The Divide

Chapter 3

"Stop right there, Thomas," growled Thorn, as I turned away from him.

I nonchalantly slipped the two vials into my pocket, and turned back towards Thorn. "Yessir?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't try to take the vials from me.

"You're not lone-wolfing this, Thomas. I will not allow you to take this into your own paws. We will discuss and agree on every one of your future decisions. Are we clear?"

I cocked my head to the side, and retorted, "We can't kill the humans, Thorn. As decent creatures, we can't stoop to that level. We have no right to take their lives."

"We will decide, as a council, what the most prudent action will be. Do not blow this out of proportion, Thomas. I'm not going to tolerate insubordination from you. Let's talk this over with each other. Then we will act."

I reluctantly nodded my head, and slowly made it back to my seat.

"Thank you," said Thorn, as he sat back into his seat. He ran his paw through the fur on his head, out of obvious frustration, and leaned back in his chair. "We have PA system with signal radius large enough to cover the whole city, we have additional weapons to our arsenal, and we have exactly what we need to completely exterminate the humans. It seems to me that whoever sent these things expects us to get rid of the humans."

"Maybe it's the opposite," I muttered, as I stared at my note. I said louder, "They want to see what we will do with what we have been given. That's what they wrote. They didn't tell us to use it against the humans."

"They didn't tell us not to, either," Thorn retorted.

"Who's they?" asked one of the council members. "Also, why the hell did they seem a little more revealing to the new kid?"

"We need to figure out who sent these damn crates," growled one of the council members.

"We can't," I argued. "It's written in the letter that we shouldn't waste our time trying to figure out who they are. I was asked to deter anyone from doing so."

"You're just going to blindly obey what was written in the letter?" Thorn asked. "We don't even know who these beings are! They could be humans, for all we know! How do we know that they can be trusted?"

Packer stood up, and set his paw onto my shoulder. "He's not blindly obeying, sir. I'd argue that he understands what's going on better than most of us do."

"Oh yeah?" Thorn asked, obviously annoyed. "How so?"

Packer folded his arms and looked downwards at me. "He knows that we aren't going to be able to figure out who sent the crates...even if we tried our hardest. The beings that sent these items to us, whether they be humans or wolves, probably have resources that we don't. If they don't want us to know who they are, then we probably won't figure it out. Thomas is smart; he's not going to spend his time worrying about an unsolvable problem," Packer explained, defending me. "I doubt that any of you picked up on that."

"Well, Thomas, how should we go about spending our time?!" yelled Thorn. "You seem to have a grip on things! Why don't you tell us what's going on?!"

I raised my head nervously, and looked at the rest of the council. "Well...the ones who sent the crates stated, in the letter, that they wanted to see what we will do when given something dangerously powerful. I would guess that we are being watched. They could be watching, and listening to this very conversation. I'm just going to assume that every single one of us is being monitored."

"Jeez, that's creepy," mumbled Packer.

I stood up, and continued, "It also seems like they aren't very particular to either one of the choices we make. I don't think they'll care if we decide to help the humans, or kill them."

"How exactly would these items help the humans?" asked one of the council members.

"Easy," I answered as quickly as I could. "We could use the vial with the plague to create a vaccine. We could then see if it works, by using the human blood. We could use the weapons as well as the PA system to create a police force to settle disputes between wolves and humans."

"Damn," grumbled the same wolf.

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject. "They probably don't care what we choose; they just want to see what happens when we do. It's like they're playing some sort of game with us. They've given us the football, but they haven't told us which end of the field to take it. What troubles me is what could happen if we take too long to make a decision..."

"Huh?" asked Thorn. "What do you mean?"

"They're watching us. They said that they were excited to see what we will do. What's going to happen if we don't deliver the excitement they want? They might get tired of waiting, and give us more...incentive...to act. The game might be timed. What's going to happen when the clock runs out?" I asked, trying to make myself as clear as possible.

"Damn..." repeated the wolf from earlier.

"What about the humans?" Packer asked. "Do you think that whoever is manipulating us, is also manipulating them? The humans could have been given the tools to defeat us, as well."

"That could be true," added Thorn. "If it is, then Thomas is definitely right in saying that we can't be wasting our time. We need to come up with an action plan...and we need to do it now."

I gritted my teeth, and looked around the room. I could instantly tell that most of the wolves in the room wanted use what they had to get rid of the humans as quickly as possible. What was it going to take to soften them up?

"We need to figure out how...exactly how the humans are faring." I growled. "We can't just waltz across the line, and exterminate beings that could potentially be suffering. I know we see each other as a threat, but..."

"But how?" Thorn asked. "How are you going to figure out how they are?"

"Let me go across," I replied. "If I go alone, and unarmed, then I can explain our situation. I can also gain more info about the humans that we've ever had."

"You'll be killed in seconds, kid," grumbled one the wolves.

Packer stood up, and raised his paws to gather everyone's attention. "I think that'll be the only way to get our information, though! Thomas doesn't usually have bad ideas. Maybe we should give him this one?"

Thorn bared his teeth, and eyed the both of us with anger. "He'll die."

I turned to Thorn and replied, "If I die, then the only wolf who cares about the future of another species will be out of your way. If I die, then you can rain down the wrath of hell, or whatever, on the humans. You can kill them...if I fail."

"Deal," mumbled one of the other wolves

Thorn eyed me as if he was a parent, and I was the teenager trying to get my way.

"You think you understand these humans, Thomas?" asked Thorn. "If you do, then you're dead wrong. They don't care who you are. They don't care whether you're armed or not. They see something they don't understand...that they need to kill."

"And if they do, then you'll have the tools to retaliate," I argued.

"Well...you seem to think you've got a handle on this." Thorn sighed as he calmed himself. "If you go, then we will wait until after you return to make our decision...if you return."

I nodded, and leaned back in my chair.

"So, when is this all going to happen?" asked one of the council members.

Thorn glanced at me, as if expecting me to answer.

"I need to come up with an action plan first. Ya know...come up with contingencies. I'm not going to just cross the line without some kind of way to protect myself. I figure that I can get prepared within a couple of days, and then get on my way," I explained.

A lot of the council members looked at me as if I were crazy. Maybe I was. However, I was going to go through with my plan. I was going to talk with a human...and even more than one. Containing myself was a little difficult.