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On the threshold, the first wolf was attempting to squeeze its massive body through the door frame. The wolf snapped its jaws, saliva flying from its curled back lips. It was so tall and wide I wasn’t sure it would even fit through the door, and for that I was thankful.

“What do we do?” I screamed, turning back to Tess in a panic. “Wecannotlet that thing get inside!”

“We need to close the door!” she yelled from her spot on the couch.

“It’s not a mouse, Tess, it can still get you from up there,” I pointed out as I ran towards the front entrance. I grabbed the door, narrowly avoiding the wolf’s snapping teeth, and forced my body against it as hard as I could.

“I need a little help over here!”

Tess hesitated for a moment before jumping down from the couch and joining me, pushing as hard as she could against the door. We made some progress, but still couldn’t get the door to close all the way. The wolf’s massive head was still stuck between the door and the frame.

“Push harder!” I yelled, using my shoulder to try to get more leverage.

“I’m trying!” she exclaimed.

We pushed and pushed, but the wolf had its head firmly lodged in the door. I could hear the snarling and snapping of the other wolves, and if they joined in, we would not be able to hold the door much longer.How on earthwere there more of them? I hadn’t seen the blue-eyed wolf among these. That meant there were four giant wolves that had found their way into Silver Oaks.

“What do we do?” I panicked. “We can’t hold this door forever.”

Tess worried her bottom lip with her teeth but said nothing. She was thinking the same thing I was, if those other wolves pushed on the door, we were toast. Why were they outside my house? Why were they trying so hard to get in? What did they want?

My arms started to burn from the effort of pushing and I felt my grip begin to weaken. As I was about to lose my grip entirely, we heard a yelp from outside, and the door slammed shut with a final bang. Tess and I exchanged a surprised glance and together we peered through the window. What just happened? Were the wolves retreating?

Through the windowpane I could see the three wolves turning to face a figure that had come up behind them. I couldn’t quite make out who it was in the dark. The silhouette was distinctly human.

“There’s somebody out there!” I exclaimed. “We have to help them!”

“And what, exactly, would you like us to do? Stab the wolves to death with your three-inch pocketknife?” Tess pointed out. “We don’t have any way of defending ourselves.”

My head was swimming and I couldn’t think. Was there anything in the house that we could use as a weapon against them? Had Mom kept Dad’s old gun that he’d had before he passed away? I couldn’t let that innocent person get torn apart out there by these wolves while we hid inside.

Another loud bang drew my attention back to the window. Through the glass I could see that there were nowfourwolves outside the door, the lone figure was gone. Where had they gone? Had they gotten away?

The fourth wolf leaped towards the lead wolf that had been trying to get into the house. His enormous jaw latched around the other wolf’s neck, clamping down with razor-sharp teeth. The fourth wolf was the biggest of them all, and as it turned, shaking the other wolf in its grip, I caught sight of its piercing blue eyes. This must be the wolf we had seen on the mountain landing. But why were they attacking each other? What was going on? The other two wolves stood back, not wanting to get involved in the ongoing struggle, letting their leader take the brunt of the attack.

“What are they doing?” Tess asked, her eyes darting back and forth between the window and me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It looks like that fourth wolf is attacking the leader.”

“And the person?” she asked.

“I don’t see him anymore…” I bit my lip.

The lead wolf yelped and fell to the ground under the weight of the larger one, pinned beneath his large paws, his jaw snapping close to his face. The other two wolves exchanged a nervous glance before taking off, running off into the nearby wooded area without looking back.

“The other two left. It’s only the leader and the big one now,” I said, grabbing onto Tess’ arm. She rested her head against the door and closed her eyes, unable to watch.

The lead wolf struggled and snapped its teeth but wasn’t able to get out from under the weight of the larger wolf. They were yipping and growling at each other, the larger wolf having firmly pinned the other one down. I took a deep breath and swallowed, glancing over at Tess who remained slumped against the door. When I brought my eyes back to the window, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“What the…” I trailed off in confusion, my brow furrowed.

“What?” Tess asked. “What’s happening now?”

“The wolves are…gone,” I replied uncertainly, “I only see two people…”

“Whatis going on in this God forsaken town?” Tess asked as she picked her head up from the door.

I gently pushed Tess aside and grabbed the door handle, flinging it open and running into the yard. I was about to get some answers, one way or another.