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Chapter Four:

The outback sun beat down on Mike's back. It had been a week since his encounter with Saxon. Knowing what sort of animals came out at night, Mike didn't relish the thought of being bitten by a snake in the dead of the night. He ultimately decided on travelling through the bush by day, yet staying close enough to the road that he was able to navigate safely. Taking opportunities at roadhouses to hitch a ride on trucks heading in the same direction, Mike took cover in their trailers.

Now, however, he was in the desert with no ride. A gust of wind caused Mike to press his ears flat against his head. Desert sand was getting caught in his fur. Lack of water parched his throat and made him wish he'd been able to buy something at the last roadhouse. That was four nights ago. This is funny. Mike thought. I've always thought that it'd be great to walk around Australia. Now I can't stand the desert. Laughing inwardly at his stupidity to cross the desert, Mike pressed on.

***

As the sun sank lower in the Western Sky, Mike sighed. He'd heard stories about the desert. During the day it was hotter than Hell itself. His friends had told him. But during the night, it is absolutely freezing. Still recovering from the heat, Mike sat on the side of the road behind some bushes; savouring this brief respite between both extremes. His ears perked up, listening for distant sounds of traffic heading towards him. Only the sound of insects and other creatures were audible to him. Mike settled in for the night and reflected on his ordeal so far.

The lightning had changed him incredibly. His hearing had improved ten-fold. And his body was slightly more toned than what it once was. Mike was never fat, nor was he ever skinny. He was what he liked to call, wiry. But he did lack muscle definition. Now, he could feel the change in his muscles himself. He actually liked being a wolf; but in his mind, Mike knew that the world was not ready for his new form. He wanted his family and friends to remember him as he was. Mike's thoughts turned to his family. He wondered how they were faring. He knew that they must be heartbroken and hoped that his note would reassure them enough. His last thoughts before he went to sleep were of his dojo, and the girl he liked. The dojo was fine; but Tennille. He had hoped to ask her out, and had planned to do it for so long. Cursing himself for being so cowardly when it came to asking a girl out, Mike turned over and tried to get to sleep.

***

BANG! The sound jolted Mike awake. It was still dark and Mike was unsure of how long he'd been asleep. Mike heard the sound again. It echoed from behind some sand dunes close by. Mike knew the sound. His dad had loved going to the rifle range with him. Mike pressed himself into the sand and listened again. A few more shots echoed behind some nearby dunes. Puzzled as to what there was to hunt out in the desert, Mike made his way slowly towards the sound of the gunshots; moving stealthily between what little cover there was to have. Reaching the dunes, Mike crested the top. As he did, his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

Three off-road vehicles were parked in a line, headlights blazing. Standing around the cars were about six hunters, each one armed with all the tools of the trade. They stood facing something and Mike strained his eyes to see what they were looking at. He received his second shot that night. What appeared to be a young mouse stood quivering with scraps of rope littered around his feet. "Please!" the young mouse cried. "Why are you doing this?"

"Mice are pests little guy." Was the reply from what seemed to be the leader of the group. "You just happen to be one." He said with a sneer.

"You're my brother! Please, just let me go and you'll never see me again!" the mouse pleaded with the leader.

"My brother died a week ago in a freak storm!" The leader was now Yelling. "You're nothing to me! You've got ten seconds to get out of my sight. And then the hunt begins." The leader took aim and fired his rifle at the feet of the young mouse; who was jolted into action and took off into the darkness.

It was at that moment that Mike decided that the mouse needed a saviour. As the group was watching the exchange between the two, Mike had silently made his way down to the cars. Swiftly, He came up behind one of the men at the edge of the group. Placing a paw over his mouth, Mike then put his khukuri across the man's throat and dragged him into the darkness. Away from the rest of the group, Mike withdrew the blade and hit the man with the butt of the knife, knocking him out. Placing him silently on the ground, Mike returned and went for another member of the party.

As he made his way back to the site, Mike heard shouting start to get further away. Hmmm. Mike thought. This will make things a bit tricky. Alright boys, let's play. Mike smiled inwardly and set off after them. Taking them out one by one, Mike left each person under a shrub. Keeping his ears perked up, Mike listened out for the leader.

There he was. Mike managed to locate him about fifty meters from where he was standing. Pretty sure that the leader was the last man standing, Mike hugged the ground as he planned his next move. He heard the leader call out.

"C'mon man, where are you little guy?" He shouted. All of a sudden, the leader stumbled. "Ah! What the hell?" he exclaimed. "Stevo? Mate wake up!" The leader had come across the unconscious form of one of his comrades. "Who's there?" he called. "I'm not bloody joking mate! You'd better come out and show yourself now!" Mike decided that it was now time to reveal himself.

"I thought big brothers were supposed to look out for their little bro's. Looks like you, my friend, are doing a cracker of a job." Mike stated sarcastically as he suddenly appeared from the shadows. The leader raised his gun with a look on his face that suggested he'd seen a ghost.

"I don't know what you are!" he exclaimed. His voice was full of fear; betraying the front of so called courage he was putting up. "You stay the hell away from me. Or I swear, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Mike replied. "I've taken care of the rest of your mates. Oh don't worry, they're only unconscious. They'll wake up sooner or later." Mike reassured. "But you. Trying to kill your own kin? That is hard to decide." Mike said in a low voice. As he was talking, he pulled out his khukuri and toyed with the blade. "Now mate, you'd better lower that toy that easily show's you're compensating for something." Mike growled threateningly.

"Look, What do you want from me buddy?" The leader sounded just as scared as his little brother was. "You want money? Take it!" he exclaimed and threw his wallet at Mike's feet.

"I appreciate your offer. But what I want is you to walk away. Remember your brother for who he was. Not as he appears now." Mike started to fade into the shadows and kept talking. "You will go back to wherever it is you're from. And you will not speak of this. If anyone asks what happened, say that your brother was taken by some wild animals. But do NOT come actively hunting for us or I will kill you. You got that?" Mike threatened with a tone in his voice that showed the conversation was over. The leader stood dumbfounded with his gun at his side and nodded slowly. "Good. I'm glad we had this talk." Mike stated and turned to walk off.

"Wait! Without me, who'll look after him?" The leader asked.

"Never mind about that. When I find him, I'll take care of him."

"You promise?" Asked the leader. His voice quavered.

"I don't know why you've had the sudden change of heart and I'm not interested in waterworks. Now get your mates, and get back home." Mike said and with that, vanished into the darkness once more.

***

The young mouse stood hiding behind one of the dunes. He hadn't gone far from the campsite when he started to hear a drop in the number of voices searching for him. Events of the past few days were racing through his young mind. He didn't understand why his brother had tried to kill him. He had strained his ears to hear the new voice that had come up. Was this man going to hurt him? The mouse didn't know. All he knew at this moment footsteps were approaching. Crouching down, he quivered with fear and awaited his fate for what seemed like an eternity.

The footsteps halted, and the mouse heard a sniffing sound. Then they started again. Each time, they came closer. From his feeble cover, the mouse saw a pair of booted feet appear. They stopped and turned towards him.

"It's all good li'l dude. Your brother isn't going to hurt you no more."

The mouse raised his head. Straining his eyes to see against the blackness, the mouse let out a squeak of fright when the face of a wolf became clear.

"Heh. Guess you feel like staying out here on your own." The wolf had said. "The name's Mike by the way. If you want, I've got a bit of food that you can chow down on." He offered. He had a kindness in his voice. The mouse, once over his initial fright, ventured forward. The wolf wasn't so bad. He actually looked Kind of cool.

Mike put out his hand and helped the young mouse to his feet. "Alright then." He said with enthusiasm. "Let's get back over to my little campground and we'll get some food into you. You're looking a little thin. Have you eaten much?" He enquired.

"No." The mouse replied. "My brother kept me locked up for a few days and then all of a sudden I woke up in the back of a car and was tied up." The mouse started crying again as the two began walking back to Mike's camp.

"Huh. Some sort of brother." Mike replied. "Don't worry li'l dude. I'll keep you company if you want."

"Please, don't leave me out here!" Came the pleading reply. "You're the only other one I know who is like this. And by the way, my name is Kane."

"Alright then Kane, it's good to meet you." Mike replied. "Well, you and I are in the same boat. I don't know how many others are out there. But it's a relief to see that I wasn't the only one" he continued.

The two reached Mikes campsite without any interruptions. "Well, here it is. Just a ditch in the dirt with my backpack for a pillow." Mike sighed. Throwing his last packet of chips to Kane, Mike settled down ready to sleep.

"Hey Mike?" Kane queried.

"Hmm?" came the groggy reply.

"Why did you leave your family?" Kane asked.

"Because," Mike replied, "if I hadn't, I would never have been able to save you li'l dude. Get some rest now mate. We've got to make the next town by tomorrow evening."

"Why? What's the rush?"

"Because if we don't, we won't be eating or drinking anything for a while." Mike grunted. Throwing his backpack over to Kane, Mike turned on his side. "There you go mate, use that as a pillow for the night."

"But, what will you use?"

"Don't worry, I've got my coat."

"Thank you" Kane said in a small whisper beside him.

"Don't mention it." Was Mike's final reply.

Together, the wolf and the young mouse waited for the first sign of the new day. Who knew what lay ahead of them. All Mike knew was that they had to get supplies as soon as they could. And possibly, some answers as to how he became a furry.