Darkness from Within #6: A Team Divided (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Cole peered over a rock to look at the rabbit he had followed. He smirked, bunching his muscles, and leaped at the animal. The rabbit came to immediate alert and sped into the bushes. Furrowing his eyebrows, Cole stumbled to his feet and raced after it.

Its white tail bobbed above the undergrowth and Cole didn't shift his gaze from it. Energy pulsed through his veins as he raced through the trees, and he felt more alive than he had in a long time. I've got you now!

Cole pounced again, but the rabbit quickly burrowed into a hole in the ground, spraying dirt into Cole's face. He snorted and drew back, shaking his head. Feeling frustrated and satisfied at the same time, he rose to his feet again and glanced around. He noticed that the trees were more thinned out and more shadows covered the ground from the mountains nearby. A chill swept down his spine. Where am I?

Warily, he walked forward, realizing he had traveled farther than he and Raymond meant to go. But where is Raymond?

A mouse suddenly shot out from the undergrowth and scurried across Cole's path. Cole stopped, heartbeat beginning to quicken. He looked around, trying to figure out which way he came from. But everything looked the same.

Birds chirped overhead, but their happy songs suddenly sounded eerie and empty, and Cole gulped.

A sharp bark sounded from behind him.

Cole whipped around in alarm to find a small animal slinking out of the shadows toward him—a wolf. Cole let out a breath of relief as he realized it was only a pup. He stood frozen still as it stared at him, but it didn't come any closer. It's only a baby, he thought. He was about to turn away when another thought struck him and he froze. But wolves always travel in packs!

Just then he heard the sound of snow crunching, and his ears picked up heavy breathing. Then a growl. Then a bark. Cole drew in a shaky breath and looked back to find that another wolf—a full-grown one—had padded up beside the pup. He froze, blood turning to ice. Fear shot through him as he stared at the animal with round eyes, too frightened to move.

From in the shadows, more shapes were moving toward him, backing up the first wolf. Cole's breath caught in his throat. More wolves.

The wolves growled at him and bared their teeth, beginning to surround him. Shaking from head to toe, Cole took a step backward, breath quickening by the second.

That was a mistake.

Immediately after seeing his movement, the wolves began to attack.

Cole gasped and flung himself to the ground as a wolf lunged at him from behind. He stumbled to his feet again as another wolf snapped his jaws at him. He let out a cry of pain as he felt teeth clamp into his shoulder. Grunting and groaning, he struggled to get the wolf off of him but somehow managed to knock himself to the ground. The wolf latched onto him squirmed away, and Cole looked up with fear as another one darted toward him. It sank its teeth around his arm and he gasped with pain. Unable to move, Cole's breath was driven out of him as the wolf began violently shaking its head, Cole along with it. Cole went limp, gasping for breath, as everything became a blur around him. Then the wolf harshly threw him to the ground again and he jerked as he hit the earth.

His head throbbed and his gaze dragged to the wolves around him, slowly closing in on him. He couldn't move—he was too weak. Panting as darkness swirled around him, Cole watched helplessly as one of the wolves bunched its muscles to attack him.

Then, in a flash, something shot into the wolf's shoulder and it let out a sharp cry.

Blinking desperately to see more clearly, Cole realized it was an arrow. That wolf fell back, but another wolf took its place. Another arrow shot at it, then another at another, and another at another. But one escaped the flying arrows and charged toward Cole. Cole shut his eyes, tensing, when he heard a thump in front of him. Heart racing, Cole opened his eyes again to find a person in front of him, fighting off the wolves with his quick archery. Eyes widening, Cole realized it was Raymond.