6/8/2015

Day 9

Today we had to make a creature short story. I choose to personify a Mexican wolf and tell a tale of his finale adventure,

Rabid night stalker

By Cameron Haney

Canis Lupus Baileyi – Mexican wolf

Humans call me Canis Lupus Baileyi but, that’s a mouthful so I go by Caleb. Every day I go to my nine to five job, hunting for the pack, today I’m tracking a new scent. I can tell it’s big but I have never run across this scent before. I’ve been tracking it for the better part of a week. The only reason I’m still tracking it is too make sure it leaves our territory. A few day ago whatever it was came too close to the nursery and it seemed to be hunting. It has been easy to track this beast, he leaves a trail of death wherever he goes. I think he has the madness. I’ve seen it affect the strongest they begin to foam at the mouth and are worse than the hairless apes. It hurts the most when a family member get the madness you know it’s over. First the foam, then the madness, then they die a painful death. I need to find Ravage that is what I’m going to find him no matter how long it takes.

After two weeks of tracking I had my first encounter with Ravage I noticed too late following his tracks that he had doubled back. I lifted my head and howled a warning to those farther back in the hunting party. It was too late the screaming had already begun. I raced back and when I arrived he was there gorging himself on my brother’s body he wasn’t even dead yet. I finally got a look at Ravage he was what we call a night stalker or a panther. He turned his blood red eyes toward me and charged. I jumped onto his back as he was charging and sank my teeth into his neck. We grappled and rolled. He threw me off and bit my leg. I felt the bone crack and yelped. I turned and bitt him on the ear and ripped it off. The taste of his blood filled my mouth fueled by rage and anger and I locked my jaws and squeezed harder. Ravage ran to the edge of the cliff with me still attached and threw us both off into the rapids below. I hit the water like a sack of bricks and blacked out. When I came to I had floated father down the valley than I ever had before. But I had a mission to complete. I inspected the bite and knew I would come down with the madness. But before that I had to kill Ravage and protect the pack. It is my job to make sure the pack survives.

I got up and followed Ravages scent into the woods. As the days passed I could fill myself losing my grip on reality as the madness tried to take over. I knew I didn’t have long when my vision went red and I ripped a fox to shreds. From then on I pushed myself harder to find him before I became like him. It took me three days of constant tracking to find Ravage hiding in his cave. I dropped low to the floor and crept forward. Ravage whipped his head around sure he had heard something at the mouth of the cave. As Ravage settled back down into his slumber I attacked. I dashed forward and took a chunk out of his side. Ravage jumped up dripping blood but that didn’t seem to faze him. He swiped his claws along my flank raking four long lines along my side. As we fought I could feel my self-weakening the loss of blood was getting to me. Ravage didn’t seem to be affected at all as he came forward for the kill I went limp. I only had one chance for this to work I waited until he was right over me then jumped up and ripped out his throat. Ravage staggered for a few steps then collapsed. It was done and with my last bit of strength I crawled to the ledge and threw myself over taking the madness with my dead body couldn’t infect anyone else.

Back in Caleb’s pack they tell stories of his heroics so none would forget how he gave his life to protect the pack. As the years pass the name Caleb was passed down to pups who seemed to embody everything Caleb stood for it was a great honor for all who were able to carry on the name.