Chapter 23: The Final Battle of Jasper Park

The massive group of wolves had partially descended into the valley with Humphrey and the others standing up front, watching Viggo who was still standing in the middle of the valley. Humphrey had explained his plan to everyone, although there were some objections, mainly from Steven which was no surprise.

“This plan is insane!” he said. “You know that, right? If I’m saying it’s insane, it’s actually insane.”

“You know what? It is insane,” Jax added. “And for once, it wasn’t our insane plan.”

“If you go out there alone, Viggo will kill you,” Steven said.

“In my experience, when it comes to Humphrey, the worse the plan, the better the result,” Kate said.

“Hey,” Humphrey said, looking over at her.

“I speak from experience,” she replied, smiling.

“I want you to know that no matter how this day ends, I’ve enjoyed every waking moment with you,” Humphrey said. “I love you, Kate. With all of my heart.”

“I’m sorry, would it be insulting if I barfed everywhere?” Steven said sarcastically.

Everyone laughed a little before becoming serious again.

“You guys let me worry about Viggo,” Humphrey insisted. “Just make sure you get Hammond and Robert out of the picture.”

Humphrey then looked at Fleet who was standing next to Claudette.

“Don’t worry,” Fleet said, “she’ll be safe with me.”

“She better be,” Humphrey replied.

Humphrey faced all three of his pups and took a deep breath before speaking.

“I just want you three to know that you have made me the proudest father in the world,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder to call you my pups.”

“Dad. We’re all gonna make it. We’re gonna be alright. You know that, right?” Runt said.

“Of course.”

Viper soon came slithering up to Humphrey.

“Where do you want me?”

“Here,” he said. “And I mean it this time. I really don’t want you to get stepped on. I care about you too much to lose you.”

“Alright,” Viper agreed. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

“You would do the same for me,” Humphrey replied. “In fact, you have.”

“And yet I don’t recall hearing a single bit of thanks,” Viper said, smiling.

Humphrey laughed a little.

“Well then, thank you, for everything.”

“You are so very welcome.”

Humphrey turned and began walking out toward Viggo, when Viper called out to him.

“Humphrey. Be careful. Please.”

“I will,” he replied before turning back around and looking at Viggo, who looked straight back at him. Humphrey took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This ends now.

Viggo watched eagerly as Humphrey slowly approached him. They met in the middle of the valley, a perfect representation of the way the chess board had been set up when Humphrey found it at the sandstone cliffs, the two of them standing in the middle of the valley with their armies waiting behind them. And now it was time to break Humphrey’s piece.

The two enemies stood in front of each other. Viggo casually reached over to his hip and drew a pistol. Humphrey didn’t move, only looking between Viggo and the gun. Viggo looked at the pistol before dropping the magazine out of it and throwing the gun over his shoulder. He then reached behind his back and drew Orion out of its sheath. He spun it around in his hand a couple times before sticking it into the ground. Lastly, he opened his vest to show Humphrey that he wasn’t carrying his knife with him.

“The last time we met like this, it didn’t end very well for you,” Viggo said. “But then again, I wasn’t fighting very fairly, now was I? This time I thought we could do it fairly. Just the two of us. No weapons, no tricks. Just you and me. And trust me. This…this is going to be fun.”

The two continued to stand in silence until Viggo suddenly gave Humphrey a strong punch to the face. Humphrey staggered back as Viggo looked at his hand, a wide grin on his face.

“Ooh, that felt good,” he said. “I have waited a very long time to do that.”

Viggo slowly advanced on Humphrey, who began backing up.

“This is how you want to spend the last moments of your life?” Viggo taunted. “In a futile effort to stop me? It’s almost sweet.”

He gave Humphrey a brutal kick to his chest that pushed him back and knocked him to the ground.

“There’s no point in keeping this from you because I know you already know, so I might as well just say it,” Viggo continued. “I have the cannon hidden in the woods, aimed at this pitiful little valley. And I’ve ordered twenty of my best men to guard it. If you somehow manage to defeat me. they will open fire and blow everything and everyone in this valley straight to hell.”

Viggo landed another harsh blow to Humphrey’s face with his fist.

“Ever since the day you were born, I’ve been doing everything humanly possible to rid the world of your filth. But you have a most annoying habit of not dying when you’re supposed to.”

Humphrey received yet another harsh blow from Viggo. Kate and the others looked on in horror. They couldn’t understand why Humphrey wasn’t fighting back.

“Adam, do something!” Kate exclaimed.

“Not yet,” Adam replied. “He hasn’t given the signal yet.”

“I’d tell you to go to hell, but we’ve both already been there,” Humphrey said to Viggo.

“Even if you stop me, assuming that you could,” Viggo said, “there’s no way you’ll be able to stop my men from firing off the cannon in time. The second my body hits the ground, they’ll rain hell down on you and your entire pack, and you have no way of preventing it.”

He gave Humphrey another hard punch.

“Everyone that you hold dear is going to die, and you’ll be the one responsible for their deaths.”

Viggo brought his arm down on Humphrey and then kicked him away. Humphrey tried to get up, but Viggo put his foot on him, pinning Humphrey to the ground.

“Adam, he’s going to kill him!” Kate shouted.

“Kate, we have to trust him!” Adam shouted back.

“If there’s one thing you should’ve learned from all this, it’s that you’re not strong enough to beat me on your own,” Viggo said threateningly.

“You’re right, I’m not,” Humphrey replied with effort. “But I did learn one thing. Everyone makes mistakes. Even you.”

“If you think I make mistakes, then you’re a bigger fool than I gave you credit for,” Viggo replied.

“Oh, but you do, Viggo,” Humphrey countered, “but of course you won’t admit it. You made a mistake when you underestimated the strength all these wolves have, to push past their fear of you and come here to try and stop you. You made a mistake inducting one of our own into the Crimson Pack. And you made one just now, when you assumed this was everyone I could find.”

Suddenly, Viggo heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. He looked at Humphrey, who gave him a knowing grin. Viggo looked up and saw someone running at him, but he couldn’t make out who it was before the person ran into him and tackled him to the ground. They both stood up and faced each other, Viggo with his back to the wolves. He felt something warm and wet on his lip. He put his finger to his mouth and looked at it as he took it away. He looked at the small bit of blood on his finger before addressing the person who had attacked him.

“Well, well,” he said as Humphrey got up and slowly walked over to the person, “look who decided to come to my party. I’m glad you could join us, sister. It wouldn’t feel like a proper ending without you.”

“I don’t want to do this, Viggo,” Leyla replied.

“Really?” Viggo said. “I do.”

“Come on, you’re better than all this.”

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” Viggo snapped back. “But I’m not. And you know it. Besides, I’m having too much fun right now.”

“Viggo, what you’re doing is…it’s just wrong,” Leyla insisted. “Just give it all up.”

“You are persistent, I’ll give you that,” Viggo commented, “but how quickly you forget that this wolf is my enemy. You were foolish to protect him in the past and you’re all the more a fool for doing the same now.”

“I didn’t forget,” Leyla said. “I wanted to give you the chance to do the right thing without a fight. We don’t have to be enemies, brother. This wolf doesn’t deserve the hate you give him.”

“Now see, that’s where you’re wrong,” Viggo replied. “This wolf has caused years of trouble for me. This entire pack is filled with rot and I will cleanse it.”

“No, you won’t,” Leyla said. “Because I won’t let you.”

Viggo laughed at her remark.

“You won’t let me?” he exclaimed. “Don’t make me laugh. You know you can’t stop me. He and his friends have tried for months and they have failed thus far. What hope could you possibly have?”

“Because I’m not the only one who’s going to stop you,” Leyla replied.

Viggo suddenly heard the sound of growling behind him and turned around to see the wolves behind him starting to slowly advance.

“You think I’m scared of them?” Viggo retorted. “I have an entire army of men waiting in the trees. And if you think you’ll be able to beat me, then you’re a bigger fool than I thought too. I’m still a former black belt.”

“So am I.”

The two began fighting but it wasn’t long before Viggo knocked Leyla back. It was at that time that Steven and Kenya arrived with the Protectors and the two siblings stopped their fight for a moment.

“Oh, you brought more friends,” Viggo taunted. “Well that’s okay. So did I.”

He reached back and pulled Orion out of the ground before pointing it upward and signaling for his men to attack. Viggo’s army rushed out of the forest and Humphrey’s side did the same, and with that, the final battle of Jasper Park began. Viggo suddenly turned and knocked Leyla down with the hilt of his sword and then began killing the wolves that tried to go after him. Leyla got up on her hands and knees behind him and hit him in the back of the knee with her baton. Viggo fell to his knee and swung his sword behind him, but Leyla easily blocked it with the baton and forced it to the ground. She was able to hold his sword in place long enough for her to knock him to the ground with a punch in the face.

“Humphrey!” she called. “Come on!”

Humphrey nodded at her before turning to Adam, Steven, and Kyle.

“You guys are with me,” he said. “Mick, Oscar!” he shouted.

Oscar looked over at him from where he and Mick were busy fighting off a couple of humans.

“Take Jax and Jonas and go find the Crimson Pack. Take Robert and Hammond out of the picture,” Humphrey said before leaving with Adam, Steven, and Kyle.

The four of them managed to escape the battle as Viggo stood back up and sheathed Orion. The group headed into the forest to find the cannon, but Adam, Steven, and Kyle stopped when they saw Leyla.

“Hey, guys, it’s okay,” Humphrey said. “We can trust her.”

“And how do you two know each other?” Adam asked.

“Guys, this is Leyla. I told you, I lived in her house for nine years when you all thought I was dead. Now, we need to disable the cannon before Viggo uses it to destroy the valley. She can help with that.”

It wasn’t long before they reached the cannon and started fighting the men that Viggo had left to guard it. Viggo hadn’t been lying when he said he had left twenty of his best men to protect it. They fought hard and didn’t go down without a fight. However, Humphrey and the others were able to defeat them, but Viggo showed up just as they were about to move the cannon into the forest.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Viggo said.

Humphrey and the others looked at Leyla.

“Go,” she said, “I’ll be fine.”

Humphrey turned to Adam, Steven, and Kyle.

“Get this thing as far away from here as possible,” he said before rushing back off into the valley as the others started pushing the cannon away from the valley.

“I just wanted some time to catch up,” Viggo said. “I can hardly remember the last time the two of us were together like this.”

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to forget it,” Leyla replied. “And if we have to fight to finally bring things to an end, then so be it.”

“Your wolf friends aren’t here to save you now,” he said. “Do you honestly still think you actually have a shot at beating me?”

“Let’s find out.”

As Humphrey rushed back into the valley, he skidded to a stop as he almost ran into Robert. The two started to fight, but Robert easily managed to keep his footing and he almost overpowered Humphrey when something suddenly came at him from the side and hit him so hard, he fell to the ground.

”Thanks, Mick,” Humphrey said.

“No problem,” Mick replied. “I’ve been dying to do that.”

“He’s all yours,” Humphrey said before rushing off into the valley to rejoin the fight.

Mick gladly began to fight with Robert, who had trouble holding his own against the massive brute of a wolf.

“Feels so good, reminds me of my youth,” Mick said to himself, excitedly.

Meanwhile, Viggo and Leyla were still fighting in the forest. She landed a solid a kick to Viggo’s stomach that knocked him back a bit, but he quickly recovered from it.

“Come on, that’s no way to treat family,” he said. “This is!”

He swept Leyla’s legs out from under her and she fell to ground. She quickly got back up and threw a punch at Viggo but he effortlessly managed to catch her fist.

“We used to be so close all those years ago,” he said. “What happened to us, sister?”

For a split second, Leyla’s mind was distracted by nostalgic childhood memories of her and Viggo playing together. Viggo took the opportunity and grabbed Leyla’s arm and judo threw her to the ground. He kept his hold on her arm and pulled it behind her back.

As Viggo bent down to hold her in place, Leyla kicked her leg out, hitting him in the groin and knocking him off balance. As Viggo fell to his knee, she got up and knocked him out with a well-placed punch to the face. Leyla took a moment to catch her breath before rushing back toward the valley.

Meanwhile, Jax, Jonas, and Oscar managed to find Hammond and the Crimson Pack. They caught them trying to sneak around the side of the valley and get behind the wolves.

“Hey!” Oscar shouted. “We’re not done here.”

The entire pack stopped and Hammond turned and looked at them.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jonas asked. “You still have Martin and you’re not leaving here with him.”

“What will it take to make you understand that Martin can’t leave?” Hammond asked. “He’s part of the Crimson Pack now and there’s no way that he will ever be free, so if you think that-“

“Bored now,” Jax said monotonously as Oscar leapt at Hammond.

Hammond ducked and rolled out of the way as Oscar landed next to him. The Crimson Pack started growling at Oscar but Hammond stopped them.

“No!” he said. “This one’s mine. I’ve waited a long time for this moment.”

Hammond and Oscar began fighting and the Crimson Pack encircled the two, watching intently. Martin managed to make his way up front to Jax and Jonas.

“I assume you guys have a plan?” he asked.

“Yep,” Jonas replied. “Oscar defeats Hammond and without the one member who’s actually loyal to Viggo, you convince them to face their fear of him and help us.”

“That’s if Oscar can pull it off,” Martin said.

“Don’t worry,” Jax reassured him, “he and Mick have been training a lot lately.”

“Oh boy,” Martin sighed.

The three of them suddenly looked up when they heard gasps among the crowd. They were surprised to find Hammond on the ground with Oscar’s teeth wrapped around his throat.

“Alright, I yield!” Hammond shouted. “The pack is yours.”

Oscar let go of Hammond’s neck and stepped back as Hammond shakily stood up, trying to catch his breath. Everyone watching had their mouths open in disbelief.

“Now go,” Oscar said. “Get out of here.”

Hammond said nothing as he slowly limped away, his tail shamefully between his legs. Oscar turned and looked at Martin.

“You’re up,” he said.

Martin walked out into the center of the circle the pack had formed and began to speak.

“Hammond led this pack through fear,” he said. “But now that he’s gone, we are free to make our own decisions. I know you all think the wolf next to you is just as loyal to Viggo as Hammond was, but you’re wrong. The truth is, he was the only one of us who was ever truly loyal to that monster. We were all just too afraid to admit it. But we have strength in numbers. We can be our own wolves again and not be tied down by fear. My friends are out there right now, trying to free this forest from Viggo’s tyrannical grip, but they can’t do it without us. This is the moment when we choose whether we want to be controlled by fear our take back our lives. This is when you choose what that symbol on your face represents.”

Martin remained silent for a moment, waiting for something to happen. The crimson wolves stood still and looked at each other in thought.

“As for me,” Martin continued. “I’m going to take my life back and fight for what I believe in.”

He turned to Oscar, Jax, and Jonas and the four of them made their way back to the valley where Oscar met up with Mick.

“Where’s Robert?” he asked.

“He turned tail and ran,” Mick replied.

“Wait,” Oscar said in disbelief, “you made Robert run away?”

“Yeah, he couldn’t handle me,” Mick said. “He headed back out here somewhere.”

“It’s like World War 3 out here,” Oscar said, looking at the intense battle before them.

“I know, it’s beautiful,” Mick replied, happily.

Oscar smiled as the two rushed in to join the fight. Meanwhile, Humphrey, Kenya, and Lucas were fighting in a group together. Humphrey looked over and noticed Viggo walking back out into the valley in their direction. Humphrey noticed a gun in his hand which Viggo raised and pointed at Kenya. Humphrey began to panic, but he suddenly heard a loud bang next to him and watched as Viggo fell to the ground. He looked over and saw Lucas holding an outstretched arm with a smoking gun in his hand.

“Viggo!” Robert shouted as he rushed over to Viggo’s form laying on the ground.

Viggo slowly sat up groaning and opened up his vest to reveal a bulletproof vest underneath. He reached over and pulled out the bullet that had been crushed flat from the impact.

“Are you alright?” Robert asked.

“I’m fine,” Viggo replied. “I always come prepared.”

“And what if he had shot you in the head?” Robert asked.

“I’d be dead, probably,” Viggo replied with a humorous smile.

He stood up and turned to face Lucas and the two looked at each other. Viggo slowly walked up to Lucas and the two began to fight each other. Surprisingly enough, Lucas managed to keep his footing and Viggo took notice.

“Hm, very impressive, Lucas,” Viggo complimented him. “Not just anyone can keep their footing against me. However, your technique is still sloppy and predictable.”

Lucas suddenly threw a rock at Viggo which he had been hiding behind his back, but Viggo effortlessly caught it with one hand. Lucas then dived at Viggo feet-first and knocked his legs out from under him.

“You talk too much,” Lucas said before the two resumed their fight.

However, Viggo was too skilled and soon landed a hard kick to Lucas’ chest that sent him falling back to the ground.

“Do you want to know why I started helping them?” Lucas said, slowly standing back up.

“Please, enlighten me,” Viggo replied.

“It’s because of you,” Lucas continued. “This wolf is the only thing that helped me through life. After my wife died, I started drinking, hard. I decided to get a pet and I didn’t treat her great at first, but then I sobered up and she helped me through my struggles. So, I am not going to let you kill the only thing helped my through life.”

Viggo stood unnervingly still and said nothing, casually holding his hands behind his back.

“If you want to get to her or any of her family, you’re gonna have to go through me,” Lucas said. “And if you do, they’re never going to give up. They are strong and brave and will fight until their last breath to stop you. So get out of here while you still can.”

Viggo took a few steps toward Lucas, looking downward with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“You know,” he said, “as final words go, those weren’t bad.”

Viggo suddenly pulled an arm out from behind his back, a pistol held in his hand from the holster hidden on the back of his belt. He raised it in front of him and without hesitation, shot Lucas in the head. Kenya screamed as Lucas’ body fell to the ground.

“They’re retreating!” a wolf called out from the distance.

Sure enough, the few humans who were left had started running back toward the forest. There weren’t many of them, no more than a hundred. The wolves had taken their fair share of casualties but the day was won. Almost.

Humphrey turned to face Viggo, but he was gone, disappearing into the retreating crowd of people. He soon heard footsteps approaching and saw everyone coming to join him and Kenya.

“Where’d Viggo go?” Kate asked.

“He snuck out in the crowd of humans,” Humphrey replied. “Where’s Runt?”

“Uh, Dad!” Stinky called, concerningly.

“What?”

“He didn’t leave.”

Humphrey followed Stinky’s gaze and was horrified to see Viggo standing at the edge of the valley near the trees, pinning Runt to his body and keeping his head fixed in a chokehold.

“Oh no,” Humphrey said under his breath as he and others rushed across the plain to Viggo.

They arrived at the same time as the Crimson Pack and Viggo smiled upon seeing them.

“Crimson Pack, follow my lead,” he commanded.

“The Crimson Pack doesn’t take orders from the Wolfslayer anymore,” one of the wolves said.

Humphrey’s expression suddenly turned to one of surprise at hearing the dreaded name applied to Viggo.

“Wait, Wolfslayer?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. “You’re the Wolfslayer?!”

“I told you everything you needed to know all those years ago, Humphrey,” Viggo said, turning to face his nemesis.

“But how?” Humphrey asked. “When you were hunting me in the woods, I was hearing reports of the Wolfslayer at the exact same time you were with me.”

“That’s why it’s good to have someone like Robert to serve in my feet,” Viggo explained.

Humphrey tried getting closer as he saw the look of pure terror on his son’s face but Viggo intently warned him against it by tightening his grip around Runt’s neck.

“Viggo, let him go,” Humphrey said.

“No, I think I’ll kill this one,” Viggo said casually before looking down at Runt and putting his arm under his head, looking like he was getting ready to snap his neck.

“No, please!” Humphrey suddenly exclaimed. “I’m begging you! Don’t.”

Viggo stopped and looked up at Humphrey, raising an eyebrow at the sudden change in Humphrey’s tone. He liked the sound of him begging. A look of pure terror crossed Humphrey’s face and his breathing quickened.

“I don’t think you get it,” Viggo said. “You can’t save everyone, Humphrey. What, you thought you could just walk back to your pack and be able to protect them from me? You are everything I despise. Time and time again, I’ve hunted you and time and time again, you’ve slipped past my net, and it’s getting rather annoying. You’ve suffered so much loss at my hand, Humphrey. And that begs the question; how much more loss can you take before there is no more of you left? Because I don’t think it’s much. I think you’re just one loss away from losing yourself.”

Humphrey glanced up and noticed Viper silently slithering through the branches in the tree above Viggo’s head.

“A man never knows how far he’s willing to go until he steps to the edge and looks down,” Viggo said. “How far are you willing to go, Humphrey, to save someone you love? Would you kill to do it? Because I know how far I’m willing to go to make you share my pain. I watched as your grandparents killed my mother and father and now you’re going to watch me kill your son, right here, right now.”

Humphrey subtly glanced up again and saw Viper slowly starting to hang down from a branch directly over Viggo’s shoulder. The two subtly made eye contact and Humphrey very subtly nodded to her, when his attention was suddenly brought back to Viggo and Runt.

“I may not be able to get my revenge on them, but I swear, I will make you suffer if it is the last thing I do,” Viggo said.

“Dad,” Runt said in a terrified voice.

“Viggo!” Humphrey warned.

Viggo quickly and violently twisted the arm that was wrapped around Runt’s head and with a loud, sickening crack, Runt’s body went limp and slumped to the ground.

“NOOOOOO!”

Everyone froze in shock, even Viper who was still hanging down from the tree branch unbeknownst to Viggo. Humphrey looked up at Viggo and began viciously growling and the others around him did the same.

Viper suddenly dropped down a little more and bit Viggo on his shoulder, sinking her fangs into his flesh and immediately injecting him with her venom. The sudden shock of pain was so intense, Viggo almost fell over backward, but he was able to steady himself before reaching over with his hand and grabbing Viper, trying to pull her off of the branch. She quickly tightened her grip on the branch which began to bend under the stress. All of a sudden, Viggo thrust his shoulder forward, violently yanking Viper out of the tree. Her grip on his shoulder loosed and she was sent flying into Viggo’s open hand.

Stinky rushed forward, bit onto Viggo’s leg and pulled as hard as he could, causing him to stumble backward and lose his balance. Viggo fell onto the ground, sending Viper flying from his hand. Humphrey leapt into the air after her, gently catching her in his mouth.

After setting Viper down, Humphrey turned and attacked Viggo. Viggo kicked Stinky in the snout with his boot, causing him to let go of his foot and immediately rolled out of the way as Humphrey tried to jump on him. His shoulder had already started to go numb and he knew he had to get out of there before he grew too weak.

Viggo looked over and noticed the fallen body of one of his men with a grenade attached to his belt. He quickly grabbed it, and after pulling the pin, he threw it straight at the wolves. The grenade hit Oscar directly on his forehead between the eyes, giving him a small cut. As soon as the grenade hit the ground, everyone scattered immediately, Humphrey taking the time to grab Viper in his mouth before rushing off. The grenade exploded and luckily, no one was injured in the blast. When the dust cleared, Viggo was nowhere in sight. The only thing that was left in the area was Runt’s lifeless body laying on the ground.

(Note: About a year ago, I posted a poll asking which pup was your favorite. This is why. Needless to say, Runt won.)