AN: Hey guys, it's been a while, hasn't it. Sorry, school got incredibly busy all of the sudden. But, here's chapter three. It's a little longer than some of my other ones. I hope you enjoy!
Shadow was lying in a pile of trash in the town of Jasper. She had been wallowing there since her failed attempt to kill the creature that had been stalking wolves. What it had told her had destroyed her. What she had spent her entire life trying to prevent was about to happen. She could never have stopped it.
She rolled herself to her other side with a groan. She was miserable, and all because of Nick. If he had kept his nose out from where it didn't belong, she might have been halfway across the world with no idea that her life had been a complete waste.
As the despair washed over her, she felt her many years wash away. All that was left was a little pup that wanted to go home. But she had destroyed any chance of that long ago.
"Get up Shadow," a voice growled.
Shadow jolted upright.
The mangy wolf who had addressed her looked no better off than she did. His fur was matted and his ribs were prominent. However, there was a sinister aura around him that made him seem far more dangerous than he looked. And he was.
"Yes?" She asked quietly.
"Why have you been hiding in the humans' filth?" he asked.
"You know very well why!" she snapped, "You could have told me! Warned me!"
"Now Shadow, I have been completely honest with you. I never lied about them waking up. I never even brought up the subject."
Shadow growled. "I'm done. Let me die here in my alley. It's…" she kicked wrapper with her paw, "homey."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Shadow," the wolf replied, "It's time."
"I really hate this cave," Humphrey growled as he, Helen, and Kate ran through the half-lit tunnel into the Earth.
"Well, the pups won't be coming back for a very long time," Kate replied, "They're going to be grounded for the rest of their lives!"
"Seconded."
The three wolves stopped suddenly when they heard a strange hissing from behind them. There was a soft patting of feet for several seconds after they had stopped.
"What was that?" Humphrey asked.
"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Helen said, she had learned that nothing good ever came from strange, subterranean noises.
Their noses were suddenly assaulted by a foul odor. It was a musky, earthy smell mixed with something foul, like decaying flesh. Something about it made the wolves especially uneasy.
Then, out of the darkness, a creature emerged, its leathery feet making the soft patting sound. It was some kind of lizard, the size of a wolf. Two heads bared their dagger-like teeth and letting black tongues slither through the air in front of them.
"Mommy!" Humphrey whimpered.
"Yes," Helen replied.
"Maybe it's just an illusion like the wall," Kate suggested hopefully.
"Unfortunately," Humphrey replied, "I'm pretty sure we used the only rock in this place to see what that invisible wall did."
"Kate, I revise my earlier comments," Helen said, "You should ground those pups until they have grand-pups."
"Great grand-pups," Kate added.
The three wolves were backing away from the monster. Its four eyes were locked on them and putrid, green saliva dripped from both of its mouths.
"Well, we can't just keep doing this forever," Kate said. She bared her teeth and pressed her ears to her skull. Her muscles clenched and she sprang from the ground and went flying towards the monster.
"Kate!" Humphrey yelled.
The creature only raised a claw to its opposite shoulder and snapped it back, sending the Alpha back to the earth with a grunt. It began to advance on her.
Humphrey swooped in and grabbed his mate by the scruff of her neck, pulling her away from the lizard. She was heavier than he remembered and he was regretting how little exercise he got on a day to day basis.
Kate revived and sprang up.
"Anyone got a new plan?" she asked.
"And what have we learned here?" Runt asked Stinky smugly.
"Never try to pee in a cave going down," Stinky growled resentfully.
Claudette and Runt were both still laughing at the dance their brother had performed when trying to relieve his bladder. It was something that wouldn't be forgotten soon.
Why do wolves willingly have these things? Nick thought to himself. He pushed his annoyance, and maybe some small amount of affection, away. They were almost there. He could feel it.
The group rounded a corner and was met with yet another long stretch of rock. However, at the very end, sat a faint light.
"Are you seeing that too?" Stinky asked.
"There is literally a light at the end of the tunnel," Runt whispered.
"Finally, after all these years!" Nick exclaimed. Without warning, he shot forward in a sprint, leaving the pups behind.
"He is the model for teamwork," Claudette growled.
The pups set of after him but couldn't keep up. Nick vanished into dark.
He stopped at the end of the tunnel. Before him, opened a great cavern where the light was pouring in from. He couldn't get a clear view of what was inside, but that wouldn't last long.
"What the heck?" Stinky yelled as he caught up. Claudette was ahead of him and Runt trailed behind.
Nick ignored the remark.
"Finally, I'm here!" he whispered to himself.
"So, what is so important down here?" Claudette asked, taking a step forward.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice called from behind.
The four wolves turned to see the mysterious wolf from the previous cavern standing behind them.
"It's not a good idea."
"It's you again," Runt whispered.
"So what?" Stinky exclaimed, "It's just another hologram!" He proceeded to walk toward her and raised a paw. "See." He jabbed it straight into the wolf's stomach.
Stink sat there for a second, his grin awkwardly pasted to his face as he realized his paw hadn't passed through anything. He slowly withdrew it and lowered it back to the ground. He took several steps back.
"I assure you," the wolf began, "I am real. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Rina, I am the leader of the group of wolves that sleep before you."
"Sleep?" Stinky asked.
"It is not a perfect word for it, but it will suffice." Her ears picked up. "Oh no!" she whispered.
"What?" Claudette asked.
"I knew I was forgetting something," she continued, as though she hadn't heard. "Oh well, they'll join us soon enough."
"Why is it that no adults ever listen to our questions?" Stinky exclaimed.
"Is this-" Nick began in aw, "is this all I have been searching for? Have I finally found it?"
Rina looked at him soberly.
"Yes."
AN: One day, you'll actually know what that is. Finals are about to start and I already have a crap-ton of homework for the end of the semester. I do hope to finish this story before the new year. I've started planning out the next installment after this whole story-arc. I'm looking forward to it. But we still have a couple more stories to go. I hope to update soon. Until then, t-m-o.