Hunted

A horn sounded. Mlinzi's pitch-black head shot up and his nose sniffed the air. He slowly crept to the entrance of the den that lay just to the east of the middle of Stelpond forest. The young wolf knew that sound. "Wake up!" he growled to his sleeping packmates. The rare Starglow wolves slowly stirred. "Wake up!" he shouted. Mlinzi's brother, Nzuri, was the first to wake.

"What is it?" he asked, stretching.

Mlinzi growled impatiently. "Did you not hear that hunting horn? We need to get out of here, they're close!"

Mlinzi and his brother roused the still sleeping wolves. The youngest, Akili, whimpered and hid in the back of the cave. Mlinzi did a quick headcount. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… where's Akili?" he shouted to the others. Not waiting for an answer, Mlinzi rushed to the back of the cave and found his young sister and picked her up by the scruff of her neck.

Nzuri howled a soft howl to signal the escape. Mlinzi sprinted after his pack with Akili still in his mouth. The sound of a cry of agony filled Mlinzi's ears as he turned to see an arrow protruding from his father's back. The old wolf shed a tear and gave his son a look that seemed to say Go, save them! and then his eyes closed. The ethereal image of him gently floated from the old wolf and joined the ancestors in the sky.

A tear slipped down Mlinzi's cheek, but he quickly shook it away. There would be time for mourning later. Another shout of pain sounded and Mlinzi turned to see his sister's ethereal body join her mate in the sky. Akili whimpered and Mlinzi took off after the few that were still left.

The moon reached its peak in the midnight sky and only Nzuri, Mlinzi, and Akili were left. Nzuri led his remaining family into a cave that he had discovered. Mlinzi gently sat Akili down on the hard, cold, stone floor. The small wolf pup quietly sobbed and leaned against her older brothers.

"Thank the ancestors, our coats are black" Nzuri whispered. Mlinzi nodded. Mlinzi always had a calm exterior, but on the inside, he was screaming with terror. The rain started to drizzle outside and that only made the trio more lonely.

Human voices suddenly pierced through the soft, delicate sound of the rain, and horses whinnied with their hard hooves sloshing through the wet forest. "We have to get out of here," Mlinzi said, picking up Akili and darting out of the cave. Nzuri followed close behind.

The shouts of the hunters could be heard even through the thunderous beating of Mlinzi's heart in his ears. He didn't care about himself, well, not much anyway, but his pack came first.

The river twisted and raged, covering the Starglow wolves in a gentle, cold mist. "We are going to cross that?" Nzuri asked.

Mlinzi nodded and sat Akili down. "It's our only chance to survive." Mlinzi leaned down to pick up Akili while Nzuri leaped onto a boulder that had been lodged there. Then he leaped to a log, allowing Mlinzi to jump to the boulder.

A large wave of water crashed into the wolves, almost knocking them into the churning river.

Mlinzi slipped on the soaking wet rock and landed flat on his stomach. The impact dislodged Akili from his mouth and she skittered and slid across the slippery rock.

"Help! Mlinzi!" Akili screamed, barely holding on to the edge of the rock. Nzuri looked over and gasped. Wolf paws were not made to cling to hard rocks.

A large wave slammed into them and Akili lost her grip. Her scream was lost in the roar of the waters. Mlinzi stood still, at a loss for words until Nzuri barked at him to continue on.

Once they were across the river, the duo continued to run throughout the night. Hearing the sound of horses running, Mlinzi looked to his right. Five hunters started to give chase and the two brothers ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Arrows sped past them, the wind from their motion filling Mlinzi's ears.

"Mlinzi," Nzuri said, painting. "Remember what your destiny is. To protect the Moonstar."

"Why are you telling me…" Mlinzi began when realization hit him in the face. "No! You can't! Please no! I need you!"

Nzuri gave a small, sad smile. "I love you brother." With that Nzuri changed directions and began running back towards the hunters. The last thing Mlinzi heard was his brother shouting "Keep running!" and then the sound of the hunters' victory horn filled the quiet forest.