Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

As we rocket across the wasteland, our sled narrowly misses hitting a large rock in its path. We swerve around it with enough time to avoid a crash, but one side of the sled still rides up on it and we get tilted to the side for merely half a second.

Half a second is all it takes for the unthinkable to happen.

At this speed, paired with my inexperience, the inevitable occurs. I lose my balance and fall off the sled at the worst possible moment. Not even Ben can stop me as gravity forces me to the ground.

The hard-packed snow meets me with an impact so strong that it knocks the wind out of me. I don’t have time to sit there dazed, so I just do what I have to and immediately get back on my feet to chase after the sled that has left me behind.

“Lilith!” Ben holds onto the handle of the sled with one hand while he leans back and holds the other one out to me, “Take my hand!”

At first I stumble, but my adrenaline fuels me to recover quickly from the pain of my fall and I sprint faster than what I thought was humanly possible. I fly over the snow until it feels as if my lungs are burning. When I’m near enough to Ben, I calculate the distance left and use the last of my strength to leap towards him.

I grab hold of his hand but lose my footing, and I get dragged across the ground by the sled while Ben struggles to not fall off with the added burden of my weight. I get disoriented with the snow flying up in my face, and it’s hard to breathe. I have to regain my footing.

If I don’t, I’m going to run out of time. I can feel the hot breath of a Dire Wolf at my heels.

“Pull me up!” I cry frantically as the beast looms closer, catching up easily with its long strides.

“Working on it!” Ben tries hard not to let the fear creep into his voice as he attempts to haul me onto the impossibly fast sled without hurting me.

The enormous wolf that pursues us is easily twice the size of a regular wolf. Its large paws are much more adept at running in the snow than my feet, and it confidently advances towards me. Its mouth parts open, dripping saliva. I can tell by its calculating red eyes that it’s planning to spring at any moment.

“Now please!” I begin to panic. My arm feels like it’s going to be wrenched out of its socket, but Ben can’t seem to pull me hard enough by only using his one free arm. I occasionally gain a foothold in the snow and try to use that as a boost but always end up slipping.

The wolf continues to salivate at the thought of the easy prey before it. It’s been starving for a long time possibly, just waiting for this moment to come. And now, the time for waiting has ended. It springs into the air and jumps to deliver the killing blow, jaws open and aiming to snap my spine in half.

The animal’s jaws close with a sickening snap.

But they close on empty air.

Ben manages to pull me onto the sled, yanking me so hard that I think it dislocates my arm. I grit my teeth from the pain, but it’s nothing compared to what the Dire Wolf feels as it takes a face-dive into the snow. A piercing yelp cuts through the air and the animal falls behind, looking dazed after its rude crash landing.

I ignore the throbbing in my shoulder and throw my arms around Ben, hanging onto him tightly and refusing to take any more chances. I literally cling to him for dear life itself. Neither one of us can afford to make another mistake like that again and we know it.

The wolf doesn’t continue to pursue us and seems to decide that it’s a better idea to partake of the already served meal that it left behind. Turning tail, it runs off to meet with its pack mates. But we’re far from safe.

Since I’m now standing behind Ben, I let him focus on where he’s going while I look back to assess the situation. The hunters have scattered, but I manage to find Dustin and Randall. Only three wolves broke free from the pack to give chase to us. As horrible as it sounds, Nathaniel’s death might have actually saved our lives. Otherwise, the pack’s attention wouldn’t be divided between us and fresh kill, and we’d be outnumbered and outrun.

We zoom past Dustin’s sled and pull ahead. The young, inexperienced hunter finds himself in the same situation that we were just in, with a famished wolf trailing after him. All he can do is will his dogs to run faster, but the relentless predator behind him does not intend to let him escape.

“Hold me!” I shout to Ben.

“What?”

“I have to let go of you. Don’t let me fall.” I explain, and he wraps an arm around my waist when I let go of him.

I’m backwards on the sled now, facing behind, but at least I have Ben to hold me steady and I lean against him for balance while I do the only thing I can think of to do- I slide an arrow onto my bow.

“What are you doing?” Ben’s voice sounds distant as he concentrates on where to go, and keeping me on the sled, “Don’t fall off again!”

But I can’t answer him right now. I don’t have enough time to.

The Dire Wolf’s muscles tense and it readies itself to spring on Dustin. I can’t let us lose another hunter.

The sled beneath me rattles, and my loose hair gets in my face. Everything is moving so fast that it’s hard to see. I squint and try to hold my bow out steady, and I aim for the wolf, releasing the arrow.

I’ve never had to hit a target like this before. The arrow misses wildly and lands somewhere in the snow, useless. I curse and scramble to load another arrow just as the wolf leaps.

I just have to let myself go with my instinct. I try to control my breathing despite my frantic heartbeats and eliminate all thoughts from my mind. You can’t mess up Lilith, I tell myself, You have to do this. Time seems to slow down when I do this, and it gives me just enough time to clear my head and calculate the direction and speed of my arrow.

I release the second arrow. The events pass in slow motion before me as it sails through the air and meets the wolf in mid-leap, piercing its ribcage. The wolf lands on the back of Dustin’s sled and stubbornly snaps at him as it struggles to stay on, its back end dragging behind it in the snow, slowing Dustin down. Its forepaws scramble on the wood, desperately trying to pull it up so that it can reach the hunter, but every movement just causes the arrow to sink deeper into its flesh.

“Get off!” Dustin growls at the wolf, gaining more confidence now that his opponent had been weakened. He delivers a powerful kick to its jaw that sends it tumbling into the snow where it struggles to get to its paws before going limp.

I let out a sigh of relief and nod to Dustin when he mutters a thank you. Two wolves down, one to go.

Randall is also being chased, but it seems like the older hunter doesn’t need my help. I watch as he does an amazing job at keeping his attention well balanced between the path ahead and the Dire Wolf behind, glancing back occasionally to keep track of its movements.

He seems to be waiting for something specific to happen. It doesn’t take long for me to find out. The wolf finds enough momentum to hop onto Randall’s sled, but Randall is ready with his knife in hand. He swings his arm out behind him with one swift movement and the blade cuts across the animal’s face, blinding it.

Surprised, and with crimson blood staining its vision, the Dire Wolf falls off the sled and joins its pack mate in the now bloody snow, weakened and confused.

Now that the immediate threat has been removed, we still have no time left to stop and celebrate. It won’t be long before the other Dire Wolves decide that one hunter isn’t enough of a meal.

Dire Wolves are notorious for their cunning. Unlike the Ice Beast, who opts for displays of brute force to attack its victims directly, the Dire Wolf is known to engage its prey in a battle of wits and endurance. They may not be strong enough to kill someone in one blow, but if they manage to wound you in any way, it’s usually game over. They will stalk you until you go insane. They will wait until you are weak, until your wound is infected or you are bleeding out. They will bide their time, anticipating the exact moment when your campfire dies, knowing that you can’t survive without it. They will cut you off from all of your resources, and will ambush you at every turn.

Part of me hopes that the pack of scheming canines has forgotten about us already. But the rational part of me doesn’t believe that we’ll ever be free of them now. Not unless we kill every last one of them.

Over the course of the next few minutes, the rest of the hunters make their way back to us one by one, and soon we’re all together again. Even Nathaniel’s empty sled rides beside us, seeming so light without its rider. Although the sight of it is depressing, we don’t have time to mourn his loss. Life has to go on, or else more life will be lost.

It isn’t long before a colossal glacier rises up out of the ground, blocking our path and preventing us from being able to go any further. It seems endless on either side, but Ben, who is in the lead again, shows no signs of slowing down. No one can question him this time, because no one else has been here except for him, and all anyone can do is follow him blindly. Suddenly, an opening appears in the solid wall of ice and we disappear into it, entering a cave.

I’ve never been in a cave before, much less one that belongs to a glacier. The smooth walls made out of transparent ice allow the light of day to filter through, illuminating the crystal stalactites that hang above us. The floor beneath us becomes precariously slippery, and the dogs tread carefully, their legs splayed out stiffly for more balance. The beauty of it renders me speechless, and I take in the aqua colored hues that the ice reflects, thinking that they remind me of my mother’s eyes.

Ah, my mother. How will I ever find her now? Judging by Maurice’s argument with Ben earlier, the hunters hadn’t been this way before. At least not at the time that my mother disappeared. She wouldn’t have come here, and even if she wanted to, she’d never be able to face what we just did on her own.

We travel silently through the narrow tunnels of the cave in single-file line before the path widens enough for us to roam freely, and the formation breaks.

“Why did you bring us here, Ben?” Randall wipes his bloody knife on his pants and pulls up beside us, sending a glare his way, “Do you want us to get trapped in a dead end when those wolves follow us here?”

“Relax…” Ben still has his arm around my waist, and I can feel him tense up when faced with this accusation, “I know every inch of this cave. On my last trip with Luke, he brought me here, and said it was one of the safest places to hide in. It’s harder for predators to track us by scent when on ice, and there are several exits.”

“Is that so?” Randall’s yellow eyes narrow, “Well forgive me for my faithlessness, but I have a hard time trusting you after your last decision got Nathaniel killed!”

“Shut up and let him do his job!” I snap, getting in Randall’s face threateningly. How dare he, after all we’ve gone through, blame this on Ben alone? “Or do we need to tie you up somewhere again?”

“Oh, look how bold she is when she’s got her boyfriend to defend her!” Randall’s fist tightens around his knife as he sneers at me, “Next time I catch you alone, I’m going to see just how brave you reallyare…”

 “I knew this was a bad idea, letting her come with us.” Neal speaks up from behind Randall, frowning, “Before you know it she’ll be telling us all what to do as if she actually knows what she’s talking about!”

“Luke would have never allowed it if he were here!” Randall adds.

Our sled suddenly comes to a stop and everyone halts when Ben’s aggravated voice cuts through the air, “Everyone shut up!” His words echo off the walls, ringing loud and clear in our ears, full of authority, “There are bigger things going on here, things that are just a tiny bit more important than your egos.” He hops off the sled and approaches Randall and Neal, fixing them both with his look of disapproval and impatience, “Do I need to remind you that I’m the only one here who actually knows where we’re going? Your lives are in my hands. I wouldn’t get on my bad side…”

“Was Nathaniel on your bad side?” Randall retorts, “Or how about Luke? It’s funny how you replaced him when he died, even though you’re not even one of us. Seems like a big coincidence to me…”

“Sounds like someone’s jealous.” I interrupt, coming to Ben’s aid. I know a lot about Randall, more than Ben does, and I recognize the sound of a sore loser when I hear it, “Head hunter is a coveted position, isn’t it Randall? Only the best hunters are considered for it. Get over the fact that you didn’t make the cut when we had to choose a new one!”

I see the veins on Randall’s neck pop from high blood pressure and watch as he turns a dark crimson color. Ben, who stands between us, is suddenly shoved to the side without notice and Randall charges towards me.

Instinctively, I put my hands up in defense, having no time to do anything else. The blade of his knife cuts through the air and slices the palm of my left hand open. Immediately, a curtain of red blood spills down my wrist, soaking the sleeve of my coat, and I stumble to my knees, clutching it to my chest with a gasp.

Before Randall can do anything else, someone knocks the knife out of his hand and punches him in the face. He slips on the icy floor beneath us and falls to the ground, his bruised face collecting yet another contusion.

“Don’t touch her! She’s only speaking the truth!” Dustin stands over him while I look on in shock, not expecting him, of all people, to use violence on another hunter.

Ben gets the last word when he kicks Randall’s knife away, out of his reach, before slamming his boot down on the man’s chest, pinning him there on his back, “Did I not give specific orders to leave her alone?” He looks absolutely livid, upper lip curled into a snarl.

Randall seems to have trouble breathing and just glares up at Ben, the color on his face never fading.

“Answer me!” Ben increases the pressure, and Randall begins to turn blue.

“Yeah… whatever.” He coughs.

“I want to hear you say yes sir.”

“Yes… sir…” Randall gives Ben the answer he’s looking for, but he says it with a mocking grin. Even in his weak tone, he is ever defiant, refusing to ease up on his blatant hatred for me.

Ben takes the pressure off of Randall’s chest, but he delivers a swift kick to the ribs before letting him go. The older hunter curls up on the floor and tries to recover, sucking in deep breaths and clutching his bruised ribcage.

The head hunter turns to me now and observes me trying to stop the bleeding in my hand. I hadn’t sliced open a major artery or anything, but the blood is still flowing strong. I had been using my sleeve to try to stop it, but it is now soaked in scarlet.

“We’ll have to take a break to tend to Lilith’s hand.” He sighs, rubbing his temples.

“Ben, if I may…” Maurice objects, a worried expression on his kind face, “We don’t know how much time we have before the Dire Wolves find us again.”

“Then be prepared to handle it.” Is Ben’s simple answer, “We have no choice. You can thank Randall.” With that, he takes me by my good hand and helps me to my feet, leading me away from the others.