Hey, guys! Here’s the new chapter of my story! I hope you like it, I worked hard on this!!
If you haven’t read the previous chapters, they’re at
Fiction Fridays #2: The AJ Story, Chapter 1
Fiction Fridays #3: The AJ Story, Chapter 2
Fiction Fridays #4: The AJ Story, Chapter 3
Fiction Fridays #5: The AJ Story, Chapter 4
Fiction Fridays #6: The AJ Story, Chapter 5
Fiction Fridays #7: The AJ Story, Chapter 6
Fiction Fridays #8: The AJ Story, Chapter 7
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It was a sleepless night for the wolf sisters. They woke up Scooter, told her to keep an eye on Crashing and Fauna, and went with Liza all the way to the Alpha Council House at the top of Mt. Shiveer at the edge of the mountains. It was almost eleven oâ clock when they finally reached the summit. Most of the other Alphas, looking ruffled and nervous, had already reached the top, and, to the wolvesâ embarrassment, there didnât seem to be any other non-Alpha animals there.
âFlora, Juniper, Lucky,â said a voice anxiously. They turned to see Peck, her violet eyes wide and her whiskers quivering. âIâm sorry to hear about Greely. I know you three are really close to him.â
âHeâll be okay,â Flora said, although it sounded rather like she was reassuring herself. âTheyâll put a search party together, and weâll find him no problem.â
âFlora, you know what this means,â whispered Juniper when everyone was out of earshot. âThe Phantom King. Heâs already got Greely. His planâs working, and the other Alphas are doing exactly what he wants them to.â
Floraâs eyes widened. âWe have to warn them,â she whispered. Juniper nodded.
Lucky was discussing battle plans in a low voice with Sir Gilbert. Sir Gilbert wasnât Greelyâs best friend â in fact, the two had a long history of consternation â but the huge tigerâs loyalty was unmatched, and there was no way heâd step down from helping his fellow Alpha.
âGot a plan?â he said to Lucky.
âRun in there, save Greely, and whip those phantomsâ big black butts,â she replied.
âSounds good to me,â said Sir Gilbert.
âAttention!â called Liza from the end of the large table in the center of the room. All talk ceased, and everyone took a seat at the huge conference table. Flora, Juniper, and Lucky were able to share Greelyâs empty seat, and it wasnât that cramped, considering the size of the missing Alpha.
âYesterday, Greely left Jamaa on one of his missions,â said Liza. âWe werenât worried until he didnât return, and one Sparkle Wingedlily, an arctic wolf that was watching Miss Cutestar while Flora and Juniper went to the Hive to help Lucky, said he had set off for the Hive. He should have come back quickly, but he didnât.â
Flora felt herself go cold. Greely was at the Hive. It wasnât that she didnât think he, Alpha, couldnât take care of himself, but the Phantom Hive was dangerous to any animal, immortal or not. The Alphasâ immortality wasnât absolute, after all; they would never die of old age or grow any older, but they could be killed in battle like a normal animal.
âNaturally, we will assemble a party of our best warriors to venture into the Hive and find him. It â â
âWait!â Juniper burst out. âWhile we were in the Hive, the Phantom King told us his plan. He was planning on capturing Greely, then, while we were all busy, leak the phantoms into Jamaa and take it from the inside out.â
All eyes turned to the blue wolf, and she blushed.
âWhat was his plan?â asked Liza softly.
So Juniper told them everything the Phantom King had said. When she finished, Sir Gilbert pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. âWe must act,â he growled, and shouts of assent filled the room.
âQuiet!â shouted Liza. âThis is indeed a bad situation, but we canât rush into it. We have to leave a group behind to keep vigil over Jamaaâs borders and make sure the phantoms donât infiltrate, and form a search party as well. Sir Gilbert, Peck, Ruby, Lucky, and Flora will search for Greely.â
The named animals stood up. The huge tiger, rabbit, rhino, and two wolves, all great warriors, promised they would give everything they could, and wasted no time in leaving for the Hive.
âThat leaves the matter of security,â continued the panda. âCosmo, Graham, Juniper, and I will watch the land borders. Harper and Marco can take the waterways.â
Harper and Marco were the Seal and Penguin Alphas, respectively. âOn it,â said Harper, throwing Liza the finger-gun. Juniper quietly rolled her eyes.
âAnd Crashing?â she asked hesitantly. âIâm sorry, but I canât just leave her alone. Weâve got a little penguin and a rabbit, too.â
Liza raised her eyebrows at the last part, but said, âThey can stay with LaSelle while you do your duties as guard.â The glamorous raccoon rose from the table. âIâll take very good care of your little ones, Miss Spiritbird.â
âThanks,â said Juniper. She gave LaSelle her address so she could pick them up, then left with her Alpha helpers to organize a watch over Jamaa.
Meanwhile, the search party was about to reach the bottom of Mt. Shiveer. It was a much faster journey downhill, and with their long legs and Alpha speed, they almost halved the time it took to get down.
Sir Gilbert shook the dirt and snow out of his fur once theyâd reached the bottom. âItâs about an hourâs journey to the Hive,â he said in his bass voice. âWe should arrive just after midnight. You all ready?â
âReady as ever,â said Flora, digging her claws into the rocks beneath her.
With the affirmative from everyone else in the party, the second leg of their journey began. Huge stony mountains loomed at them from all sides, towering above their heads, making even the Alphas seem miniscule by comparison.
âIâm almost glad we got here,â said Peck once theyâd reached the Hive. âThose mountains looked too sinister. I bet they were crawling with phantoms.â
âWell, get ready for more,â growled Ruby. She tossed her head from side to side, then smashed her horn through a rock by the entrance. âIâm waiting for whatever those phantoms throw at us.â
So they all went inside the Hive. Lucky bowed her head and quickened her pace as her fur stood on end at the sight of a bloodstained patch just inside the mouth. She tried not to think about Little and her terrible, if brave, death.
âKeep your guard up,â whispered Sir Gilbert, whose head was scraping against the roof of the tunnel. More than once heâd hit it on a rock and said some extremely rude things to the ceiling.
âWeâre getting close,â said Flora. âI know where we are.â
After five more minutes of narrow, winding tunnels, Flora spotted the sign that marked the entrance of the dungeons. She crouched low, and motioned her companions to do the same. One phantom drifted from one side of the corridor to the other, guarding the doorway, but the search party wasnât nervous in the least.
âHere we go,â said Ruby, a daring smile spreading across her sharp features. Flora couldnât help thinking that she was among a group of Luckies.
âOn your mark,â muttered Sir Gilbert.
âGet setâŠâ Despite Peckâs size, she managed to look like a fierce enemy.
âGO!â shouted the rhino.
The phantom never had a chance against all five of them. With one slash of Rubyâs claw-sharp horn, he was nothing but a pile of goop on the ground.
But the worst was yet to come.
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Thanks for reading! I still don’t have a good title for this story, so if you have any suggestions, PLEASE put them in the comments!!
Summer đ