Chapter 1: The Beginning
The geese took flight as the fire spread through the forest. Deer and elk bounded away in fright. A wolf pack ran for the safety of the northern edge of the woods. The fire consumed the flowers and gr*censored* and soon the trees turned from a pleasantly warm tan to a coal black. The leaves shriveled and turned to ashes in seconds. Rabbits hopped towards the lakes to burrow in the ground near them. Birds cawed and cooed as they flew. The fire leaped over treetops and slowly became bigger. A group of children ran through the woods away from the fire. One girl in the back of the group kept shooting jets of water from the palm of her hand at the fire chasing them. "We won't make it!" Cried a girl. The leader snarled at her. "Don't give up hope yet! We still have to try!" He shouted. The girl glared at him, but kept running. "I don't know how much longer I can do this!" Cried the girl in the back with a pained voice. "Keep at it! We are almost there!" He cried. A boy somewhere in the middle snarled at him. "We have to rest! We can't keep running like this!" He snarled. The leader gave a howl of frustration. Suddenly, a bridge leaped into view. "There it is!" he cried. The group gave a strangled gasp of joy and they sped up. Suddenly, they hurled themselves into the water. The fire rushed over them as they held their breaths and stared at the flames leaping over the water as if it wasn't there. The orange and red flames mesmerized them. Suddenly, it vanished. They burst through the water with gasp as they tried to catch their breaths. They swam to the shore and they climbed onto the flat sandy surface under the bride. The girl who had been in the back of the group collapsed and didn't move. One boy rushed to her side. "Look what you did! She exhausted! It will take her weeks to recover!" he cried in anger and horror. The leader just sighed. He stood up shakily and he walked over to her. He slowly put a hand on her shoulder ad his palm glowed a faint turquoise. Suddenly, the girl sat up with a bolt, gasping. The boy dropped to her side and started to rub her arms to get her warm. The leader swayed slightly. One boy rushed to his side and held him steady. "Thank you Felix." muttered the boy who was still trying to warm the girl up. Felix just nodded his head weakly and walked back to his sitting spot and slumped down. "Thank you for your help Marcus." he muttered to the boy who had held him steady. He just nodded his head mutely and he sat down next to three others. Felix stared at his small group. "We made it. That's what counts. I'm proud of all of you." He said in a strong voice, all the weakness gone. "You kept running and never stopped. Thank you." He said in a grateful voice. The others blushed and smiled weakly. "Now! Let us rest. We wake up at dawn." he said, his head leaning against the bridge wall. His eyes slid shut, but the group knew better. Felix never slept.
Felix watched them, their still forms moving only ever so slightly when they breathed. Jane muttered something barely audible in her sleep.Marcus slept against the wall next to where Felix slept. They were like brothers. Fane slept near the water. Ryan lay somewhere near Jane. Poor Ryan. He couldn't remember anything of his past before he met Felix and Marcus. That's probably what made him so bitter all the time. Felix sighed silently and he stepped out from under the bridge. He cupped his hands to his mouth and let loose a wolf howl that sounded awfully real. Somewhere in the west, another wolf answered his howl. Felix howled back one last time before he returned to his group. His friend Rohan had safely evacuated his pack out of the forest. "Felix?" Said a small and barely audible voice. Felix went back under the bridge and saw Marcus staring at him. "Is everything alright?" He asked his warm holly green eyes staring curiously at him. "Yes. All is well. Sleep. We have a long time till the sun rises again." Felix whispered, his eyes soft. Marcus smiled to himself. "You would know." With that he rolled onto his side and fell asleep. Felix let loose a silent chuckle and he went to sit on top of the bridge. It was a simple brick bridge. It didn't have any walls that kept people from falling off to Felix was free to let his feet dangle over the edge and stare at the full moon and the constellations that surrounded it. Felix remembered when he had first met Marcus. It had been in an old abandoned building somewhere in the country. Then, shortly after, they had met Jane. Felix smiled sadly. They had found Jane under a bride half in the water, barely alive. Felix had had to sleep for weeks to recover from the amount of energy he had used to bring her back to full health. Then, as they traveled through some woods, they had met Ryan. They had found his cave and had bunked their for the night. They had been incredibly surprised to find that someone already lived in that cave. Ryan had helped them through a tough winter, showing them were to find food and a hot spring. Then they met Fane. The last member to join the group. They had met each other when Fane had recently stolen some food from a store and at the time was running form the cops. They had hid her and she had shared some of her food with them. Felix sighed. He missed those days. He looked down into the water and he saw his reflection. He barely recognized himself. His hair was messy and was the color of milk chocolate. His face had lost all it's baby fat. He stared at his silver eyes the most. That sliver of green in his left silver eye was still there. Suddenly, a wolf howled. Felix jumped to his feet in surprise. "That's not Rohan..." He muttered, staring into the shadows. He thought he saw something move. That's when he saw a pair of green eyes staring back at him. There was something strange about the green eyes though. Felix rubbed his eyes and stared harder. The left green eye had a sliver of silver in it. Felix gasped and that time, he did fall off the bridge. "Woah!" He cried. He hit the water with a loud splash. The group woke up with a jolt. "Felix? Felix!" Cried Marcus, rushing into the water. Felix emerged spluttering. The water was freezing! "What happened? What was he doing in the water?" Fane asked, jumping up to help. "How should I know!" Snapped Marcus. Ryan sat, staring at Felix. Jane shakily stood up, but Ryan pushed her back down. "No. Stay. There fine." He muttered. Jane glared at him, but sat down. As soon as they sat Felix down and wrapped him in a worn travel cloak, Marcus sat in front of him. "What happened?" He asked. Felix closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I heard a wolf h"Here." Fane said gently. She cupped her hands and blew into them. Gently, she put her hands to Felix's cheeks and he sighed with pleasure. "Better?" She asked. "Yeah." Felix muttered. "I forgot that you control fire." H e muttered. "What about the wolf's eyes Felix. What about them?" Marcus said, his yes eager. "They were green. The left eye. The wolf's left eye had a sliver of silver in it." No response. Felix opened his eyes to see the group staring at him. " I think.... I think it was my father." Felix muttered, staring at his hands.
