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2009-06-05 04:44:43

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Run As One:
Chapter FourA

Cold steel is all one is able to feel upon awakening. The air smells of wolf fur mixed with bleach and sanitizer. Underneath this scent however, is a gut-wrenching stench of blood and vomit. A yellow tinted light bulb hisses on the ceiling, protected by a small barrier. To the left and right are other cells, darkened by the atmosphere. With architecture similar to a prison, the back of the cell is concrete while the front stares out to cells across the hall. If one is to look down the passageway, it is a long stretch of more cells. A steel door remains on both sides of the hall. Peering into each cell is a camera, unreachable to the imprisoned.
Luckily, all four of you were put together in the 10x10 steel cell. Everyone was completely stripped of their human belongings and given an irremovable collar. It's thick and grey with a light blue streak around it for males and pink for females. On the side is a small red light. While one speaks telepathically in wolf form, the light flashes to green.
At the moment, no one is able to shift into a human.

Arron woke up with the bad taste of tranq in his mouth. He looked around and saw Garth, Mercie, and Lakota in the same small room. He also felt the collar at his neck and touched it with one paw, testing it. One of the things he hated was being collared. Arron scooted over to where Lakota was laying and checked her vital signs.

Mercie twitched as if she where dreaming and slowly her movements became more intense. She was whining, seemingly trying to run then all of a sudden her movements became more violent and she made a noise of pain and terror. She sprang to her feet on the floor and in her sleep bolted only to connect quickly with one of the walls before she could gain enough speed to do any damage. The collision woke her and she stumbled onto her rump. Her nose immediately told her that she was with Lakota, Aaron and Garth. She feared that the others where dead. They where surrounded by walls, cold and unrelenting. She felt the urge to cry and could not leash herself before the wolf took over and she howled a long, mournful cry. She'd hidden instead of helped and her heart broke as she realized she'd betrayed her new pack.

At the sound of Mercie's cry Lakota jumped awake and looked around. Shifting her eyes she noticed that Arron was awake as well. Growling softly she moved to the cell door and looked it up and down. Signing she looked over and Mercie and nudged her with her head. Licking her cheek she frowned. "I'm sorry you guys...Mercie, it's going to be okay, we're going to get out of here."

While the others were jumping and panicing about the current situation, Garth's system had barely purged the drug from his blood. He yawned slightly in his sleep, still in wolf form and twitching his feet sleepily as he dreamt. He gave a small growl, whatever he was dreaing about worrying him slightly.

Mercie's howl fell silent as Lakota soothed her though it didn't help much. She felt suffocated surrounded by these walls and her body gave a human shudder as she tried her best not to cry. Instead she lowered her head and pressed it against Lakota's side. She hardly knew her but the contact was a bit comforting. She shuddered once more before falling still and taking her head away from Lakota's side. "It's my fault." She said mostly to herself, if she'd have helped they might not be trapped like this.

Lakota let out a soft growl and huffed. "Don't even, none of us could have known they were coming, nor that they were there for that reason. We also probably wouldn't have been able to take them all on. Now we need to focus on getting out of here." Walking over to Garth she nudge him with the top of her head and nipped gently at his paw. "Come on, get up...Wakey Wakey!!!" Giggling softly she looked over at Arron and frowned at his quietness.

Garth twitched away and rolled over, grumbling slightly and creaking his eyes open. "I'll move along officer" was all he said as he stood up onto all fours and attempted to move away from the group of wolves in the concrete room. Unlike Mercie though he didn't wake up as his head smacked into the wall, continuing to attempt to walk even though he was pushing up against the wall.

Mercie took it upon herself to finish waking Garth. Walking to his side she brushed uyp against him with just enough force to hopefuly knock him off balance.

Arron scratched at the collar. He whined a bit, still trying to get the collar off.

Movement can be heard from the cell across the hall from them. A single wolf steps closet into the light. He is completely shaved and has stitches around his skull. "Nuh...new at this part in town city ones? Nuh-..." When he speaks, you can see that his canine teeth had been extracted. His mouth also leaks saliva onto the cold concrete floor as he speaks

Mercie's breath caught in her chest when she spotted the poor creature. She didn't say anything but she felt a pang of fear, guilt and despair by looking at him.

Garth shook himself awake as he thumped heavily into the concrete floor, blinking his large black eyes hard as he tried to get the sleep form them. He didn't look at the newcomer straight away, mainly because there was still sleep clouding his vision. "Yeah... where are w-" his sentence was cut short as he turned and saw the wolf, forcibly ripped into reality "What the hell happened to you?"

Lakota walked over to Arron her head held high. "Looks like they've been running tests or something on him." Pressing her head against Arron's aide she groaned. "This is fucked up..." Anger and frustration welled up inside of her. Her body began to shake with anger. "We're getting out of this hell whole...one way or another. Don't listen to the other wolves. They obviously didn't know to work together. If we're going to be a pack we need to start acting like one."

Arron looked at Garth, Mercie, and Lakota. He nuzzled Lakota and licked her cheek. "I agree." He looked over at the other wolf and shivered slightly. "We need to protect Mercie at least. She's too young for them to do that to. Also I don't know how Garth would handle being shaved. Keep an eye on them." He looked again at Lakota. "If we get a chance to escape, we take it."

To answer Garth, the shaved wolf looked up sadly, "Pack...s-sourrounded, couldn't escape. One Au-Augustine made it gone. The others are died I....am left." he faded and laid himself down near his cell door, staring at the lights.

Arron froze as he heard what the other wolf said. He walked over to take a closer look at him. "Did you say...Augustine?"

The wolf nodded slowly. "Is coward..." Since they recognized the name, the wolf looked up at Arron, "Abandon you pack too? Worthless..." he coughed.

Mercie felt only slightly better when she heard Aaron mention protecting her. But she wouldn't let them take her easily, she wouldn't let them turn her into a thing like what was across the hall. "HOw long have you been here?" She dared to ask.

"Haven't seen sun or moon but....four month or yet even...even more maybe." the wolf coughed as he lay weak on the concrete, his eyes becoming quite dry.

Lakota stared at the ground in anger. "We are getting out of here...Come on you two...let's put our heads together and think. Arron..." Glaring over at the decrepit wolf she growled slightly. "Leave them alone. I wont allow you to take away their hope."

Mercie looked from Aaron to the new wolf and back again "We can't leave him here." She said "No matter what they've done to him... He should be allowed to die with his own kind." She felt a bit odd talking like this considering she hardly even knew her own kind. But it felt like the right thing to say.

Arron looked back at Lakota. "He's just giving me information. Don't worry. We are getting out." He looked over at Mercie. "You're right. We should take him with us when we leave."

Garth chewed on his own tongue thoughtfully, moving over to Lakota slowly and settling down into a sitting position. "The problem is is that we have no idea of the lay out of this place; if we knew we'd be able to knock out the guards and bolt before anyone notices."

Lakota looked around at them. "I never said we would leave any of them behind. Depending on how many there are we can let them all out." Pressing her head against Arron's side she groaned slightly. "Okay..." Turning to the decrepit wolf. "I'm sorry for being so rude to you...but we need your help. You've been out of your cell, so you at least have an idea of what this place is like. Could you tell me?"

Mercie smiled widely when Aaron decided to take her advice. She turned to Garth "Maybe one of the guards will have a key to these collars. Then we can put on their uniforms and sneek out. We could even be an 'escort' for him." She nodded at the bald wolf in the next cell.

Arron turned back to the rest of the wolves in the cell. "They'll expect us to attack the guards. They probably have a contigency plan for that. We need something better than that...But what?"

"Maybe that would work" Garth admitted to Mercie as he thought about the idea of having the collar off "But who would have the keys? Wouldn't they have them in some sort of control room? We'd still need to know where everything is first. If we got the collars off then though... that might work."

The saddened wolf looked up at them. "I can't it..." Clearly it was difficult for this victim to come up with the words he wanted. "Hundred halls, obstacles...and..the straps on tables....Don't let the humans hear you. Collars let them talk wolf...listen wolf... don't let them..." his breathing was staggered.

Lakota cursed quietly. "I hope Molly and Augustine are trying to figure something out and not just leaving us in here to die." Sitting down she closed her eyes and began to think. Once again images of her old life flashed before her eyes. Multiple exits, fire, emergency... "Hmmm..." Opening her eyes she smiled softly. "In a place like this there is bound to be more then one exit...there has to be if there's not someone could get trapped inside and...die. So in case of a fire..." Images of smoke and wolves racing around flashed before her eyes. Men screaming, running around with long pointy sticks. Shaking her head she sighed. "That image wasn't the greatest."

Arron froze again and whirled around, staring at the other wolf. "Shit! They can hear us?" He turned back to the group. "No more talking about this. Nothing else. We wait. It's our only option now."

A door sung open at the end of the hall and in walked, surprisingly enough, a wolf. He was wearing a tight white lab coat buttoned over black pants and behind him was a group of humans, eight in all, each carrying a long metal poll with a clamp like device at the end. The young wolf stopped in front of their cage, his hands clasped behind his back. A slight sneer twinged his lip and he looked at the group with contempt.

"These men need to move you," said Natale, his tone stoney and impersonal. "They'll grip onto your collars with these polls. Cooperate and they wont hurt you." Four men stepped forwards and pushed a button on their rods that opened the clamps.

Lakota narrowed her eyes slightly. Inhaling deeply she stepped forward and held her head up high. "I'll go first to make sure he isn't lying." Glancing up at the nearest man she stood and waited for him to lock onto her collar.

Arron looked over at the new wolf in shock. He was amazed that a wolf could work for these people. Instead of stepping towards the men, he stood where he was, standing in front of Mercie and Garth, keeping his stance carefully stiff, not appearing threatening, but not cowering either.

The man latched on. "We can't open the door until everyone is secured," said Natale, looking the others with a hint of annoyance.

Mercie snapped her mouth shut quickly and danced on the spot nervously. The humans had heard them, she couldn't believe it. She felt a thick ball of nerves settle in her stomach. She was waiting for the moment when the humans would burst in and separate them for conspiring to escape.

Lakota glanced around at the others. "Come on, I WONT let them hurt you. Mercie, come right up next to me...it'll be okay." Shifting her eyes back up to Natale she bared her teeth. "She will be okay." She wasn't threatening him she just wanted him to know her intentions.

"Go ahead," Arron said to Mercie and Garth. He stepped forward, next to the men, and stood there, staring at the door.

Mercie's heart tightened and she nearly cried whe Lakota invited her to sit next to her. She did as she asked, turning around three times before settiling into the floor next to Lakota. She laid her head ontop her tail and took comfort in Lakota's protective nature. She felt a bit safer, not much but it was an improvement.

Garth stared up at the men for a while, rubbing his paw across his nose slowly as he thought... Maybe it would help in the long run, maybe it would just annoy the guards for a short time but he felt like doing it anyway. "PLAY!" he yelled loudly, bounding around like a mad wolf in front of the door "Play with me!" He was darting back and forth in front of them, bouncing around like a mad wolf; he was looking more and more like a dog than anything else, he was certainly behaving like one "Throw the stick!" He immediatley sat down in the middle of the doorway, forcing his tail to wag as he stared up at the guards with huge eyes "Throw the stick!"

Arron stared at Garth for a moment, then started laughing. He sat down and laughed at the other wolf. He was young as well and appreciated Garth's fun-loving side. He barked twice at the guard, his tail wagging.

Mercie had begun scrunching into the corner behind Lakota. She trusted that she wouldn't let them hurt her but how was she going to do that with a pole attatched to her collar? She glanced over at the naked wolf and her legs wouldn't left her shift from her position in the corner.

Natale rolled his eyes at Garth's idiocy and said, "Fry him." One of the men jabbed his poll at Garth an pushed a button that instantly turned the poll into a cattle prod. A loud highly visible shock hit Garth, stunning him.

Garth yelped loudly and stumbled, rolling over onto his back as he fell and coughing hard; you could almost see the smoke rising from his hair from the shock... the problem is he'd now rolled JUST out of reach of the poles, and it didn't look like he'd be getting up soon.

"Pathetic," Natale sneered. Considering Garth was very stunned and the others were secured, Natale walked up to the door and unlocked it. He swung it open and the last four men and the one left over from not latching onto Garth walked in. Two men latched onto Garth's collar, while the others latched onto the remaining wolves. The men left outside unlatched their poles and then walked in, latching on yet again so each wolf had two poles on their collars. They were then pulled out through the doorway. Garth, however, was simply dragged.

Lakota snarled softly but behaved. Shaking her head slightly she looked around at the different cells and frowned. This is a horrible horrible place. Glancing up at Natale she sighed and tried understanding how and when the were going to get out of this hell hole.

Arron went along with them, not making another sound. The young wolf that was working for this lab obviously didn't care, and he didn't trust him not to hurt them.

Mercie balked as the poles came menacingly towards her but relented quickly after the first one attached. She didn't like this at all and the steral scents of disinfectant and bleach couldn't mask the stale scent of mutilation and death. She did her best to walk as close to Lakota as she could.

Lakota looked over at Mercie and frowned slightly. Why do they have to treat the pup so badly!!! Rage rolled around inside her but she kept it quiet and secret from the others. She didn't think the young wolf was working for the men she thinks he's some type of leader. He enjoyed them to much and was to comfortable around them.

The group was led through the compound. They were unable to really see the layout since the poles forced them to face the tiled floor. Soon they were pulled into one of the sliding doors. Each wolf was lined up in a coral of sorts, separated and eventually faced to a metal grid. The space was tight and restricted the wolves from turning around or facing a different direction. The top of each cage was a row of bars. A woman with dark eyes and jet black hair that clung to her face. She was wearing a tight lab coat and slowly looked down at every wolf individually.

Mercie kept her eyes on the floor but could feel the woman's gaze burning against her back. She wanted to look up but the thunderous thumping in her chest kept her eyes fashioned to the floor. "Lakota?" She asked quietly, hoping her voice would tell Mercie where she was in the room.

Lakota's head shot up at the sound of Mercie's voice. The woman came to her cage next. Lakota gave her a show of her teeth and aloud a low grumble. "I'm here, Mercie!" Moving her head towards the door of the cage, she tried to scan the room with her eyes. "Arron, Garth! You guys okay?"

"They were cooperative, except for that one," Natale told the woman, motioning towards Garth.

"Alright, thank you Natale." Claude said, rubbing the back of her hand on his cheek gently. Her cold eyes went back to each separate cage. "Now to test their motor skills."

When she brushed his cheek, Natale's cold demeanor disappeared and he smiled sweetly, looking gleeful and proud. As soon as she spoken again, however, his smile disappeared so fast it was like he was trying to hide it.

"Heeeeey" Garth said sadly, and rather loudly, as he overheard Natale speaking "I wasn't NOT cooperating, I just wanted to play." He whimpered slightly and put his paws over his nose, staring up at Claude with huge eyes "Play pretty lady?"

Lakota growled softly. "Quiet, Garth! Your going to get yourself real hurt." Shaking her head she closed her eyes and leaned it against the nearby wall. I'm stuck with a damn baboon! She thought to herself. She couldn't help him if he was being stupid.

"He's not a very good specimen, is he?" Claude raised her brow at Garth. She rolled her eyes, "Listen up you godforsaken mutts- this is going to be a test of your motor skills. If you refuse to leave the cage, try to escape or fail an obstacle, those collars will detonate and you will be immediately exterminated."

Mercie felt better when she heard Lakota's voice and was immediately frightened for Garth when she heard the white coats mention his lack of cooperation. Though what good Lakota's protectiveness did for her courage was dashed at the prospect of her head getting blown off.

Arron tried to not think about having his head blown up. He instead focused on the sound of his own breathing and looking forward at the front of the small cage.

"Mercie, it's going to be okay. You have to stay confident of yourself or your going to fail. And I'm not ready to loose you quite yet. Give me a couple more years. I believe you can do this...but you have to believe in yourself as well. Arron, you too." Lakota sighed gently and closed her eyes. It surprised her at how attach she had become to these wolves. She loved it!

Natale smirked at the wolves as Claude spoke. He admired his master so much, he wished full heartedly that he could be as awesome as she was.

"Ok, ok you're not going to fall for it, jeese I get it" Garth sighed up at Claude "And by the way you're not that pretty either." He scratched at the floor gently with a paw "Before we run this god forsaken course of yours could you answer some questions? Like who are you? And why are you doing this?"

"I'll do my best." Mercie told Lakota and meant every word of it. For the last three years she'd been living and traveling threw some of the toughest forests the country side had to throw at her. She'd evaded bears, deer with young and even a wolverine a time or two. She might not be used to the city but she was hopeful that she could overcome what these white coats threw at her.

Claude kicked the front of Garth's cage, "Shut up! You overgrown rat..." she sneered. She turned around quickly and walked off with her companion, Natale. They walked out of sight from the cages and all that could be heard was the sound of her heel clicking softer and softer in the distance.

It fell strangely silent. Suddenly a loud BUZZ rang out and the cage fronts opened. The metal floors of the cages surged with a zap of electricity. It didn't do damage to their paws, just merely boosted the wolves out of the cages and into the obstacle course. They were forced out into a hallway that got sufficiently narrow at the end. The ceiling shifted downwards as well, making the near end of the hall quite nerve wracking. At the end of the hall, there was a small box-like opening where the walls, ceiling and floor met. This forced each wolf to individually slink through the small opening.

Garth let out a small yelp again and dashed forward from the cage, almost hitting his head on the front as it shot up; though he'd gotten an electric shock only a few moments ago he seemed to be up and ready to go. Garth was good at recovering, and he was used to running; he took the front quickly though, his feet propelling him so quickly his fur began to ripple back to expose his thin frame. He'd fit through the gap at the end with no problem.

Lakota took second, and unlike Garth she had difficulty getting through the small space, since she was a great deal bigger than him. Growling slightly she crouched down and lowered her head to the ground so that she had a bit more room to maneuver. The ceiling grazed across her back as she moved along.

Arron hurried forward, but the tight space made him a bit nervous. Ignoring the natural instinct he had to avoid it, he forced himself to crawl on his belly towards the hole, his head low. He closed his eyes and squeezed through the hole, glad for once that he wasn't as bulky as some of the other wolves.

Mercie peeled out of her cage mostly on her front paws, trying to keep her back ones from getting shocked again. She took the hall cautiously, looking around at the walls and keeping her nose to the ground. The small gap was easy given her underdeveloped size.

Now there was a thick soil on the ground. In front of the wolves there was a solid, brick wall with a slim opening between the ceiling and the top. There are two options in this round and Claude watched through a window in anticipation of what the little rats would do.

"Climb or dig!" Garth yelled out as his eyes flashed towards the new obstruction in front of them; thick dirt or tiny gap high up? Garth wasn't too powerful and he didn't want to kick the dirt back at his companions so he darted upwards, claws digging into the brick wall quickly as he began to push himself up the wall and slipped through the gap with surprising ease. He seemed more snake than dog at times, the speed and slipperiness of his movements allowing him to weave through the obstacles. As he hit the other side however his eyes turned back to the wall... Digging could take time, and some of them were much larger than him. Almost immediately he began to claw at the dirt, trying to help the others create the tunnel quickly.

Arron ignored the ground and looked up at the wall. He glanced at Lakota and realized she would have trouble making it over. Arron didn't leap over, but started digging, his paws moving quickly and clearing the soil faster than he normally would.

Lakota glanced over at Arron and began helping him dig a wider berth. Growling slowly her legs moved at an alarming speed. Glancing behind her she looked at Mercie. "Jump, your small you can make it. We'll be on the other side shortly. As they continued to dig the underside of the wall could finally be seen.

Mercie set her jaw, nodded to Lakota and took a similar rout as Garth. Wriggling and using her back legs to brace against the wall like a lap dog accidentally spilled from their owners lap, trying desperately not to fall. Her tail disappeared threw the opening and she landed with a thud next to Garth on the other side. She immediately began to dig, her sharp, somewhat unused nails digging threw the tough soil like knives.

Arron looked over at Lakota as the hole got deep enough and they started breaking through. "As soon as you can, get through. I'll be on the other side." He backed up, taking a short running start and leaping over the wall and squeezing through the opening. He landed on the other side and started digging with the other two, widening the hole.

Lakota looked at the hole and saw that it was now big enough. "Stop!" Climbing into the hole she crawled underneath and shimmied her way through. Once most of her body had cleared the wall she jumped up and out of the hole.

Once he heard the yell of stop Garth turned and ran, allowing Lakota room to slip through the gap and dashing off towards the next obstacle; he trusted that the others would close the gap quickly.

The floor sloped downwards dramatically It was also very difficult to walk on without slipping down. The slope went down twenty feet before leveling out to a 30X30 square area. The opposite side sloped up as well.
Mercie traveled to the edge where the slick floor began to slope. She tentatively touched the sloped portion and applied some body weight to test it's slipperiness. Comfortable enough that she could slide and not fall on her face she stepped off, keeping her legs rigid. She slid down the slope, reminding herself of watching a cartoon deer being pushed across ice by a rabbit. She crouched, keeping her weight evenly distributed until she slid to a halt at the flat portion. "Down was easy," She told the others "BUt up is going to be a chore."

Arron didn't hesitate once he saw the next obstacle. Still with dirt on his paws, he moved quickly down the slope, running to the other side and pushing himself up it, using his messy paws for traction.

Lakota followed close behind Arron. At the bottom of the slope she ran a few yards up the next one and then pushed herself off. Catching the ledge with her claws she quickly scrapped against the wall with her back paws and jumped up onto the ledge.

Garth had plummeted down that slope like a rocket, letting out a small howl of surprise as he skidded across the flat surface and winding up a quarter of the way up the opposite slope before starting to slide back quickly. He dug his claws in hard, trying desperately to stay where he was.

All the wolves that were struggling to get up the other side, were failing. When they all were on the middle, flat area, a door on the right opened quickly. Three rabid wolves ran out. They were foaming at the mouth and had their eyes sewn shut Despite being blind, they ran at the group with their teeth barred.

"HOLY CRAP!" Mercie shouted seeing the rabid wolves. She didn't have time to decide if they where of the same variation as the pack she had so recently joined, she was more concerned with staying away from the jagged foamy end. She backpedaled away until she felt the wall, a sound of pure terror erupted from somewhere within her. She didn't stay pressed against the wall for long, she knew she was small, light and quick. The trouble was, there just wasn't enough room to escape properly.

Arron backed up to where Mercie was, carefully avoiding teeth and shouldering the wolves away from him. He dodged one and drove his torso into the wolves throat, trying to knock the wind from it because, despite their madness, he was reluctant to kill another wolf.

With a deep howl of terror Garth began to plummet yet again, paws skidding desperately on the low friction floor. His paws were like skis and he was heading at full pelt straight towards the wolves; he wasn't going to stop either, not under his own power at least. He slammed bodily into one of the wolves, sending them both careening over in a ball of fluff; he sprang up at once though, not wanting to stay too near the psychotic dogs. Though he tried to get up too quickly and his paws were skidding slightly on the slick floor, barely getting anywhere quickly.

"Rabid...are you fucking kidding me..." Growling low in her throat, Lakota stood in front of Mercie, make sure she wasn't in the line of fire. Maybe I can communicate with them? Snapping her teeth at them she snarled. "Stop! Hey! Wolves, listen to me! We're not going to hurt you!"

Scooting up against the wall Mercie felt much safer with Lakota between her and the wolf. Her eyes darted around to try and decern an escape route they could all manage in this ungodly slipperyness. Other than crafting a gory slip and slide out of rabid wolf blood she saw no real options.

Arron's attempt was futile. Even if the wolf was choking, that wouldn't stop it from charging. It leapt up and opened it's jaws, ready to chomp down on Arron.
The second wolf that Garth managed to hit, sprung onto it's feet as well. Gaining momentum, it slid and kept it's head low with teeth barred, trying to chomp at Garth's clumsy paws.
The third charged at Lakota without hesitation. It was unable to see, yet it knew where she was. Sliding to the side, it pounced on top of her.

Garth snapped his leg up at once and slammed it hard into the wolf's face as it tried to capture his leg; the two were sent in different directions. The wolf attacking was sent sprawling towards a hard wall at high speed and Garth found himself yet again tangling with another wolf; flying through the air he almost dump tackled the wolf attacking Lakota sideways, though now as he kicked out to scrabble away his foot kept smacking into the wolf's face as Garth's paw was stuck in the matter fur.

"Lakota!" was all Mercie had a chance to scream before the mass that was Garth dislodged the wolf from on top of her. Still, rage swelled inside of her at seeing Lakota being attacked. She didn't know where it came from but she suddenly teaming with courage she launched herself at the wolf who had attacked Lakota. Her footing wasn't so great however and her lunge became more of a slide beneath the staggering wolf's body. Her teeth where sharp, not dulled down by years of gnawing on bones and her claws where equally needle like. She felt them grib around an emaciated frame and she clung tightly as she delivered bite after bite to the wolves throat. Her back feet had learned a thing or two from dealing with rabbits in the wild and they kicked furiously against the wolves unprotected belly.

Arron dodged the wolf's attack. He chanced a glance at the others and snarled. "Don't swallow any of the blood!" he said quickly. Arron then drove his front paws, claws extended, into the throat of the wolf attacking him.

The wolf Garth kicked didn't hit the wall that was attempted. It sprung back and ran at Garth whilst he wasn't looking. The wolf leapt up and tackled him from behind, instantly sinking it's teeth into Garth's lower back.
The wolf Arron kicked at, snapped it's head back and bit onto his paws with sped up reflexes.
Blood pooled out of the dying wolf that Mercie attacked. It yelped to be spared but was shortened by it's won gurgling blood.

Claude smiled at the spectacle. "So uncoordinated and clumsy..."

Arron cursed and bit into the wolf's throat in fury, pulling back at it's windpipe. At this point, he really didn't care about anything or anyone now that his fury was ignited.

Lakota hurried over to Mercie. "Are you okay?" Looking down at the wolf that she had attacked she smiled softly. "Nice..." Looking around she saw Arron going nuts. "Arron stop!" When he didn't listen to her she ran over and shoved him with her side trying to get him to snap out of it. "That's enough."

Mercie tried to tell Lakota she was fine but as she pulled herself out from under the dying wolf she couldn't help but vomit, repeatedly. Tears welled up in her eyes from the involuntary effort but the contents of her stomach where few and she finally freed herself. Her muzzle was no longer steel gray, but stained blood red and the snowy patch on her chest had also become matted down with it. "How do we get out of here?" She asked with threads of defeat in her voice, not so much about the obstacle they where trapped in, but the compound all together.

Natale sneered down at the group. "They are definitely unimpressive. I don't think we should bother playing with them. We should just cut them open."

"It's been a while since we last got a pack of wolves like this. We should definitely use it to our advantage. The last pack brought in was an enormous breakthrough." Claude lifted her clipboard and jotted a few notes down as she looked down through the plane glass.

Garth was yelping in pain, trying desperately to buck the wolf off as he sunk his teeth into his back, trying everything from flailing like an enraged bull to turning and biting at the wolf's ankles hoping the pain would make it let go. No that bleeding wasn't enough Lakota, he thought to himself, get it off me!.

"OHMYGOSHGARTH!" Mercie said and as much as the slick floor would allow she scrambled over to them, knocking her weight into the side of the wolf that was giving Garth so much trouble. She slipped, landed on top of Garth and rolled off again, now she was between the wolf and Garth and whatever courage she'd had earlier had evaporated and again she found herself in front of a rabid crazed wolf. "Not my day..." She muttered and slowly started to back up.

Lakota launch herself at the wolf and tackled him to the ground. Snarling loudly she opened her mouth and attacked it's throat. After brutally ripping it's throat the shreds, she latched on one last time and ripped it's throat in half. Spitting out the part in her mouth she looked up at Mercie and Garth with a frown on her face. "I'm sorry."

Arron completely ignored Lakota's attempt at intervening, his focus on shredding the wolf who had attacked him. He tore the creature's throat out and ripped up half of its face in the process.

Mercie Gave Lakota a loving thump on the side with her hip "No sweat." She said nervously "I had him right where I wanted him." She looked to the rest of the obstacle and repeated her earlier statement "Any ideas on getting out of here?" She felt another urge to vomit when she noticed that, from the wolf Aaron had obliterated, an eyeball rolled across the floor.

Garth yelped loudly, his body felt like it had been shaken and torn to pieces already; there was a large gash and a chunk missing from his back from where the wolf's jaws had torn out some flesh. The fur was getting soaked down by blood, curling and matting onto his back "L-lets... get moving..."

"Good enough--" Claude concluded before she looked to one of her employees. Nodding, she signaled him to flip a switch.
From the opposite wall where the rabid wolves came out of, opened a door to a dark hall. Over the loud speaker, Claude commanded, "Enter through the door." She looked to Natale and and signaled him to follow her.

Lakota shook her coat and glanced down the hallway. Clearing her throat she stepped forward. With one foot in the hallway she glanced around, trying to see any activity. With the lack of light, it was hard. So instead she perked up her ears and listened. When she heard nothing she walked in a bit further until her entire body was past the doorway.

Mercie tucked in behind Lakota. She'd never really been afraid of tight places, they where usually safe and easy to conceal. But right now her heart was pounding so loud she could hear.

Arron left the remains of the wolf, blood dripping from his muzzle. He followed Lakota and Mercie, not a word spoken.

Garth turned back for a moment though, gazing down at the wolf that still had bloody lumps of Garth's fur between his teeth... He leant down slightly and nudged it with his nose "Sorry mate..." he whispered before turning around to follow the others.

A heavy door shut tightly behind them before a beaming light turned on, blinding them slightly. Once more, they were in a cell, but this one was transparent, allowing them to see through into a vast laboratory. There were people in white at computer monitors, looking in microscopes and at dissection tables. The floor was cold and the light was artificial. In the center of the room, there was a giant "robotic arm" that was working on something unable to be seen from where the wolves were standing. It would drill and small sparks would fly. Claude and Natale strolled in momentarily.

"Oh this is bad" Garth coughed slightly as he looked around at the walls, and through them to the dull greyness of the world beyond, punctuated by shining metal that looked too much like blades for his liking. "Ok, what the hell?" he said as his eyes turned to Claude and Natale "You going to tell us what this is all about or what?"

"No, no, Garth, I believe they're going to show us..." Lakota glanced around the lab and sighed shaking her head. She'd lost hope on being saved a while ago. But she was not going to loose hope on them breaking out their, they just needed a way.

Arron wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him. He was still seething with anger, mostly at himself for letting himself get bitten on the paw that had so recently been injured. He paced back and forth in the small cell, a slight limp in his step.

Mercie tucked her tail and fell in quietly behind Lakota. She watched scientists mill around the room and the robotic arm doing whatever it was doing. The sterilized environment sent chills up her spine. Then she remembered biting that rabid wolf repeatedly. Since humans where severely more delicate than a crazed wolf she decided that she wasn't going to let them take her without a fight. The fur on the back of her neck rose and twitched a bit and she lowered her head to try and categorize the sounds all around the room.

Claude didn't even look at Garth. "I don't have to tell you anything." She finished writing in her notepad. "Keep them from tearing one another apart, darling?" she looked at Natale before leaving to the other side of the room.

Lakota narrowed her eyes slightly. Tearing each other apart? We're a pack, we would never do that...unless we were drugged...or the bitch is talking about someone else. Scratching her ear she sighed softly and looked around the room. She was looking for windows and doors, making sure she knew the exits if and when the time came to escape. She caught a glimpse of a computer screen a couple of humans were looking at. It looked like some sort of equation. Laying her head against Arron's side she closed her eyes and whimpered with anger.

Arron froze in his pacing and looked at Lakota. His instinct was to shove her away, but seeing the look un her eyes before she closed them, he calmed down slightly. His body still very stiff, Arron looked out at the room. He wasn't quite positive what was going on, and that fact made him angrier.

Mercie turned around several times where she was standing then finaly laid down. She placed her head on her paws but her ears remained straight, twitching when she heard people speak.

"Go on! For a laugh!" Garth said, standing upright against the glass walls as Claude walked off. He glowered at her as she left to the other side of the room, then turned to address Natale "So what about you? Why are you working for her?"

Lakota couldn't take it anymore. Jumping at Garth she snapped her jaw in his face. "Shut the hell up! Your not helping our situation. In fact your going to wind up getting us killed. If you keep pissing them off like you are, I'm just going to let them take you." Wincing at her anger she sighed and moved away from them and curled up next to Mercie. "I'm sorry..." Closing her eyes she closed everything else out.

"You wouldn't have any bright ideas?" Mercie whispered to Lakota. "We need a way to communicate without them knowing..." Then like an ideot she realized no matter what they decided on the white coats could probably decipher it.

Feeling more than dispondant, Garth sat back on his haunches; he gazed out at the scientists through the glass instead of turning to face the others. He was trying to find out what was actually happening here instead of sitting idly by and letting things happen.

Glancing for a moment at Lakota, Arron trotted over to Garth and nudged him, a simple gesture to let Garth know that he wasn't alone. He then turned to Natale, seeing if he would answer Garth's question.

Mercie stayed quiet, seeing as how her question had been left up in the air. She curled up around Lakota and laid her head on her hip to watch the door they'd entered threw.

Lakota sighed softly and shook her head. "No, Mercie, I'm sorry. I don't have a trick for this one. I can't turn into my human form so I can't do any guru shit with my native American heritage." Lakota was beginning to feel as if her Native American heritage was useless. She licked Mercie's cheek trying to keep her encouraged. I don't know how long we've been in here...but I don't think help is coming. Closing her eyes she whimpered in anger once again. She was not going to die in this hell whole!

Mercie's ears perked at Lakota's mention of her heritage "What kind of stuff could you do if you should shift?" She asked interested.

Lakota smiled softly and shrugged her big heavy shoulders. "I was an amazing healer. And when I chose to, I could use the weather to my advantage in a fight, or control it. We were a very magical tribe. To bad I'm the only one left. My best friend made it out too...but he died a few years back."

Arron moved away from the glass, sitting and staring out at the lab. He seemed to be ignoring the rest, though he heard everything they said.

Mercie looked on at Lakota deeply interested, to the extent of the typical "curious head tilt". "Where you all Wolves?" She asked.

"The young kids hadn't been shown or taught yet. And the elders were too weak and frail to shift. But other than that, yes, all of us were wolves. Proud wolves at that. We all had our own distinguishing marks. My booties and..." Flicking her tail a bit Lakota rubbed the end against Mercie's nose and giggled. "My tail."

"That must have been nice." Mercie said, blowing a little out of her nose when Lakota tickeled it. "I'd never met any others till tonight..." SHe looked up, trying to find a clock, wondering if they'd been unconsious for longer "You knew where you fit. When my parent's found out they where very understanding. Kept me safe, hidden. But I never knew where I fit..." She stifeled a sob, remembering that she'd taken down a rabid wolf earlier. She had to stay strong.

Natale had drifted over to one of the scientists to see what she had recorded and was just about to speak to her when Garth called up. With a look of annoyance, he ignored the dumb mutt and started to converse about his wolfy senses could detect. "They have a completely chaotic hierarchy. From their body language, they all seem unsure of themselves and each other. It's very odd for a pack. It's either they're all inept or they hardly know each other," he said bitterly, not caring if the wolves below heard his conclusions.

Garth sighed slightly and reached up with a paw with a small wince, growling lightly at the pain in his back as he scratched at the back of his ear with his hind paw. If he kept annoying them then at least they'd leave the others alone, or possibly for them to do something stupid.

Many of the scientists were slowly leaving the experimentation room. Computers were being shut down and security features locked. As the day started to come to an end, the workers were being released. Claude walked over and patted Natale on the head as if he were her son. She handed him a remote that controlled the wolves collars if they became rowdy. Claude whispered something into his ear before walking off, disappearing through an air tight, automatic door with the last few workers.

Natale couldn't hide the disappointment in his face at hearing his orders. When Claude left, he snarled angrily and forcefully wheeled a chair towards the viewing window and took a seat, looking down at the pack.

Mercie noticed that Natale had come to watch them. Her ears lowered and she stifeled a growl.

Arron's eyes shifted from the lab to Natale. He tilted his head slightly, his ears perked up.

"What? Annoyed that she told you not to kill us?" Garth asked, slightly bored and curled up in the corner of the room; he was apart from the others though, not because he didn't like them but... he got the feeling they didn't like him.

Usually Natale didn't let wolves bother him, but Garth really annoyed him. "Were you inbred or something?" he hissed before he crossed his arms and went silent.

"I dunno" Garth admitted as he rolled over slightly then yelped and wished he hadn't. He rolled over onto his front again, the pain in his back making it incredibly hard to move "I can't remember my parents."

"We just don't understand why a wolf would work for such horrible people. I mean, is the money really that good?" Lakota eyed Natale. She would be surprised if he reacted to her at all.

"Stupid animals," Natale simply growled to himself and looked longingly back towards the door.

"Did you get kicked out of your pack?" Mercie asked "Or did you just sell them out to the white coats?"

"I was born here," Natale growled. "I have never mingled with you disgusting dogs."

"Well, that'd explain why he's an asshole. See I don't understand why you all are so threatened by us. I mean we're part human, we bathe, we work. We're not hurting anything. Yet you all are outwardly threatened by us." Lakota glared at him with cold eyes, urging him to lash out.

"I don't know about you mister but I'm a Wolf, not a dog." Mercie said and turned her head away from him as if he where lower than her in pack status.

Arron made a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh. He didn't say anything, but it was clear he found something funny about what Natale had said.

"There is not use provoking me. I know you beasts are obsessed with establishing a hierarchy, so you'd naturally try to belittle me and put me below you, but I'm not like you. Nor do I wish to be. So how about you just ignore me and continue to loudly discuss how you think you'll get out of here," Natale sneered.

"I don't wash, I don't work" Garth admitted, sticking a paw up into the air as he kept his eyes glued determinatley on Natale, trying to figure out how to get into his head. "You know we're not going to leave you alone right? We barely know each other and right now isn't the time to make a hierarchy, so we don't want to belittle you because of that, it's just cause you've imprisoned us and are attempting to kill us."

"Oh, is that why you don't like me?" Natale said sarcastically in mock surprise. "I'm not even going to bother correcting you on your other point... I'm pretty sure you're half dog."

Arron looked over at Garth. "Leave off, Garth. Let him alone and be comfortable in the knowledge that at least you aren't the one out there, tamed and the pet of some jailer." He grew silent, not even sparing Natale a glance.

"You say tamed as though it's a bad thing..." Natale hissed.

This time Arron did look at Natale, no hint of malevolence in his expression or tone. "It's just...isn't that what humans do to pets and dogs?" His tone was completely without insult, as if he was honestly curious. "You call Garth a dog, which puts him at the same level as you, if that's the case."

"Dogs are retarded brutes. Wolves may be smarter but they are still uncivilized dangerous beasts who do nothing but threaten humanity. In my case, domestication equals a more... enlightened state. It means I can work on par with humans. Therefore, being tame makes me superior," Natale bragged, his legs crossed and his foot swaying lazily.

"I've worked with humans," Arron said in an almost bored tone. Natale was fascinating to him, but he couldn't exactly show that. Besides, the more he talked, maybe the less Garth would insult him. Arron didn't want to see Garth get hurt anymore. "But they don't challenge my work. They always ask for the same things. Except those who are artists." He paused. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where my camera went to? I had some pretty good pictures on it already, and I wouldn't want those lost."

"If you're attempting to relate to me... or get on my good side, it's not working," Natale sneered.

Mercie kept her head turned instead of interjecting something whitty about what she knew about wolves and humans. She decided to keep quiet and leave the banter to more experienced wolves.

Arron let out a barking laugh. "Good side? You have one of those? I was just curious about my equipment. It was quite expensive." He stood and trotted over to where Lakota was. "As if a true wolf could really make friends with a human pet."

Lakota looked up at Arron. It was the first time he had gotten close to her since the wall they had to dig under. She rubbed her head against his side for a moment and then licked his face. "Maybe the pups been brain washed."

"Has anything I've said given you the slightest hint I've been trying to get on your good side?" Garth yawned slightly as he stretched out "If I wanted to relate to you wouldn't I just say Hey, I'm the willing slave of some over bearing woman who's going to dissect me in the end anyway, lets chum up and swap stories of the times she's made me kill my own kind."

Natale just looked at Garth blankly. "Ok, wolf. I wasn't talking to you. I was having a conversation, with him-" he nodded at Arron, "I was making eye contact with him while I was talking. Not you. It's a very basic skill, knowing when you're being spoken to. I should suggest to the doctors that they dissect your brain. We've never encountered an autistic wolf before."

Arron nuzzled Lakota, settling down next to her. "One would have to be in order to work here." He glanced at Garth as he spoke and Natale as he answered. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes. "Who do you think would win the most annoyed award if we locked those two in the same room?"

"Mmm, it's a hard one, but I think Garth would win." Lakota looked over at Mercie, making sure she was still doing okay. "Do you think we'll get out of here?"

"We'd end up killing each other" Garth chuckled slightly as he relaxed down into a ball of fluff. He wrapped his tail around his leg slightly, trying to think of ways to escape this place...

Natale looked back towards the door. He hated getting observation duty. He was always harassed like this. At least this group was friendlier than the last one.

"Just go ok?" Garth sighed, waving a paw lazily at Natale as he saw their capture turn towards the door "The only thing that will happen, possibly, is that the others kill me before you get back; and wouldn't that be a loss..."

Arron yawned and made a face. "Garth, I don't think he's going to leave." He looked over at Natale. "You can't, can you?"

Natale decided he wouldn't even bother with Garth anymore. "It's my job. Unlike you brutes I have some sense of loyalty and duty."

"What would you know about our loyalties and duty? You know nothing about us. All you guys did was find a group of wolves trying to becoming a family and stick together. You don't know our pasts, nor what we had planned for the future." By the end of Lakota's little speech, she had gotten to her feet, rage obvious in her eyes.

Arron looked up at Lakota. "Don't be angry. He doesn't understand us, and we don't understand him. No matter how much we talk, we won't be able to."

Garth stood up slightly and wandered over to Lakota, limping slightly before nudging her gently with his head "He's angry enough with me" he whispered softly "I just got him annoyed enough with me to actually talk to you guys because he wants to ignore me. This is your chance to maybe persuade him enough to let us out..." Garth turned slightly and grinned up at Natale, speaking up enough for him to hear now "And he's ugly too!" With a weak grin at the others he hobbled back towards the other side of the room; if Natale didn't look over this side then he had to keep eye contact with the other, better liked, wolves.

Natale rolled his eyes with an exasperated expression, but other than that, didn't respond.

Mercie had begun to drift off to sleep. Tierd of listening to everyone bicker she blocked out the noise and concentrated on not dreaming.

Thankful that the wolves had stopped bothering him, Natale exhaled and looked to the side. He stared off tiredly for a short moment before all of a sudden, he perked up, his nose twitching with a look of horror on his face. He jumped out of his chair to face the door.

ROA Chapter: Five

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

2009-04-29 [Flisky]: Quick question: Did they bandage Arron's hands?

2009-04-29 [Chel.]: Oh that's right-
They picked out the large pieces of glass but nothing required stitching. Nor did they really wash any blood off.

BTW! - they are stuck in their natural "wolf mode" thanks to the collars

2009-04-29 [Flisky]: Okays. Sorry. Fixed it. But his paws aren't bleeding, then?

2009-04-29 [Chel.]: For his sake, I assume the blood clotted by now. They've been out for nearly two hours.

2009-04-29 [Flisky]: Good. Otherwise he would be all bloody. Bleh.

2009-04-29 [Chel.]: He'd just have to get Lakota to lick it all up.

And why the heck are they so affectionate towards one another so soon? Did you two plan this? *sarcastic foot tap*

2009-04-29 [Flisky]: Actually, no, this was completely unplanned...*holds up both hands defensively in that comic anime style* I swear.

2009-04-29 [Synirria]: Lol I guess Lakota's been alone so long she just attached to the first person who allowed her too.

2009-04-29 [Ravenclaw]: Wolves need companionship, it's not all uncommon for two who have just met to connect like they have. Considering how long all of our characters have been alone. It leads me to believe that as the story progresses the two of them might end up mated. I think it's sweet how they've taken to eachother.

2009-04-29 [Chel.]: Poor little Mercie... :(

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Run As One: Chapter FourA

ROA Chapter: Five

Run As One:
Chapter FourA