The Crying Wolf

Kyal Sukkar

Scotland, April 7th 2009

Day 1

The icy mountain known as Ben Nevis towered above the fifty-acre light green farmland that William's family held dear. The shining sun brightened the sky as the boy rested in a haystack by the brown timber barn and blocked his eyes with his forearm from the blinding glare. He was barely fifteen years old, with pale white skin which left his bony cheeks and nose manifested with freckles that blended well with his short orange hair. He stretched his back whilst he nudged the collar of his brown cotton t-shirt and adjusted the orange strap which held up his grey cargo pants. Today was William's first day guarding the barn from any wildlife that may come for his family's sheep and cattle. However, the task was handed down to him against his will since he and his two siblings drew straws for the one who would be given the unfortunate responsibility. Beside a small flat screen television within the barn and a portable cubicle the boy was surrounded with nothing but dry dirt to walk on, a two-room timber shack with an old leather couch and the fenced off animals that lurked in the field.

William whistled as a pig rolled in the mud by the fence before him whilst his father, Commodis entered the room. He removed his black hat which released his long brown hair and frisked his orange beard that covered his olive skin and winked at the boy. The sun shined off his blue and white striped short-sleeve top that matched his brown cargo pants. He scraped the dirt off his boot against the ground and approached his son. William sighed. His upper traps saturated with a sweat that reeked a foul scent into his father's nostrils. He shrugged his shoulders and complained, "what took you so long dad? I've been waiting for an hour."

Commodis gazed upon the frustrated boy and chuckled. He replied, "and it's going to get a lot more boring than that son... Just a month, then you can swap with one of your sisters... I promise!"

William climbed out of the hay and scratched his itchy forearms whilst he brushed his pants. He repeated, "just a month?"

Commodis nodded his head whilst a large smile smeared over his hairy cheeks. He said, "just a month. Now..." He wandered around the boy whilst observing the corners of the shack and continued, "you're aware of the task given to you right?"

William's arrogance was no secret to his family. His lack of interest angered his father whilst he stated, "yeah... Watching the sheep right."

Commodis rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "if only it were that simple..." He stopped, turned back and faced the barn. He cleared his throat and explained, "ever since the late 18th century wolves were believed to be extinct across Scotland... But that's not the case."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been hearing rumours from other farmers from beyond the mountain that their cows and sheep have been slaughtered by an unknown creature. Their bodies have been found with bite marks shaped like a hound's and strange claw marks which ripped their skin to shreds." Commodis coughed, he clenched his fist and gently patted his chest. He turned back toward his son and continued, "however, some of the men who have described the beast are known to exaggerate... As they say that the wounds on the cows are too large to be of any wolf that may lurk the land... They believe it to be a beast, truthfully son... The possibility of wild wolves wandering the shores of Scotland sounds quite bizarre. However, it is not impossible... You see several years back a small amount of wolves were brought into the country as a part of some circus show to attract tourists from across Europe. I heard from your aunt a while ago that several of the wolves escaped and the circus was forced to be shut down by the local council."