him. Alone in the forest there was no one to hear him scream.
He was a fool to be out here alone. He’s a dead fool now.
He clawed at the body, slashing clothes and flesh. He picked up an arm and gnawed great chunks out of it.
Must blame it on the wolf. If it weren’t for the wolf, it wouldn’t have happened. I’m not responsible for the wolf, no man is.
Ripping, slashing, tearing, rending.
See how theclaws draw blood, see bow the fangs rend flesh. Smell the blood and decay. Already the corpse begins to rot, and all the tiny woodland creatures come to watch. They’re all afraid of me.
As they should be.
Chapter Five
S
unlight streamed through the tops of the trees, bathing the path in a golden haze. Ruth skipped along, her basket clutched in one hand and her other wrapped loosely around the hilt of her knife. She was thinking about her cousin and what she could do to help him, and for once she was able to ignore the whispering of the trees.
It was midmorning. Her father was working in the shop all day and had told her to go to her grandmother’s early. It was nice to be out of the smoke and the heat. The air was crisp and cold, and she took several deep breaths. Birds were twittering in the trees and darting back and forth across the path before her. They eventually drew her attention away from her dark thoughts.
“It is a beautiful day,” she called out lightly to the looming giants surrounding her.
They whispered a reply, but she paid no heed. She paused only to spin slowly in a circle, spreading her arms wide and reveling in the sun upon her face.
When her eyes fell upon a dark form lying just off the path, though, all thoughts of warmth fled. Herheart began to pound and she found herself suddenly drenched in a cold sweat. She dropped the basket, and it landed with a sharp crack upon a branch» She jumped as the sound continued on around her, echoing and only seeming to build in intensity.
She pulled her knife from her belt and advanced with trembling steps. A wind sprung up and the trees rattled their leaves above her. Their swaying caused patterns of light and shadow to play across the ground in a macabre dance.
The dark form was a man, or what was left of him. His throat had been ripped out, and there were deep lacerations and scratch marks all over his body One arm had been gnawed down to the bone. The ground around him was torn up, with tracks of both a wolf and a man noticeable. The mans blood had seeped into the earth, and drops had scattered upon a few leaves.
His face alone was intact, and by that she knew him. It was Simon, the man with whom she had fought in the shop. His eyes were fixed in horror, his mouth frozen in his death cry.
She fought the urge to fall to her knees and retch. The trees began to shake even more fiercely in the wind, though, and this time their haunting warning was clear to her.
She turned and stumbled back down the path, moving as fast as she could. She snatched up her basket and kept going. A branch snapped behindher, but she was too terrified to look back.
Ahead of her the trees’ remaining leaves fell like rain and quickly began to coat the path. She ran through them, wincing as they crackled beneath her feet. Her foot caught on a root that she was certain had not been there the week before, and she crashed to her knees. With a thud, her knife fell from her hand to the ground. Ruth knelt for a moment, panting.
Then she heard it. Something was coming down the path behind her at a steady trot. She turned around and saw a wolf, fangs bared, six feet from her.
She screamed and it lunged at her. She reached for her dagger, knowing that her hand wouldn’t find it in time. The beast was upon her, jaws snapping. She rolled to the side and its teeth found only her sleeve. With a tearing sound it came free, and she felt a stinging in her arm where his teeth scratched her.
Then it stopped. It tilted its head and stared at her for a long moment. She stared back, and by
He was a fool to be out here alone. He’s a dead fool now.
He clawed at the body, slashing clothes and flesh. He picked up an arm and gnawed great chunks out of it.
Must blame it on the wolf. If it weren’t for the wolf, it wouldn’t have happened. I’m not responsible for the wolf, no man is.
Ripping, slashing, tearing, rending.
See how theclaws draw blood, see bow the fangs rend flesh. Smell the blood and decay. Already the corpse begins to rot, and all the tiny woodland creatures come to watch. They’re all afraid of me.
As they should be.
Chapter Five
S
unlight streamed through the tops of the trees, bathing the path in a golden haze. Ruth skipped along, her basket clutched in one hand and her other wrapped loosely around the hilt of her knife. She was thinking about her cousin and what she could do to help him, and for once she was able to ignore the whispering of the trees.
It was midmorning. Her father was working in the shop all day and had told her to go to her grandmother’s early. It was nice to be out of the smoke and the heat. The air was crisp and cold, and she took several deep breaths. Birds were twittering in the trees and darting back and forth across the path before her. They eventually drew her attention away from her dark thoughts.
“It is a beautiful day,” she called out lightly to the looming giants surrounding her.
They whispered a reply, but she paid no heed. She paused only to spin slowly in a circle, spreading her arms wide and reveling in the sun upon her face.
When her eyes fell upon a dark form lying just off the path, though, all thoughts of warmth fled. Herheart began to pound and she found herself suddenly drenched in a cold sweat. She dropped the basket, and it landed with a sharp crack upon a branch» She jumped as the sound continued on around her, echoing and only seeming to build in intensity.
She pulled her knife from her belt and advanced with trembling steps. A wind sprung up and the trees rattled their leaves above her. Their swaying caused patterns of light and shadow to play across the ground in a macabre dance.
The dark form was a man, or what was left of him. His throat had been ripped out, and there were deep lacerations and scratch marks all over his body One arm had been gnawed down to the bone. The ground around him was torn up, with tracks of both a wolf and a man noticeable. The mans blood had seeped into the earth, and drops had scattered upon a few leaves.
His face alone was intact, and by that she knew him. It was Simon, the man with whom she had fought in the shop. His eyes were fixed in horror, his mouth frozen in his death cry.
She fought the urge to fall to her knees and retch. The trees began to shake even more fiercely in the wind, though, and this time their haunting warning was clear to her.
She turned and stumbled back down the path, moving as fast as she could. She snatched up her basket and kept going. A branch snapped behindher, but she was too terrified to look back.
Ahead of her the trees’ remaining leaves fell like rain and quickly began to coat the path. She ran through them, wincing as they crackled beneath her feet. Her foot caught on a root that she was certain had not been there the week before, and she crashed to her knees. With a thud, her knife fell from her hand to the ground. Ruth knelt for a moment, panting.
Then she heard it. Something was coming down the path behind her at a steady trot. She turned around and saw a wolf, fangs bared, six feet from her.
She screamed and it lunged at her. She reached for her dagger, knowing that her hand wouldn’t find it in time. The beast was upon her, jaws snapping. She rolled to the side and its teeth found only her sleeve. With a tearing sound it came free, and she felt a stinging in her arm where his teeth scratched her.
Then it stopped. It tilted its head and stared at her for a long moment. She stared back, and by
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