Sequel: Chasing the Moon ›
Pup Among the Big Dogs
Metal Clamps and Death Wishes
I discarded my shoes as I ran in the grass outside: they just hindered me. I loved the feel of the wind blowing through my black hair as my legs carried me as fast as I could go. Sometimes I wished I was a wolf: free to do whatever I wanted and to run freely to wherever I wished to go. But I had school to go to...
How fun, right? Instead of doing what I loved I had to learn stuff I wouldn't ever use. I had my career: professional athlete. I was pretty dog gone fast for a girl my age and I figured I would only get better with how much I "practiced". But that made it sound like a chore and I love running more than anything in the world.
When I ran, it was like the world left me alone; my problems disappeared. My life was okay, yeah, but it could be better. My parents divorced pretty much right after I was born and had also both died long ago. So now I lived with my older half-brother who was 6 years older than me. Greg was now 21 and he had told child services he would watch after me when he had turned 18. Up until then I had lived with him and his mom. Greg had never been anything like me. Where I enjoyed running, he enjoyed staying inside and listening to music peacefully. He demanded quiet and I just couldn't give him that. He always told me "Renée, you're just a pup who tries to play with the big dogs". That was his way of telling me I don't belong with the people I hang out with: people far from my age. But no one my age shared the same interests as me and I couldn't put up with them at all: they were all the lazy type who prefer to sit inside on a perfect day for running or anything outside really.
My hair flew wildly as I shook my head furiously. Running was my therapy, not time to think about some bad things. I smiled as I leaped over a fallen tree in the woods. Landing with a heavy thud, I continued on, catching myself from falling to the ground. I watched the birds above me, flying and chasing each other happily. Sometimes I thought maybe being a bird would be fun: to fly and feel the wind under my wings. But then I remembered the feel of the ground under my feet and I would rather be a human (even if they don't have the best form for running).
I trudged through a pond, knowing it wasn't too deep for I had always run this route, at least three times a week. It was near nightfall and I slowed to a walk, turning to my right to go back the way I came. But I heard a noise that made my blood run cold: a cry of pain. It sounded like a wolf howling in despair. I had great respect for those animals: I envied them. I took off at a dead sprint and ran in the direction of the cry. I saw a gorgeous russet wolf with his paw in a trap. I gasped at the sight and walked towards him carefully.
He growled at me, obviously not trusting someone of the same species that had trapped him in the horrid metal clamp.
"Shh, it's okay boy. I want to help," I told him, getting on my knees and crawling towards him with one hand out, ignoring the marsh threatening to pull me under. He sniffed at my hand and bared his teeth. I frowned at the realization that he didn't accept me. I felt so despaired, but I refused to give up. I stopped crawling and sat in front of him, a foot away. I was trying to show him I trusted him with my life and knew he wouldn't bite me though he could. He tilted his head and I reached my hand out again. He sniffed it and pulled away to look at his paw. He licked it, whimpering.
"I'll help, Gorgeous," I told him, standing and walking to him. "This might hurt," I warned and pulled the clamp open. He yipped and sped off. He stopped after running about twenty feet and looked at me, his gorgeous auburn fur glistening in the moonlight. He nodded slightly, or maybe I was seeing things. "You're welcome," I told him. He walked up to me and nuzzled on my leg like a cat. I pet his head and kissed his forehead. He was limping, but he would be fine: he had just been caught in the trap.
"Stupid girl! We had that mangy mutt! He's been stealing our livestock and costing us money! Get away from him so we can finish what we started!" A man walked up from a tree quite a ways away.
"No! You can't kill a beauty like him!" I told him.
"Like Hell I can't!" My feet were moving even before I heard the gun in his hands shoot out a bullet. I felt a piercing pain in my arm and cried out; falling to the ground in front of the wolf I had thrown myself in front of. The man looked around for witnesses and ran away, afraid of doing jail time. The wolf whimpered at me, licking my wound where the bullet had penetrated my skin. I cried out in gasps, pain consuming me. It all went black there and I could have sworn I saw a white light before me, which I obligingly headed to. Maybe I could be reincarnated as a wolf in my next life. It'd be a fair trade, my pain for what I wanted to be most of all. I allowed myself to be pulled into unconsciousness, partly hoping I would never open my human eyes again.
How fun, right? Instead of doing what I loved I had to learn stuff I wouldn't ever use. I had my career: professional athlete. I was pretty dog gone fast for a girl my age and I figured I would only get better with how much I "practiced". But that made it sound like a chore and I love running more than anything in the world.
When I ran, it was like the world left me alone; my problems disappeared. My life was okay, yeah, but it could be better. My parents divorced pretty much right after I was born and had also both died long ago. So now I lived with my older half-brother who was 6 years older than me. Greg was now 21 and he had told child services he would watch after me when he had turned 18. Up until then I had lived with him and his mom. Greg had never been anything like me. Where I enjoyed running, he enjoyed staying inside and listening to music peacefully. He demanded quiet and I just couldn't give him that. He always told me "Renée, you're just a pup who tries to play with the big dogs". That was his way of telling me I don't belong with the people I hang out with: people far from my age. But no one my age shared the same interests as me and I couldn't put up with them at all: they were all the lazy type who prefer to sit inside on a perfect day for running or anything outside really.
My hair flew wildly as I shook my head furiously. Running was my therapy, not time to think about some bad things. I smiled as I leaped over a fallen tree in the woods. Landing with a heavy thud, I continued on, catching myself from falling to the ground. I watched the birds above me, flying and chasing each other happily. Sometimes I thought maybe being a bird would be fun: to fly and feel the wind under my wings. But then I remembered the feel of the ground under my feet and I would rather be a human (even if they don't have the best form for running).
I trudged through a pond, knowing it wasn't too deep for I had always run this route, at least three times a week. It was near nightfall and I slowed to a walk, turning to my right to go back the way I came. But I heard a noise that made my blood run cold: a cry of pain. It sounded like a wolf howling in despair. I had great respect for those animals: I envied them. I took off at a dead sprint and ran in the direction of the cry. I saw a gorgeous russet wolf with his paw in a trap. I gasped at the sight and walked towards him carefully.
He growled at me, obviously not trusting someone of the same species that had trapped him in the horrid metal clamp.
"Shh, it's okay boy. I want to help," I told him, getting on my knees and crawling towards him with one hand out, ignoring the marsh threatening to pull me under. He sniffed at my hand and bared his teeth. I frowned at the realization that he didn't accept me. I felt so despaired, but I refused to give up. I stopped crawling and sat in front of him, a foot away. I was trying to show him I trusted him with my life and knew he wouldn't bite me though he could. He tilted his head and I reached my hand out again. He sniffed it and pulled away to look at his paw. He licked it, whimpering.
"I'll help, Gorgeous," I told him, standing and walking to him. "This might hurt," I warned and pulled the clamp open. He yipped and sped off. He stopped after running about twenty feet and looked at me, his gorgeous auburn fur glistening in the moonlight. He nodded slightly, or maybe I was seeing things. "You're welcome," I told him. He walked up to me and nuzzled on my leg like a cat. I pet his head and kissed his forehead. He was limping, but he would be fine: he had just been caught in the trap.
"Stupid girl! We had that mangy mutt! He's been stealing our livestock and costing us money! Get away from him so we can finish what we started!" A man walked up from a tree quite a ways away.
"No! You can't kill a beauty like him!" I told him.
"Like Hell I can't!" My feet were moving even before I heard the gun in his hands shoot out a bullet. I felt a piercing pain in my arm and cried out; falling to the ground in front of the wolf I had thrown myself in front of. The man looked around for witnesses and ran away, afraid of doing jail time. The wolf whimpered at me, licking my wound where the bullet had penetrated my skin. I cried out in gasps, pain consuming me. It all went black there and I could have sworn I saw a white light before me, which I obligingly headed to. Maybe I could be reincarnated as a wolf in my next life. It'd be a fair trade, my pain for what I wanted to be most of all. I allowed myself to be pulled into unconsciousness, partly hoping I would never open my human eyes again.