The Changing

The gunshots echoed loudly between the tall spindly trees on the outskirts of the wood and from there, three dark silhouettes emerged out into the moonlit hills, running fast, almost floating over the long grass. Their four legs never touching the ground for more than a second. The wolves were fleeing, running from the murderous guns of the poachers who had come for their pelts. It was a wolverine and her two cubs who were just old enough to keep up with their mother, around eight moons old. They raced along the edge of the forest and dove back into the undergrowth. The poachers dog could now be heard also, using its powerful nose to track the wolves down. The mother wolf stopped abruptly, crouching low to the ground she hissed to her children "Stop. We will have to split up now my sons, I want you to run into the deep forest and don't look back.....I will find you when I lose the man wolves and the hunters." One of her sons, a grey and white speckled wolf who was small for his age began to whine. His mother snarled and snapped, she briefly licked his face in comfort and nudged him away. "Enough Icarus, you must go now, I will catch you in a few nights." She nudged him again and gave her other son a bigger, black and strong looking cub a look of loving farewell and ran back off into the night.

Icarus turned to his brother with panic in his eyes. " she's ran right back to them Alto! We cannot leave her!" He started in the direction his mother had left in.
Alto lunged forward and gave his brother a warning nip on the base of his tail cutting in front, Icarus gave a yelp and looked at his brother accusingly.
"Our mother is smarter than you, she will return, if you go back you will not!" He told his panicked brother. A gunshot a few meters away made both wolves jump and turn. They looked at each other once more and leapt off into the deep of the woodland.
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The two brothers ran for hours never hearing another sound, although they did not communicate Alto could feel his brothers eyes on him, accusing. As the moonlight disappeared being replaced by the cold light of dawn, Icarus running almost silently behind him stopped abruptly and sat down on the forest bed of dewy twigs, leaves and moss. "I'm resting here for a while and then I'm going back to meet mother."
Alto decided it was best not to argue with his brother now and he wanted to be with their mother again, badly. He was starting to feel hungry and his mother was the main supplier of their food. He nodded to his brother and lay down panting on the ground. He rested his head on his front paws and closed his eyes. He tried not to think of that last gunshot they heard and then.......silence. Surely their mother must had gotten away quicker than he expected she would. He hoped with all his heart she would be trotting along to meet them when they returned.

Alto woke with a start his brother pawing his nose sending dust and mud up his nostrils, he snorted hard and rose to his feet baring his teeth at his brother.
"Ok calm down big bear!" Said Icarus, showing a toothy grin and nuzzling his brother. Altos face soften and he said "well this bear is hungry, we should look for some food on the way back!" Icarus nodded and his muzzle fell into a serious line once more at the prospect of finding their mother. They set off at a fast trot back in the direction they had came. It should only take a few hours to get back in daylight.

"Alto? Remember the stories mother told us, about her living in a twenty wolf pack when she was a cub? There is only around four wolves and us left in over 200 miles across. I fear we are almost all gone. What shall become of the last of us?"
Icarus looked at his brother, pleading for answers he could not give. What could he say? He couldn't tell him that there may be no more of their kind out there or that their mother was alive, or how they were going to survive here when new poachers arrived every new moon to claim the last of the native wolves. Alto looked away and continued moving. " I don't know what will become of us." He said.

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They approached the edge of the woods slowly, both inwardly noting the smell of death and blood. They did not speak to each other. As they crept out of the trees they followed the smell across the moor for around half a mile. They kept their bodies low to the ground as they searched for any sign of their mother. A body lay on the ground a short distance away in some short open grass. Icarus noticed this first and leapt out into the open. "No," Alto barked and watched from the long grass. Icarus ran full pelt to the body on the ground he crashed to a halt by the body, four bloodied paws and muzzle it's throat had been ripped out. Icarus looked down questioningly. This was not his mother, this was the hunting dog.
He heard a small noise like a zip wire and felt a sharp pain in his neck, something had hit him.

Alto watched on as Icarus fell to the ground and lay motionless next to the corpse he assumed was his mothers. A man with a long silver rifle stepped out of the grass on the other side of the field and walked to his brother. Alto dashed out into the open barking madly in an uncharacteristic act of madness two feet before he reached his brother he was shot twice and fell heavily to the ground.
Icarus lay in a state of paralysis, completely aware but frozen he was still as a statue as a van rounded into the clearing and he and his brother were lifted into the back of it. He caught a glimpse of Alto, he looked dead already. Icarus was terrified of these hunters and wondered what they would do with him, he hoped he was dead before they consumed him. "So it's simple James really. We take them to the airport and they are sent to go into the North American game reserve, we are saving the last of the species in England here!" Icarus heard these humans talking but he understood nothing. The answering deep voice came back "I know Monica, it's just shooting them with darts seems so inhumane, but they will be much safer there, protected with all the wildlife there and more of their own kind"........
Icarus became aware of Alto snoring intently and was comforted to know his brother was alive, he fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

Critique anything you want!

Reviews

[Blayk McCartney]

what can I say? I was extremely concerned and then deeply pleased. I do have to tell you though, a wolverine and a wolf are two different animals. just google it and you'll see. other then that, great work!