Introduction: Edwin runs away from his overly formal and traditional family to live in the woods. There he meets a wolf, who becomes his pet/friend. The wolf is called Wolf. During his adventures, he meets an attractive girl in the woods, Miranda, who is 2 years older than him (he is 14). She does not like to talk about what happened to her. Romance between them is minor.

Edwin and his friends are caught in between two armies that randomly kill, not paying attention to who they are killing. They are First Nations Army Wolf-trainers. They had treaties with both armies but the armies ignored them (the treaties). They are in the midst of escaping the battle when my quote starts. It is winter and there is deep snow.

Quote:

Edwin ran through the woods searching desperately for Wolf and Miranda. "Miranda! Wolf! Miranda! Miranda! Miranda help me..." he ran out of breath. As he breathed in, a warrior pounded him on the head with an enormous club. Edwin fell to the ground. Blood soaked the spot where he lay.

Not too far away, "Edwin, where are you?!" Miranda called in her sensible voice. A horrifying sight met her eyes. A bloodied warrior slipped away behind some trees. Edwin was collapsed on the ground.

"Edwin? Edwin?" chirped a wheezy voice that could have never belonged to Miranda. But it did. Miranda was on the ground staring into Edwin's motionless face. The colour in her face began to disappear. She took in one shallow rasping breath. "This isn't happening!" she screeched. "Why? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!" she screamed for the devil and heavens to hear. Tears streamed down her face. She felt the terrible agony of remembering why she left, and the loss of her last friend.

Miranda ran through the woods as memories flooded through her mind. Her brother's expression of triumph as looked down the stairs to see his dead sister below. Her fear making her freeze as he called her name. The pain as he threw the killer dagger through her heart. The confusion inside as she realized she was alive and unharmed. Her desperate flight from her own kin. Her parents horrified expressions on the news article the week after.

Why am I alive? she thought-screamed. "Why!! Why!? Why ... “her screech ended in sobs. She slowed her pace until she was at a standstill. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. "Take me..." she whispered to the heavens, to Jesus, to what or whoever made her life, "Take me now ... I have no more to live for ..." she fell to the ground.

Edwin opened his eyes. His vision was shaded red. He blinked away the red hue as memories returned to him. First of his family, then his flight, then Wolf and Miranda. He started. Wolf and Miranda, he thought, where are you? He began to pick himself up. "I gotta find you ..."

If you were an observer you would have seen a 14 year old soaked in blood, walking in an uneven line away from where he had been lying. If you were an incredibly keen observer you would have noticed the gleam of determination in his eyes. A look often considered far to determined for a boy of his age. It was the determination of the last thing. Though most people never come to the last thing, at a startling age, Edwin had.

As Edwin walked away he began to scent Wolf. (During his time in the wild he had much practiced his sense of smell.) He began to do what he believed to be a run, but what was really a rather fast waddle. He saw Wolf with his body underneath the snow.

"Wolf!" he called. "Wolf!" As he neared he began to notice that Wolf was very still. Edwin looked around to see if there were any warriors he was hiding from. There were none. Annoyed he walked towards Wolf and nudged Wolf's head with his boot.

Wolf's head rolled away across the snow, staining it with blood. Edwin backed away, horrified. "Wolf??" he whispered almost inaudibly. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" he uttered an indescribable sound. It was amazingly loud, but filled with so much emotion it could have been a song. It struck the ears of all the warriors throughout the forest. All fighting ceased for a moment, even the two badgers fighting over territory froze for one second. A sudden silence struck the forest, but left almost as soon as it came. As the noise returned it was even louder than before