Page 5

“Sure, Mom,” I called as we rushed out the door. “I promise,” I called over my shoulder.

The snow may have stopped from the night before, but at this point it had left at least a foot of fresh powder on the frozen ground. I was lucky the town had already plowed the mountain pass and my Subaru had no problem with the packed dirt road we would take to the mountaintop.

We hopped into the car and slowly drove through the winding roads up the side of the mountain. The roads had already been sanded and salted, but the higher we got, the more icy patches there were. The Subaru tires slipped angrily against the ice as they searched for traction, so much for winter tires. Maybe I needed some with chains…

We made it successfully to the landing, and I parked my car in the same spot I had this morning, halfway between the tree line and the mountain’s edge. The clearing was large, large enough to spot anything if it tried to approach us.

We got out of the car hesitantly, closing our doors behind us quietly. I held my camera gingerly in my hands and decided we should sit on the edge in my regular spot, just as I had this morning. Tess followed me, and we both swung our feet over the edge, dangling them in the frigid air. It wasn’t exactly a drop off here. If you were to accidentally slip, the rock face below this section of mountain wasn’t steep, it would catch you. The small ledge where I liked to sit gave the impression of being on the edge of the mountain, even if I wasn’t.

“This place is beautiful,” Tess said with a bump of her shoulder as we both stared out at the view. “It’s no wonder you keep it all to yourself.” She smirked. “You can see our school from here!” She pointed with her long, manicured finger and I could instantly make out the big brick building in the distance.

It was in that moment that I heard the soft padding of heavy paws on the fresh snowfall behind us. Tess and I turned towards each other at the same time. Her lips were parted, eyes wide. She had heard that too…at least I wasn’t truly imagining things. We were on our feet in a split-second and at the car door even faster. With one hand slipped into the handle of the car door and the other on my camera, we scanned the area for any movement, but there was nothing. What was it that we had heard?

I slowly approached the tree line without speaking a word to Tess. I could see the imprints of large paws in the snow, looking fresher than they would have if they were from earlier this morning. The imprint was much too big, as big as my own hand. I motioned for Tess to join me with a wave of my hand, and she reluctantly trudged through the snow to my side. She knelt down in the snow and examined the footprint with big eyes.

“It’s so…big…this can’t be a wolf…“ she protested, shaking her head back and forth, her cheeks pink from the cold and her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets. “Maybe a bear? But the pattern isn’t right…”

“It was, Tess. I saw it with my own two eyes,” I insisted.

The snap of a tree branch startled us both, and we reached for one another. There, in the woods, halfway hidden behind a tree, was the black wolf that I had seen this morning. It was far off in the distance this time, watching us silently. Tess and I both froze in place, too afraid to move an inch as we clung to each other. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I could hear my heart pumping thickly in my ears. I couldn’t believe it, but there it was. Again. Staring at me with thosehumaneyes. I hadn’t expected it would be here again.

I wanted to whisper for Tess to run, to say anything at all, but my voice was stuck in my throat. We were much closer to the car than we were to the wolf, but we wouldn’t be nearly as fast. What were the chances we could make it there in time if the wolf gave chase? The big black wolf had a burly stature, and it appeared even taller and larger than I had remembered from this morning. It had a long and shaggy coat the color of the blackest night. Its face was long and slim, with wide set blue eyes and long perked ears. The wolf’s eyes flickered to the forest behind him momentarily, but just as quickly, his head snapped back and his eyes locked with mine again.

The wolf took a slow step forwards, then another, revealing its body fully from behind the cover of trees. Where had something this size even come from? It didn’t make any sense…

The wolf continued its slow, but steady, advance and I could hear my heart beating faster and faster in my ears. We had to decide right now if it was worth turning our backs on it to try to make it back to the car in time.

As it continued to approach, I caught the glint of the sun across its razor-sharp set of teeth. Its lips curled over them in a hungry way, but not a hint of malice or aggression ever touched its human-like eyes. This wolf could easily take us both down without much effort. It started to circle around us, but Tess and I held our positions, too nervous to move and draw its attention further. He was still far away in the line of trees, and the car was only a few yards behind us. If we could make a run for it or slowly back towards the car...

I took a slow, uneasy breath. I had gotten lucky that I didn’t get eaten the first time I encountered this enormous thing, but I had pushed my luck by coming back, again,searchingfor this animal a second time. I wanted to reach for the small knife in my jeans pocket, but I didn’t want any sudden movements to provoke him.

The wolf continued to circle closer now, putting a smaller distance between us with each step he took. He slunk forwards, his head hung low to the ground, his shoulders hunching in anticipation. Tess gripped my arm tighter, giving it a rough squeeze. It was now or never. We needed to make a run for it and hope beyond all odds that we were faster than the wolf and we could make it back to the car in time.

As I made my decision and was about to drag Tess along with me, the wolf glanced away sharply, taking his eyes off us and searching for something in the woods. Something we couldn’t hear. We didn’t dare move to regain his attention. The wolf licked his lips, closing his mouth over his gleaming white teeth and tilting his head to the side. His ears were focused towards the beaten road we had taken up the mountainside. He tensed, his claws scratching the snow beneath him as he took a reluctant step back, further away from us.

Far off in the distance I could hear what I thought was heavy paws thundering against the ground. Was that apackof wolves? The thundering noise grew louder and louder as it neared, the big black wolf backing away from us into the dense part of the forest. The pounding of paws against the frozen ground was all I could hear now as the wolf took one longing glance back at us and took off through the forest.

My body thawed, and my brain came back to life. Whatever had scared away a wolf of that size was obviously a threat to us, too. I didn’t have any intention of sticking around to find out what it might be.

I shook my head and turned towards Tess, relaxing my hold on the camera.The camera! Crap! Had I not come here to take a picture?I had been frozen in place, too afraid to move. There was no time to think on it further. I released Tess’ arm and we both sprinted headlong towards the car. We threw ourselves inside, locking the doors and fumbling for our seat belts. We wasted no time flooring it back down the mountain pass, never looking back.

ThenextmorningIwoke in a daze. I found myself unable to distinguish the nightmare I had with the reality of seeing the giant wolf yesterday.

The nightmare was a vivid reenactment of the afternoon, except with a much darker ending. The eyes of the wolf in my dream were piercing and intelligent, exactly how I remembered them from yesterday. The difference was…in my dream, the wolfhadcome after me. I woke with the sun peering in through my window, laying a beam of sunlight right across my face. I must have forgotten to close the shade last night. I couldn’t understand how Waffles found this enjoyable; the sunlight burned the back of my eyelids.

Realizing the sun shouldn’t be so high in the sky this early, I shot upright, glancing at the clock. I had overslept. Great. I hadjustenough time to get dressed,quickly, and drive to school.

I bounced out of bed and grabbed the nearest pair of jeans I had, pulling them on in a haste. I fished my grey long sleeve thermal out of the pile of clothes behind the door and tugged it on as I rushed to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and quickly ran a comb through my unruly mess of auburn curls. A ponytail would be my safest option today; there was no time to tame this mess of curls. I glanced in the mirror to make sure I was decent enough and set off to grab my backpack off the bedroom floor. I flew down the stairs with no time to spare for breakfast without missing first period.

I raced out to the car and threw my bag onto the passenger side as I slid into the driver’s seat and hit the ignition. Luckily, I had parked on the street, the unplowed driveway wasn’t an issue this morning. School was only about a ten-minute drive away from my house, thankfully, or I would be getting an earful this morning.

I pulled into the student lot and slid into one of the last available spots near the end of the parking row. The students had already cleared out of the lot, the first bell must have already rung.

I ran to the entrance closest to me, careful not to slip on the ice, and threw the wide glass door open. I jogged down the hallway lined by bright red lockers, my boots squeaking against the white tile. I was anxious to see Tess again and talk about what had happened yesterday. After we had caught our breath and driven home, we hadn’t had any time to catch up. My mom had insisted I spend the rest of the day on homework, and Tess had gone home early. I had sat in front of my laptop with a blank page titled “To Kill a Mockingbird—Major Themes & Character Analysis” for hours before my thoughts grew tired and sleep took me. I had tried calling Tess, but she hadn’t answered.

I slowed to a walk as I approached the door to my first class, English. I ran my fingers quickly through my ponytail and straightened out my shirt. Luckily, that English essay wasn’t due today. When I pulled the door open all of my classmates were already in their seats and Mr. Sampson had already started his lecture. I reached my seat in the back of the room and hung my jacket across the back of my chair. I unzipped my bag and took my books out as quietly as I could. I didn’t pay much attention to Mr. Sampson’s lecture, I had already read this book twice. I might not have been that great with school, but English had always been my easiest subject.

While I was supposed to be listening to Mr. Sampson, I daydreamt about the wolf from yesterday. Could it have been the same wolf that had attacked Mrs. Madden? I would need to find out some details about her attack, maybe Tess would know once they reopened the coffee shop. Had she seen anything? Where was she attacked, at home, or downtown?