ensured I wasn’t hurt, but the fall still knocked the wind right out of me.
I found myself fighting to take a breath as I focused on the canopy of the pine trees above me, covered with snow. Snowflakes danced through the air, catching the moonlight and looking like miniature doilies as they caressed the wind and landed on my face. Still, I couldn’t seem to take a breath.
What I could do, however, was listen to the sounds of heavy breathing, splashing water, growling and gnashing teeth.
Alex…
He was in trouble. I was more than sure of that. But where the hell was my gun? I glanced to my right and then my left. I spotted the butt sticking out of the snow maybe five feet or so from me. I opened my mouth and forced myself to inhale, even though my lungs burned like SOBs. I was dizzy, but I pulled myself into a sitting position, my back against the pine tree behind me. I exhaled and then inhaled again, allowing the oxygen to flood my lungs and reinvigorate me. Once I was able to push away from the tree, I crawled forward and reached out, grasping the gun and yanking it out of the snow.
The sound of assault suddenly met my ears. Even though I couldn’t make out much in the darkness, owing to the coverage of the trees, which didn’t allow for much moonlight to filter through, I was convinced the wolf was attacking Alex. And I had to imagine a human wouldn’t fare well against a wolf.
That is, if Alex is really human. The thought suddenly occurred to me. I mean, he hardly touched you but sent you flying through the air! Then there was that bit about him breaking through metal handcuffs like they were made out of paper. Oh, and he can also read your mind…
So, yeah, probably not human.
So what the hell is he?
Wow, was I really going down this rabbit hole?
Hmm… looked like it.
I blinked a few times, trying to see better in the darkness. I got onto my hands and knees, taking deep, stabilizing breaths. Once I was able to, I attempted to stand but was unsuccessful. Instead, I holstered my gun and crawled toward the bank of the creek. When I looked up, I nearly fell over. There, standing right in front of me, as in maybe a foot or so from my feet, was the wolf that Alex and I had spotted in the middle of the creek. It was drenched, a pool of water forming beneath it.
But I couldn’t say my attention was focused on the water dripping off its mottled fur. Instead, I couldn’t help but notice how its snout appeared to be missing its lips, its canines on gross display. Its eyes seemed much wider and larger than a wolf’s should be, almost like it was missing its eyelids. And I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like part of its cranium was peeking through the blotchy patches of fur atop its head.
I felt my heartbeat thundering against my ribs as I brought my gaze to the wolf’s chest and noticed how jagged and toothed its fur appeared, almost as if it were covering multiple broken ribs. I swallowed hard.
Then I swallowed harder.
Could it be…
I didn’t have a chance to further consider whether this wolf was really my missing John Doe corpse come back to canine life because it leapt at me. I didn’t know how I did it, but I managed to pull my gun free before thrusting it in front of me. Then I fired. The wolf yipped and seemed momentarily stunned, but then it growled at me again, seemingly unfazed by the bullet that had to have hit it square in the chest.
I crab-walked backward, up the snow-covered bank and the wolf followed me, saliva dripping from its mouth. It opened its mouth slightly and I suddenly caught sight of its tongue, which was mostly… gone. It was limping. I fought to catch my breath as I brought the gun up again, this time thinking I should aim for its head.
But a second or so later, Alex was suddenly on top of it. He was still only clothed from the waist down, but that didn’t seem to interfere with his grappling moves. He grabbed the thing’s snout, holding its jaw together, apparently, so it couldn’t bite him, and then he began dragging it back toward the water. As he did so, I realized how immense the