Thunder and Lightning: Collide
Survival
Prologue
"They're dead." she whispered painfully as she stepped away from her mother's dying body. "What do you mean?" her friend asked, grief-stricken. "She's still alive!" "Barely." she snapped back in a bitter voice as she turned away from the she-wolf. "We're the only survivors." The other she-wolf looked shocked at her friend's conclusion. "How-" "No one else could have survived that storm!" she snarled whipping around to face her friend. "The only reason we survived was by depending on those we loved! And they all died!" A fearful expression covered her face. What happened to the young pup eager to never have the smile faded from her face? Had she really changed this much just because she had lost everyone she ever loved? The fearful look vanished from her face. "You haven't lost everything yet." she called back to her wandering friend. The she-wolf glared at her challengingly. "I still have you and you still have me." For a moment the she-wolf didn't speak. "You're right; I'll die protecting you. I won't let anything happen to you." she replied in a calmer voice. Her friend smiled back with relief. She was back. "We will survive; we will tell the true story of Silver Moon Pack."
Chapter 1
“Mom?” woofed the young wolf sleepily as she lifted her head. Her eyes scanned the clearing; no one was in sight. “Did you say something Thunderstorm?” asked a voice from behind her. Her best and only friend Lightningstorm stirred from her spot and padded up to her friend. Thunderstorm shook her head. “No.” she replied slowly getting up from her spot. “Just had that dream again.” Lightningstorm let out a sigh. “It’s been almost five eclipses since our families were all wiped out by that storm; I mean the entire pack. I still have that image in my head.” Pain broke into her voice and she stopped herself from continuing. Thunderstorm stood up and gave her a reassuring lick on the cheek. “I’m sorry to have brought it up again; I just don’t know why I keep dreaming about it.” Lightningstorm looked up at her friend with ice, blue eyes. “It is strange.” she admitted. “I would like to know too.” As Lightningstorm closed her eyes to calm herself down, Thunderstorm curiously stared at the lightning bolt on her left side. It was glowing a bright yellow. “Mother was right, we are different.” mumbled Thunderstorm just loud enough for Lightningstorm to hear. The she-wolf twitched her ear and opened her eyes. “Yours is glowing too.” she exclaimed. “I’ve never seen it glow before.” “Neither have I.” agreed Thunderstorm. A grey rain cloud and lightning bolt surrounded Thunderstorm’s right eye.
Both she-wolves had gotten their “symbols” through a massive storm that had hit their luscious valley and had destroyed everything; including their entire pack. Both wolves were struck by lightning; purple lightning but survived thanks to bravery of their pack mates.
“If only that storm hadn’t wiped out our friends.” growled Lightningstorm fustratedly. “Instead of traveling to a new place every single day and fleeing from fights with other packs we, ourselves could be in our pack with our families.” Thunderstorm stayed quiet, she understood what her friend was feeling. The she-wolf's fur started to stand on end as she heard the howls and snarls of outrage coming from the horizon above. "We should get going; they've found us again." The howling and growls got louder as the friends made a run for it. Though the pack of wolves wasn’t in sight, Thunderstorm could feel their heavy paw steps coming their way. “How long should we keep running for?” asked Lightningstorm panting. “Until we can’t hear their paw steps!” replied Thunderstorm. The deserted valley started to turn into a thick forest which looked like a safe spot. “We should be safe in there!” yowled Thunderstorm bolting ahead. As they entered the forest, the footsteps stopped. Both she-wolves slowed down to a stop; the wolves had retreated. Thunderstorm let out a playful yowl of triumph. “Being loners does have its fun moments.” she exclaimed aloud. Lightningstorm let out an annoyed growl. “You call that fun?!” she snapped disbelievingly. “We could’ve been killed if they caught up with us!” “Hey chill Lightningstorm.” woofed Thunderstorm drinking from a nearby puddle. “How can I be calm!?” growled Lightningstorm. “You act like everything’s fine after what happened to our pack! As if you don’t care!” Thunderstorm stopped in her tracks and looked up at Lightningstorm angrily. “Oh. I-I’m sorry Thunderstorm.” stammered Lightningstorm realizing what she had done. “I-I’m just still overwhelmed by the fact that our entire pack got wiped out.” “That’s why we keep moving forward and forget about the bad things.” woofed Thunderstorm coldly. “Don’t let your anger out on me, Lightningstorm.” And with that, Thunderstorm turned away angrily to try and find cleaner water to drink from. She could feel her friend's warm blue eyes stare at her as she padded down to the fast flowing river. Ooze gurgled beside her legs as her paws slowly sank into the freezing mud beside the river bed. Winter was approaching faster in the mountains; the water was ice cold, almost undrinkable. The she-wolf flinched as the water stung her throat but she knew she had no other choice; this was the only clean water she would be able to find in the mountains. After a while, the wind had started to die down and Thunderstorm decided she should go find Lightningstorm before it got dark.
It wasn't hard to find the black and white she-wolf; she had stayed completely still ever since Thunderstorm had left. "For a few mintues I thought you had left." she barked happily as she stretched her stiff legs. Thunderstorm nodded her head uncomfortably. Despite knowing her friend always tried to forget any aggression that happened between them, it still annoyed her that she was so forgiveful. "Where to now?" she asked expectantly. Thunderstorm shrugged. "Let's just follow the river and see where we end up."
Chapter 2
Thunderstorm could hear her stomach scream with hunger. Even though the river usually brought many animals, yesterday they had no luck. "I guess getting chased out of one territory after another finally took it's toile on our stomachs." she exclaimed in a tired voice. "We should go hunting soon or we won't be able to keep going." "Relax Lightningstorm." she mumbled resting her head on her paws. "We've survived this long haven't we? As soon as we see prey we'll hunt it down." Lightningstorm looked at her sternly. The she-wolf sighed and rose to her paws. "Fine; we'll go hunting now." Before she could suggest where to hunt, she felt a tiny sting on her nose. It had started to rain. "Great; just what we needed." Lightningstorm muttered, flicking her ears in annoyance as they fell onto her face. Thunderstorm shrugged; she liked the rain. "Let's just get some food-" A soft rustling noise sounded from some nearby bushes. Through the dampening leaves, she could make out two long, brown and white ears twitching back and forth. A female deer was grazing in the berry bushes, despite there only being a few shriveled berries still clinging to their branches. Both loners licked their lips hungrily before slowly crouching to the ground. Lightningstorm looked expectantly over to her friend; waiting for a command. Before Thunderstorm could tell her to wait, the she-wolf bolted towards the doe. Thunderstorm growled with frustration before reluctantly chasing after her friend and their startled breakfast.
As she caught up to her companion, Thunderstorm got ready to scold her but realized catching this deer was way more important than worrying about false communication. Bunching her muscles together, Thunderstorm lept onto a boulder before using it as a boosting mechanism to force herself infront of the doe. Their prey, startled, skidded to a stop before colliding into its enemy. The female deer prepared to flee into the murky waters of the river but Lightningstorm beat her to it and pounced on its back. Realizing this was her chance, Thunderstorm rushed in and thrust her razor sharp canines into the deer's unprotected throat. The deer struggled feebly as Lightningstorm bit it's flanks and snapped at its weakening legs. As the she-wolf started to bite down harder on the deer's windpipe, she had a creeping sensation that someone was watching them. Thunderstorm scanned her surroundings cautiously but returned her attention back to the deer as it kicked its legs furiously. Lightnigstorm swiftfly backed up, just barely avoiding a deadly hit to the head before springing on its back again.
All of a sudden, the deer collapsed exhaustedly. Both wolves backed up just in time as the deer's last movements came to an end.
Chapter 3
Not before long after they had started to feast, Thunderstorm's unease continued to grow. "Lightning." she whispered. Her friend looked up at her curiously. "We're being watched." Lightningstorm looked around nervously. "I don't smell anything but this deer." A growl rose in Thunderstorm's throat as she stood up to scan the clearing once again. "Who's there?" she growled aggressively. A few moments of silence passed before two pairs of hungry eues emerged from behind a giant boulder. Both she-wolves could tell the strays hadn't eaten in days-even weeks. Through their flee-ridden pelts, Thunderstorm could see all their bones sticking out from under their skin as they sulked closer to the deer. Lightningstorm and Thunderstorm both stood their ground over their meal with bared teeth. "Please don't hurt us!" whimpered the smaller one showing no signs of aggression or strength at all. "W-we just want some food." Thunderstorm didn't leave her aggressive pose as both wolves neared. "Please!" begged the eldest one taking a dangerously close step forward. Thunderstorm let out a defiant snarl, stopping them both in their tracks. There was something off about the strays; besides both males being extremely underweight, Thunderstorm could smell the strong, disgusting odor of sickness all around the newcomers. "P-please." he repeated timidly. "We don't want any trouble; we're just really hungry." Before she could tell them to go hunt for themselves, Lightningstorm tore off a huge piece of the hip and almost sent it flying over to the two stray wolves. Thunderstorm glared defensively at her friend but before she could also scold her about earlier as well, the eldest of both newcomers spoke up. "Thank you." he mumbled through mouthfuls of raw meat. "I'm Shred and this is my little brother Moe." Thunderstorm grunted in greeting and continued to eat without looking up. "My name is Lightningstorm and this is my friend Thunderstorm." Lightningstorm replied warmly. "What's with the storm cloud and lightning bolts around your eyes?" asked Moe looking at them curiously. "Long story." Thunderstorm snapped before her friend could tell anymore about them. "It has something to do with our entire pack being whipped out." added Lightningstorm, not seeming to have understood what her friend was trying to tell her. "Did your pack get whipped out as well?" "We got kicked out." replied Shred ripping out a huge chunk. "We've been on our own ever since; it's harder living on your own than everyone says it is. You have to watch out for other wolf packs, strays, loner,s bigger predators, and deadly sicknesses too." "We got kicked out several weeks ago-we're trying to form our own pack made up mostly of strays and other wolves that lost their packs." "From the looks of it, you guys won't last much longer out here-we've been living on our own for most of our lives." retorted Thunderstorm. Shred and Moe looked at each other with stunned expressions. Of course, Thunderstorm couldn't blame them; not many strays or lone wolves would look as healthy and as strong as this, not forgetting to mention no lone wolf usually lasts more than a month out in the world let alone die from sicknesses or get killed by other wolf packs. "Join our pack." The words shattered Thunderstorm's thoughts as Moe blurted out the words. "What?" woofed Lightningstorm, looking at Thunderstorm doubtfully. "Please!" Shred woofed, joining in with Moe. "You're our chance of survival; and together we could survive for many years to come!" Thunderstorm backed up in disgust, leaving the deer carcass one step away from her. "It would be a chance to start over!" Moe ranted on, running up to Lightningstorm who sat still with fear and discomfort. Moe licked her nose affectionately, trying to persuade her to join. Thunderstorm sprang into action and bowled the sick wolf over with minimal effort. "That's it!" she snarled as Moe regained his balanze and raced over to his cowering brother. "We are not joining you're pack and if we ever see you again; your ears will be missing." Both brothers sank lower to the ground as the she-wolf roughly nudged her friend to her paws.
Leaving the half-eaten carcass behind, Lightningstorm quietly followed Thunderstorm away from Moe and Shred as they stared after them miserably.
After the incident, Thunderstorm was too furious to even notice Lightningstorm was trying to get her attention. The sun was high in the sky now but clouds had started to ambush the sun from all sides, blocking it completely. "Thunder!" shrieked Lightningstorm from behind, causing her friend to jump up in surprise. "What?" snapped Thunderstorm, sounding agitated at her friend's jumpscare. "What now?" she asked uneasily. Thunderstorm sighed and shook her head. "Wherever we want I guess." The incident with Moe and Shred seemed to be behind them now and neither of them wanted to mention it. Dead silence filled the air as Lightningstorm padded beside her friend, trying to find comfort in her presence. Out of nowhere, a faint but familiar, bitter odor hit Thunderstorm sensitive nose. "Do you smell that?" she asked curiously. "Smell what? Food?" replied Lightningstorm looking around hopefully. Before Thunderstorm could reply, a bolt of lighting shot up from the ground and rain poured onto the ground. Within seaconds, both wolves' pelts' were soaking. But that wasn't all, the lightning bolt had unfortunately struck a nearby tree and the massive roots had caught fire. Thunderstorm stood still with fear and her ears went flat on her head as the tree groaned and swayed back and forth dangerously in the wind. Unfortunately, the tree's weight was too great for the burning roots and the enormous tree gave way, heading straight for Thunder and Lightning. "Run!" shrieked Lightninstorm, bolting fearfully ahead of her friend. "Thunderstorm!" The she-wolf snapped out of her fearful trance and ran after her friend just as the tree hit the ground with a loud crash. Thunderstorm shivered as she felt the leaves of the tree brish against her quivering pelt. Thunder could feel her legs collapsing under her from shock. "Are you ok?" Lightningstorm cried, rishing over to her shivering friend. "We need to find shelter!" "I-I'm fine." she sputtered as she tried to regain her balance. Another flash of lightning rang around the surrounding forest overhead. Lightning let her friend lean on her shoulder for support as they wondered through the forest in search of shelter.
It wasn't long before they spotted a fairly big hole in the ground. Making sure no other animal was already occupying the den, the friends cautiously made their way in.
Chapter 4
The air was dusty but warm as they found a nice little place to sleep close to the entrance of the den. Thunderstorm could hear her friend breathing unusually heavy as she lay down on scattered leaves that had wandered into the eery den. Thunderstorm could feel her eyelids loosing strengths as they sagged over her eyes and before long she was fast asleep.
Loud weazing slowly made its way into Thunderstorm's drooping ears. Opening her ears tiredly, she looked over at Lightningstorm with concern. "Are you ok?" she asked in a quiet voice. The gloom of midnight hung in the air as the storm continued to rage outside. When Lightningstorm didn't reoky, Thunderstorm slowly stumbled to her paws in alarm. She was relieved to see her friend was only sleeping deeply-in a disturbing way. The she-wolf immediately sensed something wasn't right and nudged her friend. "Lightningstorm?" she woofed, raising her voice. When Lightningstorm didn't even twitch, Thunderstorm's panic rose. I have to wake her up, she thought racing out of the den subconciously. I need something to wake her up! The storm outside was even more brutal than before; rain falling from the sky as hard as it could-as if trying to intimidate hail. All sheltered places were now dripping wet as helpless animals cowered fearfully under trees and bushes, trying to find the last bit of dry refuge. Thunderstorm knew she couldn't be out too long before other animals would scavenge their den for warmth. She swayed her head side to side in search of anything useful in a quick motion, her ice, blue eyes filling with fear for her weakening friend. "What do I do?!" she shrieked, desperately trying to hear herself over the howling wind and thunder. She knew she was loosing her sanity as she continued to wander around in a circle with no answer. The clearing was soaked with the storm still raging and before long, Thunder lost her footing and bashed into a tree uncomtrollably.
Thunderstorm couldn't see a thing as she regained conciousness. She blinked repeatedly as tiny black dots gradually grew bigger and bigger. Her head was pounding from the impact, droning out the noise of the roaring storm in front of her. "Hasel! Max! Come quick! Something is terribly wrong with Eclipse!" Thunderstorm stopped dead, forgetting entirely about the situation she was in. Her entire body was shivering with excitement and fear as she heard the words being spoken. She recognized the wolf's voice all too well. "S-Shadow?" she whispered in a barely audible voice. Her vision started to clear but was clouded again as her eyes started to water at what she saw. The entire clearing of distress had turned into a peaceful valley-a valley she also recognized all too well. She remembered the territory around that valley, the wildlife in it-the pack who lived there. Thunderstorm blinked disbelievingly; her mother stood in that clearing in the valley-along with all of her former pack mates enjoying themselves and going out hunting and feasting on meals. Thunderstorm tried to run over to her mother but she couldn't move. She couldn't; happiness and shock had paralyzed her legs.
Chapter 5
What was happening? Was it all a dream? Had her pack never been whipped out in the first place? But then where was Lightningstorm? Uneaser arose in her chest as the clearing showed no signs of her friend. "Thunderstorm? Are you ok?" Thunderstorm whipped her head around to find a young pup staring at another wolf the same age-maybe a year younger a distance away. Thunderstorm could feel her heart splitting in two as she realized who the wolf pup was. "I'm fine Cisco, I'm just trying to find something to make Eclipse wake up so we know she's ok." replied a young Thunderstorm as she continued to search as her older brother helped. The she-wolf stared after them in awe and disappointment. "Then this is only a dream-I can see myself as a young pup again." she muttered, lowering her gaze. "But why am I having a dream at a time like this?! Lightningstorm needs my help!" All of a sudden, Thunder recalled something. "I remember this day...! Eclipse wouldn't wake up and like I said a few moments ago, I was trying to find something to help her wake up!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "But what did I find...?" Thunderstorm looked at her old self thoughtfully as she emerged from behind ivy tendrils. "Cisco!" she called as her brother ran over. "I think I know what can help Eclipse wake up!" "What did you find?!" he woofed excitedly. "I found some-" "Wet moss near the river!" she exclaimed getting back on her paws triumphantly.
Thunderstorm felt relieved but empty as she saw the storm continue to rage. Rushing to her paws, Thunder could still feel her head throbbing from her small incident but shook the feeling away and sluggishly made her way towards the river.