They came to a large rock outcropping that formed a deep depression in the side of the mountain. He could have called it a small cave if it had more defined walls. Aceso didn’t stop but walked underneath the rock overhang into the natural shade of the formation. He noticed that her head was low, and he knew that something was bothering her. She seemed apprehensive and he wondered why. He could almost feel a sense of fear coming from her and he wanted to reach out to her, to pet and scratch her head to let her know that everything was going to be alright. Of course, he had no idea if everything was going to be alright. He was lost in this world that he found himself in. Who was he to tell this proud wolf that everything was going to be alright?
Aceso walked to the very back of the small cave. He walked after her letting the shadows protect him from the sunlight. Aceso was studying the dark, back wall of the cave. He wondered what it was she was looking for. Aceso broke the silence by letting out an ear-splitting howl that shook the walls around them. He recoiled from the sudden noise that washed over him. He put his hands to his ears as he tried to recover his hearing. None of his pack had ever made a sound this terrible. He pressed his hands closed around his ears, as he tried to insulate himself from the thunderous noise that echoed and reverberated off the small cave’s walls.
Aceso let the sound die and she studied the wall once more. He let his hands loosen from around his ears. The ringing in them would stop, eventually. At least he hoped so. He wouldn’t be able to hear anything with his ears ringing the way they were now. He shook his head trying to clear the sound out of his head. As he was doing that however, a new sound met his ears. This one was of a soft grating sound, almost the sound of fingernails on a chalk board. But this sound was deeper, more mineral. As he tried to figure out if this sound was just his ears or something else, his eyes widened as he noticed the back wall of the depression that had been shrouded in dark shadows was moving.
Aceso sat where she was and watched as the wall opened into a gaping blackness where solid rock had once been. He shook his head and stared at the moving wall. It’s like some secret passage straight out of Scooby Doo.
The rock wall stopped moving and Aceso entered into the perfect black void disappearing from his vision. He was left standing there wondering what he should do. He had followed Aceso without question for days and through miles of terrain. It’s a little late to be getting cold feet now, don’t you think? He looked down at the ground and with a last glance at the gentle sunlight of the morning he followed where Aceso had gone and disappeared into the darkness.
There was no light.
He began to grope around in the perfect darkness. He wanted to turn around and look at the sunlight. As he did so, the scraping sound met his ears. The opening of the cave that Aceso and he had just come from was closing. There was a part of him that panicked at seeing the sunlight eclipsed by the black void. It was all he could do not to break out in a run and dive back outside. He began to hyperventilate, and he broke out in a sweat. This perfect dark and unknown void scared him. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to be out in the glorious sunlight. It’s now or never. Just when he was about to make a break for the ever-shrinking exit, he felt a soft, warm, and familiar presence at his side.
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He reached down and felt Aceso’s ears and head. He felt calm return to his body and he slowed down his breathing. The shrinking sliver of sunlight disappeared entirely. He was with Aceso but they were shrouded in perfect darkness.
He couldn’t see anything. All he knew was that he was afraid of this place for some reason and no amount of rational thought could assuage that feeling of panic. The only thing that kept him standing in place with dignity and not running toward the exit and madly scraping at the rock with his fingernails was the calming presence of Aceso.
The perfect void was shattered by a flash that was as bright as magnesium. His eyes were open but he wished they hadn’t been. He was blinded by the sudden light and he closed his eyes, trying to erase the blue violet retinal burn from his eyes. He wouldn’t have been able to see anything at the moment anyway. He blinked his eyes hard and long trying to aid in their healing process. While his eyes were closed shut, he felt Aceso leave his side. He ripped his eyes open and through the fading blue-black haze that covered his eyes, his saw Aceso walking away from him.
She was flanked on either side by giant humanoid forms. The one on the right of Aceso was grey with black and brown streaks that ran down the whole of its back. Its tail was standing up behind it proudly as it walked with an easy gate. His claws were drawn at his hands. The one to the left of his alpha was mostly brown with some reddish-brown streaks along his arms and legs. His ears were tall and far longer than the one to the other side of Aceso, his tail was held high as well. The two werewolves escorted Aceso away from him deeper into the caves. He scrambled forward to move toward her but was stopped by an iron grip on his clothes.
“ACESO. Where are you taking her?”
He struggled against the grip on his vest. He watched in panic as Aceso walked off down a tunnel that made its way deeper into the mountain. She didn’t turn around. She did glance over her shoulder back at him. Her eyes held a look of perfect sympathy and sadness.
He struggled trying to get to her. Aceso barked back to him then she turned her head around and continued walking away from him. He didn’t take his eyes off her and he fought harder and with greater desperation. His only thought was to be at Aceso’s side. If she needed help, he had to be there. He owed it to her to help her.
He managed to slide out of his vest and the grip that held him in place. He sprinted after Aceso down the tunnel that she had disappeared down. He took a few steps and was gathering speed when he slammed, face first into an immovable object that appeared out of nowhere.
His world exploded in pain and light. He stumbled back from whatever he had just run into as he tried to relearn how to breathe. He almost fell down but by some miracle he was able to keep his feet and looked around as his lungs took in small gasps of air, keeping him conscious. He gripped at the pain in his abdomen and chest as he looked around. He looked to his right and towering over him was a massive beast with huge, pointed triangle ears that crowned his head. His face and body were covered in brown fur. His eyes were pure molten gold and shined with an inner light that looked through him in absolute apathy. William could see no forgiveness or empathy in those eyes, and it was all he could do to stand his ground.