Wolf of the West

3.

     The day continued like usual. Folks were mingling in the town, jobs and tasks were being completed, and the world was slowly spinning. Everything was right with the world, especially for Rudy. The sun had just settled down beyond the horizon and the stars had finally come out of hiding, but the boy was too busy in his own head to even notice. He was too wrapped up thinking about the days that he and Will described. He pondered how perfect it would be and how the world would change by then. If new things like variations of sarsaparillas or even more desserts would be created. The thoughts made him feel light and even fluttery as he continued his nightwork.
     Rudy stooped down by the chicken coop. "C'mon, c'mon. Get on in there," He muttered as he ushered the chickens back in, getting his usual angry peck on his hand from the fat rooster but he simply shooed him inside with the side of his boot. Something seemed different with his beloved hen though. The white hen wouldn't leave his side, pecking at his leg and even nibbling on his shirt hem.
     "Come on, Henni, you gotta go in. It's time to sleep." He told her, tapping her feathery behind to usher her in. She didn't move, letting out whiny little clucks as she tilted her head up at him. He let out a disgruntled sigh through his nose as he picked up the plump hen and sat her inside. "Sorry, ol gal. I wanna sleep," He apologized, "But I'll see you bright and early as always." Shutting the door to the coop, he locked it and let out a tired sigh. The hen stayed close to the door of the coop, trying to crane her head to see the boy walk off toward the barn once more. Letting out louder clucks and shrills, she fluttered her wings and batted at the door with her talons. 
     Now to finish his final chore—tending to the cattle in the field. Rudy clumsily climbed up onto his father's horse as he held onto the reins. The freckled boy wasn't good at riding horses, which he hated to admit, but he felt lucky that this was his pa's old stallion. Clicking his tongue and tapping his spur against the horse's side, they were off on a steady canter toward the pasture across the field.
     The ride was a good five minutes out on horseback and Rudy almost tumbled a few times as the old horse clopped over stones and hills. Once they wandered further into the pasture, the old horse stopped. It was odd for him to do so. The horse did what it was told to, and did it diligently, but this time it seemed to freeze in absolute fear. Its ears swiveled back and forth as its nose sputtered.
     "Woah, woah. What's wrong, old boy? Come on," He tugged at the reins lightly, but the horse just whinnied anxiously, stepping back and stomping its large, tufted hooves. It seemed to be looking at something lurking in the tall grass.
     The horse was right to worry. There was something lurking in the tall grass, and judging by the low growl that sounded from within the veil of foliage, it wasn't friendly. Bright green eyes shone through the dry grass and thistles, and it very slowly crept within as it watched the two. The way it moved was antagonistically slow, as if it were a cat playing a psychological game with its prey.
     The distance between the creature and Rudy wasn't great, but it wasn't small, either. This made it all the more terrifying when the creature leapt out and closed the gap in less than five seconds. The creature resembled a dog with a sharp, coyote-like muzzle. It was gigantic, and although some parts of its body were barren and naked like a human, other places were over-abundant with thick, wild fur. It's eyes were sharp and precise, and it's teeth were more so. It's paws were gigantic and long, resembling that of a raccoon's, and it's claws were thick, long, and razor sharp. It had two long scars across its chest and one over its piercing green eye.
     The moment the gap was closed, the beast broke into an aggressive snarl and began to snap and bite at the poor equine's legs and hooves, constantly moving and cautious as to not to get kicked at.
     Rudy let out a gasp of shock and fear as the creature lunged out of the brush. He screamed out as it charged at them and as it attempted to snap at the old horses' legs. "Go—! Go, Amos, go!" He cried at the old horse who was frantically whinnying and stomping its large hooves down at the canine-like creature. The boy whipped the reins down on the horse's back and hit his spurs against it's rear which made it whinny and go racing forward. This was good. Distance was being gained. Rudy let out frantic breaths, his voice hitching in his throat as they went galloping back towards town. "What in the hell is that??" He practically screamed to himself, hoping that whatever the animal was couldn't catch up to the stallion.
     The creature broke into a run after the two, and as it caught up, its large paws were audibly thundering behind them, growing closer by the second. If they could just make it to the town, they would be safer than safe, but it was becoming a very close call. The creature was gaining on them, and it was gaining on them fast.
     Soon enough, the creature caught up just enough to spring into a leap onto the poor stallion's haunches, sinking its long front claws into its flesh and snarling as it made the attempt to pull the horse down and take the rider with it.
     Rudy let out a horrific scream as Amos reared up on his hind legs and kicked his front hooves. Somehow, Rudy managed to cling onto the horse's neck and felt water flood his eyes in panic. But the boy let out a gasp as it threw its front hooves down and this time it bucked its back legs. This sent both Rudy and the beast tumbling off of the horse with cries of pain. Rudy hit the hard ground with a thud and felt the air be knocked from his lungs. He tried to take in a strained gasp of air, clawing at the ground as he tried to move and stand back up to mount the horse again. But Amos was already galloping away after bucking the creature off, sputtering and whipping his mane in pain. The curly-haired boy let out a gasping groan as he dragged himself forward, finally taking in oxygen as he shakily tried to stand to his feet. He could run. That was his only option at that point. Through the pain in his lungs and ribs, he struggled to his feet and began to try sprinting across the field. But a small limp and the lack of oxygen made him horribly slow.
     The creature yelped as it was kicked off of the horse and it skidded on the ground, but it recovered about as fast as Rudy had. It only stood and shook out its wild fur as if it shook off any pain it felt, before taking off after Rudy once again. This time, it caught up even faster, seeing as the boy's movement was hindered and he was no longer on a horse. It quickly took him down to the ground, forcing him onto his back in the dirt and grass. The monster slashed at his chest to incapacitate him, before it held a large, heavy paw on it as it observed him, taking in every feature of the redheaded boy's face. It was panting and it's powerful jaws were dripping with slobber. The more it observed him, the angrier the thing seemed to become, until it's teeth were bared in a snarl and it's eye twitched as it gave a ravenous growl.
     The boy screamed out so loudly when the creature's claws tore through his tender skin, that the nearby birds in the grass and barren trees had awoken and fluttered by, chirping in alarm. The boy began to weep as he gripped into the grass, only realizing how deep the claws penetrated as blood began to seep out onto his clothes. The tingling skin turned into a deep burn due to the heavy paw that was weighted on the fresh wound, making him gasp for air as he cried harder. His blue eyes stared up at the creature as his brain mixed with thoughts and emotions. He wondered what it was, what it was doing, why it stared at him so angrily, and why it's eyes were so human. He knew he was going to die, but he just couldn't accept it. Mind too full of thoughts and heart too full of fear, he stared up at the monster with tear-filled eyes as he seemed to plead without words for his life. Be it from God himself, or from the creature.
     The beast seemed not to have an ounce of sympathy or remorse in its body for the boy. That was when the creature lunged again. With a snap, it buried its teeth deep into Rudy's shoulder, feeling his blood gush through its teeth and flood its senses. It clamped its jaws into him and the hesitation proved that it was pondering whether or not to rip out the mouthful of flesh just to watch the blood fly. Rudy cried out in a shrill wail as the creature bit it's teeth deep into his shoulder. He felt his blood well out of the back of his mouth and begin to flow down the sides of his mouth. It almost made him choke. The force of the bite into his shoulder was almost deep enough to go all the way through. But whatever it was wasn't there to eat him or maul him beyond recognition, no matter how much it wanted to. So it released him, jaws now lined and dripping with the boy's blood. Then it gave him a growl and left him in the field, disappearing into the night.
     He was in too much shock to even notice the canine disappear into the brambles. He was desperately burying his nails into the ground and gasping for air, coughing out blood when he choked. He felt his body twitch all over from the shock, almost as if it was having a seizure from all of the blood loss and severe wounds. His blue eyes shakily trailed back up to the stars that seemed to almost teasingly look down upon him, grinning down at his bloodied body. That was the last thing he saw before his pupils rolled back into his skull and his eyelids shut, slipping into a paralyzing darkness.