The War of Gods

Chapter 5 - Part 3

"Hey, buddy, where did-" Joel cut off as the wolf turned and walked away. Joel blinked again, confused. A few steps ahead the wolf stopped and looked back at Joel.

Are you coming or not?, it seemed to say.

Joel shook himself off and jogged to catch up with the wolf. Luckily it didn't make any turns either. Last thing Joel wanted was to get lost, but this wolf... there was something about it.

"So... huh," Joel tried to find the words. He hadn't spoken to any animals in a while. "Do you come here often?"

The wolf didn't answer. It actually seemed to sigh at Joel... Ouch.

They trudged along in silence for maybe ten minutes, and the wilderness got thicker and wilder the more they walked. They passed by a small patch of Venus Fly Traps, which made Joel shiver. He hated any plant that killed another living thing in such a brutal way. It wasn't natural. Joel jogged up a little to get ahead of those living nightmares, until he noticed the wolf had stopped. And it was looking straight at him.

"What?" Joel asked. He reluctantly moved back towards the Venus Fly Traps.

The wolf looked down at the plants and Joel followed its blue eyes. Dozes of them stood up with uncanny mouths open to the skies. Was he supposed to look for something? He narrowed his eyes, investigating each of the murder weapons against his will...

There.

One of the Venus Fly Traps had caught... well, a fly. The wolf whimpered.

"Is this what you wanted me for?" Joel asked, frowning. The wolf just whimpered back. "You're a weird one, you know..."

Joel stretched his arm forward, thinking of a way to open up the plant's mouth. The things he did to be a hero...

Snap!

One of the Traps stretched to bite his hand. He stumbled but dodged right on time. Another one followed, forcing him back. His foot got caught on a branch and he fell over, landing on his behind.

"I hate these things." He said to the wolf. But the wolf simply stared at him. "I can't do it, buddy. Sorry about that. You'll need to find a new dung-eating friend."

The wolf looked him in the eyes, as if searching for something. Such deepness... they looked so human...

Without another whimper, the wolf got up and continued moving forward.

"Hey!" Joel called. "Wait up!"

He jogged once more to catch up, but the wolf began running ahead.

"Wait!" Joel shouted. "I'm sorry! It's not my fault!"

But the wolf did not stop. It kept running and its grey fur began blending with the darkness ahead. Joel kept running, squinting his eyes as to not loose sight of his new small friend.

"It's not my fault!" Joel cried out once again, even though there was no one there to listen.

"It's not my-"

Joel blinked.

"Oh, you're back." Nerith said. "Didn't you go the other way? How long a walk did you take?"

He... hum. She was right. He was now standing in the Path of Sorrows. As if he looped around the forest. But he... he didn't take any turns... did he? What of the wolf? Had they maybe seen it, or... or...

Joel made his way into their makeshift camp, stumbling in a daze. Suddenly, his eyes felt a little too heavy to carry on.

"Too long a walk, lass." He answered as he settled into his sleeping bag. "I need some sleep."