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Hearing the frantic barking of his blood hound Rex, The Hunter quickened his pace to try and catch up with him. He and and Rex had been out tracking deer when suddenly a wolf ran across their path. Startled, The Hunter was inclined to ignore the wild dog and find an alternate route to find the deer however, Rex, the bloodhound he had raised since he was a puppy, barked and started to chase the wolf. In about the span of a minute his peaceful hunting trip had been interrupted and on top of that he now had to chase down his dog.Yelling after Rex The Hunter ran after him. Snow had just recently fallen and covered the ground in a blanket of white. His breath billowing out of him in big clouds he began to panic as Rex’s barking began to fade and soon the his voice was lost altogether. With only Rex’s and the wolf’s footprints to guide him The Hunter hoped that he could catch up to Rex before he caught the wolf. Staring straight ahead he failed to notice a stray tree root that was sticking out of the ground until his world tilted. With a spray of white fluff going out behind him The Hunter flew face first into the snow, which despite its soft appearance was compacted tightly together and hid sharp twigs and leaves. Grunting he got up started after Rex again. It seemed like the tracks would never end but just as he was beginning to despair ever seeing Rex again he heard a loud squeal. The Hunter’s heart began to beat erratically as he heard what he hoped wasn’t Rex. He noticed that the tracks led into a small clearing. As he got closer he could hear the sounds of barking and snarling. Speeding up again he burst into the clearing just in time to see Rex with his neck stuck in the jaws of the wolf they’d seen earlier. A geyser of blood shot up into the air as the wolf bit down hard of Rex’s neck causing him to squeal in pain. Letting go of Rex’s neck the wolf growled and backed away from him. The Hunter’s already large eyes grew larger still as the wolf turned it’s attention to him. It narrowed its eyes and growled menacingly at him its muscles poised to spring. Reacting quickly The Hunter pulled his rifle from his back and took aim at the wolf. Seeing the gun the wolf growled more, it prepared to jump and The Hunter’s finger moved to pull the trigger back when a small high pitched whine stopped both of them. The wolf spun around to face a small wolf pup that was cowering behind a nearby tree.The wolf looked back at The Hunter and he realized that the wolf must be the pup’s mother, The Hunter’s light hazel eyes met the golden ones of the wolf. In that instant his muscles locked up seeing him hesitate the wolf sprang away picking up the pup in her jaws and rushing off into the forest. He gazed after them for a second before Rex’s whine captured his attention. Rushing to where Rex was lying on the ground, blood pouring out of his neck The Hunter knelt down in the snow beside him. Taking one look at the wound he knew that no matter what he did he wouldn’t be able to save Rex, regardless he still tried to stem the flow of Rex’s blood. Knowing The Hunter’s intention Rex licked his face in thanks. Even though he knew couldn’t do anything when Rex took his last breath it still came as a surprise to him. The Hunter didn’t react at first, he wasn’t prepared to, but then it hit him and the tears began to flow.Cradling Rex’s head to his chest The Hunter silently cried as the snow fell down around them. The Hunter felt numb, he’d been with Rex his entire life, from the moment he’d held him in his hands he knew that they were meant for each other. Their bond that was formed that day only grew stronger over the years and now Rex was gone and part of The Hunter as well. The sun slowly sank down below the sky and the moon steadily rose as the evening turned to night, yet still he stayed with Rex.Knowing that he should go home soon or risk freezing to death The Hunter stiffly got up. Brushing the snow off of himself he picked Rex’s body up and carried him to the base of a giant pine. Having no shovel he began to dig into the snow. He didn’t stop digging even after his fingers had stopped feeling, and when they began to bleed he continued on, until he had dug a small grave. Gently placing Rex’s body into the grave he buried him. With Rex given a proper burial The Hunter trudged through the snow back to the cabin he and Rex’s lived in. When he reached his home he went inside without lighting a fire and collapsed on the floor. Outside a blizzard raged away.

Unable to leave his home for several days he was forced to replay Rex’s death over and over again. It hunted his every waking hour and even sleep didn’t grant an escape as the memory haunted his dreams every night. After the numbness of Rex’s death faded it was replaced by hatred for the wolf and her pup. He planned the wolf’s death and played it over constantly in his head awaiting the day that he would have his revenge, but more he replayed the wolf’s death the more he came to realize she wasn’t to blame and as much as it hurt him he couldn’t condone killing her for no reason. It wasn’t as if she had attacked Rex first, in fact the opposite was true as Rex was the one that started to chase after her. If Rex would have just heeded his calls and stopped he wouldn’t have died. The only reason the female wolf had even attacked Rex was to protect her pup. The more The Hunter thought about the situation the less control he realized he had had for the chances of his commands overriding Rex’s natural nature were slim to none. Rex was a bloodhound, a dog bred to hunt, he couldn’t have stopped him even if he wanted to. The realization cooled and then took away his anger leaving him feeling cold and empty. Finally after 5 days of raging the blizzard died down and The Hunter was able to leave his house. Even though he didn’t want to he had to as his food stores had been depleted due to the blizzard. Picking up his rifle from where he had left it at the door he walked out into the woods. The forest was eerily quiet and made The Hunter’s soft footsteps sound like thunderclaps as his shoes crunched the snow. After about 40 minutes of walking he found the footprints of some deer. Following them he was soon rewarded with the sight of the deer. Getting down on his knees The Hunter took aim at a relatively young buck. He was about to pull the trigger when he saw something in the distance. Adjusting his sight he was surprised to see the wolf pup that the female wolf had been protecting. Something about seeing the pup out running happily while his Rex was dead reignited the rage that he had thought he had gotten over. Without thinking he pulled the trigger. Time seemed to slow as the bullet passed through the pup’s neck taking its head clean off. Seeing what he’d done The Hunter thought he would feel better about Rex’s death, but he didn’t, he didn’t feel anything. After convincing himself that killing the female wolf and the pup wouldn’t console him the pup’s death no longer held any meaning. Sighing to himself The Hunter went back to tracking the deer as his shot had scared them off.

That night as he ate the young buck he had singled out he heard a howl. Going outside he listened to what could only be the howl of the pup’s mother. It was a howl filled with pain and sorrow, harsh and loud. The sound was unlike any The Hunter had ever heard before and as it echoed across the mountain he knew it was a sound he was likely to never forget.

Description
Hearing the frantic barking of his blood hound Rex, The Hunter quickened his pace to try and catch up with him. He and and Rex had been out tracking deer when suddenly a wolf ran across their path. Startled, The Hunter was inclined to ignore the wild dog and find an alternate route to find the deer however, Rex, the bloodhound he had raised since he was a puppy, barked and started to chase the wolf. In about the span of a minute his peaceful hunting trip had been interrupted and on top of that he now had to chase down his dog.Yelling after Rex The Hunter ran after him. Snow had just recently fallen and covered the ground in a blanket of white. His breath billowing out of him in big clouds he began to panic as Rex’s barking began to fade and soon the his voice was lost altogether. With only Rex’s and the wolf’s footprints to guide him The Hunter hoped that he could catch up to Rex before he caught the wolf. Staring straight ahead he failed to notice a stray tree root that was sticking out of the ground until his world tilted. With a spray of white fluff going out behind him The Hunter flew face first into the snow, which despite its soft appearance was compacted tightly together and hid sharp twigs and leaves. Grunting he got up started after Rex again. It seemed like the tracks would never end but just as he was beginning to despair ever seeing Rex again he heard a loud squeal. The Hunter’s heart began to beat erratically as he heard what he hoped wasn’t Rex. He noticed that the tracks led into a small clearing. As he got closer he could hear the sounds of barking and snarling. Speeding up again he burst into the clearing just in time to see Rex with his neck stuck in the jaws of the wolf they’d seen earlier. A geyser of blood shot up into the air as the wolf bit down hard of Rex’s neck causing him to squeal in pain. Letting go of Rex’s neck the wolf growled and backed away from him. The Hunter’s already large eyes grew larger still as the wolf turned it’s attention to him. It narrowed its eyes and growled menacingly at him its muscles poised to spring. Reacting quickly The Hunter pulled his rifle from his back and took aim at the wolf. Seeing the gun the wolf growled more, it prepared to jump and The Hunter’s finger moved to pull the trigger back when a small high pitched whine stopped both of them. The wolf spun around to face a small wolf pup that was cowering behind a nearby tree.The wolf looked back at The Hunter and he realized that the wolf must be the pup’s mother, The Hunter’s light hazel eyes met the golden ones of the wolf. In that instant his muscles locked up seeing him hesitate the wolf sprang away picking up the pup in her jaws and rushing off into the forest. He gazed after them for a second before Rex’s whine captured his attention. Rushing to where Rex was lying on the ground, blood pouring out of his neck The Hunter knelt down in the snow beside him. Taking one look at the wound he knew that no matter what he did he wouldn’t be able to save Rex, regardless he still tried to stem the flow of Rex’s blood. Knowing The Hunter’s intention Rex licked his face in thanks. Even though he knew couldn’t do anything when Rex took his last breath it still came as a surprise to him. The Hunter didn’t react at first, he wasn’t prepared to, but then it hit him and the tears began to flow.Cradling Rex’s head to his chest The Hunter silently cried as the snow fell down around them. The Hunter felt numb, he’d been with Rex his entire life, from the moment he’d held him in his hands he knew that they were meant for each other. Their bond that was formed that day only grew stronger over the years and now Rex was gone and part of The Hunter as well. The sun slowly sank down below the sky and the moon steadily rose as the evening turned to night, yet still he stayed with Rex.Knowing that he should go home soon or risk freezing to death The Hunter stiffly got up. Brushing the snow off of himself he picked Rex’s body up and carried him to the base of a giant pine. Having no shovel he began to dig into the snow. He didn’t stop digging even after his fingers had stopped feeling, and when they began to bleed he continued on, until he had dug a small grave. Gently placing Rex’s body into the grave he buried him. With Rex given a proper burial The Hunter trudged through the snow back to the cabin he and Rex’s lived in. When he reached his home he went inside without lighting a fire and collapsed on the floor. Outside a blizzard raged away.

Unable to leave his home for several days he was forced to replay Rex’s death over and over again. It hunted his every waking hour and even sleep didn’t grant an escape as the memory haunted his dreams every night. After the numbness of Rex’s death faded it was replaced by hatred for the wolf and her pup. He planned the wolf’s death and played it over constantly in his head awaiting the day that he would have his revenge, but more he replayed the wolf’s death the more he came to realize she wasn’t to blame and as much as it hurt him he couldn’t condone killing her for no reason. It wasn’t as if she had attacked Rex first, in fact the opposite was true as Rex was the one that started to chase after her. If Rex would have just heeded his calls and stopped he wouldn’t have died. The only reason the female wolf had even attacked Rex was to protect her pup. The more The Hunter thought about the situation the less control he realized he had had for the chances of his commands overriding Rex’s natural nature were slim to none. Rex was a bloodhound, a dog bred to hunt, he couldn’t have stopped him even if he wanted to. The realization cooled and then took away his anger leaving him feeling cold and empty. Finally after 5 days of raging the blizzard died down and The Hunter was able to leave his house. Even though he didn’t want to he had to as his food stores had been depleted due to the blizzard. Picking up his rifle from where he had left it at the door he walked out into the woods. The forest was eerily quiet and made The Hunter’s soft footsteps sound like thunderclaps as his shoes crunched the snow. After about 40 minutes of walking he found the footprints of some deer. Following them he was soon rewarded with the sight of the deer. Getting down on his knees The Hunter took aim at a relatively young buck. He was about to pull the trigger when he saw something in the distance. Adjusting his sight he was surprised to see the wolf pup that the female wolf had been protecting. Something about seeing the pup out running happily while his Rex was dead reignited the rage that he had thought he had gotten over. Without thinking he pulled the trigger. Time seemed to slow as the bullet passed through the pup’s neck taking its head clean off. Seeing what he’d done The Hunter thought he would feel better about Rex’s death, but he didn’t, he didn’t feel anything. After convincing himself that killing the female wolf and the pup wouldn’t console him the pup’s death no longer held any meaning. Sighing to himself The Hunter went back to tracking the deer as his shot had scared them off.

That night as he ate the young buck he had singled out he heard a howl. Going outside he listened to what could only be the howl of the pup’s mother. It was a howl filled with pain and sorrow, harsh and loud. The sound was unlike any The Hunter had ever heard before and as it echoed across the mountain he knew it was a sound he was likely to never forget.