Chapter 2: Hopeless

3 Days Later

Sweets was absolutely right when she told her that this creature only did the bare minimum to keep them alive. She had not seen so much as a scrap of meat since the raccoon she was fed three days ago, and that was no blessing, for mere minutes after she had picked the last bone clean, she came down with an illness which had nearly killed her. Her temperature rose to feverish levels, she was plagued by insufferable chills, and excreted waste and vomit so frequently that she had to be relocated to an area where she could ride out the remainder of her affliction and not have to worry about wading in her own various forms of matter.

She was given only water during this time, for her vomiting and diarrhea was so extreme that she nearly died of dehydration until finally after two hellish nights her fever broke, her illness had passed and she was returned to her original location with Sweets, but her illness did not leaver her without first taking a huge toll on her body. So weak and malnourished had she been in this time that she had lost nearly five pounds, an alarming number given the brevity of her affliction, her coat, once elegant and smooth was now ragged and course, and she barely had the energy to move.

"So tell me," Kate began, weakly, keeping her head on the ground, "do you think we're gonna die?"

There was a moment of silence which droned on for a matter of about ten seconds before Sweets answered.

"Do you want the truth?" she asked slowly.

Kate fell silent for a moment and lowered her eyes, for she already knew the answer in the back of her mind, but she did not want to admit it to herself yet because she still clung to the flicker of hope that they would either escape or be rescued, even though it slowly wilted as she did.

"No," she replied, dismally, "I guess I don't."

A silence crept over them, casting all life from the cave, leaving only the callous cold and the stench from Kate's illness to embrace them.

They hated the silence, feeling as though death dwelled somewhere inside of it and did anything they could to help dispose of it, but such a task was easier said than done. When they spoke, they could barely bring their voices above a whisper and in their time spent here, they had said pretty much all that there was to say, but they kept at it anyway, using sound to let them know that they were still alive.

"Hey, Kate?" Sweets suddenly asked, causing the amber alpha to perk her ears.

"Yes?" she replied weakly.

"What's it like?" Sweets asked, "having a mate and pups?"

Kate felt a tear sting her eye, and turned away.

"Please, don't," she began, "I don't want to talk about that."

"Please, Kate," Sweets begged sadly, "I need to know so that wh..."

She trailed off then concluded her thought with a dejected "never mind."

Kate sighed and lifted her head.

"What?" she asked, but Sweets only replied with a disheartened sigh, "Sweets, why do you need to know?"

"It doesn't matter," she answered flatly, "it's nothing but a dream now anyway."

Kate fell silent for a moment then sighed.

"It's the most wonderful experience in the world," she began, biting back her tears, "to be surrounded by people who will love and adore you until the end of time, to have somebody to nurture when they've been hurt, or to simply hold when the weight of the world has fallen on their shoulders." She paused and turned her eyes out toward where she believed was the front of the cave. "Somebody you can depend on... who will never give up on you and never stop believing in you."

As she finished, silence crept into the cave once again which lingered like a black cloud over their heads.

"That sounds nice," Sweets said finally, seeming to relish on Kate's words.

Kate nodded weakly.

"But why would you need to know?" she asked slowly.

Sweets sighed and lowered her head.

"Because if I ever get out of this alive that's what I want to do," she answered, "find a nice male, settle down and have a family." She choked as tears began to sting her eyes. "We'll all be so happy," she continued, fighting back the tears, "we'll dig a den, the pups will play and grow and my mate and I will sit aside, huddled close to each other's sides and just watch." She paused and lowered her eyes to her paws. "I've wanted it for so long that it seems more like dream now."

"Well, what about the Moonlight Howls?" Kate asked, "surely somebody would have asked you to be their court for the night."

"Well they do," she answered, "but none of them seem right to me. They just... all seem to try too hard, or want something which I am not willing to give."

There was a moment of silence before Kate spoke.

"Well I know somebody who has had their eyes on you for a long time," she said, "but after you shot him down he hasn't had the courage to talk to you."

Sweets perked her ears, now intrigued.

"Yeah?" she asked, "who?"

"Oh nobody really," Kate replied, "just a guy."

"Who?" Sweets asked through the cracks of a chuckle.

"I think you might already know," Kate replied with a smile.

"Oh, you mean Salty?" Sweets asked, "I mean... yeah he's a nice guy... but..."

"But what?" Kate asked, cocking her head.

"I don't know," she replied, "he's just so... awkward and... I don't know."

"He's just bad at meeting new people, and especially at talking to girls," Kate assured, "but believe me, once you get to know him you realize just how great a guy he really is. Give him a chance, maybe he'll surprise you."

Sweets fell silent for a moment, searching for her tongue, then finally, after about a minute, she wrestled it once more into her control.

"Okay," she replied, forcing a smile.

Kate could not see, but sensed the smile and allowed one of her own to be birthed upon her lips, but her smile slowly faded as reality settled upon her once more.

"I'm just sorry you'll never get the chance," she thought, releasing a dismal sigh.

A&Ω

Humphrey did not know how he was going to break it to them, for he had assured them that he would never give up on their mother, and would not stop searching until she was returned safely home, but she had been gone for four days and he was still no closer to finding her now than he was when she was first discovered missing. He hated to do it, but he knew that it was time for him to face the facts. She was gone, and it was quite likely that she would never be coming back, so he only had but one choice- he had to presume her dead.

His stomach churned at the thought and a pit began to form in its base, causing his bile to burn and seek passage through his esophagus, but he bit it back as he always did by replacing this sickness with anger, which ultimately twisted into one which was aimed at himself because he had nobody else to blame. He knew that he was letting her down and hated himself because he knew that he had failed her, but even more than that, he hated that nobody would ever know what had happened to her, and that her case would forever go unsolved.

That was what hurt him the most, because he knew that burying an empty casket would never bring closure, and he knew that it would never satisfy his conscience because the mystery would still remain, festering inside of his mind like a sore which could not be healed because the truth, the only thing cure, would likely never be discovered.

He paused a short distance outside of his den and took a moment to collect himself, struggling to find the will to press on, but they had to know, and telling them was his responsibility. He sighed, flattening his ears, then began to walk. He didn't know what he would say; he just hoped that when the moment came his courage would not abandon him.

All eyes fell upon him as he entered and the three pups immediately rose to greet him while Garth, who had elected to watch them while Humphrey searched, remained distant.

"Did you find anything, dad?" Stinky, his oldest son asked.

Humphrey choked slightly as the question rolled into his ears, but tried his best to hide his tears from his pups, because he would not allow them to see him break down. He knew that he needed to be strong.

Garth, however, detected it immediately and understood.

"I'm gonna give you guys some privacy," he said softly and rose to take his leave.

"Yeah," Humphrey replied in a strained voice as the tears he battled stung his eyes, "that would probably be for the best."

Garth paused as he arrived at Humphrey's side and placed a paw on his shoulder, causing the forlorn omega to lift his eyes. Garth waited until their eyes met then locked their gazes for a moment, and, even though he spoke not a word more, the message he sent to Humphrey was clear.

'Be strong, my friend.'

After a spell of about thirty seconds, Humphrey nodded and Garth continued on his way, then, once the four of them were alone, Humphrey turned to them.

"Come on, guys," he choked, leading them toward the back of the den, "we have a lot to talk about."