by Rosaria, A.
“Wolves? Really? Wolves?” Priss uttered a jittery nervous laugh. “This can’t be happening to us.”
Sarah didn’t state the obvious. Wolves were hunting them. And it was for real. She drew her knife. No matter the small chance of survival, she wasn’t about to die by a wolf after having survived an enhanced zombie.
Spacey lit his torch and held it close to himself. “Slow down.”
Sarah and Priss decreased their pace to a trot.
“Slower.”
“Is he for real?” Priss said. “Wolves are chasing us.”
“Show no fear.”
“Are we going to listen to him? We should run.”
Sarah wasn’t sure about anything. “We should do as he says.” Sarah slowed to a walk.
Priss shook her head. “I’m going to make a dash for it.”
“Do that and you will die,” Spacey said. “Stay close. Closer.”
They huddled together.
“Little girl, put some confidence in your walk and stop whimpering.” Spacey stamped his feet, puffed up his chest, and made noise as he stomped his feet. Sarah glimpsed wolves on both their sides stalking them. Shaggy gray beasts, twice the size of a normal dog, with ten times bigger teeth, better to devour with. Before the zombies walked the earth, she used to read for pleasure. A survival manual described it being a fatal mistake to show fear to predators. She followed Spacey’s example and energized her walk.
Sarah read the fear all over Priss. She sniffed the air. The girl reeked with it. The wolves would certainly notice the stink of fear. Sarah shouted a warning as the largest wolf charged for Priss. She grabbed the girl by the arm to stop her from fleeing. Using all her attention and strength to keep the girl at bay, she watched powerless as the wolf came in fast. Spacey jumped between them and the wolf, swinging his torch and cursing. Growling, canines bared, the wolf slunk away from the fire.
“Show fear and you’ll die, little girl. Flee and you will get torn apart.”
Sarah held Priss tight. She felt the girl tremble in her arms. “Priss, you can do this. You’ve faced worse before.”
Priss steadied herself and put on a brave face, but she wasn’t fooling anyone, and especially not Sarah. She hoped it was at least enough to make the wolves second-guess. Sarah counted the wolves. Six. It would be tough going.
Spacey pulled Priss between them. “Keep her covered. They smell her weakness.”
“I’m not weak,” Priss snarled at Spacey. “Tell him I’m not weak.”
Sarah wanted to, but the truth was Priss at this moment was their weakest link. Sure, the girl proved herself well in a fight against zombies, but zombies didn’t care if you feared them or not; they were all about equal opportunity when attacking. Meanwhile, living predators were all about the easy prey.
The wolves prowled their flanks, looking for an opening. Sarah and Spacey made as much noise as possible. Each wolf who dared get closer, Spacey challenged them with the torch. They managed to keep them at bay, but the torch wasn’t enough of a threat to make them disengage.
“We can’t keep this up for much longer,” Sarah said.
“Yes we can!” Spacey clamored as he stamped in the direction of a wolf who got too close. “We can and we will!” Spacey torched the wolf’s tail as it turned away to flee. The wolf yipped and yapped as it shot away, its tail scorched.
Eaten by goddamn wolves. Sarah rejected the idea, but as much as she might want to deny it, it might become her reality. They managed one more mile with a few close calls. Priss grew more jittery by the minute and Spacey more frantic. The old man was almost frothing out of his mouth. Sarah admitted to herself that he stood a better chance alone against the wolves. Why didn’t he go his own way? Without him, she doubted they would be doing this well. She huffed. Well? If this was well compared to how they’d be on their own, she didn’t want to think about the alternative.
They were hoping for an opportunity to escape the wolves. Anything. Sarah swung her knife at a wolf that pounced at her. It deftly whirled away and rounded back, snarling at her. Sarah exposed her own teeth and spat curses at the wolves. The wolf slunk away. Spacey stepped up to another one who tried to rush in. As he did, a third wolf detected an opening and bolted for Priss. Priss panicked and threw her hammer at the wolf. Astonished, Sarah followed the hammer’s midair twirl that ended square on the wolf’s head. It crashed down limp to the ground, sliding a few feet with its momentum before stopping dead still. Sarah whooped. Priss sneered. Her fear vanished like butter under a hot sun. “I did it. I killed it.” She picked up her hammer and stood triumphantly over the dead wolf.
“Shit,” Spacey said worriedly. “You now made it personal.” He grabbed Priss and pulled her back.
The wolves gathered around their fallen comrade. The big, shaggy gray wolf sniffed at the corpse. Spacey looked wildly around. He tapped Sarah’s shoulder and pointed at a boulder. “Take the little one over there, fast.”
“What about fleeing making us a target?”
“Too late for that now. Run!”
The large wolf growled deep from within its chest, its hairs raised as it lowered its head and gave Priss the evil stare. The pack joined in. Sarah grabbed Priss’s wrist and yanked her into a sprint. The wolves launched after them. Sarah glanced back. Spacey stepped up to the wolves, waving the torch. The fire grazed fur. The wolves recoiled away and fanned out. Spacey backed away, swinging the torch and bellowing at the wolves. Sarah sprinted for the boulder. She waved Priss to go first. She glanced over her shoulder. Spacey was keeping the wolves at bay.
Sarah pushed Priss’s butt, helping the girl up on the boulder. She risked another glance behind her. Spacey got nearer but not by much. The wolves snarled and snapped at him as he backed away. If they managed to surround him, it would be over for him. Every time he scorched one, another one filled the gap and got closer.
“Stay on top,” Sarah said.
Priss stared at her wide-eyed. “No, you can’t do that.”
“I have to help him.”
“You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Stay. And no, I won’t.”
Sarah jumped, landed lightly on her feet, her knees bent, and she rolled into a crouch. She picked up a fist-sized rock, jumped up, and charged toward Spacey. She threw the rock at a wolf who managed to sneak behind Spacey and was about to pounce on him. The rock smashed against the wolf’s side. It yelped and backed away. Sarah looked for another rock, found a smaller one, and threw it at another wolf. The wolf skipped aside, avoiding the rock. She reached Spacey. The old man swung his torch from side to side. The wolves shied away, afraid of the fire and smoke coming from it. One dashed sideways, jumped back from the torch, and flung forward at an opening. Sarah’s boot hit it hard. The wolf snapped and buried its teeth into her leg. She screamed as the pain hit. Before it could wrench and render her leg open, Spacey’s torch jabbed its side, scorching the wolf’s hair and sending it yelping away. The other wolves backed off a little.
She limped to his side and pressed her back to his. He swayed the torch, fending off the wolves circling them. A wolf homed in on her. Swinging her knife wouldn’t do. She cried out in pain as she kicked the wolf’s snout. It yipped away. She gritted her teeth as pain ran through her wounded leg. Snarling fur surrounded them, looking for an opening to dive in and tear meat. They couldn’t hold this for long. Slowly they backed away to the boulder, backs tight together, eyes watchful. Priss yelled for them to hurry. The growling, yipping, the whoosh of the fire as Spacey swung the torch, her feet plodding on dirt, leaves, and branches, it all pressed on her nerves. The pain and her bouncing heart made her eardrums whistle. Kicking in agony, and Spacey burning fur, they made it to the boulder in one piece. She felt tiny hands grab her shoulder. Big-eyed Priss implored her to climb up. The girl’s eyes darted from Sarah to the wolves, and despite the terror, she stayed put to help Sarah. Spacey signaled Sarah to go first. With a hurting leg, her senses about to overload, and her body trembling w
ith effort, she hoisted herself up, wondering not for the first time what she had gotten herself into. Priss helped her settle on top of the boulder. Down on the ground, Spacey bellowed a challenge. He kicked an approaching wolf in its snout. Scorched another one. Skipped aside from a rake and snap. He threw the torch at a wolf charging in. It slunk away with a growl.
Deftly, Spacey whirled around and clambered the rock like a young, agile monkey. He was on top before Sarah could settle herself. The wolves leaped after him, nails clawing the cold stone, but they couldn’t get any purchase and slid back down. The wolves circled the rock, trying to find a way up and failing to. Being smart animals, they knew they only had to bide their time waiting out a cornered and wounded prey.
“And now what?” Priss cried out. “We are stuck here. We should have gone to the town instead.”
Sarah grumbled. They’d already covered a greater distance than if they would have stayed on the road to town. And with all these wolves surrounding them masking their scent, the enhanced might not even find them. Sarah groaned. As if it was ever that easy. Spacey, sitting in a relaxed pose on the boulder, started whistling a happy tune. Sarah wished she could stay joyful like that with two-hundred-pound predators circling her, ready to devour her at the first chance they got. Her leg was itching and hurting. She was going nowhere anytime soon. She inspected the wound: punctured, bleeding, but at least not torn open. Priss joined her, pressed against her, and Sarah placed an arm around her.
“We’ll get out of this,” Sarah said while she viewed the sunset. “Somehow we will turn out okay.”
She felt like such a liar.
CHAPTER FOUR
The big, shaggy alpha wolf howled at the rising moon—a beautiful song she’d enjoy if not for the meaning behind it. The other wolves joined in. The howls rose to the sky, answered by many others from all around in the far distance.
“Great,” Priss said, “more wolves, just what we needed.”
Sarah’s leg still hurt, but at least it had stopped bleeding. Luckily, as far you could call it luck, the bite was shallow after all. That fact didn’t make her situation any more comfortable. Four wolves surrounded them, and going from the howls, more would soon join in.
“Hey, Spacey, if you plan to make a move, now’s the time.”
Spacey chuckled and ignored Sarah.
“Spacey!”
“Saraaah,” Priss whined, “can’t you for once be polite?”
Sarah rolled her eyes. She wasn’t the one who insisted on going their own way and leaving the old man behind. She sighed. But, again, Priss was right. She was being a bitch, making up names again for people.
“He won’t tell me his name. I have to call him something.”
“Don’t be like that, we are in deep shit already, so stop adding more to the pile. It stinks.”
Sarah scowled at Priss. She remembered not so long ago having befriended a nice, shy girl. Where had she gone to now?
“Hey, what’s your real name?”
Spacey chuckled. “No, not telling you. They stole everything else from me. Not my name. Not to you, not to anyone.” He pointed at the wolves. “And not to them!”
Sarah eyed Priss knowingly. “You want to give it a try?”
“But what are we going to do?”
Good question. Sarah didn’t have a clue. And lost marbles over there didn’t either.
“We stay.”
“And do what? Wait for the enhanced to get to us?”
“Spacey!”
The old man was mumbling while staring at the wolves. They had at most an hour of daytime left. Sort of. The moon was up and the sun cradled the horizon. An hour was very optimistic. More like thirty minutes. “Hey, sir.”
The old man glanced up.
“What’s the plan?”
He beamed. “We are near my hometown.”
Sarah surveyed the area and discovered only trees and wolves. “Where?”
The old man swung his hand out. “A short distance that way.”
Sarah cursed. If they only had managed to keep the wolves back for another ten minutes, they could have made it. “Can we make a run for it?”
The old man barked a laugh. “You can try, but you will die.” He peered at her leg. “They’ll sniff you up and tear you apart. You will be the first to go.”
“We should split up,” Priss said.
The old man nodded. “We should. You annoying girls go one way and I the other way.”
Sarah frowned. That would mean they would be the slow-moving decoy while he would get away easily. He eyed her gleefully and laughed while shaking his head. “No. We don’t split up. We wait.” He said this in a calm, serious tone.
Sarah drew back into her thoughts, suffering the weight of their situation. Choices. The ones they had made had led them to this place. If this was their only right choice, she wondered how bad the wrong ones would have turned out to be. Sarah shuddered. Priss hugged closer to her. “You’re feeling the chill too?”
“Yeah, sorta. I’m afraid we’ll have to stay the night. Maybe at dawn they’ll give up and leave us be.”
“No, they won’t,” Spacey said, “it’s personal to them.”
“Come on,” Sarah yelled. “They are animals.”
“Pack animals. The little one killed one of theirs, so they won’t give up till they’ve had their fill.”
One by one, wolves joined the pack. By now, nine circled the large boulder. A wolf darted fast out of a copse of trees as if chased. The others stopped their prowl, their noses up, sniffing. They started moving agitated among each other. A moan came from the shadows between the trees. Another moan joined the first one, followed by another, and another. It kept going until it became a steady drone. The wolves bared their canines and started growling. Sarah felt Priss tense next to her. Spacey jumped up, barking laughter, pointing at the trees.
Sarah counted about twenty zombies lurching closer. The wolves snarled at the incoming horde. Zombies being zombies, they ignored the exposed teeth and growls and kept advancing. The wolves scattered when the horde reached them, snapping their teeth at heels and legs to no effect.
Spacey jumped from the rock and sprinted the opposite way.
“Bastard!” Sarah pulled Priss up and pushed her off the boulder. Priss dropped, arms twirling in the air, and rolled as she hit the ground. Sarah followed. She screamed when she landed. Her leg burned with pain. She gritted her teeth and followed Priss, chasing after Spacey. Sarah heard the snarls and yipping growing frenzied, as did the moans. The herd advanced, the pack fought back, and from the cries of pain and terror, the pack got devoured. Sarah didn’t glance over her shoulder. She kept running despite the pain going up and down her wounded leg.
They were not safe by a long shot, only having traded one problem for another, and some additional time. In the dark, they had no way to go far. And out in the open with zombies about and with an enhanced gunning for them, they would not fare better. With no shelter, they were as good as dead meat. Sarah huffed. Yeah, right. Dead meat walking. She started laughing like crazy. From the way Priss glanced over at her, she must think she was exactly that, crazy. And maybe she was. This was all getting way too much to bear and stay sane. Sarah choked her laughter and stopped in her tracks together with Priss.
“He wasn’t bullshitting us,” Priss said.
No, he wasn’t. A little way up the base of the mountain in the middle of nowhere, they found the town. One long street lined with little quaint shops, surrounded by about a hundred houses. Spacey entered a pub and almost immediately backed out. The street was empty. No parked cars. No humans. No dogs, cats, or zombies. The place was completely deserted and untouched.
“They took them all,” Spacey bellowed, the base of his neck reddening. “I told them not to believe the spin. Now they are gone.”
Sarah approached the old man. “Who is gone?”
“They,” he snarled at her. “They are all gone. I called them. Told them to stay. To wait.”
He laughed hysterically. “Always talking about space. Damn them for wanting to go to space. They took it all.” He pivoted around, arms outstretched, taking it all in. “Everyone, everything I cared about. Gone. They didn’t want to listen. They never do, thick-headed bastards.”
Sarah didn’t know where to look when the old man started weeping. Priss nudged her. Sarah shot her a bewildered stare.
“He’s your friend, say something.”
Sarah placed her hand on a bulging shoulder. She could feel his muscle tense with each sob. “Ah, Spa…sir? I’m sorry about everything, but we need to leave, like right now?”
Red eyes locked onto hers. “Follow me,” he whispered.
Spacey retreated from the pub and went down the street, leaving the wooden shops behind them. Sarah took a mental note of which shops to visit later, alive preferably, and not slumbering around cold without a heartbeat. Every shop was an untouched goldmine she was itching to lay claim to.
The old man stopped at the sheriff’s station, the only concrete building in town. Metal sheets barred the windows. He tried the doors. Locked. They strolled around to the back. The parking lot was empty and the back door locked tight. The perfect shelter. No zombie could get in, and neither could they without a key. She followed the old man back to the street. By now he wore a petulant gaze on his face. They wandered for minutes before Spacey stopped to observe a few houses. He picked a small townhouse with a brick base and wooden upper level.
Sarah observed the front door and wondered how to enter. The door was sturdy-looking and locked shut. Shutters barred the ground-floor windows. With a little effort, they could pry them open, but she doubted they had the time to do so. The zombies they left behind in the forest must have picked up their scent by now and soon they would find their way here. Without shelter to hide in before dark, they stood no chance.
The old man stepped back and peered up. The upstairs windows were plain glass. Spacey grabbed Priss’s hammer from her belt; ignoring Priss’s protest, he pushed it at Sarah. Sarah grabbed it. He pointed up. He intertwined his fingers palm up and waited. With his six feet and her not too shabby length, she might reach the window. This could actually work. She placed her feet in his hands, he hoisted her up, and she climbed on his shoulder. She stretched the hammer out for the windows. With the little purchase she had, she swung the hammer. Priss screamed and scampered out of the way as glass rained down, shattering on the pavement. Sarah raked the hammerhead against the windowsill, making sure no sharp edges remained. She dropped the hammer, causing another yelp from Priss. Stretching her arms out, she realized she lacked about two inches. She stood on her toes, wobbling on Spacey’s shoulders. Her fingertips felt for the windowsill, but could not grab enough of it to raise herself up. Sarah cursed. “I can’t reach it.”
