Wolf

His crazed eyes bore into mine, staring me down, threatening me with every inch of his will. His hands shook when he pointed a heavily calloused finger at my face as he shouted, "Looks like I found you... You dirty, miserable creature... I almost feel sorry for you," he laughed, the sound was cold, like that of frozen kills. "Maybe I'll have mercy... make your death quick, painless. Ha! As if that would be fun. Don't worry it will end... Eventually." He spoke quickly, slurring his words together but I didn't understand, I couldn't.

The wind tore at my hair whipping it in every other direction than the way it was supposed to go. Leaves and twigs snagged at my limbs and dirt became a second skin. A bolt of lightening shot through the sky outlining the man's figure and making the surrounding trees look menacing. I shook my body, clearing it of the leaves but the wind quickly replaced them with more.

The man shifted his arms and I jumped at his sudden movement. He moved his arms behind his back and removed a long metal object, it glowed a metallic silver in the dim light. I shivered, sensing the new danger the silver object had wrought. The man laughed again maniacally. He raised the silver object above his head. His arms loomed over me and his shadow hid me from prying eyes. He was an angry bear, taking up an aggressive stance poised to attack. I cowered before him, afraid of what he was going to do, of what I could do.

His feet shuffled through the leaf strewn ground towards me. For every one step forward, I would take two steps back. One forward... two back... one forward... two back... I couldn't move back any further, I was cornered. His progress was full of confidence, confident that he had the upper-hand that I couldn't escape. He was partially right. My only means of escape was blocked by his fast advancing body. One more step and he was upon me. He crouched in front of me, lowering his arms so that the weapon was aimed at my chest. I could smell him, he was so close that I could taste his scent. He smelled minty, not a natural mint but still minty, with a tangy, smoky breath like his insides were on fire.

The man smiled, a wide grin that revealed blackened gums with the occasional yellow tooth. I whimpered, and tried to inch further back which seemed to amuse the man even more. The man spat at me. I flinched in response and continued my futile struggle backwards. The man reached a hand towards me, and a growl rumbled deep in my throat, my last warning for the man, but he paid no heed to it. Instead he smugly reached the hand closer... closer... Before the hand touched the side of my head, I attacked.

The man jumped back in surprise, trying to get the weapon up and into my heart but he was too slow. I swerved around the weapon and went for the man aiming for his throat. I felt my teeth close around soft skin, felt them sink in and lock around bone. I felt hot blood run down my neck, staining the fur on my chest, and drip onto my paws. I felt the metallic liquid slide down my throat making me want to let go and hide in the trees, but through instinct, I clamped my teeth together tighter. The man struggled, pushing weakly against my shoulders, but his efforts were futile. Soon his struggling slowed and I felt his pulse between my teeth slacken. With one last twitch the man was still.

I let go of his neck and let his body fall to the ground. I stuck out my tongue panting, and closed my eyes as the smell of blood strengthened. I shook my body spraying drops of blood, leaves and dirt everywhere. Taking a step away from the man's body, I looked to the corner where he was laying then out towards where we had come from. Taking one last look back at the man's crumpled body, I whimpered, then ran out into the open trees.

I ran fast, the trees a blur to either side of me. The smell of blood was staggering, it overwhelmed any other scent making me oblivious to anything else. The blood was all I could smell, all I could taste. It made me feel sick. I didn't recognise the new danger until it was too late.

I continued my headlong sprint until the hunter stepped out of the trees ahead of me. A big smile was plastered to his face as I skidded to a halt in front of him. He pulled out a long black weapon. I knew what it was. It had killed many of my kind before, mercilessly and without second thoughts. He pointed it at me and stared me in the eyes aggressively. I had nowhere to run, no chance of escape. I stared back at him willing him to understand, willing him to let me go but I knew he wouldn't, he was blinded by his greed. I didn't understand why they... They with the weapons... Kill us, want to kill me and I couldn't ask him why. So I stared back at him defiantly and accepted my fate.

He loaded the gun with a click and aimed it at my head, "Gotcha Wolfie...". Bang!