赤裸裸的滑稽故事

The arrival of the Broken Crag wolves had been all that the three alphas needed to win the fight.

Jonas had thrown himself against one of the wolves, quickly being piled on by another. He twisted himself and threw a heavy punch, extending his blade through the wolf’s jaw at the last moment.

The first wolf bit down on his leg, breaking the skin and clamping down on the bone. Jonas roared out the pain and then turned and slammed his fists on either side of the wolf’s throat, crushing his windpipe.

Caleb and Axel worked to keep Amy safe from the remaining four. However, it had only taken about a minute for Jonas’ wolves to come pouring through the gate and immediately take down the attackers.

Once the fight was settled, Caleb and Axel took Amy to the cave she had mentioned while Jonas took his wolves through the rest of the village to ‘clean up’.

Caleb was surprised to find only about fifty people in the cave. Amy reunited with her little sister, but her mother was nowhere to be found.

Axel had tried to ask what had happened, but no one seemed sure of what had started it all.

Some said there were wolves from another pack visiting. Others said that it had started with a rogue attack. Still, others simply claimed that the warriors had just gone mad.

When Jonas and his wolves arrived at the cave, he told the survivors that the village had been cleared and the fires put out. But that returning was not an option. The damage to the buildings made it unsafe to return, and not knowing where the threat had come from, he didn’t want to risk they would be attacked again.

After much discussion, it was agreed that Caleb would take the remaining wolves back to Summer. Unfortunately, Winter was too far, and Broken Crag didn’t have enough room to house them all.

“We can leave in the morning,” Caleb said. “I will reach out to Galen and have him send a team to meet us halfway.”

“My wolves will escort you there, just in case,” Jonas offered._.

“If you wouldn’t mind leaving a few with me,” Axel said, “We will build a pyre tonight to honor the fallen, but we will need to take the time to go through the village and search for all the bodies. It will take more time than we have tonight.”

“Agreed,” Jonas said. “We’ll cut it straight down the middle. Ten will escort Caleb and the remaining Eclipsed wolves. Ten will stay and help to clean up.”

“Agreed,” Caleb said. “If you don’t mind, I will step out to get the arrangements in place.”

Axel and Jonas nodded. Caleb left the cave.

A group of the Broken Crag wolves returned, having left to hunt for food. Jonas stood and joined them in cleaning the meat.

Axel looked around the cave. Most of the survivors were children or teenagers. A few elders but very few adults. Those that did remain were clearly not warriors.

“The warriors that didn’t lose their minds were the first to go,” said a voice behind him.

Axel turned to face an elderly man, likely in his mid-seventies.

“Do you know what happened?” Axel asked.

The man shook his head.

“No one does,” he said. “It all happened so fast, and it makes no sense.”

“It doesn’t need to make sense. But, if you can tell me anything, it might help us put the pieces of the puzzle together,” Axel said.

The man nodded.

“It was early in the morning when it started,” he began. “I was in my home; my son was on patrol at the gate. I heard screams. When I went outside, there was already chaos. Our warriors had turned on us. They were like rabid dogs, growling and snarling. Eyes filled with rage.

The ones that weren’t crazed tried to protect the rest of us, but they were overwhelmed. My son… he….”

The elderly man broke into a sob. The child beside him lay against his side, trying to offer comfort.

“The guards from the gate rushed in to help… but they didn’t know how to react when they saw who it was. They must have thought it was rogues….”

A boy, roughly sixteen, continued where the old man had left off.

“There were only a few at the beginning. Four or five of them, going from home to home killing everyone they found. But not long after they started, it was like others just woke up in the same crazy place. Some of them burst out of their homes, still wearing pajamas and covered in the blood of their families.”

He paused then, hugging himself.

“I snuck out early this morning… to see Amy… I wasn’t home when my mom… when she woke up like the rest of them.”

The boy couldn’t continue. He was overcome by his grief.

Axel reached his hand out but stopped just short of touching him. He didn’t know what comfort he could even offer. He stood up and left the two men to grieve their losses. He found Amy standing not far from where he had been sitting. She looked at him and made a gesture toward the cave entrance.

He followed her out without a word.

Amy waited for him a few feet outside. She stared back in the direction of her lost village. Though the flames were out, but the black smoke still hung in the air like a dark omen.

Axel stood beside her, waiting for her to speak.

“The pyre,” she said, gesturing towards the group of men that had gathered wood and were now piling it in preparation. “Who will be honored?”

“All of them,” Axel replied.

“Even the ones that did this?” she asked.

Axel took a moment before responding.

“Do you really think they did this by choice?” he asked.

Amy looked back at him. There was anger and sadness in her eyes. She wanted to blame them, but she couldn’t. She shook her head.

“I don’t know why this happened. But I don’t believe our warriors just woke up this morning and decided to kill us all.”

Axel nodded.

“I will do whatever I can to help find the answer,” Axel said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I promise.”

Amy nodded.

She looked back at the pyre. She swallowed down her nerves.

“Did… did you find my father… for the pyre…” she asked hesitantly.

Axel shook his head.

“Tonight, the flames will be empty,” he said. “This pyre is for all that you and the other survivors lost. Tomorrow you and the others will go with Alpha Caleb to Summer. I will stay behind and gather the dead.”

“Then his pyre will be tomorrow?” she asked. “I should stay.”

“No,” Axel shook his head. “It’s not safe.”

“But–”

“We aren’t more than a day from Summer. With the number of dead, there will be at least ten pyres. Look to the sky in the evening. You will see the plumes. Think of your parents then.”

Amy nodded, holding back her tears.

“I’ll leave you to your thoughts,” Axel said, turning to leave.

“No, wait,” she called. “There was a reason I asked you to come out here.”

Axel turned back to her.

“What is it?” he said.

“I don’t know if it matters or not, but I heard something yesterday… from my father. He was our Alpha.”

“Okay,” Axel said. “What did you hear?”

“We received gifts, I don’t know from who, but my father said it was a surprise. Our first-class units were each meant to have one,” she began. “Mathew, Eric, Di, and Theo came by the house. My father gave them each whatever it was. And then they took the box to deliver to the rest.”

“Okay…” Axel said. “I can see how that might be suspicious… but…”

“That’s not all,” she said. “Joey, my boyfriend, he was the one you were talking to a little while ago… he told you that it started with just four. It was them. Mathew, Eric, Di, and Theo.”

Axel’s eyes widened.

“And when the others joined… it was the first-class units… Thirty wolves that killed over one hundred.”