Chapter 13-b
I've had writer's block for the past… Know what? Excuses, excuses. Truth is, I abandoned this story to focus on the Saba story, and Walking Dead crossover crap. This is my main story, and I've let it down.
So after nearly two months of this being untouched, I decided "Eh, good enough, writer's block or not, post this shit already".
Drakken first person.
I saw this coming. I knew Nehalem would not dare to let someone else even help run his pack. I was in a lot of pain, but I was not dead. And believe me when I say that he will pay. That Nehalem asshole will die along with the town of Nome!
Nehalem... That guy kinda disappointed me. Some killer he is, he wasn't able to kill me and I didn't even get a chance to fight back! He had missed my artery
completely, and did not cause any permanent damage.
"I need to get the hell out of here and talk to my group." I thought and with it, tried to stand... I did. Huge bite mark in my neck, but it isn't lethal... I'd survive, but I needed to get out of here before Nehalem gets back to finish the job.
Each step filled with pain because I was still dripping blood. But I pressed on, walked out into the open, and watched Nehalem with hate in my eyes. I've followed him for years but now was enough. Not only was he going to send out the entire pack to "invade" a town full of defenses, but he was going in trying to kill one wolf dog. He was blind. Blind by the fact that Amarok was controlling him and his pack. He wanted to stop me from trying to run his pack... When his so called "god" was running him like a zombie! He turned now, and saw me with a smile.
"Ah, you awoken from your nap time?" He teased.
That asshole... I was still bleeding and already he was ready to fight me again. His face quickly changed from a smile to a growl, and he charged at me a second time, but... He froze.
Everything around me froze... My vision blurred now, then faded to black.
I had passed out from loss of blood before he even touched me...
Mason
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Mason thought.
He ran with full speed to meet with the patrol so that they did not get closer. With such a short visibility, and loud rain around them, Mason knew that there was no way they could detect Kodi's scent, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He met up with the wolves before they cleared the treeline, still, less than a hundred meters from the cave opening.
"Uh, hey guys what's up?" He awkwardly asked.
"Nehalem sent us for you. We're preparing for the invasion and he says that you've got a major role in this." The leader of the group said.
Mason looked behind him, and actually caught sight of Kodi as he ran off towards Mountain River.
"Damn kid... He could have been seen just now..." Mason thought.
"Alright, let's get back." Mason said, then walked past the group so that he could draw their attention away from the direction Kodi ran off.
The wolves thought he was acting weird, but ignored it, then the 7 of them turned and headed back to Nehalem's den.
Little less than an hour, mason and the group returned to the den. He was met by Scion first.
"Hey man. Enjoying the downpour?" He teased the soaking wet Mason.
Mason smiled, then turned sideways and shook his coat, getting Scion and a few others wet in the process.
"Alright, alright!" Scion said with a laugh as he covered his face from the sprinkle.
Nehalem's was behind Scion, and turned to Mason with his fur dampened from Masons playing around.
"Oh crap, sorry boss..."
Nehalem walked up to Mason, pushing Scion aside in the process. Masons smile left as Nehalem walked up inches from his face. Something was not right. He began to smell around Mason, and stopped as his eyes grew wider.
"Oh no" mason thought
"Successful hunt, Mason?"
"Uh, yeah. I caught an elk and enjoyed a little feast." He replied.
"You've been gone since yesterday morning."
"Yes. I kinda got sidetracked." He replied awkwardly.
"Where did you find him?" Nehalem raised his voice, signifying that he was not talking to mason, but continued to state Mason down.
"Uh, he came from a cave a few miles northeast of here." The wolf replied.
"Nehalem, what's wrong?" Scion asked.
Once again, Nehalem did not answer, but snapped at Scion causing him to jump back.
"So mason. You caught an Elk. Good good."
Mason was starting to be a little scared, but he wouldn't show fear. If anything, he was sure he could jump Nehalem like he did last year, then run for his life... He was afraid that Nehalem was reading his thoughts as the deathly colored wolf circled Mason, towering a while foot over Masons head.
"Yeah..." Mason replied quietly.
"Did you also catch a... Dog?" Nehalem circled mason one last time, and froze I trot of him, staring into his eyes as he centered on the word "dog".
Mason was caught, Nehalem smelled the dog on him when he shook the cost of water off in the cave. A foolish move. No doubt more than Mason would have liked, Kodi's scent must use rubbed off on him when he helped pick him up to get him back to the cave.
Mason had to think fast... Luckily, he had prepared for this. He knew what to say that would keep everyone safe, including himself.
"Yeah, I was going to tell you. I found a dog in the woods and chased him a while. This guy was fast, he was a husky breed... I chased him for about a mile before he jumped a waterfall and then I lost him under the water..." Mason lied, but played it off expertly.
"Which way did he go?" Nehalem questioned.
"South."
"So... Towards Nome?"
Mason answered wrong, he should have lied about the direction, but telling that truth was enough to help him lie even more.
"Well, yeah, I suppose..."
"And what did it look like?"
"It was a copper and white husky."
"Hey... Just like the prisoner! Mason found her after she escaped!" Scion budded in.
Mason was a big confused, as he had no idea that Jenna was ever being kept here.
Negated growled in frustration and shoved past Scion.
"That damn dog was crucial to my plan... No matter, I'm sure we will see her tommorow when we pay Nome a visit..."
"Wait, tomorrow?" Mason asked.
"We're you not here when I explained the whole goddamn plan to everyone earlier?"
"I'm afraid not... I went back to visit my wife's grave..." Mason lied.
"In 6 hours we will attack Nome head on. Our entire pack will quickly, and stealthily kill anything that stands in our way. Either we succeed in wiping the town out, or we die in the process. Are you up for it?" Nehalem re-explained using a noticeably annoyed voice.
"Don't you think that's a little too soon? They have defenses... And I'm sure they're expecting our arrival after those dumbasses killed that dog last time they were there..."
"No matter. I've already sent a team to take out the sentries quietly... I've sent my brother, Prescott." He said this while turning and facing away from Mason.
Nehalem walked out with a smile... Everyone knew who Prescott was, and to keep a long story short, he's just a clone of Nehalem, except he's older, ran his own pack for years before Nehalem was even born, and apart from being a good fighter, he was also trained in stealth tactics.
(Ten points to whoever gets the reference from their names "Prescott" and "Nehalem")
"You sent your ninja brother ahead?" Mason said. He was happy that the subject was changed, but in his mind, he still felt a little bad about invading Nome now. He doesn't resent dogs anymore, since meeting Kodi, not to mention that his daughter was there too.
"Yeah, and I've got a special task for you and a team." Nehalem explained.
"Um... What would that be?" He knew this wouldn't be good...
"There's a certain target I want you to take out alone. The team I send you with will wipe out their family. I want you to kill Balto." Nehalem explained.
Mason opened his mouth at the statement. He knew all about Balto, a
But had no idea that both red huskies he knew were related to him.
"Sounds good to me..." Mason said with false confidence.
Kodi, first person, A familiar meeting.
The storm was starting to die down now, and amazingly, the moon was a bright, full circle above. I almost got the urge to howl to it, my hidden wolf content wanting to show itself.
I was still following Mountain Side River, knowing that I passed it almost every day on the mail run. I knew of the river and that was about it, but I didn't know exactly how far north I was...
I looked on both sides of the river, dark forest to the left, dark forest to the right. No marker to where I was, or how far from home I was. But I was a sled dog; I knew that this river would lead home.
My supposed training proved valuable. I began to recognize something along the endless wall of identical trees, it was a marker I used when I came here with someone else.
"Dusty..."
I recognized a fallen tree, fallen during a storm long ago, it was recognizable because the tree it leaned on reminded Dusty about how she would lean on me while we walked.
This was "our spot" a clearing miles from None that we would go almost everyday. It was where we shared our first kiss, it was where we shared our first night together.
"Well, I did promise Kaltag that is check here for dusty..."
I found a shallower part of the river and waded through, enjoying the light swim despite the freezing waters. A quick look to my left, and I could see a mountain, unnamed point that was a landmark which meant that Nome was 5 miles south. Happy that I knew where I was, I diss appeared into the thick brush ahead of me.
The pass felt all too familiar, through the same trail, under the same canopy, avoiding the same drop off. It led only 50 meters into the forest, matching the distance o a trinket of a tiny mountain stream. The among o water flowing from this stream would probably take a year to fill what Mountain Side River would fill in minutes. It was a bit hard to imagine that this river was able to flow at all, but the small volume of water pressed on, creating a waterfall down a short cliff face. At the bottom, everything was even, matched by a constant flow of green, nutrient rich grass, and the entire opening of forest was sealed off by a thick treeline.
I smiled, knowing how many happy moments were spent here, but then saddened by the fact that Dusty would no longer share them. Upon first look, I saw nobody, but to my surprise, she was here.
Dusty.
She was fast asleep under the side of an inclined cliff wall,'no doubt used it to shelter from the earlier downpour. I wondered if she was here the whole time, an entire week the town of Nome has been one Dusty short. I thought about how she got food,'did she know how to hunt? All of these questions would be asked, but she was asleep, and I did not wish to wake her. As much as I wanted to get home to see Siku and my family, I ignored it, and crept closely to Dusty and lay there. I was not sleepy, but I told myself that I was only laying here to keep watch over her. I figured that I'd eventually have to wake her, but Maybe I didn't know what I wanted. Maybe... I just wanted to lay here with her one last time...
Because I still loved her...
I tried not to wake her, but she chose to instead. I turned now to her eyes as they watched me secretly, for how long, I did not know. The entire time I was staring at the waterfall alone with my thoughts, she had been there watching me.
"Hey..."
"Hey." I replied back.
We both spoke at the same time, and had the same thing to ask.
"What are-" I cut off and let her speak.
"-you doing here?" She completed with a shallow smile.
"What do you think?" I replied, though admittedly a bit harsh considering the circumstances.
She turned back and looked at the waterfall with me.
"A better question, what are you doing here?"
"I wasn't here the whole time... I was at a friends house in Nome for a few days, then she and her boyfriend wanted time alone, and it just made me a bit more depressed."
"So why walk miles out here by yourself at night?"
"I don't know Kodi... I have a lot to think about, and I still wasn't ready to go back home..."
"I'm sorry Dusty..."
"It's not your fault, nor are you the only reason I wanted to leave."
"Oh? What else is wrong?"
Dusty sighed and lowered her head, she seemed nervous.
"If its something you don't want to talk about, it's fine."
"Just..." She didn't finish her sentence.
She stood and took three steps closer to me, so that when she laid back down, her body was touching mine.
"I still love you, but I don't... Well can't, blame you. I've always been a bit bossy towards you because I never wanted to lose you. Even after we broke up, instill hated myself for treating you badly, I didn't even give you a chance to explain..."
"You're blaming yourself... Ha. I'm the one who fell in love with another girl... I'm the worst kind of person..."
"Yeah..."
A few more seconds of awkwardness occurred and we both just lay still, feeling each others warmth. It was as if we were here just two weeks ago, as happy as can be.
"Siku really is beautiful. I blocked it out because I was so furious at you..." Dusty finally said.
"She's something alright... I never thought I'd be with a wolf, I mean-" kodi cut himself off. "There I go talking about her again..."
"No, it's fine. I want to learn about her. Not everyday a wolf shows up out of the forest and steals my boyfriend..." She joked, and laughed a bit more making sure I got that she was joking.
"Well, she has nobody in this world, she's been all alone since she was four weeks old, and up until last week, she never spoke to other dogs or wolves."
"What happened? Why was she alone since... Damn, she was a tiny puppy at that age..."
"Well, she still is a tiny puppy, she's like half your height!" I joked to her.
She laughed a bit, which made me happy to see that she found it funny while I was talking about Siku.
"Tell me what is bothering you..." As I asked, I shoved her shoulder a bit to bug her.
She sighed again.
"It's in part why I came here... I thought about the last time I was happy-"
"And you came here..." I completed her sentence.
"Yeah..."
"You know, I was sad when you ran from me, and I thought about the last time I was happy..."
"Where did you go?"
"Not a place."
Dusty cocked her head at an angle, wondering what I meant.
"I uh... Felt happy when I was with Siku."
"Oh..."
"I suppose I understand... I've always wanted to go to you when I was sad."
"God, I feel terrible... You know I wanted nothing more than for you to shut up so I could hold you."
"Ha..."
Once again we both stared awkwardly ahead at the same waterfall they we've spent you're in the last watching.
"I suppose I could share." Dusty eventually said.
I turned my eyes at full attention to her.
"I still love you, Kodi..."
I stayed silent for about ten seconds because I know she had something to add.
"But I've also fallen in love with someone else..."
"Oh? Who's the lucky guy?" I said, a bit relieved that she wasn't still attached to me.
"I... Can't tell you yet. I started havin feelings for... Him, months ago..." She started showing sadness in her voice.
"I'm terrible... I fell in love with someone else when instill loved you... How can someone love two people at once?" She said.
Rather then sounding sad, and sorry for herself like I would have guessed, she seemed confident in her statement, like she has been dealing with her thoughts for a Lon time.
"Well, I was just about to say that you're asking the wrong dog. But I can relate. Because I love you, and I love Siku."
"You can't say that... It's not fair to Siku..." She said on a bit surprised voice.
"If Siku was here right now, she'd agree with me."
"All I want is for you to be happy, be safe... Safe and sound back at Nome."
"Yeah... I'm ready to go home." Dusty said as she looked down before her.
"Ralph misses you, Kirby, Saba, Dingo, My mom and dad, and your parents, all miss you. As a matter of fact, the entire town was out looking for you the day you disappeared."
"Wow... That just makes me feel worse for leaving."
"I don't blame you. I'm an ass, and you wanted to get away, to be alone with your thoughts."
"Kodi... It wasn't just you that made me leave..."
"Is it this guy you like?"
"That too."
"What's wrong? What would make this guy so perfect that the cutest husky in town feels nervous to talk to him?"
"He has a mate... And... Pups."
"Oh... How old is this guy?" I asked curiously.
"You're a year old right?" Dusty asked me in return.
"Uh... Yeah... Why?" I started to catch on already.
"Nothing." She said with a slight smile.
"Uh-huh..." I stared back with my mouth a bit open.
"Close your mouth, it's not very cute." She said with her same smile, that turned into a slight giggle.
"Plus I'm sure if I tried to steal him, your mom could probably kick my ass!" She smiled, giving away the final hint.
"You have a crush on my dad?"
Her smile ended, and sadness returned so quickly, it probably set a record for that night anywhere on earth...
"Yeah... I couldn't stand to see him, my obsession for his caring personality, strong wolf side, and equally strong and responsible of a sled dog... Not to mention how cute-"
"Okay okay... Jeez" I cut her off
"I know it will never happen... I guess I like older guys."
"Older is an understatement... He's practically a grandfather!"
"Yeah, if we had pups he would be."
"Uh, yeah..." I said awkwardly
Dusty returned to silence again, appears fly realizing how embarrassing such a statement was at this location, a place we would use to come for that very reason.
"What do you think we would be doing right now if we were still together?" Dusty asked.
"We'd probably be having sex..." I answered absent-mindedly, and instantly wished I had not said that.
"Oh, uh, oh my god I can't believe I said that..."
"Why? That is probably true..." Dusty replied.
She shifted her body closer to me, and the feelings that I've always had for he were erupting... I already hated myself for what I was thinking of doing.
I jumped up on all fours, shaking my head, as dusty pretty much fell over at my near-instant disappearance.
"What's wrong?"
"We can't do this? What the hell was I even thinking of?" I shook m head more, and instantly begs to think about Siku... Her timeless smile flooding my brain... Started getting filtered. Filtered by Images of Dusty's smile...
"Oh god what have I done!" I paced back and forth. I still had feelings for Dusty, and I had the irresistible urge to mount her right here right now like we have done so many times in the past in this very spot.
"We need to leave."
"Why?"
The entire time my mind was fighting each other, two fronts on each side, Siku vs Dusty, competing for my innermost conscious's attention. Dusty was laying there watching me with a concerned look on her face.
She stood now, and slowly walked up to me. She was not doing it on purpose, but her walk was starting to affect me... I watched her body flow as she walked, her perfectly thin streamlined hips, matched with her perfect legs...
As she got within a foot of me, I instantly turned and walked the other way.
"Kodi? What the hell is wrong?" She asked.
Admittedly, I was actin pretty crazy, and for good reason! I love another wolf, but here I was being sexually aroused by my ex!
I eventually got my head together and found the best way to deal with this situation.
"Sorry, I know I look crazy. I forgot about something I need to warn Nome about... Nome might be in trouble soon, everyone who lives there is in danger... We must leave now! I'll explain as we run."
I turned to run as I heard Dusty mutter "right behind you" and I smiled at my quick thinking.
There really was trouble at Nome though… We needed to get home fast.
At this point, I don't care how this goes. This chapter and the five other chapters I have written, will be edited and uploaded. I won't stall this any longer, and it's to that I can finally finish this story and print it as a book. I won't publish, but having a physical copy of a story I finished is good enough. (This is the first story I've written, ever.)
Thanks for reading, no need to waste time reviewing, go check out other stories on the amazing Balto Archive!