General POV

Elliot rushes from the house that acts as the medical centre, no weapons held in his quivering hands. Lightning trots to his side, her hackles raised and her teeth bared. An airhorn blares loudly, making his ears ring.

"It's okay, girl," he quivers. "Just...Denise will watch over the centre. I have to get to Hope."

The dog barks, as if agreeing with him. The tall veterinarian turned doctor breaks into a sprint, his loyal Labrador moving in step beside him. The screams emanating around the small town make him cringe, but he doesn't slow down. His friend is having a baby, and he knows that he needs to be there for her.

A ragged man appears to his right, a W etched on his forehead. Lightning growls, but the man pays no attention. He scrambles towards the dog with his axe raised, the wicked grin on his face making Elliot's stomach churn.

Lightning lunges, chomping into the man's arm. He screams, dropping his weapon in an instant. Without a second thought, Elliot lunges, scooping up the fallen tool. The man leaps at him, hands raised like a feral animal's, and Elliot swings the axe and lodges it in his skull. The enemy drops and Lightning releases his arm, looking up at her master as her tail wags.

Elliot steps back, his hands and face speckled with blood. His breathing picks up, not because of the iron scent invading his nostrils, but because of the realization of what he's done. He's killed someone.

Lightning barks worriedly, snapping him from his trance. He shakes his head and adjusts his grip on the new weapon, nodding curtly.

"Right...baby being born..." he mumbles, taking off down the road again.

It only gets more chaotic as he runs. Bloodied and mangled bodies lay everywhere, Wolves and Alexandrians alike. The doctor swallows the sorrow he feels bubbling inside him when he sees the people he's come to know as neighbours and friends. He doesn't have time to mourn now.

He rounds a corner, smacking into a hooded figure with a bloody W on their forehead. He raises the axe, but the woman throws her hands up.

"Elliot, it's me," she hisses, pulling her mask down.

He blinks in surprise. "Carol? Why...why aren't you with Hope?"

She rolls her eyes. "There's a war to be fought out here. Carl's with her and Judith."

"At your house?" he clarifies, flinching as gunshots ring out nearby.

"Yeah. Go!"

She slips her mask back up, her blue eyes the only thing visible, and takes off again. Elliot regains his composure and runs again. As he gets nearer and nearer to the correct house, a frightened whinny sounds from nearby. He spins around to see a Wolf leaping into Buttons' pen, that same crazed grin on his face. Anger boils inside Elliot, hating these intruders even more by the second.

"Lightning, stop him!" he orders.

The black Labrador barks and zooms away, her paws pounding against the ground. Elliot races after his pet, intent on saving his friend's horse. Buttons runs from the man, evading the machete he swings at him. Lightning leaps over the fence and races towards the man, sinking her fangs into his ankle. The man screams as the dog drags him to the ground, Elliot scrambling into the pen rather clumsily. He embeds his own weapon into the man's head, the blood spraying his face again. Buttons whinnies in fright, but calms down when he notices that Elliot is one of his friends.

"Yeah...that's...that's what you get for hurting my friends and my animals," Elliot pants as he aims the axe at the dead body at his feet. "Fear me?"

He swallows, his hands shaking even more. Lightning whimpers and nuzzles his leg, urging him to keep going. The man nods, looking to the jet black stallion nearby. He whistles a shrill one note tone and points to the rope nearby, making Lightning dash off and retrieve it. The medical man only focuses on the horse.

"Buttons...listen to me..." he whispers, holding his hands up. "I'm going to move you to your stable, alright? Just trust me."

The stallion snorts, but shows no sign of hostility as the veterinarian pats his neck. Lightning returns with the rope, letting Elliot snatch it and tie a comfortable loop around the horse's neck. He moves to the gate at the far end of the corral and pushes it open, leading the animal to the makeshift barn that they built for when the weather wasn't too great. Securing Buttons inside, he pats the animal's muzzle and smiles weakly.

"Good horse. I'll see you soon," he promises.

He spins around and continues on his way to the house, managing to avoid any enemies that race past. He reaches the home labeled 101, moving sluggishly up the steps as his chest burns from the effort of running. Everything has quieted, even the infernal airhorn has shut off. He grips the railing, his white shirt splattered with red and his dark hands white-knuckled around the axe.

Only then do the cries of a newborn reach him, his face going slack. Without another moment's hesitation, he moves to the door, twists the knob, and gains entrance into the home.