supposed to serve as the human's guardians. But alas, we can't cross the bridge to the mainland. When we try, a young man in black uses a gun to kill us as we run across the bridge. It's surprising that you were able to come here without him killing you. Tell me, how many members of your pack were there before you came here?"
'Just four. No one died. I didn't even smell gun powder,' Riku replied, looking at Seki expectantly. Seki didn't respond.

Seki turned into a wolf. His fur was golden with a hint of brown in it. As he climbed a small hill, he looked like the very image of regalness. The wolves chattered among themselves, not noticing their leader climbing the hill. As Seki howled, the wolves stopped chattering and bickering amongst themselves and howled in response. I heard Kairi, Riku and Seifer howl behind me, and so I followed their lead.

'Listen, everyone! Tomorrow we climb the mountain that lies in our humble little island of Oyashima! We have four guests with us tonight. Be kind to all but the golden one, as he is quite a rude fellow.'

Seifer snorted, stomping his paw on the ground. 'Fuck him.'

'When the moon sets is when our journey will begin! Please prepare yourselves for the journey ahead!'

As I walked with my pack towards the mass group of wolves, I couldn't help but feel admired.

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The moon had set long ago, and we were running up the side of the mountain. There were little jutting edges of rock we could use to climb, and some were large enough to allow us to climb up. Seki had told me before we left that jumping up was much more fun, and efficient as well. He told me that at the top of the mountain lay a crater, caused by a meteor impact from many years ago.

It was time for a break. There was a large cave in the mountain's side, created many years ago just to help the wolves climb the mountain, according to Seki. There was a small pool of water inside from which the thirsty wolves drank from. The wolves didn't speak, as it was Seki's turn to give us yet more knowledge.

'A long, long time ago,' he started. His tone had lost its regalness and was replaced by an almost thoughtful tone. 'When the world was created by the goddesses, they created wolves and humans alongside each other. We wolves had already proven ourselves to be a respectable race. The humans, however, have always been destroying the planets. Every time that the world is destroyed by humans, it is reborn. The goddesses recreate the wolves and humans, and everything starts over again. Eventually, the goddesses grew tired of the cycle. They gave us wolves a special power - the ability to turn into humans. Our duty in this world is to help humans be more at one with nature and the environment. But now, we can't even go back to the mainland to fulfill our duty...'

Everyone stared at Seki sadly, as if he was carrying a horrible burden that no one could ease. It seemed almost unnatural to see this wolf in front of me, talking about the world and its origins, and the angst that comes along with it. Even though I used to be human, I still pity the wolf. Why can't humans pity other animals? We aren't the only ones on the planet. Without animals, we would perish mostly because we have become so dependant on them. We kill them to the point of extinction, without thinking about the consequences of our actions. It's horrible.

Seki exited the cave and everyone followed obidiently. He began climbing upwards, towards the summit of the mountain.

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The summit was a beautiful place. It was snow-capped and, like the rest of Oyashima, untouched by human hands. It was virgin territory, not corrupted. I'd hate to see this place become corrupted too. Was Kojiki Forest really covering the whole mainland before humans came along?

I suddenly smelled gunpowder. I recognized the scent to be that of Vincent's.

'Everybody! Run!' I shouted in a frenzy. I didn't want to see any of these wolves suffer. I couldn't forgive myself if I did let them suffer. Instantly, the pack scattered, sensing the same danger as I.

There were chills running down my spine as I heard the first gunshots be fired. My own pack crowded close to me, relying on my leadership skills as their method of survival. I suddenly felt weak. Could I lead these wolves to safety? Or would I fail and fall as well as them? What would happen to me and the world if the wolves here died? They had to be the last on the planet. If at least one of us didn't survive, the world is doomed.

I saw Vincent aim at me, intent on getting all four of us with one bullet. The bodies of dead wolves lay around his feet where some had made a desperate attempt at saving the others in their pack. The loyalty there was enormus. As Vincent readied his trigger, Seki charged at Vincent. Caught off-guard, Vincent jumped into the air and into the center of the crater, where most of the wolves were lying either dead or very near to it.

'Run!' Seki shouted, snarling at Vincent. 'You need to survive! Without you, the planet will die!'
I stared at the pair, shocked at the events unfolding before my eyes. Seki lunged at Vincent, teeth bared and ready to rip him to shreds. As Seki latched onto Vincent's human arm, the claws on his other hand latched onto Seki's throat. Seki was thrown through the air, blood gushing from the cut on his throat. Seki was, without a doubt, thrown into a frenzy. He forgot everything noble and just unleashed everything on Vincent.

I regained control of myself and nudged Kairi. 'Come on, we need to get out of here!' I hopped over the side of the crater, with the others following close behind. Even though the slope was steep, we charged down the mountain as fast as we could. My feet were hardly touching the ground, but I still felt as if I was on the earth.

Vincent turned to follow us down the mountain. Using Vincent's mistake to his advantage, Seki charged at Vincent. Vincent anticipated the attack and grabbed Seki's throat once more. With a rough jerk of his arm, Seki's throat erupted in blood.

When I was leading the pack over the land bridge, I heard Seki's dying howl...