Bassist and the Beast

Chapter 19: Attacked

Paul ran down the staircase that led to the main landing, only glancing at the candlestick and clock that rested in the middle of it.

He knew that George and Ringo must have noticed his absence and had gone looking for him, but right now, the bassist couldn't even think about what they had to say to him.

"Ay, ay, where art thou going!?" George shouted, Paul running past him so fast that all three of his candles were blown out.

"Come back! Please!" Ringo shouted, confused and frightened by the sight.

Paul ran onto the main staircase, not stopping once.

"I'm sorry, but, promise or no promise, I can't stay here anymore!"

Paul continued to run forward, not turning his head back to look at George or Ringo once as he got closer to the castle's main door.

In an instant, he swung it open, making the cold winter air rush in from outside. However, it didn't bother him.

The bassist let the door slam shut behind him as he ran out into the falling snow, thankful that he at least had a long-sleeved shirt on.

Snow crunched beneath his shoes as he ran a few feet away from the castle, but Paul was too focused an running away as far as he could to notice a small rock in front of him.

He tripped, falling face first into the snow as he let out a loud yelp.

Shivering, he slowly stood up, looking back at the castle.

Howl

A loud howl pierced through the silence, and Paul looked to his right, recognizing it as a wolf's howl.

Through the falling flakes, he barely saw one wolf in the distance, slowly walking towards him.

Paul knew that he must have awakened it from its nap, and he was sure that it wasn't just planning on scaring him away.

The bassist took a step back, eyes focused on the approaching animal until...

Crunch

The soft crunching of snow behind him made Paul freeze.

Slowly, he looked all around him, seeing that a pack of awakened wolves was now approaching him, all snarling and showing their sharp teeth.

Paul backed away towards the castle, the wolves all picking up their pace.

Once began to charge at him, making the bassist fall backwards.

He rolled in the snow, barely avoiding the charging wolf.

"AAAHHH!"

Another wolf charged forward and bit down on Paul's sleeve, barely missing his hand as it ripped the fabric off.

Paul scrambled back, only to hear the wolf that had tried to charge him approaching.

It pounced on him, and Paul brought his fist into its head, making it whine as it stood back and shook wildly.

Paul looked in front of him again, only to see that the rest of the wolves were right in front of him, all eyes boring at their new prey.

Paul covered his face with his arm and let out a scream.

A wolf lunged forward, but suddenly...

Smack

Whine

Crash

The beast watched as the wolf landed in the snow a few feet away, glaring at the rest that surrounded him and Paul.

The bassist looked up at him, surprised.

As another wolf lunged at the pair, the beast grabbed it with his paws, claws digging into its skin as he roared in its face.

He threw it against a nearby tree.

A wolf landed on the beast's back, claws digging into his skin under his fur.

The beast grabbed it, but he dropped it when it slashed his arm, exposing his skin that was now beginning to swell.

Staring at the remaining wolves, the beast stood up on two legs and roared, charging at them.

Paul watched as the beast and the three remaining wolves all fought against each other, the snow making it hard to see what was exactly happening.

After a minute, the beast fell in the snow in exhaustion, the wolves all running away in fright.

Slowly, Paul stood up and walked over to him, eyes widening as he saw the large cuts on his arm.

The beast, breathing heavily, noticed his gaze, and he covered the cuts with his paw.

Paul calmly placing his hand on his back, thinking about what he should do.

"I... I know how to treat that."