Finis

In the darkness of the night, I walk alone. Twigs splinter under my feet. I walk barefooted to meet the night and yet I am not frightened. The padding of many paws is echoing in my small dark, shadowy clearing in the forest. The wolves howl drearily all around me. I can feel them coming closer, inch by inch. Their breath is balmy on my skin as the largest one closes in to greet me. And though I am outnumbered and outsized, I am not intimidated. They dare not harm me, for I dare not harm them. They are my friends and I am theirs. The Aurora Borealis shines above us. This is our ritual. This is our life. But something is different and they sense it too, another presence in our forest. It is upon us like some wild creature. And then all i see is the never-ending darkness.

I feel wind rushing past my face and I feel something under me as if it is holding me. I open my eyes and see him carrying me. He doesn't notice I am looking at him. I feel my eyelids drooping. I must have made a noise, though I cannot recall doing so, for he is looking at me. He says my name, though I can barely hear him. I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I feel the jostling movement as he rushes faster. The Aurora Borealis burns still, though it should have been gone by now. I know he has sacrificed much to rescue me, but I wonder if it is enough. I am falling. I see him calling my name; I cannot hear a whisper of anything though I know he must be shouting my name to call me back to him. Though I try to answer I cannot make my mouth move. I am slipping father and farther away from him. A shadowy darkness begins creeping in, clouding my vision. And then I see no more.