Alex kept looking over his shoulder half expecting to see the rift police hot on their tail. He couldn't see much through the thick curtain of snow but he felt safe knowing they wouldn't be able to follow them through the blizzard.
Alex was lost in thought for a moment but when he turned forward his heart sank. He could no longer see Rose. He swept his gaze all around him with no luck. His anxiety spiked. Getting lost in a blizzard and freezing to death was not how he wanted to go out.
He couldn't feel his toes anymore but he needed to push forward. He felt like he still knew what direction they were walking and rushed to try and catch up.
If he wasn't able to catch up in time then they might be forced to leave him behind. They did just meet. They seemed like nice people but he wasn't sure if they would wait for him.
He held his frozen right hand up to shield his eyes from all the flying snow and kept walking. He was trying to speed walk at the least but the heavy snow was pushing against his legs with every step.
He only made it a few steps before he heard something up ahead. It sounded like growling. Some kind of wild animal? It was straight ahead in the direction he was walking. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go towards the wild growling.
Just when he turned around he heard another noise. The growling was still there, but he could have sworn he heard a scream. It sounded like Rose. He started running towards the sounds as fast as he could.
After a few moments he was able to see shadowy figures through the snow. He kept moving. His legs were frozen and slowed him down tremendously. When he got close enough he could hear the growling not just from in front but all around him. Was it some kind of wolf? He didn't know.
He wished they could catch a break. Ever since coming to this damned planet the only thing on his mind had been survival. Through the heavy curtain of snow he could now see Rose trying to fend off one of what he assumed were wolves. It had a hold of her arm and refused to let go.
The wolf jerked its head side to side to try and rip the flesh from her arm. She let out a scream that sounded so horrifying and primal that it made his heart begin to race and his adrenaline spike.
During his whole peaceful life on earth he had never heard a scream as real as that one.
He could see Tom attempting to wrestle the wolf from her arm. Alex picked up his pace towards the group. While they were distracted by the one wolf attacking them, they failed to notice the shadowy figures looming all around them. He could hear the occasional bark and growl.
There were just too many of them. What could he do to help at this point? Even now it might already be too late to escape the situation.
Alex steeled his nerves and focused on the adrenaline coursing through him. He ran up to where the wolf was latched on to Rose and with all the strength he could muster, he smashed his fist into the wolfs left eye.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to deal very much damage by just hitting the wolf where it had thick hide, he decided to go right for the eyes.
The wolf squealed in pain. Its left eye exploded inside its eye socket. Before he could initiate another attack the beast finally let go of Rose and dashed off into the blizzard. Rose immediately dropped to her knees sobbing. She was in a lot of pain. Her arm looked mangled. An injury like that would normally be taken care of easily if they had access to a hospital, but they didn't.
Tom knelt down next to Rose to comfort her and examine her arm. He let his guard down and now Alex was the only one ready to fend off the others.
"Tom I need you!" He shouted.
Tom looked up like a deer caught in the headlights. Confused at first but quickly snapped out of it and stood up with Alex on one side and Tom on the other. The wolves were lurking around them like sharks. They looked like they hadn't eaten in days. All shriveled and mangy looking.
One of them lunged forward and snapped its teeth just missing him by inches. He tried to counter with his fist but the wolf was too fast and retreated into the snow.
Alex was desperately trying to think of a way out of this. They could always try and run, but that would mostly assure their deaths.
He let out an exhausted sigh. He knew what he had to do.
Then he remembered he still had some of those crystals from the cave but there wasn't any hard surfaces for him to smash them. He didn't have much time to think. The wolves were closing in fast.
He pulled out two crystals from his backpack and squeezed them tightly in both his hands. Without any hesitation he ran towards the closest wolf he could see. The snow crunched beneath the weight of his feet.
The wolf focused its attention on Alex, sensing he was a threat. Alex didn't stop though. He awkwardly ran while trying to lift his feet above the snow. The wolf let out a growl that almost made him stop in his tracks. It was like he could feel how hungry the wolf was, how desperate it was.
It didn't matter though. This was just survival, and if he himself could not survive then he would do his best for the others. Try and buy them a few precious seconds.
He wanted to tell the others to run but there was no time. He only hoped Tom would understand what he was doing and take advantage of the situation to flee.
He was only seconds away from clashing with the wolf. It pounced in the air, its jaws wide open and ready to snap down on him like a crocodile. He felt like time slowed down as he stared at the rows of sharp teeth.
With the wolf finally close enough Alex raised his fist that was still clenching the crystal and threw it right between its jaws and almost on instinct the wolf bit down hard. He didn't even have enough time to protect his eyes when the flash went off. For a moment the whole world went white.
He was totally blind but hopefully so was the wolf. He couldn't see where it was but he knew that wouldn't finish it off and he needed to kill it before it could recover.
The howling of the wind was extremely loud. but not loud enough to drown out the whimpering coming from a few feet to his right. Alex tried to stand up and immediately lost his balance, crashing back into the snow.
He crawled on his hands and knees towards the sound of whimpering. He felt around with his hands until he touched something furry. He moved his hands along its body until he found the head. He could feel the wolfs hot breath on his hand.
He channeled all of his anger into several punches against the wolfs head. Over and over he slammed his fist into the creature until his arm was wet with what must be blood. Not just the wolfs but also some of his own. His hand felt broken. His fist was slowly pulsing with pain but he did it. He actually took down one of these monsters.
He was ready now. He gave it his all and took down what was technically an alien to him. He could die peacefully now. The others should have made it a safe distance by now, or they were already dead. He didn't know. He still couldn't see very well.
He was tired. He dropped to his knees with his whole body going limp. The only thing telling him he was still alive was the pain in his hand.
"This is it..."
He could hear the others slowly getting closer to him, they were weary to approach at first but they were able to sense he had given up. They were so hungry. They were ravenous. Alex was just a skinny looking kid with hardly any meat on his bones but they were desperate and starving.
One of the wolves, what looked to be the largest of the group, circled him a few times and then leapt forward and clamped down on Alex's shoulder. Its teeth dug in pretty deep, instantly covering his shoulder in his own crimson colored blood. It dripped down his arm and blended into the snow below him like a snow cone.
He tried fending it off but he had no energy left. He could barely turn his head to look at the beast. It bit down even harder and gave him a few shakes trying to tear his flesh. It was a strange feeling having your flesh ripped away while you were still alive.