The Wolf Mother
Run. Run. Run. Run! Stop! Sniff?* Are they behind me? Crazy pups. Where did they go? They can't be killed by the Upwalker! They won't survive the night. They are too small. There is no way. I must sniff again. My pup? My pup! Why is your side not rising and falling? If I groom you will you get up? No you are lying still. She has fallen into the unknown. I am sorry my baby. Who is that on the horizon standing in the snow? Oh no! Not the alpha of the other pack!* No! You cannot kill my pups! I must howl to tell him I am here and still alive! I must call for my pups!* The alpha has heard me! Thank goodness! Wait! What? Run! Run! Growl!* You cannot kill my pups! The Upwalker killed my pack, but you will not kill my offspring! I can't get there in time. I know it. I give up. I whimper and howl in vain. Try to find my pack! Come back!* Please! I once was the alpha female, but now I have no one to be alpha over! Hungry. Must hunt. Catch scent of caribou. Stalk forward. I see the herd. One small caribou stumbles. I pounce. The caribou kicks. I see the stars of that light the sky at night. Land on my feet. Can't think straight. My own blood drives me crazy with hunger. Sniff? Upwalker! Must run! Pop! Hear the bellow of the metal rod. Hear the whistling of the wind. The pine cone of metal drives itself deep in my side. Yowl! Mind twisting pain. Teeth clack together biting invisible enemies. Legs thrash progressively weaker. I see my pups! My pups! Gone.
Run. Run. Run. Run! Stop! Sniff?* Are they behind me? Crazy pups. Where did they go? They can't be killed by the Upwalker! They won't survive the night. They are too small. There is no way. I must sniff again. My pup? My pup! Why is your side not rising and falling? If I groom you will you get up? No you are lying still. She has fallen into the unknown. I am sorry my baby. Who is that on the horizon standing in the snow? Oh no! Not the alpha of the other pack!* No! You cannot kill my pups! I must howl to tell him I am here and still alive! I must call for my pups!* The alpha has heard me! Thank goodness! Wait! What? Run! Run! Growl!* You cannot kill my pups! The Upwalker killed my pack, but you will not kill my offspring! I can't get there in time. I know it. I give up. I whimper and howl in vain. Try to find my pack! Come back!* Please! I once was the alpha female, but now I have no one to be alpha over! Hungry. Must hunt. Catch scent of caribou. Stalk forward. I see the herd. One small caribou stumbles. I pounce. The caribou kicks. I see the stars of that light the sky at night. Land on my feet. Can't think straight. My own blood drives me crazy with hunger. Sniff? Upwalker! Must run! Pop! Hear the bellow of the metal rod. Hear the whistling of the wind. The pine cone of metal drives itself deep in my side. Yowl! Mind twisting pain. Teeth clack together biting invisible enemies. Legs thrash progressively weaker. I see my pups! My pups! Gone.
Source(look for the *):"Gray Wolf." National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife Federation, 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Gray-Wolf.aspx>.