The snow cover does not seem so deep between the trees whose white branches are overburdened by it. We see three of them running toward us, fast as if their lives were depending on it. I see two wolverries on their tail, pushing them up the slope. But that’s not the worst of it. The whole pack of wolverries is waiting in front of them, hidden in the undergrowth just below us. And three ex-con are running directing into their claws and fangs. I can’t see so well to be able to recognize any of them, maybe because the ponchos they are wearing come with the hoods that are covering their heads. Funny, mine is without one. But, no time to think about that. If I’m to save them, I can’t waste any time. In a few short moments, they’ll all be snow-reddening dead meat. There is no time to lose, but no time to make a wrong move either. At such moment, I decide to meditate about what is the best thing to do. My side-kick moves nervously beside me. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks me, suddenly not sure what we should do, maybe misinterpreting my quietness for a reluctance. I don’t answer but, as I got all I wanted, I jump down the slop. I feel Zan’s indecision, but he still decides to follow my lead, a few steps back, and we run down the slope, actually skid as much as run to be fully honest. Before I started that mad rush, in that moment of peace, I decided to ask my PIA for options. ‘List and suggest any abilities I can acquire to help me fight a wolverrie, now.’ OPTIONAL ABILITIES / SKILLS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE: THE VOICE OF ALFA MALE is 10 Rounds THE PHEROMONES OF ALFA MALE is 40 Rounds ANY OTHER ABILITIES REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND TIME, SO THEY WOULD NOT BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU NOW ‘Pheromones? Please explain…” THE PHEROMONES OF ALFA MALE WILL BE ARTIFICIALLY PRODUCED BY YOUR GLANCE AND STORED IN YOUR MOUTH SALIVA TO BE EXTRACTED OUT THROUGH SPITTING. IT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO MARK YOUR TERRITORY UNTIL CHALLENGED BY ANOTHER ALFA MALE ‘Spitting, huh? And barking? Damn! Barking and spitting in a fight never seemed to have worked for me before. But, what the hell do I know? So, yeah, I’ll take them both,’ I agreed, ‘Even though at fifty rounds, I bet I’m being taken advantage of. ’ YES. THE SWIFT DELIVERANCE FEE IS A HUNDRED PERCENT. “I’ll take it,” I say out loud as I'm now already halfway down the slope, noticing the wolverries waiting in the ambush turning their heads around, and becoming aware of our fast descent. As we skid down and do our best to stay on our feet and not to turn into a giant snowball, I hear a subdued growling of one of them. As an answer, they all come out at once. Six of them. Actually, eight of them with two late arrivals jumping out on each of their flanks Now, I know I fought them a day before and won, and that I should feel all full of confidence. But seeing them all at once, I feel… no confident at all. Maybe it’s my near-death snake experience or lack of rest and sleep. Maybe it’s because I know they are as big as black bears and one of them comes to the Zan's chin. Or maybe it’s his fear that I feel as he breathes rapidly behind me that rubs on me as well. Maybe it’s all of that together, but I don’t feel confident at all. But the fight for my life is upon me and I can't but do what I do best. Face the most imminent threat first and roll with the rest. I throw my spear with all my energy at the large beast in the middle, and he has no time to jump out of its way as it goes through him, the impact taking him off the ground, spinning him over the snow. The other beasts instantly lose all the interest in the other convicts, jump back and turn toward us. We are but meters away from them. I let go of a mad yell as I wave my hands to make myself look bigger, Zan following my lead, and I run to the pierced one, jump on him and bury my knife in his throat before I spin around, get on my knees and pull the spear out of his torsos. I wave the bloodied spear in my hand above my head, yelling, barking, or whatever noise I can make to try to scare the other beast away. And it works for a second or two as they pull back a few steps. Now there’s an opening in the middle, and three convicts we’re trying to save are meters away. One of them falls down, and I see a leg badly torn, bleeding, and leaving a red trail in the snow. Two of the other ones, to my great surprise, stop and pick the fallen one and are ready to come and join us as one of the wolvierries that were chasing them jump up in the air to fall on their backs. I throw my spear instantly, but the one that gets him first is the one Zan launched just a split second ago. We don’t wait to see if two spears are enough to have killed the beast. We see them stumble down under the impact of the wolverrie and we run to help them. Zan has a spare spear in his hand, and he drives it through the beast’s chest, trying to push it off the fallen convicts. But the fucker is big and it takes his whole body and some of my help to drag him off. I have no time to breathe as a wolverrie behind me comes at me at once. I have no chance to help one of the convicts up or pick a spear I threw a second ago. I can fall back, but that would leave a fallen convict to the claws of the beast in front of me that is already opening its mouth for me. I only have time to throw a knife at his neck, and then duck and roll to a side so he does not land on me and buries his fangs into my flash. By the time I get up, he has already turned around, growling at me, and I have to face him, leaving my back unguarded and turned to the rest of wolverries, I have to act fast as I already hear the pack moving closer behind me as they start to tame their fear. I can’t even look to see how close they are, afraid to break eye contact with the beast. I feel it’s ready to jump on me the first split second it gets its chance. From the corner of my eye, I see a shaft land in his fur and he violently tilts his head to the right to see where the shaft came from. I guess that’s all the distraction I’m going to get, so I move on him. He sees me come only for a split of a second because I threw the wolverrie skin that was still wrapped around my shoulders over his head, blinding him. He tried to take it off with his head, his right pawn. But I’m on top of him now, and my hand wraps around the skin and his neck and I ride him as if he’s a wild mustang. The knife I left in his neck I pull out and strike him again and again and again. He goes crazy. He is a big fucker and does not die but slams me in the tree and I see darkness and stars, but I can’t let him go and I continue to slice at him till he finally does not drop down. Everyone has watched our crazy rodeo dance, waiting. I pulled a knife out of his dead neck and scurry back to Zan and three other convicts, my ribs hurting, trying to get any kind of air in my lungs, watching the wolverries watching me. And that’s when I see her, a bit taller than the rest. The white beast from yesterday. Seems she found a new pack rather fast. I know it’s her, recognizing the dark spots around her eyes, her size, and her stand, so threatening that would scare a bear away. I turn my back to Zan and am ready to face her and the rest of the pack. There is a piece of wood on the ground. I can use it to shove it inside her throat. She would see me come, so I'd need some kind of distraction. Throw a knife at her while my left hand delivers a deadly blow. Her blood would burst out, redden her white fur, the snow. And in less than a minute, she'd be dead meat. I’m thinking if I should maybe not kill the beast. If I can finish this without more blood. I spared her life before just to kill her now? She seems so magnificent. Besides, why get penalized with bad karma? I growl at her, and it sounds so alien it would scare the shit out of me if I am not completely crazy. As we stare each other down in a stalemate, I remember the ability I purchased. So, I take all the saliva I have in my mouth and spit in her direction, do it again and again till my mouth is not completely dry. “What do you think, you’re gonna spit on him to death?” Zan asks me, nervously bouncing against my back as he moves his spear to counter the advance of a big gray-haired wolverrie that had circled me. I don’t answer. But my spit seems to calm her growling down to the point she quiets down completely. Without breaking eye contact, I put my hand in my backpack and pull out a load of snake meat, probably a good five-pound piece. I growl and throw it in front of her. “Should I…” Zan starts to ask me, his spear in his hand, ready to be thrown. “Don’t do it!” I tell him as I turn to look at the beast who is ready to launch. “Don’t make any move! She's mine!” I bark loud at the beast and that actually makes her take a step back, then another. I put my hand in my rucksack again, take another slab of meat and throw it over her head. She breaks the eye contact and looks at it, turns around, and even sniffs at it. Looks at me again, then licks the meat, barks something out. A second later, two wolverries grab the thrown meat packs and take them away. I have another slab in my hand. But this one I don't want to be given to some of her friends. I hold it in my hand and bark at her. She growls at me as she sees that I'm not ready to throw it away. But I bark and call her in. She is tempted. But very careful. All of that is taking too long. I remember one of the convicts is hurt. I can't play wolverrie trainer while there is a person dying here. So, in the end, I let her win. I throw the lump of meat to her and tell her, "You win. Take it. You live." She grabs her price and holds it in her mouth. I take a deep breath and look around, thinking how I should be proud of myself. But, seeing all the blood, I suddenly start to feel... Weird. I do not know how but I feel regret. Maybe because I’m quite not myself anymore. Maybe it’s that blood that’s covering my hands. My adrenalin is still pumping like crazy, and I… I have no killing left in me. I feel only regret. A sudden stone pressing me down. Pressing me into the hole. Unexpected, inexplicable sadness. Suddenly, I feel for the friends I lost. I feel for all the time that has gone by while I tried to be more powerful than anyone should ever be. More fierce, more fearless, deadlier, tougher, crueler. What the fuck was I thinking? Being tough. What has ever that got me? Wasted life. I look at my hands and that’s all I can think of. She feels it. She feels my sadness. Her head goes down, dropping the meat from her jaws. Her eyes are not filled with blood thirst anymore. There is a sadness there now, the one that has sipped from my eyes into hers. She feels my pain. The sad eyes of a wolverrie. I sigh as I cast another quick glance at two magnificent beasts that I have just slain. I can’t bring them back, can’t teach them nothing, can’t bring back the time, change the past. All I have left is blood on my hands. And the sight of those sad eyes of the White One.