Before Death

Chapter 6 : Pursuit

I stood up and took in my surroundings. Nothing but frozen wilderness as far as my young, sharp eyes could see. There was no way I was going to get out of the woods alive. At least my dead body would provide a meal for the wolves I idolised.

It seemed so easy to just lay down and wait for death to claim me. In retrospect, maybe it would have been better if I had just perished peacefully instead of going through the tormentations life had in store for me.

But I wasn't raised a quitter. I thought of what my father would say if he knew I was considering giving up on life. I would get a beating at the very least.

So I turned to the direction that held my only hope and grimly started trudging through the forest once more.

At the top of the mountain, I looked up at the stars. They stared back at me as if daring me to run down the valley into the wolf den. However, I decided to camp out at a safe distance from the pack. I dug a hole in the snow to protect me from the bite of the icy wind.

I thought I was a safe distance from the wolves, but when I next awoke from my restless sleep, I found myself nose to nose with a young wolf.

I kept as still as possible, fear clearing the sleep fog from my brain. Did it think I was food? There were several wolves milling around my makeshift campsite but they seemed more curious than intent on ripping me to shreds.

The wolf in front of rme moved away, losing interest. I jumped up immediately and gave a yell. The surrounding wolves got a fright and jumped back. Taking advantage of the confusion, I ran up to a nearby pine and attempted to get a grip on it. The tree had no lowhanging branches for a handhold and I was left scrambling and trying to hoist myself up.

It had just been an enormous waste of energy and I turned around with my back to the tree, defeated. Three wolves formed a ring around me. I looked one in the eyes and got a snarl in return for my agressive gesture.

Swallowing hard, I sat down. The only way I was going to survive the wolf encounter was if I acted submissive until they lost intrest in me. I had to swallow my pride and beg for my life.

I sat motionless, all the muscles in my body tense and adrenaline coursing through my veins. The wolves stared into my soul.

Inhaling deeply, I tried to fake relaxation. As soon as I opened my mind to the peace and tranquility of nature, I realised that these wolves were not intent on tearing out my throat. They eventually lost interest and slowly meandered down the slope to their den.

I breathed a sigh of relief and stood up cautiously. After my heart rate returned to some semblance of normal, I recklessly followed the young wolves down the mountain. If my connection with the pack was to be realised, I would have to live in the moment and leave logical thought behind.

The three juveniles glanced back warily as I trudged along about 10 paces behind them. I could see the whole pack lying around a cluster of ancient pines, about 15 adult wolves in all. They looked completely at ease, blending perfectly into the muddy snow of their territory.

The young wolves rejoined their packmates and I halted. The pack had noticed me and some of them had gotten up, their ears held tersely forward. I stood frozen (almost literally) in place by their glares, bright and intellegent eyes meeting mine. Averting my eyes, I called out in my most calming and reassuring way.

"Hey there. See, I'm no threat. I just want to observe."

The wolves seemed equal parts intrigued and perplexed. They had never heard anything exept gruff men's voices from the two-legged killers. I stooped down to make myself less intimidating and shuffled forward slowly, mentally projecting calm thoughts. The pack was on edge, ready to defend their home. I stood still and steadily lowered myself down to the dirty snow. When I pretended to be overly interested in a nearby tree to seem less confrontational, the wolves moved closer.

This was not the apex predators that the whole village feared closing in on their prey. This was curiosity burning in the souls of sentinent beings.

They first sniffed around and then ventured closer until their snouts were pressed up against me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and reached my hand out to touch one of the wolves.

Wrong move.

The wolf recoiled from my tough and bared his teeth. The whole pack retreated as he snarled, newly wary of this strange creature.

If only my father was there, I could have proved to him that these wolves were not monsters but majestic and free animals. Unfortunately, my wish was granted - I heard men's voices calling out from afar. Instantly the wolves drew closer together for protection. They knew this scenario all too well - it always ended in the deaths of their packmates.

I shot to my feet. "Papa! I'm here - come look!"

The hunting party crashed through the brush and the two factions faced each other - with me in the middle. "Papa. Look at the wolves!" I cried out exitedly and ran towards my father.

"Stand back." came his voice, deep and steady.

All the men raised their hunting spears as one and encirled the pack in one, fluid motion. Understanding immediately the immenent massacre, I leaped forward, intent on protecting my wolves. As a result one of the hunters grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground in a bear hug.

"NO! I screamed and thrashed, trying to break free from the man's iron grip. The wolves became restless and bared their teeth, ready to attack.

Often when the pack became too brave and ventured down to the village to kill livestock, a hunting party was sent to thin their numbers and make them fear humans anew.

But this was no hunt. No fair fight. This was senseless slaughter.

The wolves leaped forwards, ready to tear out human throats. However, their jaws were no match for the hunting spears of trained killers. I was forced to watch as my pack was decimated. I saw the fear in their eyes as they were cornered and a spear thrusted through their hearts.

My wolves - all dead.

An animalistic scream of fury tore from my lungs. I would avenge these wolves who were killed so mercilessly. At that moment I realised the true depth of human cruelty. I was dragged back to the village, kicking and screaming until my voice grew hoarse. I resolved to make the humans pay for their sins.

In full.