Wolv

7 - Bitten

    The wolf stared at me, and I at it. I wasn't afraid; I was curious! We stood across from each other, gazing into each others eyes, both unmoving. Wind ruffled its fur, and its eyes squinted slightly, as if it was looking even more closely at me. I continued looking back at it in awe; I had never seen a wolf up close. I decided that it was easily the most magnificent creature I had ever seen, and I daftly stepped closer to it.

   It suddenly broke its docile manner and barred its teeth at me, laying its ears back and snarling. I stepped back, my curiosity being quickly replaced by fear. It began walking towards me, and I began stepping back from it in turn, not daring to break eye contact. It continued forward, but lowered its jowls and cocked its head slightly, seemingly matching the curiosity that I had felt towards it just moments ago. I stopped walking, and it continued forward until it stood just in front of me. I sank to my knees, asking it to come closer.

    Without warning, it barred its teeth again and snarled. Taking a step back, it threw back its head in another ghostly, terrifying howl.

          *         *         *         *

    In the distance, the long, haunting sound of a wolf howl brought me back to consciousness. Every hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I looked across the lake to where I'd seen the wolf earlier. It was no longer there. My heart began to pound, and I craned my neck around the tree and looked behind me, but the trees and rocks directly behind me obscured my view of the distant shoreline.

    The howl drifted to my ears again, lonely and terrifyingly clear. Another howl sounded from another direction, and I whipped my eyes around, frantically searching for its source.

    They're back. I couldn't tell where exactly the howls were coming from, but my eyes were now fully alert, constantly scanning the horizon for movement. The howls increased; the cries were echoing across the flat expanse of the lake.  Even though they sounded  like they were far away, I had never been more terrified in my life. The fear I'd felt the first night I heard the wolves didn't even come close to this! I had come to grips with dying alone, but I had not come to terms with being eaten alive. Come on, leave me alone. Go howl somewhere else! My hand drifted down to my waist, where my bear spray was clipped. My fingers brushed along a torn belt loop, and my eyes widened. Where is it?!?  I had nothing to defend myself with!

    My shivering returned, but I couldn't pull my knees in any closer. They had completely locked up during the night. I looked down at my fractured arm, noting the disgusting signs of infection slowly making their way out of my wound. Well, maybe the wolves will stay away. I doubt I would make even a half decent meal. I laughed to myself at the notion of not being edible material. Who, in their right mind, would ever  worry about being inedible?

    A stick snapped behind me, and I yelped in surprise! I looked behind me as far as I could without falling over, but I still saw nothing. Strangely, the howling had stopped. I could hear dozens of faint clicking sounds, but nothing made its presence visible.

   Claws on rocks. I let out a shaky breath and continued looking behind me.

    A howl pierced the silence, closer now than ever before. I inhaled sharply, again frantically searching the rocks and trees behind me for the nearing predators. Still nothing. Perhaps I'm getting paranoid. Maybe I'm delirious. That's it! None of this is happening! After all, I had seen Kal earlier in the day. But this  felt real, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself of the contrary.