The Crimson River *Chapter 1, Part 2*

     The moonlight reflected off of the black of Midnight's fur as the she-wolf left her mate asleep in their den to get some fresh air.  Her mind reeled from the nightmare that had awoken her, memories of a spotted she-pup long forgotten suddenly fresh in her mind.
      Raindrop... I'm sorry for what happened to you...  Midnight projected her thoughts to the stars, hoping her guilt would reach the spirits above.  But look at us now, she added frenetically, your death helped bring about a revolution.  Daisy got rid of Shadow, so I'm the alpha-female now.  Sure, others have joined you since then, but the morning after sunrise I'm taking the rest of us to a safe place where we can live in peace.  Trust me...it was for the better.
       "What are you doing up so early?" Lightning yawned, stretching his way out of the den to sit by his mate.
      "Early?" Midnight repeated before noticing the sun was rising.  She blinked at the golden wolf's amused smile, feeling slightly embarrassed.  "I couldn't sleep."
      Lightning gave her a concerned look.  "You haven't been sleeping well for the last two months...since our wolves started disappearing. It's starting to take its tole on you."
       "I'll be fine.  It's not like I don't have you to do everything while I nap!"
       "You have a point there," Lightning laughed.  "I guess I should start getting our pack ready for the day.  You go ahead and take that nap, now."
      "Aye-aye, sir," Midnight chuffed, slinking back into their den.
       Lightning headed to the river that snaked away from the waterfall between their den and healers', lapping at the current with his tongue to quench his thirst.  Then he proceeded to visit Cotton and Rose, the latter wolf awake and sorting through medicinal flowers and the like.  
       She stopped what she was doing in order to properly greet him.  "Hello.  Is your flank okay?"
       "Yeah. Lily made sure of that," the golden wolf replied lightheartedly.  "But I have a favor to ask of you."
       "Go on."
       "Before we leave we have to make sure we have plenty of food and medicine for the journey, so I have to send off most of our pack to hunt.  I was hoping you could take my pups out to help you gather herbs."
       "What?" Rose gasped.  "How come?"
       "Cotton will be needed here in case any of our hunters come back injured, meaning the only healer left to get more medicine is you.  But we all know Shadow and his followers pick out wolves who venture out alone, and since Thunder and Lily are always wanting to get involved, an easy solution would be that they accompany you."
       "Y-you can't let them join a hunting party instead?" the reddish-brown she-wolf stammered nervously.
       "Hunting is much too dangerous for them--they're just pups," Lightning said, not understanding Rose's reluctance.  "Why are you so afraid?"
       "Most of the plants I need are in Snakes' Cove," she answered.
       "Hm.  In that case, they can stay inside with Cotton and venture with you some other time."
       Cotton jolted.  "Me?  No offense, but I'm not a caretaker.  It's not my job to look after puppies."
    "Your job is to do what I tell you," Lightning said sternly.
    "But, Lightning..."
    "End of discussion."  The golden wolf left the den.
      Most wolves of the pack were awake by now, making idle chatter with one another.  Lightning padded to the other side of the clearing where the caretakers normally were watching over the pups.  "Daisy!  Violet!  Can you wake--"
      "Father?"  Thunder, waking from Lightning's words, interrupted confusedly.  There was an awkward pause before he continued, "Daisy and Violet aren't here anymore...remember?  They went missing a long time ago..."
       It took a moment for his father to recall.  "Right..." he mumbled.  It feels like only yesterday they were still with us, he thought somberly.  "Is your sister awake?"
       "Yep," Lily answered before Thunder could.  She shook the dust from her pelt and stood beside her brother.  "Are we going hunting today?  You promised us we could hunt this week!"
       "No, you're not hunting."  The two pups looked disappointed.  "But you and Thunder are getting a change of scenery by spending the day in the healers' den," Lightning said enthusiastically.
    "What?  But we never, ever, ever get to go out!" Lily complained.
    "You will in due time," he assured her.  "Besides, we'll all be 'out' on our journey back to our old land in a couple of days, so appreciate the stability while we still have it."
    "Ugh...fine."
       Lightning watched them go before leaping onto the tree-stump and waiting until the four wolves remaining of his pack gathered around.  "Today marks the second of the three days we have left here," he announced.  "We need to stock up on food, so I'm leaving Gravel in charge of the hunting party."
      "Leave it to me," the speckled dark-white wolf replied with vigor.  "Meadow, Flame, and Leaf, stay close to me," he said as he lead the way into the forest, followed by a yellow-and-green she-wolf with a white underbelly, a dark red wolf with amber eyes, and a black-and-brown she-wolf with spots of white followed Gravel, respectively.
      Lightning hopped down from the stump and looked at the medicine den.

       "Ugh, we've been searching forever," Meadow complained, dragging her paws at the back of the hunting party.
       "I think I smell something,"  Leaf said cautiously.
       "I don't," Meadow sighed.  "I don't even know why I agreed to go hunting when my nose is practically useless."
       "Shh," Flame whispered.  "I smell it too.  It's getting closer."
       "Is it food?" Meadow asked.
       Gravel risked a few steps in the direction where the scent came from.  "It's not food!  Get out of here, now!"
       Flame, Leaf and Gravel turned tail and scattered.  
       Meadow panicked.  "What?  What is it?!"
       In that instant, a light-gray she-wolf charged out of the thickness of the trees and shoved Meadow to the ground, pinning her there.
       "Tulip?!" Meadow cried, writhing under her, her nose finally registering the scent of Shadow's followers.
       "No, Meadow," the she-wolf answered quietly.  
       Meadow's eyes widened as she recognized her attacker.  "Violet!"
       "That's right," Violet sighed, letting her former pack-mate up.
       "Leave her alone!" Gravel snarled, charging in to protect Meadow.  He skidded to a stop as he realized who was there.  "You...you're alive?  What happened to you?  You reek of Shadow's scent..."
       Flame and Leaf came out to see what was going on.
       "It's easier to show you than to explain it.  It's complicated," the light-gray she-wolf said.  She turned around and looked over her shoulder, teary-eyed, at her old companions.  "But you won't like what you'll have to hear."
       "We thought Shadow killed you," Flame whimpered, debating whether this was a trap.
       Gravel hesitated, not knowing what to believe.  "You were captured by Shadow," he began.  "His scent is all over you.  How do we know he's not forcing you lure us into an ambush to capture us, too?"
      "You'll just have to take my word for it.  Please..." Violet begged.
      "I trust you, Violet," Leaf admitted, standing behind her.  To the hunting party, she said, "Let's just see what she wants to show us."
       Meadow just stared at the sight of her long-lost pack-mate.  "We've all missed you...  Why can't you come back with us?"
       "Because everything you were told was a lie," Violet whimpered, turning to face them again.
       "Don't fall for it, Meadow.  Shadow's forcing her to say all of this," Flame warned.
       "I...I think we should hear her out," Gravel decided, standing beside Leaf.  Meadow sniffed and joined them without moment's thought.
       "You're nuts," Flame cried.  Then he realized he was alone on his side of the argument.  Looking at the honesty in Violet's eyes, he sighed and followed his pack-mates.

      Violet entered a cave, guiding them into a patch of midday sunlight that leaked in through the ceiling.  The light showed wolves gathered around, all of which the hunting party recognized.
      "You came," a light-brown she-wolf sighed with relief at the sight of the four wolves Violet brought in.  "I was worried you'd think it was a trap, like I did at first..."
      "Daisy!" Meadow cried, darting to the she-wolf joyously.
      "Everyone's here," Violet said.  "All of the wolves that went missing from your pack, or that left with Shadow all of those moons ago."
      "But Shadow killed them all," Flame exclaimed, taking a few steps back with shock.
      "That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Violet said.  "Shadow and the wolves that were exiled with him did capture us...but not so they could kill us.  In fact, it seems the opposite, in a figurative kind of way."
      Gravel was silent, observing his pack-mates reunite.  He then noticed a few silhouettes at the back of the cave, barely visible away from the light.  As if discovering they were caught, one of them lead the others into sight.
      The one in the lead was Pine, a brown-and-black wolf that had left with Shadow when he was banished.  The ones behind him were Tulip, a jet-black wolf named Nightfall who Gravel recognized as one of his old healers, and the last one being Shadow himself.
      "I'm sorry for meeting you like this," Shadow spoke, his voice as smooth and calming as that of skillful leader's.  "Tulip said you were hunting in fours, and I didn't want you to feel threatened by all of us coming to fetch you at once.  Violet was our most recent addition here, so she seemed suitable to be the to retrieve you."
      "What happened?" Flame asked the dark-gray wolf accusingly.  "Why do you want us here?"
      "For many reasons.  One is to tell you that I'm not the killer Midnight convinced you I am.  I know none of you would come with me if we simply asked you to, so we were forced to capture you one by one to explain that we're not a threat. To prove that, I'm letting you take their words for it."
       "Then what really happened?" Gravel said, letting his surroundings sink in but not fully accepting things.
       Daisy stepped forward.  "I was the one who got Shadow exiled," she began, stating what every wolf there already knew.  "I thought he had murdered my sister Raindrop, and when Stormcloud died, I used all of the evidence I could find to make sure his death was blamed on Shadow as payback for killing her.  I'm not afraid to admit it anymore, and at the time I wasn't thinking straight."
       "Shadow didn't kill Raindrop?" Meadow repeated with disbelief. "Then who did?"
       "The same wolf who killed Stormcloud," Pine answered knowingly.


   
    "Alright, pups, if you're here then you're going to learn a thing or two about herbs.  This one, here, for example, is..."  Cotton was saying, but Lily tuned him out.
    "I'm leaving," Rose announced.  "I'll be back soon."
    "Alright, then," he responded.
    "I don't care what Father says...  I'm going to go with Rose," Lily muttered to her brother.
    Thunder couldn't help agreeing with her.  Maybe they would encounter Violet while they were out, too.  "Hey, Cotton...  You don't want us here anymore than we want to be here, right?  So why don't we head back to our den and play instead."
    "Err...  If your father catches you, we'll all be in trouble," Cotton pointed out.
    "Oh, come on.  The worst he'll do is scold us," Lily giggled.  
    "...Alright.  Go on back to your den, if that's what you want."
    "Will do!  Come on, Thunder!"  She bounded out of the den.
    "Wait," her brother stopped her, looking out for their father.  "Alright, the coast is clear.  Stay by me and we can slip out into the forest this way."


    The two made it to Snake's Cove, following Rose's scent.  
    "It doesn't seem so dangerous," Lily remarked.
    "If it is, though, we're going back," Thunder answered.
    "Hey, there's Rose!  She has a lot of those erbs in her mouth.  Wonder what type they are?"
    Then Thunder heard the leaves on the ground being moved by an unnatural force.  He had never heard the sound before, but he could guess what it was...and Rose was heading right for it.
      "There's a snake," Thunder tried to warn her, pawing at Rose's ankles to stop her from running into it.
       "Thunder, what are you--," Rose started, dropping the herbs, then gasped, hearing it too as the snake went near enough to her.  "Pups...get on my back."
      Thunder picked up the herbs and obeyed, then tensed as Lily couldn't get a grip on the she-wolf.  Rose was already on the move; in a panic, Thunder placed the herbs between her shoulders and reached down to haul his sister up with his teeth, letting go once she was on and taking hold of the plants once more.  Rose slowly backed away from the snake and, once far enough away from it, chose a different path around the area.  Hisses and slithers gradually came forth and greeted them at every turn.
      "Don't let go," Rose whispered, taking in the scenery in hopes of finding a way around them.  She hopped onto a gnarled tree root slightly above the snakes then did so again before they could climb up after her.  She hesitated as that was the last of the elevated grounds to stand on.  Rose searched the ground with her eyes, then dived for the spot between the snakes.  The added weight of the pups on her back made her landing a bit clumsy; the sudden collision with the ground would have sent the two flying forward if it weren't for Thunder tightening his hold on her.  Lily fell against her brother's back immediately--the forced knocked the bundle out from his mouth.
      "The medicine--" he cried.
      Rose looked back and winced.  "There's no time," she decided, straightening up and dashing out of the cove.
       "Are you okay?" Lily breathed.
       Rose didn't answer.  "You can get down now.  It's safe."
       The pups were worried but obeyed her, following her at a brisk pace back to the clearing.  Rose's breathing gradually quickened with exhaustion as they arrived.
       "Get Cotton," she gasped to the fretting pups.
       As Thunder and Lily darted to the healers' den, Midnight and Lightning realized what was going on and tried to help Rose, licking at her paw.
      "Cotton, Rose is hurt!" Lily whimpered to the young white wolf.
      "Huh?  What happened?" Cotton fussed.
      "She must have hurt herself in the chase, when she landed...  Please hurry!"
      Cotton urgently went through his inventory.  "Chase?  So there were snakes there.  Figures..."  He selected a few.  "If it's just a sprain, we'll be okay--"
      "It looks like more than that," Thunder clarified.
      The white wolf blinked.  "In that case, the herbs you brought back will come in handy," he said as he rushed out of the den toward the dying she-wolf.
      Thunder panicked.  "Wait!  We don't have them!" he cried, running after him.
      At that moment, the ground seemed to shake under the weight of many paws heading toward them from the other entrance to the forest.  Shadow's scent filled the air.
      "What's--" Lily started, staring toward the trees the sounds were coming from.  The adult wolves became antsy.  
      "Thunder, Lily, get out of here!"  Midnight howled.
      "What about Rose--"
      "Run away!" Lightning snarled at his pups.
      "Lily, do as they say!" Thunder barked, pulling his sister along the river which was the third exit of the the clearing, the only other exits being Shadow and snakes.  He let go as his sister started running with him, and together they vanished among the trees the moment Shadow and his followers arrived.

       "It's been a while," Daisy said to Midnight, her eyes fixated on her former leader.
       "Daisy?" Midnight gasped.  "Where have you been?!"
       "I've been with the one you set up," Daisy snarled.  Then she huffed as Pine restrained her.
       "Remember what Shadow said:  We're here to get the confession we should have had so long ago," the brown-and-black wolf growled.  "We're not here to fight."
       "Why not?" Flame barked from behind them.  "All of this time, we thought she was innocent.  She deserves to suffer for what she's done!"
       "Killer!" Meadow cried, rushing past Pine and Daisy toward Midnight.  
       Lightning intercepted.  "What has gotten into you all?!  Rose is dying and you're not making any sense!" He stood horrified as he realized who the invaders were--his own pack-mates, both the missing and his hunting-party.  "What are...?"
       "Enough," Violet murmured, drawing the attention of the wolves as she approached the alpha-female.  Midnight stared at Violet, visibly shaken.  "Is it true?"
       "Is what true?" Lightning defended his mate, willing to put aside whatever bond he may have had with Violet and the wolves in order to protect his family.
       Flame, Meadow, Gravel and Leaf all stared expectantly at Midnight, angered but willing to listen.
       Violet looked sadly at Lightning, but otherwise dismissed him.  "About Raindrop, and Stormcloud..."
       "What lies has that traitor filled you with?" Midnight growled, playing innocent.
       "You and Raindrop were close friends.  When she wasn't with her love Shadow, or her sister Daisy, she was with you.  Neither Shadow nor Daisy were with her when she died."
      "What are you saying?!  Shadow was the one who found her!"
      "He was the one who found her dead," Violet corrected.  "Stormcloud said her wounds were suffered before Shadow even went out to search for her."
      Lightning blinked.  "Why didn't we hear this before?"
      "You did," Daisy whimpered.  "But I kept denying it.  I hated Shadow for stealing my sister's affections...  I wanted everyone else to hate him, too.  Besides, if it wasn't him, who else could it be?  Her best friend?" She snarled the last sentence.
      "We knew she was killed by a pup in our pack.  Stormcloud and Nightfall were the only ones who knew which pup it was," Tulip said, "But because the pup was from our pack, and knew 'e felt remorse, he didn't want to punish 'em.  One lost pup was bad enough."
      "Do you think we sided with Shadow for no reason?" the tall black wolf confirmed.  "I knew he wasn't the one who killed Raindrop. I simply couldn't go against Stormcloud's wishes and tell everyone that...  But this has gone on long enough, and Stormcloud isn't here anymore.  It's time the truth came out."
      "S-Stormcloud is Shadow's father!  Of course he would lie to defend his pup," Midnight cried, shaking with emotion.  Rose's heavy breathing slowed down behind her. "And the healer who was banished with Shadow..." laughed hysterically.  "You're really going to take that brain-washed traitor's word over mine?!"
     "Midnight," Lightning whispered.  "Calm down."  To his old comrades, he said, "Who is that pup?"
     "It was your mate," Daisy snapped at the golden wolf.  "She killed my sister--and Stormcloud--and blamed Shadow to have him exiled!"
      "Daisy isn't making it up this time," Pine said.  "All of the facts are there."
      Midnight stared at the hostile eyes glaring back at her, thinking, trying to decide what to say.  
      "What...?  But..." Lightning exhaled.  "Whether she killed them or not, she's still--"
      "No, Lightning.  I did it," Midnight confessed.  Then quickly added, "But Raindrop's death was an accident."
      Lightning stared at her with shock.
      Violet looked down sorrowfully.
      "How was it an accident?" Flame cried with outrage.
      "It was as Daisy said Shadow had killed her," Midnight sighed.  "We were playing, when things got rough.  It escalated from there...  I felt so bad about killing her that I stayed away from the others for the longest time.  I didn't mean for Shadow to be blamed for her death, but I didn't want the others to know I did it so I let them blame him...  I tried to be his friend, but it never eased my guilt."
      The listening wolves were silent except for Cotton, who was sobbing over Rose's lifeless body, until Daisy unexpectedly charged at Midnight.  "It was you all along!" she screamed.
      Lightning instinctively protected his mate, pinning Daisy to the ground as the light-brown she-wolf snarled and whined, struggling to free herself.  But then he was knocked off of her by Flame, and nearly all of the wolves followed him to assault Midnight.
      "Stop!" Pine barked to the wolves.  No-one listened.
      "I didn't want to believe it, but this confirms everything!  How could you, Midnight?!" Meadow cried.  "Even Stormcloud!"
     "I saw the chance and I took it!" Midnight defending herself.  "We all know I never was really Shadow's friend.  Guilt was my only reason for being with him! Every time I saw him, I felt worse and worse for allowing the pack to blame him for Raindrop's death. I figured if, this time, it were an alpha that 'he' killed, I would never have to see him again...  I wouldn't have to suffer with the guilt anymore...!"  Her tone shifted.  Tears welled up in her light blue eyes.  For a moment, she seemed genuinely sorry.
     The others calmed down some upon seeing her like this. 
     "So she felt bad for killing someone and blaming Shadow...  So she proceeded to kill someone else and blame Shadow?" Flame spat.  "You don't feel bad...  You are bad!"
     Midnight stood up, slowly getting angry upon his accusations.  "Stormcloud was sick and dying anyway.  I did him a favor by putting him out of his misery...!  And with Shadow gone, as his mate, I became your alpha.  Until now I have lead you well!  Consider that before you act against me!"
      Daisy and Flame charged at her once more, the rest of their old pack-mates following suit.
      Pine, Tulip, and Nightfall entered the frenzied wolves' fighting with Midnight, trying to stop the violence but ending up causing more of it.  Shadow stood from a distance, his forehead to the ground despairingly as he processed all of which he had overheard, already knowing she was the killer but the rest of what he thought was his former friend said being new to him.  He was hardly aware of the fighting going on.
      Lightning no longer found himself able to restrain the wolves from attacking any longer, since they were never holding back against him and Midnight to begin with, and their numbers had increased so drastically.  He fought back with his full strength and tossed a badly-wounded Flame out of the brawl.  The dark-red wolf landed in the river...the first of many corpses.