67

The basement door crashes behind you as you descend the stairs to join the rest of the pack in their dubious sanctuary. The light below is piercing, cast by rows of recessed artificial LEDs, and your eyes ache as they sweep across the wide-open rectangular room to take in almost a hundred wolves, each in varying states of panic. As they had aboveground, the factions have split to different sides of the room: The elders clustered along the farthest wall while Sonoma's supporters mill about in an agitated frenzy. The wolves you'd helped rescue from the Nail gather to your right while leaving an unsurprising bubble for Inferi's crew of Metalheads. Striking blond fur ripples as Slayer mills about in agitation, concerned for his missing friends. You're about to go tell him that you'd seen Inferi and Augury when Bly grabs your attention.

"I guess it's just a matter of time until we know whether or not Maker was right."

"We can't trust Rivera," Dena says. "Maker wasn't expecting them to tak…

Slayer perks up when he sees you approaching, Bly and Dena at your side. "Good to see you guys made it in safe," he says, giving a preferential nod to Bly. He shakes with a nervous tic and worries at a knotted tuft of fur on his neck. "Did any of you see Inferi out there? Or Augury? I'm kinda freaking out right now."

Bly grows silent and looks down at her feet as Slayer's hopeful expression falls into ruin. "I'm so sorry, Slayer," Bly says. "We found Augury, but it was too late."

Slayer looks like he's going to be sick and he clenches his fists with rage. "They'll pay for this!" he seethes. "I thought Sonoma was going too far, but maybe gas weapons are exactly what these monsters deserve!"

Bly wraps an arm around the boy's shoulders and tries to comfort him. "I won't say it's going to be okay," she whispers, "because it's not. But I will say that we'll get through this and the shit-stains responsible for her death will pay."

"Yeah," Slayer rubs a paw under his nose, his nerves steadying. "That's damn right."

A rumble from above causes a small crack to tear in the ceiling's white paint, and chips fleck down over you like snow as something rumbles above.

Slayer's tail droops. "I'm glad at least some of us got away. For all Sonoma's talk, I think she knows as well as we do that we're never getting out of here."

"If Sonoma believed that, she'd never have led you down here. We're not laying down to die, we retreated. There's a difference."

"If you really believed that, why did you come down here in the first place? Why didn't you run for the stockade with Inferi?"

"I didn't think you were such a coward. Stop sniveling and get your head on straight if you want to survive!"

Next

"I, uh," Slayer sputters in response to your outburst. His jaw tightens. "I'm no coward!"

"Then stop acting like one," you and Bly say at the same time, shocking each other.

Slayer cracks his knuckles and firms up. "Fine. Maybe I needed that," he finally admits.

A piercing beep echoes through the underground room, and in seconds every eye is searching for Sonoma. You look down at the tablet Maker handed you. The words "Exfiltration Verified" stare up at you from the screen in bold white lettering.

"Where is Sonoma!" a black-furred wolf yells from the other side of the bunker. If you remember right, his name is Onyx—a bit on the nose. You think you recognize him from some of the packleader's meetings. He turns and points a finger at you. "You were the last one to come down the ladder! Why didn't she follow you?" His eyes widen as he notices the tablet in your hand. He starts to growl. "That's the boss's. What's going on, Holstein? You'd better have a good explanation for this!"

"Sonoma stayed above to lure the enemy into the kill-zone. She knows that Rivera is after her."

"She decided to go after Rivera herself while the rest of us were safe below."

"I don't really know. When we were at the ladder, Sonoma handed me the tablet and said she had something she needed to do. I didn't get any other explanation."

Next

"She would have told us if she planned to stay above!" Onyx bellows. "This doesn't make any sense at all!"

"She knew you'd never hide out here if you thought she was facing danger alone," Dena says, thinking quickly. "Don't let this all be for nothing by running out there now. Let her be the hero. You know that's what she wants."

"I…but that alarm…what does it mean?"

You hold up the device. A complicated readout now accompanies a map on the tablet's glossy surface. "It said the soldiers have exfiltrated," you say. "They're leaving."

"What?" Onyx bellows. "Why would they…" He stops and you can almost see the wheels in his head turning. "Boss!" He runs for the ladder and his companions rush to join him.

Next

"Gone!" the black-furred wolf groans dejectedly. "She should have let us protect her!"

Onyx and his companions spent over an hour combing the camp for survivors, and while they rescued several wolves and brought them back to the council chambers for healing, they never found their beloved leader. Of course you know why, but you certainly can't tell them. Can you?

"I'm sorry, Onyx. But this is what she wanted. She'll be remembered as a hero and leader just like she always talked about."

"There's no need to worry, Onyx. She's still alive."

"She wouldn't want you moping about like a love-sick puppy. Get up and honor her by surviving."

Next

At first it looks like Onyx is about to bite your head off, and when he stalks up to you you're sure you've made an error in judgment. That's when he hugs you—so tight you can barely breathe. "I deserved that," he says. "She'd have kicked my ass for acting that weak. I should have seen it. Thank you, Holstein." He releases you just before you feel you're about to asphyxiate. "Rivera has to be holding her captive. We need to go after her!"

"We need to stick together," Dena says. "Do you really think Sonoma would want us to get caught after she worked this hard to keep us safe?"

Onyx snorts. "She'd know I wouldn't let her go that easily. She'd count on it. If you want to stay behind with these elders and weaklings, then stay. We'll be better off without you."

"He's speaking sense, you know," an elderly voice says from behind. "Let them go."

You turn to look Ahote in the eye. "We need them," you say softly.

The elder shakes his head. "We have a contingency plan to get older wolves like us out of the camp, but we need someone to defend us if the need arises. Let Onyx and his thugs go. Stay with us. I promise we'll get out of this together."

You turn back to speak to Onyx, but he and his entourage have already disappeared into the night. You grind your teeth in frustration.

"We can't just leave the elders here," Dena says and Bly nods in reluctant agreement.

"Fine," you say, turning back to Ahote. "What's this plan of yours?"

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