The Fight of Our Lives - NewScapeSquad Fanfic

The Wolf

??? POV

Vaulting over a low wall, I glanced behind me.  My pursuers were out of sight, for now, but I knew better than to get my hopes up. To my left, I saw the forest just across a street, a perfect place to lose them, but I couldn't go in just yet.

I ducked down behind an overgrown trash can, abandoned long ago, and held my breath, my sandy blonde hair dangling over my face.  Waiting for them to either pass me by, or to find me and shoot me. 

My hands tingled, and then I stifled a cry as razor sharp blades stabbed through the skin of my knuckles, tearing the fabric of my fingerless gloves. My hands shook in pain as I tried not to scream, blood dripping from my clenched fingers. This had happened at least three times before, against my will.  Shoving my hands behind my back to hide the blades, I huddled behind the trash can, waiting in terror.  At least now I have weapons. I thought, trying to calm my pounding heart with my casual wit.

The pounding of footsteps approaching made me tense up, readying my hands, clenched into fists, bloody metal claws protruding from my knuckles like knives. Staying in the shadows so the sunlight wouldn't glimmer off of my blades, I waited. 

From my vantage point behind the trashcan, I could see the men tramping past.  Small pistols were nestled in many of their hands, but some carried tranquilizer guns and tasers. This was a full-on search party. 

After about seven more people passed me by, I couldn't hear anything else coming from the other way, and none of them looked like they were coming back to check the trash bin, so I slowly crept out of my hiding place. Looking both ways, I saw the coast was clear, and I ran.

I ran as fast and as hard as I could.  Bolting for the forest, I sprinted across the road.  A car honked at me, and I heard the screeching of tires braking, but I didn't stop until I was safely in the trees.  A gunshot was fired my direction, but I was already too far into the thick of the woods.

The trees were dense and the sunlight couldn't penetrate the canopy, scattering the shadows around the forest floor. With the noises of civilization behind me, I felt calmer than I'd been all day. Birds sang in the branches above me, and I could hear a stream running close by.

My blades were slowly retracting back into my skin, disappearing into my flesh, but I knew that they'd come back sooner or later. The sound of running water got louder, and I broke out of the trees into a small clearing.  A natural spring bubbled up from the ground.  I was parched, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, so I bent down over it and cupped my bloody hands together to get a drink.

As I took a sip, I heard a noise off to my left. My head snapped up and I got into a defensive stance. Then a branch broke in the same area. I could hear deep, ragged breaths. Orange eyes looked out at me from the underbrush  And then it snarled and leapt at me.

I dove out of the way as the wolf lunged. It slowly turned around and stumbled, as if it wasn't used to running on four legs. It saw me staring and snarled, drool dripping from its gums. I looked around frantically.  There had to be a tree I could climb, or something to fight it with.  My blades had gone at the WRONG TIME!  I slowly backed up, trying to get away from the angry animal.  That's when I noticed that it had a random tuft of blue fur on the top of its head.  It was such a strange color for a wild animal that I lost concentration for a couple seconds.  That's when it pounced.

It flew through the air so fast that it was a literal blur to my eyes. Ducking, I tried to get below it's swinging claws, but one of it's paws caught me in the back, tearing a long, red stripe into my flesh.  Screaming in pain, I staggered to the left, unbalanced. The wolf lunged again, relentless.  I dodged, spinning out of the way, tearing my wound.  I tried to run to the safety of the trees, but the wolf sprinted to cut me off, stumbling.  I could feel the blood running down my back, but the initial pain had already subsided, turning into a dull throbbing. 

Then I felt the telltale tingling in my fists.  I grinned, knowing that it would now be a fair fight.  With the adrenaline pumping through my body, I barely felt the pain of the blades stabbing through my skin.  The wolf's bright orange eyes seemed to widen in human fear as I smiled maniacally at it.  But it only lasted for a second before it bared its teeth again and its eyes went back to animal hatred.

I slashed my claws through the air, aiming for its head, but the wolf rolled out of the way, so I only grazed it's shoulder.  It backed away, growling.  I raised my fists, blades shining like knives from hell.  I took a step closer, and another.  Already, I could feel the blades retracting back into my knuckles.  If I was going to do any damage at all, and be able to escape these woods with my life, I needed to do some real damage, NOW.

I slowly pushed the angry animal closer to the edge of the spring.  It looked back at its rear paws, just long enough for me to strike.  My hands quivered.  Do it now, while you still can!  My blades were almost gone. I raised my hands up, ready to stab the wolf's cranium.

That's when it looked back. It's eyes were wide, fear and defiance apparent in every ounce of its body posture. But there was something strange about it's eyes. Where there should have been eyes that read "instinct" and "terror", but what I saw was the opposite.  Acceptance of its death, and almost...  respect. That's when I realized the true weirdness about this animal.  It's eyes were human, and aside from being bright orange, they were very lucid and bright.

I lowered my hands, unable to attack the wolf now.  My blades had disappeared into my flesh, gone. The wolf looked at me quizzically, confused at my change of heart. I walked out of the way, clearing a straight path the forest. 

The wolf took a tentative step, and another, his orange eyes never leaving mine, the uncanny blue tuft of fur on its head swaying gently. It slowly walked out of the clearing, the undergrowth swallowing up that strange wolf like ripples on a pond. 

Realizing that I had been holding my breath, I let it out, gasping in relief that I had survived.  But that was only the beginning of my problems. 

Without the adrenaline rush of the fight keeping me focused, I collapsed down onto my knees, crying out in pain as all of my wounds, numbed for the longest time, came back to stab me.  The scar on my back burned, and my knuckles screamed in pain from the puncture wounds.

Opening my eyes and screwing my mouth into a grimace, I knew I would have to stand somehow and get help. And not from a hospital.  I dragged myself over to the side of the spring and sat up, trying not to cry out again.  Dipping my quivering hands into the water, I tried to wash the blood off of my hands and my back, trying to see the extent of my wounds. I hissed in awe as I looked at the deep, red, jagged mess that the wolf had put in my back. 

"Man that wolf shreds."  I whisper to myself.

After I had cleaned myself up, I stood on shaking legs.  It still hurt, but I could walk, which was the only thing that mattered at the moment. Limping away from the water, I went back into the trees, in the opposite direction that the wolf had taken.  I slipped as I walked, realizing that the ground was coated in blood. It stuck to my feet and smelled like metallic throw up.

It occurred to me that if I could smell it this well, then other animals would have no problem finding me here, half dead and bleeding.

And my irony fails me again.

The next few seconds go by in slow motion. Forever to be replayed in my memory.

First, the bushes started to shake.  A loud snorting sound came from within them. Then it charged.  The bear's huge brown figure hurtled towards me, unstoppable. I was unable to move, paralyzed by fear and sheer exhaustion. I watched as it's black, bottomless eyes, pure animal, rushed towards me, ready to swallow me up.  Just like the black abyss that had been my home for so long. Time slowed down, letting me see every detail of the bear's short, scarred snout, and it's long, smooth claws flying at my head. 

Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, blood spurting from my forehead and down my cheek. I landed with a thud against a tree. My head swam, but I felt no pain. I faintly heard the furious roar of the bear as it came over to finish me off. One of my eyes went red as blood dripped down into it. I felt as tired as I had ever been. All sounds were muffled, as if I was underwater.  I was slowly nodding off into the dark abyss again, waiting for sleep to take me forever.  The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was gray and blue fur as it jumped in front of me, snarling at the beast. I heard furious barking and howling. I felt a paw step on my hand.

Then there was nothing.