VOICES:
- Buck: Mark Harmon (younger voice)
-Kaya: Sasha Alexander
-Ataneq: Jack Nicholson
-Boss: Brian Blessed
I waited, trembling behind a pine tree, listening for Ataneq’s signal. Kaya, my friend for one month, and I had just turned seven months old! And tradition called for our first hunt, so here we were, waiting for Ataneq and the pack to make it as easy as it could be for our first hunt. Still, it was exciting and both Kaya and I were straining to hear Ataneq’s howl.
“Was that it?!” she whispered excitedly, pacing back and forth.
“No, no. That was the wind. Ataneq said we’d see a cloud of snow when they got the deer running.
I tried to think about other things… it was a nice day…no clouds but snow covered ground… what was that?!
“Was that it?!”
“No. Calm down!” Kaya said. “I think you’re hearing things Buck!”
I’ll show her who’s hearing things! I pounced on her playfully and nipped at her. She tried to kick me off but bit my ear instead. Suddenly, a long, drawn out howl reached us. I sprang off Kaya and raced to where we were supposed to be waiting. Kaya scrambled up and slid to a stop next to me.
“That’s it!” I yipped.
“I see the snow cloud!”
The herd of deer was getting closer. We searched for the pack, but it wasn’t that hard to find. They all surrounded a doe, the least dangerous large prey to catch and were nipping at it, steering it away from its herd. We waited until the deer was cornered, then made our move.
“Now!”
Kaya and I sprang out and ran for the deer. It saw us coming, made a bellowing sound and dove to the left. Too bad for the doe because two other wolves were there to trip it. It tripped and fell, as planned.
“Good job you two not bad for a first hunt!” Ataneq said.
Kaya and I beamed.
“Unfortunately for you two, you aren’t anywhere close to being on top yet, so you eat last!” he laughed then dove in.
I will be someday I thought to myself. Since there was no chance I could eat yet, I walked over to one of the hooves and sharpened my teeth on it like Ataneq showed me. Kaya walked over, watched, and then copied me. I couldn’t think of a time that we were apart since I had found her. I did save her and the rest of the pack was older then us, but we did everything together.
Ataneq finished quickly and left, taking most of the pack with him. Talon, our beta, and a few others were the only ones left. I shoved my way through and Talon gave me a dirty look. Me and Kaya ignored him gulped down our food because we knew that the pack was energized from the food. And that usually led to playing!
Kaya and I snuck through the trees, keeping Ataneq in sight all the time, and pretended to be spies for another attack.
“Target in sight” I joked.
“On the count of three! One, two three!”
I led the charge out of the bushes and reached Ataneq first. I jumped right on his back and playfully bit the top of his head and back. Ataneq, surprised at first, started to laugh until Kaya knocked into his legs and tripped him.
“Got you grandpa!” I smirked.
Ataneq smiled, not a bit worried.
“Do you know what happens when another wolf knocks down an alpha?” he whispered.
“What?”
“His pack comes and saves him…”
I raised an eyebrow then got tackled by half the pack. Kaya, who had seen them sneaking up, had already started running. I raced after her, leading the pack in a short chase. Then we returned to Ataneq.
“I’m getting too old for this”, he smiled, lying down. “Let me take a nap. Go exploring or whatever you young wolves do these days…”
Not waiting to be told twice, I took off and hid behind a tree, and crouched for Kaya to run by. As soon as she did, I pounced on her, planting her into the snow and laughed over my shoulder. I slid across the now thick ice of the creek and stopped on the other side. She followed me but stopped short and sniffed the ground before crossing the creek.
“This is the territory line”, she said blankly.
“I know. I’ve lived here longer then you”
“Yeah but what about…” She didn’t have to mention Boss for me to know who she was talking about.
“Trust me; we’re old enough to take care of ourselves”
“But didn’t Ataneq say this was war? Isn’t that kind of dangerous? she asked.
“He’ll never find us! I think that the alpha likes me anyway! He was kinda nice last time”
“Okay” she sighed as she carefully navigated the ice.
Exploring territory that wasn’t ours was okay for a while, but we never found what I’d hoped to find. Kaya seemed happy about it. The cramped trail showed no signs that other wolves lived there. I was starting to think about turning back…
“This is boring” Kaya yawned.
“It’s about to get much more interesting” said a voice behind us.
Kaya and I both jumped, but this is what I was looking for.
“You’re right it did! Well, I won’t hold you back, so we’ll just be leaving” Kaya said, shoving me. But I had other plans. I grinned and glared and turned to face who dared to stop us.
Two wolves, definitely scouts, came out and blocked our path.
“This isn’t your territory”
“Well would you look at that!” Kaya exclaimed looking around. “I guess you’re right! Let’s go Buck!”
“What did you say your name was?” said one of the scouts, taking a sudden interest in me.
“Buck…”
“As in Ataneq’s grand pup and Aniu’s son”
I looked between both of them, wishing either of them were the one I really wanted to fight.
“Where are your old scouts?” I growled.
“Promoted” the scout said flatly.
By now, Kaya had enough. She hated fights.
“Lets go now!” she snarled, running away.
I didn’t want her to get involved in this anyway… but the two scouts closed in on me… my confidence shrank, and I whirled after Kaya. The scouts followed right behind. I caught up to Kaya and we ran for our lives. We took trail after trail, crashing through the brush and not caring how much noise we made.
“You guys don’t know this territory well do you?” the scouts laughed from behind. “You’d better stop! The pack doesn’t like when intruders run”
I slid to a stop, their words sounding a lot like someone I hated. The scouts slid to a stop, confused. I didn’t give them anytime to think about it. I fired myself at the firs scout, hitting him square in the chest and knocking the wind out of him. The second scout had started to bare his teeth. I paused for a brief second, then tackled him as well. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and shook until he was knocked out. The other scout pulled himself to his feet, but sat down and grinned.
“I see you fight like your father did” said a cold and familiar voice. The voice that belonged to the wolf I was looking for… that I wanted revenge for. I whirled around to see Boss and his pack. He looked bigger then I remembered even if I was almost full grown. My confidence was slipping, but when I saw Kaya, anger restored it.
“Let her go!” I snarled. The two grays Kaya called One and Two each held onto her with their teeth. She was squinting at Boss though.
“Let me talk to your alpha!” I demanded, hoping he remembered me.
“You’re talking to him” Boss grinned.
“You’re stupid, weak and slow! I don’t believe you”
Boss snarled and charged at me. I stood my ground and he stopped inches in front of me.
“I’m stronger now and if you don’t watch your tongue, you’re gonna be sorry!”
I squinted at him and bared my teeth, but Kaya’s struggle caught my eye.
“Let her go” I repeated. “You have nothing against her”
Boss glanced over his shoulder at Kaya. He looked between me and Kaya, a smile cracking on his face.
“This your mate now?” he sneered.
“No” I said flatly, squinting my eyes again.
Boss walked over to Kaya, motioning for One and Two to drop her. Kaya bristled up and growled at Boss, who just came closer and closer. Panic started to grip me.
“Leave her alone!” I said weakly, ears starting to fall back.
Boss didn’t listen. He leaned forward and licked Kaya’s face. Kaya shot backwards and snarled.
“Leave her alone!” I thundered.
Boss whipped around. I dropped to my stomach and flattened my ears.
“I’m sorry for whatever reason you hated me or my family for”
Boss’s pack started to whisper and Boss glared at them.
“He’s no hero!” Boss snarled. “And he’s going to pay for what he caused me!”
Boss lunged and knocked into me, sending me rolling on the ground. I tumbled and stopped in front of Kaya. The fight and thirst for revenge was gone now. Kaya looked down at me with fear and worry in her blue eyes.
“Kaya, you have to go!” I whispered quickly. “I don’t want you to get hurt”
Before Kaya could reply, Boss whipped around by my back leg.
“I don’t want to fight you, you’d win”
“Get up and fight you filthy half- bred!” he snarled.
I stayed on the ground and shook my head no. Boss looked around and his eyes locked on Kaya again. Why didn’t Kaya run when she had the chance?! Boss stomped over to her and before she could react, he pinned her down and put his teeth to her throat.
“Stop!” I yelped. “I’ll do whatever you want!”
Boss looked up and grinned, letting Kaya slip away.
“Just let me talk to Kaya” I almost whispered.
Kaya walked over to me, the look on her face was impossible to read.
“Listen Kaya, you have got to go. He’ll kill you the next chance he gets, I’m sure of it”
“You can’t take him on your own” she whispered, ears going back.
I grimaced and looked at the ground for a second.
“If I don’t make it out of this Kaya…”
Kaya furrowed her brow, eyes starting to brim with tears. I tried to smile for her and she nuzzled me quickly, then took off. Boss flipped me over and I yelped from shock. Kaya hesitated and looked back.
“GO!” I yelled.
Kaya shook her head and ran as fast as she could.
The sun was starting to set and the lower it sank, the more I thought that going out to pick a fight with Boss was stupider and stupider. Boss started to circle me and I bared my teeth and circled him. He was defiantly bigger then me. He snarled and dived and by some chance I dodged him. He leaped again, I tried to dodge but wasn’t as lucky. Boss didn’t bite, but the force of the hit sent me flying backwards. The powdery snow cushioned my fall and I scrambled to my feet just in time to take another hit and crash into a tree. I got back up and shook my head. The alpha stood there waiting.
“This is too easy. Stop holding back” he snorted.
Before I could tell him I wasn’t he charged again and this time I jumped, landing on his back. I snarled and grabbed the scruff of his neck and shook my head like I had earlier. It was almost like it had no effect at all. He growled louder and grabbed my foot in his teeth. Just before he pulled, I let go of his neck and grabbed his ear. He threw me and I yanked his ear hard. Boss howled in pain. I jumped back up to my feet and saw my chance. I grabbed onto his tail and shook, yanked and pulled. Boss yelped and lashed out blindly, hitting me across the face. I hit the ground, but not as hard as before and charged, thinking that I might actually have a chance.
Boy was I wrong. His brothers, One and Two came to fight me while their brother recovered. One, the bigger grey, grabbed the scruff of my neck and dragged me while Two crouched down, ready to beat me up. I stretched around and grabbed One’s front paw in my mouth and bit as hard as I could. One cried and scrambled away. Two tucked his tail between his legs and retreated without me even looking at him.
Boss seemed to be fine now. He rolled his shoulders and grinned. We both ran at each other at full speed. There was a few seconds of dead silence before we clashed. We slammed into each other, teeth clicking from snapping and paws slashing even though our nails weren’t very sharp. Even though I got in a few bites myself, I received a few bites that sent a shock wave through me. Finally, we fell away from each other to take a breath. He looked at me and laughed at something, making his breath a cloud. I tried to catch my breath, but it was like my lungs just couldn’t pump enough air. What was wrong with me?!
Boss didn’t give me a chance to think. He charged once more but I couldn’t make myself move. He broadsided me and I flew back, smashing my head on something hard. Everything went black, but only for a few minutes. Someone was sniffing me. I struggled a little and managed to find my feet again.
“He’s still alive Boss!”
I heard voices murmuring...
“That’s not impressive at all” Boss growled. “Anyone can survive that!”
He grabbed me by the back of my neck and dragged me to the creek and tossed me in a spot where a wolf had dug a drinking hole. He tried to push me in, but I pulled him in with me. His weight made me sink underwater and I choked on the water I swallowed. I struggled but couldn’t squirm away. I couldn’t get away…but I couldn’t give up. I sank my teeth in whatever part of Boss was holding me under water. Even though I was underwater, I could hear Boss’s howl of pain. He leapt off of me and I thrashed over to the opposite side of the creek, sputtering and coughing. I was too cold, too tired, too sore to fight anymore. I plopped down on the ground and shivered.
“Get back up and fight!” Boss spat.
I stayed frozen where I was. I was going to lose this fight big time. But Kaya should have gotten the pack…I might have some chance.
“Fight!” he thundered.
My legs shook as I tried to stand again. Boss knocked into me and I rolled in the snow. I didn’t do anything. There was nothing left to do… I felt drained, as if all the energy was sucked out of me. Boss came over to me again, towering over me.
“You win” I said, voice cracking. “I can’t fight anymore”
A big smile stretched across Boss’s face. Boss called One over to him. Half of his pack didn’t look like they wanted him to win.
“You’re a sad excuse for a hybrid, even a dog” Boss said, making a tsking noise.
One rolled me over on my side, and I was too tired to care. I had no idea what they were doing until One moved my head so that my neck was exposed…
“Buck?! Buck?!”
As if on cue, my pack, lead by a very angry Ataneq and worried Kaya, rushed onto the scene. Even though Boss’s pack had a new alpha, our pack was still stronger and chased them across the ice and back over their side of the creek. Kaya was the first to reach me and nudged my head.
“Buck! Stay with us okay? We’re here now! Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep!”
“Why do you have to be like you’re father?” Ataneq said standing over me.
“I’m fine! I’m still alive!” I said warily. Boss was still on the other side of the river.
“Hey Ataneq! How bout you and me have a go! Aniu’s pup isn’t going to last much longer! You should be even easier!”
“Buck’s fine! He barely has any scratches!” Ataneq thundered back.
“Look at his chest!” Boss called boastingly.
Ataneq whipped around and Talon pulled me to my feet. The white fur on my chest was stained with red. The snow where I had just been lying was pink. Now that I saw it, it started to hurt. The cold water had probably numbed it. Kaya started to clean it furiously.
“Why did you have to do that!” she asked angrily between laps. “We could have both gotten away!”
“I’m fine!” I repeated pushing her away. “I just have to walk it off”
I picked myself up and shook off. Splattering Kaya and Ataneq with water and slobber.
“Sorry”
I started walking. “See! Fine!”
I took two more steps and collapsed.
Boss cackled from his side of the creek.
“Get him on my back!” Ataneq ordered.
“I’m ….okay…..still….just a ….scratch”
I slipped in and out of consciousness, seeing bits and pieces of my territory as it started to snow. I saw a glimpse of Aniu through the snow. She winked and disappeared. I hadn’t given up yet. Everything went black, then I opened my eyes and we were back in the cave again.
“I can't breathe…” I managed.
Kaya started re- cleaning the wounds again and Ataneq watched me worriedly from the mouth of the den.
“I saw Aniu. What does that mean” I breathed.
“Then the answer is simple. Don’t give up and you won’t die” Kaya tried to joke, but I could hear the worry in her voice.
“Just stay awake, okay?"
“Sure, but no promises”
The cave started to disappear in a storm of dots.
“Buck?! Keep breathing"
I couldn’t answer her. Everything was going black. Balto was going to be the only one to survive in our family…
“Buck!! No!!!”
“Sorry” I managed one last time.
Boss (c) Tadie
Aniu (c) Universal