Categories > Original > Drama > The Dark Side of the Moon
Prologue
The massive dark clouds that lay on the horizon were like the jagged forms of craggy mountains before the pallid morning sky. As the sun climbed higher, the hills faded away as if veiled by a thick curtain of fog.
A rabbit, perhaps a young hare, hopped across the snow and settled happily near a flower that had pushed through the white blanket, taking each petal in turn and shredding it in its teeth. It did not seem bothered by the eagle that circled overhead, shrieking its harsh cry that echoes in the surrounding valleys, and came to land on the bare branch of an old crooked tree. It screeched again and beat its great wings once before lifting off and riding the wind higher. As it gained height, the eagle stopped gliding and began to hover, a black and white dot against the blue sky. It looked down suddenly and jerked its head different ways. The eagle seemed to have spotted something in the river below.
It brought its great wings in to its body and stretched out its head with its beak slowly opening. As the bird fell from the sky, a flickering silver shape appeared in the stream. And then there was two, then three. Little glistening fish popped up in the water but the eagle stayed focused on the one in the middle.
At the last minute it pulled up away from the water and the fish scattered. They were now hiding at the bottom, out of reach, and the eagle had missed its chance.
Returning to its perch in the crooked tree, it shrieked dolefully and fluffed up its feathers. Its eyes were still open, constantly observing every animal that went by below. It locked its gaze on a lone wolf but its brown fur did nothing to camouflage it against the snow-covered ground.
It was clear that the wolf was wounded as it shuffled through the snow, keeping its front-left paw up off of the ground with its head bobbing up and down as it stumbled along.
The eagle knew this animal was weak... and she was carrying something in her mouth, something small and helpless. A still ball of fur and fluff that hung limp from her jaws: a pup! It was an easy snack for such a keen and mighty hunter.
The bird soared off of its perch and flew over to the wolf. It landed on the snow and sunk down into the soft ground. This would be over in seconds.
The brown she-wolf bared her teeth as she saw the eagle fly over and land in front of her. She set the pup down in front of her legs and crouched over it, nuzzling and encouraging the little white bundle of shivers to stay awake. She took a small step towards the eagle so that the pup was underneath her belly.
The bird eyed the little ball of white hungrily and the wolf leapt at it. The eagle fluffed up its feathers again and tried to hop back, but the thick wall of snow prevented it from escaping the grasp of the she-wolf.
She lunged it and bit down into its plump belly, feeling the thick blood trickle over her nose and muzzle. She shook the bird until it flopped about like a child’s ragdoll and tossed it up in the air. Jumping up to catch it as it fell, she bit down on its neck and gave it a sharp twist. It was over in seconds.
With no further use for it, she dropped its dead corpse on the snow and returned to the pup as a coyote trotted over to scavenge from the kill. The she-wolf ignored it and carried the pup into the trees.
The mother could feel the cold nipping at her skin and running down her spine. She had to find a den before the weather took a turn for the worse. She felt the pup sag down in her mouth and she shook it gently to wake it again. She could not let it fall asleep.
After what seemed like hours of searching, the exhausted she-wolf came to a den under a rock. It did not smell like wolves or any other animal so it was not in use. She staggered in, her legs shaking with fatigue, and set the pup down on the bed of old, crunchy leaves before collapsing in a heap. She crawled forward and rolled onto her side so that the pup was able to suckle. She looked up to watch it feed on the creamy milk and for the first time in many moons, she smiled and felt happy.
Her journey had been long and hard. She had walked through rain and hail, storm and sleet to have this pup, and she was not going to let it die now. She knew that this one would grow up to be as mighty as any wolf ever could be.
The little white bundle of shivers rolled over in the leaves and pressed its back against its mother’s belly. The she-wolf curled around it and they both fell into a well-earned, dreamless slumber.
The massive dark clouds that lay on the horizon were like the jagged forms of craggy mountains before the pallid morning sky. As the sun climbed higher, the hills faded away as if veiled by a thick curtain of fog.
A rabbit, perhaps a young hare, hopped across the snow and settled happily near a flower that had pushed through the white blanket, taking each petal in turn and shredding it in its teeth. It did not seem bothered by the eagle that circled overhead, shrieking its harsh cry that echoes in the surrounding valleys, and came to land on the bare branch of an old crooked tree. It screeched again and beat its great wings once before lifting off and riding the wind higher. As it gained height, the eagle stopped gliding and began to hover, a black and white dot against the blue sky. It looked down suddenly and jerked its head different ways. The eagle seemed to have spotted something in the river below.
It brought its great wings in to its body and stretched out its head with its beak slowly opening. As the bird fell from the sky, a flickering silver shape appeared in the stream. And then there was two, then three. Little glistening fish popped up in the water but the eagle stayed focused on the one in the middle.
At the last minute it pulled up away from the water and the fish scattered. They were now hiding at the bottom, out of reach, and the eagle had missed its chance.
Returning to its perch in the crooked tree, it shrieked dolefully and fluffed up its feathers. Its eyes were still open, constantly observing every animal that went by below. It locked its gaze on a lone wolf but its brown fur did nothing to camouflage it against the snow-covered ground.
It was clear that the wolf was wounded as it shuffled through the snow, keeping its front-left paw up off of the ground with its head bobbing up and down as it stumbled along.
The eagle knew this animal was weak... and she was carrying something in her mouth, something small and helpless. A still ball of fur and fluff that hung limp from her jaws: a pup! It was an easy snack for such a keen and mighty hunter.
The bird soared off of its perch and flew over to the wolf. It landed on the snow and sunk down into the soft ground. This would be over in seconds.
The brown she-wolf bared her teeth as she saw the eagle fly over and land in front of her. She set the pup down in front of her legs and crouched over it, nuzzling and encouraging the little white bundle of shivers to stay awake. She took a small step towards the eagle so that the pup was underneath her belly.
The bird eyed the little ball of white hungrily and the wolf leapt at it. The eagle fluffed up its feathers again and tried to hop back, but the thick wall of snow prevented it from escaping the grasp of the she-wolf.
She lunged it and bit down into its plump belly, feeling the thick blood trickle over her nose and muzzle. She shook the bird until it flopped about like a child’s ragdoll and tossed it up in the air. Jumping up to catch it as it fell, she bit down on its neck and gave it a sharp twist. It was over in seconds.
With no further use for it, she dropped its dead corpse on the snow and returned to the pup as a coyote trotted over to scavenge from the kill. The she-wolf ignored it and carried the pup into the trees.
The mother could feel the cold nipping at her skin and running down her spine. She had to find a den before the weather took a turn for the worse. She felt the pup sag down in her mouth and she shook it gently to wake it again. She could not let it fall asleep.
After what seemed like hours of searching, the exhausted she-wolf came to a den under a rock. It did not smell like wolves or any other animal so it was not in use. She staggered in, her legs shaking with fatigue, and set the pup down on the bed of old, crunchy leaves before collapsing in a heap. She crawled forward and rolled onto her side so that the pup was able to suckle. She looked up to watch it feed on the creamy milk and for the first time in many moons, she smiled and felt happy.
Her journey had been long and hard. She had walked through rain and hail, storm and sleet to have this pup, and she was not going to let it die now. She knew that this one would grow up to be as mighty as any wolf ever could be.
The little white bundle of shivers rolled over in the leaves and pressed its back against its mother’s belly. The she-wolf curled around it and they both fell into a well-earned, dreamless slumber.
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