As Vars started to wake up it seemed the rest of the world did too. The once cloudy sky was now bright and sunny. As his eyes were adjusting to the light he could hear what seemed like an all-out war.
All around the forest, he could hear growls, yelps, screeching, roars, and all-out mayhem. Once his eyes refocused he first noticed that he was back in a tree.
'How did I get here?' Vars thought as he looked around for the rest of the pack. That's when he noticed what was going on below him. The pack he came to call family or what was left of it, was under attack!
'I had a feeling this would happen. *sigh* I guess it was too optimistic to hope that we all could survive.'
Down below Vars could see the pack had undergone many changes. Only 6 of Vars' siblings remained from what he can see. 5 had become undead and the others were nowhere to be found. Their once beautiful pelts now only covered their face. They had pieces of flesh either completely missing or hanging on by a thread. In some spots, you could see organs and bones. The strong odor they gave off would make you think they've been dead for weeks.
The odd thing was that only 4 of the 5 had been turned into zombie wolves. The baby of the pack was a complete skeleton. No fur, eyes, or any other type of flesh could be seen on his body.
These 5 undead had the last 3 of Vars' pack surrounded. It was his "Mother", the Alpha, and one of his sisters he called Snow but they also looked different. His mother's all-white coat seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The patch of grass beneath her feet had a light frost covering it.
Clearly, Vars wasn't the only one to benefit from the Awakening. The alpha and his daughter also had different traits now too. The Alpha seemed to have black wisps roll off him. His dark black coat seemed even darker than before as if Vars was staring at darkness itself. Snow on the other hand seemed to be a mix of the two.
Her once all-white coat became a mix of black and white while the irises of her eyes became an amethyst color. Just like her mother her coat also seemed to have a hue to it and the grass underneath her had frost on it but instead of being white like snow, it was a dark purple.
As the three got close together they looked at their loved ones with horror, sorrow, and caution. Staring at her kids and thinking about the first time she lost her pups trembling with tears in her eyes Mother couldn't take any more.
"My precious pups, it's me. Do you not remember the times we spent hunting, laughing, and playing together? Please I know somewhere deep down you can still hear me. Please little ones you have to come back to me," Mother pleaded with a voice full of sadness and hurt.
"THIS IS ENOUGH. I will not lose another pup. I raised all of you to be stronger than this! I'm sure all of you can fight this. Do not give up!" the Alpha exclaimed as he stood next to his mate trying to back her up.
Although they were encouraging their kids to fight whatever it was afflicting them, they did not seem to reach them. The undead siblings began to enclose their prey forcing them back to back. Growling and drooling blood preparing for their first meal.
Noticing the situation isn't looking too good Vars began to slowly climb down from the tree. As he was climbing he made sure to have the pack in his vision in case something drastic happens. It didn't take long before Vars reached the bottom and crouched behind the tree.
'Damn, I didn't realize I was that high up. That had to be like 50 feet up. I guess those stats are kicking because I'm not tired at all. Now I just need to find a weapon.'
As he was looking around for a weapon, he noticed the undead started their attack. The first one to pounce was the eldest of the bunch. He dove straight for his mother and once the rest of the undead saw him attack they also pounced. The Alpha was rushed by his two youngest daughters while Mother was blitzed by the two oldest boys. Meanwhile, the bony skeleton of the baby boy slowly menacingly stalked his way towards Snow.
Seeing who the targets were the Alpha broke away from the group to give his mate and daughter some room while making it easier to fight. "If this is the way it's going so be it. May your souls rest in peace."
As the fight was kicking off Vars was still trying to figure out a way to help them.
'Maybe it's time to summon my companion.'
As if on cue green particles started to form in front of him. The particles combined into the form of what Vars could only guess to be his parasitic leech.
It was 5 inches long and about an inch thick. It was completely white with tiny red spikes from its head down each part of its segmented body. After gathering its bearings it turned to Vars with its red beady eyes and opened its mouth showing 3 circular rows of tiny teeth.
"It's about time you summoned me. So what's the plan?" the small creature asked in a guttural voice.
"Well, nice to meet you too. I was thinking something along the lines of saving Mother and Snow while you use hostile takeover on the Alpha. I will have my revenge one way or another. What do you think?"
"Well, I can understand why you would want revenge but how do you expect to save the others and attach me to him? How about this, you save Snow and attach me to her. That way we can take on the Alpha after you kill the skeleton and gain a talent. What do you think?"
After contemplating for a few seconds Vars said, "That is definitely a better plan but, I'd rather keep Snow and Mother alive. I actually have some sort of emotional connection with them. Does hostile takeover kill whoever you use it on?"
"I can choose to or not when I change hosts. So for Snow, it'll be like she went into a deep sleep. I honestly don't want to save her but if you want me to I can. I doubt Mother will survive though. I don't think she can bring harm to her pups if she wanted to."
Taking in the words the little leech said Vars couldn't help but look in Mother's direction. She was kiting her two zombie sons while helplessly pleading with them to gain some sense. Seeing the tears in her eyes made Vars' heart lurch. At that moment he followed her tears' trail to a bite mark Mother had on her neck. At that moment he realized this cruel world was only going to get even more cruel.
Looking back at the leech Vars now held a strange glint in his eyes. It was a look of determination but the scary kind as if he would do absolutely anything to reach his goal. Unbeknownst to Vars the little leech loved the crazed look in his eyes.
"It feels like the universe wants to do nothing but break me. How many times do I have to watch those I care about die? What am I supposed to do?" Vars asked aloud as he punched the ground in frustration. Stunning him a small crater was formed in the ground where his fist landed.
'Power. With power, I can make the rules and wouldn't have to feel helpless ever again. Gaia said that from now on strength is the only thing that matters and it's time I got with the program. I will be the strongest by any means necessary!'