She began to think of Garth. She honestly felt like he was lame, and the last thing she wanted to do was marry him. He was only interested in Lilly, and tried to “impress” Kate by “howling” at the moon. She fumed and expressed her hatred over him.
Suddenly she heard Humphrey holler, “Kate! We’re leaving!”
“Coming!” she called back. She jumped into the car trailer and off they set.
Kate hopped onto a small bed, presumably for someone tired in the road trip.
A song, probably rock, began to play on the radio.
I’ve been gone so long
Since the dark clouds came along
If I was back, the guy on the right track
Would be comin’ to get me
*****************************************************
Kate felt the warm feeling inside. She and Humphrey were becoming a married couple. She took a deep breath in and said, “I do.”
“You may now rub noses with—“
“Hey!” someone yelled. “He’s an omega!”
“They can’t marry! It’s a rule!”
“Take the valley!”
All of a sudden, wolves attacked each other. They came flying in, biting and clawing up their rivals.
Tony’s words repeated in her head--“If we have to, we’ll FIGHT for the valley.”
Kate was bit on the arm. “Humphrey!” She cried.
He grabbed her paw. “C’mon, let’s go find a place where we can be alone.” His crystal blue eyes stared into her brownish-gold ones.
“Okay. Let’s go—“
But she was cut off by an attack.
Her eyes snapped open. It was nightfall, and Humphrey was next to her. They lay on the dirt ground, next to a large swamp.
“Humphrey!” She called out.
“Kate?”
“Oh, thank goodness. It was just a dream.”
“Something wrong, Kate?”
“Yea. I had this really bad dream. We were getting married, and all of the wolves attacked each other since you were an omega, and-“
“Never heard something so awful,” he said, snacking on a cupcake from a bag.
“Humphrey?”
“Yea?”
“You’re chewing with your mouth open. And talking with it full, too.”
He swallowed the snack. “Whoops. Sorry, Kate.”
She giggled. “You’re fine. I’m just…” her voice drained out for a moment, sounding sad, “…disappointed. I wanted to meet a man with a good howl and a strong heart. But I’m stuck with a sore-throat howler and a weak lover who cares more about my sister and pretends to like me, yet it’s obvious he’s faking it. Sorry I kinda…passed you over like I did, Humphrey.”
“You’re fine,” he said, smiling. “I mean, you thought Barf was cool.”
“It’s Garth. I told you that for the 8th time now.”
“Garth. Right.”
Suddenly the low mumble of voices were heard.
“My bro don’t live-“
“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!” A sharp voice shot out.
“We could hang around and see if we can learn anything,” Humphrey suggested. Kate had nothing better to do, so she didn’t argue and followed along.
“A sap?!” the same voice snapped. “Well, excuse my sincerity, for thinking that I’d lost the only two people I have left in this world!”
“And?” the other voice jeered.
“It’s surprising, because you’re stubborn, and then shock, scam bag, and swindle is what got us here in the first place!”
“Seems like a prank went wrong,” Humphrey murmured. He peeked over the bushes to find two boys arguing-one with a black cap, red shirt, and purple shorts, the other with a yellow shirt and jeans, and was really short.
“I bet I’m taller than Frodo there.”
A third voice was now heard. “I helped to.”
By a large sign stood a third boy, who seemed to be the tallest, wearing a green jacket and a red-and-white striped shirt, and jeans. (Obviously.)
“I’ve got nicknames for them,” Humphrey muttered. “Short guy’s Frodo, medium is Sockhead, and the tall guy is…Lumpy, I guess.”
“After a while of fighting,” Humphrey play-narrates to amuse Kate, “Sockhead pushes off Frodo.”
“I’ve had enough!” he yelled.
“And Frodo falls on the concrete. Ouch. That had to hurt.” Kate giggled a bit before “Sockhead” spoke again.
“I’m returning home!”
“But we can’t go home, Double-Dee!” the tall one says.
“Oh, his name’s Double-Dee? Oh, well. I liked Sockhead better, though.”
“I’d rather face my consequences, Ed, then wander aimlessly with a so-called friend!”
Humphrey began to dance. “Burn, baby burn! Burn, baby, burn, YEA, BURN!”
Kate giggles again. “So if the tall one’s Ed, and the medium one is Double-Dee, then what’s Frodo’s real name?” Humphrey asks.
“Maybe it’s Eddy,” Kate suggests. “There’s a pattern.”
“True.”
“Say it ain’t so!” Ed cries out. “We are three no more, Eddy!”
“I knew it was Eddy,” Kate whispers.
“Like hop, skip, and no jump! Like up, up, and no away! Like blah, blah without the other blah!”
Eddy reacted with this: “FINE! GO HOME! I don’t blame ya! Because everything WAS my fault!”
“What did he do?” Humphrey asked himself.
He then began to sob.
“Poor Frodo-I mean, Eddy.”
“Yea, you heard me!” He continued. “A foul-up, wannabe loser!” He started to punch himself on the head.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” Humphrey said aloud by accident.
“Humphrey!” Kate scolds.
“Sorry.”
“Your shirt, Eddy,” Edd tells him.
“My shirt?”
He points to where his tears were soaked. ‘Are those salt deposits from your lamentation?” He took his finger and flicked his friend’s nose.
“Gotcha!”
“Kate, let’s ask them for help,” Humphrey suggests.
“You can,” she says.
“Alrighty, then,” and he walked off.
