A wicked grin spread up Crunch’s face. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had forgotten about the additional dot. [Oh, we are going to eat well tonight!]

[Shall I go ahead, Captain Boss?] Zapper asked, letting the bone he was holding drop to the ground with a wet thunk. The sound turned my stomach all over again. Oh, Zapper... of all the members of this pack, I’d never have thought the little dog could have been so cavalier about all of this. He didn’t seem to even notice he was coated in blood.

Human blood.

[Naw, don’t bother. If this other human was a threat, they’d have struck by now.] Crunch started padding around the corner towards the blue dot, and I followed close on his heels.

Inside, I was a war of emotions. While it’s true I had no love towards humanity, especially after my time in the shelter, there was a big difference between wanting to avoid humans, and actively wanting to harm them.

But this was my pack now. And if being part of this pack meant fighting humanity, then I couldn’t just hover on the sidelines. I had to pick a side. For my species, or against it.

Yet still I hesitated.

Ahead, I could see the blue dot hovering behind a pile of trash heaped against the building. Crunch was several strides in front of me and reached them first. He let out a little bark of delight. [Aha! What have we here?]

He darted forward. There was a shriek, and I braced myself, but the next moment Crunch was back, dragging the human along with him.

They were much smaller than Miguel had been, probably not much taller than me when standing up. Also, it was a girl, and she let out another terrified shriek as Crunch wrenched her forward, arm between his teeth. He let her go, and she stumbled and fell to her knees in front of us.

Crunch padded back and dropped on his haunches beside me. His mouth hung open as he panted happily. [Well, not much to her, but at least the meat shouldn’t be too stringy. You go ahead and do the honors, Bubba. Good practice for you.]

I didn’t respond, frozen in place as I was. The girl glanced up, her face streaked with tears. She looked to be of Hispanic descent as well, though something told me she and Miguel weren’t related. Didn’t smell right.

User: Riley

Level 0 Ballerina Human

[Pity she won’t give any kill experience. Though I imagine you got enough of that last night as it was, eh?] Crunch chuckled. He glanced at me. [Well, go on. Meat back there isn’t getting any fresher.]

[Do we... do we need to kill her?] I asked. [She isn’t even a threat.]

[All humans are threats, eventually. Besides, look at her. Pup like that won’t survive long on her own. You’re doing her a mercy. Better one of us than the next monster to pop out of a building or climb out of that giant rift back there.]

[Still, why do we have to kill her? There’s hardly any meat on her worth the trouble.] I was grasping at straws, but I didn’t care. This was all happening so fast. I needed time to think. Time that I knew I wasn’t going to get.

[Let me do it, Captain,] Leeli said, taking a step forward. She glanced at me, and I could see the sympathy in her eyes. [It’s been forever since I had a turn, and this human looks just about my size.]

Crunch shook his head. [If I let you gnaw at her, you’ll be at it for the next hour at least. There’s no reason for the child to suffer. We aren’t monsters, after all. Just doing what needs to be done.]

He nudged me with his nose. [C’mon. Stop dragging your paws.]

[I—]

[Are you with this pack, or aren’t you? Because I told you when you joined up that I was the head honcho. You either obey, or you leave.]

The girl couldn’t hear what we were saying, but her eyes kept darting between us. They settled on me, and I felt my insides turn to ice. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

That face... It wasn’t the one from my memories, but I remembered... There had been a girl’s voice, calling after me. A kind hand, rubbing my belly. A time I couldn’t quite recall, but for which the fragmented memories filled me with a strange sense of happiness.

Crunch continued staring at me as I stood frozen in place. At last, he sighed. [I honestly thought you were better than that, Wildling. I thought—well, it doesn’t matter. You disappoint me, but I suppose everyone has trouble at first. I’ll take care of it.]

He started forward, his lips pulling back into a snarl. The girl scrambled back, letting out a long scream.

That scream tore through me. Awoke parts of me I hadn’t even known lurked beneath my fur.

Annie. I couldn’t—I wouldn’t—let anybody hurt her!

Crunch lunged at the same moment I did. His snarl turned into a yelp of surprise as I slammed into him and his jaws encountered only air, then we both went tumbling into the road. I managed to leap to my feet first, giving a shake to clear my head.

[The fuck are you on about, Wildling?] Crunch snarled as he clambered back to his feet. Behind us came the faintest murmur of [Swears,] but we both ignored it. I shuffled slightly to one side, placing myself fully between the girl and Crunch.

[I won’t let you harm her, Captain. I’m sorry.]

[Sorry, eh? That makes two of us.]

You have been kicked from the party by user: Crunch

[Consider yourself excommunicated from this pack,] the dog snarled. [Now, get the fuck out of my goddamn sight before I tear you apart. I won’t ask twice.]

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I didn’t move, instead spreading my legs a bit wider, ready for anything.

[Every time,] Crunch said morosely, widening his own stance. A golden glow began gathering around him. [It always gets messy when a dog doesn’t understand that the world’s changed. Still too loyal to the old ways. Too loyal to see the chains that have held us down for centuries.]

Belatedly, I realized what was happening. He was charging up his charge attack! Either towards me or the girl, it wouldn’t matter. The result would be the same.

I thought about grabbing the girl and retreating, but there wasn’t time. It wouldn’t carry me more than twenty feet, the same range as Crunch’s attack. And with my back to her, I couldn’t abandon the human even if I wanted to.

So I went on the offensive.

My stun took Crunch in the chest. At least that would buy me thirty seconds. If my attack failed, I could retreat with the girl then. My Claw Slash rocketed down towards the other dog—

And bounced harmlessly off his fur. What the heck? Even the rubble golems hadn’t been that tough. Was his Enhanced Defense skill really that powerful?

If so, then trying to fight him was pointless. I turned, planning to grab the girl and flee while time was still left on the stun.

[So, the Wildling shows his true colors.] Crunch’s sneering tone froze me mid step. I glanced behind me and—

*Crunch!*

Then I died.

----------------------------------------

Triple Chance Dog Tag has activated automatically. Remaining uses = 1. This ability will reset at midnight.

Air coursed through my lungs as I heaved for breath, my flesh knitting itself over my muscles even as I tried to rise shakily to my feet, failed, then managed on a second attempt. I gave myself a shake and looked around.

Crunch stood watching me, and my eyes drifted towards his collar. Only now did I remember what its description had said: immune to fear, knockback, and stun. I cursed inwardly over my own forgetfulness.

No point lamenting over it now. Crunch let out a low growl. [Consider that your one and only warning, Wildling. If you run now and leave me the girl, I’ll consider us even. You’ve got about... thirty seconds left to decide. After that my skill comes off cooldown.]

He didn’t seem surprised that I had somehow survived his first attack. My confusion must have been obvious, because he continued, [I know about that special tag you’re wearing. I also know it’s only got one use. Unless you want your next death to be permanent, better get moving. Twenty-five seconds now. Tick tock.]

My eyes flicked back and forth as I furiously considered my options. Crunch knew about my collar, but he clearly hadn’t read the description recently, or he’d know I still had one use left. Could I use that to my advantage, somehow?

Did I even want to? Maybe I should just run. There was no way to hurt Crunch, and staying would mean my death. Maybe not this next strike, but certainly the one after that.

[Fifteen seconds, Wildling. I’m losing my patience.]

[Dangit, Crunch, why are you doing this?] I demanded. Maybe if I could keep him talking...

[I don’t need to explain myself to you, Wildling. You aren’t pack, and even if you were, you knew the rules. Do what I say or pay the price. Now you’re paying it. Ten seconds.]

Behind me, the girl let out a quiet sob. My resolve hardened. I wasn’t running. But I needed more time.

[Ben!] I said, turning towards the other dog. [Use your Sympathy Sight Skill, please!]

Benjamin just stared at me, face unreadable. Desperately, I turned toward Leeli. [You guys owe me! Do this and we’re even!]

[You—] Leeli frowned and narrowed her gaze. We stared at each other, and I could feel the precious seconds ticking by.

[Hah,] Crunch sneered at me. [You’re wasting your breath. These two are loyal to me to the death. Isn’t that right, Leeli? If not for me, you two would still be rotting at the bottom of the—]

[Do it, Ben.] Leeli’s voice was practically a whisper. The other dog glanced at her, and she repeated, louder this time, [Do it!]

[You traitorous bitch!] Crunch snarled, the same moment a sphere of darkness burst from Ben’s chest, spreading outward, engulfing most of the street. For a brief second, I was utterly blind; then my Night Vision kicked in, and I was greeted to the sight of Crunch spinning back and forth just a few feet from me, snarling and snapping in all directions.

[Best of luck,] Leeli said, her voice almost a whisper. [You’re gonna need it.]

She turned and took off running, slipping past the sphere’s edge and continuing down the street and out of sight. Ben was only a few steps behind her.

She was right. The blindness had bought me a few minutes to think, but it wasn’t a permanent solution. I needed to get the girl and run while I could.

Padding over to her, I took her arm lightly in my mouth, being careful not to break her skin with my teeth. Even so, she let out a bloodcurdling scream at my touch. I winced.

[Aha!] Crunch let out a cry of triumph. [I may not be able to see you, bastard Wildling, but I can hear where your precious little human is. Come face me, or I’ll tear her limb from limb, skill or no.]

Cursing silently, I released the girl’s arm. She immediately began scrambling away, sobbing the entire time. Crunch began stalking in her direction.

This wasn’t working. Sooner or later, either they would leave the sphere, or it would just collapse on its own. When that happened, it was game over. I could only survive one more fatal strike. I had to make it count, or all of this was for nothing—

An idea began to form in my head. I pulled up my interface, hunted down the information I needed, and quickly read it. Then read it again.

Yes. It was risky, but no more so than anything I’d tried already. At the very least, it would get Crunch far away from the girl. I started forward before I could give myself time to start second-guessing my decision. [Okay, Crunch, that’s how you want to play it? Here I come!]

I rushed at him, my Claw Slash producing a sound like grating metal as they raked along Crunch’s side. The other dog growled and spun at me, but I kept running past him. I could only pray he followed.

A moment later I burst out of the sphere, my vision wavering for a moment as it returned to normal. Behind me came Crunch, though he faltered at the sphere’s edge, buying me a precious few seconds of distance.

I didn’t waste them, but ran pell-mell. The angry growl from behind told me Crunch was following. I ran fast as I could down the street.

And skidded to a halt at the edge of the rift. A few pebbles were flung into the abyss by the force of my braking, and I watched as they sailed down into nothing. The other side of the rift yawned a good fifty feet away. Too far to jump. Too deep to risk a try.

I turned, slowly, and found Crunch standing just a few feet away, heaving for breath. His lips pulled back in a snarl, but I could see the victory alight in his eyes.

[End of the road, Wildling. Should have run when you had the chance. Though maybe I should thank you. If you hadn’t stuck around, I’d never have known that Leeli and Ben were tainted as well. I’m going to enjoy hunting them down and tearing them limb from limb.]

[It’s not too late, Crunch. You could stop all this. We don’t have to fight!]

[What fight? You can’t lay a paw on me. All you’ve been doing is delaying the inevitable.] His fur began to glow with an unnatural golden light. I braced myself.

Ten seconds. I counted in my head. This had to be perfect, or I would die. Scratch that, I was going to die. The only question was whether I would manage to take Crunch with me when I did.

The wording about his ability flashed in front of me again. Move twenty feet in the direction of the nearest enemy. He doesn’t get a choice about the direction or the distance. Move twenty feet. Move twenty feet.

My countdown ticked towards zero. Three. Two. One.

Crunch smiled at me. I closed my eyes.

And activated my bracelet.

Immediately, I felt as if I’d been seized by the scruff of my neck and hurled backwards. And just like when I’d tried unsuccessfully to surprise that goblin, after the ability released me, I found myself hovering over open air.

Only this time, it was the rift. And I couldn’t see the bottom.

But I could see Crunch.

He was still only a few feet away from me. Just as his Charged Charge had flung him twenty feet in my direction, I’d simultaneously moved twenty back. Leaving us the same distance apart. In the middle of the air. With an unknown fall beneath us.

All this ran through my head in an instant, and then I tumbled into darkness. Beside me, Crunch howled in terror. His legs flailed at nothing, scrabbling for a salvation that wasn’t there. Even after everything that had happened between us, my heart went out to him. This was a terrible way for any dog to die.

If only he’d left me any other choice.

Perhaps this wouldn’t be the end. As the wind howled past us, as our speed grew to a rushing blur, I wondered if all of his Power, plus his Enhanced Defense, might be enough to save him.

Then, our eyes met. I could read the terror and despair in them. The walls whipped by faster. Whether this was the end for either or both of us, I had to say something.

[I’m sorry it came to this!] I shouted over the wind. [Captain! I want you to know that—]

*Crunch.*