(WARNING: The following Статья contains sequences that may lead to fan-based tear-shedding. Reader discretion is advised:)

(Special thanks are at the end to prevent spoilers)

Chapter 8: The Ultimate Sacrifice

"No!" Humphrey yelled from the cage he shared with Kate. "I won't let them take you."

"Humphrey," Kate said. "We have to get out of here."

"I know," he said. "I know."

But time was wasting and Humphrey knew that what precious time they had could not be spent on formulating a plan. The cages they were in weren't like the ones that he and Kate were transported to Idaho in. These cages were made entirely of metal wires with a door that had a locking mechanism which worked very much like the locks on dog kennels. The cages were also quite long, allowing for lots of moving room.

Knowing this, Humphrey backed up until he couldn't back up any further, then ran into the metal door with his head. It gave him an incredible headache, but all he could think about was saving his pups and preventing a repeat of the accident with his parents. After ramming the door, Humphrey staggered back, dazed and waited for his blurred vision to clear before ramming it again. The секунда time, he could see that the metal was indeed beginning to bend.

Humphrey rammed the cage door again, and then again, each time pushing the door out further. But it was taking too long. The humans had gotten both of his pups into a smaller cage and one other had gotten Runt down from the tree. He was running out of time. Determined to make sure his pups didn't go anywhere, Humphrey backed up one last time, and charged at the door with full force, knocking it clean off the hinges.

He tumbled out of the cage and fell to the ground, his head pounding with pain. He staggered back to his feet, shook it off, then ran after the human that had Runt.

Humphrey leaped onto the human, causing him to fall backwards and drop Runt. The man screamed in pain as Humphrey clamped onto the man's arm, tasting blood.

At that moment, another human went to intervene. Kate saw him and tried to warn Humphrey, but it was too late.

The sound of a gunshot was sent ringing through the air. The forest fell silent as everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. They were stunned by what they saw. The end of the gun was smoking, still burning hot from the gunfire. Everyone looked over at Humphrey, who was standing still as a statue, just like he had done so many times already on this journey. Except there was one major difference. A good portion of Humphrey’s мех on his right side behind his shoulder was soaked red with blood.

Special thanks to:

SentinelPrime89 for the idea that Humphrey gets seriously wounded.