Later that night, Chase began to pack his things. The group started walking north in the dead of night.
If he were alone, this would have been an impossible task for the boy.
However, with the wolves' sentient flames, he found it quite easy to maneuver through the forest under the darkness of the night.
After walking silently for a while, Alpha suddenly came to a stop.
Alpha was the name he had given to the eldest wolf, since it technically already had a name. So, the name was technically just a codename for Chase to refer to it as.
As well as Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. These were the codenames Chase had given to the other wolves of the pack. Since they moved with military-level coordination, military codenames suited the hellhounds well.
Except for Sparky, who rarely fought with the pack and stayed behind to guard Chase. The youngest wolf was also a lot less serious and childish compared to the other wolves of the pack.
Chase waited patiently for Alpha to do something...
However, before he could react, a loud screech reverberated through the trees, and loud crashing could be heard from above.
The leaves and bushes rustled violently around the seven of them.
Chase's heartbeat began to slam into his chest as a cold and terrifying chill spread through his body.
Before he could understand what was happening, a loud flapping of wings invaded the forest, making him seem like a tiny insect compared to what was hiding in the darkness.
The terrible smell of sulfur invaded the boy's nostrils, causing a sense of terror to overtake him as the unseeable creature drew near.
Suddenly, before Chase could react, Sparky grabbed the boy and threw him onto his back with his fangs.
The fangs of the wolf pierced his shoulder and quickly drew blood.
The wound was not as bad as one would expect; however, it was going to limit the movement of his arm temporarily.
He ignored the terrible pain and tucked his head down into the mane of the young wolf.
They continued to gallop quickly toward the north while violent crashing and roars could be heard disappearing behind the two of them.
All Chase could hear were the loud pants of Sparky and the violent wind crashing into the boy's body as they swiftly covered ground.
He still did not know what was going on, so he tried to calm himself.
His eyes shut together as he began to tie a small cloth from his bag around his injured left shoulder.
...
They did not slow down until the sun began to creep through the openings in the forest roof.
"What was that?"
Chase asked Sparky from atop the mismatched-eyed wolf.
However, Sparky did not reply and instead refused to let the boy dismount its back.
"Hey, can I know what is going on, please?"
He asked his canine companion, with worry creeping into his tone.
But of course, no response...
The trees began to grow more compact and closer together as Sparky continued on.
Eventually, it got too hard for the wolf to move swiftly through the forest, and Chase climbed off of the wolf cautiously.
He did not ask Sparky any more questions and silently followed the wolf.
As Chase had finally calmed down, he began to ask his canine companion what had attacked them.
But as he was about to speak, Sparky began to let out a low and vicious growl.
The young wolf turned to face the boy and shoved its snout into the boy's injured shoulder.
A terrible pain took the place of the soreness from the semi-deep wound.
Chase fell to his knees, hitting the ground quickly.
He held back violent screams as neon green flames swirled around his torn shoulder.
The torturous pain was like nothing he had ever experienced. It was as if his own soul was being torn from his very existence.
He fought through the pain as he pulled the rag off of his shoulder, revealing that the leather shirt had been entirely burnt through.
What lay on his shoulder was a runic black emblem that seemed to be alive, moving on the surface of his skin.
The runic emblem was an unknown language to Chase, so he could not read what it said, but he did know that the runic marking burned at his skin, constantly pulsating with heat.
He wiped his tear-filled eyes as he stared at the ground.
Eventually, Chase began to speak as he looked back up at the hellhound.
"What the hell was that f-... Sparky?"
The wolf was gone, and what stood ahead was a towering wall of stone, with a gate-like entrance that lay only twenty or so meters ahead.
He looked around for the young hellhound that had vanished without warning, but he was nowhere to be seen.
The thought of being abandoned at the last leg of the journey seemed to invade his mind; however, Sparky wouldn't just leave him after getting this far, so he pushed aside that thought.
Chase slowly stood up, shaking off the horrid pain in his shoulder, a terrible feeling of dread replacing his pain, as his canine friend was nowhere to be seen.
As he slowly walked forward, the grass on the ground turned into a barren stone pathway, which must have been around thousands of years old.
It cracked as he took small, silent strides on the path.
Soon after, Chase reached the gateway and stepped through.
A blinding light flooded his vision, causing him to shield his eyes with his good arm.
Once his sight returned, Chase was left standing in a vast stone maze. The old, stone walls towered high and mighty above the boy. There were no trees inside of the maze, leaving the wide-open sky unblocked and blinding inside of the maze.
The maze was not as enclosed as a normal maze would be, spanning into vast openings with small tunnels leading into other visible clearings.
A heavy breeze brushed against Chase, sending a chill down his spine.
Suddenly, a loud crash resounded behind the boy, causing him to quickly turn his body, only to see that the wooden gate had shut behind him, leaving him stuck alone inside the maze.
'You've got to be kidding me!'