length of
his back.
YAP ! YAP !
The wolf froze, temporarily
bewildered by the small furry object standing before it. It blinked, shook its
head and then released a deafening howl. Unperturbed, Scratch stood there
defiant, his short tail up high. The beast’s lips peeled back as if grinning at
this foolish object.
Squirrel shook his head and
the grin became a snarl; all fangs and saliva.
Alice seized her moment. She crawled away from the wolf,
dragging herself to Squirrel’s feet. “Shoot it!”
The mechanic dropped to one
knee. “Scratch – DOWN!”
As he had minutes earlier,
the little mutt dropped onto his front paws. The wolf misread this as an act of
submission and lunged forwards, intent on swallowing up the small appetizer in
one.
BOOM !
In the blink of an eye the
wolf disappeared. One moment it was there, all fangs and menace, and in the
next, it was gone. A fine cloud of red mist hung in the air for a while, but
eventually it too was blown apart as the raging wind scattered the red
molecules in all directions.
“Here, help me,” Alice gasped,
and held out her arm. Squirrel slipped the shotgun over his shoulder. He pulled
her to her feet. “Thanks,” she said. “My hero.”
“Don’t mention it,” Squirrel
replied. His face burnt with a fierce red. And even the harsh wind could not
shift the glow from his beaming cheeks.
“Oh dear,” Alice moaned,
as she turned her attention to the little terrier.
Scratch stood by their feet,
the fur along the length of his back now a Mohawk. As well as his raised
hackles, a streak of bright crimson had splashed itself along his back, turning
him into a red skunk.
“Oh dear,” Alice repeated.
Woof , the mutt snorted, unimpressed. Both Alice and
Squirrel began to laugh at the bizarre sight. Feeling as if his acts of bravery
hadn’t been acknowledged with the correct amount of respectfulness, Scratch
padded away, his furry chin held high in smug self-righteousness.
“Hey, Scratch, come back!
Don’t be like that,” Squirrel chuckled.
Alice said, “I mean it, Squirrel. You’re my hero.” She bent
forwards and placed at kiss on his ruddy cheek.
“Gee ...” was all Squirrel
could utter.
“We’d better get out of
here,” Alice said. “There may be more of them.”
“You’re right.”
They pulled themselves into
the truck, where they found Scratch curled up inside, feigning sleep.
“He saved my life. You both
did,” Alice said, then tickled the mutt under his chin.
Scratch continued to fake
sleep, but once Alice had withdrawn her hand, he opened one eye, wagged his
tail once, and then returned to his bogus slumber.
“We should be getting back.
I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” Alice said.
“Me too,” Squirrel agreed.
Alice shifted into first gear and pulled away. She turned
the truck in a tight arc, then popped the gears into second and began to climb
the steep hill. She’d made it halfway towards the crest of the hill before one
of the front tyres suffered a blow-out. The torn rubber released a sudden wheeze
of pressurised air.
“Shit!” Alice exclaimed. The truck began to sag on the passenger’s side, which slowed them
down. “ Tyre ’s blown out.”
“Oh God …” Squirrel moaned.
“Don’t worry, there’s a spare
in the back,” Alice told him.
“It’s not the tyre I’m worried
about,” he retorted. “It’s them.” Using one of his oily fingers, he drew Alice ’s
attention to the edges of the highway. She squinted through the gloom and
caught a glimpse of moving shadows. Something appeared to be stalking their
right flank. A second set of outlines loped along the embankment to their left.
The truck slowed down
alarmingly.
And the wolves moved in.
Chapter Ten
The pack of wolves continued to stalk the stricken
vehicle. And even from this safe distance, they
his back.
YAP ! YAP !
The wolf froze, temporarily
bewildered by the small furry object standing before it. It blinked, shook its
head and then released a deafening howl. Unperturbed, Scratch stood there
defiant, his short tail up high. The beast’s lips peeled back as if grinning at
this foolish object.
Squirrel shook his head and
the grin became a snarl; all fangs and saliva.
Alice seized her moment. She crawled away from the wolf,
dragging herself to Squirrel’s feet. “Shoot it!”
The mechanic dropped to one
knee. “Scratch – DOWN!”
As he had minutes earlier,
the little mutt dropped onto his front paws. The wolf misread this as an act of
submission and lunged forwards, intent on swallowing up the small appetizer in
one.
BOOM !
In the blink of an eye the
wolf disappeared. One moment it was there, all fangs and menace, and in the
next, it was gone. A fine cloud of red mist hung in the air for a while, but
eventually it too was blown apart as the raging wind scattered the red
molecules in all directions.
“Here, help me,” Alice gasped,
and held out her arm. Squirrel slipped the shotgun over his shoulder. He pulled
her to her feet. “Thanks,” she said. “My hero.”
“Don’t mention it,” Squirrel
replied. His face burnt with a fierce red. And even the harsh wind could not
shift the glow from his beaming cheeks.
“Oh dear,” Alice moaned,
as she turned her attention to the little terrier.
Scratch stood by their feet,
the fur along the length of his back now a Mohawk. As well as his raised
hackles, a streak of bright crimson had splashed itself along his back, turning
him into a red skunk.
“Oh dear,” Alice repeated.
Woof , the mutt snorted, unimpressed. Both Alice and
Squirrel began to laugh at the bizarre sight. Feeling as if his acts of bravery
hadn’t been acknowledged with the correct amount of respectfulness, Scratch
padded away, his furry chin held high in smug self-righteousness.
“Hey, Scratch, come back!
Don’t be like that,” Squirrel chuckled.
Alice said, “I mean it, Squirrel. You’re my hero.” She bent
forwards and placed at kiss on his ruddy cheek.
“Gee ...” was all Squirrel
could utter.
“We’d better get out of
here,” Alice said. “There may be more of them.”
“You’re right.”
They pulled themselves into
the truck, where they found Scratch curled up inside, feigning sleep.
“He saved my life. You both
did,” Alice said, then tickled the mutt under his chin.
Scratch continued to fake
sleep, but once Alice had withdrawn her hand, he opened one eye, wagged his
tail once, and then returned to his bogus slumber.
“We should be getting back.
I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” Alice said.
“Me too,” Squirrel agreed.
Alice shifted into first gear and pulled away. She turned
the truck in a tight arc, then popped the gears into second and began to climb
the steep hill. She’d made it halfway towards the crest of the hill before one
of the front tyres suffered a blow-out. The torn rubber released a sudden wheeze
of pressurised air.
“Shit!” Alice exclaimed. The truck began to sag on the passenger’s side, which slowed them
down. “ Tyre ’s blown out.”
“Oh God …” Squirrel moaned.
“Don’t worry, there’s a spare
in the back,” Alice told him.
“It’s not the tyre I’m worried
about,” he retorted. “It’s them.” Using one of his oily fingers, he drew Alice ’s
attention to the edges of the highway. She squinted through the gloom and
caught a glimpse of moving shadows. Something appeared to be stalking their
right flank. A second set of outlines loped along the embankment to their left.
The truck slowed down
alarmingly.
And the wolves moved in.
Chapter Ten
The pack of wolves continued to stalk the stricken
vehicle. And even from this safe distance, they
Similar Books
