Blitz turned and looked at Drifter. Drifter lowered his ears and shook his head, looking down at the ground as he slowly got up, and began skulking his way back towards his alley.

Ambyr didn’t know how far she ran, how fast she ran, or even where she ran to. All she did know was that Nome was little more than a speck in the distance before she stopped to catch her breath...but breath was what Ambyr needed the least at the moment as she slowly walked over to a half-frozen waterhole in the ground. She let the tears come streaming down her face as she sat, staring down at the waterhole. Her tears dripped off her face, and landed into the hole, dissolving instantly in its deep, dark, depths. There was no way of telling how long she sat there, crying for what seemed like the first time. It may have been a couple of hours. But however long it was, it left her drained of almost all of her energy by the time she ran out of tears to shed.

Thoughts and memories of what Ambyr had just done spontaneously flashed into her mind. All she could remember was listening to Haywire shout all those horrible things at her...then, she lost control. It was as though she was possessed, and some uncontrollable feeling of immense hatred and anger caused her to suddenly lash out at him. She quickly pushed the thoughts aside. He deserves it, she tried to comfort herself.

Suddenly, she heard a slight ruffle behind her. She sniffed, but didn’t look back. When she heard it again, louder and closer this time, she still didn’t turn around, but instead shouted where she was. “I’M NOT IN THE MOOD, DRIFTER!!!!”

The shuffling stopped for a moment. Ambyr thought it had gone away, but there was another ruffle...and it seemed to be coming from all directions. Ambyr looked up. “STOP WHEREVER YOU ARE!!”

...Deadly silence...

...Then...

“...Heh, heh...Gotcha.”

Ambyr spun around to see a dark, blurry, shadow come racing towards her with lightning speed and agility.

She didn’t even have time to scream.

Haywire slammed the door to the boiler room behind him shut. He got on his hind legs and bolted it, locking himself in. Who do those dogs think they are, he thought bitterly. Ambyr and Drifter...but BLITZ?! Haywire sat down and glared at the simmering embers in the heater. I can’t trust ANYONE. He brushed his paw against the side of his cheek. A thin trail of blood stained the fur on his paw. He angrily smeared it on the floor. Continuing to frown at the embers, casting an eerie, unworldly glow on him, he suddenly became indulged in a trance deep in thought and concentration.

Drifter silently wandered over to the place he considered his home. He stared unimpressed at the dark, alleyway littered with gunk and toppled-over trashcans. He glided over to the welcoming shadows and prowled over to his pile of newspapers. Thinking to himself, ht decided it was best to leave Ambyr alone for now. With that out of his mind, his eyes drooped down, and enveloped him in a cocoon of unsettling dreams.

(Some hours later.) A slight ruffle made Drifter stir and wake. It was dusk, and the sun was just about to signal the end of the day. He figured it may just be the wind blowing around a few papers, but when he heard the sound again, he knew it was the sound of paper crumpling – not fluttering. He instantly lifted his head and found himself staring right back at a very familiar wolf.

The wolf smirked. Drifter lowered his head and bared his teeth, growling.

“Good to see you again.” It said.

“Sure glad I can’t say the same for you.”

The wolf’s eyes seemed to glow, piercing through the shadows. “I sure hope you didn’t think I’d go back on my promise.”

Drifter narrowed his eyes.

“...So how DID that little argument go, Drifter? Did you tell them?”

Drifter remained silent.

“...Of course not. That stupid black dog was right – you’re going to wait until it’s too late. When all your little friends are lying helpless and bleeding on the ground...much like how Ambyr is now.”

Drifter’s eyes widened. With a furious snarl, he leapt up at the wolf, but it seemed to dissolve into the shadows, and Drifter only bit down on a mouthful of garbage. Irritated, he spat it out, and looked around the dark alleyway.

“WHERE ARE YOU, TONRAR?! WHERE’S AMBYR?! WHAT’VE YOU DONE WITH HER?!”

Tonrar re-appeared behind Drifter. “She was pathetically easy...not at all like the last time we met. I was quite disappointed.”

Drifter grimaced as he leapt for him again, but missed as Tonrar dissipated into thin air, and re-appeared behind him once more.

“We ought to finish her right now...but that wouldn’t be any fun without you having to watch.” He blinked. “Meet us in the forest, due west...and bring your pitiful mutt friends.”

“DON’T YOU HURT HER!!” Drifter yelled, and slashed at him again, but Tonrar easily jumped out of the way, and faded in the shadows of the night. “TONRAAAARRRR!!!!”

Not hesitating for any second longer, Drifter dashed out of his alleyway in search of Blitz and Haywire. He bolted to the boiler room, and was surprised to see Blitz laying down in the snow, just outside the closed door.

“Blitz!!” Drifter urged. “It’s Tonrar – he’s got Ambyr!!”

Blitz jumped to his feet, and shook off the snow that fell on top of him. “WHAT?! WHERE?! WHY?! HOW?!”

“I don’t know,” Drifter said. “But he’s got her somewhere due west of here...where’s Haywire? We need him.”

Blitz glumly gestured behind him at the closed door. Drifter gave a light growl. He walked over to it and pounded with his paw. “Haywire!! Are you in there? We need your help – Ambyr’s been taken!!”

“...Two things,” Haywire unenthusiastically said from behind. “One, it’s not like I didn’t warn her. And two, good riddance.”

Drifter snarled and beat the door again. He got on his hind legs to unbolt the door, but he saw that Haywire had securely fastened them in place. There was no way to get them out. He snarled and let loose with the banging again. “HAYWIRE!! This is serious, you moron! Her life’s on the line, and you want to just abandon her because of some little scratch she left you on the cheek?!”

There was a brief moment of silence, then, a muffled voice echoed through the door. “...Sure. Whatever.”

Drifter stared at the closed door, and snarled one last time. “Then I better not see you come out of there. ‘Cause I’ll tear you to shreds myself if I do.“ And with that, he turned and ran away, towards the western part of the town.

Blitz whined and pawed at the door.

“...Go away,” Haywire said.

Blitz lowered his ears. Without saying a word, he slowly turned around as well, and soon ran in hot pursuit after Drifter.

Ambyr whimpered and tried to raise her head off the ground. Her neck strained, and it was too painful to make any movement. Looking around, she realized she had been dragged into the dense part of the forest, a smeared trail of her own blood marking the path to her paralyzed body. She turned her head and tried to lick at a gash on her shoulder. She saw the rest of her body was pretty banged up as well; another gash was ripped into her hind leg, and red claw marks were slashed across her side. A shallow pool of blood had already started soaking into the snow beneath her.

“That’s not going to do you much good.”

Ambyr looked up at Tonrar, glaring down at her. Behind him, a thin, deprived-looking wolf with clipped ears sat next to a rather bulky looking one, a scar scratched across his right hind leg...Iqniq and Yakone.

Ambyr tried to get up and growl at them, but her voice caught in her throat, making her growl sound like another whimper. “You...you...”

Tonrar lowered his head down to her. “Yes...us.” He turned back at the other two wolves. “What time is it? If Drifter’s late, we’re starting this feast without him!!”

Iqniq looked up at the position of the moon, shining down overhead. “Two more minutes,” he said. His voice was rasp and jagged.

Ambyr had to lower her head back to the ground before she completely ran out of strength. ...FEAST?!

Drifter sniffed at the ground. Ambyr’s scent led them way out of town, and to the edge of the forest. Sniffing again, Drifter growled. “I’ve lost her. You get anything?”

Blitz sadly stared down at a waterhole in the ground, as he shook his head no.

“...Well, keep looking!!” Drifter said.

Blitz whined and also lowered his head to the ground, sniffing at the last spot Ambyr supposedly was. Maybe she fell through the ice!! Maybe Tonrar was bluffing about the whole thing...Ambyr was probably already dead. SHUT UP!! Thought Blitz. He shook his head, trying frantically to throw the thoughts out of him mind. As he snapped his head to the sides, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something.

It was a dark spot in the snow, about twenty feet away. It was right at the tree line. What could possibly make the snow turn black like that? As he stepped closer and sniffed some more, he saw that it wasn’t black it all...it was red. “DRIFTER!! OVER HERE!!”

Drifter flew over, and at first sight of the stain on the ground, he and Blitz exchanged worried looks. The stain was a dark path on the ground. It led deeper into the forest. “Come on,” he said, and jumped forward.

Tonrar looked impatiently at the moon in the sky. He then