A/N: Chapter 2 rewritten twice over, for yours truly. It's longer too ^^
This time, it was not sudden movement that woke me, but the sudden stop. I had grown so used to the sounds and trembles that I nearly forgot that they were there.
Then, a slit appeared suddenly at the wall. In flowed some fresh air, and the familiar scent of the 'being' that I had detected earlier.
Now being fully awake with no headaches bothering me, I realized that I knew that type of scent. I was certain that it belonged to a human, having captured that scent many times when passing the houses of the humans. That aroused the bloody memory that I had tried to forget.
Not long later, something sharp entered my flank. Snarling, I turned towards it to bite whatever it is. But as quickly as it came, it was gone.
Furious at the sudden sneak attack, I forced my muzzle through the slit and earned a yell from outside.
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I had expected some type of retort from inserting the tranquilizer into the wolf's body, but the snarling muzzle that attempted to chomp at my hand was just slightly too much.
"You got it in, Tony?" the driver asked. Driving was only a temporary job for him, as he swore that he would get a job in an air-conditioned room. But by the insanity and speed that he drove, he was lucky to be still alive.
"Yeah," I replied, "no sweat."
He chuckled, "but I see that you're sweating."
"Well…that was only a metaphor."
"Whatever you say, Tony."
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I didn't feel very good after that attack. I suspected that the human was using some dirty trick like they did with my pack mates. An image of my fellow hunters getting torn apart by unseen projectiles resurfaced.
Slowly, but surely, I felt the urge to fade into unconsciousness increase. I lay down, unable to support myself anymore. I tried shaking off some of the drowsiness, but to no prevail. Gradually, I went into a drugged slumber.
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"The wolf's down," I notified my partner of the day,
"Finally," he grumbled, putting his hands in the air.
"Come on, just a science report and then we can release it," I urged him. My hands instantly felt my pockets for the tranquilizer antidote, making sure that it was still there. Fortunately for me, it was there, all in one piece.
"Anything but the releasing," he answered, crossing his arms.
"Whatever you say," I quoted him, the latter giving a scowl.
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When I opened my eyes, I realized that I had awakened too many times the day. Getting poisoned to sleep didn't help either.
The humans had just left, as their scents were still fresh. I longed to run after them, but I knew that it would be pointless because I tried it once. Their moving-cages were too fast to overtake.
Leaving the thoughts to the back of my mind, I took information from my surroundings. There was a small lake in the shape of an 'L'. By the lingering smell of prey, I easily deduced that it was a regular drinking spot. And there were other wolves.
The humans had brought me into another pack's hunting grounds, I realized in fear.
I had to escape their lands or risk possible death. So I ran, looking for the quickest way out.
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I didn't have a clear vision ahead of me, with all the trees around, and the wind blowing away from me put me at a clear disadvantage.
I had a chance to get out of the hunting grounds before I was discovered, and that would certainly decrease some hostility since most of the wolves that I knew cared only for the prey when it came to territories. If you didn't hunt their prey, they tolerated you to a certain amount.
A growl was all I heard before I was sent hurtling towards a tree trunk.
Dazed, I lay on my side. "What are you doing on Blackwatch hunting grounds," my assailant snarled.
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I looked down at the sliver coated wolf. My brain immediately searched for a name for the intruder. It was an obsession of mine, naming everyone that I met, including everyone that I would kill.
I caught his fear. Shaky?
No, I named a coyote Shaky, whom I killed under the gaze of her mate.
She was probably lucky that I was the one to kill her and not my other pack mate. He would have made that one kill last for hours.
His silver coat made me remember of a human weapon that was the same color. Blade. No, he was going to die too easily for that.
Runner, I decided. He was a runner when I first saw him.
"Runner, die," I whispered and leaned forward to deliver a killing bite.
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I snapped out of my daze in time to see the jaw descending swiftly on me. My fear raised a hundred-fold as it came closer. Just an inch from my neck, my mind flashed back to a scene when I was still a cub.
I knew what do, but I could only hope that it would work.
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I was now on my back. Carelessness of mine, but it was nothing serious.
When I went for the kill, to my utmost surprise, his throat slipped past my jaws. Now, just a few seconds after that incident, I was pinned against my back. But like I mentioned, it was nothing serious.
Grinning, I sent a quick swipe at his paw, a blow that could surely release me. But astonishingly, he lifted his leg a split second before I hit him and sprinted away.
It took me a second to react to the sudden turn of events. By the time I did, there was nothing left of him.
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I swam across a river to throw him off my scent, landing a distance downstream. I was safe for the moment, but I still felt uneasy. That wolf wasn't going to let up.