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Brian watched nervously from the backseat. They were supposed to be asleep right now, but he could tell nobody was actually sleeping. He could hear their breathing and smell the sharp peppermints Baylee had in his pockets. He could smell everything and it steadily drove him insane. Was this what it was like for all dogs? The smells. Unbelievable.

Brian was surprised that Nick hadn’t run screaming once Baylee told him everything. He still wondered if the younger man actually believed Baylee, or if he’d decided to just play along and wondered what he should do with the young teenager who had seemingly lost his mind.

Brian wondered if they hadn’t all lost their minds.

Brian looked at the small Maltese that lay curled up next to him. She was blissfully unaware of the strangeness of their situation. All she knew was that she found a companion in a wolf that not only protected her, but gave her food and a conversation partner. He’d never seen his dog so content. And now that she was on an adventure, she seemed even happier. At least one of us is, Brian thought.

He looked up when he heard a small sound outside of the vehicle. He whined softly when he noticed that Nick and Baylee’s breathing had actually evened out and they were actually asleep now. He hated outdoor camping. What if someone came out here to kill them? They were horribly unprotected. His eyes widened when he realized that they weren’t actually unprotected; he was. He would have to serve as protector. Supposedly, any potential attacker would be scared to death at the sight of a wild wolf camping out in the back of a car. He would have to growl at them and threaten to bite them and he didn’t want to do that. He’d been able to repress the instinctual urges of the wolf in him fairly well since they’d visited the swamp. Alright, he’d let himself slip when he caught the rabbits in the backyard, and today, with the duck, but that was just because he was hungry, and rabbit and duck served as marvellous meals to still hunger. He hadn’t felt any urge to act feral towards humans at all and he couldn’t imagine ever doing so. He would never hurt Nick or Baylee, that thought was even impossible to think.

The noise outside came closer and Brian sighed in relief as he noticed the scent of raccoon getting stronger.

Would raccoon taste the same as rabbit or duck? He shook his head, he didn’t need to think about food right now.

He needed to sleep. But he wasn’t tired. And the raccoon smelled so good. It wasn’t as warm out in the woods right now as it was during the day, and Brian felt alive as he unlocked the car door with his teeth, opened it and jumped out. He made sure to close the door softly before looking around. He stuck his nose in the air, trying to catch the scent of the raccoon. Staying low to the ground, he began to make his way over towards the picnic table. The raccoon was right there, picking at the remains of the dead duck.

Brian felt the branch snap under his feet before looking up. The raccoon stared at him for a flash second before taking off. Damnit. Brian followed its scent the best he could, but the animal was fast as it raced through the trees into the darkness. Without thinking, Brian followed it into the woods, feeling the ground alive under his feet, the smell of nature clung to his nose and the feeling of belonging getting stronger and stronger. The raccoon was tiring, he could feel it. Brian didn’t give up as he saw the raccoon getting slower and slower, shooting from right to left in a blind panic. Did it know it was going to die? With triumph on his mind, Brian jumped at it, but was suddenly roughly shoved aside by another force.

He yelped as he fell on his side in surprise, quickly jumping up to see whatever had so harshly pushed him out of the way. He froze when the bear snarled at him. How deep had he gone into these woods? Where did that bear come from? Why hadn’t he smelled it coming? The small source of moonlight that reached this part of the woods reflected in the bear’s eyes and Brian gulped, slowly retreating and making sure he stayed low to the ground.

He had already screwed the bear out of a raccoon for dinner, so it probably wouldn’t think twice attacking a wolf half its size. He felt his whole body shaking and winced when he cut his paw on a rather sharp rock. The smell of blood didn’t help matters at all. Brian quickly kicked the rock in the bear’s direction, leaving it stunned for a split second, and took off running. He realized he had no idea where he was going, desperately trying to pick up the scent of the car, or the dead duck, or anything that reminded him of the place he’d come from, for that matter. He’s breathing hitched in his throat as he heard the bear’s angry growls behind him. It was getting closer and he was getting tired. Panicked, he began to make sharp turns, trying to throw the bear off his track and hoping that it would be enough. Thankfully, it did create a larger distance between them and Brian continued his tactic until he caught scent of the car again.

With renewed hope, he sped up, running out of the thick woods and unto the open picnic place. He threw himself against the car, yelping and howling for the people inside to wake up and let him back in. They needed to go, they needed to leave, and they needed to not be eaten by a wild grizzly bear. As expected, the big wolf throwing itself at the small rental car did cause some stirring inside and the passenger door was flung open, Baylee looking at the canine with wide eyes.

“What the hell?” the teenager mumbled. Brian wasted no time as he jumped into the now open car and Baylee actually shrieked in fear. “Dad!” Baylee cried out, “what are you doing? Get off me! How’d you get out?” Brian paid him no mind, still in a complete panic as he moved and turned in the cramped front seat of the car. He yelped and whined and growled, whishing that he could just scream at Baylee and Nick to get the car moving and get the hell out of here.

“Jesus, Dad!” Baylee yelled again, spluttering as the wolf’s tail smashed into his face, “Get in the backseat!”

Brian finally got the hint and moved between the two seats and scrambled onto the backseat. He kept whining and growling, then silenced when he heard the bear’s snarl in the distance. The others seemed to hear it as well and Nick’s eyes grew as large as Brian had ever seen them. The Backstreet Boy struggled with his keys for a moment before starting the engine. Panting, Brian stood perched on the backseat, shaking and with his paw throbbing. He felt the car move and Keeko looked up at him with a thousand questions in her eyes, not much unlike the incessant stare Baylee was giving him or the glances Nick was throwing through the rearview mirror.

Brian’s legs gave out underneath him, partly in relief, partly in exhaustion and he dropped unto the seat. He couldn’t explain what had happened, but he was sure Baylee would play twenty questions with him soon enough about it. But right now, he was too tired, as he lay his head on his front legs, growling at Keeko as she tried to lick at the blood that was coming from his right paw.

Nick was mumbling curses as he drove the car out of the woods. Brian felt maybe a little guilty about disturbing his sleep and making him drive in the middle of the night, but he soon forgot about it as he drifted off to sleep himself.