Teen Ink

Birth of a Warrior

Ler! Don’t let me go! I awoke with cold sweat dripping from my fur. It was just a dream, thank God. Since the day my mother had died I have always had nightmares of that night. The nightmare repeated over and over again, night after night. My father, Loupus, was Alpha of the Mobon Pack and had contributed to my mother’s death. I slammed my paw against the den floor with fear and anger as I remembered that horrible memory… again.
“Ler. Wake up. Your mother is gone,” he said calmly. Why did he say it so calmly?
“Why don’t you go look for her? Aren’t you going to do anything?” I roared. Tears poured from my eyes. I looked around shaking.
He smirked, lowering his head.
“I gave her to the Huemons. She never did anything. She didn’t take care of you. She hated you. Did you really need her? She is gone. Destroyed. Now she’s out of your way,” he laughed. I stood. I sensed darkness. The Huemons are evil creatures that have destroyed the village several times in the past four years.
“Why? Yeah, she never did anything, but did she deserve a tragic death like that?” I replied. It felt like there was a balloon inflating in my chest as my tears of fire trickled down my furry cheek. My soul was heated with rage.
“Yes, yes she did. She was useless. She wasn’t a warrior. Why would we need such a useless thing?”
A warrior? What’s that? I asked myself. I ignored it, I was too angry. I was too scared.
“Then you should destroy me and everyone else! No one in this pack is a warrior! Not even you!” I shouted at my own father running out of my den. I looked back only once to see the evil in my father’s eyes. He was smiling. How could he? He had just killed my mother and maybe even more, and he was happy? I ran for an eternity before I became extremely tired. My knees started to buckle as my eyelids became heavy. I collapsed into an unconscious heap. I slowed my breathing and I closed my eyes as I lay on the cold forest floor. Alone.