THE EVENT

by Jamie Heppner

  "I can carry you across the fire wastes. Greytop was right about one thing. I can't turn you myself. It would leave you an outcast. More so, than you may be already, but I do know that Greytop was also wrong. There are others who can turn you, I just have to get you to them before it's too late."

  With that, he began a careful run up the slope to the rim of the valley. He had to move slower then he could have as a wolf, but he had no idea how to hold Dawn and run other than in his human form. It didn't matter. By the time the others woke up, he would be very far ahead. There was no way that anyone would catch him and bring Dawn back.

  #####

  The morning broke to muted whispers. Shade was still asleep in his room. The fight had taken a lot out of him and he would need his rest so they let him sleep.

  "You both know that he took her. There is no other explanation." Greytop stood facing the Oracle and the General, doing his best to keep his voice down to not wake Shade earlier then necessary. "If you let me go now I might be able to catch him."

  "We were all asleep, how he got her out of here without noise I have no idea, but I can't let you run after him without knowing where he went." The General spoke with a hint of anger in his voice. "I saw those looks he kept giving her but I ignored them. I thought it was just a crush. Bonetwister thinks I was wrong and he is doing what he thinks is the best."

  Greytop nodded in agreement.

  "Yes, I’m sure he thinks it's for the best. However, he forgot that Brokentooth went back before him to tell of our newest leader. Many there will not be happy to see either of them. There is even a very good chance they won't give an opportunity to explain. Odds are the clan will kill them right on the spot. You must at least let me scout around and make sure where he is taking her, without knowing that, everything else is a guess. He could just be trying to turn her himself, although I can't see him being that foolish. He would condemn them both for sure if he did that."

  The General nodded. "Ok, check for where they went. However, don't leave the valley yet. We need to think this through before we make a decision."

  Greytop didn't wait any longer. He bolted out the door and began ranging around for the scent. It only took him a moment to find it and rush off down the trail.

  "Should we wake Shade?" The Oracle asked her husband with a whisper.

  "No, he needs his rest. I don't think he's going to be getting much of it after tonight."

  Shade woke late in the morning. He still felt so drained, but some of the color was coming back to the world. He could see the life inside plants again even though it looked weak and wrong.

  Looking over to the bed had they placed Dawn in the night before, he saw she was gone.

  "Where's Dawn? Is she awake?"

  The General slid a chair over to his son. "Sit down Shade; you need to know what happened last night."

  The General filled his son in on the details of what they thought happened. All the while, Shade's face dropped and sorrow filled his eyes. During the telling, Greytop stepped back into the cabin but didn't say a word. He just stood waiting for his turn. When his father was done, he added his new information.

  "He went through the fire wastes. He is taking her to the clan to be turned. There is no doubt about it. He also has at least a half day's head start."

  Shade got angry.

  "What does he think he is doing? Doesn't he know that they might just kill them both? Hell...there is a good chance she could even die just trying to get her there!"

  "He will get her there, one way or the other. Bonetwister has spent a lot of time in the fire wastes and he knows the fastest routes. Carrying Dawn will slow him, but you can be sure they will get to the werewolf clan at least. I would like to give chase and bring him back before he makes it all the way. If I run solo I can shift and move much faster than he can." Greytop looked to the General for a response.

  "You aren't going without me." Shade brought his attention back.

  "Admirable Shade, but you will just slow me down."

  "No, He's walking and he has to rest, as well as Dawn. There is a chance she might wake up and tell him to bring her back. No, I will go with you. I caused this mess, I will help fix it."

  The only noise from his mom was a tsk sound when he stated he caused the mess.

  "Yes, you have some abilities that might help. I thought you might think this way so I made up a pack with some food and water. You might want to get moving now; they have at least a half day lead on you," The General added.

  There was no ceremony, no pomp. Greytop shifted and began running up the trail. Shade followed behind as fast as he could. He only stopped to grab his moonstone and tuck it into his pocket.

  "Good Luck." The Oracle whispered as he ran off.

  #####

  Bonetwister was starting to think he had made a mistake. The fire wastes were not a place people willingly chose to hang out. Most of the fires had burned out long ago but the ash was still there. No plants had reappeared in the desolation.

  Some of the fires continued however, Bonetwister avoided those at all costs. He had been through this area before. Each other time he simply ran through it as fast as he could. The dangers in the fire wastes couldn't move as fast as he could, so he had little cause to worry. With Dawn in his arms though, he moved much slower and that was a problem. He was beginning to see shadows move in the corners of his eyes. Those shadows were even bigger then he had seen last time.

  Dawn hadn't woken since he had left with her. He did his best to keep putting water into her. There wasn't much food in the wastes so he had to improvise. He had done it often as a wolf and never thought twice about it. Now in human form, it seemed more...disgusting. There were very few bugs in the wastes. Something about the soil discouraged them here.

  The first night they had spent in the wastes was uneventful. Bonetwister had barely slept at all. He simply sat and watched Dawn writhe with the pain inside her body. He thought it odd, her not waking, but he had to admit he didn't know anything of medicine or injuries. In the camp with the rest of his clan, he would find help.

  Before the sun rose over the smoky horizon, he got up and carefully lifted Dawn. Bonetwister pushed himself even faster. He could run there in three days as a wolf. He would have to do it in four as a human...he had to. Dawn needed him and he needed her.

  #####

  Shade stood, panting, on the lip of the canyon. They had only stopped for a short time to sleep in the night. Shade had insisted that they not run in the darkness.

  "If either of us breaks a leg we will be no help to Dawn." Greytop had grudgingly agreed.

  The fire wastes stretched out before them. Greytop waited down the slope, still in wolf form. He hadn't shifted back since they had left. He had even slept as a wolf. His staying in that form forced Shade to run the entire way. His strength was not back yet from the fight, but it was building up again. He could see the life behind him and the absence of it in front.

  He had been afraid many times in the last year and more. Often he had only time to react and not think about his decision. This time he had made the choice. He was doing this because Dawn needed him and he was thinking he needed her too. Shade stepped over the edge and began the decent into the fire wastes. The hot wind, full of ashes and soot, blew at his face, forcing his head down to follow the trail left by Greytop. Greytop wouldn't wait for him any longer. Dawn was more important to him than Shade was. Shade pushed himself to keep up, ignoring the burning in his lungs that was not only from exertion, but from the rising heat as well.

  Without pausing Greytop pushed him into the ashes. At times, he would swing off to one side then loop back the other way. Shade assumed he was searching for the trail. After a couple more hours Greytop stopped, letting Shade catch up.

  "What is it?" Shade panted, pulling in great gasps of air.

  Greytop shifted back to human.

  "They camped here. I had almost lost the trail. The winds here don't allow a trail to stay for long. This sp
ot though is strong with their scent." Greytop's eyes kept shifting back and forth as though looking for something.

  "What else?" Shade tried to follow his eyes and see what he was looking for.

  "I don't know, It has been a long time since I have been over the Fire wastes. Months have gone by. Everything is the same, but I can smell something else. Something was following them and now perhaps us too. It is here around us. Yet, I can't see it. Somehow, it's hiding. I think we should camp here tonight. Whatever this is, the added scents of ours to Bonetwister's and Dawn's might be enough to keep it at bay. I also suggest you sleep first Shade. I'm not tired yet." Greytop didn't wait for an answer he just started to walk off a ways and circle around the spot he left Shade sitting in.

  Opening his pack Shade ate a meagre meal. He wasn't hungry at all. Perhaps he had swallowed all the ashes and they filled his stomach. He knew he needed rest, but he worried for Dawn's health.

  "She has to be ok, she has to."

  Shade had fallen asleep to the crackling of fire in the distance and the light padding of Greytop's paws as he paced around and around their makeshift camp. It hadn't taken him long, as he was more tired than he had thought. Sometime during the night, a hand covering his mouth woke him. In desperation, Shade began pulling at the hand, afraid it would suffocate him.

  "Relax." Greytop whispered in his ear. "It's just me. Something is here. I can't see it but I can smell it." Slowly Greytop removed his hand from Shade's mouth.

  "What is it?" Shade whispered in response.

  "I have no idea. I see a flash of it sometimes against the fires in the distance. It seems to be as big as a man is at least, perhaps bigger. I can't place the form though. It walks upright, but makes very little sound. I don't know if it's searching for us, or something else. I thought it best that you be awake regardless. I will get no sleep tonight."

  Shade slowly raised himself a little higher and began searching the horizons with Greytop. He could see almost nothing besides the stars and the fires still burning in the distance. Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something move, but when he turned that way, nothing was there.

  Shade spared a glance at his watch. He hadn't looked at it in some time and he forgot that it was even there most of the time. The crystal front was black and it looked like it had burned from the inside out.

  "Well that is no help to us anymore." Shade took the watch off and threw it aside. "You have any idea what time it is?" Greytop gave him a look that spoke volumes. His eyes said...shut it.

  Shade swallowed hard and turned back to his search for something, somewhere.

  The morning's light crept over the horizon little by little. Greytop had decided to lie down for a while, entrusting Shade with the remainder of the watch. Gradually the light intensified and Greytop stirred from his sleep.

  "Did you see it again?"

  "No...Not even a hint. Are you sure there was something out there?"

  Greytop reached inside the pack for a quick bite to eat before responding.

  "Yes, there was something there."

  "What was it?"

  "I think I know, but...I’m not going to tell you just yet. This world has gone crazy enough. I must have been seeing things."

  Shade didn't get a chance to ask again. Greytop quickly threw the meagre meal in his mouth and shifted his form back to a wolf. With barely a glance back over his shoulder, he began once again marching across the fire wastes.

  They ran in silence for most of the morning. A couple times Greytop had paused a moment to sniff the ground or the air around him before continuing. Far in the distance, Shade could make out a very thin line of what seemed to be green. It was still at least a few days away at the rate they were going, but it was something to look forward to instead of the wastes they walked through every day.

  The ashes got thicker the farther into the wastes they went. At one point Greytop paused and seemed to be concentrating very carefully on something. As Shade got closer, Greytop started and brushed something on the ground away.

  "What was that?" Shade asked.

  "Nothing you should concern yourself about right now. We are falling behind Dawn I think. We move too slowly. The scent is all but gone. If Bonetwister had been smart enough to change his course at least once, we wouldn't know where he was going. Lucky for us he's heading straight as an arrow to the clan."

  Shade redoubled his efforts to keep his pace faster. Before long, his lungs began to burn like the fires in the distance. He began to think of ways he could pull some power from his moonstone to help him, but all his idea's hit dead ends, perhaps if they came across another car...

  As Shade extended his search for an abandoned vehicle, the thought died as fast as he had it. There was nothing out here but piles of ash and pillars of fire. Any car left out in this waste was fuel for an inferno that died out months ago or burned still. Either way it would be of no help to him.

  Shade's legs began to pulse with his heartbeat. He was pushing himself to the limit and would need a break soon, while Greytop was pulling farther and farther ahead. Shade knew he was holding back some, but not enough. He was pushing Shade to run faster and faster.

  Shade was about to call out to Greytop, to slow him down for a break, even a short one, when a shadow passed over his head. Shade skid to a stop amid a wave of ashes, and began searching the afternoon sky for whatever it was that made the shadow. Greytop hadn't noticed him stop. He plunged farther on in his mission to reach the green belt that had only just marginally gotten bigger. At first Shade thought, he was seeing a cloud. It was a small dark patch in the distant sky. It didn't seem to be moving though. It was more or less just hovering up in the air, hovering far above Greytop.

  Shade raised his hands to call out. He yelled as loud as he could but Greytop kept running. He seemed unaware that Shade had fallen so far back. Pushing his weary legs to start running again and watched the shape high above. Without warning, it seemed to pull into itself and plunge straight at Greytop. Shade was close enough away to hear the thump and snarling as the shape rammed straight into Greytop, knocking him down to the ground.

  #####

  Greytop was getting frustrated at the slow pace forced onto him.

  "How can they expect me to go so slow? If I were alone, I would have already saved Dawn by now. I wouldn't have to worry about what I saw last night, or the tracks I saw this morning." Greytop's thoughts kept flipping from worry to anger. "I hope that idiot hasn't hurt her farther or he will have hell to pay from me when I do catch him."

  His thoughts kept running repeatedly in his head what he would do when he caught up to them. He didn't know how Bonetwister was going so fast but he would be at the clan in the morning at the latest and Greytop was still two days away. He pushed himself a little faster. "Run boy, keep up with the werewolf." He snickered to himself. He knew he was going too fast for Shade to keep up but he no longer cared. Dawn was more important. Shade would catch up when he could. Greytop didn't even look back to see how far away he was. It didn't matter. He thought he heard Shade yell out but he ignored it. Without warning, he was hit square in the back and knocked to a dead stop in the ashes. All the breath was forced out of him in one large howl of pain.

  The beast attacked relentlessly. Greytop had never been a fighter. His whole life he had been more of a pacifist, talking through his problems instead of resorting to violence. Even in the clan, he had a reputation of trying to talk things through when a growl or a snarl would have put a youngster in place. He wished now that he had spent more time practicing the art of fighting as a werewolf. He needed it now more than ever.

  He had seen this beast last night. No wonder it had been so hard to track, it could fly. Its giant wings beat at him as he tried to defend himself. Large jagged teeth tore pieces off his hide and claws shaped like hands scratched him with every wing beat. Greytop snarled and clawed out his defence but this monster wouldn't back down. Suddenly he wasn't so glad he had outrun Shade. It
hadn't attacked until he had gotten farther away. Greytop tried to glance back to see how far away Shade was and paid for it with the beast snapping off a piece of his ear.

  Shade watched in horror as the fight progressed. He pushed himself as fast as he could to get close enough to help but Greytop had pulled much too far away. Greytop was clearly outmatched. Every time the beast struck, blood sprayed away and Greytop's howls grow louder. Shade held the moonstone in his hand and began pulling in the power to throw a bolt of lightning at the beast when he got close enough. Greytop fell to the ground and didn't rise again.

  Shade was still too far to be of any help and tears began to fall down as his cheeks as he ran as fast as he could. The winged beast noticed Shade running and stood over Greytop watching a moment, thinking perhaps. As Shade finally got close enough to throw a bolt of lightning the beast spread its wings wide. Shade hadn't noticed before but they were at least twelve feet across. With a mighty thrust that kicked the surrounding ash back into the air it took off from the ground. Its giant beak opened wide showing rows of razor teeth. With a screech, it began to fly higher and higher, circling around his prey.

  Shade finally got to Greytop to find him once again back in human form. Blood mixed with ashes painted his body, and his limbs lay bent at odd angles. Shade looked close to see if he was still breathing. He was, but only barely. Shade looked again to the skies but the beast was still high up. It didn't look like it was going to dive again but Shade wasn't going to take any chances.

  "Greytop, can you hear me."

  His eyes fluttered open. Blood was running freely from more places than Shade could count.

  "That was stupid of me." Greytop coughed as blood ran out his mouth. "I should have known last night."

  "Should have known what?" Shade kept looking from Greytop to the beast still circling.