Chapter 55
Wind whipped past Natalie's face as she rode the large canine down the highway. After a day had passes, minimal snow was on the road with most of it being blown off into the ditches on either side. Add that to no vehicles having gone down the road, and it was nice and loose powder. The only downside was that they had a head wind as they ran. While that did not slow down Sol in the slightest, it did cause more wind to slam against her face. She buried her face in his fur in an attempt to reduce the amount hitting bare skin, but there was still a sizable amount hitting the sides that she could not cover. Her hood had flown off long before and it was ill advised to loose your grip when you mode of travel was a giant canine running at just over sixty kilometers an hour. The speed, plus the jostling from him being unused to running with weight on his back, made for a really bad predicament if she fell. Speed was of the essence, so she decided to endure until the wargs swapped out.
Thankfully she did not have to wait long, as after about twenty minutes of running down the road Sol started to slow down. While he could run faster than a horse, he could only do so in short bursts. Wolves, and apparently wargs, were all power, but lacked the stamina for long, difficult runs. Slowing down to a stop, he did not even wait for Nat to get off. As he lowered them closer to the ground, he fell into the Soulscape. As he entered, Luna came out to continue the run. They took a couple minutes, mainly so that Nat could try and get feeling back in her face. The wind had stung it good and she could feel it being raw to the touch already. Taking extra precautions, she had the pups bring out two scarfs for her as she clambered up onto Luna's back. Putting her hood up, she quickly wrapped the scarfs around her head, layering them and tying them off. While she was unable to see anything, she would be protected from the wind. Plus, it was not as if she was able to see much on the run so far. Leaning forward, she gripped onto the fur in front of her and lay as close to Luna's torso as she could. As she said she was ready, she could feel them running yet again.
This time was much better. While there was still some wind that made contact with her skin, it had been so little or already slowed down by all of her precautions that it was a non issue. While a bit late, at least she knew it would not be worse than it already was. The thought of how painful her face would be if she had to endure another twenty minutes of harsh and strong wind when her face was already this sore made her wince. She knew that she would not be in any shape to move right away when they got to Lethbridge, as her legs were also incredibly sore. Without a saddle or any support, and not being used to riding a creature made it incredibly difficult on Nat's body. Getting a properly fitting saddle for the wargs was definitely added to the priority find list if she wanted to continue riding them like this. That and talking with someone who rode horses regularly. While different, any riding tips would probably make it far easier, on both her and whoever it was giving her the ride.
After riding for just over fifteen minutes, she could feel Luna slowing down. 'Can see shapes ahead. Maybe city?' Luna thought towards her. Sitting up, Nat slowly took off her scarfs. As she did, the sudden rush of light into where she had already adjusted to the dimness behind the cloth stung at her eyes. As they readjusted, she saw many things in her surroundings. True enough, in the north was the outlines of the buildings and stores designating the outer edge of Lethbridge. Mainly, the small airport and a bunch of warehouses, mixed in with a couple of RV dealerships. Around them was fields, though they were not covered with snow. The difference that can happen within a few kilometers is astounding. Looking up to the sky, Nat instantly spotted the culprit. A clear chinook arch was visible, high up in the sky a little to her east. It was then that she finally realized she had paid no attention to the weather that morning. Heading out of Magrath and getting north was all she could focus on.
As Luna came to a stop, Nat sent her in to rest and recuperate. They had no idea what they would find as they headed into Lethbridge, and having everyone in as good of a shape as they could would be the most helpful in case something were to go wrong. As she went in to regain her energy, Ash, Shadow, Kali, and Maia all came out. They insisted that no less would not be safe, and Nat was glad that they were willing to travel with her that much. Together, they headed into the eastern side of Lethbridge. On their way in, they happened to pass by the Canadian armoury that was located here. While there appeared to be no movement from the base, there was a large hole in the wall. Just looking at it, the opening had to be at least ten feet tall. Was there a piece of news that she did not hear about before the end of the world? Did something in there react violently to the change? Or was it a sign of something much worse?
Cataloguing that thought for later, they continued down into the small city. Time was of the essence right now, and as much as she wanted to investigate and see if anything of use was there, there was nothing that she wanted more than to reunite with Shannon. Passing by a small suburbs and another RV dealership, they finally came into the south eastern shopping area of the city. No sooner had they got there, did they all book it behind the closest building which happened to be a furniture store. Peeking around the corner, Nat was terrified at what she saw. There were two giant creatures, each standing at what she assumed was twice her height. What was scaring her was not that, but that they were occupying their time playing catch with a smart car. If they were strong enough to play catch with a smart car, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them, and thankfully neither did any of the wolves.
Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Eeleater, Corgi, Zmal, Lachlan, Coen, Adam, John, Ty, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 25 patrons, which I will then open up an official discord for everyone to come and discuss the story in and hang out!