In With The Pack

In With The Pack

Grayson Michaels

© 2013 by Dana Gludt

Rayven Scriptures Publishing LLC

Smashwords Edition

Txu1-894-605

http://authorgraysonmichael.wix.com/rayvenscriptur

Cover art by Rayven Scriptures Publishing LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of the work should be sent to AuthorGraysonMichaels@gmail.com this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A special thanks…

There are many people that I would like to thank in helping this book come to light. I’d also like to thank my wife for her patience for the editing, hours of research, and correction phase of this book. My family that has always been steadfast by me and encouraged me to pursue this idea and to make sure that Malakai’s story is told. My wonderful editor Doris, and last but not least, I’d like to dedicate this book to my brother Dustin. We lost you too soon, but just as the spirit of the wolf fills this book, your spirit of the woods and outdoors filled my heart while writing this.

- Grayson Michaels

June 27, 2014

PART I

Introduction to the wild

It tends to feel, like you’re always going to be alone, and in the end that the loneliness seems to justify past actions that you may have committed. But, over time, you start to look back wondering and pondering what exactly was it that had been committed by you that rendered you to be in such a state? A vast blackened voice of unacceptance and perhaps perpentiaual and destitute inspirations seem to lead you forever in that direction, an unknown direction that I have only come to know as Hope. Always have I looked towards that horizon of hope, my eyes always wondering and hoping that in the end I may find some closure to what I am feeling. Through the snowy forest my legs have carried me for oh so long. A name of Malakai given to me, and a wolf with what seems to be a vast history of destitute follows. I'm calm by nature, never out to get more than my own and perhaps nothing but a little acceptance from those packs that seem to wonder around me. My past? My past is nothing of importance, and seeing as how we have just met it seems that I'm not so quick to allow a stranger such as yourself into what exactly I may be talking about. But who knows?

Maybe in time, you'll come to know me but perhaps not in the same. For me, instinct has become more of an intact friend and a mutual friend in an unchanging world of no trust and corruptible feelings. It seems that I have walked forever. The forest around me always changes, but what I face does not. For I am still alone and now, approaching almost two seasons, I’m beginning to feel that perhaps I had been an accident. Even on the most glorious of nights, the most clear and crisp, I sit and look at the stars above me for what seems like hours on end. The moon fills the empty void of black as it slowly travels across the atmosphere. Tilting my head back I call into the night. The sounds of my mournful howl echo about on the rocks and various trees. Tilting my head down towards the valley I listen. Not a sound is made in the night accept for a nearby creek, the trickling water calming me in my feeling of rejection as no other sound comes.

Perhaps I'm not looking in the right area, my mind says to me in a silent course of comfort. Without a moment’s hesitation I give a soft nod of my head, not wanting to question what I've told myself for the feeling of rejection that is soon to follow. Again, tilting my head back, I call again in the night, though this time giving a bit more effort as I do so. The cold white puffs of air leaving my throat and mouth as my Slate colored eyes close again and I finish my sorrowful song. I turn my ears towards the valley below me and listen with content and full purpose expecting an answer this time showing the others in the area that I am truly sincere and am needing a little bit of comfort and shelter from the shrill reality that I have been facing for the last two seasons on my own. When you think On my own you think of a short jog by yourself through the woods or maybe a lone hunt. A hunt that the pack wants to see you complete on your own. You know, prove yourself to a caliber maybe above and beyond? I tried.

Have never fought for anything as hard in my entire life as that ambition to be something above and beyond, but the night my world changed I feared that I would never be anything MORE than that. On my own. Feeling my hope fade, like the last rays of the sunlight overhead I gently moved and laid down on my rock that was going to be my shelter that night. A soft sigh escaped my muzzle as I did so and I felt my lids closing softly. What has happened to me? I used to be vibrant and alive. Slate colored eyes took one last look around the place before I began to slowly bring them closed. But then, in the distance I heard it.

There had been a lone call somewhere off in the forest to the east of me. Listening again, my ears moved to point strictly forward and I brought myself up looking towards that direction. Again, howling loudly in the night, I brought forth again the effort I had on the second howl and listened. That lone howl sounded again, and my heart leapt. My feet paced and I wanted to move but couldn't bring myself to. I was fighting with myself. What if it had been my mind playing tricks on me? What if it was a waste of time? What if Malakai...What if.....I asked myself looking towards the ground before looking back towards the forest and soon found my feet carrying me in that direction, the direction of perhaps a new found salvation and acceptance? Or a mind fall and trap for something I had long expected....

When does the amount of strength it takes for you to hold out begin to fade? When the reality that things will never be quite the way you envisioned them? It seemed like I moved forever into those darkened woods in that valley. Winding down between the rocks and long shards of grass as I did so. Eyes beginning to get focused again to the night as the moon waxed high overhead. Again I called in vein as the howls faded to that of poised echoes against the trees and finally into nothing.

It seems my other caller had ventured onwards, or had given up the search on me. But then again, it doesn’t surprise me. It seems that much of my life had consisted of that since I had been born. Tired, I sat my rump to the ground on the small dirt trail that I had ventured upon. A small game trail that had been left by some deer, or maybe some of the mountain goats of the valley. The warm temperatures of the day began to slowly venture away and reveal the still cool presence of old man winter upon the landscape.

Suddenly, from the night, the sound of that howl erupted again. It had been somewhere ahead of my current location. My heart raced with hope, but my mind flashed to the last time I allowed myself to give in to such confidence and such a strangle hold of hope only to have it revealed to me that indeed, there was nothing there. I fought with myself for what seemed like whole days. Again, the caller sounded in the night and, decided though possible disappointment was on the horizon, that I needed to continue on and see who or what exactly awaited me.

Though I was slightly confused for the wolf did not sound like any of the local packs in this area. I had somehow managed to stay fairly under the radar and they never bothered me. I learned not to find trouble, otherwise trouble would find me. I am but a single wolf, and not a pack. A pack is what committed members are made up of, or what humans call, ‘A Family’. A single unit of prospering emotions and willingness to be there for one another.

I hadn’t felt that but once before when I was merely a pup. Though the memory fades me now and I find myself asking what had exactly happened that first year of being alive. I can’t ever recall it and find myself only staring at the current time. The path narrowed some as I ventured around the corner following the game trail along the side of the mountain. Slowly the side began to slope off down towards what seemed a darkened abyss but the cool sound of running water was there. To my left was a mountain side. I had never ventured this far and somewhat refrained, pausing as I held my left front paw up as if frozen and unable to take another step.

You know that there is nothing there Malakai. Maybe the lonesome satisfaction of your mind is getting to you. Then I paused full right and planted that paw firmly upon the dirt earth and looked down at the game trail. Maybe that’s what it had been. Maybe I had been holding out for the sheer hope that indeed I had heard someone calling to me, someone just as lonely as I am, and maybe I’m chasing a phantom in the night. A sigh left my muzzle as I shook my head. The gray fur down the center of my neck shook back and forth shaking some of that water splash that had gotten on me from the rocks below. That’s more like it Malakai, grow up and stop denying the possibility that this is your destiny a destiny of one, the lone wolf you always hear about in the human’s stories. But, unlike you, unable to perform anything courageous to be remembered by. As my brain rattled on what I practically already knew, that wolf howl came again, but this time it was closer, much closer! Moving my paws I moved a little swifter along that trail, my tail swishing softly behind me as I made it amongst the trees and brush that came off either side of that trail as I began to run slowly up a little bit of an incline and stopped on the other side. What lay before me appeared to be a lagoon. A sparkling waterfall cascaded down through the center of a rock formation that sat almost directly ahead of me. My ears moved slowly back and forth before I saw what I thought was movement. A glittering of eyes perhaps moving amongst the brush by the waterfall. The running water gave a soothing effect to the water as it pooled. I let my eyes adjust for the moment shaking my head and sniffed the air.

It didn’t appear that anything had been there after all. Why do you do this to yourself Malakai? Set yourself up for such failure. Time after time there is nothing ever there. Accept what you cannot change I heard softly whispered to me by my own thoughts and emotions and I believed it. What made me so unacceptable to any pack that they wouldn’t want me? I mean, it’s been two seasons since the disaster that happened with my pack. That I remember, but the events leading up to it are a thick fog. What have I done to be so cast out in the world? For your mind is the greatest trouble. Keep true to thy self A female voice whispered softly through the night. My ears perked forward as then I saw it. Movement straight ahead, near the waterfall. A figure of some kind parted the brush to the side and, through the night, the glowing eyes cast straight into me. I felt my hackles stand on end as that haunting gaze was cast in my direction. Canting my head I could only watch curiously towards this mysterious new stranger. Who was it? Where had they come from? Who was that voice that I had heard. What did that voice mean? But as I neared the rock basin of that waterfall I saw those eyes again, and before long the being identified itself to me.

PART II

The winds of change

Slowly the summer had begun to turn into autumn. I had always loved the autumn perhaps not so much for the temperatures that it always seemed to bring but just the neutrality of the weather. The warm meeting the cool as if in some kind of stellar agreement that the battle that they had fought all season was nothing more than futile. A shaking of paws I guess you could say.

Though thinking for two now instead of one is definitely something that I never envisioned myself doing. I had always figured I’d be a rogue and nothing more than that. I never really seemed to fit in where I went and how I got there. But all the events of that thinking was suddenly changed by the gift that I received one cool, crisp summer night. A wolf pup that was no bigger than I when I had been abandoned.

But with saying that I hesitate because I don’t know if I was or not. I simply cannot remember. It was like waking from a dream that you wished not to end. But when I awoke from this dream I was alone and with no real path before me. I did what I had to. I survived. As the autumn day came to an end, the cool weather, as mentioned above, began to slowly set in around me and this pup whom was given to me. Terren. I think we had learned to adjust to each other though. Though Terren wasn’t overly social and often I found her wrapped up in whatever thoughts she had within the confines of her mind.

Terren has made it more than evident to me that she doesn’t want my help. Which, I now question on whether or not I’m just as useless in that department as I am with everything else. Unable to join a pack or maybe unwilling to? Inept at any kind of social grazing with anyone. At times, I think Terren only stays with me because we had one thing in common. We are both orphans in this world. That we couldn’t deny. Currently, we had just arrived at a small meadow that overlooked a slender valley of rolling hills. There was rolling hills that cascaded with each breeze of the wind that swept over the curves of it. Terren brought her nose to the wind. I did as she did. Blinking those yellow orbs she looked at me for a moment as if unamused by my antics. Withdrawing for the moment I let my ears fall flat against my head, a hint of embarrassment given towards her as I turned my head looking off towards the tree line.

Terren had become quite the hunter in my time that I had known her. When the woman had given her to my care it was discovered that she was old enough to quit nursing from her mother and was just old enough to start eating regular food. You know, the usual rabbits, mice, and deer. It wasn’t until after a few months had passed that she seemed to grow bored with the game that we had been hunting. Terren was a ruthless hunter. Though now she was only a juvenile she could hunt and kill probably with the best of them. I hadn’t honestly been that big into hunting ever.

I killed for what I needed to eat. Nothing more or less. Terren was becoming quite the beautiful wolf though. She had a brilliant silver coat that had blotches of white mixed in with it. She looked like snow of a blizzard storm mixed with small patches of exposed ice. I had not seen the woman since that night. The beautiful she-wolf that gave me the prophecy of watching over her. A pack of two. That’s what we were. Now it’s not to say that we weren’t as different as day and night. Remember, I raised Terren thus far in her life. I’d like to think that I had done the best I could have. She can provide for herself. She can protect herself, but to my own ego it’s because I’m often not too far away looking over her. Always looking over her. At first I wasn’t quite sure of how I felt about this pup that I was given.

Now, this goes without being said, but I never once had the thought of abandoning her. After all, I knew how that felt. I wish I knew what had happened though with her. Why she had been covered in blood the night that I had found her. How lost she was, how innocent she was. It never seems that innocence is kept within the confines of this world, or any other for that matter. She was scared, confused, and clung to me. The blood that had been coated throughout her fur smelled of wolf her family. It was definitely an odd feeling to have someone so afraid of everything in the world clinging to your every moment. Though she didn’t know at that particular time it was literally the difference between life and death for that small wolf pup.

If I wouldn’t have stayed and looked after her she would have died. How lucky was I that I hadn’t. I’ve been a loner for a good part of my life. Often lying at night looking up at the stars and just being lost in them. Wondering if I was as alone as some of those stars were billions of miles away from me. Able to see one another’s shining but still unable to feel as if they shared that space with someone in particular. That’s when we saw it. Movement in the waning light ahead of us. A small deer escaped from the tree line moving towards the grassy knolls of valley that we were currently overlooking. Terren snapped her head looking back to me. She gave a soft nod as if acknowledging some kind of game plan we had come up with. Which, in the few months that we’ve been hunting as one, we’ve always had the same plan. The same flanking maneuvers. We hunted as one. Two wolves with one simple objective in mind. Using the tall prairie grasses to our advantage we began to move off the hill heading towards the rolling valley below. We had learned to stay up-wind with the wind blowing.

If we approached our prey with the wind blowing our fur forward then it was almost an instant tip off that we were approaching them. However, we found that if we approached with the fur blowing back towards our tails then it was ok because the prey never saw us coming until it was too late. There had been a light dew that was beginning to form on the tips of that grass as we moved. I could feel it sticking to my coat as I moved stealthily as I could through the grass. Terren disappeared from sight as I brought myself low and continued to move in. The doe was completely oblivious to our approach as we were coming in for the kill. A slow wind blew through the grasses and that brought the Doe’s head up along with those large ears perked forward.

I froze. But continued to watch with a killer’s intent. The Doe was onto something around her but the puzzlement that echoed from her showed through those ears as they flipped slowly back and forth. But that’s when I saw Terren again slowly bringing up the side opposite of me. Those eyes shined brightly through the now dark sky when I heard sudden movement from the underbrush. Quickly I would have rose to my full height and planted those paws heavily into the ground running towards the animal. I heard what sounded like an Awr? And saw that Terren was scrambling. I must have jumped the gun too soon. It happens to the best of us, I found out. With the momentum that I had conjured up along with the adrenaline there was no slowing me down this time. Before too long, it was all over for the small Doe.

Her body fell to the ground and soon a crimson blanket covered her and the ground that she had once stood on. The taste of the blood slowly oozed down my throat as I licked my chops looking back to my partner. I gave what of a wolfish smile I could and wagged my tail towards her as if wishing for her congratulations on a wonderful hunt. Terren, however, slunk off towards the side, a good distance from me. A behavior that I hadn’t ever really understood. Her tail was brought under her back legs as her ears were lying flat upon the top of her head.

I looked towards our kill and then back to her. She blinked slowly back at me, those ears never leaving the top of her head. I was confused. There are things I wanted to ask her but, due to the lack of vocal chords I couldn’t. Humans were so complicated it seemed. Had my attack of the animal first brought up some kind of dominance issue with her? Maybe she thought that I was taking the kill for myself and I had no intentions of sharing? I began to walk towards her and she quickly dropped to her side and looked up at me. I canted my head as I arrived at her side and looked down. Those hues looked up at me and as I bent my head down she let out a low growl from her throat. Though her exterior showed something not the same.

On the outside she appeared to be frightened, but on the inside she was mad. I tucked my head back quickly looking at her, confused, as I slowly made my way back over to the corpse and began to eat my fill. Had she had always done this after every hunt? Was it something that had been inflicted on her when she had been a pup? A learned behavior maybe? I didn’t know. All I figured was that I’d eat dinner first and then attempt to approach my female accomplice second. Either way it made me feel like a stranger to a wolf I felt I should know better than what I was currently feeling. After I had got my fill Terren slowly approached the kill and began to eat vigorously but never taking her eye off me.

I looked down the end of my blood stained muzzle at her wondering what was going on in her head. But always after the meal, Terren snapped back to whatever consciousness I had grown to know. The wavering autumn moon filtered in overhead throughout the clouds gently peeking in through the clouds that were camouflaged black within the sky. Autumn was definitely approaching as the winds slowly scuttled into the valley floor, as if it had been an advancing army that was crossing through the sea of grass to an unknown enemy. With full bellies Terren and I came to relax under a small tree that wasn’t far from the kill. Some of the animals white bone could still be seen reflecting in the moonlight. A ribcage is what was exposed. Slowly I brought my eyes to Terren again who was looking back at me, though, she looked puzzled. A blank expression was on her face as if she was wondering what I was thinking. My expression itself must have read the same way. So?

Equally confused that was fine for me. It was a look of what each other had been thinking. We were both wondering what exactly it was that we confided so much in each other for but in the end still felt like strangers. Just then, I felt a strong breeze and the smell of those autumn leaves filtering in around us. I stood and looked about in the night wondering if it was indeed the woman that had sought us out so many nights ago. I hadn’t seen her since then and Terren I don’t know. She’d never made any indication of it.

But then again, I hadn’t expected her to remember if she had or not. She was so young that she probably didn’t know who she was. That’s when we saw her coming through the shrubs and other trees on the outline of the valley. That beautiful she-wolf emerged onto the plains of the valley and looked towards us. Those eyes were locked on us as she approached. The same faint purple outline of those eyes never once faltered from us. As she approached, the smell of the crisp autumn leaves became stronger. Why was she approaching? I slowly questioned in my mind. But as soon as I had asked myself that question I got an answer back almost immediately. You will find out in due time Malakai for the future has an unyielding sense of direction for all. Even those who seek answers will be credited in due time. Terren canted her head as if she had heard the answer and was soon on her feet. Again, that scared look crossed those features of her face as a deep throated growl escaped from those lips. Whether it had been intentional or by accident was anyone’s guess. But judging by her posture and her tail tucked between her legs, it was probably safe to assume that it was by accident. Scared was all. I had learned quickly to get over this wolfish phantom since she had been following me ever since our initial acquaintance. You’ve grown strong the she-wolf said looking towards Terren who was now backing slowly away towards the tree her heckles standing up as she walked away. Come child, do not fear me. I mean you no harm. It was a simple compliment that I wanted to extend to you young one.

Terren was looking at the wolf confused. The she-wolf only gave a smirk which turned into a smile. Patience Malakai for my visit tonight is with Terren. I looked to Terren who was now looking at the she-wolf with amusement. It’s truly amazing as you go through life that every day it just seems to slip by. You see the sun rise? You see the sunset. Darkened skies overhead overtaken by white tiny dots high above us in the skies. Ultimately, I had no idea how much of a balance Terren brought to my life. Though, in the night, I’ve been awoken by her, soft whimpers escaping her muzzle as her feet kick. Sometimes the muscles seem to tense up so greatly in her legs she wakes up with them spasming. She yelps and cries out in the night as I do everything in my power to help try and comfort her. But in the end I am greeted by a throaty growl and pinned back ears. I’ve found that over the course of the last four seasons I have changed. I have found myself lying awake at night to watch her sleep, and to give her soft comforts in the night when it seems she needs it.

We are inseparable, and work well as a team.

A pack, a true honest to Mother Nature pack. I don’t see as ever perusing her as a mate. I raised her, I see her more as a daughter. Which I can’t put into words honestly on how I never thought that I’d even be this far. I’ve always been so alone, and so scared. I’ve thought many times about asking her what it is that she sees in her sleep. Is it something relentless from her past? Is it a looming dream that has never gone away, or is there something more behind those eyes of hers that she hasn’t told me before?

Pardon the phrase, but perhaps she is being a bit wolfy about things with me. As the winter months began to set in on the mountains, we moved down to the lower elevations off our mountain. Really a double fold for us, usually it was a lot warmer in the winters and during the summers we returned up into the mountains again for the same relief from the extremely hot temps. Game was plentiful in the upper mountains, lots of water; it was a lot more of a home than what I’d ever experienced.

We came down off the mountain, I’m suspecting, around mid-day or so. The sun had already begun to slink the other way towards the hillside. Snow graced and brushed our paws as we began to see an abundance that had accumulated at the bottom. The valley we stayed in was vacant for the most part. Sometimes we would get lucky and see an occasional cow, horse, or some kind of animal that the humans would leave behind. This had always been a very tricky trade off though. It was easy to kill a cow, or any of the other animals, but you couldn’t do it in a mass abundance all at once. Often times, that resulted in a hunt of us. Humans with guns, swords, and dogs would pursue us.

They are dumb however, and it’s always easy to maneuver around them. Problem being as well, is it would usually limit our food intake to at least one or two kills in a set period. We would often have to fast in order to eat like we would up on the mountain. Deer are abundant here, but usually take more energy than what they are worth to take down. Slow, grazing animals are more on our menu and, especially with cows, they are much more filling. Meat is meat, however, and I will not be picky when I can get it. I’ve seen spans of time where I’ve gone without eating to the point of having no energy and my stomach begins to cramp and become so rigid that it hurts. The sounds gurgling and feeling it move around, something, I have never let Terren experience. Always have I put her before myself. It’s an unusual attachment that I never thought I’d have or experience. Tonight we were in luck. As we padded down off the path that led from the higher elevations we came upon the sweet smell of human life stock. Terren’s ears perked forward as she watched intently beginning to stalk towards the field that the smell was coming from. I’d always switched on and off with her on who lead the hunt. If she initiated something, often times I would simply follow behind her.

The tall grasses were wiped with ill attempts of the snow attempting to cover. Large round wooden posts began to separate the ground as we approached the smell of food. Saliva began to drip from my gums, and I frothed. Terren wound herself into the deeper grasses that dispatched themselves down one of the walls. Watching my partner, and keeping an eye on her movement, I began to trail down the other side of the fence. The sharp barbed wire ran in parallel rows along the wooden fence. The metal spikes looking like flowers blooming on the cold steel. In the pasture a rather large brown heiffer was eating on some of the long grasses. Her brown eyes I could see slowly swiveling back and forth in their sockets as we approached. I used an advantage of a wind blowing to camouflage my movement amongst the grasses as we approached her. The tail was swinging slowly back and forth as she lowered her head back down to again nibble at the grasses. Chunks of the partially digested grass snippets hung around the cow’s mouth as she chewed.

The loud crunching of molars impacting on one another as she chewed. My slate colored eyes shot quickly back across the field, as I saw Terren still moving, still attempting to get set up to counter this attack on this cow. As we began to set up our attack though, there was something not right about this situation. I stopped momentarily and looked about, my ears swiveling back and forth on the top of my head as again, I checked to see where my partner was. I had found that cows are never by themselves inside of a fence. Let alone, being in a fence in the center of a wide open pasture in the middle of winter. Now it was my turn to study around the scenery, to look for any kind of potential that would impose instant hurt or death upon Terren and I.

I’d been by myself in enough situations like this, that I lowered myself against the grasses. I could feel the cold ice upon my belly and chest as I lay there, paws out to either side of my frame. The cow seemed very non-chalant. Terren was moving quicker now down the fence line attempting to find a way in. Her tail was swaying back and forth as she stopped at the top corner of the pen sniffing for a moment. Her eyes shot forward as she looked and her ears perked forward. Her nose continued to twitch softly. I hadn’t smelled anything but that wasn’t to say it wasn’t worth another quick investigation. I turned my frame to look towards the direction where she was. There was nothing to be seen accept for the sky and the sun beginning to dip down behind the large mountains that entangled this valley. The wind shifted for a moment and was then suddenly calm. The grasses quit blowing and returned to a very erect and still position. Terren turned and began to head back down the fence the way we’d approached the pasture originally. I watched and began to creep through the grasses as well following her, and keeping her within sight. She’d always been very quick to formulate plans when it came to hunting.

At times I’d questioned how I managed to hunt by myself before I was given her. The cow lifted her head, and I saw the ears beginning to twitch back and forth. She was listening, something had her attention. It was almost like clockwork but we managed to stop almost simultaneously and looked at her. Terren’s eyes had dilated and were now rather large and black. The thrill of the hunt she’d always come to appreciate and love. She embraced the instinct that had been given to her and she welcomed it without hesitation.

I’ve never seen as remarkable of a hunter as her. Again, I’d managed to raise her though I figured I’d never completely taught her how to hunt properly. Perhaps this time around she was teaching me how to hunt. As the cow lowered her head back down, we began to move in again. Terren gave a soft grunt and a click of her jaws from behind which sent the cow to turn and look behind her swinging that large neck around to look. Those ears on either side of her head quickly folded forward listening to what was behind her. That gave me the opportunity and I took my place in the clearing approaching the cow from the blind corner. This was almost too easy, nothing was ever this easy. Typically they were in herds but for some reason this cow was isolated. That’s when I smelled the danger. As I lowered myself preparing to go for the gut, the initial kill shot of this large animal, the wind shifted quickly and the grasses bent. My nose twitched as I recognized a scent. I stopped in my lowered position, my ears suddenly snapping back as I listened. The scent was familiar, it was sour.

To me, it reeked of death but that’s when I recognized it. My heart jumped in my chest. As my