Unhappily Ever After: A Collection of Feary Tales

The Wolf Cries

THE WOLF CRIES

Over the field of wild flowers and through the mossy forest there lived a hungry pack of wolves. The infant pups constantly cry for meat and the forest was no longer yielding hardy prey to suit the needs of the canines. The most cunning of the pack came before the Old Mother, the leader of the pack.

"I would like permission to go to outside of the forest to hunt for meat for our young." Vice asked.

The Old Mother looked at her son and then toward the other mothers. They worried for the pack's hunts were yielding less and less substance. A few of the kills had been taken over by a couple of grizzly bears that had recently moved into their territory. Their underfed hunters were no match for the much larger and stronger beasts. Knowing that there would be little chance of making it through the winter, the Old Mother nodded.

"You may," she said. "But we cannot spare many wolves since any day now the grizzlies may decide to attack our home and kill our pups. Take two hunters with you and beware of the humans, many a brave wolf has fallen at their hands."

Vice called two of his friends, Splinter and Fawn, to come with him. Splinter was a stronger wolf and known for his powerful jaws and brute strength while Fawn was equally famous for his speed and balance.

"I'm surprised that Old Mother agreed. Staying within the boundaries of the forest has always been our way." Splinter commented.

"Things must truly desperate." Fawn said as they moved swiftly towards the border.

They stood a moment at the edge of the forest but still hidden by some thick shrubs, letting their sensitive eyes adjust to the bright open fields. To their surprise and pleasure, many fluffy white creatures, docilely munched on green grass or were drinking water from a small stream. There were strange structures which they assumed was the human settlement beyond the field but still a safe distance away.

The trio began to drool in anticipation at the thought of fresh meat.

"Let's get them!" Splinter growled starting forward.

"Wait!" Vice said jumping in front of his friend. "Creatures like these could be dangerous."

"But they don't have any antlers or claws." Splinter whined.

Vice shook his head. "There must be a reason why there are so many out here in the open."

"What should we do then?" Fawn asked.

Vice sniffed the air, cautious with all these new unfamiliar scents lingering in the air.

"Fawn, since you're the fastest, I want you to creep out there and gage their reactions to you. Any hint of trouble you run to the gully by the creek and they'll be trapped in if they follow. We'd have a greater chance to be able to pick them off one by one." Vice said.

The russet wolf nodded and crept through the brush coming out to the open on the far side. The creatures stopped munching on grass and stared at the newcomer. As Fawn approached one of the medium sized ones, it turned and ran a short distance off. Fawn stopped and looked at the bush where he knew his friends were hiding.

Vice peered out cautiously. The fluffy creatures showed no interest in the approaching wolf. Thinking the best way to go about killing off these creatures, Vice and the others froze when they heard a deep bellow. A being, standing on two-legs, held a long stick with a crook at one end and a shiny thing that made the loud noise. Fawn started to retreat back towards them as many more two-legged strangers rushed across the field.

The wolves left quickly. They hid in the thickets as their pursuers moved past them. After several hours the odd-looking animals with their bizarre barks and howls gave up their search and left the forest.

"What were those creatures?" Splinter asked as he shook out his fur.

"Humans, I believe." Vice answered. "But we saw how those fluffy creatures behave and that humans cannot find us when we hide is a very good thing to know."

"So what now?" Fawn asked. "How are we going to get to the white creatures when we're being chased away?"

"Let's try again later. After the humans leave."

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After several days of trial and error, Vice noticed that less and less people came when the young human blew his horn. He and the others began intentionally showing themselves but only to the boy. Happiness brightened his eyes as he anticipated that this would be the day that they would succeed in capturing their prize.

No matter how loudly the human pup sounded the alarm, help did not arrive and the wolves successfully herded away a large portion of the flock of dumb fluffy creatures. It took them almost to two days to arrive back into their territory.

The wolves howled their joy at seeing the nervous tired creatures come into their circle. The Old Mother smiled.

"My son has returned and has brought back a bounty of fresh meat. Let us feast!"

The ground became soaked in red blood as the sounds of howls, growls, and terrified bleats saturated the air. The wolves stuffed themselves to the max. Unfortunately, their overindulgence singular focus distracted the pack from noticing their oncoming doom until it was too late.

Vice saw a shadow and barked in warning. No one else saw anything and greed overcame caution. Vice became more watchful and tried to get Splinter and Fawn to come with him but neither were interested in chasing phantoms. They couldn't smell anything for there was no wind and the scent if blood cloud their senses.

The single wolf's paranoia refused to allow him to relax and no one listened since they couldn't spot the danger. Vice took off alone just minutes before the unexpected attack. Several solitary bear, who had always lived in close proximity, formed a loose alliance, came into gathering at once and in no time destroyed the whole pack.

The wet ground was flooded in a crimson pool. The pack grounds were now silent except for the sounds of ripping flesh and crunching bones as the bears enjoyed their spoils. Like their predecessors, the bears failed to pay attention their surroundings and the louds retorts of human weapons echoed through the dense forest.

The villagers bemoaned the fate of their missing flock but cheered at the number of bear skins and wolf pelts they would gain. For the humans, their winter would be cozy indeed. As for the lone wolf, he traveled onto a high mountain and laid on the top watching the flakes of new snow. He had no home, no pack, no family... there was nothing more than silence.

"I will live." He said determinedly.

Going into the valley he waited in the forest to kill anything that entered into his domain. But soon killing for the sake of killing became boring. So, he began to play tricks and even learned to speak as humans do. He fooled the villagers into believing that the forest was haunted.

Many warned of the big bad wolf who lived in the forest. The only person that he couldn't take down was a old woman who always managed to stay one step ahead of him. They were at war constantly. But one day he heard that she was sick from her granddaughter as she crossed through the forest to bring the old woman some treats.

He would finally kill the old woman and perhaps her granddaughter as well. He watched the happy child flounce by. The cloak she wore would be a lovely addition to his den. He had always been partial to red.

THE END

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Eh... I still don't like this story. Out of all the stories this one was the one I liked the least. It's a two for one tale and we'll all just ignore the whole wolves are colorblind (to a degree) thing. 

Sigh... show me some love anyways and hit that little star icon for me.