Chapter 19:
By the time morning came, Kenya had returned, Humphrey and the others had moved back into the valley, and the Crimson Pack had gone out deep into the forest. For about an hour, Viggo helped them clear out everything he and his men had set up during their occupation and they took it deep into the woods to where all the other furniture from last time was laying. Once that was done, Humphrey and the others gathered at the bottom of the small cliff where Kate and Humphrey’s den used to be. They began talking about what to do about Viggo.
“I still don’t trust him,” Kate said.
“I agree,” Viper replied. “This is all just one big game to him, Humphrey, that’s all it’s ever been.”
“We’ve got enough problems with Robert and the cannon,” Adam added. “Are we seriously going to take any chances with Viggo freely roaming around here?”
“You’re right,” Humphrey said. “I’ll handle this.”
He and a few other wolves led Viggo to a large, abandoned den and blocked the entrance with a piece of rubble that reached a little over halfway to the top.
“Humphrey, wait,” Viggo pleaded.
“Viggo, I’m sorry,” Humphrey said. “I wish we could trust you right now, but we just can’t. There’s too much bad history between us for us to trust that you’ll do anything except…well, you know.”
“And what about returning your pack to you?”
“I’m sorry, Viggo, we just can’t take the risk,” Humphrey insisted. “Think of it this way; you’re an unknown variable. We don’t know what to expect from you, and right now, that’s too dangerous.”
“You know that I could help you protect your home if you would just let me,” Viggo persisted.
“You already know my answer,” Humphrey replied.
“They’re here!” Jax said, rushing up to Humphrey with Jonas. “Well, I mean not ‘here’, exactly, but very soon. The scouts spotted them about a day away. I’m thinking we may need to start getting ready.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Humphrey said. “You two make sure he doesn’t try to escape.”
Humphrey and Kate met up with the others beneath the ruins of the old den. Garth, Lilly, and Kyle were among them and they all began discussing what to do before Robert arrived.
“Robert will be here by dawn. We have until then to come up with a plan and defend the valley,” Humphrey said. “Kyle, could you and your pack cover the back side of the territory?”
“Sure thing, Humphrey,” Kyle replied before heading off west.
“Steven, you get everyone else ready for the attack,” Humphrey continued. “Adam, take the pups deep into the forest and find a safe place to hide.”
“Wait, he gets to hide?” Steven asked. “We can hide just as well, you know.”
“Mick, Oscar, Kenya, and Steven, you guys lead the attack on the first wave of Robert’s men,” Humphrey finished.
The group was about to depart when suddenly, a human strolled into the meeting. It was Kenya’s old owner, Lucas. Humphrey immediately started growling at him, but Lilly and Kenya stopped him.
“No, wait, he’s with us!” Kenya exclaimed.
“How do you know?” Humphrey asked.
“Because I went and got him,” Kenya replied.
“Why?” Humphrey asked.
“It’s a long story,” Lilly replied, “and it’s too long to tell right now. It’s okay, we can trust him.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Humphrey asked.
“Humphrey, do you trust your sister?” she asked back.
Humphrey smiled at Kenya.
“Of course I do,” he replied.
Kenya smiled back.
“Now go,” Humphrey said. “We don’t have much time.”
As the group split, Runt walked up to Humphrey.
“Dad,” he said, slowly, “there’s something you need to know. And you’re not going to like it.”
“What is it?” Humphrey asked, suspiciously.
“Well, Lisa and I,” Runt stammered, “we’re, uh, we’re getting married tomorrow.”
Humphrey sighed.
“I know, Dad,” Runt said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s-it’s fine,” Humphrey replied. “I should be happy for you. But we need to make it quick; first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks, dad.”
Morning came and everyone gathered for Runt and Lisa’s wedding in front of the den that Viggo was being kept in so that they could keep an eye on him. The ceremony went flawlessly, and Runt and Lisa were happily married. The crowd began to depart, heading down to the valley to celebrate when Viggo called Humphrey over to him.
“Humphrey,” he said calmly, “I must say, in all my years of hunting and tracking, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s amazing what you’ll find out about the world around you if you just stop and look, you know,” Humphrey replied.
“Indeed. It was truly a privilege to be part of this special day,” Viggo told him.
“You were a highlight,” Humphrey joked.
The two shared a short, unexpected laugh, but then Humphrey awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that he and Viggo were actually being civil with each other.
“I see your sense of humor has lost none of its potency,” Viggo said.
“Well, it helps when you’re preparing for a battle as big as this,” Humphrey replied.
“I have also found this to be true.”
Humphrey turned and began to walk away when Viggo stopped him.
“We may be adversaries,” he said, “but my respect for you is beyond what I could possibly put into words.”
Humphrey gave Viggo a respectful nod before leaving to join the others. The crowd gathered down in the valley to happily celebrate Runt and Lisa’s wedding before the Robert arrived. Everyone was calmly talking and enjoying themselves for about a half hour until Humphrey got everyone’s attention.
“Excuse me, everyone,” he announced. “Can I have your attention? These are hard times, perhaps the hardest we’ve ever faced. A man and his army threaten our very existence and now he sits in our pack, claiming to have had a change of heart. Whether I believe him or not is a different matter, but the fact stands that we cannot trust him and now his friend is on his way with a terribly destructive weapon. But we will get through this. And do you know why? Because as powerful as Viggo and his men are, they don’t have this. Family. And no one fights like family.”
All of a sudden, the ground started erupting with the now familiar sound and explosions of cannon fire.
“Incoming!” Steven shouted.
“Everyone to your dens!” Humphrey ordered. “We have to wait out the initial attack.”
Everyone rushed to their dens as the cannon fire continued around them.
“This is the best wedding ever!” Mick said.
Viggo watched on from the den as the pack was besieged by Robert and the cannon. Ten minutes passed, and the cannon fire stopped as Robert started sending his men into the valley. The wolves regrouped in the middle of the pack, underneath the ruins of Kate and Humphrey’s den.
“Okay, there’s no way I’m sitting through that again,” Steven said. “We have strength in numbers. We should be getting rid of Robert and his men.”
“I agree,” Mick said, “all in favor?”
“Our biggest threat right now is the cannon, not the humans,” Humphrey argued.
“I hate to be the one to say, ‘I told you so’, but-“ Viggo said as he walked into the meeting.
“How did you get out?” Humphrey exclaimed.
“My friend, Steven, was kind enough to allow me to use the facility,” Viggo replied.
“Oh, he did, did he?” Humphrey said, looking at Steven and scolding him.
“What? He scares me,” Steven said, “and besides, when you gotta go, you gotta go, and who knows that better than me?”
“Humphrey, you must let me help you, for all of our sakes,” Viggo said. “The cannon’s range is over half a mile and Robert is using his men to protect it.”
“Then we need to find a way to get past the men,” Viper said.
“No,” Humphrey told her. “You get up to the ruins of the den and stay there. There’s going to be a lot of chaos and a lot of feet on the ground and I don’t want you to get stepped on.”
“Alright,” Viper reluctantly agreed before slithering off toward the old den.
“Everyone else, we gotta get in there and stop Robert and the cannon, no matter what it takes,” Humphrey said.
As everyone started to head down into the valley, Humphrey turned and stopped Steven.
“No, no. Not you,” he said.
“Then what do I do?” Steven asked.
“Why don’t you look after your new best friend, there?” Humphrey said sarcastically.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Steven said.
“It’s not supposed to be fun,” Humphrey replied, “and I don’t care how ‘scary’ he is, do not let him out of your sight again!”
Viggo looked at Steven and smiled humorously as Humphrey ran off to join the others in the third battle of Jasper Park.
“We can’t waste time fighting these guys,” Humphrey said as Robert’s men approached. “We need to slow them down a little and move on. They attack us, we attack back.”
“Can I kill someone now?” Mick asked.
“I really wish you would,” Oscar replied.
They rushed toward the humans, leaping on them, or in Mick’s case, very roughly tackling them. Lucas proved to be a great help and mainly stayed with Kenya, protecting her with his life. One of Robert’s men threw a grenade from a belt at Kenya, but Lucas kicked it back at the man who died in the explosion. Lucas rushed over to the man’s body and grabbed the belt he had thrown the grenade from.
“Humphrey,” Kate said worriedly. “This is taking too long.”
“I know,” he replied. “We gotta move!”
It wasn’t long before Humphrey and the others reached the cannon. One of Robert’s men turned and fired it at them, but it missed, and the group ducked as it soared overhead.
“Now what, genius?” Adam asked.
“Alright, let’s regroup,” Humphrey replied, “and come up with a plan.”
The group turned around and headed back into the valley.
“We just can’t get close enough,” Humphrey said. “It’s too dangerous for-“
Humphrey suddenly stopped mid-sentence when he saw Steven approaching.
“Um, Steven, what are you doing here?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching Viggo?”
Humphrey then noticed that a fire had broken out in the area of the pack where Viggo was being kept.
“Please tell me Viggo’s not in the den that’s on fire,” Humphrey said.
“You told me not to let him out no matter what,” Steven said defensively.
“Oh my god, Steven! Use your brain!” Humphrey exclaimed.
“Go get him,” Kate told Humphrey. “We’ll be alright.”
Humphrey rushed back to the den where Viggo was being held and sure enough, the whole area was engulfed in flames. Before Humphrey could reach him, a round from the cannon struck the ground in front of him, sending Humphrey flying back and destroying the boulder in front of the den. Humphrey landed hard on the ground as several of Robert’s men approached. Humphrey staggered to his feet, still a little dazed from the blast and tried his best to fight them off. But there were too many and slowly, they began to overpower him when suddenly, Humphrey heard a voice behind him.
“Duck!”
Humphrey obeyed and crouched down as Viggo leapt over him, tackling some of the men. Viggo stood back up and someone tried to grab him from behind. Viggo quickly took the man’s arm and threw him over his shoulder. Several more of Robert’s men showed up as Humphrey got back to his feet and stood with Viggo. The two rivals started fighting together, watching the other’s back, protecting each other from Robert’s men. It wasn’t long before the area was clear and the two moved away from the smoke.
“You know, I’m surprised, Humphrey, that you came all the way back to rescue me,” Viggo said.
“Yeah, well, if I left you here to die, it would make me no better than you,” Humphrey replied, nonchalantly shrugging off Viggo’s gratitude.
“You know you can’t do this by yourselves,” Viggo said. “You need my help, so let me give it to you. Let me prove my good intentions to you.”
Humphrey sighed, knowing it was still foolish to trust Viggo, but what choice did he have? He turned and looked at the man who was responsible for so much pain in his life. Could someone this evil really have a change of heart? Maybe that’s what a near-death experience does. Humphrey looked at Viggo cautiously.
“Come on.”
By the time morning came, Kenya had returned, Humphrey and the others had moved back into the valley, and the Crimson Pack had gone out deep into the forest. For about an hour, Viggo helped them clear out everything he and his men had set up during their occupation and they took it deep into the woods to where all the other furniture from last time was laying. Once that was done, Humphrey and the others gathered at the bottom of the small cliff where Kate and Humphrey’s den used to be. They began talking about what to do about Viggo.
“I still don’t trust him,” Kate said.
“I agree,” Viper replied. “This is all just one big game to him, Humphrey, that’s all it’s ever been.”
“We’ve got enough problems with Robert and the cannon,” Adam added. “Are we seriously going to take any chances with Viggo freely roaming around here?”
“You’re right,” Humphrey said. “I’ll handle this.”
He and a few other wolves led Viggo to a large, abandoned den and blocked the entrance with a piece of rubble that reached a little over halfway to the top.
“Humphrey, wait,” Viggo pleaded.
“Viggo, I’m sorry,” Humphrey said. “I wish we could trust you right now, but we just can’t. There’s too much bad history between us for us to trust that you’ll do anything except…well, you know.”
“And what about returning your pack to you?”
“I’m sorry, Viggo, we just can’t take the risk,” Humphrey insisted. “Think of it this way; you’re an unknown variable. We don’t know what to expect from you, and right now, that’s too dangerous.”
“You know that I could help you protect your home if you would just let me,” Viggo persisted.
“You already know my answer,” Humphrey replied.
“They’re here!” Jax said, rushing up to Humphrey with Jonas. “Well, I mean not ‘here’, exactly, but very soon. The scouts spotted them about a day away. I’m thinking we may need to start getting ready.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Humphrey said. “You two make sure he doesn’t try to escape.”
Humphrey and Kate met up with the others beneath the ruins of the old den. Garth, Lilly, and Kyle were among them and they all began discussing what to do before Robert arrived.
“Robert will be here by dawn. We have until then to come up with a plan and defend the valley,” Humphrey said. “Kyle, could you and your pack cover the back side of the territory?”
“Sure thing, Humphrey,” Kyle replied before heading off west.
“Steven, you get everyone else ready for the attack,” Humphrey continued. “Adam, take the pups deep into the forest and find a safe place to hide.”
“Wait, he gets to hide?” Steven asked. “We can hide just as well, you know.”
“Mick, Oscar, Kenya, and Steven, you guys lead the attack on the first wave of Robert’s men,” Humphrey finished.
The group was about to depart when suddenly, a human strolled into the meeting. It was Kenya’s old owner, Lucas. Humphrey immediately started growling at him, but Lilly and Kenya stopped him.
“No, wait, he’s with us!” Kenya exclaimed.
“How do you know?” Humphrey asked.
“Because I went and got him,” Kenya replied.
“Why?” Humphrey asked.
“It’s a long story,” Lilly replied, “and it’s too long to tell right now. It’s okay, we can trust him.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Humphrey asked.
“Humphrey, do you trust your sister?” she asked back.
Humphrey smiled at Kenya.
“Of course I do,” he replied.
Kenya smiled back.
“Now go,” Humphrey said. “We don’t have much time.”
As the group split, Runt walked up to Humphrey.
“Dad,” he said, slowly, “there’s something you need to know. And you’re not going to like it.”
“What is it?” Humphrey asked, suspiciously.
“Well, Lisa and I,” Runt stammered, “we’re, uh, we’re getting married tomorrow.”
Humphrey sighed.
“I know, Dad,” Runt said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s-it’s fine,” Humphrey replied. “I should be happy for you. But we need to make it quick; first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks, dad.”
Morning came and everyone gathered for Runt and Lisa’s wedding in front of the den that Viggo was being kept in so that they could keep an eye on him. The ceremony went flawlessly, and Runt and Lisa were happily married. The crowd began to depart, heading down to the valley to celebrate when Viggo called Humphrey over to him.
“Humphrey,” he said calmly, “I must say, in all my years of hunting and tracking, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s amazing what you’ll find out about the world around you if you just stop and look, you know,” Humphrey replied.
“Indeed. It was truly a privilege to be part of this special day,” Viggo told him.
“You were a highlight,” Humphrey joked.
The two shared a short, unexpected laugh, but then Humphrey awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that he and Viggo were actually being civil with each other.
“I see your sense of humor has lost none of its potency,” Viggo said.
“Well, it helps when you’re preparing for a battle as big as this,” Humphrey replied.
“I have also found this to be true.”
Humphrey turned and began to walk away when Viggo stopped him.
“We may be adversaries,” he said, “but my respect for you is beyond what I could possibly put into words.”
Humphrey gave Viggo a respectful nod before leaving to join the others. The crowd gathered down in the valley to happily celebrate Runt and Lisa’s wedding before the Robert arrived. Everyone was calmly talking and enjoying themselves for about a half hour until Humphrey got everyone’s attention.
“Excuse me, everyone,” he announced. “Can I have your attention? These are hard times, perhaps the hardest we’ve ever faced. A man and his army threaten our very existence and now he sits in our pack, claiming to have had a change of heart. Whether I believe him or not is a different matter, but the fact stands that we cannot trust him and now his friend is on his way with a terribly destructive weapon. But we will get through this. And do you know why? Because as powerful as Viggo and his men are, they don’t have this. Family. And no one fights like family.”
All of a sudden, the ground started erupting with the now familiar sound and explosions of cannon fire.
“Incoming!” Steven shouted.
“Everyone to your dens!” Humphrey ordered. “We have to wait out the initial attack.”
Everyone rushed to their dens as the cannon fire continued around them.
“This is the best wedding ever!” Mick said.
Viggo watched on from the den as the pack was besieged by Robert and the cannon. Ten minutes passed, and the cannon fire stopped as Robert started sending his men into the valley. The wolves regrouped in the middle of the pack, underneath the ruins of Kate and Humphrey’s den.
“Okay, there’s no way I’m sitting through that again,” Steven said. “We have strength in numbers. We should be getting rid of Robert and his men.”
“I agree,” Mick said, “all in favor?”
“Our biggest threat right now is the cannon, not the humans,” Humphrey argued.
“I hate to be the one to say, ‘I told you so’, but-“ Viggo said as he walked into the meeting.
“How did you get out?” Humphrey exclaimed.
“My friend, Steven, was kind enough to allow me to use the facility,” Viggo replied.
“Oh, he did, did he?” Humphrey said, looking at Steven and scolding him.
“What? He scares me,” Steven said, “and besides, when you gotta go, you gotta go, and who knows that better than me?”
“Humphrey, you must let me help you, for all of our sakes,” Viggo said. “The cannon’s range is over half a mile and Robert is using his men to protect it.”
“Then we need to find a way to get past the men,” Viper said.
“No,” Humphrey told her. “You get up to the ruins of the den and stay there. There’s going to be a lot of chaos and a lot of feet on the ground and I don’t want you to get stepped on.”
“Alright,” Viper reluctantly agreed before slithering off toward the old den.
“Everyone else, we gotta get in there and stop Robert and the cannon, no matter what it takes,” Humphrey said.
As everyone started to head down into the valley, Humphrey turned and stopped Steven.
“No, no. Not you,” he said.
“Then what do I do?” Steven asked.
“Why don’t you look after your new best friend, there?” Humphrey said sarcastically.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Steven said.
“It’s not supposed to be fun,” Humphrey replied, “and I don’t care how ‘scary’ he is, do not let him out of your sight again!”
Viggo looked at Steven and smiled humorously as Humphrey ran off to join the others in the third battle of Jasper Park.
“We can’t waste time fighting these guys,” Humphrey said as Robert’s men approached. “We need to slow them down a little and move on. They attack us, we attack back.”
“Can I kill someone now?” Mick asked.
“I really wish you would,” Oscar replied.
They rushed toward the humans, leaping on them, or in Mick’s case, very roughly tackling them. Lucas proved to be a great help and mainly stayed with Kenya, protecting her with his life. One of Robert’s men threw a grenade from a belt at Kenya, but Lucas kicked it back at the man who died in the explosion. Lucas rushed over to the man’s body and grabbed the belt he had thrown the grenade from.
“Humphrey,” Kate said worriedly. “This is taking too long.”
“I know,” he replied. “We gotta move!”
It wasn’t long before Humphrey and the others reached the cannon. One of Robert’s men turned and fired it at them, but it missed, and the group ducked as it soared overhead.
“Now what, genius?” Adam asked.
“Alright, let’s regroup,” Humphrey replied, “and come up with a plan.”
The group turned around and headed back into the valley.
“We just can’t get close enough,” Humphrey said. “It’s too dangerous for-“
Humphrey suddenly stopped mid-sentence when he saw Steven approaching.
“Um, Steven, what are you doing here?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching Viggo?”
Humphrey then noticed that a fire had broken out in the area of the pack where Viggo was being kept.
“Please tell me Viggo’s not in the den that’s on fire,” Humphrey said.
“You told me not to let him out no matter what,” Steven said defensively.
“Oh my god, Steven! Use your brain!” Humphrey exclaimed.
“Go get him,” Kate told Humphrey. “We’ll be alright.”
Humphrey rushed back to the den where Viggo was being held and sure enough, the whole area was engulfed in flames. Before Humphrey could reach him, a round from the cannon struck the ground in front of him, sending Humphrey flying back and destroying the boulder in front of the den. Humphrey landed hard on the ground as several of Robert’s men approached. Humphrey staggered to his feet, still a little dazed from the blast and tried his best to fight them off. But there were too many and slowly, they began to overpower him when suddenly, Humphrey heard a voice behind him.
“Duck!”
Humphrey obeyed and crouched down as Viggo leapt over him, tackling some of the men. Viggo stood back up and someone tried to grab him from behind. Viggo quickly took the man’s arm and threw him over his shoulder. Several more of Robert’s men showed up as Humphrey got back to his feet and stood with Viggo. The two rivals started fighting together, watching the other’s back, protecting each other from Robert’s men. It wasn’t long before the area was clear and the two moved away from the smoke.
“You know, I’m surprised, Humphrey, that you came all the way back to rescue me,” Viggo said.
“Yeah, well, if I left you here to die, it would make me no better than you,” Humphrey replied, nonchalantly shrugging off Viggo’s gratitude.
“You know you can’t do this by yourselves,” Viggo said. “You need my help, so let me give it to you. Let me prove my good intentions to you.”
Humphrey sighed, knowing it was still foolish to trust Viggo, but what choice did he have? He turned and looked at the man who was responsible for so much pain in his life. Could someone this evil really have a change of heart? Maybe that’s what a near-death experience does. Humphrey looked at Viggo cautiously.
“Come on.”
