Chapter One

"No! Don't!" I screamed at the creature, but it ignored me, and ran after a nearby civilian. It leaped upon him and began tearing into his throat. Blood sprayed out in a fountain and the man stopped struggling and went limp. The creature, sensing that his prey was dead, raised his head and howled in triumph, an eerie, haunting sound.

I screamed. The creature, hearing me, stopped. Its eyes locked onto mine, and it began running towards me. I turned and ran as fast as I could, jumping over bodies, weaving my way in and out of the crowd of frightened people, trying to get away. Behind me, I could hear the creature's harsh, heavy breathing as it fought its way through, intent on killing its new victim.

Something slammed into my back, causing me to fall forward. I hit the ground on my chest. I rolled over and tried to get up, but it had me pinned down. I looked up at my attacker and saw the creature. It gazed at me with a hungry, cold look.

"No…Please…Brother…" I pleaded, but again the creature disregarded me. There was a sudden pain into my neck, a flash of crimson, then darkness.

OOO

My eyes flew open and I sat up, gasping, covered in cold sweat. For a minute, I panicked, wondering where I was. Then reality set in and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that there was no monster, no rampage, nothing at all. Just me and my overactive imagination again. Breathing a sigh of relief, I laid back against the pack I used as a pillow. In front of me, a small fire burned brightly, casting shadows around everything it touched.

As I gazed at the stars twinkling brightly up ahead, I thought of why I was here: For him. For his protection. To shield him from the horrors that I had experienced all those years ago. The abuse, the insults, the pain… And not only because of him, but for myself… My own personal reasons…

Unable to go back to sleep, I sat up again, and withdrew from my belt one of my pistols and a small rag. Gripping the handle firmly in my hand, I began to polish it, the rag gliding smoothly across the muzzle down to the butt. While my head bent down and my eyes focused on the task, my mind was elsewhere, drifting back to my horrible dream.

A soft thudding sound made me look up. My head turned right, where a small clump of bushes lay, and where the noise had come from. Pausing in my work, I rose to my feet and raised the gun, my index finger curled around the trigger.

A figure stepped forward, and I lowered my weapon.

"Oh, it's you." I muttered. "What took you so long, Zephyr? Did you get lost or something?"

The wolf, in response, rolled its bright blue eyes at me, then trotted over to the fire and dropped the dead Kanga-rats onto the ground. Instead of lying down, it sat back on its haunches, closed its eyes and concentrated.

The grey fur shrank back into its body, horns receded into its head, its feathered wings shriveled and melted and its snout withdrew. Fangs and claws lengthened and split, becoming hands with overlong, pointed nails and smooth, clean teeth. The transformation was complete, and a young man lay gasping on the sandy ground.

He sat up, still panting, and looked at me. His eyes, now a dark violet, held no worry. Brushing aside a lock of silvery-white hair, tied into a short braid, he spat onto the ground, cleared his throat and spoke. His voice was mellow, calm and held a note of laughter in it.

"Calm down, Selik. There's nothing to worry about, all right? I'm here."

"Sorry." I muttered. "It's just that… you're younger than me, and I worry about you."

He sighed "Only by an hour." He replied, taking out a knife and beginning to skin a Kanga-rat. Once done, he picked up a long stick, stuck the meat over it and tossed it over to me.

"Whatever." I said. I caught the stick easily and held it over the fire. Zephyr skinned another rat, stuck it over another stick he found and held it over the flames too.

For a while, we didn't say anything, as we turned our food over the fire. When it was ready, we took it off the sticks and ate it silently, still not saying a single word to each other. Then, as I was nibbling on a small, scrawny leg, my twin spoke again.

"I visited the pack." He said softly.

"What!? You mean- they're here!" I exclaimed, shocked, thinking that the wolves of the Midnight Clan had decided to move here.

"No." He replied, obviously reading my thoughts. "The Mountain pack was nearby where I was hunting, so I decided to visit them and ask them how my group was doing."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that something was troubling him. His eyes were clouded with worry and there was a slight frown on his lips.

"What'd they say?" I asked. He hesitated.

"Spit it out!" I snapped.

"Fine." He took a deep breath, and then said "They said that Celan was still missing…"

"And?"

"They also said that if I or anyone else didn't find him soon, then Traiz is going to become leader."

"What!?" I yelled. "That lying, conceiving, stealing, son of a-"

"Selik." Zephyr cut across me gently. "He is a brave and cunning wolf. He deserves to be leader. And besides, he's Pure…unlike me." He added bitterly.

"Don't say that!" I snapped. "You are better than him, and you know that!"

My brother smiled. "Thanks, sis."

"No problem." I replied. "So, where are we headed tomorrow?"

"There's a place named Spargus City. It's next to Haven City. We'll stay there for a night, and then head over to Haven in the morning."

"Sounds like good plan." I agreed. "You get some sleep and I'll take watch, okay?"

"As you wish." He replied, giving me a mock bow. I laughed. We finished our food and then stored the rest in the pack for later. Then, as my brother lay down, curled into a ball and dozed off, and I sat with my legs crossed, my back to the warm, blazing fire, my mind drifted back to my nightmare. Had it been him that I had dreamed about, my own brother? Was it he who had lost control of his alter ego, had ran though the streets, terrorizing its citizens? And what city had we been in? It was a place I had never visited before, one that held a hidden danger, a dangerous secret. A secret that even its own citizens didn't know.

Whatever, and wherever my dream had been, I just hoped for one thing.

That it didn't come true.

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a series. I know it was boring; I will try to make it more exciting in the next chapter. Also, I won't be able to update very much, especially since we are nearing the school season. I will try though. Please review, I want to know whether this is good or not. Oh, and I do NOT own Jak, Daxter or the rest of the cast. They belong to Naughty Dog. I only own Selik and Zephyr. They are twins by the way. Fraternal, not identical.