Wolves and Men

The rocks began to slope downward, and he found it a lot easier to keep up, even though he was still pushing his body to his physical limit. The wolf bounded from rock to rock over the terrain. The wolf followed a fold in the rocks and began to travel down the middle of a crease that soon widened into a crevice. But the ground was still solid rock without even a thin layer of dirt to protect their body heat. The wolf continued to run along the crevice. The crevice deepened and widened. He was running without almost any light at this point and for a moment he thought his eyes had failed him entirely. In front of him was a massive blackness that had no borders.

He stumbled to a stop as he could just make out the pure white starburst of his guide sitting next to the black maw, waiting for him. As his eyes adjusted to the onset of night, the moonlight illuminated his surroundings. He became aware that the black maw was in fact a cave. Its black mouth open but there was no sense of dread or danger emanating from it. He felt a comforting presence here. He walked up to his companion and reached down to scratch at her ears. The wolf growled low in her throat as he reached for her, and he jerked his hand away.

He entered the cave.

His feet immediately felt a soft carpet like substance underneath him. He squatted down and felt the surface with his hand. It was moss, soft and lush. It might spread throughout the entire cave’s surface. He walked deeper inside the cave. It was pitch black and he had to hold his hands out in front of himself to avoid hitting anything. After he took a dozen steps or so he felt a solid rock wall meet his outstretched hands. He smiled and breathed a sigh. The cave was tall but not very deep and that meant that no sleeping animals would sneak up on him from behind and eat him while he slept.

He smiled at his own unfounded fears and walked back toward the star filled curtain that covered the cave entrance. Looking down at his companion he smiled. “Thank you, my lady. This will be perfect.” The wolf sat there watching him, neither acknowledging nor ignoring his words. “I will definitely miss dinner but that can’t be helped, can it?”

He sat down on the soft moss-covered floor and looked at the stars and his lunar mother, who had shrunk since last night. She was only a little more than half of her true brilliance. Soon she would disappear almost entirely and be reborn anew.

He laid back and looked straight up into the blackness that was the cave ceiling. Had anyone else lay here like he was doing right now? Had there ever been a creature or two that had called this cave home? He let these thoughts drift through his mind freely neither ignoring them nor heavily contemplating them. The day’s exertion had taken its toll and as he let his body relax, his eyes closed on their own and he was asleep.

His eyes shot open, and he gasped in fear. He sat upright in his cave and desperately tried to make his mind work. He had been dreaming. He was drenched in a cold sweat. His limbs were still intact. He wiped his face with his hands as he took a few deep breaths trying to calm down.

He was sitting on the moss-covered floor of the cave that the she-wolf had led him to. He folded his arms around his bent knees. He breathed deep, trying to make his heart slow down. He had been dreaming but he couldn’t remember what had scared him so badly. All he could remember was that the dream had had something to do with wolves, his pack maybe? He couldn’t be sure. In the dream something terrible had happened or was going to happen before he woke up.

He hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time, since he started living out in his forest, and the fear that still gripped him was something he hadn’t known for a long time. When he was able, he stood up and walked outside the cave. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness of night, and he saw his companion was gone. She’s probably out hunting. Still, it would have been nice to have her there. Having her there was a comfort and right now he could use a little comforting. The fear still gripped him, not for himself but for those he had left behind.

My pack.

The dream had called up some very nasty things and he couldn’t help but feel more than just a little worried about his pack. Technically, he was their alpha and they wouldn’t do anything without him. But these were also wild animals and if he wasn’t there to lead them surely their prime beta, the old grey, would lead them. The species had lived on this planet longer than humans had and they had survived. Surely, they could survive the momentary invasion of some cops and federal agents, couldn’t they?

He rested his hand on the outside wall of the cave looking at the river of dense lights in the sky. A hundred million single stars painted a band that ran through the center of the night sky, and he was comforted by their steady presence. They had always been there, watching him and watching over his pack. The grey will watch over them and keep them safe. He did it before I came along, and he’ll do it again. Wolves knew their duty to each other, and the rest of his pack would look to the old grey for guidance till he could return, if he could return.

He slapped his open palm against the solid rock of the cave wall in frustration and regret. The force of it caused a jolt of hot pain to surge up his arm till it dissipated at his elbow. Grimacing with the sudden pain he shook out his hand muttering, “Rock beats hand.” He turned away from the brilliant star field in the night sky and sat back down on the moss-covered floor.

The she-wolf would be back soon and they would continue on at first light. He laid back and rested his head on his arm. He looked at the black ceiling as shadows danced before his eyes. He slowed his breathing and forcibly relaxed his body. He might as well get as much sleep as he could, tomorrow was going to be another rough day. With a little more difficulty than expected his eyes finally began to weigh down. He breathed and he managed to fall into a light sleep.