Wolf Bite

Chapter 3

The sound of the enemy wolves are closing in. Their loud growls and barks send anxiety through my ears and into my brain. Their sour stench flood my nose, burning it. As I run, I begin thinking 'Why would Larson do this??' I've known him since I was a pup, and he's always been kind to me. Why would he send me out to die?

I smell one of them on my right flank. I skid to a stop as he jumps out from the trees. I pounce for him, biting his neck and flinging him into a tree. He whines, and I continue running. That little distraction has given my enemies the chance to catch up with me. Not good.

What am I saying!? This whole situation isn't good!!

Where is my father? I'm sure he's noticed my absence. Then again, he was injured pretty badly, I imagine he's getting patched up. I can't believe this. There's too many to fight. They're older than me, so I can't outrun them, either.

They're upon me now. I can feel their hot breath on my tail, and their scent has gotten much stronger. It's only a matter of time until they get me. I growl and bark, trying to intimidate them. They don't falter, and before I can react, one of them come from my LEFT flank this time, tackling me.

We tumble around in the grass as I fight to get him off of me. He's much bigger and stronger than me, and it makes my struggle more difficult. I snap at him, trying to latch onto his neck. I can't get a hold of him, and my paws swinging wildly prove to be useless.

There's a sudden pain in the side of my body, and it pulses through me. "AAAARRGHHHHH!!!!" I yelp as blood comes from my side. The stinging pain causes me to tear up, but I don't get even a single drop of water from my eye before the wolf cuts me again, this time to a smaller degree.

I yelp again and continue tumbling down what must be a hill. I hit my back hard against a thick tree and continue falling through the grass. Eventually, I come to a stop, laying on my side. My eyes feel heavy, and my whole body feels cold. My smaller wounds, such as scrapes, bruises, and small cuts, begin healing and closing up.

My rib scars don't, though. They still sting, and the cold air doesn't help any. They begin getting smaller, but don't close. They're still deep and painful, as if I just now received them. My breathing becomes labored, and my eyes start closing. I fight to keep them open. I don't want to fall asleep.

If I do, I'll die.

I try to force the healing process to speed up, letting out a low growl. They only close a little bit more, which won't help any. I don't have the power to muster up a howl, so I whine instead. It's not very loud, but hopefully it's loud enough for someone from my pack to hear me.

Forcing a howl hurts, but I have to keep going. Someone's bound to hear me. They have to.

I whine again, slightly louder this time. Still nothing. The cuts close up a little more, but if they keep healing this slow, I'll be dead by morning. I whine one more time before hearing something behind me.

It smells like a human. There's a hint of steel near her... must be a weapon. She comes over and reaches out to me. I look at her and growl. She backs up and drops the weapon, so I stop. She puts her hand on me before walking around. She sees my cuts and retreats. After a few seconds, she comes back with some kind of a box in her hand.

She cleans my wounds and puts something sharp and cold above one of them. She puts it back and pulls out a roll of bandages instead. She wraps me up and let's me sniff her hand. She smells safe, so I let her pet me.

Then she offers to name me Rufus.

Screw that.

My wounds are starting to heal faster, and I've regained the energy to stand.

So I do.

And I'm pretty sure she shat her pants.