Chapter 9- The Swamp

Shadow was awake most of the night. He had no idea what to do now. Crystal’s father was dead, Chanoue was hunting them, and he was still trying to find his parents. As the sun started to rise, something strange happened. Crystal woke and saw Shadow staring over the sunrise. She walked up to him. “Didn’t sleep, did you”? She asked as she nudged him. He shook his head. “Rest now, we will need to move soon”. Shadow went to lie down. He turned away from her and slapped down into the dirt.

 

Crystal stood and watched over the horizon. She could feel a wispy blow in the wind and her hair stood up. The cold brushed passed her neck and sent a long shiver down her spine. Suddenly, there was a voice from somewhere around her. “Crystal”. The voice called out silently. Crystal shifted and turned around in a fright. There was no one around her. She began to panic. “Who said that, who are you”? Crystal sputtered. Manifesting through the shadowy dawn was a ghostly white figure. Its white colored form that had fur all over floated gently in the wind. The creature appeared to have paws but most frightening was the large bite mark around the creature’s neck. The creature was a wolf; its faded eyes were fixed on Crystal. She stared up at the wolf with fear and curiosity. “Father”? She asked slightly confused. The wolf nodded slowly. An icy white tear formed from Kessle’s eye and dropped to the ground like a misty fog. Crystal had not taken her eyes off her father. “Why have you come, father”? She asked stiffly. He looked at her a little hurt and then began to speak in a low voice that echoed slightly. “I need to inform you on where to go”. Crystal glared slightly. “We are heading west, as we always planned, there’s no need for directions”. “But you must travel through the swamp, it’s the fastest way, Chanoue would never follow you there”. Crystal perked her ears to this. They would need a faster way and anything to stop Chanoue was useful to them. “Where is this swamp”? Crystal asked. Kessle raised his shimmering paw to his right, pointing off into a dark forest. “Through there, the swamp is home to lost souls of wolves, you’ve been warned”. Warned? Crystal thought, but before she could question it, her father had disappeared. Crystal lowered her head. “Rest in peace father”.

 

A gloomy storm sat overhead, the sky turned dark with gentle rain patting in the soft dirt. James had been leading the pack for only an hour or more and the group already seemed to be falling apart. They constantly bickered and fought. Sapientia yelled at James for not sheltering them during the storm. “Arnoue wouldn’t have done this to us”! She groaned. James had heard enough and finally snapped at her. “Well he’s not here anymore, he’s gone, and we’ve got to try to work together”! Sapientia was a taken aback by his aggressive voice. “Now, if were going to survive, you need to trust me and listen to me”. The storm had picked up and started causing disasters such as tree falls. The wolves took shelter in a cave underneath a dead tree. “Even in death, it’s a beautiful sight”. Sarina commented. The bark hung over a large opening maw at the base of the trees trunk. They walked inside to feel wet mud seep over there paws. The wolves sunk slightly into the wet floor and there was sudden flash of lighting outside. Rain began to poor down over the area and filled small ponds and dirt pockets. “I guess we are staying here for now”. Sapientia said quietly. James nodded. There were lizards and insects crawling about the floor. Among the noises these creatures made, there were echoes and calls. James listened to them; they were inaudible, tapering off into the wind like a lost wolf’s howl. James was lying in the dirt next to Serina. He slept soundly with the creepy howls slipping near his ears. Their cold calls made no sense to him. He tried to understand them but they were too quiet. James awoke to a loud barking. He looked up to see one of the wolves franticly ramming himself against the dirt wall screaming and barking loudly. What he was saying sounded as though he was being tortured. “Help! Help me! Someone! Oh make it stop! Kill me”! He shouted loudly. James started walking towards the insane wolf and tried to talk to him. His voice was overlapped by the insane wolf’s moans and screams. “Stay away”! He yelled. “They watch us, they know we’re here”! “Who”? James asked, but the wolf just kept yelling. “They won’t take me! I will be free”! The wolf turned his head wildly around and jabbed his teeth into his neck and ripped furiously. James and the others turned their eyes from the horror. They slowly turned to look at the dead corpse of the wolf. Another whispering voice came into James’s ear, this time he could understand it. “Flee the sanctuary or face the death of another”. James sank; the voice disappeared into that of another howl.

 

Shadow stepped through the muck and heard squishing of wet soil and leaves under his feet. They had both entered the swamp. Its dark fog loomed over them and the ground was wet and soggy. “You sure this is where we need to go”? Shadow asked. Crystal didn’t turn to him. “Yes, I’m sure”. Shadow wasn’t caring for the route she chose, he kept thinking there had to be a better way to traverse then this. Among the sound of bubbling swamp water and buzzing of dragonflies, there were faint howls of wolves in the distance. The howls sounded so close at times. They stepped over a wet pond that he swore started making small cries. “Crystal, something isn’t right here”. Crystal nodded to him. “You hear the voices too, don’t you”? She asked suddenly. Shadow perked his ears. “Yes I do”. Shadow said abruptly. “My Father’s soul came and told me to go through here; he said Chanoue would not follow us here”. Shadow stared at her. “He warned me that the souls of other wolves reside here”. Shadow lost his breath at this. “Dead wolves? Trapped here”? Crystal nodded. Both of them were forced to keep moving through the swamp, the voices carried farther as they kept moving. Shadow stepped into a shallow pool. Crystal had not been speaking to him for quite some time. Suddenly, he was caught on something. He felt a cold chill on his leg and it slowly crept higher up his leg. Shadow looked back, what he saw was both terrifying and heart breaking. A ghost of a small wolf pup had latched onto his leg and held tight. “Where are you going”? The small wolf asked. Shadow was on the verge of tears, this poor wolf was killed so young. “What happened to you”? Shadow asked. The wolf pup shed wispy tears. “My mother handed me over to Chanoue”. Shadow stared. “He killed me, called me abnormal”. Shadow was not sure what this meant, it must have meant something bad or something Chanoue disliked. “Please let me go”. Shadow pleaded. “No, I won’t let you go”! The wolf shouted loudly. Crystal turned back. “Shadow, that’s a shade, it looks dangerous and will attach to you, or worse, drag you down”. Shadow looked down at the shade. “You can’t go”. Shadow tried to struggle away, but the wolf reached up over Shadows back and pulled hard on him, pulling him into the murky waters. Crystal ran to him and tried to pull at Shadow’s paws. “You must be with us”. The shade shouted. “No! I’m a living being, I can’t go with you”! The wolf continued to pull. Crystal gave a hard tug and with that, Shadow flew up out of the water. He landed hard on Crystal. He climbed off her and turned to look at the shade, now sinking back into the black muck. “Your souls will join with us in time”. The shade whispered as it disappeared underneath the night sky black water. Shadow and Crystal continued into the morning, unable to be seen through the thick trees. Sleep would not be possible in all the noise that roared up around the swamp. Shadow asked “What is a shade and how do you know about them”? Crystal did not look at him. “They are known as ghost in human language; in our language, they are called shades or sometimes banshees”. “And you know this how”? Crystal stopped and sat down, Shadow sat beside her. “My father told me about them once, a small lecture but he told me wolve’s knowledge comes from years of writing and passing down information”. Shadow cocked his head. “Writing? What’s that”? “Its like putting words on paper or other materials”. Shadow never heard of anything like it. “Some information comes from howls; they travel in the wind and are caught by elders to pass down to other wolves”. Shadow was amazed by Crystal’s knowledge. The day pulled itself along for hours while Shadow and Crystal slowly emerged from the murky depths of the swamp. Shadow was happy to finally shed the horrors of the swamp. It was like ascending from darkness.  The morning sun greeted them and the sky shined bright blue. All seemed bright and awakening but the jovial attitude was soon broken. Shadow heard a familiar rushing flow.