A Therian's Trail: Ch. 20 Book 3

Instructions

BLOOD WARNING, MENTIONS OF DE@TH The wolf gave me one last, sad look before he nosed at the pool, and my surroundings turned hazy. I was waking up. Be prepared, Silver. Be prepared for pain. My eyes fluttered open, and I looked around to see myself at the mountain, but not with our pack. I was in a deep, dark cavern. Barks and snarls echoed throughout the mazes of tunnels. I braced myself for jolts of excruciating pain. As I tried to push myself up, my legs gave way, and I fell into my pool of blood. I groaned in pain, pulling myself with my arms, dragging my broken body a few inches. Garnet must have injured my legs, so I can't run away! Phantom ears perked to the sound of feet thumping on the ground. Garnet emerged from a tunnel. "Oh, goody! You're awake!" he smirked, clapping his hands. Out from the shadows came a HUGE pack of dogs. They were beat up, mangy, and I could see every bone in their body. "G-Garnet," I trembled, barely managing to speak. The cavern kept growing dark, then disappearing, then reappearing. My stomach felt as if I had swallowed razors. "Do you know why you are here?" He circled me, kicking a sharp rock that sliced my forehead. "Because you're evil!" I winced, hissing. "Thank you for the compliment," he cackled. "You don't really know, do you?" I stared him down, unwilling to answer. "Your power..." he clenched his fists. "Your power is extraordinary. You might not realize it, but I know what you have been up to.... I know that you suffer from nightmares of your friends dying, of you suffering in battle." "H-how do you know that?" I stuttered. "I know everything. I know... I know the wolf..." he whispered. "The wolf!?" My heart beat intensified. "Yes," Garnet smiled evilly. "We used to be cool. Back when... when I was in his pack..." "His pack?" Garnet suddenly spat on the ground, replying, "But no matter! He never meant anything to me..." For a second, a flash of regret shone in his eyes. "It's time for you to join him," he whirled around. "Dogs!" The pack advanced, growling, slobber running down their fangs. The light from a lantern highlighted their gleaming jaws. I tried to pull myself back with my hands, but Garnet pushed me forward with his boot. "Please! Garnet, no!" I cried as the dogs came up. I squeezed my eyes shut to accept my fate. <><><><><><><><><><> The wolf leaped, soaring over me and landing in the space between the dogs and me. "No! You again!" Garnet exclaimed. The wolf flashed him a sharp look and charged through the canines. The once terrifying beasts were now cowering and whimpering, racing for their lives through the tunnels. The wolf stepped up to me as the chaos subsided. "Thank you," I murmured. The wolf knelt to place his nose on my forehead. Energy rushed through me, and I could finally stand again. "Garnet," the wolf turned to face the German Shepherd therian. "YOU!" Garnet launched himself onto the wolf. The two clawed and bit and scraped each other. After a few seconds, the wolf pinned Garnet down with one paw. "Brother," the wolf said calmly. "This is not a fight you can win." Brother? I stepped closer to understand what the wolf was revealing. "You were never a true brother!" Garnet snarled, trying to pry the wolf's paw off his chest. "A true brother doesn't elevate himself!" "You deserved every bit of it," the wolf frowned. "The forest is for peace. Not destruction or corruption." "Power is mine!" Garnet hissed. "You were weak! You just wanted to be stronger than me! I am the one who should be!" "That's not true," the wolf sighed. "What is Garnet talking about?" I asked the wolf. "I'll have to explain later," the wolf licked my head. Garnet, who had once been squirming under the wolf's grip, now began to fade away until he disappeared. <><><><><><><><><><><>