Chapter 4: Nothing Lasts Forever

"Place one of the snares here.  Those wolves will be hunting soon and the deer are just on the other side of these trees," a man, who looked 25 years old, said as he dug into his pocket.

"Cliff why are we doing this?  What makes this pack of wolves more special then the other ones in these woods?" a woman of 24 asked.  Her blonde curls bounced as she came up to Cliff and her blue eyes were filled with concern.

"Sylvia it's simple.  This pack of wolves also consists of huskies.  They can harness strange powers that a normal person has yet to grasp.  If we can get the so-called magic from them, humans then can once again be called the dominant species."

Sylvia tugged at the collar of her blouse.  "But don't you think using the snares will kill the animals?"

"Well of course.  Do you want to try and take a trinket from a wolf or husky that is snarling and capable of biting your arm off?"  Sylvia gulped.  "As I thought.  All we want is the trinkets.  That is what holds the real power."

Turka was busy playing with Tundra when a number of the clan members walked past.

"Hey where they going?"

"They're going out hunting.  About time to I was getting hungry."

"I want to help them."

"You can't Turka.  It's the adult's jobs to go and get food.  We pups are to stay here and wait for them to return."

Turka watched and saw her mother join the group.  "Mama!  Wait for me I'm coming with."

"No, Turka you stay here.  It's much too dangerous.  You stay here with Angel till I get back.  Understood?"

"Yes, mama."

Emerald then proceeded to follow the rest of the group into the trees.  Turka sat a few minutes, than when she was sure all was clear charged into the trees after them. 

"Turka!  Wait where are you going?" Tundra yelled after her.

"Don't worry Tundra.  I'll prove that I can face my fears.  Just watch me."

Keeping at a safe distance Turka followed the group deeper into the forest.  The forest wasn't so bad during the day.  She could hear birds singing, cicadas shrilling, and the sound of running water.  Everything smelled so sweet.  The flowers, the trees, and the water all seemed to have such a distinct smell and it was fascinating. 

Turka then realized that the group had stopped up ahead.  She jumped behind a bush and heard Runner begin to speak.

"I can smell the deer on the other side of these trees, but there's another scent here.  I just can't figure out what it is though."

Another wolf named, Sniffer, put his nose to the ground and began to sniff.  "It smells like a living thing, but it walks on two legs.  From the smell of these prints they seem pretty big.  But they don't seem threatening."

"Then let's get those deer.  I'm sure the pups are hungry as well as the rest of us.  Let us go and hunt down the deer before they know we're here," another wolf by the name of Fang suggested.

The group charged forward, but there was suddenly a yelp.  Turka could hear struggling and growling from her hiding place.  There was so much commotion that she couldn't tell who it was that was in trouble.

Curiosity drove her from her hiding place and time seemed to stop as she approached the body.  It was Emerald.  "MAMA!"  Turka cried as she raced forward and placed her paws against Emerald's bloody face. 

Emerald was having hard time breathing and Turka wondered why.  The smell of blood was everywhere.  Turka barked loudly trying to get her mother's attention, but Emerald was too busy struggling to free herself, that she couldn't hear the cries.  Runner came over and tried to push Turka away, but she snarled and swiped at his nose. 

"Turka," Emerald managed to say quietly through clenched teeth.  "Just know that I always loved you and still do.  It is the end for me on this earth.  Promise me that you will do your best to once again bring our brothers and sisters to freedom."

"You're not going to die mama.  You can't."

"Promise me Turka."

"I promise."  Turka looked down and saw Emerald's eyes close.  Then she took one more labored breath before laying still.  "Mama?  Mama please wake up!"  She licked Emerald's cheek and sat down.  She arched her head back and howled in mourning. 

Runner came over and with his paw held her close.  "We will miss her.  But she has gone to join the river spirit in a place of rest." 

Then there was a strange light.  Turka turned around and saw the trinket around her mother's neck disappear.  She pulled away and went forward a bit, but stopped when a cold chain touched her neck.  She looked down and saw the eagle trinket hanging from the chain.  The prism from within the talons twinkled and flashed every color of the rainbow. 

"Runner what do you make of all this?" Sniffer asked.

"The river spirit was correct.  Turka was to receive her trinket from someone who had passed on.  But I'm sad that it was Emerald that passed on.  How I loved her."

Suddenly there was a rustling in the nearby bushes.  Sniffer raised his nose and sniffed the air.  "I smell humans.  I say we retreat and hunt elsewhere.  It's no longer safe here."

Runner nodded, then picked Turka up by the scruff of the neck and led the others away.  Quickly they fled hoping to not leave as many tracks.  When they reached the ridge Runner looked back just as a man and a woman approached Emerald's dead body and removed the snare. 

"The trinket is gone!" he heard the man cry.  "How can the trinket be gone already?" 

"We have to leave this area.  It is no longer safe for our people," Runner thought to himself…