Chapter 15: Exodus

AN: PLEASE REVIEW

:HUMPHREY'S POV:

The image still burned fresh in my mind, the sight of him dying and his last words to me. To explain let me start from the beginning.

:FLASHBACK:

The war going well for us we were pushing the nomads back towards the westerrn mountains but not without casualties. My army was pushing farther and farther into enemy held territory each day. We were advancing rapidly but that all changed when I recieved new orders from a messenger wolf directly sent from Maxim. Turns out that the nomads still had one trick up their sleves.

They pushed three large herds of boars towards the center front that consisted of Maxim's and Nikoli's armies, and they used them to smash through our lines. My army in the north was orderd to split in two and one half was to march south towards a section of Maxim's army that was surounded by boars and enemy wolves. As we approached the area our allies were trapped in the closer we got the more evident that the fighting in the center was worse than in the northern or southern fronts. The bodies of wolves were everywhere, ripped apart, blooded coated everything, I even saw signs of canibalism. I had heard that food was growing increasingly hard to find in the center areas but I never thought it would be so bad that the wolves would resort to eating one another. Even with all this I felt nothing, I felt no fear, no pain for the loss of life, all I wanted to do was end this war and be with Anya.

When we finally reached the area where our allies were suppose to be trapped, all I saw were bodies scattered everywhere. When I questioned the messenger if this was the place he said yes but then he admitted that he got lost on his way towards the northern front and had been two days late delievering the message. When I heard this I killed him without so much as a word, no one said a thing they knew it wouldn't make a difference.

We searched the area and we found something that had actually made me show my emotions. We had found a clearing with dead wolves scattered everywhere and at the center of the bodies was one wolf who was still clinging to life. It was Maxim, he must have killed the wolves in attempt to escape but had recieved many wounds in the process. The wounds looked fresh so the battle must have happened a little while be for we arrived on the scene. I order all wolves on guard just in case hostiles were still around.

I approached Maxim, he was laying there bleeding heavily, he had multiple scratches on his side and I could see that one of his legs and a few of his ribs were broken.

He was struggling to breath but he managed to say "You're only an hour late."

I actually let a tear fall from my eye before I said "I'm sorry sir we recieved the message two days later than intended."

"I understand." He said as he continued to struggle for air. I knew he didn't have much time left.

"Sir...I...I...Just..." I tried to speak but I just couldn't find anything to say.

"I don't blame you for what has happened but I do need to ask you one final request." He said his attempts to breath.

He turned to me and slowly said "I want you to take my place as pack leader, I know that with the center lines smashed that the war is lost. I want you to lead the pack out of the territory, no, out of Russia. Take them somewhere where they can be safe. Take them to that place you came from, Jasper Park."

I was shocked by what Maxim had just said and so were all the wolves around me but no one protested. Even more surpriseing was that he just asked me to take what remained of the pack to Jasper Park, I didn't even know how to get back.

"Im sorry sir but I don't know how to get back to Jasper." I said

"I do" He replied

"How?" I asked shocked

He layed his head back down on the snow again and said "Well I don't know how to get to Jasper exactley but I do know how you can cross the sea."

"Really, how" I asked still in shock.

"Go to the very northeastern part of the territory where the northern mountains meet the northern sea, there you will find a bridge made of ice that will lead you from here in Russia to Alaska. It is a secret passed down from leader to leader in case the pack needs to leave the territory, but you must hurry the bridge is only able to be crossed during the winter and spring is rapidley approaching. Now go, go and save our people" He said right before he died.

I had actually been crying without noticing it but I didn't care, I knew what I had to do. I order my men to burry the body of Maxim before we headed back north to regroup with the other half of the army. When we reached them we found out that there had been no combat in the northern front since we left.

I explained the situation to the rest of the army. At first no one believed me but the other troops that were with me when we discoverd Maxim convinced them other wise. We began slowly heading back towards the eastern shore but we sped up to a sprint when we saw that the fires were being lit from the south and were heading north. If we didn't make it past the fire lines before they reached the north we would be cut off.

We had been sprinting without rest for a full day when we reached the area that the fire was supposed to spread to. The last wolf had just made it across the line when the fire finally reached us. We stilled didn't stop to rest we had to make it to the southeastern shore to relay the news.

Two days had passed before my army had made back home but there was no difference between home and the battlefield. All along the beach lay the bodies of dead and dying troops. I ordered my troops to help in anyway they can while I searched for Nikoli to tell him the news.

I was going to see if he was up in his den but I was stopped when I snow white wolf with ice blue eyes like me came charging at me from the woods, it was Anya and she didn't look to happy but I could see that she had tears in her eyes.

She came up to me and slapped me so hard that I spun around before I hit the ground, she than said "You stupid bastard."

"Nice to see you too honey." I said as I stood up from the ground.

She started yelling at me "I thought you died, why didn't your army come home with the rest of the troops. You had me worried sick and-" but I cut her off by kissing her.

I pulled away a little and said seriously "I'm sorry but I'll have to explain later."

She looked at me and nodded, we then went off to find Nikoli and Kodiak. Turns out they were the ones who ordered the fires be little to prevent the enemy from advancing any further. I explained the situation to them and out of Kodiak, Anya, and Nikoli, Nikoli was the only one who didn't seemed surprised.

"I see well as long as you're leader I will follow your orders till the day I die." Said Nikoli

"Same goes for me" Said Kodiak

"I'm your wife, I would follow you to hell and back, so yeah im in." Said Anya with a smile

I then gathered the pack and told them of Maxim's death, how he appointed me leader, and how we had to leave now. No one protested and I was glad I wasn't in the mood to deal with complaints. I orderd the wounded who couldn't walk be carried by the males when we begin our journey, we would leave first thing tomorrow morning but for now we rest and tend our wounds.

I decided to go to the pack leader's den to rest while Anya helped attend to the wounded down on the beach.

I was laying there with my eyes closed about to go to sleep when I heard foot steps behind me.

"Anya I thought you were helping out down on the beach." I said as I rolled over to look at her but instead of seeing the beautiful snow white female wolf I called my wife, I saw instead a grey wolf smiling evily at me.

"Andrey...How did you get here." I asked shocked that he had gotten past the fire and the patrols.

"Did little Humphrey already forget who taught him the art of stealth." He said in a mocking voice.

"Why did you betray us." I asked angerily.

"Why, WHY, let me tell you why. I betrayed the pack so I could kill you for trying to replace my brother." He shouted at me.

"I never tried to replace your brother, you're just to insane to see that." I said in my defence.

"I don't wanna hear it, YOU DIE HERE." He said as he lept at me.

I knew I was dead and know all I could do was wait for the pain to come. I shut my eyes ready for the end but it never came, I opened my eyes to see Nikoli bleeding on the floor from his neck and Andrey backing away shocked.

"I didn't have to be like this you old fool." Andrey said with tears in his eyes before he ran out of the cave.

Nikoli must have taken the hit for me there was no other explination. He must of come up to my den to talk to me.

"Why?" I asked as I started to cry.

He smiled sadley and said "Because you're the only one who can save the pack now. Protect them, protect our people." After he said that he took his last breath and died. Nikoli the first person to accept me into the pack, my friend, my mentor, and the closest thing person thats ever come to being a father to me, was dead on the floor because of me. I howled a reqium for him, it was the least I could do.

Anya and Kodiak found the scene after I had howled and were both shocked and saddened by what they saw. We buried him near the beach and held a ceremoney in his hononer, after that I decided that we would leave imideatly because of Andrey could get past the fire so could other wolves.

:END OF FLASHBACK:

And so here we were about to leave our home behind to find a new and safer one. It had taken us three days to make it to the ice bridge but we had made it without harm and know we were leaving. I looked back at the territory and wondered how could everything go so wrong.

:ANDREY'S POV:

I watched as my former pack was being led by Humphrey as they started to cross the ice bridge. This wasen't over yet, not by a long shot, I swore revenge and I was going to get it.

"I'm coming for you Humphrey, whever you're going im coming and im going to kill you." I said as I saw the last wolf disappear into the distance.

AN: LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! PLEASE REVIEW and as always have nice day.