The Weight of Responsibility.

"WOLVES!! THERE ARE WOLVES WITHIN THE FOREST!"

No one knew who screamed those words out first but the glaring warning was heard by almost everyone. Not even the blasting rain could drown it out.

The message was clear. There were wolves within the forest around them.

"Who? What? Wolves?"

"Who said that!? Where are they!?!"

"Oh, Gods! Wolves! RUUUNN!!!"

Panic and fear festered through the crowd akin to a fire spreading over a pool of kerosene. The workers, anxious in their movements to get as far away as possible from the wolves, pushed their neighbors and frantically ran.

Fear rendered them unable to think rationally. Their actions thus were even more irrational.

Men pushed other men and stepped over the fallen in their escape. Women dropped the baskets of coal in their hands and screamed. Even the foreman froze in his tracks the moment he saw the group of wolves gathered before him.

They didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to act. They were completely lost and scared.

Somewhere else, Gunter was in a world of his own. He wasn't alone, however, for a solitary wolf accompanied him.

This wolf, its gait treacherous, eyes cold, and head wary, cautiously stepped out of the tree cover and appeared in full splendor for Gunter to see.

Its grey-colored coat of fur grimly shined with wetness against the dim layer of light illuminating the forest. Its sapphire-colored eyes stared at Gunter with a fevered passion, while its long, sharp canines growled expectantly at the sight of a possible meal. However, it wasn't rash as it closely evaluated the man before it.

Gunter, for his part, did not look a single bit as threatening as the wolf. His body was completely frozen from shock and fear, refusing to move in the least. His eyes narrowed to the extreme from the sight of the wolf and wandered frantically trying to look for an escape. Sweat poured from within every pore in his body.

As either was unsure on how to proceed, a strange peace settled between man and beast, both locked in a stare-off.

Growl! Growing tired of waiting, the wolf acted first. It growled out in a low, threatening pitch intending it as a test for the man before it.

"St-stay back!" Gunter cried while reflexively taking a step back.

He failed spectacularly.

Growling in victory, the grey wolf cast aside all reservation towards the man and pounced at him. Its long body cut through the pouring rain and neared Gunter in almost an instant.

"AH!" Gunter let out a startled cry at the wolf's sudden movement. The instinct to flee immediately appeared, freeing his body from the immobilization cast by fear. Turning around, he immediately ran.

Right foot first, left foot next. Right foot out, left foot next. Just as he was about to take his fifth step, Gunter's right foot suddenly slipped from the wet mud underneath it. He immediately lost his balance and crashed against the ground.

GROWL! The wolf's cry sounded out one more time, only this time it was closer. Instinctively turning around to look behind him, Gunter saw the wolf's long, sharp canines close in on him.

Unable to escape, he could only use his hands to shield his face.

With a sharp snap, the wolf's teeth bit down on Gunter's arms. Feeling the bone hitting against its teeth, the wolf reflexively bit down harder and jerked its head.

"ARGH! FU*K!!" An unimaginable amount of pain assaulted Gunter causing him to nearly pass out. Tears and snot fell down his face while blood poured down his arms. He could feel the beast's teeth grinding against his bones and tearing at his flesh.

"Let go! Let GO! LET GO!!" Gunter continuously cried, forcing his hand out of the beast's mouth and trying to overpower it. Unfortunately, the beast possessed the upper hand.

The man and beast struggled for a few seconds longer when the beast suddenly kicked off the ground with its hind legs and toppled the man. The wolf was now above him.

Finding himself unable to extricate himself from the beast's jaws, Gunter felt hopelessness set in. The feeling of pain started to fade away and his vision was beginning to get blurrier by the second. Soon, Gunter began to feel light-headed and drained.

'Am I going to die?' The thought came to him. Following it, were images of his wife and memories of the precious time he spent with her.

'I'm sorry, my love. I don't think I'll be able to come home tonight.'

Gunter rested his head to the side and felt the cold waters of heaven fall upon his face. His eyes reflected the scene of panicking workers running away in fear.

Just as darkness was about to claim him, he suddenly saw the faint figure of a man rush towards him.

'Why are you coming here? Run away, fool.'

"GET YER FILTHY PAWS OFF HIM, VILE BEAST!" Lloyd screamed at the top of his lungs before smashing the heavy basket of coal against the wolf's head.

Unable to evade the attack, the wolf bore the full brunt of the impact, letting go of Gunter's arms in the process.

"Back off, beast!" Lloyd yelled threateningly one more time before quickly pulling Gunter away. He then raised him up and carried him in his hands.

"Don't doze off, ya hear me! Don't ya dare doze off!!" Lloyd nervously urged. His eyes then landed on Gunter's mangled arms. "Oh Gods…" He pallidly mumbled.

Resolve appeared within his eyes, as he firmly looked towards the front and ran in retreat while carrying the injured Gunter.

"Stop running like headless chickens and gather yer balls! Throw yer baskets at the damn wolves and run toward the mine!"

"Quit pushing each other, ya daft c*nts! Head towards the mines!"

"Argh! My legs! They got my legs!"

"Watch the ground while ya run! Don't step on anybody!"

"Bring the injured to the front! Men! Act like proper men for once and guard the back! Women! Outdo the men!"

"William! William, where are ya!?"

"This blasted rain! I can't see anything!"

"Neither can the beasts! So stop complaining and get yer arse to the mine!"

Screams and howls echoed back and forth inside the forest. It had taken a minute but the workers had finally managed to gather their bearings. The experienced and the elderly workers stepped in and took the reins, organizing a somewhat orderly retreat towards the mines.

While they would love nothing more than returning to the town, it was currently impossible to do so. An unknown number of wolves had appeared in their path, blocking their route. Forcing through the pack would be suicide and result in an untold amount of deaths.

Everyone more or less knew everyone else and did not want anyone to die. And since they were trained fighters or militia, tussling with the wolves amidst pouring rain was plain insensible.

After the leaders stepped up, the situation improved a lot. The pouring rain acted as a double-edged sword; making the retreat difficult and laborious –the rain softened the earth turning it sludge-like and muddy– whilst also providing a natural cover against the wolves.

As terrible as their field of vision was in the rain, it was doubly so for the wolves.

Adrenaline pumped through their veins filling their bodies with limitless strength. Those that were young and able, both man and woman, stood in the back and covered their retreat, while those that were injured or unconscious were pushed to the front of the retreat.

Nevertheless, the wolves showed no signs of letting them go.

Throughout the retreat, the beasts came forth in groups of twos and threes and tussled with the humans. Fortunately, the workers were able to hold them off albeit bearing a few injuries.

With the threat of death pushing them from the back, the workers made quick work of the retreat and arrived back at the mines in record time.

"Quick! Go into the tool shed and grab some shovels!" Someone advised and the others quickly acted. Equipping themselves with the mining tools seemed to infuse courage into their blood as the workers repelled the wolves with greater ferocity.

After a group of three wolves was repelled, a piercing howl sounded from somewhere within the forest. The wolves immediately perked their heads and uniformly retreated into the forest.

Not letting their guard down, the workers stood in defense. Some braver ones yelled towards the forest and taunted the wolves to attack them.

Alas, nothing happened. The wolves had seemed to have retreated into the forest.

"What now?" Somebody asked. "Did they leave?"

"Nonsense!" Somebody else bit back. "Wolves are cunning hunters. I guarantee you that they are hiding within the forest, waitin' for a chance to pounce at us!"

"What do we do now?" Jason, the foreman that had overcome his fear and fought back valiantly, faced this elder and asked. He understood that he was completely out of his depth and craved any advice or help that could save them.

"What else but wait?" The elder shrugged his shoulder, resting the shovel on his shoulder. "We can't do piss-all against the wolves. Certainly not in this blasted weather."

"I suggest we rest," someone else intoned. "We can retreat into the mines and rest up. It's surrounded by rock, so we don't have to worry about wolves ganging up on us."

"Right. Get some people to act as lookouts near the entrance. This lad's suggestion makes sense," the elder agreed with the suggestion. "Yer the leader, Mr. Foremen. Whatever ya say, we'll listen." He added.

Jason nodded his head at his answer.

He then carried out the arrangements and had the people settle down inside the mines. He also sent a few people –surrounded by workers acting as guards– and gathered the remaining food and water from within the Field Kitchen, adjacent to the mine's entrance.

"I reckon this should be enough to last us a day or two," the elder commented after seeing the gathered rations. He then warned Jason. "Have someone guard this. Or better yet, stay here yourself. Ya don't need me tellin' ya what people can do when they are afraid and pressured. The last thing we want is people stealing food or worse."

Jason grimly nodded his head in reply.

"Alright then, I'm headin off now," the elder excused himself. "This aged body of mine has had too much action for a single day." He chuckled and disappeared into the mines.

Jason remained still for a few minutes before asking someone to temporarily watch for the rations until he returned. He then walked through the tunnels and arrived at the spacious clearing, filled with the injured workers.

Seeing the mangled limbs, torn bodies and hearing the cries of grief and pain, Jason felt the reality of the situation sink in.

Here they were isolated and trapped within a mine while being surrounded by wolves. They only possessed a limited amount of rations and freshwater. To add to their problems, they had dozens of injured workers with varying degrees of injuries that, if not treated properly, might very well result in them losing their lives.

Feeling the pressure of responsibility thrust upon his shoulders, Jason immediately felt his stomach sink and threw up.

He was not cut out for this.