The Wolf

III.

Dreams and nightmares did plague me that night, so horribly that I found myself unable to stay in bed. For nearly three hours before dawn, I sat at the kitchen table, praying all the while, until at long last the dim light of the morning sunrise penetrated between the cracks in the wooden window shutters and illuminated the dust about me. Joseph came down soon after, surprised to see me awake.

We sat and had a breakfast of bread and ham accompanied by sweet buttermilk, though the taste of the meal was lost on my tongue. My mind was fixated on the hunt that awaited me, and it held no room for appreciation of such small pleasures.

'Twas not some battle between man and monster that I relished the thought of, as one might believe. My focus rested on the hunt not for its excitement or peril, but solely for its underlying purpose. I had witnessed in great detail what this beast had done to Ruth and its residents. Peter and Elisa had all but lost their faith from the beast's misdeeds, and if it were to strike again it would be unsurprising if the town were to lose its faith entirely. Before me was not an adventure, but a duty. A man must right what wrong he sees, for it is sin not to.

We finished our plates, and I took to gathering my things and loading my gun. Joseph suggested that I take Benjamin Theyer's dog along when I was to make out for the forest, but I waved off the idea. I had seen that mutt here and there during my previous time in Ruth, and I knew it would do me no good. I assumed by now it was on its twelfth year at least, and Benjamin had likely never taken the dog out to hunt in all his time with it.

It took no more than ten minutes or so to prepare myself, but Joseph stopped me at the door before I could set out. He seemed to have become suddenly rather worried. "Ezekiel," he began. "Should you indeed discover the beast, assure me that you will show no hesitation to kill it. I would not wish for you to meet the fate of Benjamin's livestock or..." Here he trailed off. "Mind yourself, and take heed of what surrounds you," he finished with insistence. I could sense a gravity in his tone, and so I nodded and assured him I would be certain to take care, telling him that I would probably encounter the creature in its human form when I found it.

The day had already begun to pass, and so I ventured out before Joseph could hold me with advice or banter any longer. My intention was to begin my search in the treeline past Peter Roth's field, which Joseph had described was just behind Peter's cottage. There was the place the beast had last been seen, and I found it likely that its den was not far from where it had disappeared.

A chill wind blew past me as I retraced the path Joseph and I had taken the day before towards Peter's residence. I tightened my coat and pulled the hat I had borrowed from Joseph farther down on my head. The sky was a dull, empty color, blanketed by dreary clouds that predicted rain.

I passed by Benjamin's house on my walk, though I didn't see him nor Margaret outside. In fact, it seemed there wasn't a soul around. From the moment I had left Joseph's house I had seen no one out and about the town. Only the leaves passed by me on the breeze, and I began to wonder if there were some meeting taking place somewhere between the residents that I was oblivious to. However, I recalled that Joseph had not spoken of any such happening, nor had he indicated that he would be leaving his residence at any time during the morning. Perhaps he, too, was oblivious, but it didn't seem like a plausible assumption that the community would neglect to inform him of such things. Though curiosity pried at my thoughts, I resolved to think on the whereabouts of the folk no more and simply assume they were gathered at the church or elsewhere to talk of some matter that didn't concern me.

I finally came upon Peter Roth's cottage and saw that his shutters were closed and his property seemingly vacant. I had wished to ask him humbly for permission to tread through his field to the woods, but seeing now that he was either gone or wished to not be disturbed I had no choice but to simply continue on to the rear of the property.