Chapter 16: The Oldest of Friends

“Wait a minute,” Humphrey said. “Did you say a cannon?”

“Yeah, why?” Kenya asked.

“I was afraid of that,” Humphrey replied. “He’s going to use it to destroy the valley, come on!”

The group immediately began rushing back to the valley, heading due west. They eventually caught up with Viggo at the sandstone cliffs where he was waiting for them.

“Viggo!” Humphrey shouted angrily.

“Well, isn’t this nice?” Viggo taunted. “The whole family back together again. Kate, always a pleasure to see you. Kenya, you look well. Steven, I see you’ve had a change of heart. Mick, I imagine this time of war is to your liking.

“Go to hell, scumbag,” Mick said.

“Already been there,” Viggo replied casually before continuing. “Jax and Jonas, your brother is being very helpful as part of the Crimson Pack. I hope you don’t expect him back anytime soon, he still has much work to do. The always beautiful Viper-“

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Humphrey interrupted.

“And Humphrey,” Viggo continued. “It warms my heart to see you once more. You have led me on quite the chase these past forty-one years and I must compliment you for that. Not many wolves slip through my fingers as often as you have. So, as a reward of sorts for successfully waging this war on me thus far, from predator to prey, I’ve decided not to kill you right now.”

“Viggo, hand over the cannon,” Mort demanded.

“I don’t think so,” Viggo replied.

“I wasn’t asking,” Mort snarled back.

“What are you planning to do with it?” Steven asked.

“I’m glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan,” Viggo replied with a smile before turning and waving his hand.

The men behind him aimed the cannon up at the cliffside above the group and fired a round. The cliff exploded in a shower of rocks and boulders. Humphrey and the others tried to get out of the way, but were buried under the pile of rocks. Viggo watched on for a moment. He then walked up to the pile of rocks before kneeling down and looking at Humphrey through a gap in the boulders.

“When your opponent presents you with the opportunity to wipe out all of his pieces at once, it is the cunning player who seizes the moment,” he said.

Humphrey gave Viggo a frustrated look as Viggo stood up and looked down at him.

“Don’t worry,” Viggo said, “I’m not going to destroy your home yet. Given our long history together, I’m certain you will get out of there one way or another. And besides, you wouldn’t get to watch, and that takes all the fun out of it.”

Viggo turned and began walking away, holding his hands behind his back.

“Humphrey, Kate, I bid you all a most respectful farewell,” he said before walking away.

Humphrey was completely immobilized; so was everyone else. His body hurt and he found it difficult to breathe with the weight of all the stones resting on top of him. The entire group had been trapped underneath the heavy boulders and from the angle he was stuck at, Humphrey could only make out someone’s tail next to him, covered by rocks.

“Kate!” he called out. “Kate, are you okay?”

“I think so,” she replied from a spot he couldn’t see. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Humphrey grunted in reply.

“Humphrey, how are we gonna get out of here?” Kenya asked.

“I have no idea.”

Suddenly Humphrey felt movement underneath his body and remembered that he had dived on top of Viper to try and protect her from getting crushed. He lifted himself up as much as he could, and Viper slithered out from under him.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I’m okay.”

She then looked up toward the small hole above Humphrey’s head where Viggo had been talking to him.

“I think I can fit through there,” she said. “I’ll see if I can find someone to help.”

“Go,” Humphrey told her.

Viper slithered up to the gap and managed to make her way out of the pile of rocks.

“I’ll get help,” she said. “Just don’t move.”

“Ha, ha,” Humphrey laughed sarcastically.

For around a half hour, there was nothing but silence and the group patiently waited for Viper’s return. Eventually, they heard a voice calling out to them. No one recognized it except for Humphrey. It was the voice of an old friend. The oldest of friends.

“Humphrey!” the voice said.

“Who is that?” Kate asked.

“Humphrey!” the voice called again.

“Wait,” Humphrey said, “that sounds like…no way! Arnold!”

Arnold’s face appeared in the hole above Humphrey’s head.

“Humphrey!” he said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, for the most part,” Humphrey replied. “Arnold, how are you alive? I thought you were dead.”

“No time!” Arnold said back. “ I’ve gotta get you out of there.”

“Arnold, you’ll never be able to move all these rocks,” Humphrey told him.

“I’m going to go get help!” Arnold shouted into the hole. “Just hang tight!”

“I’m trapped, not deaf,” Humphrey sarcastically told him.

“Sorry.”

“Who could possibly be strong enough to lift these boulders?” Kenya wondered.

“Don’t worry, I know a guy,” Arnold replied.

“I know exactly who you’re thinking of,” Humphrey said.

“I’ll be back,” Arnold replied.

Arnold was gone for about an hour when everyone heard heavy footsteps approaching. Soon enough, the rocks began to lift, and the group was freed. Standing there, next to Arnold was the bear that had helped him and Humphrey prank Gerald so many years ago.

Meanwhile, back at Viggo’s main campsite, Viggo and Robert were arguing about Viggo’s apparent failure to kill Humphrey and the others when he had the chance.

“How?” Robert said. “How could you let them just-“

Viggo suddenly reached out and clasped a hand around Robert’s neck. He’d grown sick and tired of Robert’s complete lack of understanding his methods and he was tired of trying to explain them to him.

“You never get it, do you, Robert?” he said angrily. “And you never will. So I suggest you stop trying to.”

Viggo let go of Robert’s throat and sat down in his chair as Robert began coughing.

“Everything is going according to plan, I assure you,” he said, “as long as you do what I say, and exactly what I say. Do you think you can handle that?”


“This was all a trick,” Humphrey said, sadly. “From the truce to sending us on a wild goose chase around the forest. He knew we’d end up right here. It was a trap the entire time and I led us right into it. I really messed up this time.”

“Humphrey, everything you did, you did to protect us and the pack,” Kate said, comfortingly. “Now the question isn’t how you fix it, it’s how we all fix it, together as a team.”

“How do you know I’m not just going to mess everything up even more?” Humphrey asked.

“Humphrey, you’re leading us in the middle of a war,” Kate said. “You make a hundred decisions every day. Not all of them are going to be correct. What’s important is that you keep making decisions; that after you fail, you keep moving forward.”

“Where do you come up with this stuff?” he asked.

“Does it really matter?” she asked back.

Humphrey smiled at her.

“Thanks.”

“We have to go after him,” Mort said.

“We can’t,” Humphrey replied. “He covered his tracks too well and we need to regroup with the others.”

“I wonder how Martin’s doing,” Jax said.

“I doubt he’s doing alright,” Jonas replied.

“Don’t worry,” Humphrey tried reassuring them. “We will get Martin back, I promise.”

“I feel like we’re running out of time,” Jonas said.

“We could go back to the valley and grab him before anyone notices,” Jax suggested.

“No!” Humphrey exclaimed, shooting them an upset look. “That is a terrible idea. We cannot be anywhere near that place right now. They would capture and kill us and everything we’ve fought for would be lost.”

Jax and Jonas had a dismayed look on their faces as the group turned to head back to join with the others. They arrived back at the Protectors’ pack and met up with Adam and the others.

“What happened out there?” Adam asked.

“The Great Destroyer turned out to be a cannon,” Kenya replied, “and Viggo used it to destroy the sandstone cliffs.”

“Oh no,” Adam breathed.

“How’s the situation here?” Humphrey asked.

“Viggo’s men put up a good fight, but we managed to drive them off,” Stinky answered.

“We should all get some rest,” Humphrey suggested. “It’s been a long day.”

The group and the Protectors settled down as the sun began rising and they slept for most of the day. Everyone arose the next morning to the smell of freshly caught caribou. As everyone gathered in a small clearing, they noticed they were two wolves short.

“Hey, has anyone seen Jax and Jonas?” Stinky asked. “I mean, when’s the last time they missed a free meal?”

“They departed our pack at sunrise,” Darren said.

“Departed?” Humphrey asked, “to where?”

But he realized the answer before Darren could tell him.

“Oh no.”


“Why did I ever let those two out of my sight?” Humphrey said furiously. “I can’t even have a breakfast anymore!”

“Man, Humphrey, when you fail, you fail big time,” Steven laughed.

“Thanks a lot, Steven!” Humphrey said between gritted teeth.

After figuring out that Jax and Jonas had probably gone back to the valley in search of Martin, the group had swiftly left the Protectors and rushed off toward their old home to try and cut off the two wolves.

“You know, Mort wasn’t too thrilled that we were going,” Kate said.

“And neither am I,” Humphrey replied. “That place is a death trap right now.”

They eventually caught up with Jax and Jonas just outside the Eastern Pack.

“I told you guys not to come here,” Humphrey said.

“How were we supposed to know what that look meant?” Jax asked.

“Well, what did you think it meant?” Humphrey asked.

“I don’t know,” Jax replied. “It’s not like we can read your mind.”

“Guys, we shouldn’t be anywhere near there,” Humphrey said. “That place is way too dangerous. Viggo has the valley guarded and armed to the teeth. Anyone could spot us. Okay? We’re leaving. Period.”

“We’re worried about him, Humphrey,” Jonas said.

“I know you are,” Humphrey replied. “And I promise, we will think of a way to get him out of there.”

“That’s what you always say,” Jax said. “But you haven’t actually done anything to make it happen. He’s our brother, Humphrey. What if it was Adam or Kenya or even Kate who was in Martin’s place?”

Jax and Jonas walked past Humphrey and back in the direction of the Protectors while everyone else looked at him. The rest of the group soon returned to the Protectors as well.

For a few days, the group stayed with the Protectors until eventually, the matter of what to do about Viggo came up once more. And with it came up the matter of Martin, the valley, and the cannon.

“They’re right, you know,” Humphrey whispered to Kate. “I have put off the thought of rescuing Martin. Viggo’s been getting to me so much that I don’t know what to do and the truth is, I have no idea how we’re going to win this war. He was strong before and now that he’s got the cannon, he’s even stronger and it’s because of us.”

“Hey,” Kate said, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear her. “Don’t let that get to you. We will beat him and get everyone back. We’re stronger than we know, and we have each other. That’s how we’re gonna win.”

Humphrey smiled at her and the meeting continued. Later that day, Humphrey and the others decided to leave and return to the Central Region.

“Thanks for everything, Mort,” Humphrey said as they were preparing to leave.

“You’re somewhat of a mystery to me, Humphrey, but your heart is in a good place, nonetheless,” Mort replied.

“Let us know if you’re ever in need of help,” Humphrey told him. “We’d be happy to come.”

“As would we.”

The group left the Protectors and headed back to the Central Region. Over the course of the next month, Viggo began a reign of a terror with the cannon across Jasper and beyond, effortlessly destroying entire packs. The group tried as best they could to stop him but were always unsuccessful.

Eventually, in mid-September, Viper found out that Viggo would be returning to his main base in the Northern Region for a few days and the group came up with a plan to invade his main campsite and kill him. As they were preparing to leave, Humphrey noticed Mick walking nearby.

“Mick,” he said, “How would you like to accompany us on our little excursion?”

“Will I get to kill someone?” Mick asked.

“Almost certainly.”

“Lead the way.”

They set out for Viggo’s base early in the morning, hoping to catch Viggo and his men off guard while they were sleeping. The first few rays of light shone through the trees and the sky started turning from black to a dark blue as the group arrived at the edge of Viggo’s camp.

“Remember,” Humphrey whispered, “we’re heading into Viggo’s territory. Expect the unexpected.”

“Says Humphrey the Obvious,” Jax said.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re the normal ones,” Jonas replied.

However, as the wolves carefully entered the campsite, they noticed that something was wrong. The campsite didn’t just look deserted, it was burnt, charred, and blown apart. Trees had fallen down, tents reduced to ash, some fires still burning.

“What happened here?” Runt asked.

“It looks like someone beat us to it,” Kate replied.

“Yeah, but who?” Adam wondered.

They headed over to Viggo’s tent, one of the few that had survived. As they went inside, they saw that it had been completely ransacked. The tables were all flipped over, papers laying all over the ground, the weapon rack was tipped over and Viggo’s knives and guns were scattered across the ground. The chests were tipped over and most of what was inside was gone. The rack with the skins of Humphrey’s parents was broken and their pelts laid on the ground among all the other stuff. The only thing left standing was Viggo’s desk which still had the chess board set up on it. Humphrey’s frustration suddenly burst from his body and he furiously flipped the table over.

“AHHHH!” he yelled. “What is it gonna take to catch this guy?!”

As Humphrey tried to calm down, there was the sound of the flap at the front of the tent being opened. Humphrey’s ears twitched toward the source of the sound mere milliseconds before he turned his head to look at the entrance of the tent. Everyone turned and growled at the figure who collapsed to their knees in the entryway. Mick was ready to jump on him, but Humphrey quickly stopped him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!” he frantically said.

“I thought you said I’d get to kill someone,” Mick complained.

“Just…wait,” Humphrey insisted.

“I hate you.”

Humphrey carefully walked up to Viggo and looked down at him. He was covered from head to toe in ash and soot, his face bloodied and his clothes torn. He looked up at Humphrey and Humphrey could see a look on his face that he had never seen before. Fear. Pure, genuine fear. But behind that, also a hint of relief.

“I never imagined in a million years, that these words would come out of my mouth,” Viggo said, “but I am overjoyed to see you, Humphrey.”