The crimson sun was setting behind the mountains, leaving the walk ahead of Raytag almost completely dark. But the cinnamon husky/malamute stray wasn’t worried, he had excellent eyesight to see through the black of night.

When the last of the sun’s rays had disappeared for the night, and the moon had not yet risen, Raytag caught a strange sent. He followed it to a house, and stopped in the yard. He had never smelled anything like it…except once. But that was years ago. When his own mother was reeking of the scent. Though she looked fearless, she was full of so much terror at the time.

Raytag shook his head to clear it of the memories. He didn’t need that now. Maybe he could get someone to help, but when he looked around, there was no one. Not a single soul was breathing outside of the row of little houses. He had no choice. If he didn’t do something, it might be to late for whoever was in trouble. Inching closer, he could now hear a muffled scream. Slowly raising his head to look inside, he could see two bodies on the floor across the room. And even closer a third one that was moving. It was a woman, panic stricken, she was bound and gagged with cloth, making it difficult to call out for help or even move as she tried to squirm away from the standing figure looming over her. A shock went through him when he put the obvious puzzle together. The threatening figure was loading a gun, and stepping closer to his prey. When he pointed it to the helpless creature at his feet, Raytag felt like he was struck by lightning as he crouched low, and fired his body through the window like a rocket.

Fangs bared, he sunk them into the shoulder of the surprised assailant. He tried to rip the dog off, but Raytag held a firm grip, and clawed at the eyes of the attacker. The man reached his hands to his face with a scream of pain. Growing up on the streets most of his life, he knew about opportunities in a fight, and this was on of them. Taking it, he lunged for his throat. The surprised eyes through a cloth mask stared at the ceiling as he slowly bled to death on the cold floor.

Turning away from the body, he panted heavily while walking over to the terrified woman. Probably thinking he was going for her next, she made a small sound like a whimper and closed her eyes (red and wet from crying). Her reaction confused him, and he hesitated, but then gently grabbed a tiny bit of the gag and pulled slowly. The woman starred up at the almost middle aged dog standing before her, the cloth that kept her silent dangling from his mouth. He dropped it in front of her, and walked around to her bound hands and tried to chew through her bonds, but failed when he realized that the cloth was actually wire.

The woman suddenly let out a gasping sob and burst into tears, as she hung her head and cried softly into her carpet.

Raytag, not knowing what else to do, sat on his haunches and hung his head. His canines were sharp, but couldn’t cut through wire. And he didn’t know how to maneuver them around the bonds to try pulling them off with out puncturing the woman’s flesh in doing so. He raised his eyes to the bodies across the room. He had to find out if they were still alive, but by the amount of blood pooling around them, the lack of movement and sound, they were most likely dead. He didn’t want to give the woman any false hope, so he waited until she cried herself to sleep before quietly padding over to them.

He checked the closest one a large male, most likely the husband. He was lying on his side with bullet wounds to his belly, and he had no heartbeat. Raytag touched his nose to his face and realized that he was getting cold. He’d probably been dead a bit before he arrived. Flattening his ears in disappointment, he moved to the next one.

He almost cried out himself when he realized the second body was a boy. Couldn’t be more than ten-years-old. He walked over with a faster pace to the body laying on its stomach, and listened. Raytag hung his head low between his fore-legs, he was dead. Most likely from the bullet wounds in his back. He glared at the body of the child‘s murderer. How could humans he something like this to each other? The kid didn’t even get a chance to experience his life to the full potential. He snuffed at the floor in frustration, anger, and sorrow. He hated it when an innocent died.

He nosed the boy’s body also and assumed after, that the man was probably trying to give his son time to escape. But after going down after several rounds to his stomach, the kid received his death from the back while trying to flee. Damn. If only he’d come a few moments sooner…

A gasp and shiver from the woman brought him back. Raising his head once again he slowly turned back to the survivor. She was shivering harder now. So he looked around the room. He didn’t even notice they were in the table less kitchen. Not knowing what else to do, he curled up in the curve of the shivering woman‘s body, and bringing warmth through his warm fur to her belly and arms where he lay his head, she fell peacefully into a hellish sleep.

It wasn’t even dawn yet when he heard sirens. Not wanting to leave her without knowing whither or not she was going to be okay, he just prepared himself for fight or flight.

They stopped right outside the house and whispered among each other, “Is this the house the neighbor mentioned hearing screams in?” The dog heard one officers say.

The noise woke the woman and, Raytag jumped away when he noticed, as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “Help!”

The door was knocked down and cops came in shouting the usual, “Don’t move!” then a few spread out and shouts of, “Clear!” followed.

Covered in blood and snarling angrily, two cops grabbed for him, thinking he had something to do with the deaths, but Raytag snapped at them as he cowered against the wall to get away.

“Wait!” gasped the woman while a cop tried to untie the complicated knots. “Leave that dog alone!”

It was hard to say who was more surprised by the sudden outburst, Raytag, or the cops trying to grab at his scruff and head.

“He saved me! That man tried to kill me, and that dog saved me!” Using her freed hands, she stumbled to her feet, and stood between them. What was left of the wire that was cut, fell from her wrists as she knelt down to Raytag. Staring into his sea blue eyes she whispered, “You wouldn’t hurt me, would you fella?”

Not sure how she felt about him, she didn’t touch him, but Raytag knew a good person when he saw one. Ears back, he leaned forward and rubbed her knee, and looked into her eyes with a silent plea.

The woman slowly extended her hand and stroked his head.

“Ma’am,” a gentle voice startled the woman as a man, dressed in a suit, lay a hand on her shoulder and spoke, “we would like to get you to a hospital. You may have experienced some major trauma, and I think we should get you checked out.”

The woman was still shaky. You could tell through her voice that she was indeed traumatized. “Can I take him with me?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” he responded taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

~

Outside a hunting cabin miles away from the small Wyoming town, another soul was fighting for his life. Unfortunately, he was fighting for himself against more than one. Not at all a fair fight.

“Back off!” the young wolf growled through clenched teeth. “I may not be able to stand for my rights and succeed, but I’ll fight for my freedom!”

“Don’t be foolish, bitch-dog. We’ll never let you out alive!” The leader to a pack of ten hounds hissed threateningly.

The wolf flattened his ears at the insult and growled threateningly.

“The master may not have been able to break you’re spirit, but rest assured we’ll break you’re neck!” With a taste for blood, the other dogs attacked.

Wolf was already in a tight spot. Or rather, in the corner of a small kennel. And to make it worse, he was chained down for the owner’s fear of him attacking the other dogs. “Quite the twist.” he growled under his breath at the thought.

Snarls, growls, snaps, and howls of pain erupted through the night as the lupine fought mercilessly for his life. After tearing through three dogs, he broke the chain, and with a roar of ferocity he leapt at two more. Two by one, by one, they fell. None of them able to lay more than a scratch on the wolf.

And finally it was just him and the pack-leader. The wolf started to pace with a growl. His opponent was the masters favorite. And the most trained. Skilled with finding his prey’s weakness, he was almost a suitable opponent for a wolf. But his bloodline was not from ancestors as powerful and naturally suited for survival.

The hound nor the wolf thought of this as the fight commenced. The hound got the first hit, and swung a paw at the wolf’s eyes to blind him. The wolf moved fast, but not fast enough. He was caught in his right eye and doubled back in pain, blood spreading down his muzzle and dripped on the ground as he swung his head around wildly.

His challenger blinded, the hound circled around to the head to deliver a lethal blow to the throat with eager fangs. “So this is it. I thought for a wolf you’d be more of a challenge.” he lunged forward to enforce death, when he was caught staring in the eyes of his own.

His jaws broken by a crushing bite from the wolf, he stared into his eye. Covered in blood, he barely missed it. A large deep gash trailing from above the left eye, nearly hitting the right eye, and down the wolf’s cheek, streamed blood and dripped onto the hounds face.

“You know what you’re