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Chapter 3 - Not In Kansas Anymore

Matt woke with a start as a peal of thunder rolled across the sky; in the distance lightning flashed illuminating the clearing for a brief moment. Looking around he tried to remember where he was, then he heard gentle snoring next to him. Nestling his head back in the crook of Jake's arm, he watched the wolf's chest slowly rise and fall with his breathing. A sense of calm and security flowed through him as he felt Jake's arm wrapped around him.

Closing his eyes he ran his paw gently through Jake's white chest fur. It matched so well with his own thick coat of snow white fur. With a grunt Jake woke, raising his head as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. Looking down, he watched the small arctic fox cuddled up to him softly nuzzling his chest. Sitting up Jake yawned and stretched before looking out into the stormy sky.

"Sleep well?" Jake asked shivering slightly.

A blush grew across Matt's muzzle, when suddenly a crack of thunder roared overhead. Matt yipped in surprise, Jake stiffened and the pair looked up at the ominous clouds over head. Another clap of thunder boomed and a flash of lightning speared across the sky.

"I'm glad you knew this was here" Jake said as he peared from the cave entrance, where the pair had passed out.

"Yeah, I found it on my first trip up here." Said Matt, standing up next to Jake as they looked out as the rain slowly began to fall.

Matt stepped closer to Jake and was surprised when the wolf put his arm around him. Shaking Matt didn't look at Jake as he felt his face burn beneath his thick fur and tears prick at his eyes. Matt let out a quiet sob as a peal of thunder rolled across the sky, louder than before.

"Matt...I know what it's like to love someone and not be able to be with them. But Matt, what you and I have, our friendship, you can't get much closer than that." Seeing the miserable look on Matt's face he continued "I want you to know Matt that I will always be here for you no matter what."

"I understand" Matt said quietly as fresh tears trickled down his muzzle. "It's just hard but having you here for me means so much to me, and was more than I had hoped for."

A fork of lightning illuminated the clearing, and a crack of thunder rumbled. Yelping in fright Matt threw his arms around Jake's waist.

Matt dug his head into Jake's chest fur inhaling the musky scent. He sighed; if he couldn't have a lover, at least he could keep his best friend. "Never been out in a storm before have you?" Jake said grinning.

Matt shook his head quivering.

"Well don't worry, we'll be safe here"

************************************************************************************************* Shawn jerked awake, breathing hard his heart pounded in his chest. Gasping he looked around, the front window of the cockpit was smashed in and before him he could see the engine burning. His flight suit was singed and burned where he had been sprayed by burning oil. Around him a storm raged, wind buffeted his sorely damaged plane, lightning flashed and thunder boomed as rain lashed at the canopy.

Grasping the controls he fought the storm and the damage to his plane, despite to keep the plane in the air. Flipping on the com he yelled

"This is Flight Officer Shawn Wood can anybody hear me, does anyone read, over." Static filled his head set.

"I repeat, this is Flight Officer Shawn Wood can anybody hear me, does anyone read, over." Shawn sighed resting his head against the back of his seat as he flew through the storm.

It was as if no one was there, but that wasn't possible, even over the coast of France they were always in contact with the airfield. Shaking his head he wondered what else could possibly go wrong.

Suddenly the controls jerked and struggled in his hand, the entire plane gave a great heave and bucked in the wind. Fighting for control he looked out across the wings, to his horror large chunks of the left wing had been shot away and the aileron was slowly tearing itself off.

He watched with dread as the fierce winds tore and pulled at the wing; over the shrieking wind he could hear the groan of stressed metal. Shawn felt panic rising as he watched the aileron tear itself free, pulling a massive chunk of the damaged wing with it.

Shawn fought against the plane and storm to ensure it didn't flip over and spin out of control. The flames within the engine leapt high, as the overtaxed engine began shaking itself apart. A fuel line ruptured, spraying more burning fuel into the cockpit. Shawn screamed, letting go of the controls he patted desperately at the flames on his jump suit.

The Spitfire spun out of control as he put out the fire, the engine was ablaze and he was spinning down through the cloud layer. Below him stretched a great forest ending at a high rocky cliff face, a waterfall pouring off it.

Grabbing hold of the controls, he fought to regain control of the plane as it tumbled from the sky. Like a comet, the burning plane flew towards the ground. Shawn finally managed to regain control of the plane, stopping its insane spin he could do nothing to stop its heart stopping fall from the sky.

Shawn aimed the plane towards the clearing he could see around a large lake at the bottom of the cliff. Ripping back what remained of the canopy, he stood up and jumped away from the burning plane and into the raging storm.

**************************************************

As the pair looked out into the storm they saw a flash brighter than any lightning. Suddenly, there was a sonic boom, and out from the raging storm clouds shot a ball of fire. The pair leapt up as the ball of fire screamed towards the clearing on the other side of the lake.

Crashing into the ground, the ball of fire bounced; coming down again it skidded along the ground, digging a great trench in the clearing. Slamming into a rock the strange thing went near vertical before crashing back down.

Most of the fire had been put out by the wall of dirt thrown up by the crash. They gasped in shock and awe at what appeared to be an ancient plane. Looking at one another the pair took off as fast as they could towards the crashed plane to see if the pilot had survived.

***************************************************

Tumbling through the air, Shawn pulled the ripcord on his parachute. The canvas chute tore free from its carrying case, pulling him up and slowing his descent as it filled with air. As the storm raged and the wind and rain tore at him he watched his burning plane plummet towards the ground.

The burning plane spun over slowly as it fell, engine still ablaze. His moan of despair was swept up by the storm as he watched his beloved plane crash into the ground. He watched as it bounced once before skidding into a large rock at the edge of the clearing.

Shaking his head, he attempted to guild the parachute as best he could in the storm towards the clearing. Suddenly, in a flash of lightning he saw two figures running towards his downed plane.

Shawn swore, he was sure the two figures running towards his plane were an advanced German patrol. Running a hand across the grip of his standard issue Smith & Wesson, he knew he was more than prepared to kill any Germans that got in his way.

Fear gripped him as he realized he was coming in too fast, he screamed as he saw the tree tops rushing up to greet him. Crashing through the forest canopy branches broke and tore at him and his chute.

His descent came to a jarring halt as his chute caught up in the branches of the trees. Gasping for breath he tried to see the ground, but the thick canopy blocked out all but the brightest flashes of lightning. Hoping he was but a few feet off the ground, Shawn hit the release on his chute.

Shawn yelled as he fell through the air, falling twenty feet before impacting the hard unforgiving forest floor. The impact knocked him out.

****************************************************

As they neared the crash site they realized they were looking at the wreckage of a plane. Not just any plane, an ancient plane that looked a great deal like those that Jake's grandfather had flown during The Second World War.

The entire front end of the plane had been smashed and warped, both from the crash and the heat. Most of the left wing had been torn away and the glass of the canopy smashed. Rushing up Matt and Jake quickly kicked dirt on those fires still burning.

Cautiously they peered inside the abandoned plane. The interior looked just like the pictures they had seen of the one Jake's grandfather had flown. Stuck in the corner of the cockpit was a rather singed photo, Matt reached out and plucked it from the canopy frame. What he saw shocked him.

Within the black and white photo stood two of the strangest creatures he had ever seen. Both were wearing flight suits much like those of Jake's grandfather. The two creatures were identical, handing the picture to Jake, Matt watched as a look of horror and concern, spread across Jake's features. Matt looked at Jake as the wolf studied the picture with almost a look of familiarity cracking his stern visage.

Neither of the creatures had any fur, other than atop their heads and around the lower half of their faces. As far as he could seen they did not have tail or claw, and they certainly did not have muzzles. Their eyes were set above what Matt guessed was a short triangular snout, over a small mouth filled with short flat teeth, save for two canines. Their ears were small and rounded set on the sides of their heads instead atop.

"Have you ever seen anything like them?" asked Matt.

"No... Never... I have no idea what they are..." Jake said quickly, his face just as serious as ever.

Over the storm came a strange noise.

"Hey can you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds like canvas flapping"

Suddenly, over the storm they heard a scream and the sound of branches breaking and canvas tearing. Looking at each other Matt and Jake took off running towards the sound.

***************************************************

Shawn groaned, gasping for breath as he rolled over onto his stomach. Trying to get to his feet, he screamed as hot pain shot through his left leg. Collapsing hard he looked down; the legging of his flight suit was a ragged mess. Large pieces of the canopy had lodged themselves in his leg; the fall had dug them deeper. Blood seeped from the wounds as he staggered to his feet, his left leg shaking and hurting as he tried to place his weight on it. His chest and arms stung where they had been burned by the burning oil. Hobbling towards the nearest tree he slowly sank down to the ground. Trying to catch his breath, he waited for the pain to go away and for everything stopped spinning.

He took a shuddering breath to calm himself. Shawn knew he had to find the plane and scavenge whatever supplies he could from it. Then he would have to find a village with resistance fighters, if he was in France, he thought. He had to get back to Britain, though now he didn't really see the point. The last person he ever cared about was dead; there was nothing left for him.

Resting his head against the trunk, he fought and failed to hold off the burning tears. Over the sound of the wind howling through the trees he thought he heard something. Looking around he realized someone was running through the underbrush. He swore again, realizing the German patrol must have seen him come down.

Ducking behind the tree he pulled out his revolver, he would make them regret taking his brother from him. Taking aim, he waited for the Germans to show themselves. What rounded the corner nearly caused him to drop his gun.

"Are the Germans breeding werewolves now?!" he gasped.

Shawn looked on in awe at the strange creatures that rushed into the small clearing. Both looked like animals he had seen before. A wolf, its grey fur surrounding the white and tanned fur of its muzzle, ears and chest stood next to a snow white arctic fox. The only difference was that both creatures were standing on their hind legs, and their front paws looked more like hands. Their fur was matted down and waterlogged.

Cautiously the two creatures crept closer to the empty parachute. Their eyes glowed with every flash of lightning that illuminated the dark forest. Remaining partially hidden behind the tree, Shawn kept his revolver drawn and targeted on the two animals.

As they drew closer he realized they were both wearing boxers. A gust of wind blew from behind him, carrying his scent with it. He swore as the two creatures stopped and sniffed the air. His leg was shaking badly now, the pain was almost unbearable as he crept backwards in a low crouch.

The two animals crept slowly into the clearing. Suddenly with a yell and loud crash, he fell backwards as his leg collapsed under him.

***************************************************

Running through the woods Matt and Jake came to a halt, rain falling around them, softer than before. Peering around, they followed the sound of flapping canvas until they spotted the tattered remains of an empty parachute hung up in the branches of a large oak tree.

Carefully they inched forward, Matt shivered from fear and the cold rain water running through his already soaked fur. A gust of wind blew up; carrying with it a strange scent. Taking a deep breath, the smell washed over them.

"You smell that?" whispered Jake.

"Yeah, but what is it? I've never smelled anything like it before." replied Matt, gazing through the dark forest for the source of the smell.

"Well I thought I caught a faint scent of it from the plane, but it was difficult to tell over the smell of burning oil."

Breathing deeply, a wet musky smell assaulted his sensitive nose along with the smell of fresh blood and burnt fabric. It was like nothing he had ever smelled before, and this worried him.

Slowly they made their way forward, following the scent. Suddenly, they heard a crash and yell causing them both to jump. It came from behind a tree not twenty feet from them. Glancing nervously at each other they made their way carefully towards the source of the sound, and the smell.

As they made their way around the trees they came to a jarring horrified halt. There on the ground before them lay one of the creatures from the photo. It lay on its side, eyes shut tight, breath rasping through clenched teeth.

It had its hands wrapped around its leg. Though it was too dark to see the blood they could smell it. Creeping forward they tried not to startle the large creature. Matt groaned as his foot came down snapping a large twig.

The creature's eyes flew open, wide with fear. They watched as it tried desperately to drag itself backwards, its left leg useless. In its hand it held an old revolver, switching its aim between the two of them. Pain flashed across its features and it collapsed backwards, its hands grasping at its leg as fresh blood welled from its wounds.

Its teeth were clenched and its breath came in ragged pained gasps. Jake carefully inched his way closer to the creature. Seeing this it brought its revolver back up, pointing it at Jake it yelled.

"Bad dog stay!!"

Jake took a step back, hands raised out before him, a look of concern flickered through his cold eyes. Matt's head was cocked to the side a look of confusion and surprise flashed across his features. He had not expected to find the creature, let alone understand it.

"What do you mean dog? Haven't you ever seen a wolf before?" Jake asked.

"Fine werewolf... whatever, just stay where you are,"

"We just want to help you. Let us take a look at that leg of yours." said Matt, peering over Jake's shoulder.

"What are you?" said the creature with a look of confusion and fear.

It yelled as one of the jagged shards of metal shifted. With one last attempt to pull itself backwards the creature collapsed backwards, unconscious.

Carefully Matt and Jake crept towards the strange creature. Kneeling to either side of it they could see the large bits of metal imbedded in its leg. The flight-suit it wore was shredded and torn, its chest and arms were singed.

"We have to get it to the cave." Matt said looking across at Jake. "The storm seems to have died down but we can't just leave it here."

Jake grunted in acknowledgement, not taking his eyes off the creature. Matt saw a strange look of fear and concern flash across his eyes that scared him more than the human and Jake's normal sullen look combined. Just like in the picture, it only had fur on its head and around the lower half of its face. In place of fur it had lightly coloured flesh, much like he had seen on his own muzzle after a barbecuing accident.

From what he could see through the tattered flight-suit, the creature must be very strong. Its arms were thicker than his and its chest rippled with muscle. Grunting the pair picked up the unconscious creature.

Slowly they made their way back towards the cave, the creature cradled between them careful not to jostle it too much and cause it any more pain.

The worst of the storm seemed to have passed. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, but it was off in the distance. As it receded, calm returned to the forest, the only sounds the rain that still fell from the sky and dripped from the trees. Damp twigs and leaves rustled underfoot as Matt and Jake made their way through the dark forest in silence, neither knowing what they would do with this strange creature, both wanting desperately to know what it was and where it had come from...how it had gotten here.