Chains rubbed the fur around my paws, the back ones. My wings were bound to my sides by a thick rope that scratched small holes in them. I opened my eyes as sweat dripped down my forehead in the afternoon sun. People moved ahead of me and behind me, I was kind of in the middle of the slave line. My paws dragged in the dusty road, making lines in the sharp rocks and sand. I closed my eyes and grit my teeth as I felt the chains on my forelegs start to be dragged by the butterfly wolf in front of me. Something sharp lashed my side and I felt the warm gush of blood. I let out a howl of pain and stared at my massa. He held the whip in his paw and gave me a sneer. "Hurry it up!" He barked. My massa was a wolf of course. We butterfly wolves were slaves unless we were "special" like Willow, who rode next to the massa. Her eyes lingered on me, as always. They were as hard as steel and as impenetrable as ice, she never showed any emotion. A flash of pity was there, just for a second and I jumped. Massa whipped me again, barking orders and I sped up, nearly crashing into the butterfly wolf in front of me. You wanna know where I am, where this is?
This is hell.
I watched Shock as massa whipped him twice. I felt pity flash in my eyes and quickly shut out my emotions, but he had seen. I'm the massa's best friend, so I'm not a slave. I watched the line of slaves walk slowly, their eyes hollow and empty. They didn't deserve this, so what if they were different? I prodded him in the shoulder and he looked at me, his cocoa and white pelt spiked. "What?" He demanded. "Seth, I think you should let the slaves go free. They don't deserve this, they're butterfly wolves so what? I'm a butterfly wolf, but I'm equal to you." I begged. Seth shook his head. "I'll set ONE free. Take your pick." He gestured with one brown paw to the line. "Shock." I said immediately. Shock's dar blue ears swivelled towards us at the mention of his name. "You want me to let Shock go? I'd rather let Skull go," Skull was the strongest, a black and white powerhouse, "He stays. We only need him because he's a wimp and it's fun to whip him!" He cracked the whip and took the tip off of Shock's ear and blood trickled down his face. He let out a yelp and bowed his head, tears leaking down his face. "Stop being such a jerk Seth! They have the right to be free and you can't take that away!" I yelled into his face. Shock looked at me in shock and the other slaves seemed to brighten up slightly. "Willow you idiot!" Yelled Seth. The whip lashed out and I ducked, receiving a blow to one wing. I fell from our carriage and the horses quickened, taking the slaves with them. Blood fell over my sides as I lay there, crippled and helpless.
I watched the scene play out. My ear was bleeding badly and when she yelled at him, the coldness and hardness of her eyes shattered into a fiery blaze of rage. "Willow you idiot!" Massa yelled and whipped her wing. The snap echoed as her wing broke and blood went all over her. She fell from the carriage and we sped up. "NO!" I yelled and bit down on the ropes, getting my mouth burned but snapping them. I flung myself against the carriage, the wheels snapping my chains and I flew up, free. "You'll pay!" I hollered and shot down like an arrow, my wings folded against my sides. I rammed full on into Seth, my teeth bared and my claws out. We battled and claws slashed me across the chest, leaving three deep gashes but I didn't care. I gripped Seth around the throat and flung him, far away. He landed in the grass and he didn't come up. I let out a whoop of triumph as the once slaves snapped their chains and flew free, But I couldn't leave yet, I changed direction and flew to a dark mound on the road with red leaking from it. Willow needed me.
I saw him coming. The carriage sped away as a cloud of butterfly wolves rose into the air, family flying away together and friends flying away with them. I smiled weakly as Shock landed in front of me. "Willow!" He cried as I slipped into unconciousness.
I woke up in the air. "Am I dead?" I murmured. "No." Shock's voice came. I was in his paws and he was stronger than he looked. He looked down and smiled at me. "You're not dead, but you gave it your best shot." He whispered. I giggled slightly as we carried on through the clouds, my paws trailing in the fluffy wet ones. The sun glowed through them, making his gossamer thin wings shine and his fur, wet with cloud, sparkle like a rainbow. I smiled and licked his shoulder. Suddenly, we started dropping. "What's going on?" I asked. Shock flapped harder but we were losing height fast. Then I noticed the ghastly wound in his chest. We hit ground at a slow pace and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.
We were losing air. I flapped my wings harder, but my heart was racing and my air running short. My limps and wings were weak but I kept us falling at slow rate so that when we hit the ground, Willow fell harmlessly and I slumped down, unconscious.
My dreams were dark, of blood and death. I wandered helplessly through a field of skulls, my paws slipping and sliding on blood. A light shone in front of me and I floated up, my wings still against my sides. "NO!" I cried. "NO, NO NO!" Suddenly, a willow tree blocked the bath and I fell lightly into the branches. I closed my eyes.
I woke up in a field. Willow was beside me. Paw marks parted my fur and my mouth was tingling. "You saved my life." I whispered as she patched up the gashes in my chest. "Of course I did." She whispered to me. "I love you." I whispered.
I screamed and pressed my paws against his chest and pushed, trying to force his heart to beat. "Don't die!" I begged, feeling blood soak my paws. This wasn't working, I opened his jaws and kissed him, forcing air into his lungs. I stayed there for a couple minutes before he let out a gasp and sat up. I worked on the gashes, placing cobwebs and marigold on them. "You saved my life." He whispered. "Of course I did." I replied. "I love you." He murmured. I leaned down and kissed him again. "I love you too." I pulled back up and said, my eyes sparkling.
