Survival Island (reality show)

18. A dead Coyote

He gets a paw kick under his ribs, but that is no reason for him to let go of the coyote's neck. The i***t can squirm and kick to his delight, he’s not letting go. Another kick hits him in the stomach and one lucky strike makes him relocate his back leg. A few feeble attempts at getting loose will not deter the wolf. He’s got the upper hand in this. He is larger, heavier, and more experienced in fighting. Not to mention he has a tight grip on the coyote’s neck.

He lets out a low growl and presses his teeth tighter together. It just makes the coyote wild and thrashing. He just might put up a fight after all. Did he underestimate his opponent? No. He’s not letting go until the guy is dead. He went after his friend, he has to pay. It’s the law of the jungle. And he reigns supreme. A coyote is no match for a wolf.

He can thrash around and kick his paws, but he’s not getting loose anytime soon, or not at all. The coyote manages to turn around and rake his front paws over his belly. There is no way he can cause any real damage through the tough wolf’s pelt. The claws are too short to do any damage at all. And he’s got no momentum, it feels like being kicked by a child. He can do this all day long.

Another attempt at getting loose brings the rear claws within striking distance of Sebastian's head. When did he manage that turn? The slick little weasel is agile. Maybe suffocation is not the best way to go? He needs to end him soon, not play around. With enough blood, he might just slip loose and run away. Unless he is feeling rage and will attack the first chance he’s got. Can he risk that? He doesn’t know where Magnus is, he can’t see him right now.

‘Wolf! Stop playing around and finish him off already.’ Sebastian instructs.

‘Must I? I haven’t had a toy in so long.’ The wolf growls and presses his teeth together.

‘Please, do as I say.’ Sebastian tries to reason with the wolf. He is not in favour of torture and this slow suffocation to death is very close to torture.

A crunching sound can be heard and pain shoots through Sebastian’s mind. What did the coyote accomplish? Damn! His front leg hurts as hell. Did the bastard break a bone? This is all his wolf’s fault for playing around. The yelp he hears is nothing good, it’s his. That means the coyote is free of the grip and loose to do what he wants. He's not nearly injured enough to not be a threat.

He pushes the pain down and catches the coyote by his hind legs with the claws. He pulls him away from Magnus and bites his shoulder. The other one can yelp as well. Let’s make him sing! He bites again and again. He’s not letting him anywhere near Magnus. Growling with a menacing tone, he spins them around to put himself between the coyote and his friend. No going for the weaker one, not anymore.

Biting and raking his claws over the coyote, he soon has a pool of blood and limp limbs. The coyote is not even trying to fight him off anymore. Time to end him. He grips the others throat and shakes his head to snap the neck he’s holding. The satisfying crunch and crack makes Sebastian smirk and the wolf lets go of the body. He sniffs and hits the body with his paw. No playing dead, he must make sure the coyote will not rise again.

Sebastian has enough of the show and play, he takes control from his wolf and gazes upon the dead coyote. No movement, no breathing. Dead! He glances at Magnus, who is plastered to the tree and pale as chalk. That’s not good. He trots over to his friend and sits at his side. He knows he’s not too good looking right now. He must be covered in dirt and blood, but his paw hurts too bad to even think about shifting.

‘Why is he like that? Do you think he is scared of me?’ His wolf asks carefully.

‘I don’t know. The killing can look brutal if he’s not used to it.’ Sebastian answers.

‘I don’t smell fear. Do you think he’s squeamish and hates to see blood?’ The wolf asks again.

‘He probably saw blood before. Let’s wait and see what he’ll do.’ Sebastian tells the wolf.

He lifts his aching paw in the air and tilts his head sideways. If he plays the injured dog card, Magnus might take a look and tell him what he broke. He waits patiently for Magnus to move. It's not even a minute later that the guy sinks down into a crouch and takes his paw in his hands. The wolf closes his eyes and listens intently.

“Thank you. I could never handle that. Most of the time the fight was a blur of colours.” Magnus whispers. “What did you do to your paw? I can see you’re favouring it. You act just like my Rolf when he steps onto something sharp.”

Magnus feels around the paw for a few seconds and the wolf whimpers softly. “I think the joint is dislocated. I don’t know how to set dog bones. At this point I would just hoist Rolf into my pick up and drive him to the vet. We can’t do that here.”

Sebastian can hear everything Magnus is telling him. Maybe it’s not so bad, if it’s just dislocated? That would mean his wrist in human form. He can live with that. But, can he shift and stay conscious? The pain will double after the shift. 

‘For this island, it’s best if you’re stuck in human form.’ The wolf scoffs at him and forces the shift.

“Aw, aw, aw!” Sebastian stammers. “Can you set my wrist before I pass out?”

“Sure. Does it hurt that much?” Magnus asks, but he takes two straight branches and a vine to stabilize the arm he’s still holding.

“The shift makes it hurt more and I used too much energy. I need to sleep it off.” He tells his friend and watches him work on his arm.

“I understand, I think. Let me help you get dressed and move away from here. All kinds of critters will come out of the jungle for the blood and carcass.” Magnus says and gasps audibly.

“Let me guess, he’s human and looks like he was mauled by a wild animal?” Sebastian asks.

“Yes.” Magnus answers and helps him into his pants and boots. “Would you shift back if you passed out as a wolf?”

“No. Only if one dies, we revert back to human form.” Sebastian shakes his head.

“Useful.” Magnus looks over him. “Let me help you up. I’ll take both bags and your shirt. The fire is long out by now.”

“We need to find something to eat. And a cold stream would be nice to wash all the blood off of me.” He tells Magnus.

“I’ll do my best.” Magnus chuckles. “You did just save my life. You can make a few demands.” 

Magnus sets a new camp just after a few kilometers. It’s pointless to rush, they missed the first boat. The killer is dealt with and now it’s just the island and the traps that were set. The small stream they have found is a blessing. The water is clean and cold, it's just missing the fish. There are plenty of other edible critters around and Sebastian laughs at Magnus trying to catch them. The guy is just not fast enough to trap the frogs.

“Let me lose this contraption you put on my arm. I’ll help you catch some.” He tells him.

“No. You’ll just get hurt more.” Magnus protests and misses a frog yet again.

“I won’t. We need to eat, not exercise the frogs.” He chuckles. He tears the vine and branch stabilizer off of his arm and smiles wickedly. “Don’t run away.”

Roasted frogs are a nice change. They taste like chicken. And with that stabilizer gone, Sebastian can take advantage of the stream to clean the blood off of him. His wrist feels fine, just a little sting here and there if he’s not careful, but fine. It was a careless mistake that didn’t cost him much, so he’s not even mad at the wolf for toying around with the coyote.

“That wolf of yours is an amazing beast.” Magnus says out of the blue.

“Thank you. He likes you too.” He answers and wonders where this conversation is going.

“Was he trying to suffocate the coyote at first?” Magnus inquires.

“Oh, that.” Sebastian sighs deeply. “He was toying around. I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“After the guy shifted, it felt like watching a nature documentary. Are wolves and coyotes natural enemies?” Magnus wants to know.

“No, not really. Wolves and coyotes are related. They mostly stay away from each other, they don’t share territories. In nature, they would just growl a bit and move on.” Sebastian explains. “Shifters are more territorial, we do fight. Now it’s usual to call ahead and ask permission to enter the other territory for a short time. We are tourists as well.”

“So you can’t just go on vacation? You have to do research and call ahead? Or do you have a phonebook for all the Alphas?” Magnus frowns.

“No. It depends on where you go.” Sebastian laughs. “If it’s a tourist attractive place, it’s open to all. The big cities are like that as well. Only for rural areas, like our lake and forest, an outsider would have to announce himself first.”

“That makes more sense.” Magnus nods. “You know, this is all fascinating to me.”

“I noticed.” He smiles. “You are invited to visit me. You’ll get to see it for yourself.”

“Thank you. How’s your wrist doing?” The question throws him off guard and he just stares at the guy for a few moments.

“I forgot about it. You are a great distraction.” Sebastian answers. He rotates the wrist in question and it only stings a little. “It’s all good. I heal fast.”

“Is that another perk of being a shifter?” Magnus asks. “Am I asking too much?”

“Not at all. You ask good questions. Well, we heal faster. A cut will be healed in a few minutes, a sprained wrist in a few hours. I once broke my leg, it took a week to heal.” Sebastian answers. “There is a downside to that. We need more food to heal and more sleep. If I get seriously hurt, I will sleep so deep that it will seem like a coma.”

“I guess the few frogs didn’t do anything for you?” Magnus scoffs.

“Not really. Hungry as a wolf.” He laughs wholeheartedly. “But you’re safe. I won’t bite you. I'll just try to find more frogs to eat.”

“Do you think we could find some fish if we go downstream? Magnus inquires. “Would you be up for more walking today?”

“Sure. We still have some daylight left.” He nods. Walking is not bad and the prospect of more food is just the right incentive.