Aegis Rising

by S. S. Segran

  “What do we do?” Tegan whispered.

  Jag’s mind raced as his eyes darted from side to side. “Get around the pond to the other entrance.”

  “What?”

  “Go around the other side away from the wolves, and head for the exit.” Jag didn’t take his eyes off the animals as he roared, “Run!”

  Mariah spun and raced around the pond, Aari hot on her heels. One of the wolves near the second entrance saw her and charged back to intercept. Mariah halted and turned around, nearly colliding with Aari. She tore past him towards a cluster of boulders. There was a small gap between them and she headed right for it, chancing it even though she didn’t know if she could fit. The wolf that had tried to intercept rocketed after her, ignoring Aari.

  Mariah dove head-first between the boulders and quickly pulled her legs into the tight space, breathing heavily. Stupid brute—

  She screamed as the wolf forced its jaws into the gap. Foam sprayed everywhere. Mariah whimpered. She lifted a foot and aimed a kick at the wolf’s face. The sole of her shoe smashed against the animal’s nose and it withdrew, letting out short barks. But instead of deterring it, she had only enraged it. The wolf shoved its muzzle into the gap again, lips pulled back into a snarl as it furiously tried to reach her. Mariah bum-scooted as far away from it as she could in the narrow space.

  A low growl from behind made her freeze. Slowly turning her head, she came face-to-face with the snapping jaws of another wolf. She shrieked and moved to the center of the small refuge, and tried to pull her knees closer to her chest.

  Aari saw the coordinated attack by the two animals and wanted to go to Mariah’s aid, but when a wolf charged at him from his right flank, he yelped and sprinted toward the exit. He knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to escape and veered to the side to scramble up a nearby tree. The wolf propelled itself after the boy, digging its claws into the bark, but slid back down. It circled the tree and whined in frustration, red eyes glaring up at the boy. Aari stared back from the safety of a branch. What’s causing this? Even its pupils are red!

  The wolf tried to climb the tree again and Aari kicked it down, being careful not to get bitten as foam sprayed from its mouth. Jeez, they’re rabid! The wolf leapt, claws hooked deep into the bark, and pulled itself up. Aari goggled and scampered further up the tree.

  Seeing little chance of reaching the exit, Kody had jumped into the pond. He was a good swimmer despite having been overcome by the furious rapids the day before, and thought he would have the edge against the wolves. He front-crawled toward the middle of the pond and bobbed there, kicking his feet to keep himself afloat. He gazed out to the shore where a wolf raced around the pond, hopping up and down and howling. Kody couldn’t help but laugh at the creature’s helplessness.

  “Loser!” he shouted as he treaded water. He waved his index finger around his head, motioning to the surrounding pond. “You wanna mess with all this? Well good luck, pal!”

  The wolf glowered at him for a moment, silhouetted by the fire behind it, then careened into the water and paddled madly toward him. Kody squawked and swam from the wolf as fast as he could.

  Tegan had followed Aari and Mariah toward the second opening and had witnessed the oncoming wolves. Thinking quickly, she’d made a break for the rock wall where boulders were piled on one another like steps of a giant staircase. She vaulted onto the first boulder and clambered on top of the second one. When she landed on the third, she looked back and cursed. A black wolf was already atop the first boulder. She turned and gazed up. The next boulder’s surface was at least six feet above her.

  The wolf clawed its way onto the rock below her, its ragged breathing bouncing off the granite around them. Tegan launched herself toward the lip of the boulder above her and hung on, trying to get one leg up. When that failed, she army-crawled forward, giving no thought to scraped elbows and knees. Once she made it, she rolled onto her side and peeked down. The black wolf, working its way to the boulder below her, stared up maniacally. It was smaller than the others but no less aggressive. It snapped its jaws at her and scrabbled onto the third boulder. Tegan whirled around and quickly mounted the next rock.

  Jag faced off against the giant wolf that had been the first to enter their refuge. He’d lit his spear on fire and kept the burning end at the creature’s eye level. The wolf lunged but swerved away when Jag brought the flaming tip around. He watched the animal closely, knowing that if he looked away for even a moment, it would surely go for his throat. The flames reflected in the wolf’s reddened eyes. From its confident stance, Jag guessed that this was the alpha male.

  Leading with the flaming stick in hand, Jag advanced, trying to gain some ground. The wolf backed off, its tail held high and its jaws parted in a savage grin, then lunged at the boy once more. Jag jumped back with a cry and thrust the stick out. The wolf swayed from side to side, searching for a way to get past Jag’s defense, then leapt to the boy’s left. Jag whipped the stick in its direction and it backed up again, growling.

  A thought occurred to Jag, then: the flare gun. He needed to reach it but it was in the emergency bag thirty feet away, by the big tree the friends had slept under. He risked a glance at the tree behind him and assessed his options, sidestepping as the wolf made another attempted attack. Come on, Jag, he thought desperately. You’re a traceur. This is what you’ve been practicing back home. Use your environment. Just do it!

  He counted silently to five, launched his stick at the wolf like a spear, and tore toward the tree. As expected the wolf sprinted after him. Using his momentum, Jag kicked a leg onto the trunk and ran a couple of steps up the tree. Arms outstretched, he gripped a branch with both hands and swung himself up in an arc onto it. He let out his breath. Made it!

  The wolf glared up at him; it looked furious that it had been outwitted. Jag clambered over another branch so he was hidden from the creature’s view by the thicker foliage. From his perch, he scanned the ground and found the emergency bag. Need to be careful, he thought. He’d have to take his eyes off the wolf to get the pistol out, and that would leave him vulnerable.

  He launched off the tree and hit the ground rolling, throwing himself at the emergency bag. He struggled with it until he found the flare gun.

  The wolf sprinted around the tree the instant it heard Jag land. It bunched its muscles and leapt but Jag was ready. He loaded the flare cartridge into the pistol and rolled away. The wolf landed, missing him by a couple of feet, then turned and sprang at the sixteen-year-old again. Quick as lightning, Jag cocked the gun, pointing the barrel at the oncoming beast, and fired. Bright orange and red blinded him but he scrambled out of the way before the wolf could land on him, then looked back at the creature. From its chest up, the dark gray fur was aflame.

  The wolf dropped and rolled on the moist grass, twisting and turning and yelping as the fire singed its pelt and scorched its skin. It bounced back up and galloped madly. Intent on putting the fire out, the wolf paid no attention to its surroundings as it stumbled and rolled toward the bonfire. Jag stared with a mixture of awe and horror as the beast tripped over the rocks surrounding the pit and tumbled into the blaze. The licking flames engulfed the creature, swallowing it into the depths of the inferno.

  As the wolf’s agonized writhing eventually dissipated, Jag hunkered down on the damp grass, legs shaking. Within moments the animal’s movements ceased altogether as the creature was consumed completely in the fire’s burning embrace. Jag quietly ran his hands through his hair and shut his eyes tight.

  All this time, Kody had been swimming in circles around the pond as the wolf after him paddled feverishly to catch up. It was tiring, but it would not quit and Kody was despairing. He needed to get away from the wolf before he too became exhausted. In a last-ditch effort, he took a breath and dove beneath the surface, hoping to shake the wolf. It worked. When he disappeared, the wolf faltered, ears twitching. It swam around in agitated circles, whining, but couldn’t find the boy.

  Submerged, Kody
was unable to see a thing through the water. He kicked away in what he hoped was the opposite direction of his pursuer. Being a practiced swimmer, he’d learned to hold his breath for extended periods, so he remained under for over a minute before he had to pop up.

  He shot to the surface and took a gulp of air. He didn’t see the wolf and exhaled gratefully. As he turned around, color drained from his face. The wolf was less than three feet away, leering shrewdly, and shoved its face at Kody’s, fangs gnashing. Kody turned and swam for his life. “God save me!” he screamed before swallowing a mouthful of water.

  Jag looked up at the commotion. The light from the bonfire partly illuminated the water and he saw Kody swimming wildly away from an enraged wolf. Jumping up to his feet, he ejected the used cartridge from the pistol and put in the second one, the last one. “Kody!” he hollered. “Duck!”

  Kody heard Jag and paused, peering around as he tried to stay afloat. Jag yelled again. “Keep swimming, you idiot! And duck!”

  Kody saw his friend on shore with the flare gun. A spray of fiery colors shot out from the barrel. Kody plunged underwater just in time. He could see a bright flash above him and kicked away, then came up to look for the wolf. It wasn’t hard to find.

  The flare had lodged itself deep in the creature’s throat and burned feverishly. Flames reflected on the water around it. The wolf thrashed in agony as fire shot out of its jaws, burning its face. It swam in dizzying circles, a ghastly scream tore from its throat as it choked and tried to put out the fire.

  Over by the rock wall, Tegan was about to scale a sixth boulder when she heard the wolf in the pond screaming in agony. She took in the unbelievable sight but didn’t allow her astonishment to distract her.

  She flinched when she heard the sound of claws scraping against granite. She quickly went for the topmost boulder and when she finally reached the summit, she realized it was a dead end. The wolf was just two boulders below her. She looked around frantically. I did not climb all this way only to have to jump down to my end!

  She was on a flat-topped boulder a few yards from the top of the enclosure wall, about twenty-five feet from the ground. A fallen tree had created a rickety bridge, linking the boulder and ledge. Tegan didn’t even think but bolted to it and started to cross. Heights didn’t scare her but the image of the wolf breathing down her neck did, and it made her palms clammy.

  Behind her, the beast crawled up to the last boulder. Though every single one of her senses screamed at her to keep moving, she couldn’t resist looking back. As she reached the middle of the log, she saw the wolf’s head pop over the boulder, eyes glowing. When it saw Tegan staring at it, its lips curled back.

  Tegan whimpered and hurried toward the top of the rock wall. When her foot slipped and she nearly fell, she thought it best to crawl to the ledge from then on. The wolf was already at the bridge but seemed cautious of the drop. It balanced precariously on the log and was halfway across when Tegan made it to the other side.

  Fear made her actions frantic and she kicked at the makeshift bridge, hoping to push it off the ledge, but it was heavy. She heaved it with all her might, pleading and swearing, and suddenly felt it budge. Shouting triumphantly, she kept attacking the log. The wolf seemed to realize what she was doing and pinned its ears back. As it prepared to lunge off the bridge, Tegan gave one last push with both feet and the log rolled free. The wolf yelped and clawed at the air to keep from falling but couldn’t stop gravity. It plummeted, thrashing all the way down.

  Tegan crept to the edge. The wolf lay motionless between the stack of boulders and the rock wall. Sitting back, Tegan hugged her knees to her chest, worked on steadying her heartbeat. Once she caught her breath, she thought, So how do I get down now?

  Jammed into the small gap between the boulders, Mariah was trapped by two feverish wolves hell-bent on ripping her apart. She yelled for help, then nearly jumped out of her skin for the hundredth time as the wolf at the front of the gap tried to force its head in.

  A spine-tingling screech caught her first attacker’s attention and the wolf’s jaws disappeared from the gap. Mariah was too terrified to leave her refuge to see what had happened.

  From his vantage point high up in the tree, Aari had watched helplessly as two wolves tried to jam their way between the boulders where Mariah hid. Now he looked on in incredulity as the eagle that had earlier wakened the group battled one of the large creatures. It screeched again and sank its talons into the back of the wolf’s neck, clawing toward the scalp. The wolf whimpered, backing away from the winged warrior, its fur matted with dark red streaks, but was not ready to surrender. It leapt into the air and tackled the huge bird, dragging it to the ground, but the eagle would not give and instead shifted its grip to the back of the wolf’s head. The wolf let go with a cry and reared up.

  Aari had never seen anything like it and was completely awestruck by the eagle’s absolute fearlessness. Although the bird had a wingspan of about eight feet, the wolf was far more massive and should have had the upper hand.

  Aari’s eyes went back to the boulders where the second wolf was still trying to get its jaws into Mariah’s hideout. Caught up in figuring out a way to help her, he didn’t notice his own relentless pursuer clawing its way up the tree with sheer brute strength. It was almost a third of the way up when Aari saw its muzzle three feet below his shoes. Startled, he flailed and kicked the creature under its jaw. The force of the impact was enough to send the wolf skidding back down the tree trunk. It leapt free at the last second and snarled up at the boy. I think I just blew my chance of being best buddies with him, Aari thought as he climbed onto a higher branch.

  Treading water in the pond, Kody was still captivated by the sight of the flaming wolf when he heard someone call his name. He turned, and upon seeing that he was close to the shore where Jag stood, he splashed over. Jag grabbed his arm and helped him out.

  “This is the second time in two days I’ve had to pull your butt out of water,” the taller boy commented idly.

  “Hah, how do you think I feel?” Kody retorted. He shivered in his soaked clothes. “Where’s everyone else?”

  Almost at once, they heard Tegan shouting at them. They found her silhouette on the ledge of the enclosure, her arms waving above her head frantically. They ran over to her and she yelled down, “How the heck do I get off this thing?”

  “How did you get up there in the first place?” Kody yelled back, bewildered.

  She stomped her foot. “That can wait, Kody! Help me down!”

  “Okay, okay! Look, there’s a vine to the left. Move over there, like three paces.” Tegan moved to the right. “Not your left, my left!”

  “And I was supposed to know that, how?” she replied sarcastically.

  “You know, I think it’s better to leave you up there for the time being,” Kody said. “You’re cranky right now.” His joking tone sounded flat even to his ears.

  “Well I’m so sorry if I just nearly avoided being ripped open by a fanatical canine.”

  “You and me both, sis.” He turned back to look up at her. “Alright, so move to my left.”

  Tegan did and peered down. “I can’t see anything. You sure there’s a vine?”

  “Trust me. Just feel around until you get a grip on it.”

  She carefully reached down. “Found it.”

  The chorus of snarls that echoed around the enclosure suddenly grew louder. Tegan started to quickly scramble down the vine. In her haste to reach her friends safely, she nearly lost her grip.

  “Be careful!” Jag called out. He and Kody moved closer to act as a safety net in case she fell. They saw the log and the wolf’s body and stepped around them and helped Tegan down as soon as she was within reach.

  “Where are Mariah and Aari?” she asked.

  Jag looked at the group of boulders and saw a wolf viciously attacking a small opening. “Mariah’s in there, safe for now, but I’m not sure where Aari is.”

  “He’s probably up in the tree t
hat wolf is trying to climb,” Kody said. Sure enough, through the tree’s needles they saw the familiar color of Aari’s light gray jacket and his red hair.

  Tegan stepped over the wolf’s carcass and the boys followed. Jag loped to the bonfire and ran back once he’d grabbed a handful of burning brands. He passed one each to Kody and Tegan and they approached the boulders where Mariah was trapped.

  The eagle battling the other wolf flew up as the rabid animal bounded skyward. When the wolf landed again, the eagle screeched and dove at it, talons outstretched, clawing at the creature’s eyes. The wolf howled and shook its head fervently. Blinded in one eye, it turned tail and fled the scene with the eagle chasing it out of the enclosure.

  Kody, Jag and Tegan approached the wolf that was attacking Mariah’s refuge and jabbed their flaming sticks at it. The wolf retreated hesitantly, its tail twitching. Just as the friends thought the wolf would flee after its comrade, it hopped forward, muscles bunched, and launched itself at them, jaws wide open to reveal sharp, stained fangs.

  Her adrenaline pumping, Tegan held her ground and in the split second the wolf was airborne, she shoved her stick into its jaws and right down its throat. The wolf landed short of its targets, choking. Tegan pulled the stick out and the wolf fell to its paws as blood clotted its scorched throat. With its tail tucked firmly between its legs, the wolf stumbled out of the enclosure as if intoxicated.

  Kody and Jag, on either side of Tegan, stared at her with a mixture of respect and shock. Tegan just shrugged as if it was all in a day’s work, but an instant later realized her knees were shaking and quickly steadied herself.

  From up in the tree, Aari yelled, “Hey, Tegan! That was great! Now could you pull the same stunt on my friend over here?” He pointed at the hysterical wolf trying to climb his tree.

  Tegan waved her flameless stick in response. Jag and Kody were coaxing Mariah into the open and helped her make her way out. Jag put an arm around her and she limped along beside him. Tegan ran up to them and gave Mariah a quick hug. “Got a bum leg?” she asked.