Moon Falls

Chapter 1

I watch them intently, but they don’t react, probably don’t even care. I pace forward and backwards, the only thing stopping me from getting away are the bars around me. The fire burns brightly, keeping them warm, but not spreading far enough to reach me. They know what I am, it doesn’t matter if I change now, they don’t care. A distant howl causes my fur to stand on end, they’re coming. If they figure out who I am, they’ll kill me, and it won’t take much to work it out. One of them stand up, holding his gun tightly. He moves around the edge of their little camp, making sure nothing gets in. I back into the corner of my cage, listening to the growls. At first the humans don’t hear, but when they do, it’s too late. One wolf leaps out of the shadows, crushing the man scanning the perimeter. Others follow, going after the other humans, chasing them, playing with them. The humans reach for their guns, but it’s no use. The wolves snarl at each other, challenging each other even as the humans try to escape. Their once white teeth shine a bright red, covered in their victims blood. They drag the last few humans into the forest, their screams bring the forest to life, but it ends just as quickly as it had begun. The clearing is empty, nothing left but the fire, burning proudly in the night, but even that won’t last long. I stay hunched in the corner, I don’t want them coming back for me. As the sun rises I can see more clearly, blood stains the once golden leaves. The remnants of sleeping-bags are blown in the soft breeze. They'll be asleep now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come after me tonight. I move towards the camp, pushing my head up against the bars to get a better look. The padlock on the chain holds the cage together securely, maybe I can break it. I shift, trying to ignore the pain. I reach through the bars and grab hold of the padlock, gripping it tightly, then pull. It creaks, not liking the pressure being put on it. It snaps and I fall back a little, but easily regain my balance. I throw the padlock and un-wrap the chain. The bars fall away easily. I shift back into a wolf, ready to escape. The ringing of a phone catches my attention, they’re getting closer. I run to the bushes and lower myself to the ground. Watching intently as a man appears in the small clearing. He’s tall, just a little taller than me, and has short brown hair. He has some jeans on, they look old, a shirt and a jacket. He’s also wearing a pair of hiking boots. He looks around the camp wearily; maybe he knows I’m watching. “Chris! What’s going on? And what is that awful smell?!” someone calls. He has a deep voice, and he’s coming this way.

“You’re not going to like this!” Chris calls back, his voice is also deep, almost the same as the other mans voice, but a little lighter. The other man walks into the clearing, a range of emotions flash across his face. “Looks like they took on more than they could handle” Chris says, pointing to the cage.

“No, this wasn’t just one wolf, can’t you smell them? Whoever did this was rogue, it stinks of them, the poor bugger who was in the cage might not even be alive anymore, unless they escaped, but I doubt it. We’d of heard of a newcomer if they had” the man says. He has black hair with flecks of white in it, his eyes stand out, glowing gold with knowledge, but not showing much emotion. He has on similar clothes to the other one, but darker shades.

“Whoever was in the cage didn’t get far, I can still smell them” Chris says, crap, definitely wolf.

“I know, she stinks” the other one replies. I snort, the air rushing out of my nose before I can stop it, I do not stink. They look towards me, well, at the bush. Chris doesn’t move, but the other one, he moves closer, shuffling the leaves beneath his feet. With each step towards me my heart beats faster, he can’t find me, I need to get out of here. I look directly into his eyes, and find them staring into mine. I leap away from him and run. I hear his clothes shred and then the pounding of his feet on the ground, rushing towards me. A second pair of clothes shred, they’re both after me. I run as fast as I can, but it’s no use, they’re gaining on me. I dive through some bushes and turn sharply, avoiding the river below. I run up-hill, following the river. I’m losing them. Only one of them are behind me, losing speed. I’m nearly at the top of the hill, I’ll be able to lose them completely if I can just reach it…

Pain sears through my side, we tumble down the cliff, towards the river. He growls at me as we fall. He lands on a rock, stopping him from moving. I fall a bit further. I dig my claws into the soggy mud, slowing my decent to the water almost to a stop. A brownish wolf looks down the hill, worry in his eyes, that must be Chris. He stares at the black wolf on the rock intently. I can see he wants to help him, but he’ll only end up getting stuck. The black wolf stands up slowly, he’s hurt. He looks up to Chris, confirming he’s ok, then looks down at me. I expect to see hatred in his eyes, but there’s only worry. Why would he be worried about me? He looks at the ground beneath him, where I’m standing, where I’m slowly sinking to the water. The brown wolf barks a few times, then he’s running away. The black wolf puts his paw onto the soggy mud and instantly starts to sink, but he doesn’t seem to care. I growl at him and he moves back onto his rock. I can feel splashes of water hitting my tail and back legs, the river gushes, trying to swallow me up. I try to move up the hill a little, but the ground beneath me starts to drop quicker. My back legs drop into the river, and then I’m being swept away. I’m pulled under completely and when I surface I see the black wolf jump towards me. The water surrounds me, pulling me in different directions, making me cold and dizzy. Something comes at me in the water, a pair of gold eyes. I try to pull myself onto one of the passing rocks, but it’s no use. I’m pulled back under, fighting the waves. I smack into something, hitting my head hard. I can’t see, my vision blurred. The black thing grabs hold of me, digging its sharp teeth into my neck and pulling. There’s a mix of colours and then nothing.