I have to get away Kel thought frantically as his eyes darted left and right. The second wolf had caught up, and was hanging back behind his left shoulder.

He darted left, hoping the wolves wouldn't expect him to run towards one of them. It didn't matter though. The grey wolf took a single step forward - moving so fast it materialized in front of him. Kel tried to stop but was moving too fast.

And then, he was past the wolf and running again. He heard the two wolves collide behind him - the grey wolf unable to stop its speed as it careened past where it meant to stop and straight into its companion.

Kel kept running; Tria clinging to his back, as the wolf catapulted past him again - losing its footing and crashing into the underbrush.

Kel stopped. Something was wrong.

A moment later, the wolf again re-appeared in front of them. The sure eyes of the hunter were gone. Instead, the eyes showed confusion - and pain. Kel glanced down at its paws where the lightning still arced, and noticed the paws were blackening.

The wolf is burning its own paws to catch us Kel wondered in confusion.

The wolf took a step forward, a slight whimper escaping from its muzzle as it put weight on its paw. Kel found himself feeling sorry for the beast. Its companion hadn't caught up yet, so Kel decided to try something.

"Wait here" he whispered to Tria, slowly lowering her from his back to the ground. He didn't look back at her; keeping his eyes instead trained on the wolf, but he could feel her nod.

Walking forward in a slight crouch, making sure not to move too quickly, Kel advanced towards the wolf. Kel stopped right before the creature, its maw even with his face. Reaching up, he extended his hand towards it.

The wolf tried to step back and then whimpered in pain, its body slumping closer to the ground - as if to find some way to get off of its feet. Being this close, Kel could smell the burning flesh coming from its paws.

Kel slowly placed his hand on the wolf's forehead, and the creature looked up at him with desolate eyes. The wolf gingerly laid down on its side, removing the weight from its paws. Kel crouched down with it, still wary of the other wolf. The grey wolf seemed grateful for the comfort and allowed Kel to continue resting his hand on its head.

Suddenly, the wolf tensed. The lightning; which had been resting near its feet, lashed out across the wolf's body and smashed into Kel - flinging him back into a tree. Kel grunted as the air left his body, as he collapsed back to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get air back. Panicking he looked up, desperately trying to gulp in air - but it wouldn't come. It was like he had forgotten how to breath. He could see the edges of his vision blurring.

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If I pass out now, we are dead! He yelled frantically to himself - but it was to no avail. He could not remember how to breath.

Suddenly, Tria was right in front of him - her face filling up what little remained of his vision. She reached out and touched his forehead with one of her tiny hands, her innocent eyes filled with concern.

Kel couldn't explain it. It felt like his lungs suddenly just popped back into place, the air rushing into them. Kel fell over on his hands and knees - breathing in great, heaving gasps of air as his vision cleared.

"Tria, thank you - " he gasped, slowly pulling himself towards her.

She was leaned up against a tree, her skin pale and her eyes closed. Kel reached out to grab her tiny hands, finding them clammy to the touch.

"Tria?" he began again.

"I'm ok" she whispered, "just sleepy. Go help the doggy."

Kel patted her on the head and glanced cautiously at the wolf.

It was nothing but a burnt pile of flesh now. Most of its fur had been singed off, and whatever was left was nothing more than a blackened mass. Kel almost puked at the sight.

"Yet another failed experiment" a voice drifted out from the shadow of the trees. Kel whipped his head towards the sound, positioning himself protectively in front of Tria.

A young man stepped out of the trees, his loose fitting garb the same color as the shadows. At his side stood the second wolf, darkness pooling at its feet.

The young man looked over Kel with a bemused expression. "You needn't worry" he eventually spoke, "I won't hurt you."

Kel's jaw dropped in disbelief, and even the wolf at the man's side seemed to look at him in confusion.

"Well I mean, sure - I was trying to kill you. But that was before I realized you were like me" the man explained slowly, as if Kel was stupid and need the obvious pointed out.

"I am nothing like you" Kel hissed.

"Could have fooled me" the young raised an eyebrow and shrugged, extending his hand towards the charred body of the first wolf. The lightning jumped from the wolf and into the man's hand, before he closed his fist around it and seemingly absorbed it.

"Pity" he whispered, "I'll have to try again."

He then reached over and pet the wolf at his side, his hand resting on it's shoulder. "I guess they can't all be special like you."

"Anyway," the man continued conversationally "I must confess, you two are the first people I have seen out this far."

"Out this far?" Kel questioned.

"Well yea, since the world ended the few people who survived tend to band together in cities, not in the middle of the wilderness" he explained. "Well, unless you are like us" he finished with a toothy grin.

"Like us?"

"Drop the act" the young man snapped. "You should have died but that girl intervened. Not to mention the fact you run as fast as my latest failed experiment. Yes. Like us" he finished, spreading his arms wide and looking towards the sky.

"Anyway, my master would be most displeased if he found out I killed one a special as you. He will be eager to meet you."

Kel was breathing rapidly now, his eyes darting left and right. This guy is crazy he thought. "What if we don't want to meet him?" Kel asked quietly, inching back towards Tria.

"You don't really have a choice" the man shrugged. "But, it isn't all that bad. After all, the world is still in turmoil. No one rules it right now - but eventually someone will. My master seeks people like us to serve him. We will hold the power in this newly formed world. Those...things will never rule over us humans" he spat.

Kel was now right next to Tria. In one motion, he reached down to grab her and then turned and exploded into the distance, moving as fast as he could. He didn't dare look back, simply cradled the child and ran.

The wolf tensed to follow, but the young man dropped his hand in front of it. The two of them watched as Kel and Tria fled.

"No need to rush things, Shadow" the young man whispered while stroking its fur. "If they survive for any length of time, they will run into us at some point or another. More importantly, we need to find a creature capable of accepting the lightning. The world ending was just the beginning" the man finished. The two of them turned to leave, the image of a half lidded eye rippling on the back of the man's cloak before fading once again into shadow.