Chapter 2: Sundered

Ethan opened his eyes and wiped the dirt from around his face. With his back on the ground he was looking up through the treetops canopy. It was a calming scene and the greens and browns of the trees added to the stillness of that instance. A mid day sky with rays of light shone brightly upon his face, it was warm and it was the type of warmth that made Ethan relaxed. A little too relaxed. As he looked toward the sky he noticed that there was more than one moon in the sky, two to be exact. Many thoughts raced through his mind but one thing stood out the most within his sea of thoughts. That thought being, an excitement of exploration that he had never felt until this moment.

He couldn't really explain why he was feeling this, but something within him was burning with the urge to explore. In a moment of realization, he remembered that something struck the ground near him and his family. He sat up quickly looking around for his dad and sister. He didn't spot his dad anywhere but he saw his sister who looked like she had been knocked out. He laughed a little because he saw that she never let go of her spear.

After standing up he walked over and nudged her with his hands and said, "Esther, wake up! Hey! Wake up!"

Esther came to very slowly, holding her head and squinting her eyes as if she had just woken up from only a couple hours of sleep. Esther noticed the trees around them were different, some of them twisted from the roots towards the sky and others looked the same as trees she had always seen. However the leaves were a blue green tint that she hadn't seen before. There were some that were even extremely wide, but the branches at the top were stubby and only contained a few leaves on them, it was a very strange sight to behold.

With a raspy voice she said," The trees look different, where are we and where's dad?"

"I'm not sure but you're right about the trees, never seen a twisted tree like that one, nor any leaves the colors as those over there. Maybe dad is just pranking us, you know, one of those 'it's time to toughen up' type of moments?" Ethan replied.

"You don't remember the fog and then something hitting the ground!? I remember dad grabbing us and telling us something, but it's all a little fuzzy for me right now. Dad wouldn't just throw us into something without telling us what we have to do first. He has some bad habits but that's not one of them." Esther said while being helped up by her brother, Ethan.

"Yeah I do remember, and you're right. We have to find him and fast. This is making me feel weird, sis." Replied Ethan, glancing at his surroundings excited to begin looking around.

Esther nodded to her brother and they both began to peer around in random directions. Searching for some type of clue where their father might be. Reality had still not set in for the two siblings but as they looked around more and more they knew this wasn't the same forest they had grew up hunting in. They looked at each other and then back up to the sky.

"Two moons, I almost forgot that's the first thing I saw when I woke up." Ethan said to his sister while still gazing at the sight.

"Yeah, so we are 'definitely' not in Seattle. You have all of your gear?" Replied Esther scanning her brother.

The thought of his gear never crossed Ethan's mind. He looked around on the floor and back to the area where he woke up at. His bow was laying on the ground and he already had his knives strapped to his legs. He made his way to his bow, picked it up and drew the bow string back and forth a couple times. Ethan gave a thumbs up to Esther letting her know everything was working. Esther then beckoned Ethan to follow her in a random direction.

"Let's just cover some ground and figure out where the heck we are. Maybe we will even bump into dad. You scout ahead of me a few meters and I'll cover the rear, like dad always has us do." Esther said while walking.

This was a technique they used when exploring, to cover more ground and each other. They would walk in a staggered column formation and would constantly keep their heads on a swivel. Esther would guard the rear and move up to use her spear if they encountered anything and Ethan would fall back to use his Bow or throwing knives. Usually for the two it would be the opposite but she really needed Ethan's tracking skills to help find any indication of where their father might be. Therefore, Esther had him take the point position in the front of their two man formation.

'He needs to get used to leading a bit anyways. It's kind of surprising he didn't argue with me about wanting to be in the back as usual.' Esther said to herself while smiling.

As the two were walking cautiously through the woods Ethan began to notice many different prints that he hadn't seen before. Maybe he had, but the size of them were bigger than what he remembered. For a second he thought that his eyes were messed up, which made him blink a few times in a second. Coming to the realization that he was in a foreign world, he decided to stop, and raised his hand in a fist then waved for his sister to come to him.

"What is it?" Asked Esther.

"Look at these, they are wolf tracks. See anything strange?" Ethan said while kneeling over a few sets of tracks.

"Yeah, they are big tracks." Esther answered with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Not just that but there are a lot of them. A pack of wolves that are clearly the size of a small bear. . I mean we are in a place that has two moons, so it wouldn't be a strange thing for the animals to be different from ours too. However, these tracks are something monstrous, just the size scares me and we haven't even seen them yet." Ethan told Esther with worry in his voice.

They both began to look around their surroundings, looking to see if they were being followed and might not of noticed. After affirming they were in the clear, they got back in their previous formation moving a little slower than before and being extra cautious. To think to be surrounded by so many wolves and for them to be a couple times bigger than an average wolf was a terrifying thought. While advancing forward they both took in all the different sights, flowers lined some of the bushes, and small critters that looked similar to a squirrel except it had a shorter tail with no puffy fur. It almost reminded you of a small rat because the tail wasn't bushy as they remembered it was back on Earth. Eventually they came upon a clearing within the forest and through the edge of trees before the clearing, they could see the pack of wolves that the tracks belonged too. They were a massive size and there were a pack of seven wolves. The colors varied from black, grey, and brown. The duo could even see that their claws were many inches longer than anything they've seen before and this put the two on their guard even more.

Ethan headed to Esther so that she wouldn't move around and accidently alarm the wolves. They both crouched behind a tree while also peering around the tree to keep an eye on the wolf pack.

"They are at least four feet tall or maybe taller, this can't be real. Those things would eat us in a split second, we have to wait until they leave or make it around this clearing. We should go further back into the forest and circle around them, we have to avoid being heard." Ethan said in nerve-racking manner.

Esther couldn't hide her anxiety anymore and replied," You are right, I don't know where the hell we are but we have to find dad and fast."

As they both turned around to start heading back into the forest and around the pack of wolves, a giant five foot tall wolf stood a few feet in front of them. It's claws seemed to be as black as its fur and one would not notice them if only for the gleam it gave off from its paws.

Paws that were as big as their heads and dark as night. It's eyes were a golden yellow color and the look it gave them was terrifying yet proud. The wolf did not move and it neither did it bare its fangs at the two teenagers. Although this was the case, in Esther's and Ethan's mind they both felt dread. The duo instantly got into formation, Esther stuck her spear between herself and the wolf while inching forward. Ethan climbed a tree before Esther could notice him doing so and had he readied his bow to fire.

The Wolf's gaze seemed to change as it stared at Esther and then Ethan who was still perched in a tree with his bow. The wolf looked at them as if it was looking down on them, as if they weren't even worthy enough to be prey. It's visage began to change as it let out a low growl. Within seconds they were surrounded by the other six wolves from the clearing, and the wolf pack bared its fangs at the brother and sister duo. The arriving pack merely stood there making sure they couldn't leave their net of encirclement.

The Black wolf stepped closer and spoke, "You are intriguing, human. Show me your resolve!"

It grinned, revealing its milky white teeth. Ethan and Esther were stunned by its speech and the wolf stole the initiative, leaping at Esther with its paws wide.