Chapter 14: The Escape Part 1 (written from September 25th to September 27th, 2022)

By the end of twilight, the twins settled in one of the sleeping fields, mushy greenery coating the gentle slopes of Mt. Victory. For wolves without dens, they were comfortable retreats, but for this night, the stars had been languid due to Lyle grinding his teeth. The sting of humiliation stymied his slumber. It left him no choice but to nudge his lifelong associate.

"Do you mind? I was having a nice dream about a Moonlight Howl."

"No one believed us," said Lyle.

"Yeah, it stunk," his brother admitted. "Now back to my dream, and you're... not in it."

"And now we look pathetic to our pack!"

"Try to sleep it off."

"If we chase out the ghost, we will be heroes," Lyle suggested. Link's eyes reopened. The word "hero" had a nice ring to it.

"We'll need more wolves..."

"But how will we get somebody on our side? You saw how they laughed at us!" Their eyes were then drawn to the snoring wolves that surrounded them.

The twins weren't the only ones who objected to the law revision that allowed Alphas of the ruling family to mate with Omegas. There were many who believed the restoration of the Grand Pack wasn't worth the breaking of an ancient custom. The twins had heard whispers of a few Alphas who considered leaving the pack in protest. Perhaps if they could take advantage of this sentiment, they could organize a band whose numbers could overwhelm the spirit. It was said for a long time that the phantom was only a guard. Hidden inside the shroud of fog was said to be something powerful and enchanted, another spirit or ghost but unlike any other. It was theorized to be a psychic force that could possibly be used or manipulated to act at their bidding. With it on their side, they could be the leaders of a new pack entirely within Shadow Forest. Of course, this was treason they were contemplating as the forest had always been either Grand Pack or Western territory, but the twins were exceptional risk-takers. They lived and breathed hazards. It was their oxygen.

Later. . .

At the top of Mt. Victory, Runt withdrew from the family cave. It wasn't unusual for him to have to go in the middle of the night. Fragmented sleep had become part of his routine. Managing a yawn, he strode to the nearest shrub. He lifted his leg casually but stopped his business short. Four Alphas had huddled together ten yards away. To exchange whispers so close to his family's area seemed questionable. Being his curious self, he broke their conversation with a greeting.

"Hey there." He was not spared the glares and sighs of annoyance. Runt identified two of the Alphas as the infamous duo. He knew them well as he was once a regular listener of their stories back in the summer.

"Runt," said Lyle, "isn't it a little late for you to be out?"

"I had to, uh... you know." The pup gestured to the shrub.

"Hm... Get back to your cave," Link ordered.

"What's going on?"

"Hmm. Nothing. Nothing at all. We were just about to leave." The four Alphas then began circling him. "By the way, what exactly did you see in Shadow Forest? Anything unusual?"

"Uh, no! Nothing!" Runt lied. Link didn't buy it. Inches from the pup's snout the Alpha produced a low growl. Runt decided there was one thing he had to give. "Actually, yeah, there, um... There was something... way down by the river."

"Like what?" Lyle prodded.

"Something strange down there."

Later. . .

Runt scaled the naked tree at Shadow Forest again. The spirit raged behind him, but now it was nothing more than a nuisance. He felt that the white she-wolf was in danger. He had to inform her regardless of the spirit.

"Hello? Um, excuse me? Sorry to bother you so late. I need to tell you something." The white wolf swiftly emerged.

"Come here."

Runt landed on the platform again. Before he could inform her, he had to ask an important question. It was one he had been saving since his dream.

"Are you hiding from the pack?"

"Yes," she answered shamefully, "because, uhh..."

"Because a wolf who can't see isn't considered useful to some?"

"Yes." Runt knew it. The she-wolf of Saber-tooth Cave was blind!

"Then how did you know where my brother was that day?"

"I heard a splash... and well... I have other talents."

"How did you get up here?" said a voice deeper in the cave. Runt was shocked. It was the squawking porcupine he met on his field trip with the Omegas! What was he doing in Saber-tooth Cave?

Before Runt could answer the porcupine, a series of distant barks rippled through the fog. It announced the presence of a hostile force.

"You brought them?!" the white she-wolf exclaimed.

"No, I came to warn you!" Runt explained. "They'll come after you!"

"You know how to get to Rabbit Poo Mountain?"

"Yes."

"Can you take me there?"

"Daria?!" the porcupine exclaimed. "Are you kiddin'? He's a pup!"

"I am not a pup!" he protested with a modest blush. "I just look like one. My name is Runt." He turned back to the wolf he now knew as Daria. "What's at Rabbit Poo Mountain?"

"My family," she answered. "My mother was elderly, and the pups of elderly she-wolves tend to have... complications. Nonetheless, she loved all of us, and she promised me that I would never be abandoned. I still remember that day. I was only a few weeks old. The family patriarch—Liam the headwolf—watched me as I still struggled to walk. I heard him talking about my mother with another Alpha. He said, 'She can't possibly raise future hunters when one of those pups is...' I heard him snarl. I was certain he was going to rush forward and attack me. He declared, 'It is the way of the clan!'"

"So your mother saved you."

"Yes. I was taken to Shadow Forest where Floyd here took me in. 'Come with me,' he said. 'I know a safe place.'" Daria then sighed. "My mother is gone… but I want to hear my siblings again."

The pup walked to the edge of the platform. As barks were getting louder, he could smell them closing the distance. What he feared came to pass. The misdirection he gave to Link had failed. They were not heading for the ravine. Runt had a small hope they would fall in as his older brother had.

"I told them to go to the river," Runt admitted.

"So you did bring 'em here!" said Floyd.

"What? No!" He took a few steps to the white wolf and touched her paw with his. "Daria, we have to leave!"

"It's a trap," Floyd asserted. "He's still a wolf."

Meanwhile, Link and Lyle's band arrived at the bottom of the hill. They looked up and perceived a glint up high that made them all gasp. From certain angles, light ricocheted off Daria's cloudy eyes, creating the two glowing dots. If the rumor of the freakish eyes was true, it had to be the psychic entity they were looking for!

"Something is definitely up there," said Lyle.

"If we storm it all at once," Link suggested, "we can get to it." He turned to the rest of their company. "Okay, follow me!"

The band's climb featured winds of the hurricane variety, battering them with serrated leaves that grazed their muzzles, yet they progressed as determined as ever. They squinted with heads lowered to protect their faces. "Push on, Brother!" Link encouraged. The twins were not going to give up like the last two times. They could accept being labeled as crazy, but to be dubbed a failure would strip them of their pride.

In desperation, the spirit released a roar that was nothing short of deafening, but ultimately, it didn't attempt to strike them directly. It was working! The spirit seemed bewildered by the sheer number of mortals. Within a half-minute, they reached the platform. Everything became quiet as Alpha after Alpha supported the twins. The cave was smaller than expected, no bigger than a whelping den. The two green eyes they saw hanging in the black were absent.

"No ghost?" said a confused Link.

"Yeah..." Then the other twin noticed four dots inside a crevice in the wall, though they lacked the lustrous green. "But maybe..." In a flash, there was a ferocious attack. Two creatures leaped out of the crevice, their eyes now a devilish red.

"AHH! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" The Alpha dozen scrambled out of the mouth. Whining squeakily, they sprang and tumbled off the platform. Half of them dashed with a cluster of quills deep in their rear ends.

"Who's next?!" yelled Freida from the ledge. Panting beside her was her companion, Fran. Shortly, they complemented each other with giggles.

The platform extended past the right side of the cave. Runt, Daria, and Floyd had escaped across the right side where they descended the hill behind the cave where Link and Lyle couldn't see them.

"Right this way, Daria." They were now heading for the end of the forest. To Runt's surprise, he didn't have to walk slowly for Daria, as she was adept at following the sounds of his movements.

Runt soon altered his course, so they would be traveling east towards the populated part of the territory. After ten minutes, they came across a defined edge. All they had to do was pass over in order for Daria to be free. Moonlight was dim compared to sunlight, but walking out of the forest was like walking into tomorrow, one that was crisp and full of life. Whatever time it was inside Shadow Forest didn't matter. At least in the normal shade of the night, Runt could see his stubby little toes. That was when the pup realized that poor Daria wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In a sense, her whole universe was Shadow Forest. Or maybe it wasn't, he wondered…

Suddenly, as he neared the farthest stretch of beech trees, spiked roots shot up from the depths of the soil, twisting and weaving to form a thick woody barrier between them and the rays of the moon. "What the...?" Runt could hardly believe it. It was like the roots had a mind of their own!

"Okay... We've got problems," said Floyd. Runt noticed another path nearby.

"Floyd, follow me." But exactly as before, roots, as if sentient, halted them from exiting. Runt was dumbfounded. "Every time we try to get out we get blocked!" He then turned to Daria. "It's like the forest doesn't want you to leave..." Runt wondered if it was the spirit's doing. The winds had intensified once more.

"Hm, no comment," said Floyd. The porcupine wasn't surprised, for he had lived in Shadow Forest his entire life and seen otherwordly things on occasion.

"Just get us out of here!" the she-wolf urged. Daria feared the spirit may try to kill Runt for guiding her out.

"I'm trying!" Runt scanned the vicinity. He found an outcrop on the edge that was higher than the canopy. He couldn't expect the roots to block them from that height. "Floyd, up and over the rocks!"

Daria and the porcupine followed him up a ramp. Just when they thought the exit was close, it turned out the outcrop was split into two. Without thinking, Runt leaped and cleared the fissure.

"Okay, jump!" the pup ordered. There were no roots to stop them. It was the only way out of the forest but Daria hesitated.

"No, I can't!"

"Jump!"

"Daria, it's okay! It's straight ahead!" Floyd assured. He tried pushing her hind legs. It didn't move her one bit.

"I... can't!"

The porcupine decided to be harsh. He pricked her firmly in the rear end which provided the persuasion she needed. He was careful not to leave quills in her fur. "Ahh!" She landed awkwardly but without a scratch. Finally, Floyd cleared the fissure with ease. Part two of their itinerary had begun.

"This way to Rabbit Poo Mountain!" said Runt. "Quickly!"