beady black eye of a massive sandy wolf, which was clearly the alpha. Intimidated by the piercing
gaze of the alpha, the boy quickly turned to flee, only to be halted in his tracks by his savior,
flanked by a snowy white and a chestnut brown. With his parents dead, lost in the middle of a
rocky desert and surrounded by wolves, Kris finally gave up. Tears started streaming down his
face. The lad turned slowly to the alpha male.
“Just kill me already! I know you will anyways! So why not now?” he screamed, hysterically.
Exhausted by the whole ordeal, he started to feel woozy, fatigue finally winning the fight to
take over his body. His world went black a second time that day.
When he opened his eyes, his vision adjusted and he was once again scared out of his wits
by a month full of sharp teeth. He screamed and he thought he had died and gone to hell, before
remembering the pack of wolves that seemed to have adopted him as part of their pack. The tan
wolf whimpered, reminding the boy of his presence. Kris looked at the wolf, ran a hand through
the shaggy coat of fur, quietly cooing at the wolf’s cute antics, earning an indignant huff from the
animal. He laughed, murmuring a soft “sorry.” The wolf looked at him and gave a lopsided grin.
“Say, since we’re starting to become friends, can I give you a name?” Kris enquired. The wolf
gave a short bark of approval.
“OK then… let’s see… Josh?...nope… Tanner?... ewww… Kevin?... you’re right, that’s a horrible
idea…Kk…Kaa… Ah-ha! Got it! How about Kai?” the wolf gave another approving bark.
“Kai it is then!” the lad proclaimed.
Just then, a howl was heard, and the newly christened Kai quickly ushered the boy out into
the open, where the other wolves were assembled, ready to devour their freshly caught meal.
This was the first out of many nights Kris spent with his new wolf family.
Several years later, the whir of an engine ripped through the air, sending the wolf pack
howling in warning. It was a team of archeologists, in search of hidden treasures of the Gobi
Desert which it had kept in secret for decades.
The caravan on jeeps stopped and a group of the scientists got out of their vehicles and scouted
the area for any dangers. One of the them came across Kris, who was shielded behind Kai. The
scientist yelled, attracting his companions, who immediately rushed over to investigate. Kai bared
his fangs menacingly. The archeologists scrambled around in horror before conjuring up a rifle and
taking a shot. It hit the tan wolf in the leg; crimson blood streaming down pouring onto the sand.
Oblivious to Kris’ screams of horror and Kai’s whimpers of pain, the men proceeded to shoot
all the wolves, drenching the sand with blood. It was a blood bath.
Soon it was over, and once again, Kris had lost his family. He was especially devastated by his
brother and best friend’s death, whom had died in his arms.
The archeologists then brought the protesting boy, kicking and screaming back to their camp,
and later brought him back with them to civilization.
But the damage was done. Kris was broken. A part of his soul had died in the Gobi Desert. He
would never be the same again.
* * *
