Darkness Falls (6 page)

Lucky was snapped out of these thoughts by Sweet barking at Bella: “We don't know where Twitch has gone.” She had inched closer, her narrow body bolt upright, her lips curled back. “But in a way, he's shown us what to do. Look at this place. I've scarcely seen a living thing all morning. The grass is sandy and damp. There won't be enough food for all these dogs.” She glared accusingly at Daisy and Martha, who had gathered with some of the Wild Pack to watch the exchange from the distance of the rock cover, their tails low. “Maybe back at our own camp we could have supported you, but the Pack is too big for a place like this.” She turned to Bella. “It's time for the Leashed Dogs to stand on their own four paws. You should move on to establish your own camp—
somewhere else
.”

Daisy and Martha exchanged worried looks. Standing behind them, Bruno, Snap, and Fiery looked on warily.

Bella ignored them. She would not be cowed. “Aren't you rather full of yourself, Beta? It was
Lucky
who spotted the dark cloud and helped the Pack to safety—and in case you've forgotten, he's one of us. You
need
the Leashed Dogs.”

Lucky's fur prickled uncomfortably. It wasn't fair of Bella to bring him into this. He didn't want Sweet to be reminded of his betrayal!

Alpha appeared from behind the rocks, a shock of gray fur. He sprang down toward them and landed between Bella and Sweet, who both started back in surprise.

“Arguing won't help anyone.” He paced between Bella and Sweet, his head held high. Lucky would have expected Alpha to take Sweet's side, but his voice was actually level—reasonable. “There are a lot of nervous dogs in the bigger Pack now. Their courage will hardly be aided by this display of aggression between the stronger among us.”

Lucky tried not to let his amazement show.
You're talking about courage?
he thought.
After your performance?

“You need to remember,” Alpha went on, “that these weaker dogs look up to you. You are my Beta. The Pack respects you.” He threw a dubious look at Bella. “And your dogs look up to you, too, I imagine. You must both demonstrate that you have courage and good sense. That you won't compromise the security of the others by being reckless or selfish . . . the way
Omega
was.”

Lucky froze, his tail stiffening behind him.
What does he mean by that?

Alpha stood up straight, his yellow eyes glinting with confidence. “All the bad things that have fallen upon the Pack happened
after
Omega showed up.” The dog-wolf turned to Lucky and narrowed his eyes accusingly. “We're stronger together but not with the
City Dog
around.”

“But the
cloud
wasn't Lucky's fault,” Bella said in a reasonable voice.

Alpha turned to her. “You will address him by his proper name,” he growled. “And whether or not Omega caused the black cloud, it took the shape of a Sky-Dog. I have no doubt of that. You saw it too!”

Sweet stared at Alpha. “A Sky-Dog? What do you mean?” She hadn't been there when Lucky and Bella had watched with Alpha as the cloud seemed to assume the form of a dog. She hadn't witnessed Alpha's panic and horrified certainty that an evil Sky-Dog was to blame for their miseries.

“The black cloud was a Sky-Dog,” Alpha barked. “I would not be surprised if his rage was punishment for Omega's deceit in playing the two Packs against each other.”

Lucky felt the blood drain away from him and he caught his breath. He'd heard that the Spirit Dogs could turn on a dog in anger. Hadn't his Mother-Dog told him so when he was only a pup?

Could this have been my fault?
Lucky's eyes shot to the sky, where the black cloud was concealed beyond the forest.

The dogs watching from beneath the rocky overhang had crept forward, anxious to understand what was going on. Alpha turned to acknowledge them.

“I have made my decision,” he said. “I will keep my word and not force the Leashed Dogs to leave. They may still have a role to play in this Pack. It is a dangerous, unknown world that we face, and it will be safer if we stick together.” He spoke softly, but with authority, like a gentle Father-Dog giving his helpless pups an important lesson. “But Lucky cannot be part of this Pack, even as Omega. Look at the trouble he causes—conflict follows him like his own tail.”

Alpha turned back to Sweet and Bella, making a show of ignoring eye contact with Lucky. “You have both spoken up for Omega, as though he is your ally. But he has brought you to constant bickering. He is at the center of all that has gone wrong for both our Packs.”

Lucky's moment of doubt had passed. He was
not
responsible for the dark cloud. Whatever it was, it was somehow linked to the strange, changed world that the Big Growl had left behind.
Alpha's just using it as an excuse to get rid of me!

He felt heat rise through his flanks. His breath came quicker, and his ears tingled with anger. The surrounding dogs crowded around them. Alpha's posturing could not work this time. Surely everyone saw the way their “leader” had fallen apart in the face of the black cloud. Despite his deadly fangs and smooth words, the half wolf was a coward. He had no clue what to do in the face of disaster, no idea how to survive. Left to him, the dogs would have stayed at the old camp as the poisoned cloud drew closer. They would not have run when it made to pounce. All of them would have—

“For the sake of the Pack,” barked Alpha again, “the City Dog must leave.”

“If it weren't for me, none of you would have made it out of the forest alive,” snapped Lucky, trying to control his rage. “
I
found the route away from the old camp.
I
led the way up the hill. The so-called ‘Sky-Dog' you saw was a poison cloud, and the sight of it almost scared the fur off you, Alpha! You did nothing to help your Pack escape.”

Alpha turned at him, snarling. “Face it, traitor: you're nothing but trouble. Your name is just a cruel joke. You and your bad luck aren't wanted here.”

Daisy whimpered and ran to Lucky's side.

Big, gentle Martha took a step forward. “Lucky's a good friend to us,” she said. “He always worked hard for the Leashed Dogs. He's never let us down.”

“He pulled his weight in our Pack too,” good-natured Snap put in. “He helped the smaller dogs climb the hill and led the way through the forest.”

Whine yelped at this. “Snap's right; we should be grateful to Omega.” The stout little dog nervously pawed the ground in a show of deference. It was obviously taking courage for him to speak out against the fearsome half wolf. “We wouldn't have made it without his help. Please reconsider, Alpha.”

Lucky sighed. Whine had never spared him a kind word before, and he doubted that the little dog had had a change of heart now. He was probably just worried that with Lucky gone, he would go back to the rank he had cheated and blackmailed his way out of before the battle with the foxes.

The rank of Omega.

Alpha snarled at Whine, who scampered away with a whimper. Then the dog-wolf flashed his teeth at Snap and Martha, who quickly dipped their heads in submission.

Lucky watched in disbelief.
They're following him, despite everything! They're going to let him kick me out of the Pack!

Alpha took a step forward, puffed up to his full height. He stood over Lucky with his lips curled back in a snarl. “Need I remind you that your punishment remains outstanding, traitor?”

Lucky glared back at him but didn't speak. He was so angry that he didn't trust his voice. They were going to let their protests be pushed aside just like that, after all he'd done for them.

Alpha turned to the rest of his Pack, his voice soft and reasonable. “Considering the ordeal that we have been through, and the fact that Omega acted with
some
degree of bravery when we left our old camp, I would be prepared to spare him the wounds he deserves, and let him off with simple exile.”

“Alpha's right. Omega would be better off if he just left.” It was Sweet. She looked at Lucky with her big brown eyes and he sensed her hurt. He blinked back at her, sorry that he had let her down. Could she ever forgive him? And what good would her forgiveness do if he never saw her again? But something in his face must have angered Sweet, and she pulled back her lips. “You betrayed both Packs.” The iciness of her snarl shocked Lucky. “How can any dog expect to be trusted after such dishonesty?”

Lucky flinched, no longer able to meet Sweet's eye. He turned to Bella instead. It had been her idea to spy on the Wild Pack in the first place—Lucky had just carried it out, thinking he would be finding a way for them all to share prey and territory together. He hadn't even wanted to do it—but his littermate had insisted it would help the Leashed Dogs.

Bella looked at him with a blank expression. She said nothing.

“Bella?” he yelped, and she dropped her gaze. What was she doing?

The other dogs stood by, staring at their paws. Even little Daisy would not look at Lucky, though she whimpered by his side.

They're all going to fall into line with Alpha . . . even the Leashed Dogs!

Their abandonment stung Lucky deeply. He would have expected some loyalty from these dogs, after everything they'd been through together. But there was none.

He exchanged a quick glance with Bella. She looked sad, but stern. Then he turned from the dogs without a word, scrambled up the rocks, and began to retrace his way to the forest.

He might discover a road, or another field. He would chase rabbits, drink from streams, find somewhere warm and dry to sleep.

I'll be free again
, he told himself, willing his tail to wag. Instead it drooped behind him.

Freedom was all I ever wanted
.

He had thought such things before and meant them, but now the words echoed through his mind. Had he become a dog who yearned for the same things the Leashed Dogs did—company and friendship . . . a Pack?

No
, he told himself.
This is how it was
always
meant to be—me, by myself, without a Pack to slow me down. A true Lone Dog
.

With a whimper, Lucky climbed the path to the high trees, knowing those thoughts didn't ring true anymore.

He was not a Lone Dog now. Not really.

He was an outcast.

It was sun-high before Lucky reentered
the forest. Tall trees loomed overhead, the breeze fanning their branches. There was a gentle rise to the land as the forest climbed beyond the bank of the lake. He could hear the patter of paws in the undergrowth, and birds chirping above him. His stomach churned with hunger. He knew he could never catch a bird. The small animals that lived on the forest floor would also be too quick for him, invisible through the camouflage of leaves and vines. He would have to wait until he was out in the open air with a chance of gathering some speed.

Forest-Dog, please send me the cunning to find something to eat, and the wisdom to find a safe passage to . . 
.

Lucky gave a whine as he asked himself:
A safe passage to where? I have nowhere to go
.

He had run away from the other dogs without really thinking of where he was headed. He had tried to tell himself that he was meant to be a Lone Dog—but now he realized that being a Lone Dog in the forest was
nothing
like being a Lone Dog in the city. In the city, a Lone Dog had choices—there were always places to shelter, and the longpaws never stopped filling metal boxes with their discarded food. Here in the forest, things were very different. The only shelter was trees, and there were no food-boxes anywhere.

In the city, a Lone Dog could wander in circles and survive—but that wasn't possible in the forest. Lucky's fur prickled with rage and dread as he realized he had nowhere to go.

He plunged deeper into the forest, padding between the trees and catching the scent and sound of water. He used his head to clear a gap in some undergrowth and emerged at the bank of the river that the Leashed Pack had crossed to get to the Wild Pack's territory. Taking a step closer, Lucky breathed in the damp air. It was sweet and earthy and he detected none of the slimy green sludge that had made Bruno sick. He gazed at the river, briefly tapping it with his nose. It was cool and clear. Silver fish darted deep within the current, tempting but out of reach.

Satisfied that the water was clean, Lucky lapped at it thirstily. Once he had drunk his fill, he sat at the side of the bank and licked his paws, thinking things through.

Mickey had been sure that the longpaws were back. If he was right that meant Lucky would be able to forage for food as he used to. No more chasing rabbits in long grass!

Lucky knew how to live in the city. If he hurried, he might even catch up with Mickey. This thought cheered him and he focused on his next move. One way to the city was over the hill, through the Wild Pack's old camp. But that would lead him along a path that ran right beneath the dark cloud. He didn't like to think of it still up there in the sky. It was hidden behind the trees now, but he could still smell that scent that singed his whiskers and prickled his nose.