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2009-06-28 03:08:29

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Run As One:
Chapter Five

There were the sound of two people approaching the door outside of the examination lab. The sounds suddenly stopped briefly before the door swung wide open. Molly and Augustine burst into the room wearing white lab coats.

Natale looked like he was about to wet his pants. "Doctor!" he cried, his fingers on a bud in his ear. "Doctor are you there?! Doctor! Intruders! Pleas-"

Augustine punched him across the face and Natale crumpled to the floor. He looked back at Molly with a look of what the fuck. The last thing he expected when they opened that door was a perfectly healthy wolf looking all spiffy in human form. he wasn't sure if punching him was the right thing, but, by the sounds of it, he was trying to alert the humans. Augustine ran to the clear box where the wolves were.

Molly glanced down at Natale briefly before all her attention went to the clear cell. "You're all alive!" she exclaimed, relieved. "What are those collars?" she asked quickly, knowing that they were pressed for time. Molly bent down and tried to pry off the mechanical lock with no use. "Augustine, maybe he has keys."

Arron jumped up at the sight of Molly and Augustine. "Collars? Bombs. Will blow our heads off. At least that's what one of the people here said."

"He won't have to keys" Garth groaned as he stood up slowly, the chunk in his back still quite obvious "He's a lacky, nothing more than an enslaved guard dog."

"Careful, we don't know if these collars have mics that lead to the bitch. All we know is that they can understand us. We need to make sure we don't alert them." Lakota walked over to Mercie and nudged her with her nose. "Come on, time to get up..."

Augustine was more than a little happy to see this pack was fine. Trying not to break out in a dance or do something ridiculous, he gave a strained little laugh with a wide happy smile, and at Molly's suggestion, picked up Natale by his collar and flicked his earbud out. "Kid," he said, a little less aggressively than he normally would, finding it hard to be scary when he was so happy. "How do we get the collars off?"

"She's going to come and she's going to stop you! You've walked into your own doom, you stupid mutt!" Natale yelled.

Augustine looked back at Molly with a raised brow then violently shook Natale, the little wolf yelping painfully the entire time.

And with that, a loud alarm sounded and a bright red and white light near the lab entrance flashed on and off.

"Shit!" Molly crouched down, "Hold him." Her hands quickly searched his pockets for anything that might be of some help. "If not- this is a damn lab! There has to be acid SOMEWHERE."

"A chair!" Garth offered "the table! That idiot" he nodded at Natale "for all we care, we've got to get out of here. Use anything to smash the glass."

Arron looked at Molly. "Whatever you're going to do, do it quick. I do not want to be wolf puree today!"

Molly looked around frantically. "Augustine- SEARCH HIM!" She ran into the lab area and grabbed the best blunt object she could find-- a hammer. "Back up!" She told the group and without waiting, she swung at hard as she could near he lock. It dented in and she swung again, smashing a chunk of the hard plastic away. Again, she swung, chipping a bigger piece off. She grabbed the sides and pulled another piece off. "Come on." she told them when the hole was big enough.

Mercie had woken with a starty with all th comotion and scrambeled quickly to her feet when nudged by Lakota. Her heart was beating rapidly with excitement and fear so she didn;t wait her turn like a good little wolf. Instead she leapt threw the hole and out next to Molly and looked up at her, revealing her pink blood stained neck "It's really good to see you guys." She said with a voice about to betray tears.

"Molly, can you find a way to remove the collars?" Arron asked quicky before looking back at Lakota and Garth. "Go, you two. Quick."

Garth didn't need telling to escape, he just needed a little time to get through the hole; he did have a large bite taken out of his back after all. He moved carefully through the broken plastic screen and out of the way of anyone else trying to get through... unfortunatley this meant he was standing right next to Natale. "Hello" he said, a wide wolfy grin on his face.

Lakota had followed Garth out of the hole. Nudging him with her head she smiled and rolled her eyes. "Smart ass." Looking around the lab she frowned at all the computers she shivered. These were sick and deranged people. "You guys bring any fire power?" Lakota asked the other two wolves.

Augustine stopped shaking the little prick and started tearing through his trench coat. He found what looked like an odd remote.

"No! Stop!" Natale shrieked.

Augustine grinned, one hand holding Natale's lab coat and the other lifting the device. "Didn't have time to find any weapons... but I think we just found out ticket out of here."

Natale suddenly kicked off of Augustine's side, the force jerking his coat out of Augustine's hand. He attempted to scramble up for an escape out the door.

Mercie wound her way threw a few pairs of legs to snap at Natale's pants. Feeling a tooth snag a cuff she shook her head in an atempt to throw him off balance and hinder his escape.

Natale gave a high pitched yelp and he fell hard onto his front.

Garth moved forward at once, slamming his foot down onto the small of Natale's back and shifting his, albeit light, weight down onto Natale to keep him down. He leant down slowly and whispered in his ear "Listen, you're not going to win this one. Now, you have a choice, you can be free..."

Arron made it through the hole in one leap and hurried to where Garth had Natale pinned down. Circling in front of him, Arron bellied down, looking Natale in the eye. "We could always kill you, if you so desire."

Augustine rubbed his arm and tossed Molly the remote. "Fuck that. This dog's dead and I don't a fuck how he feels about it."

Natale simply whimpered at all of this, trying to be as submissive as possible as he waited for his beloved master to come save him.

"Give him a chance!" Garth snapped at Augustine, lip twitching slightly as he continued to press Natale down into the floor "He's just a stupid tamed wolf, he doesn't know any better than this. But if we get him out of there... one more is better than killing him right?"

Arron stood and looked at Garth. "I don't know. He did say we couldn't get on his good side. Why should we care about a pet? He is, after all, no better than a dog." He glanced at Natale for a moment, a twinkle in his eye as he sat down.

Molly grabbed the remote and examined it. She wasn't liking all the negative comments about dogs. "SHUT UP!" She pressed a button titled 'Release' and the collars unhitched and dropped off. "He is a pup who was raised in captivity. We can't blame him for being brainwashed. Now bring him and let's get the fuck out of here!" she growled loudly and angrily. Marching footsteps were getting closer to the door. Molly's eyes scanned the remote from top to bottom. There were lots of buttons. "Wait a second. Lab 3....LOCK!" she pressed a button. A thick bar shot out from the door, locking it tight just in time. "Now, does anyone see another drain in this lab? It should be on the floor somewhere!"

Mercie had gotten a good look at the floor when she'd been watching the scientists earlier "There's one over here." She said shifting, feeling rubbery and off balance after being on four feet for so long. She scrambled up and put her weight against on of the stainless steel tables and tried with all her might to budge it. She only achieved a few inches however. "I can't move it." She said with a groan as she tried again.

"Bring me?!" Natale cried. "Why?!" Being dragged out into the wild but a pack of wolves was equally as scary as being killed by them.

Augustine ran over to assist Mercie. Clenching his teeth, he pushed against it and it began to slowly slide. He was going to argue about Natale, but he decided that would be a better conversation for later. Besides, if they brought him, Augustine could just kill him later.

Molly grabbed Natale's arm. "We don't need you being brainwashed any longer. It'll just make me feel guilty."

Shots rang out onto the steel door, denting it in. Before long, they would override the door.

"We're saving you because we won't actually need to kill you. They'd rip you to pieces for letting us escape, so we're pulling you out" Garth growled in his ear as he stood up slowly, turning back to human; his head was matted with blood, sticking down to the back of his head. "Now come on.." he reached down, grabbing Natale and pulling him up to drag him along.

"Let go!" Natale shrieked jerking around, trying to get loose. "The doctor wouldn't hurt me! I'll sick them on you! If you bring me, I'll tell them where you are!"

"Not if we tear your throat open." Molly reminded, growling under her breath.

Augustine succeeded in pushing the table clear of the drain. "Enough chatting!" he barked and went about to opening the drain.

The door slid open quickly and there stood a group of security officials with guns raised.

"GO! NOW!" Molly threw Natale in the drain direction and pushed Lakota and Mercie to the drain.

"Help!" Natale cried reaching out towards the security.

Augustine stayed above, wanting to be there to keep the security at bay. He was quite determined to be the last one down.

"I don't care if you kill them all! Don't let them escape!" Claude shouted from behind the group as she gestured to the pack. Shots rang out- not tranquilizers, but bullets.

"Doctor..." Natale was so struck with disbelief, the bullets whizzing by didn't even register to him. "Doctor!" he cried.

A bullet grazed Augustine's arm and he yelped but he stayed his ground, determined to see the others down first.

Arron didn't bother to change, just slipped past everyone and to Lakota. "Ladies first," he said quietly.

Mercie stuck her legs in the drain, crossed her arms over her chest and pushed off as if she where sliding down a water part ride. She stuck her feet out against the sides of the drain, fearful that she would connect sharply with the bottom with more speed than she'd like.

Lakota waited for Mercie to hit the bottom and then threw herself down the drain after her. Closing her eyes she inhaled deeply. It was going to be great being free again.

Arron shifted, staying low, and grabbed Natale. Dropping the younger wolf down first, he slipped through next, holding himself above the hole for a moment. "Hurry up, you two," he said quickly before going down.

Natale landed roughly and then stumbled back, falling on his butt. He was nearly hyperventilating with shock.

"Garth- move it!" Molly pushed him to the drain opening. The wonderful alphas that they were, Augustine and Molly were going to be the last two into the drain. Suddenly her eyes shot wide as a bullet tore through her thigh and out the other side. She yelped but was still surdging with adrenalin. Blood started to leak out quickly down her leg. She started to hobble towards the drainpipe opening herself. "Augustine..." Molly whimpered, needing some help.

Mercie Scrambeled up and dusted herself off the she smelled something. Taking a moment to recognize what it was she could scaresely believe it. "Fresh air!" She said "And a draft. I think we should go this way." She pointed down the tunnel.

"Molly!" Augustine yelled as Molly was hit. He dove through the bullets and scooped her up before he plunged them both into the drain. "Run run run run..." he said, still holding Molly.

Garth groaned slightly as he landed in the drains, his senses being assaulted at once by the overwhelming smell of wolf, though none of them were the wolves he knew. This was sick, using the death drains to escape... but it was escape. He ran as fast as he could, again not so fast, to Natale's side and smacked against him roughly "Panic later, move now!"

Molly grunted as Augustine ran with her in his arms. Blood was running down his arms now. She reached and grabbed both openings of the bullet wound and squeezed. Her eyes were watering on reflex as she tried to stop the bleeding. It hurt so bad! "Grrruhhh..." Molly grunted through her teeth.

Quicker on four legs Mercie dropped to all fours and headed the group towards the fresh air she smelled. She wasn't sure if her eyes where playing trick on her but "I think I see light up ahead."

Looking down the hole, the soldiers spotted Natale. "It's Natale, doctor!" one called.
"I don't care! Shoot him!" Claude shouted. Right away, shots rang out and one skimmed across Natale's shoulder as he sat.

With a terrified yelp Garth grabbed hold the Natale's collar and dragged him along in his wake, gripping onto the back of his head as if afraid his brains might fall out and running for his life.

Natale's heart jumped when he heard his name, but it quickly crashed. He yelped as the bullet sliced him and soon he was stumbling after Garth, so shocked he was hardly conscious.

"Hold on!" Augustine yelled at Molly. His arm was bleeding, and with Molly bouncing in his arms, it was intensely painful. Despite this fact, he was determined to get Molly out safe. He wasn't going to let another pack member die.

Despite the shots that rang out, Molly's adrenalin was fading and the loss of blood was taking a toll on her energy. "I'm getting tired, Augustine." she said plainly, still holding in her blood on her thigh. Her head rested against his chest as he ran down the tunnel.

Mercie ran with all her might and added a few zig zags to her pattern when she heard the distinct ring and richochet of gun fire. The distant light looked like a pinhole into dark corridor but her paws gripped to the uneven tunnel floor and her legs pumped in excitement and anticipation of freedom.

Arron turned while running and picked Natale up easily. He ran forward and looked at the young wolf. "Don't struggle, please. I don't want to see you dead just yet."

Lakota wasn't far behind Mercie, keeping pace easily, she looked over her shoulder and growled slightly. "Damn dog almost got us all killed."

Thankful he was free of Natale's weight, Garth just concentrated on running and ignoring the throbbing pain from his previous wound. He didn't want to speak right now, too much concentration on not dying going on.

Molly's bleeding was slowing a little from her hands, bit it was still a lot of blood to lose to quickly. "Are we almost there?" she asked Augustine.

Augustine's nerves were fraying more and more, what with Molly bleeding, being stuck in this damn slow human form to get her out, and... his mind kept going back to the holding cell. "Yeah," he said between quick heavy breaths.

Being surprised at being suddenly scooped up, Natale did initially squirm and kick, but when Arron spoke to him, he just clung on for dear life.

Arron tried to watch where he was going, but kept looking back at those behind him. His eyes went to Natale, and took a deep breath, and kept moving towards the light and freedom.

The group managed to make it all the way to the sewer's opening out into a pool of filth. At this point it was nearly 3am and the sun was just about to peek over the horizon. They needed cover, fast! It wouldn't take long before security figured out where the tube went

Augustine looked around, then back at Molly before he turned to face the rest. "Get to the trees! Once there, we needa stop and think..." he was panting pretty hard, but he was no where ready to give up. He looked at Arron and Natale and his lip curled. "Drop the dog. If he's gonna run, let him do it himself." He turned back around and inhaled before going off in a run again.

Arron stared after Augustine, then looked at Natale. "Can you manage, pup? If you stay here, you'll die." He lowered Natale's feet while running, letting him touch down while on the move.

Natale's eyes were streaming. He was in such a state of shock, Arron probably could have told him to stand on his head. This method of letting Natale down was somewhat... silly, considering it made Natale stumbled and have to stop outright before he started running himself.

The oddly scented Garth was running beside Natale and Arron as well, making sure that they stayed upright as they moved. He lay a hand on Natale's back as they ran, making sure he stayed upright until he got his own footing.

Lakota had passed Mercie up a few moments ago and now emerged out of the tunnel. Looking around she spotted the trees Augustine had indicated and ran towards them.

"Trees! Oh my god trees!" Mercie exclaimed once she caught sight of them as Lakota passed. "I've missed trees!" She paddeled as hard as her legs would carry her, streaking up towards the trees for cover.

When in the treeline, Molly slipped herself out of Augustine's arms and flopped down on the grass, groaning. She need to give him a rest, his arm HAD been shot too.

Augustine knelt beside her, holding his arm and panting. He looked over his shoulder, waiting for the stragglers.

Arron reached the treeline, one hand held close to his chest, the other on Natale's arm, dragging the wolf along. His breathing was hard, for all that they had only run a short ways, he was more used to running in wolf form, not as a human.

Garth groaned as he reached the trees, starting to move back and forth between the trees to move further into the clearing away from people. He needed things... he needed to escape, he needed to get his injury looked at and he needed to borrow one of these trees later for some private toiletries.

A little ways into the trees, Natale simply fell onto his knees, most likely jerking Arron back as he held Natale's arm. He started out right sobbing, his white lab coat's shoulder soaked with blood.

Mercie didn't stop when she reached the treeline. She slowed down in a wide arch, disapearing into the trees here and there sniffing at the ground. She made a few rounds in the distance and trotted back, she was panting with her tongue out when she said "I don't smell any of them out there. Animals, birds, but no people." She sat down to catch her breath, happy that they where safe for the moment.

"Good job Mercie." Molly grunted, holding the open wound on her thigh firmly. "I think it may be starting to clot. ..Auuuugh!" she groaned in agony.

"Does anyone know how to fix bullet wounds?" Augustine asked, sounding a bit panicked after Molly cried out.

"My Dad caught a piece of glass after a bottle rocket exploded." Mercie explained "We cut it out so Mom wouldn't know we where messing with them. I'm guessing it'd be about the same but with more blood and screaming and stuff."

"I did the wound work in the tribe. If you'd like I can sew it up and such. We need to get somewhere safe also. Like I said earlier, I have a place. Depending on where we are, we may be rather close." Lakota's head throbbed with pain.

Arron looked over at Lakota. "We need to hurry," he said. Kneeling down next to Natale, he tried to look the pup in the face. "Are you shot?"

"Can we please get moving then?" Molly sat up, wondering if her wolf form would be better. She shifted and hobbled to get three feet.

"I shouldn't go near you guys then... I'll probably infect you in seconds" Garth groaned from his corner, rubbing his head slowly as he felt the pain throbbing from there. "Maybe I should look out for the people following?" he offered.

In the blur of the madness that had just happened, Natale had remembered something stinging, but hadn't had time to find out what it was. After Arron addressed him, he turned his head and touched his shoulder, shocked to see how much blood was there. "They shot me?!" he cried in disbelief. "They shot me! Oh God!" He broke into sobbing again.

Augustine looked at Molly with a worried expression. "I can keep carrying you," he offered.

Mercie took note of Natale's crying and shifted onto two legs again, crossed the distance between them and put as much strength into backhanding him as she could, though at only sixteen years old there wasn't much. "SHUT UP!" She shouted "They shot you alright! You weren't anything to them other than a trained pet. You had no value to them what so ever. The next time they see you they won't try and get you back, they'll shoot you just like they would any of us. If I where you I'd stop your sniveling, get on your feet and become useful! Before we decided to cull you from the pack." Such an outburst was a surprise even to Mercie, she contributed it to the same anger that had allowed her to take down that rabid wolf and blamed most of it on instinct.

The slap threw Natale sideways but he caught himself with his hands before he hit the ground. His face already sore from being punched earlier, this hurt like hell. He winced as Mercie yelled at him, and turned his head away submissively.

Arron openly stared at Mercie, then shook his head. He looked back at Natale. "Get up, pup. We need to get moving." He shifted to wolf form and looked at Lakota. "I guess you're leading." His paw had already pretty much healed, and he was standing again, looking at the rest.

Lakota looked over at Mercie proudly and smiled. Glancing around the pack she nodded she turned into the trees. "Let's get going. I don't want to head there in the dark. Before we emerge out of the trees we need to shift again." Without further directions she darted into the trees, not going to fast so that they couldn't keep up.

"Are you sure?" Molly looked up at his bloody arm in her wolf form. She was probably a lot easier to carry like this. Her hind leg curled up and didn't touch the ground. Her ears bent down, thankful to Augustine for such a kind gesture.

Mercie glaired angrily at Natale and stayed in the comfort of two legs for now. She stalked forward, near the back of the group so she could watch and listen for voices behind them. She didn't feel so much at the bottom of the totem pole at the moment. Natale and his snivveling made her quite sure that she wasn't as inexperienced as she'd figured she was before.

"What's further in the woods?" Garth asked, winding his way further in to Natale's side and looking deeper in "How far could we get before we have to emerge again?" He looked down at his sniffling form and groaned "Welcome to the real world... you're not going to like it."

Cradling his face in one hand, Natale got up, trying his best to contain himself.

Augustine was indeed impressed by Mercie, however, he was disappointed she didn't just tear his throat out. Molly's injury taking priority over killing Natale, Augustine scooped Molly up, successfully suppressing a pained expression.

"Hurry and lead the way, Lakota." Molly said in a commanding tone.

After nearly 10 miles of running, the group made it to Lakota's cabin just outside of the city. It was roughly 1pm and hunger was starting to set in

Lakota stopped just inside the trees. Glancing around she shifted into her human form and waited for the other to do the same.

Garth was wheezing slightly as he stopped, groaning slightly as he shifted into human form and basically landed headfirst into the root of a tree. He was not used to running that far.

Mercie darted between the trees somewhat pointlessly. She was still paranoid that they might be followed. No doubt dogs could track them back here eventualy but she hoped that the white coats enthusiasm(sp?) wasn't that strong.

Arron shifted to human form and stood next to Lakota, holding a stitch in his side and leaning downward at the waist. He looked over at Lakota, grimacing. "This is it?"

Lakota smiled softly and nodded at the two story home. "Yes, there is plenty of room for us all, so no one is living on top of anyone else. Also, I own most of the land with in 8 mile radius."

"Still shot and bleeding over here." Molly reminded as she was being carried by Augustine.

Lakota glanced around at the group to make sure everyone was in human form. Turning around quickly she hurried to the back door and unlocked it. Hurrying inside, she held the door open for everyone to come in. Once everyone was in, she flipped on the light switch and sighed happily at the very comfortable yet luxurious room. They were standing in a kitchen. The counter tops were made of a dark blue/black granite top and all the appliances were stainless stealing and gleaming. Clearing her throat she nodded her head towards the bookshelf staircase that led to the upper floor. "The rooms are all upstairs. The only room that isn't available is at the end of the hall. That one is mine. Other than that, feel free to look around. If your hungry the kitchen is heavily stocked, movies are in the living room through that door there. There's a full bath upstairs and a full bath down here. The basement is... sort of our rec room. Um, enjoy?" Lakota blushed as she realized how stupid she sounded for not wanting to live here all the time.

Running in human form for 10 miles... while bleeding heavily, while carrying a wolf... needless to say, Augustine had needed to take a few quick breaks, and despite almost passing out a few times, he was way too proud and determined to give up. Trying not to pant too audibly, Augustine stumbled in after Lakota, Molly in his arms. Looking pale, he looked at Lakota and said, "Take her...".

Natale who refused to turn into a wolf, was absolutely a mess. As soon as he got into the house he leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.

Arron looked over at Augustine and shook his head. Taking Molly and setting her on her feet so she could lean on him, Arron gestured his head at the door to the rest of the house. "Go clean yourself up and get some rest. Those of us who can still stand will get some food ready for everyone. Which means I think that Lakota and I will cook." He glanced at Natale. "What should we do with the pup?"

"Shoot 'im..." said Augustine, looking a bit wobbly. "And fuck the food... Lakota has to patch up Molly... you have... any idea how much she's bled out? She was shot through... the fucking leg. That's fucking serious. Pick her back up and bring her to a bed or something... I mean fuck... is there a... is the couch over there?" Before anyone could answer he was stumbling in that direction. He found his way to the couch and the second he hit it he was out. His arm was caked with blood, and so was the front of his shirt from carrying Molly.

Throughout the entire run to the cabin, Molly had slipped in and out of consciousness. She had lost too much blood and couldn't even hold her head up anymore. When Arron put her onto her feet, she immediately crashed onto the floor in a pool of her own blood. Molly's eyes were starting to roll back into her head as she still bled out.

Lakota grabbed ahold of Molly and cradled her in her arms. "Arron, hush. Augustine, you calm down a bit. Everything will be fine. Anyone who is injured or hurt, follow me." Lakota climbed the stairs easily and headed into the first room in the hallway. It appeared to be a hospital room. "We worked a lot out of our house..." Placing Molly on the hospital bed she went over to the sink and washed her hands. Grabbing a table full of knives and assorted things she pulled it closer to the bed. Laying on the table was a pair of gloves, picking them up she pulled them on and got to work. "Even though you may be in shock already, Molly, I'm going to give you a numbing shot." Picking up the syringe, she poked it into 3 different areas around the wound. In moments the thigh would be numb. Tossing the needle in the waste bucket she got a needle and some thread. "I still prefer the old fashion stitches."

Natale unsteadily rose holding his shoulder and gave a shaking inhale as he slowly went up the stairs. Having lived in the lab his entire life, this place was completely alien. The smells, the colors. It was all overwhelming and horrifying. He didn't want to break down and get hit again. Only a few short hours ago, his life was fine. This seemed like a bad dream.

Arron stared after the others, all leaving in turn. Lakota had taken Molly from him, and Augustine was elsewhere, most likely having fallen over at some point. Arron bit his lip and clenched his hand, going to the cupboards and searching through them until he found a good sized bowl. Turning on the water until it ran hot, he filled the bowl and grabbed a rag from the counter, following where Augustine went. The wolf was passed out, and Arron set the bowl on the floor, kneeling next to Augustine and wetting the cloth. Cleaning the wound on his arm wasn't going to be easy since it was so caked over, but he could try. "Well...shit, Augustine. I've never done this before." He knew Augustine wouldn't hear him, but talking made Arron feel better. "I've never had a pack, never had to run for my life. And I've never had to take care of anyone but myself. I don't have a clue what I'm doing here..."

Molly was completely out of it. Her eyes had closed and was at the mercy of Lakota's hands. Her wound had clotted a little bit, but she was still at risk of infection. Especially since they were just in a sewer drain. Her muscle, although wolves do heal faster, would take time until she was perfect again.

Lakota glanced down at the wound and sighed. "I'll have to give you a shot for infection when I'm done stitching you up." With that she began her work. The wound wasn't huge, but it was dangerous. Her stitches were very precise and cleanly done. The stitching took several minutes. When she was done she wiped down the wound and reached over to get the needle with the antibiotics in it, and carefully injected it into her. "I'll give you one of these a day for about a week." Walking over to a chart she wrote down some information on Molly and the time of when she was going to give her the antibiotics.

Natale had followed Lakota upstairs into the room and was quietly and submissively leaning against the wall, waiting for his turn if Lakota was indeed willing to patch him up.

Once done with Molly, Lakota finally turned and gave Natale a once over. "You shouldn't need to bad of a patch job. I doubt you'll need any stitching. Come on over and sit in this chair while I clean up." She waved her hand at a wooden chair with a cushion on it. This chair was designed a little taller than most chairs so that injuries could be at eye level to the one fixing up the wounded. Going over to the sink she washed her hands once again and gathered up a new set of gloves. "Ready when you are." For years after her family had passed away she had slowly began upgrading the utensils and work area of this particular room. Since her family had lived off the land and had the most plentiful and sweetest of food in the area, there food was easily sold. Which in turn helped to pay for the rest of the furnishings in the house. Now what was left of the money, which was more then Lakota though, lay in a bank, dormant and growing interest.

Natale was very surprised how casual and kind she was with him. He didn't even know her name. Not only that, not long ago he was working for people who were going to dissect her. He quietly walked over and sat down.

Garth shook his head slightly, walking blearily into the room and rubbing his head slowly; he looked around, only finding Arron and Augustine on the sofa a little way away. He stumbled towards them, slightly unsteady on his feet due to a mixture of blood loss and a pounding pain in his head, and knelt beside him on the couch to get a better view of Augustine's wound. As it was exposed he grunted in thought "I think this could go with just binding... It might need a few stitches though, I don't know where to get needle and thread however..."

Arron looked over at Garth as he finished cleaning Augustine's wound. He rinsed the cloth and tied it around his arm, stemming the blood flow as best he could for now. "You may want to sit down, Garth. I'll be right back." Standing quickly, he picked up the bowl, ran to the kitchen, and rumaged through drawers until he found the first aid kit. Grabbing another cloth, he moved to the sink and emptied the now fouled water, rinsing the bowl and filling it again. Once Arron was back in the other room, he looked at Garth. "I'll need to see to that wound, so try not to move too much." Arron started cleaning the hole on Garth's back, knowing he was probably hurting the other wolf, but there really wasn't anything else to be done.

Lakota had spent a few moments examining the wound. "Now, I'm not going to stitch this because it'd just be a waist of both our times. It being a graze, all it needs is too be covered, cleaned and we'll put some of my special salve on it, hmmm, once I day should do it." Going over to a cabinet she grabbed a jam jar full of a green thick liquid. On the counter below there was a jar full of q-tips, she grabbed one, she also grabbed a wet wash cloth and returned back to Natale's side. Setting the jar and q-tip aside, she began to wash the wound. Once the wound was clean, Lakota tossed the washcloth into the sink. Opening the salve jar she dipped in the q-tip and gently smeared it over the wound. "Now, this will burn for a few moments, but the sensation will stop." Opening a nearby drawer she got out some tape and some gauze. Placing the gauze over the wound and wrapping it around his arm a few times, she carefully applied just enough tape to secure it from falling off. "Now, once a day, we'll clean it, and then put some more salve on it, clean bandage. You should better in a few weeks. Just don't go running into anything."

Natale yelped, twitched and squeaked the entire way, but was all in all not too bad. Being a house pet, he wasn't used to getting hurt. "May I, uhm..." he said, glancing at Molly, feeling like he was mostly to blame for her condition. He paused a moment, a surge of guilt hitting him. All of a sudden it wasn't poor me poor me. He was starting to grasp what horrible things he had done. He trembled as he kept in a sob. "May I go sleep?" he asked.

"Not yet. We need to go downstairs and see how the rest are doing. Come on pup." Lakota left the room, not waiting for him. She had always grown up knowing how to forgive, so being angry at him wasn't going to help. But the pup was going to have to answers some questions when the time came. Entering the living room she leaned against the door frame. "How are they? Do you need any help? I do have medication...or...well at least what our tribe considered medication."

Natale didn't quite understand what purpose would be served by him following her and watching her talk to people. It wasn't as though he could be of much help. Instead of complaining, he followed, trying not to cry again.

While the others patched and tended to the wounded Mercie put herself to use in the kitchen. Food had been ordered and seeing as how everyone else was busy by the time Lakota had finished with Molly dinner was being started in the kitchen. Quick examination of the freezer yielded a thick roast of some formerly living animal. A quick defrosting in the microwave, a few scrounged up potatoes and several cups of water later the roast was slowly cooking in the oven. Seeing as how there where so many of them Mercie found a few cans of vegetables, including spinach, corn and green beans. With them simmering in covered pots on the stove she poked her head out of the kitchen to ask "Um, dinner will be ready in about an hour, depending on whether or not you guys prefer it rare to medium well?"

Arron held up both hands as he finished bandaging Garth and wrapped a bandage around Augustine's arm. "Nope. I think I'm done here." He stood and looked over at Lakota. His face was tinged slightly green. "Where's the WC? I have a severe need to...wash up."

"I think" Garth gave a small groan as his own wound was probed at, rather difficult to get at under matted blood and still little pieces of hair "I saw a toilet in the back..." He pointed one hand, which twitched as he let out a small yelp, towards the room behind the main one "Try back there."

Despite how well Augustine was wrapped, blood bled through the cloth and it didn't seem to be stopping. The gash had clotted a little but after wrapping it, the wound had reopened.

Lakota's looked over everyone. Seeing Augustine's injury she shook her head. "Arron, will you help me with Augustine? I want that stitched up. The wound is probably to large to just wrap. Natale, you can either go to bed, or wait for the food. We do not need you at this time." Walking over to Augustine she waited for Arron to assist her.

Natale's eyes widened and he cocked his head, now very puzzled as to why she made him come down with her. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and decided not to point out the nonsensical nature of her latest commands. Natale was raised to analyze wolves, so he couldn't help being critical. He concluded that she must have some plan for tormenting him, so he silently, but quickly retreated upstairs and found an empty room. He debated barricading the door but then recalled Molly and concluded they had every right to torment or kill him. The guilt welled up, as well as the fact that his human masters betrayed him and he stuffed his face in a pillow and wept some more.

Arron cleared his throat and swallowed, kneeling down next to Augustine and unwrapping the gauze. He bit his lower lip, his eyes slightly out of focus.

"Arron, are you not good with blood?" Lakota's eyes brightened slightly at the thought of him throwing up. She could not handle that right now. She had thought it was a good idea to bring Natale down stairs in case they were going to talk to him, but when she saw Augustine, all those idea's had been thrown from her mind. They all needed to heal up before they talked to Natale.

Tight-lipped, Arron glanced over at Lakota and shook his head. Unfortunately, even that small movement made his headache worse. He closed his eyes tightly as saliva flooding his mouth, a prelude to being sick for him. His hands dropped the gauze, and he sat there on his knees, in the same position, afraid to move.

The answer to the question came from Garth however, as he switched back to sitting properly on the couch, though without his back touching the seat, his stomach let out a deep whining grumble of hunger. "Ohhh... where's the food?" he mumbled, holding his stomach still "They didn't give us any."

At the mention of food, Arron bolted to the restroom, dry heaving as he went. He gagged for a moment, then sat next to the toilet, his breathing heavy, his head light.

Lakota frowned slightly and looked over at Garth. "Will you help me take Augustine upstairs first? After we're done bringing him upstairs, we can eat. It won't take me long to stitch it up." She was angered by Garth's selfishness. When she was part of a pack if people had been injured, they were healed first before anyone even thought about eating. She had to remember that none of them have ever been part of a pack before.

Garth stood up slowly, groaning and holding a hand against the hole in his back where the other wolf had torn a chunk from it. He nodded however and leant down, slipping down beneath his uninjured arm and helping him up onto his own feet as best he could "Sure... but Arron obviously needs food soon."

"Yes, I know. We all need food. This wont take long. Would you like me to look at your back before or after we eat?" She noticed he was favoring that side of his back. His wound would probably take the longest time to heal because it couldn't be stitched.

Once he was done dry heaving, Arron crawled over to the sink and tried drinking a little water. He sat on the floor for a moment before shifting, feeling more steady on four feet than he was on two. Arron slowly made his way out to the other room again and saw them moving Augustine. He settled down near the door as a wave of dizziness overtook him again, and it was all he could do to not whine in pain. He didn't want to distract them while they were moving the much heavier wolf.

"I've had worse" Garth groaned, walking slowly but steadily towards the stairs; he was the thinnest person out of the group, and quite small too, even with an injured back. Why he was asked to haul the biggest one out of the lot up the stairs he didn't know but he just did his best, every step he took threatening to over balance him.

Lakota had Augustine's injured arm wrapped around her shoulders carefully. It was going to be a tight squeeze up the stairs, but they'd manage. "We've only got one bed, so we're going to place him across the hall from Molly. He'll be close to my supplies if anything happens. I thought it was best he go upstairs so we don't disturb his rest."

Mercie pulled the roast out of the oven and drove her knife threw the center to see if it was done. Brown, with a hint of light pink in the center she took to slicing up portions and divvying them onto plates with the test of the food she's prepaired. Drizzeling a gravy of no more than flour and beef broth she pored this over the roast and se the table with the right amount of plates for all of them. It didn't take her long to wash the cooking pans and put them away. Finished she poked her head out of the kitchen again and said "Dinner is ready."

Slowly, gradually, Garth hauled Augustine up the stairs and almost dropped him on the bed near Molly. He panted slightly, then as he sniffed the air he noticed the smell of fresh food; with barely a glance at Lakota he almost plummeted down the stairs towards the smell.

Arron whined when he saw Garth, unable to move again. His head was on his paws, and his body was laying slightly sideways. With his head as fuzzy as it was, he didn't think that standing again would be the best thing.

Garth turned at the whine, groaning lightly as he noticed Arron was on the floor as well. Why was he suddenly the delivery boy? He knelt down beside Arron and scooped him up in his arms, carrying him like a fallen comrade towards the sweet smell of gravy; oh god this was hurting his back.

Molly opened her eyes a little and lifted her head. She winced, realizing that her leg was shot. "Dammit..." She leaned in towards her bandage and sniffed at it, unfamiliar to it.

Lakota looked up from her work on Augustine and smiled. "Sniff all you want, just don't like at it. It'll make the infection worse." Turning back to the stitches she finished up the last couple and dipped a swab into the same jar of salve she had used on Molly's injury. Putting the salve on Augustine's injury she tossed away her gloves and the swab and replaced the lid on the jar.

Molly looked and saw Augustine, "He is ok, right?" She laid her head back down, still very tired.

Mercie noticed everyone else engaged so she took it upon herself to gather up the bloodied towels and bandages. She disposed of the bandages in a seperate garbage bag all by themselves and found the laundry area to properly clean the towels.

Garth slowly lowered Arron to the floor beside the table, he didn't suppose that he'd be changing back any time soon. He glanced up at Mercie "Can we get some food on a plate for him? Helooks really ill."

Once Garth set him down, Arron more or less collapsed on the floor, everything spinning and causing his legs to buckle. He let loose a slight whimper, but quieted himself.

Lakota lifted up Augustine's eyelids for a moment and then nodded. "He's going to be fine. Shouldn't need any blood transfusions, so that's good news. How are you feeling?" Going over to Molly's side Lakota placed her finger tips on her wrist and began counting in her head.

"Like I was shot in the leg." Molly grumbled, "I've never been so tired..." her voice faded, drifting in and out of sleep. She was glad Augustine was going to be alright. "We are safe here, right?"

"Sure." Mercie said and going to the table she snatched up one of the plates she had prepared and set it next to Aaron on the floor. Then she went to the cabinet to find a bowl for some water. Filling it she set it next to the plate and ran her fingers threw Aaron's mane a few times for comfort.

"Oh very much so. My driveway is almost 3 miles long so no one can see us from the road. And we're miles from basically anything. I wouldn't bring us somewhere if I knew we weren't going to be safe. So, your tired, are you hungry? I can bring you up a plate or I can help you downstairs so you don't have to be alone. It's up to you." Lakota moved over to the sink and washed her hands. Once her hands were dry she sprayed a bit of hand sanitizer on her hands and arms and began to rub it in. It gave the room the smell of oranges. Not to strong but just strong enough to smell like someone had just began peeling one.

Arron licked weakly at Mercie's hand in thanks, then sticking his muzzle in the bowl of water. He practically inhaled the water, drinking a bit quickly, then slowing down. Taking his now dripping nose out of the water, he settled onto the floor again, waiting for the headache to fade enough to continue eating.

"If you could bring me up something, I would really appreciate it. I want to lay here for a while yet. Maybe enough for Augustine too if he wakes up." Molly said, still laying on her back. "Keep an eye on that pet we broke out-- I don't want anyone trusting him of letting him out of your sights. No one should make any moves until we have recovered more." she said, meaning her and Augustine given that they were the two unofficial alphas.

ROA Chapter: Six

Back to: Run As One
The pack members...

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: Okie dokie...sorry...I think it may have been my fault...

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: It's fine, no extensive harm done :3

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: I thought Lakota was native Indian and used like... traditional healing methods? Now she comes from a super wealthy family that just has this cabin lying around with a hospital conveniently in it? With medical charts and barber chairs? I think your pushing it love...

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: No...it's not a chart...it's paper...grafted out to be a chart. She's got to keep track some how. And traditional healing methods only go so far, you have to update somewhere...when did I say they were super wealthy? And it isn't lying around...I explained this all in the beginning... The barber chair thing can be changed.

Promise I'm not being rude or defensive...but I do promise I am going to bed...to much to do tomorrow...so...I'll fix it and be off.

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: I hope what I changed helped a bit...off to bed now...

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: It's just the whole thing about her having insulin for infections, not to mention the needles and syringe. Plus a hospital bed and gloves... It's way to convenient and random!

I'm just trying to be realistic, you know? I would understand if she just took some sewing thread and patched Molly up and poured peroxide on it.

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: WHY DID I SCARE EVERYONE TO BED?! T_T

2009-06-16 [Evolution X]: cause you're a spooky little demon!

2009-06-16 [Evolution X]: ........... thanks for the reading material guys

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: I explained the updating...but I think I'll leave the rest

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: I can't believe how nice everyone is being to Natale O_O

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: Lakota never said she had anything against...besides, ever heard of the phrase, heal now ask questions later. *Shrugs* Least that's how I grew up. I've lived by that my whole life...that's why I'm named Moonrise Mage...

2009-06-16 [Synirria]: WC?

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: Idk either...

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: wash cloths?

2009-06-16 [NOOOPE]: Augy needs stitchies

2009-06-16 [Chel.]: how about that? :P

2009-06-16 [Evolution X]: Water Closet. Means toilet

2009-06-17 [NOOOPE]: Augustine's out like a rock!!

2009-06-17 [Synirria]: Is he? Sorry, I'll change that.

2009-06-17 [Synirria]: Sorry, I'm taking a government test at the moment so I'm more worried about the missouri government

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Run As One: Chapter Five

ROA Chapter: Six

Run As One:
Chapter Five