Runaways: Pt. 6
#6 of Runaways.
~Stupid disclaimer thingy~ Ya adult content blah blah blah. If you read this and your not old enough. Try not to get caught. If you aren't held back by any of those silly laws then your good too. Enjoy!
***
"Where..." A young wolf said in a daze as he sat up, tasting dirt and blood on his lips. "Where am I...?"
The scenery around him was blurry and faded, and a thick fog coated the ground from
view. The wolf stood up and felt dizzy, but was graciously caught by the ground, which
broke his fall. His recently received wounds stung on the cold dirt and made him groan.
"HELLO!" He yelped in desperation, felling around him for something to support
himself on. "IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"
"Ugh!" A voice came from about three feet away, which gave Hatchet a mixed emotion
of hope and fear. Who knows who this other someone could have been, but then again
at least someone was there with him.
"Hello...?" Hatchet said as he tried once again for balance, this time succeeding to sit
up. It didn't do much good though, seeing as the view in front of him was clouded by the
swirling mist. "Where are you? Can you move?"
"Hatchet?" Came the slightly more recognizable voice. "Is that you, wolf-boy?" Who
ever it was, he shuffled a little towards Hatchet, making a silhouette in the mist. The
outline of a horse became more apparent.
"Buster?" Hatchet asked questioningly. He hoped to god it was. "Buster is that you?"
He sat and waited for an answer. He then noticed the aching in his body, followed by the
stinging of recently received scratches.
"Yeah," He finally said. His breathing was heavily heaved as he made his way over.
"It's me, Hatchet... Are you hurt at all?"
"I..." Hatchet then tried to focus on his arms, and after some strain he had them clear.
There was a couple scrapes up and down his forearms, but nothing to serious. "...I think
I'm ok. How about you? Are you hurt at all?"
"Just some scratches and I think my ankle is twisted..." Hatchet heard what was
probably him trying to move his massive hoof, followed by a scream of agony. "Yep," He
chuckled. "My ankle is defiantly twisted..."
"I don't think mine is," The wolf stood up, and this time he didn't fall back on his
muzzle. He actually maintained balance, but could feel aches and pains splintered all
throughout his body, which made him want to fall back into the dirt.
"So what the hell happened...?" Buster asked as he tried standing up on his own.
Failing to do so, Hatchet stood behind him and grabbed his torso. Buster just groaned as
he tried to stand, but the sprain had been more then he'd expected.
"I have no idea..." Hatchet said as he walked around a bit. He could tell they were in a
clearing shrouded in mist that seemed to be circular. There were two stumps on the left
side with an axe put into them, and under that axe there was something flapping in the
breeze. Hatchet cocked an eyebrow and half walked, half limped over to see what it was,
but then was caught by a gasp from Buster.
"It can't be..." The horse said as he tried to catch up to him. Hatchet trotted over, took
position under his arm, and supported him until he could plop down on the closest
stump. Hatchet then took the axe out of the other, grabbed the piece of grungy paper,
and then sat down reading out loud.
Good Day Gentlemen!
What an interesting situation you two have put us into this past night. I spare no satisfaction in saying that tonight is your last night with us. I deeply apologize with the deepest hole in my heart, but doing a dastardly thing like sneaking into my trailer together and doing god-knows-what, and above all starting a riot in the Grand Tent... It was just despicable and I hope by this way you learn your lesson.
However, I have left you a gracious bounty of: This axe, a couple of scarves, a blanket, some rope and twenty dollars. Just look beside the stump one of you is probably sitting on and you see it all.
Good Luck my loyal subjects,
-R.L.
"We've been forgotten..." Buster said as he rubbed his ankle.
"...Forgotten?" Hatchet asked as he got up again and carefully took the horse's ankle and placed it on his knee. The dirt that was caked in the hoof began to fall on Hatchet's pant leg and he gently massaged it.
"Yeah..." Buster said as he groaned, feeling the pain of his ankle shoot up his leg and
into his back. "You thought we were on a free ride to everything, didn't you? No strings
attached? Well what do you think happens when we break Jeffery's rules... We get left
behind... no questions asked."
"I don't understand..." Hatchet said as he still held the horse's ankle. He felt a tear
form in his eye, but he choked it back. "The note says we were in R.L.'s trailer...
together..."
"It's a fake..." The horse bent over and grabbed the rusty looking paper, but was
careful not to put pressure on his ankle. Hatchet hoped that it was for his sake and not
his own. "R.L. would never use paper in this condition. Jeffery pulled us from the crowd
with his... bodyguards I guess you could call them... and ruffed us up, then ditched us
away from the scene... We've been forgotten..."
"I thought R.L. was in charge... why didn't he do anything..." Hatchet said, now putting
the horses hoof down gently. He couldn't tell if he was frightened more by the situation
or by Buster's growing temper.
"R.L.'s a fool..." Buster sounded bitter now as he sat, trying to hide the pain from his
leg. "He wouldn't notice. Jeffery probably said we'd run off together or something. He'd
believe that without a second thought..."
"Then what was the point of bringing me all the way out here..." Hatchet's ears had
fallen now. He stood on his two feet and better surveyed the surroundings he was in,
and surprisingly enough... he WAS in a circular clearing surrounded by thick trees that let
barely any light in. All the leaves had fallen, so the only way they had light was because
of the bareness in the spindles of branches.
"The question is..." Buster threw back at him, his voice laced with venom. "What are
we going to do? We're in this dumb-ass clearing, and all you can do is feel sorry for
yourself!"
Hatchet was blown to pieces. When he first met Buster, he seemed like the nicest
horse he had ever met, but he just turned out to be the biggest jerk on the planet. It
was the same for pretty much everyone else he had come in contact with in the past
week. Even Jeffery turned out to be a backstabber.
"We need to do something..." Buster said, grabbing the axe. He used it as leverage
and put all of his bodyweight on his other ankle, which allowed him to stand and, with
some effort, walk. "We can't just sit here and wait for whatever lives in here to find our
corpses..."
"I can't go with you..." Hatchet said without looking back. It almost hurt him to speak.
"We have to stick together, mate!" Buster laughed as he grabbed the rest of the gifts
that Jeffery had left them. "Now help me carry these, will you?"
Hatchet turned around, his ears still fallen, and he grabbed the second scarf that sat
beside the stump. He wrapped it around his neck and let it blow in the wind.
"I said I can't go with you..."
"Hatchet, get real..." Buster was amused at the display of rebellion that the wolf was
exhibiting. "As much as you like it or not, we have to stick together. There's no way in
hell we'll get out of here alive without each other..."
The wolf turned and walked up to the horse, slowly. He squinted his eyes and forced
contact with Buster's.
"I can't trust you..." He growled. "From now on... It's just me..." He turned back and
headed for the nearest opening the clearing offered. "And by the way... The name... is
Bartleby..."
And with that... he was gone.
***
Walking for about ten minutes does a lot to you. Especially if it's in a secluded forest with no sound whatsoever. It has that special magic that extinguishes all the rage that's clogged your mind, and has an interesting power that turns you around and brings you back to a deserted clearing. Even after storming off and revealing your real name.
"Buster!" The wolf shouted as he jumped back through the bare and leafless trees. "Buster, I can't..." And before he finished, he realized that the horse was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left were his hoof-prints, and they were headed in the opposite
direction.
He just sighed, checked his scarf, and trotted in the crippled horse's direction,
following the prints until they stopped at the opening, which was a little more grown
over then the one he had been through. Luckily, though, Buster had stomped a trail for
him, which lead him straight to him.
"Buster..." He said as he placed his paw on the raging bucks shoulder. "I'm sorry I
just... I can't believe someone would do that to us... just leave us like that..."
"Fuck off Hatchet... or Bartleby... or whatever you call yourself..." Buster said as he
trudged, not even looking back at the wolf.
"It's Hatchet..." Hatchet said as he stood there, bewildered at how angry Buster was.
"And you said it yourself, we have to stick together. You'll never make it anywhere with
that leg of yours..."
He caught up with Buster and wedged himself underneath his arm to help him walk,
but the horse tossed him aside like a piece of paper, throwing him into the thick vines
that hung from the trees.
"I'm not going to say it again, wolf..." He turned around and made eye contact just like
Hatchet did and spoke with words that simply dripped venom. "I can't trust you.... from
now on... It's just me..." He turned back and stood tall. "And by the way... The name... is
Gunther..."
He began his attempts at walking again, stumbling here and there from the uneven
ground, while Hatchet hung there in the greens. A lump in his pocket became more and
more noticeable as he twisted and turned to free himself, and, after landing on the
ground, he pulled out the mushy remains of the chocolate bar he had cut in half.
"I thought I put this in my bag..." He said as he licked some of the chocolate that
squirted out off of his paw. Then, walking down the path a bit more, he threw the
package at Buster, which nailed his right between the shoulder blades.
"THAT'S IT WOLF!" Buster screamed as he whirled around. He picked up the object and
raised his arm to release it, but was caught of guard by the squish that went off in his
hand.
"You see that?" Hatchet shouted back at him. "I gave you half of the chocolate bar
because I saw you as my friend. We need each other and you know we do, so let me
help you, Buster!"
The horse didn't know what to say. In one hand, he had the fresh anger that he'd
created when Hatchet blew up on him, but in the other hand, which was now covered in
chocolate, he had their budding friendship.
"Alright Hatchet..." He caved. After all, he was the one who said they needed each
other, and he didn't want to come out of this branded a hypocrite. And he had to admit,
Hatchet was a pretty good guy to have come back for him. "Let's work together in this...
no more anger, ok?"
The wolf smiled and sprinted over to him, taking position under his arm without
hesitation.
"Alright, let's find somewhere to go..."
"Done deal."
***
After walking for what seemed like a week, the sun finally decided to fall behind the two furs as they hobbled along the same, narrow trail. The cool sensation of the tree shadows crawling up their back gave them both shivers as they hummed together.
"Ya know, Hatchet?" Buster said as he slowed to a stop. "I think we should stop for
the night and set up camp or something."
"That sounds like a good plan." Hatchet replied as he walked out from under the
horse's bicep. His shoulders ached from semi-supporting Buster and he decided now was
a good time to take a break anyway.
They walked into a small clearing that they saw to their right and began clearing the
brush from it.
"So how about a fire?" Buster laughed as they finished moving all the dead leaves to
one side, which left nothing more then smooth earth.
"A fire sounds nice," Hatchet smiled back at him, feeling a weird sensation in his gut.
It was like warmth wrapped within cool, then wrapped into warm again. He couldn't
really understand it... but it felt... well, great.
While the wolf was contemplating this odd stir, Buster was busy circling stones around
the lowest point they had cleared on the forest floor and stacking a couple sticks and
leaves into it.
"Now..." he said, bringing Hatchet's attention back to reality. "I have to find a stone...
But not just any stone... a special stone." The horse stood and began limping towards
the wolf, obviously trying to hide it.
"A special stone...?" Hatchet asked.
"Yes." Buster agreed. "A special stone, now... lift up your right leg."
Hatchet did, and noticed he was standing on an abnormally white stone that was half
stuck into the dirt. He picked it up and examined it with confusion.
"How did you..."
"Pick up your other one now." The horse interrupted, now pointing to Hatchet's right
leg.
Again, he listened and lifted, now finding another stone that was almost identical to
the one he held in his paw. Picking it up, he held them together and listened to them
tap together.
"Okay..." He said as he threw the two rocks to Buster, who caught them easily. "How
did you know about those stones...?"
"I saw them when we were cleaning up," Buster giggled. "It was just a coincidence you
were stepping on both of them."
Hatchet groaned as he walked over to where they had left their blanket wrapped
provisions, and just as he laid down he saw the shimmer of a fire out of the corner of his
eye. He sat up and saw the smile Buster spread across his face as he sat down in the
dirt, patting the spot next time him.
"How did you get it up so quick??" The wolf muttered as he stared at the already lively
fire that danced in the pit.
"Why don't ya come over here," Buster giggled and he laid down on his side. "...and
maybe... just maybe... I'll tell it to ya."
Grabbing the blanket, Hatchet trotted over and sat down next to the horse, making
sure that he didn't end up setting the cover on fire on his way.
"You want some?" He asked, holding the cover out to him with his paw. He didn't want to feel greedy or anything, so he thought he'd ask.
"I think that's a good idea," Buster replied with a smile. He took the portion that was
given to him and slid under it, touching Hatchets side with his.
Hatchet jumped at the touch of warmth and began to blush. It felt like static was
jumping between their fur, which made his heart race and his palms start to sweat.
'What is this feeling...?' He thought as he rolled his eyes to see Buster's face, which
was focused on the dusky, pink and orange sky. 'I feel... safe... for once...'
"It's a nice night, eh?" Buster sighed as he raised his legs to let the heat from the fire
in. He turned his head towards Hatchet and smiled again.
"Buster..." Hatchet began, but words started to crash in his head. He didn't know what
to say next. "I'm... I'm glad we decided to stay together..."
"Me too, wolf-boy," He winked. "I'd be lost without you by my side, ya know?" He
sighed again, raising the blanket with his massive chest that let in a cold chill from
outside. "I can't help..." He stopped.
"Can't help what?" Hatchet asked him, rolling over to face him and supporting himself
on his elbow.
"Nah it's dumb," he giggled this time, but it sounded fake. His eyes just stayed
focused on the darkening sky. Each star starting to twinkle as the darkness grew more
intense.
"No, I doubt that," The wolf prodded. "Just tell me, Buster. It's not like I'm going to
hate you or anything because you have an opinion."
"I..." The horse started again. "I can't help but feel... happy that you're right here." He
started to blush through his thin, brown fur. "It's weird, I know... But... You just give me
a warm feeling, ya know?"
"Yeah..." Hatchet said, relieved that this boy was feeling sort of like he was. It was
almost comforting in its own sense, but he had something to confess, too. "I... have this
urge to wrap my arms... around you..."
"Oh thank god," Buster said as he grabbed him and held him close, letting the warmth
of his own body flow into the warmth of Hatchet's. "Ever since I paired up with you for
chopping... Ever since you gave me that chocolate bar... I couldn't help but feel attracted
to you..."
Hatchet slowly wrapped his own arms around Buster, and for once, he felt the security
of having another there beside him. He smiled and was surprised at how weirdly good
this feeling was and he buried his face into Buster's chest, breathing deep.
"For once..." He spoke into his torso. "I feel like I'm not so alone anymore." He stopped
to breath deep once again. "I feel like I've been locked in a dark room... and now
someone has let me out... and it was you..."
"I don't care if we ever get out of this forest," Buster smiled again, now stroking
Hatchet's back. "I just want to lie here... And feel your body on top of mine."
As Buster spoke, the moon peeked through the opening in the trees above them,
showering them in a celestial light that radiated what each of them thought. Hatchet
looked up into the horse's eyes and smiled with as much warmth as he could, his own
eyes shimmering in the moonlight. Then, moving closer, he kissed him slowly while
placing his paw on Buster's.
"I think that's an awesome idea, Gunther,"
***
And that's it for Part 6.
I definatly decided to take it in the best direction possible. And i've never written a love story that involved anything more the k-9's, so this should be interesting =P.
I hoped you guys liked it, cause if so I'll keep going. But this could also be a good ending note too, so let me hear what you guys think alright?
Catch ya guys later =D.
Love your furry woodland wolf writer.
-Pup