Blood Fang: Chapter 8: Erie Shores

Pudgy was whimpering and frightened, as he was being carried by a tendril made of smoke.  Somehow, it was able to hold him above the monster’s head, without dropping him as the creature moved.  Its body was radiating with so much magical energy, the hedgehog’s teeth were wiggling.  This was similar to when he spent time in the elvish magical bubble when he went to save Christmas in Georgia.  However, the extend of the energies was tuned way past what the elves were using.  The body was translucent, and the little hedgehog could see through to the snow-covered ground beneath.  Smoke of varying intensity swirled all throughout his body, and flowed to form the tendril that held the hedgehog’s body.  The blood red eyes were focused forward, but somehow Pudgy could see the backs of them just faintly. 

In all directions the little critter looked, he could see predators all around him.  Hundreds of black fur wolves were running besides, behind, and in front of the monster.  The powdery snow was being cast up into the air in all directions, and was covering their fur like powdered sugar.  Steam escaped from their nostrils, at the end of a pointed snout tipped with a dark ring like nose.  The wolves were not pure black, and had either brown or silver under tones, and all different colored eyes.  They looked curiously up at the hedgehog, and growled at him menacingly, before lowering their heads to focus forward as they were running.  The heavy snow was muffling the sound, but with the phalanx of attackers running, it was still making a terrific noise.  The coyotes were barking and yipping somewhere to the rear of their numbers, but the critter could not see them.  Turning his attention back to the wolf like creature carrying him, he wiggled a paw free and waved to get the attention of one of the blood red orbs.  It turned completely around, and faced his directly, while the other stayed pressed forward.  Wiggling his nose, Pudgy mustered the courage to speak, “w … w… where are we going?” 

A large grin formed, before the monster spoke, “we are going to meet up with the rest of our forces.  This is just an expeditionary force, to explore the area.  Today is a lucky day for you, Pudgy Hedgehog, as you will meet our combined packs’ alpha wolf.”  Pudgy remembered what Ice Feather and Cobalt told him, that the wolves’ leaders were known as alpha wolves.  He whimpered again, worrying terribly about what he had done.  The pleading words of the field mice and bunnies were ringing in his mind, begging Pudgy to stay inside and not leave with the wolves.  However, the little hedgehog was concerned that had he remained hidden away, someone would have possibly been killed.  The critter did not want a repeat of a Kaiser level situation again, and chose to go with the attackers.  His plan worked when the wolves, coyotes, and monsters decided to leave.  The main problem remained however: how would he get out of this predicament?  Perhaps he could learn more, and then sneak away, so he could warn the owls and other animals?  As Pudgy pondered this while watching the snow-covered lands pass by, he remained trapped by the tendril and pondering.

In the hours that passed since they had left the forest, a terrible snow storm had started up once again.  The largest flakes the little hedgehog had ever seen, were falling out of the sky above.  It became so bad, that their speed slowed, and the wolves fell in line behind one another.  The phalanx of predators headed north, through the open fields that once served as large farms for the humans.  The snows were so deep, that the wolves slowed even further, resulting in a sharp tone from the monster.  “Pick up the pace, we must make our rendezvous with Silver Fang by night fall.”  One black fur wolf looked up at the creature from beneath Pudgy, “what’s a rendezvous?  I don’t know any of that eye-talian stuff.”  The wolf mispronounced that world, along with a retort that Pudgy had heard once more, and was told never to say.    The little hedgehog wiggled his nose again, and watched as the red orb was focused in on the insubordinate wolf.  Pudgy watched as the creature spun around quickly, and quickly bit off the wolf’s head, and tossed it aside into the snow.  An unearthly and demonic roar escaped from the mouth of the creature, “NOT ANOTHER WORD FROM ANY OF YOU!”    

To the shock and amazement of the little hedgehog, he watched as the wolf who had been killed without a second thought, suddenly stood up.  The head of the animal reformed, and within seconds, he was alive once again.  The wolf looked confused, and put his head down as he fell back in line with his fellow predators.  The other wolves who had been watching this terrible display, lowered their heads and began to press on once more.  Pudgy shrieked softly, and would have covered his eyes if he could.  The tendril was wrapped around his body, having restrained his formerly free paw once again, so he could not move either of his paws.  Shutting his eyes tightly, he could hear the creature laughing.  The rush of ice-cold air once more flowed around him, and the sound of running faded away.  The hedgehog had somehow managed to fall asleep, despite the terribly dangerous situation that he was in.  But the brief respite did not last, and soon he was jerked violently awake by the creature’s tendril.    

The critter opened his eyes to see that the group was approaching a river.  The muddy green water flowed up the middle, but the edges were frozen with ice.  Wiggling his nose, he could smell the water, and watched as the wolves were running at top speed all around him.  They had found a former human road, which was still in relatively good repair.  Pudgy watched as rusted signs passed by occasionally, route 356, and Freeport in 1 mile.  The little critter vaguely knew where he was, since Cobalt had taken him up here once, to find supplies for the rocket which took him to the moon.  There was a nice air force supply store that had been run by a wild old timer missing his upper teeth.  Pudgy got a pretzel rod to munch on, while Cobalt argued with him about the moon landing being faked. 

There was a long bridge that crossed the Allegheny River, which the phalanx of predators was using to cross the river.  The bridge was in a terrible state of disrepair, with huge sections broken and rusting.  Pudgy could see the river passing below in many spots, as huge holes had formed as the bridge deck surface was deteriorating.  Thankfully, at the rate of speed being utilized, they crossed the bridge before any could find out if the bridge would fall under paw.  Following the ramp down to merge with another wide road surface, the wolves crossed what was once a huge intersection, and into the forest. 

As the light faded, Pudgy began to see hundreds of gray wolves camped underneath large pine trees covered in snow.  The wolves were huddled together for warmth, and looked up as the hedgehog passed with the smoke-filled creature.  The numbers of predators were terrifyingly impressive, as everywhere he looked there were more camps.  The phalanx separated off, with the black fur wolves joining their counterparts under a large rock overhang.  The coyotes padded off to join their kind, with the annoyingly frequent yips and howls finally easing to silence.  However, the creature was not joining the others, and continued to press on further into the forest.  The outlines of a barn of some sort could just barely be seen, with timber wolves standing guard between the trees. 

 As the monster passed by the guard wolves, they stared curiously at the hedgehog being carried above its head via a smokey tendril.  Soon the little critter saw what could only be described as the alpha wolf.  He was a tad bit larger than the red of the gray wolves, with fur that was snow white.  It almost seemed as if the tips of the fur were silver, and there were light brown accents throughout his face.  Intense pale-yellow eyes looked up at the monster, and the small critter being carried.  “Welcome back Blood Fang.  Should I make a guess as to how many of my wolves have you lost, on your little excursion?”  The monster bowed his head slightly, “none, my dear Silver Fang.  I ordered the coyotes in, and they proved quite useful.”  The little hedgehog listened intently, learning the names of the enemy leaders.  He thought the wolves were reporting to the monster, but it would seem that it was the other way around.    

The alpha looked up at him, sniffing his black tipped nose, “indeed?  Blaze got here before you arrived, and was quite upset at the fifty of his brothers and cousins that were lost.”  The white fur wolf swished his tail back and forth, while he ears moved slightly forward as he looked very cross.  “And for what, to capture this rodent?”  Blood Fang shook his head, “I can ssure you, this rodent was not the primary objective to my excursion.  Where are my manners?  Silver Fang, may I present to you, Pudgy Hedgehog.  He lives in the forest that we came to visit today.  Say hello Pudgy,” the smoke-filled monster said with a honey tipped tongue as he lowered his tendril to allow better viewing.  The hedgehog was allowed use of his paws once more, and timidly waved at the wolf leader.  The hedgehog’s heart was beating fast in his chest, trying desperately to hold it together, as the rows of sharp teeth were just inches from his face.      

The alpha shot the creature a look, “and this inconsequential critter pertains to us how, Blood Fang?  Release it, and let one of the guards eat him.”  Pudgy whimpered, wanting to run away, but he could not.  Blood Fang shook his head and spoke once again, with less honey on his tongue, “Silver Fang … this hedgehog was the reason why the dragon came to Kodiak Island.”  The white fur wolf eyes snapped back to the hedgehog, and narrowed.  The creature nodded, “I see I have your attention now.  As I was saying … I found something quite interesting within his forest.  I found a large ley line node, similar to the one we found in the desert.  Before you ask, I made sure to render it useless to our enemies.  Its magic tasted sweet, like honey dripping from a hive.”  The alpha wolf looked up at Blood Fang, “is that so?  What else did you find out?”  Blood Fang nodded, “the ley lines retain a copy of all travels, as well as words spoken within them.  Like the other nodes we have come across, there was one unifying trait between all of them.  Pudgy Hedgehog travelled through them, with his friends the arctic owls.  The eagles, a hawk, and a raven also travelled through them.  Each traveler mentioned the same name repeatedly: Pudgy Hedgehog.  They also mentioned Cobalt, which is the name of the dragon you faced at the ice bridge.” 

The white fur alpha wolf narrowed his eyes as he focused in on the little critter.  He was dressed in a strange white outfit, with a little metal hat on, and backpack that had a stick attached to it.  “This … hedgehog is strangely dressed for an animal.  And yet, you say that he has appeared within each ley line node we visited?”  The critter timidly looked at the wolf’s eyes, as a sadistic grin formed.  “You will tell me everything that you know.  Hold anything back, and I will kill you without a second thought.  Do you understand … Pudgy Hedgehog?”  The little hedgehog sniffed his nose, and whimpered while nodding that he understood.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Pudgy proceeded to start telling his grand tale.  Telling the truth was the only thing he could do, and hopefully by doing this, he could gain some information as well from the predators?  Soon night came which interrupted the story, since the wolves fell asleep.  The hedgehog was afforded some time to rest, but he was restrained within the tendril.  This meant that he was safe for now from the surrounding predators, and unable to scamper away when they were not looking.  Blood Fang seemingly never slept, and his red glowing eyes were always open.  Once the sun had risen, and the wolves awoke, they found a brightly shining sun in the skies to the eastern horizon.  The snow had fallen hard the entire night, which meant that the wolves had to dig their way out from under the pine trees.  Once the entirety of the forces was freed, all sniffed the bone-dry freezing air.    The little hedgehog was ordered to continue his story, as the forces began to move out.  They were heading to the north, towards an unknown destination.  The wolves around Blood Fang and Silver Fang were fascinated by the wonderous hedgehog tales of travelling to the center of the earth and back, then to the North Pole to save Santa were told.    

They continued to travel to the north, at a brisk pace.  Pudgy continued his tales, while watching in horror as any animal that came within range was summarily hunted down.  The combined wolfpacks were cutting a path of utter devastation through the world, leaving nary an animal left behind.  The little hedgehog, had never seen so many animals in his entire life.  The cruelty of the leaders was on full display, keeping the predators in line as they ran in the deep snow.  As night began to fall, the wolves made camp once more in a forest of pine trees.  Though this time, they all circled around Blood Fang.  As a waxing crescent moon began to rise in the crystal-clear twilight sky, Pudgy continued his stories.  There were many complaints that they could not hear, so Blood Fang used his magic to amplify Pudgy’s voice.  Pudgy told the tale of monsters and gray aliens attacking his forest, and building a rocket to fly to the moon.  As the little critter started to explain what the moon looked like, the wolves began to howl angrily.  He stopped his tale, to see hundreds of angry sets of eyes, and teeth bared as the predators howled in anger at him. 

Pudgy whimpered as the display of anger continued, and watched as Silver Fang strode up to angrily snap at the critter.  “That is not what the moon is!  We all know, that the Wolf Mother Luna lives on the moon.  She rules within a forest of white trees, and those who are worthy, join her for glorious hunts.”  The hedgehog shook his head, “that was not there when Pudgy visited.  Pudgy landed on the side of the moon that faces the earth, and Pudgy found dinosaurs.”  Blood Fang nodded and howled in his demonic tone to silence the combined wolfpacks.  As the wolves calmed, the smoke-filled creature spoke, “I believe I know what the hedgehog saw what he did.  This lesser creature was not worthy to enter the wonderous forest of the Wolf Mother Luna.  He was shown a visage of the moon that does not exist.”  The predators nodded, understanding the explanation given, since it made sense to them. The hedgehog is prey, and why would prey see the Wolf Mother?

The smoke-filled creature looked over at Silver Fang, who had returned to his spot to sit down.  “Still, I am curious what happened on this alternate moon, Pudgy … continue.”  The hedgehog nodded after swallowing hard, and continued once more.  He found the ancient dinosaurs in their moon base, as well as the battle against the dark god Cthulhu.  Pudgy’s return to the earth, and his eventual trip back to the forest finished the tale.  The predators fell asleep once more, and Blood Fang lifted Pudgy up to a snow-covered branch to eat snow.  Once the little hedgehog had been allowed time to recover, he was lowered back over the creature’s head.  The pattern continued once more: wake, feed, and storytelling while travelling.  The days turned into weeks, and by the time Pudgy was able to get to the point of the story where he met the owls, they had travelled hundreds of miles to reach the snow-covered shoreline of Lake Erie.  Instead of stopping at the lake, the combines packs turned to the north east, and were running parallel with the shoreline.  The stories continued: with Pudgy’s travels with the owls, and the destruction of the human world.  The black wolves were keenly interested, and soon realized that it was the owls and birds who had made the humans go away.    

As the wolves stopped to rest once more as the light was falling, the little hedgehog reached the part of his travels where his human friend Cobalt returned as a dragon.  This was during an attack by the coyotes, who had decided to claim Pudgy’s forest.  Once more howls of protest, and deep anger filled the air, as well as loud barking wolves and their coyote cousins.  The alpha wolf turned to face his forces, and howled loudly, “SILENCE!”  With the order given, all were quieted.  Pudgy immediately stopped telling his story, and watched as the wolves headed towards an enormous metal building with an open garage door that was partially up.  The little hedgehog watched as they entered the partially dark cavernous room.  This had been a warehouse at some point, full of goods, and worked by the humans.  The large sodium vapor lights were silent and dark on the ceiling.  Huge sections for oof had been ripped off by storms, and the twilight skies could be seen.  Shuffling noises could be heard from within the room, and the little hedgehog could just barely see a herd of white-tailed deer huddling together for warmth. 

The wolves lunged towards the deer, and attacked in force.  The deer could not escape, as they were surrounded.  Shutting his eyes tightly, the little critter could not block out the sounds of the docile animals being slaughtered.  Soon the stench of death was in the air, and the sounds of eating could be heard.  Blood Fang watched the little critter’s reaction to the bloodshed and grinned sadistically.  “I see you can not stand the sight of death, little one?  Where we are going, you will see much … much more.  So, your dragon friend emerged and killed the coyotes?  What happened next, Pudgy Hedgehog?”  The critter shook his head, and was shaking all over from the overwhelming fear within his mind.  The tendril was shook violently, as Silver Fang barked out angrily, “you will continue your story!”  Keeping his eyes closed, Pudgy began to speak once more. 

The predators quieted down, each taking turns to feed on the slaughtered deer.  The next Pudgy story was the trip to help the bears, which made the wolves faces contort, once more the owls played a prominent role, and helped on the trip to Kodiak Island.  The dragon flew his hedgehog friend, and visited many places formerly lived in by the humans along the way.  The two eventually made it to the island of bears, and met the Mother of All Bears.  Orders were given, and the two friends separated.  The dragon went to the bridge of ice to defend the island, while Pudgy was sent to a cave nearby to go to a place the bears could not reach.  As Pudgy described the world chain, and his actions to fix it, he was cut off by Blood Fang.  “My word, this is the part that is of most interest to me.  This explains so much … my dear Pudgy Hedgehog.  Please halt your story for now, since I see our dear leader wants to have a word with us.”    Silver Fang’s eyes were burning, as his anger was seething, almost dripping out of his body like sweat.  The alpha snarled, “this creature helped our enemies!  And his dragon friend murdered hundreds of my fellow wolves at the battle of the ice bridge!  Interesting is all you can say, where is your sense of outrage at the needless death of our kind?!?!?!”

The alpha snarled, “hundreds of our kind … headed to the bridge of ice to defeat the demonic bear mother and her foul followers.  We were winning, and pushing back the bears, when the blue creature flew out of the sky.  The creature roared, and ice shards were coming out of its mouth.  The bears rallied to its roars, and began to slaughter us indiscriminately.  I watched as the fallen were pushed off the blood covered bridge, and fell into the ocean waters.  The foul creatures of the deep were feasting upon the fallen.  I had no choice, but to signal the retreat, as the bridge of ice splintered and collapsed into the ocean!  Blood Fang, release that hedgehog this moment, he needs to answer for his role in this!  I will kill him myself!”   The little hedgehog screamed in terror, and tried to wiggle free of the tendril.  He had to get away, but the restraints only tightened further.  The smoke-filled creature raised the tendril high over his head, so it was out of range of any predator nearby.   

Blood Fang nodded, “my dear Alpha …I can sense … this is not the entire story.  I will not allow you to kill the hedgehog, at this time.  Perhaps we should allow our forces time to rest, while we talk privately?”  The white fur alpha was still seething with rage, but nodded as he tried to calm his voice, “Agreed … no more hedgehog tales for tonight.  Everyone go to sleep, and do not leave this place until I say so.”  The subordinate wolves nodded, and huddled around each other, as a stiff cold breeze blew in from the open garage door.  The white fur alpha wolf motioned with his right front paw to follow him, and started to walk towards a long series of metal racks that ran parallel with each other.  The creature nodded as he followed behind the alpha at a slow pace.  Pudgy squinted as the light was extremely low in the warehouse.  The two leaders walked down a long corridor, as the little hedgehog read out loud the signs at the edge of the corridor.  “Beef jerky … beef bouillon … canned beef … Pudgy think this was food place.”  The racks were sadly empty, but he was snapped back to attention, when Silver Fang howled. 

“You promised me that if I led my forces here, we would find the blue creature who slaughtered my fellow wolves.  Instead, we locate his hedgehog friend, who would not satisfy anyone’s anger.  And now, we head back to the snowy north, for what purpose?  I will have answers!  Where are we going, Blood Fang?”  The smoke-filled creature nodded, “trust me, my dear alpha wolf, our destination is of tremendous interest to you.  You will have your chance at revenge, but we must keep heading to the north.  Along the way, I am sure that our hedgehog friend here has more tales to tell.  Everything told thus far has proved to be valuable intelligence, now we know what happened to the humans.  We know the roles that the owls played in all of this.  We know of the Bear Mother, and her followers.  I can see partially into the critter’s mind, and there is more to tell.”

The white fur alpha wolf stomped his front paws menacingly, “NO MORE DEFLECTIONS!  I REFUSE to order another advance.  You will tell me now of our destination, and why we are heading there!  Otherwise, I will order my forces to return home!”  Pudgy shut his eyes, and folded down his ears.  He could have rolled into a ball if he could have, as the smoke-filled creature hissed with a demonic tone.  The tone was nothing he had ever heard before, and echoed in the cavernous metallic building.  Even the predators looked up from their huddled masses, at the echoing sounds of pure terror.  The smoke-filled creature started to glow with an insidious blood red hue.  “YOU MAKE DEMANDS OF ME?  I found you beaten and afraid, slinking away in cowardice.  I offered you power, and made your forces strong!  Perhaps I should let you leave, and slink off to obscurity once more.”

The white fur alpha’s eyes burned bright in the low light, and bared his teeth as he readied into an attack posture.  Blood Fang laughed, “you wish to fight me?  That is ill advised.”  The alpha wolf lunged forward, teeth bared, and claws extended.  Pudgy watched as the alpha connected with the creature’s body, but his claws passed right through it.  Adjusting his body as he lunged, Silver Fang slid on the slippering concrete floor and landed a short distance away.  The monster turned and grinned, “oh my, were you trying to attack me?  It felt like this hedgehog’s quills in my grasp.”  The alpha wolf snarled, and then lunged once more for Blood Fang’s throat.  Once more, the little hedgehog could see that the wolf’s attack was absorbed by the smoke that formed the creature’s body.  However, this time, the alpha dangled from Blood Fang’s throat.  Unlike before, the teeth were seemingly unable to be released.  One blood red orb turned around in its socket, and looked at Pudgy.  “Oh, my Pudgy, what a predicament?  Whatever shall I do?”

The little hedgehog whimpered, knowing full well that he did not want an answer.  The critter helplessly watched as the monster turned, and began to walk back towards where the combined wolf packs had been sleeping.  Silver Fang continued to thrash, trying to break free, and clawing at whatever he could reach.  Despite the weight of the predator hanging from his neck, the smoke-filled creature seemed to move as effortlessly as before.  Soon they had travelled the short distance between the racks, and out to the main floor were the wolves and coyotes were situated.  No one was sleeping, and their collective eyes went wide as they saw Silver Fang flailing and trying to attack the monster.  Blood Fang howled loudly, sending a demonic echo reverberating throughout the building.  As the predators awoke, and turned to stare with unblinking eyes, the creature spoke.  “Silver Fang and I have come to a disagreement.  I believe he is of no further use to us, and our glorious cause.  Who here speaks for our alpha wolf, and why I should spare him?”

The natural gray wolves stood up, and howled angrily.  The black wolves remained quiet, along with their coyote cousins.  Blood Fang nodded, “I see.  Here is my response to your protest,” the monster said with a sadistic smile.  Silver Fang was immediately flung across the room, and towards the open garage door.  Leaping back up to his paws, the wolf lunged forward once more, howling menacingly.  Leaping into the air, his claws were outstretched, as he attempted to attack the creature’s face.  However, he was caught by an unseen force, and dangled in the air.  The creature laughed insidiously, and his eyes glowed bright red.  It was so intense, that the entire building was filled with the red light.  Pudgy was screaming, but every time he tried to close his eyes, the tendrils somehow were forcing them back open.  The little hedgehog watched in horror, as the alpha wolf was ripped down the middle.

The entirety of the wolf’s insides fell upon the floor, as the blood flew in all directions.  As the room grew deathly quiet, the remnants of Silver Fang’s body were suddenly flung together.  The wolf began to compress into an oval shaped object, and the crackling of flames could be heard.  The building began to be heated from the intense magical fire.  Pudgy watched as a stone was formed, and it flew through the air and directly into the smokey filled interior to the monster’s chest.  As the red light began to subside, the gray wolves continued to howl.  Those who had guarded the alpha, about a dozen or so, rushed forward.  Once again, they were caught midair, and obliterated.  Blood flew in all directions, and painted the floor and walls of the warehouse.  The remainder of the gray wolves sat back down, and stopped their protests.  The realization of their situation was made crystal clear, and who the true alpha wolf of this pack was. 

Blood Fang howled loudly, “since we are all awake now.  We will move at once!  We will follow the lake until we find the massive river that falls down the mountain.”  Pudgy whimpered and watched helplessly, as the combined packs nodded, and started to file out of the warehouse.  The night sky was clear, with thousands of twinkling stars in a crystal-clear night sky.  The moon illuminated the shoreline of the massive lake, giving the predators a faint view of where they needed to head towards.  The forces ran all night, until the morning sunlight started to appear in the eastern skies.  The little hedgehog saw a wooden sign painted with red letters: Dunkirk Beach closed.  The monster was relentless, and howled loudly, signaling to continue the advance.  The combined packs continued to run, with none willing to speak up to request time to rest.  It was not until mid-afternoon arrived, that the monster halted his advance.  The predators collapsed on the snow-covered sandy shoreline. 

A bitterly cold wind blew from the north west, across Lake Erie, sending a chill throughout all those camped.  In the distance, Pudgy could see a sign that said Pennsylvania border.  Wiggling his nose, the hedgehog knew that once more he had crossed into the lands once known as New York.  As he looked up into the skies above, an eagle was circling the area.  Pudgy hoped beyond hope that was Cobalt, and he would figure out a way to swoop in and save him from the wolves.  Blood Fang also looked up, “the eagles will not be able to save you Pudgy.”  The words of the monster sent a further chill throughout his body.  Pudgy whimpered once more, and watched as the predators begin to hunt for prey in the area.  The shoreline was frozen with ice, but the water was still open much further out.  What was to the north that the monster was so interested in?  Blood Fang grinned, “how about a story Pudgy?  I believe you were about to tell us the tale of your return trip from the island of bears?” 

Once more the hedgehog started to tell his tale, this time of the return of the Moon Dinosaurs.  He was not interrupted, nor were there any questions from the monster.  The predators continued their advance, all the way until they ran into a problem.  As the exhausted wolves collapsed on the ground, Blood Fang strode up to a sign.  Looking at the sign, the monster spoke, “Pudgy Hedgehog, you can read human words.  What does this say?”  The little hedgehog wiggled his nose, and watched as the tendril moved him closer to the sign.  He read out loud, “caaaa….ttttar…ooo …gus creek.”  The creek was much wider than anyone had seen, and it almost resembled a river.  Huge stone boulders had been piled up on the shoreline, and along the creek, to keep the water from further eroding the shoreline.  As the skies turned dark gray, and a bitter wind blew on the air, snow began to fall once more. 

The monster nodded, and started to check the shoreline.  The water had frozen, and extended a far distance out from each side.  Standing beside the best spot to cross, the smoke-filled creature announced in an authoritative tone.  “WE WILL CROSS HERE, there is a spot in the middle where you will have to jump across.”  Waves started to crash upon the shoreline of Lake Erie proper, causing the water spray to freeze in the cold winter air.  Ice was coating everything, which made the shivering hedgehog wish he was back home.  The coyotes went first with only minimal protest barking, since they were the lightest.  They gingerly crossed one at a time, across the ice, and leapt across the spot of open water.  While the monster would have liked to move at a faster pace, he was unsure of the ice condition.  He could not risk a chance of collapse, and lose the army he had gathered. 

Hours passed, and all coyotes had been able to cross.  They were camped out, and huddling together across the partially frozen creek.  There was a human camp of some sort across the water, with pavilions and picnic groves scattered about.  As the single file line of wolves were crossing the ice, Blood Fang realized that this would take a long time.  The monster relaxed his tendril, which let Pudgy get into his backpack.  Taking out a hardtack biscuit, he started to nibble.  Pudgy kept his mind blank, and looked around the area.  Across the water were several high trees, devoid of any leaves due to winter.  However, he could see eagles perched in the branches above.  As night started to fall, Blood Fang cursed.  “MOVE IT, we will keep crossing even at night.  I want everyone across!”  The wolves did not protest, and continued on their path across the ice.  Each jump was growing slightly larger, as the pressure from the weight of the larger predators, was causing the ice to crack off.

The monster quickly ran across the ice, and effortless jumped to the shoreline.  As he landed, Blood Fang turned around to watch the wolves continue to cross.  “DOUBLE TIME! MOVE IT ALREADY!”  The monster howled in his demonic tone, watching as the snow storm increasing in ferocity.  A heavy wet snow was starting to fall, and started to quickly accumulate.  As the last light of the day faded, and the darkness was near total, the last wolf crossed.  The exhausted predators huddled together under the pine trees, and immediately fell asleep.  Pudgy also fell asleep, with the little hedgehog dreaming of a warm bed, his wood stove going, and a gentle falling snow outside his windows.  Blood Fang watched as the world faded away, as the snow fell heavier and heavier.  Only the sound of wind, and the occasional crash of a frozen slushy wave of lake water could be heard in the distance.  The wolves would soon learn of what a typical New York winter along the shores of Lake Erie was like.