Prey (A short novel)

Part 5 of 5 "One Eyed Wolf"

I swung my sword angrily to cut through bushes and tall grass that blocked my path. There was no signs of any of the wolf's footprints or trails of blood. The paths I had taken were cluttered and showed no signs of a huge wolf recently crossing the area. I was certain that I'd lost them.

It had been at least twenty minutes since I'd went looking for Prey and the wolf. But it felt more like hours. As each second dragged on, I felt more uneasy and my hope slowly dwindled away.

How could I have let the wolf take Prey on my watch? How could I have ever even turned my back on it? I was lucky that I hadn't been killed by it, but now I felt like I was better off dead.

I tried searching for them quietly during the first few minutes, but now I didn't care what animal I ran into. I was so frustrated that I wanted to find something. Anything to take my anger out on.

As I stepped through another cluster of low hanging tree limbs I came to a stop. My heart sank as I recognized an object on the ground ahead of me.

It was Prey's black shoe, soaked in blood and lying in a small puddle of it. I was too afraid to examine it more closely. Afraid that maybe her foot had been severed from her leg.

As my heart began pounding, I looked up from the shoe and spotted the big one eyed wolf. It was walking around slowly in a big open area, sniffing at leaves with a bit of disinterest. It didn't seem to know I was around yet. I quickly scanned the area around it but Prey was nowhere to be seen.

I trembled with rage and gripped my sword tightly. I growled and ran toward the wolf, ready to attack.

The wolf turned around quickly and I leaped high into the air. I could see dried blood around the wolf's lips and nose. Had he fed on Prey's corpse?

As I came down I slashed my sword down the wolf's snout. Blood slowly welled in the wound but didn't come gushing out. Maybe the cut wasn't deep enough. But I used a lot of force.

The wolf growled angrily and took a step toward me. I raised my sword angrily in return and spread my feet for a wider stance.

"What did you do to her?" I growled through gritted teeth.

The wolf lurched forward with its fangs bared and paws outstretched. I swung my sword and it connected with the wolf's paws.

The weight and momentum of the force rattled my arms, causing me to stumble back. It quickly attacked again and I rolled to the right.

I rolled into a crouch as it was already coming at me again. I slashed its paws as I rolled to the left this time.

I got into a crouch and saw the wolf facing me again. I slashed my sword across its chest and opened another thin wound.

The wolf leaped at me and I sidestepped it. But its right paw connected with my right shoulder and sent me spinning to the ground.

I used the momentum to roll to my feet and crouched low again. Blood trickled from a cut on my shoulder but I ignored it. I had to make sure I didn't end up on my back like the other time. That was important.

The wolf narrowed its eyes and crouched very low as if preparing to leap at me again. I crouched even lower, sword gripped in both hands as I waited for it to make a move.

Its head was now level with my body. Maybe I could get my sword at the right angle to stab its other eye. Then it'd have to depend on its nose to keep up with me. But even with that, I didn't plan on leaving. I was going to take this wolf out or die trying.

It moved to the right slowly as if planning its next attack. Then it moved left. As I took a small step back it charged at me, still crouching low. Its jaws opened wide as it came at me.