worried about you.”
Aleu smiled. “…well thanks kid… but next time do as I tell you… okay?”
Raye nodded.
Aleu walked over to Dash, who groaned and sat up. “Dash, are you okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah… I just… I guess he knocked me back against this tree and I hit my head… again.” He said.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Aleu asked.
“Yeah,” Dash said. “I’ll be fine… what about Raye?”
Aleu sighed. “He got her pretty good… I took care of him though.”
Dash sighed. “…sorry about that Aleu… I should have told you I had a tail…”
“It’s fine Dash.” Aleu said. She paused and sighed. “…well… Since she’s injured I guess I’ll have to leave Raye with you while I go check out the clan.”
Dash shook his head. “…don’t go back Aleu.” He said.
“…what?” Aleu asked. “…why?”
Dash sighed and sat down. “…because that’s where I just came from… and where I picked up my tail, him.” He said, tossing his head toward the now dead black wolf. “The clan was overrun by them.” He continued. “…and… and Saba is dead.”
“What?” Aleu said. “What did you just say?”
“…Saba is dead.” Dash said again.
“…are you sure?” Aleu asked.
Dash nodded. “I… I saw her myself Aleu… They killed Saba and Everest and Rife and Tram…”
“…the pups?” Aleu asked.
Dash nodded. “…I didn’t see Sunny…”
“What about Kalia?” Aleu asked.
Dash hung his head and then shook it slowly. “…she was guarding the pups though… that was her job… to safeguard the Alpha’s children… I can only assume that since two of them are dead and the other is missing… well she wouldn’t have just let them take the kids…”
“I’m sorry Dash…” Aleu said. She paused. “…what about… what about Shadow?” Aleu asked hesitantly.
Dash smiled. “Shadow is fine… but the teams took some serious casualties from what I saw… and there’s more… Aleu, I overheard The Alpha of the Shadow Clan talking… they plan to kill Aniu.”
“How is that possible?” Aleu asked.
“…I don’t know.” Dash said. “…but they were talking about Shade, so it must at least stand a chance of success… Shade isn’t stupid.”
Aleu shook her head. “…no… no he’s not.” She fell silent for a moment.
“…kill Aniu? How could that be?” She said softly.
“I don’t know,” Dash said again. “…but whatever it is we have to try to stop it.”
Aleu nodded. “Dash, take Raye and go to the waterfall about six miles from here… you know what I’m talking about?”
“Where we had the big battle with the Uniea?” Dash asked.
Aleu nodded. “…about a mile north of there is another cave, shrouded in bushes.” Dash nodded. “I know the one. I’ve stayed there on hunting trips before.”
“Alright,” Aleu said. “Take Raye there and wait for me. I’ll meet you there in two days.”
“Where are you going?” Dash asked.
“…to see Papa… see if he can make any sense about this.” Aleu said.
“…let me go.” Dash said. “I look more like a dog than you… no offense sis, but it would be safer for me.”
Aleu shook her head. “Thanks Dash, I appreciate your concern, but no, this is something I have to do. …besides I need you to watch after Raye.”
Dash nodded. “…alright, I’ll see you in two days then.”
Aleu nodded. “…and be careful. Don’t leave that cave unless you absolutely have to. You should be fairly safe inside.”
Dash nodded. “…will do.”
Aleu started walking east, towards Nome, then she broke into a run, quickly vanishing from sight among the trees.
Dash turned and walked back to Raye, who was still lying on the ground. A fair amount of blood had matted the fur on her flank and pooled on the ground beneath her.
He smiled. “….man that guy got you pretty good didn’t he?”
Raye winced and nodded.
Dash looked at her flank and then sat down beside her. “Well I think you’ll be alright. He tore a pretty good chunk outa ya kid, but it’s clotting up already, so I think you’re gonna live.”
He smiled. “My name’s Dash.” He said. “I’m Aleu’s younger brother. We need to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Raye shook her head.
“Okay, then I’m going to carry you alright?” Dash said. “We don’t have far to go. Maybe a ten to fifteen minute walk, then I’ll see about getting us some food.”
Raye smiled and nodded. “Alright Dash, thank you.”
He smiled back at her. “You’re welcome kid.”
He laid down on his stomach beside her. “Can you just throw your legs over my back?” Dash asked.
Raye rolled over and wound up on top of Dash, her legs dangling off either side of his back.
“That’s right.” Dash said. He stood up and Raye laid her head against his neck.
“…hold on now.” Dash said with a smile. “Wouldn’t want you to fall off.”
Raye nodded and Dash felt her wrap her legs tightly against his sides, all except her left back leg, which hung limp.
Dash started walking, and once he got used to the load he was carrying he started running through the woods, headed northwest toward the cave Aleu had told him about.
Chapter 9:
Jason and Fairbourne stood just outside the Outskirts of Nome Alaska. Jason was thinking of all the times his mother had told him not to come here.
Almost eight years ago Nome had started to expand as more and more people filled the small mining town. This new expansion was almost a satalite town to Nome… almost fifty yards separated the small town from it’s new component, The gold rush of ‘28 had been largely responsible for Nome’s quick expansion… but in time the gold rush faded, and as it did people began to leave. Many of the people who lived in the new part of town were miners, and with no gold rush, the majority of them left to search elsewhere. Then the people who had set up shop to provide for the miners left as well, and Nome began to shrink once more into the quiet little town it had been before. Now though there was a good sized section of the town that was almost litterally abandoned. There were still a few people that lived there, but not many.
Then near the middle of 1930, a fire had started in the abandoned part of town. Local authorities suspected that some kids had been messing around and started the fire, but no one really knew for sure. The fire spread through the dry wooden buildings quickly, and soon the entire “new” part of town was in flames. The mayor decided that the abandoned buildings were an eyesore, and that they should just let them burn down. Indeed this is why there was never much investigation into how exactly the fire was started. So the people of Nome watched the north part of town burn for almost an entire day. The firemen kept close watch on the blaze and kept it away from the town, and the Outskirts was created.
In less than a day the fire consumed many of the buildings, but others the fire left hollowed out, gutted, blackened remains. Some had fallen over, and some were structurally unsound. In some of the buildings entire walls had fallen off in the blaze and storms since then had scattered the contents from the buildings all over the area. Burned couches, lamps, desks, chairs, stoves… every type of furniture or appliance could be found strewn among the wreckage. The Outskirts was even more of an eyesore than the expansion had been.
For a while there had been talk by the city council of moving in and destroying the remains of the expansion.. but it was deemed too expensive at the time, and the people just learned to live with the blackened shell of buildings on the north edge of town.
Soon the outskirts began to attract the more deviant members of Nome. Many stray dogs began to call the Outskirts home. Many of these dogs were outlaws from the law-abiding citizens of Nome and the surrounding area… thieves and murderers. The dogs of the outskirts lived by one rule, kill or be killed, and they enforced this rule with deadly intensity. Soon even the humans wouldn’t go near the outskirts, and any dog that did so was considered foolish. It was the place of nightmares, the place that all mothers told horror stories to their pups about, and warned them to stay away from. Many of these pups decided to forego their parents’ warnings, and drawn by the allure of the forbidden, entered the outskirts anyway… some of them came back… others did not.
Jason recalled his mother’s warnings, and recalled his own journey’s into the Outskirts… they had been few, and he’d never gone very far into it… but he’d often run by it in the mornings and wondered what kinds of hideous things went on in there. It was a land where law was non-existent and where death and murder were just a way of life. No Keeper of the Law had been foolish enough to attempt to reign in the roving bands of bandits and cut-throats that popluated the dark heart of Nome.
The Outskirts actually sounded appealing to Jason now. “…let those dogs try to hurt me now.” Jason thought. “I’ll tear them apart.”
“…home sweet home. “ He said. He smiled and looked at Fairbourne. “So, what are we doing here?” He asked.
Fairbourne smiled back at him. “We need a home, and this is it.” He said. “No dog from Nome is foolish enough to enter this place, and that can work to our
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