The Valiant Wolf’s Diaries, Book 7: The Missing Animals

by Mark Mulle

work because this stadium is taking a lot of my time, but once I finish it, it shall be the biggest stadium of this region!”

  Steve went back to work and we talked about his projects.

  - “Steve is always so busy… He is quite an interesting human.” I said.

  - “Sure is! A great person.” Oopa said.

  We protected the area for Steve while he worked, but as usual we didn’t find any monsters during the day.

  Day 6

  Steve went back to work again and we patrolled the area.

  - “Woah, this stadium is gonna be huge!” Oopa said.

  - “Yup, Steve is not joking when he said this will be the biggest one in this region.” I said.

  - “What does he mean with the biggest stadium of the area?” Elly asked.

  - “Huh, maybe it’s going to be the biggest of all stadiums built in this area, including other cities.” I said.

  - “Other cities? Are there other human cities nearby?” Susi asked.

  - “Probably. We’ve not visited the cities but Steve knows where they are located.” I said. “We’ve only visited villages and such.”

  - “So those cities are stuffed with humans and such?” Susi said.

  - “Probably. Humans are everywhere.” I said.

  - “Interesting.” Susi said.

  - “And the wolves?” Elly said.

  - “Wolves? What about them?” I said.

  - “Where are they? If the cities are full of humans, then how come we’ve never seen them? Or any wolves other than us?” Elly asked me.

  - “Hmm, you’re right… I haven’t seen any new wolves in a long time.” I said.

  - “That’s weird. Wolves live in forests, so we should’ve spotted one in the last year.” Oopa said.

  - “Exactly, where are they?” Elly asked again.

  -“ I have no idea, Elly… But that’s a good question. Perhaps we should look for them, see if we can spot any wolf packs.” I said.

  - “Good one! Let’s see if we can find new wolves.” Oopa said.

  Day 7

  We went out to search for other wolves, just Oopa and me. We didn’t want to make Steve into thinking that all wolves had abandoned him.

  - “Where should we begin?” Oopa said.

  - “Let’s just head north and see what we can gather.” I said.

  We walked straight North and searched the forests and deserts of that area. No signal of any wolf.

  - “Perhaps they’re even further?” Oopa said.

  - “Perhaps but we cannot continue farther. We are already far from home. Let’s go back.” I said.

  By the time we got home, it was almost dark.

  - “How was it?” Elly asked us.

  - “We didn’t find anything.” I said.

  - “They’re not there! But we should search farther if we want to find them.” Oopa said.

  - “Are you sure? Should we really go even deeper into the forests to search for wolves?” Elly asked.

  - “I don’t know, honey. But I am very curious to know where they are.” Oopa said. “The last time I found a wolf in the wild, was when Boris came to visit Steve and I for the very first time.”

  - “You’re right, Oopa… I don’t recall seeing any other wild wolves after that.” Boris said. “What could have happened to the wolf population in this world?”

  - “That’s my doubt, too. I would like to know if they’re living somewhere else, and for what reason.” Oopa said.

  - “Alright you two, let’s not get too excited here. Don’t go out exploring the world like you’re young wolves, like Tasha and Lobo. Wait up and think about it.” Susi said.

  - “You’re right Susi; we shouldn’t be wandering around all by ourselves. Let’s stay at home and decide what to do.” I said.

  Day 8

  Our search yesterday had made me wonder… Where were the rest of the wolves from the world? We haven’t seen new faces in over a year! This can’t be normal. They must be somewhere else, living in different places. But why, where, and how?

  I can’t help but think something happened to scare the wild wolves away and us, as Steve’s tamed pets, managed to get by because we have him to protect us. Too bad we can’t talk with humans, because we could ask him for help.

  But we are on our own here, and we must take our own decisions. It is really strange how the lack of wolves in this world has been apparent, and we don’t know what could have caused it. How are we supposed to find out?

  Today, we decided to stay around here and wait. Going out to search for wolves could be a waste of time, and this is not what we are here for. If the opportunity arises, we might search for them.

  Day 9

  Today, we realized something new: not only were the wolves went missing, but all other animals too… Cows, Sheeps, Pigs, even Horses. We haven’t seen them in a long time, and Steve has thought about it too. In fact, Steve was the one who realized the fact first.

  - “Phew, my stadium is almost done! What do you guys think?” He looked at us.

  The stadium was almost complete; it was Steve’s biggest work.

  - “Well, I’ll go grab some bread to eat. Do you want some bones too?” And Steve fed us with the bones, mostly from our victory over the monster hordes many months ago.

  - “You know, I haven’t seen any cows in a long time… I really miss drinking milk. Have you seen one around?” Steve asked us. And we realized that wolves were not the only wild creatures which disappeared from the area.

  - “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen any sheep or pigs either… Where could they be?” Steve said.

  - “Steve is right… All wild animals are gone!” I said.

  - “They must’ve disappeared shortly after the battles.” Oopa said.

  - “But why?” Elly asked.

  - “That’s something we don’t know yet. Perhaps Steve could help us find out where the wild animals are?” I said.

  - “I hope he does. If we have Steve with us for a new journey searching for wolves, our chances of finding them are much higher.” Oopa said.

  - “You’re right. Let’s wait for him to finish building the stadium and see what he does next.” I said.

  Day 10

  The stadium was almost over. Steve just has to finish some columns and other small details here and there. We wanted to know if he was willing to search for the wild animals after his project, but Steve didn’t demonstrate any interest in such subject.

  - “Ah, the work of my life is almost done! I can feel it.” Steve said.

  - “Really impressive. Only humans are capable of building things this big.” Oopa said.

  - “True. I wish we had the same skills as them.” I said.

  - “Can you imagine that? We could build our own structures, houses… even traps for those pesky monsters!” Oopa said.

  - “Now, now Oopa. Stop daydreaming.” Elly said.

  - “What, honey? Can’t a wolf just dream for a minute?” Oopa said.

  - “Maybe you can, but that dream will never come true.” Susi said. “Anyway, how’s the project going?”

  - “Steve is almost done.” I said. “Afterwards, we will wait for his next move. He has finished building many structures in the past months. We can only hope he chooses to go on a new journey to find the wild animals instead of getting into another project.”

  - “I agree. I really want to know what happened to the wild wolves. Where are they after all?” Oopa said.

  Day 11

  Steve finally finished his latest project, the stadium.

  - “At last! My biggest work is done.” Steve announced. “What a beauty!”

  - “This thing sure is huge. Steve’s hard work really paid off!” I said.

  - “You’re absolutely right. What a magnificent work!” Oopa said.

  - “Gosh, I feel super tired, but also happy to accomplish this amazing feat.” Steve said. “I should invite other humans to come visit this stadium now…”

  Steve took the da
y off to rest and recover his energy. Later that night, he came outside while we were guarding the stadium from the few monsters that came by.

  - “This thing looks even better at night.” Steve said. “Oh well, time to think of my next project.”

  - “Oh, no… He will take on another project now!” Oopa said.

  - “There’s nothing we can do if Steve decides to do another project. We can only hope he listens to our request.”

  - “Well, or maybe we could go out and find those wild animals. What do you think?” Steve looked at us.

  We waved our tails and licked him.

  - “Woah, easy boys! You two are so happy now out of a sudden. Do you want to go out on a new journey, too? I’ve been thinking about that for a while… I think it’s time to go on a new adventure.”

  - “That’s exactly what I thought. Sometimes, I feel like Steve reads my mind!” Oopa said.

  - “Yep, he’s very smart. I knew he would be into a new journey, too.” I said.

  Steve went back to the house and we told Elly and Susi what happened.

  - “Seriously? So we’re going out again?” Elly said.

  - “Yes, isn’t that great?” Oopa said.

  - “Sure, but… If we knew this would happen, maybe we could have asked the kids to wait…” Elly said.

  - “Elly is right. If only we had told Lobo and Tasha to stay here… They would be on a new journey with us.” Susi said.

  - “Come on Susi, don’t be sad.” I said. “I know our kids are somewhere safe, and are having a great time. It’s not just an adventure, it is THEIR adventure. Let them enjoy their own journey, and we will go on a new one by ourselves.”

  - “Okay… I guess.” Susi said.

  - “This will be a good change of pace for all of us. We deserve it!” Oopa said.

  Day 12

  We don’t know what Steve has in mind, but maybe he wants the same as we do – to find