by Dean Murray
Part of me kept expecting Brandon to come running towards me from the direction of the party. He'd apologize, and explain how he'd wanted to stop Cassie, but he'd been too stunned by what she was doing.
Even the delusional part of my brain that was trying to come up with a way to be rescued couldn't create a plausible scenario from there on. The look he'd given me at the end hadn't been that kind of shocked gaze.
Cassie's threat was too vivid. Instead of curling up on the ground where I'd fallen, I pulled myself back up and continued to stumble along in the direction I thought would eventually get me back to the road.
The washed-out landscape mocked me as I realized just how alone I was. Rachel didn't like me anymore, she'd never forgive me. I'd managed to alienate everyone from Alec's group, and now Brandon had tossed me aside like so much trash.
It was too much. I collapsed onto all fours, hardly noticing the burning pain from my damaged palms, and let the racking sobs take over.
I probably would've stayed there all night if not for the howling. It'd been going for several seconds before it pulled me back from the mental abyss I'd been so eagerly approaching.
I looked around blankly for several more heartbeats before I finally managed to place the noise. Wolves. There weren't supposed to be any wolves in the area, but there wasn't any ignoring my ears.
I numbly pulled myself back up, and began stumbling back towards the party, only to stop as another howl echoed down through the canyon.
It was between me and everyone else. I turned and started into a shuffling run. Maybe the wolf would be attracted to the noise and light. Maybe I'd be able to get far enough away it wouldn't smell me.
I'd only been moving for about a minute before another howl sent chills running down my spine. It sounded like a different wolf, and it was closer than the first one. I tried to run faster, but all that time studiously avoiding exercise was working against me. I topped a slight rise and then tripped as the ground wasn't where I expected it to be.
My jacket saved me from picking up any really serious scrapes this time, but just before I finished tumbling to a stop I slammed my head into a crescent-shaped rock. My vision swam in and out of focus, but I struggled to my feet, only to nearly fall again as my right ankle all but collapsed under me.
They were definitely closer now. They'd stopped howling, but I could still hear them.
I somehow found myself on my back again, looking up at the biggest wolf I'd ever seen. TV had given me the impression that a wolf shouldn't be much bigger than a German Shepherd. These guys were roughly the size of a small pony, one nearly black, the other more of a gray color, both with yellowish eyes, and lips pulled back to show teeth the size of my fingers.
Most of my jeans had been torn away from my right calf, which was bleeding fairly profusely, but I didn't feel any pain. It was like my mind had finally torn loose from the moorings that usually held it in contact with reality. I was going to die, ripped to shreds by the same impossible animals that had killed the hikers a few months ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.
Nobody would even miss me.
The black wolf was inching towards me now, growling low in its throat. I could see its haunches tense up, and then it was airborne, hurtling towards me almost faster than I could follow.
Only it didn't hit me. A patch of night had interposed itself between me and the wolf. My vision still wasn't up to making out fine details, and everything was moving too quickly to follow. The growling seemed to be in three parts now, which didn't make any sense because the patch of night was vaguely man-shaped, if impossibly big.
There was a yelp as one of the wolves was tossed into the side of the canyon with enough force that I could feel it from where I was lying. A shower of sparks lit up the night as the second wolf dodged away from my defender, and then impossibly the first wolf was back and darting in as I heard jaws snap shut on something.
The black shadow staggered back, nearly falling under the combined weight of its two opponents. A second later another yelp was cut short as one of the wolves fell away to lie motionless on the ground.
My head was throbbing so bad I blacked out for a moment, and missed the end of the fight. When I opened my eyes back up, the indistinct shadow was moving smoothly towards me. I opened my mouth to thank him, and then felt as though my world had been pulled out from underneath me.
The shadow went from my savior to a nightmarish being. It was easily eight feet tall, covered in thick fur, and had bloody claws as long as my hands tipping the ends of its fingers.
My vision was still swimming enough that I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. Even so, there was no way to ignore the bloodstained mouth as it got closer. I had a moment to realize I was still going to die all alone, and then the blackness came for me.
