Extinction (62 page)

Might be able to. He didn't like the way
that made him feel. He was certain that his brother wouldn't make it out and
that he only might make it out. Without any more thought, he made a decision.

He began to claw towards his brother and
chew with everything he had. When he reached his brother's ankle, he started to
rip at the sack tangled around it. A few bites ended up nipping his brother but
he couldn't help that now. He wanted to make sure at least one of them made it
out alive.

The runt heard his brother growl and
bark and immediately knew that his intentions were misunderstood. He kept
chewing and clawing until he could feel the ankle becoming less encumbered.
Then in a snap, it was free and his brother rolled from the sack and rolled
over on the ground, completely exhausted.

The cub looked back to the runt still
trapped inside the sack and realized what his brother was trying to and
ultimately succeeded in doing. The runt had sacrificed himself to save his
brother. And the runt continued to claw and move his jaw, trying to chew the
sack, but it was obvious that his attempts would fail.

The rest of the litter was standing
around their defacto alpha, watching the runt make his last few attempts to
free himself. The would-be alpha jumped to the sack and was going to help his
brother but was stopped by the first brother. The alpha growled and made his
intentions clear.
He must do it on his own
.

The would-be didn't even need to think
about it; his primal instincts kicked in and he lashed out. He was weak, very
weak and hadn't been resting like his alpha brother had been after he first
emerged. His first swipe was easily ducked and the alpha countered with a light
bite to the would-be's belly. No damage but enough pain to show that he was
serious.

The would-be was also serious and knew
he was prepared to kill one brother to save the other. A simple show of force and
resolve wasn't going to be enough and he didn't have the time or strength to
commit to an all-out fight. He feigned an attack and when his brother went to a
guard position, the would-be rolled away and latched on to the sack and begin
to tear at it from the outside.

He had made several openings in the sack
before the alpha was back on him and trying to make him stop. The would-be
latched on to a chunk of the sack and told himself not to let go no matter
what. He added his front claws to the attempt and tried to dig at the sack with
all his might.

The alpha couldn't let his decision be
challenged, not this soon after emerging. He went for the throat and latched
on. He didn't want to kill his brother but he was willing to hurt him, badly if
necessary.

The would-be was directing all of his
energy and all of his focus on saving his brother, so he didn't last long
against the alpha's attack. He was pulled away after having made some progress
in his attempt. When he was able to right himself once more, he was faced with
the alpha staring him in the eye and growling a warning.
Enough!

The would-be was trying to think of his
next move but had a sinking feeling he had already made his last. As he looked
beyond the alpha, he saw the rest of the litter making their own move. They
were coming together and working to free the runt. With their combined effort,
they had their brother out in just a few seconds.

The alpha looked back and was enraged
with what he saw. They had defied him; they had made their own decision and saved
a weak brother. A runt even. With the act already done, there wasn't much he
could do. Shirkas weren't punitive by nature so he had no plans to hurt any of
them for what they did. He would just accept it for now.

The would-be and the alpha walked together
to their litter-mates, now a pack. They looked at the runt, who didn't seem to
be breathing. The would-be got down on all fours and nuzzled his brother. No
reaction. He licked his brother's face. No reaction. He laid down next to his
brother and curled up with him. If his brother was going to die, he wasn't
going to die feeling alone. The would-be watched as the rest of the pack joined
him on the ground, surrounding and protecting their runt brother, giving him
warmth and hopefully peace.

~

The would-be wasn't sure how long they
had been laying there but the alpha was getting impatient, pacing back and
forth and looking at the setting sun. When darkness came, so did the predators.
The pack had been lucky that their birthing sack hadn't been found and eaten by
the creatures of the forest and the alpha didn't want that to change now that
they were born.

He sensed this was a delicate time for
the pack and he didn't want to lose his standing. Instead of a forceful order,
he tried his best to make a heartfelt whimper.
I know what he did for you,
but we have to go.

The pack looked at him and didn't
respond. The alpha knew it was too late; he wasn't the alpha anymore. He was
the has-been and the would-be was now the alpha. They would follow him.

The has-been had had several hours to
think about the decisions his pack had made so far and he was actually leaning
toward siding with them. The more he thought about his runt brother's sacrifice,
the more he realized the strength it took to do what he did rather than try to
save himself.

He could either leave his pack for
turning away from his leadership or join them under their new alpha. The
has-been walked up to the group and added his body to the mound. He pushed his
muzzle to the center in order to smell the runt and add that scent to his
memory so he would never forget his brother.

As he took in a deep breath, he felt a
little dry tongue lick his nose. A low whimper followed and the rest of the
pack became aware that their runt was not dead after all. The mound moved away
so they could look at their brother and he looked back at each of them. Joyful
whimpers started moving around the circle and the whimpers turned to barks of
excitement.

They needed water, food, and shelter
fast. Night was already on them and the predators could be heard in the
distance. Water would normally be the first thing they went for but given the
circumstances, shelter was the priority. The new alpha sent out the has-been
and his strongest sister to scout for shelter. The rest set up a defensive
posture to the best of their ability.

They started to think like a sentient
predator and not just a tooth-and-nail predator. They had opposable thumbs to
put to use. They gathered rocks and kept them nearby. Shirkas' genetic memories
were advanced enough to give the cubs a basic understanding of defensive tool
use.

The two scouts returned quickly and
indicated they had found shelter. The group helped the runt to his feet and
took turns assisting him to the shelter. The small cave was cool but at least dry.
It would provide shelter and a defensible position with the drawback that there
was nowhere to run to if things got bad. The cave was their final stand for the
night, one way or the other.

Two of the cubs checked the cave a
second time to make sure that no other predators were hiding or had slipped in
during the time it took the scouts to come and get the group. They didn't find
any predators but got lucky and came across two prey animals that they made
short work of and proudly presented to the alpha.

The alpha grinned and affectionately
nipped his two siblings, the human equivalent of a high-five or butt slap. The alpha
then took one of the animals and presented it to the two hunters who had killed
it. He then took the second one and placed it next to the runt. Usually the alpha
ate first but this one was leading by example, showing that he thought the pack
was more important than he was as an individual. Keep the hunters strong and
protect those who deserved protecting.

The runt nosed the animal back to the alpha
and turned his head.
No
.

The alpha gave a low growl and the runt
just turned his head farther and presented his back to the group.
No.

With a low sigh, the alpha took two
bites of the animal and passed it to the next cub, who also took two bites and
passed it along. It wasn't until everyone had taken two bites that the runt
took his share. The two hunters ate their kill without sharing. No one thought
less of them for it: it pays to be a winner. Rewards were given for a reason. They
had eaten more than anyone else, so they decided to take guard duty without
even being directed to.

With the front of the cave protected and
the interior scouted out, there wasn't much left to do but wait for morning.
Some rocks had been brought with them and a few more found in the cave. The
rocks were staged for quick use in case of an attack during the night. The pack
laid down together for warmth and comfort and quickly fell asleep. The final
stage of emerging from their sacks was very tiring and the group didn't get as
much food as they should have on their first day. Tomorrow would have to be
different.

~

The predator had been watching and
waiting. A cave full of cubs would be a good meal, even if she only got one of
them. The two on guard duty were strong and alert. Eventually they would tire
and either fall asleep at the mouth of the cave or get replacement guards. The
predator's primal instincts hoped they fell asleep at the mouth of the cave so
she could just run by and grab one, absconding into the night with her dinner.
She settled in as close as she dared and waited. Patience is what keeps you fed
in the forest.

The cub felt himself nodding off more
than once. He looked at his sister and she seemed much more alert than he felt.
He nudged her and motioned to the mouth of the cave and then back to the
sleeping pack.
You stay here. I'm getting us replacements.

She chuffed in agreement and went back
to scanning the forest.

The predator saw the exchange and began
her short stalk to the entrance of the cave. She didn't have the higher
intelligence to know exactly what was happening but her primal instincts told
her that something was changing and she needed to take advantage of that
change.

As she got closer, she saw the male cub
leave the mouth of the cave and the female repositioned herself just a tad farther
back. Guarding the cave by herself now, she wanted to be a little harder to get
at if something attacked her. But the predator was bigger and her reach
wouldn't be hindered by the cub's adjustment.

Her instincts didn't let her ponder how
long the cub would be alone or understand that a change of guard was about to
happen; it just told her to move now and quickly. She went from a stalk to an
all-out sprint in less than a second and was cresting the lip of the cave just
a couple of seconds after that.

The female cub was startled but ready
for an attack. Unfortunately, no matter how ready she was, the predator was
more than she could handle on her own. The first swipe of her powerful paw
opened the cub's face up and knocked her almost unconscious. Had she been even
a millisecond slower in dodging the attack, the predator's claws would've hit
their intended target of her carotid artery and killed her.

As it was, she was in no shape to fight
and was dragged from the cave with ease. The much larger predator had the cub
in her mouth but was unaware that her blow had not hit its mark. When she saw
the spray of blood and the cub go limp, her instincts told her that the job was
done. Time to take the cub to a tall tree, hide her kill high up in the
branches, and see whether she could come back and grab one more cub before the
night was over.

~

The has-been woke from sleep at the
rough nudge from his brother who had been on guard duty. One eye opened and he
looked to see the cub standing there, deciding who else was going to get woken
up. With a second cub picked, he nipped her rump because a simple nudge didn't
seem to work too well on the last cub. She gave a small yelp and quickly got up
to face him with her teeth bared. That worked much better.

The two newly awakened guards started to
walk towards the mouth of the cave and had gotten close enough to see a huge
predator grab their limp and bleeding sister. Without hesitation, the has-been
took off at a dead run towards the attacker. The predator was normally faster
than the Shirka cubs could hope to be but she was slowed by having one of them
in her mouth.

The has-been's sister was faster than he
was. She passed him and slowly began gaining on the predator. As they ran
through the forest, the has-been was vaguely aware of the fact that they hadn't
sounded an alarm at all. The rest of the pack was probably still back in the
cave sleeping. He couldn't stop now and go back; he would be leaving his sister
without help and there was no way she would win the fight they were about to engage
in. His own breathing was hard and fast so he couldn't let out a good loud howl
for help but he did the best he could do between ragged breaths.

The cub that had woken his reliefs had
already joined the sleeping group and was trying to stay awake to wait until
his sister joined them. She was taking forever. Did she decide to stay with
them for added protection? He would give her a few more minutes before he dosed
off.

As his eyelids got heavier and barely
still open, he heard a faint howl. At first, he thought it was a cry for help
from another newly emerged pack because it was coming from so far away. But the
second, even fainter howl, struck him as familiar and he knew it was his
brother, the has-been.

All fatigue forgotten with a surge of
adrenaline pumping through his body, he jumped up and gave several loud and
commanding barks.
Get up! Danger! We need to go!

Without waiting for a response, he took
off towards where he thought he had heard his brother calling from. The rest of
the pack got up and followed without question. The runt was tired but the food
he had and the rest, along with the shared adrenaline surge, was enough to get
him up. For being so small, he was actually one of the pack's faster runners
and was close to the lead in no time.