Arduous: Plight At Dawn

Chapter One

The dry dirt sprayed up into Willow's face as she dug at the ground next to a tall pine tree. The scent of the squirrel she had just caught was tempting her to bite down on it and swallow.
No, I shouldn't... I have to wait to finish hunting before eating.
Willow dropped the squirrel into the hole and tossed some dirt over it to hide it. She padded a bit at the unsettled dirt, just to make it less noticeable.

     I really don't need to do that... It's not like there are any other wolves around here besides me. Oh well... It's better to be safe than sorry. Willow turned and padded away from the direction she had caught the squirrel. There will probably be more prey this way...

     The cool wind blew at her face as she crept through the forest, being careful as to not make any noise. If there is any more prey this way, I should be able to smell it with this wind. Just then she caught the scent of a rabbit. Man... It would be delicious having you for dinner.

     Willow slowed her pace and crouched down. Her amber eyes gleamed as she stalked the helpless prey. Willow kept herself focused on the rabbit as she stealthily placed one paw in front of the other, the fur on her stomach lightly dragging on the ground. Just a few more steps and I'd have it for sure...

A huge crack of thunder sounded, practically shaking the ground and making the rabbit run away and into its burrow. "For Sky-Wolves sake-" Willow's cursing was cut off by another roar of thunder. Rain started sprinkling from the sky as Willow shook her head and turned around to go back from where she had came from.

It wasn't long before the rain soaked through Willow's coat, making her almost look like a drenched gopher. Willow dug at the sloppy dirt that was covering the hole she had put her squirrel in. It's fur was matted with mud, and it didn't look very appealing. Whatever... Food is food. Besides, it's not like I can catch any other prey today... She grabbed the squirrel with her mouth and started off in a trot to her den.

The rain was still coming down when she arrived at her den. The den was a hole that went under a fallen tree. The tree usually stopped any of the elements from reaching the inside of her den, weeds and ferns covered the entrance, making it hidden from most enemies. The area around her den wasn't as interesting. There were some trees, but there was also just quite a few bare spots, with nothing other than the long and overgrown grass.

Willow crawled under the log and into her den. The inside wasn't very big, but big enough for a wolf to stretch out or sleep. She laid down and started chewing on her squirrel. She watched the little droplets of rain soak into the mud just outside the den as she was eating.

     The squirrel was gone quickly. Willow's stomach growled for more food as she licks the bones and throws them out of the mouth of the den. Tasty, but not at all enough. Willow got to her paws and was about to leave her den to hunt more when she caught a whiff of a foul scent. Willow pinned her ears back as she crept out of the den. The rain had slowed to a stop and now everything was silent. Where are all the birds?

     The scent was unrecognizable to Willow. She knew coyotes and foxes smelt foul, but not like this. This was a very vague but still very sharp scent. Willow froze in fear of what she saw. Ripping through the trees, was a giant and wicked wind-snake.

     "A wind-snake... The Sky-Wolves are angry!" Willow howled as she raced back to her den. She slid underneath the log and laid, flattened to the ground, with her head facing the entrance of the den. Her eyes were wide as she watched the terrible scene. Tree after tree was breaking and getting thrown around. The grass was getting ripped out by the roots. The wind-snake was hissing its deadly hiss as it ripped apart everything that Willow had worked so hard for. Her territory, and now, her den.

     Willow squinted and eyes and dug her claws into the ground as the wind sucked up the log into the sky, and left her only to the protection of the dirt that covered her den from the sky. The wind-snake tugged at her fur through the entrance of the den. Willow closed her eyes tight and focused only on saying these words: "Please Sky-Wolves help me."

     As if on cue, the wind-snake moved on from her den and instead, tore at the earth trees beyond Willow's den. Willow let out a sigh of relief. The Sky-Wolves had listened to her prayer, and she had survived the attack.

     Willow did not even think about leaving her den until the wind-snake's hissing was no longer audible. She crawled out of the den slowly and carefully, afraid of what she might see.

     What she did see was terrible. Every tree in sight was knocked down, dead. There was debris of grass and dirt all over, and everything was grey. The sky, the ground, the trees, everything. The picturesque beauty of the valley was unrecognizable now. What her life had been like before was now just a distant memory.

     Willow shook her head in disbelief. This can't be true... Everything that I had worked so hard for... Gone. It's all gone.