"His fingers scraped like frostbite against your skin, frigid and chilling. You were almost tempted to look and see if the places he touched had gone black and blue."
༶☆
The unshakable feel of adventure always wracked through your bones as though yo...
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august 18, 2004. evening.
Amusingly enough, Mike Newton was almost on the dot with his rumor in the cafeteria.
Too bad for you and him, it just had to be a giant wolf instead of a bear.
You'd almost prefer the latter if you were entirely honest. The beast of a wolf's shoulders were taller than Charlie, even when he didn't slouch. It's what scared you most, you think.
It was rare when something made your heart stop. You were brave, debatably even stupid, in moments like these, but it's how you survived.
When child-you wandered into the forest, accidentally finding a bear cub, or when you would realize too late that the bug you were holding was far from harmless, your heart would never stop pounding in your chest, beating like a drum against your ribcage. Adrenaline would fuel your thoughts and body, pushing you to just do something.
In moments like these, it was rare when fear could paralyze you.
And yet, when it growled, your heart fell silent.
The beast was massive, standing taller than all of you, and dark in its coat. Its amber eyes scanned all three of you before landing on Emily. It halted, standing stock still with its muscles bunched tightly under their fur.
Emily trembled, small noises leaving her mouth as it pinned her down with its eyes.
Much too slow for your liking, your brain unthawed, and you whispered lowly. "Emily, don't look away."
When you were little, Charlie was thorough in his threats and warnings about the dangers of the forest. Bears and other more common animals were the things he lectured about the most, but never were his warnings about wolf attacks meager. He had even given you books on the forest and what types of creatures and life you'd find in it.
As a child, it was just fascination, something that would never happen to you, but as you grew older, you understood everything in those books could be potentially life-saving.
You were very glad you re-read them later on.
Leah is shaking like a leaf behind you, Emily is borderline sobbing, and your bag weighs heavy on your shoulders. You know what you have to do. It's stupid and it's risking far too much, but you couldn't think of anything better.
"When I say so, we're going to run, alright? When that happens we have to stick together." You don't take your eyes off the wolf as you explain, watching as it sets its sight on you. "Before we do that we have to get as far away as we can, but slowly." Out of the corner of your eye, you see Leah nod and you feel beads of sweat drip down your back.
You took the first step, one foot behind the other, and the beast's eyes shot to you in an instant. Both Leah and Emily freeze, a grimace making way on your face.
