The Future Alpha of Whiteflame
Jack could read the pain in Vince’s eyes as the lava from the ceiling kept pouring onto his back. What were they going to do? Even a strong guardian like Vince couldn’t withstand such suffering for a long time.
“Moon,” Jack whispered, his eyes stinging with tears he didn’t want to shed, “you said I’d never be alone. Please, just one time, send someone.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, so Vince couldn’t read what he was feeling and thinking in them. The last thing the guardian needed right now was to witness his companion being scared shitless.
“Jack,” Vince whispered, “listen to me. You know this isn’t real. We’ll wake up on the other side, in our present, and we will be fine. Don’t be scared.” Even as he said those words, his voice was broken by gasps of pain.
How could he argue? But the thing was, he had no idea if they truly couldn’t be hurt, seeing how what was happening right now felt as real as it could possibly be. The heat was close, making Jack experience a strange sensation: instead of being too hot, he was shaking as if cold was the problem, not the intense fire burning everywhere around them.
His tears were cold as they poured down his cheeks. They felt good. Jack gasped and opened his eyes.
He was no longer in the lava cave. He was lying on the trunk of a dead tree, beneath a moonless sky.
And he was alone.
“Vee?” he called out tentatively, as if he was afraid that he might disturb ancient evil creatures simply by opening his mouth.
There was no reply. Jack pushed himself up. He was in the middle of a forest, black as tar, and it was only because he still had his superior vision that he could make out the shapes of trees around him.
“Where am I?” he asked, expecting no answer. His hand, as he tried to push himself up, slid in something greasy and disgusting, and Jack yelped, jumping to his feet and shaking his arm to get rid of whatever that goo was.
A swish between the trunks clustered around him like a prison made him turn his head.
“Who’s there?” Louder this time. “Hey, this isn’t funny. If you need to scare someone to show how big and bad you are, let me tell you, you are nothing but a scumbag. And a bully.”
Seer.
A voice. Rushing through the immobile branches woven into a lattice above Jack’s head.
“Are we playing hide and seek? I’m not scared of you. Where is Vince? What did you do to him? I swear, if you dare touch a hair on his head – or anywhere else on his body – you’re going to deal with me, you hear me?”
Laughter. Strange. It wasn’t bad laughter. Or evil laughter. It was just—
Laughter.
Jack looked around carefully, but there was nothing for him to see, except the same black forest.
Ah, the Black Forest. That made sense in a way. Vince kept telling him about how their role here wasn’t done, which, according to infallible logic, meant that Jack needed to be here. And show that he could be brave, and definitely not a scaredy-cat.
He was about to sit back on the disgusting trunk and begin meditating on what he was supposed to do next, when he sensed someone standing to his right.
Jack jumped one foot away from the apparition.
“A zombie!” he yelled, swinging his arms helplessly. Did he need a crossbow? Where was a crossbow when you needed one?
It was a skeleton, actually. No meat hanging off its bones or anything. And it was short, no taller than Jack. And it wore what must have once been nice clothes made of deerskin, but were now torn and deplorable-looking.
“What’s a zombie?” the skeleton asked curiously.
Jack straightened up. This skeleton sounded young; like a teenager or a child, but it was hard to say with skeletons.
And it had the same long muzzle bone like that jerk with branches growing out of his head.
“A zombie is--” he started. “Never mind. What are you?” Hadn’t he told himself that he’d be brave only moments ago? He could talk to a skeleton, especially if it belonged to a young… whatever.
“I am a wolf,” the skeleton declared. “Awooo!”
Jack felt like the hair was standing on his head as the young skeleton howled. “Wow. You definitely sound like one. Though, forgive me, but I must ask. Aren’t you a little dead to be a wolf?”
“Dead? No. I’m alive,” the skeleton said. “My name is Skarg. What’s your name?”
“Skarg. That’s a pretty name,” Jack said politely. “I’m Jack.”
“My name is fierce, not pretty,” the skeleton argued. It was strange to see its muzzle moving and hear words. Jack had to wonder, though only momentarily, what kind of magic was necessary to allow the creation of sounds when the speaker in question didn’t have a throat or vocal chords.
“Okay, now that I say it again, it does make me tremble,” Jack offered. “Skarg,” he said, emphasizing the only vowel. “Yep, scary.”
“What does Jack mean?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a name,” Jack said.
“That is impossible,” Skarg said. “All names mean something. I know, I will give you a name.”
“Wait, what does Skarg mean?”
The skeleton puffed out his chest – in a figure of speech. His rib cage showed more prominently, so white against the blackness around them. “Lord of the Underworld.”
“Get out of here,” Jack exclaimed.
“Where should I go?” Skarg asked, confused. “I barely got here.”
“It’s just an expression. It means… I can’t believe it!” Jack had no idea why this strange skeleton-wolf-teenager-child was having this conversation with him, but he was a fan of the theory that everything happened for a reason as long as he was continuing to time-travel willy-nilly.
“You must believe it!” Skarg shouted back. “I truly am.”
“Okay, I believe you. And what do you do as Lord of the Underworld?”
“Many things.”
Jack was starting to believe that the ‘Lord’ was a bit too full of himself and empty air. Literally. “Can you show me the way out of this forest?” he asked.
“But you only just got here,” Skarg argue. “Don’t you want to play?”
“Hmm, not that I don’t want to… but I’m a little pressed for--” Jack knew the proverbial light bulb was flickering above his head that very instant. “My friend is trapped underground. In a place with lava. Do you know anything about something like that?”
“I know everything about the underground,” Skarg said with conviction.
“Great. So let’s go there.”
“We can’t. It’s too hot. What kind of creature is your friend? A fire elemental?”
“A fire--” Jack scoffed. “I should write a book once this adventure is over.”
“Are we going on an adventure?” Skarg asked excitedly.
“Why not? Let’s hurry to this lava cave. My friend isn’t a fire elemental, so he can’t really stay in there for long. Come on, Lord of the Underworld, it’s your domain, after all.”
So, he wasn’t beyond fooling a kid to get where he needed to be, but the goal justified the means or something like that.
“It’s very hot there,” Skarg insisted.
“I know, I know, but—Ah, I remember what Jack means. It means the Brave.”
“Then we must go, if we are both fearless,” Skarg said, perking up at Jack’s explanation. “But we must be careful. We need to get past the guardians without waking them up.”
“What guardians?” Jack asked, really not loving the idea.
“They are old. So they sleep a lot. Don’t worry. You’re with me, so they won’t hear us. I can make anyone fall asleep with my singing.”
“That’s good to know. Just tell me before you start cooking, because I don’t want to fall asleep, too.”
“I will. But I’m not going to cook anything.”
“I meant singing,” Jack said quickly. Gosh, it was tough to time-travel, because no one got the lingo.
***
His back was one big wound. Vince breathed hard, trying to control his body’s reactions to pain. That wasn’t the worst part.
Jack had disappeared. It had all happened so quickly, his physical body had simply evaporated as if he had never been there at all.
Whatever tricks the evil beings in these parts were playing on them, they felt real. He couldn’t see, hear, feel Jack anywhere close, and he was experiencing so much physical suffering that he couldn’t control his grunts of pain.
He crawled on his belly, wishing to get away from the pouring lava. It seemed to have stopped at some point. A gentle breeze caressed his heated cheek. Maybe he was beginning to have hallucinations because of the pain. His nerves could very well be fried beyond any possibility of repair, so he couldn’t trust what he thought he was feeling.
Still, his entire being longed for that cooling breeze. He found himself following it, even as he painstakingly moved using his elbows and knees to propel himself forward.
It wasn’t only a trick played on him by his abused senses. The floor ended abruptly, and Vince couldn’t stop his face from hitting a pool of water. He pulled his head back with a gasp and stared at the rippled surface of the small lake that happened to be there. His face reflected back at him.
Behind him, the heat receded. It was dark again, and he could see just like before, with the eyes of a wolf.
“What’s going on?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
No one answered, not that he had expected any answers. Slowly, he rolled himself toward the water and let his body drop into it, catching the stony edge with both hands at the last moment. Relief flooded to his system, balm on his burns.
Something in this strange world was trying to help him. He was supposed to be the guardian, in charge of protecting the others, yet now, he was useless.
Let go.
He heard the whisper and turned his face. It was the only part of him – along with his head – rising above the water’s surface.
“I cannot,” he replied. “I must hold on. Theodore and Jack are depending on me.”
If the evil spirit of the lava cave was trying to lure him by offering temporary relief, he needed to stay strong.
You’ll meet your friends. You only need to let go.
The voice whispering to him was kind and gentle, but Vince couldn’t allow himself to believe it. What kind of guardian gave up when things were tough? He needed to hold on.
True strength, Vince, is found not in being alone.
“So you know my name. I’m not surprised. You and your buddies fighting the Whiteflame pack as we speak are trying to get rid of us. But we will not return to our present day until we learn the whole truth.”
So you plan on staying here?
“I will find a way out.”
On your own?
“Yes, on my own.”
You don’t mind if I keep you company, then.
“You are one strange spirit,” Vince said, unnerved by the way his conversation with the spirit of the cave – it had to be that – was going.
My role is to guide you. I will not leave you alone. I’m also not very convincing, so it seems. But all I know to do is to tell you the truth.
“You are good,” Vince said. “You almost got me.”
The whispering voice laughed like silver bells.
I was warned before that guardians are like this.
“Like this how?”
Stubborn. Because they are so strong, and everyone depends on their strength. Or so they believe.
“If no one depends on us, then what is our purpose?”
That is a very good question, Vince. How about we discover the truth together? You may continue to search for a way out, and in the meantime, we can talk.
Vince shook his head. All the pain was gone from his body now. The lake had to be magical, or the pain that only existed inside his mind must have disappeared.
He began swimming, letting go of the edge. What he had first believed to be a small lake was actually a large body of water. He couldn’t see its edges, and he only had to look away for a moment to find that the shore from which he’d departed had disappeared.
“You know, your magic isn’t particularly funny,” he said out loud. “First you burn me, then you try to drown me.”
I wasn’t the one burning you. I do not hurt anyone. And see if you drown if you stop moving your arms and legs to keep yourself afloat.
It was true. He was floating, even without moving his limbs. Still, how could he believe that gentle voice? It could all be just a ruse, and he didn’t want to ruin his chances of finding a way out by being too gullible.
You know, Jack is a lot more trusting than you.
“Are you reading my mind?” Vince let his body float, assuming a position on his back since it was so easy to do.
You can say that. You’re like an open book to me. All guardians are like that to me. Though I must say that some of you are more stubborn than the rest. I’ve learned patience.
Vince could read the mirth in that voice.
“I don’t plan on letting my friends down by listening to you, someone I don’t know,” he argued.
Fair enough. You, guardians, are also so logical. Having you believe in magic is among the toughest tasks for a guiding spirit like me.
“There’s nothing wrong with being logical. Even magic has its own logic, I’m sure.”
Very well, Vince. What would you like to know since we will be here for a while?
“Tell me what a guiding spirit like you is doing in a cave so dark?” Vince began moving about. He wouldn’t lose his trust in himself. If there was a way out, he would find it. And there was a way out.
Helping you, of course.
The whispering voice was pleasant and solicitous. Vince couldn’t believe how tempted he felt to place his trust in it.
***
“What should I do, mother?” Theodore whispered. “The voice calling me must belong to one of these wolves wanting to condemn the Moon to live underground.”
“You are with me. Together, we are strong,” his mom said. “Don’t you know this? Wolves are strongest as a pack, not on their own.”
“Yet, now, we are separated. I should be out there, fighting alongside father and the others,” Theodore argued.
Ysolde kissed the crown of his head. “They will prevail. It has always been so.”
She barely finished talking when another tremor shook the house. Theodore started. “Mother,” he whispered, “did you--”
Ysolde got to her feet. “I felt that one,” she said. “That means that they are trying to reach inside. The seal will hold.”
Theodore knew how much his mother had to want to believe the words she was saying, but they were confronting an evil that was relentless in its nature.
A thud followed. And a crack. One of the cubs cried out in her sleep.
And a branch, black like soot, broke through the floor, cutting the house in two, cracking it open like an egg.
“Get behind me, son!” Ysolde said.
She fell on her hands and feet, transforming. Theodore could feel his inner wolf struggling to get free. His mother was a majestic blue wolf, not like many in their parts, and now all the fur on her spine stood on end.
“Children,” she shouted, “on this side, now!”
The adults were shifting into their wolves, one by one. The cubs cried; some rushed to obey Ysolde’s order, others were too paralyzed by fear.
Theodore dashed forward without thinking. He grabbed the cubs, two at a time and dragged them behind the adults to safety.
“There’s one left, Theodore,” his mother said.
He noticed a little girl, pressed against the wall on the other side of the broken building. There was no time to waste. He’d been getting ready to become a warrior for as long as he’d known himself. He shifted into his wolf in mid-air and jumped over the chasm separating the crying child from them.
Although he knew he risked scaring her more, he grabbed her by the back of her deerskin coat and jumped back to safety with her in his fangs.
Their safe house was no more. Branches were crawling from underneath, destroying the wood beams and the floor like they were mere twigs.
“Mother, take everyone,” he said. “Run as far as you can. I will hold them off.”
“Son, come with us. You can’t remain here,” Ysolde begged him.
“No, mother. The future alpha of Whiteflame will not run while others are fighting.”
He meant every word. Ignoring his mother’s pleas, he jumped, putting all his force into the way he hit the toughest branch taking over the house.
It cracked. He heard the satisfying sound and sank his fangs into the rotten wood. It tasted of ash and charred bones, but he didn’t mind that. Tonight, he would make his pack and his parents proud. Regrets didn’t bring atonement to anyone. Fighting and proving oneself did so.
“Fight all you want, you will not prevail,” a hoarse voice rose from the center of the rotten branches. “You will not be the future alpha of Whiteflame, because you have no future, silly wolf.”
Theodore felt it in his body, a bloodlust he couldn’t control. And why should he? He would destroy the evil trying to take over his pack’s lands and claim their lives.
TBC
Thank you for reading!
@Derek - thank you for your support for the story! Yes, things will get gradually darker, so they can get much brighter later. Theodore will have to endure the past... but that's not the end. Vince and Jack will play their roles, too.
@Mark Mortland - Little Theo is smart and determined. There will be darkness, yes, but I will not expose you to more than necessary, I promise - no Game of Thrones level of gore for me, no siree.
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