Chapter 9: In the Woods

A loud crack woke me out of a sound sleep. It sounded like a tree branch snapping somewhere.Feeling a little chilly, I reached for the bedspread to pull it higher. But my fingers couldn’t find it.

There was cool night air on my legs, which meant I must have kicked it off the bed in my sleep.

Besides the bedspread sliding out of reach, my bed felt hard and scratchy. But I was too sleepy to care. I was drifting off again when an ear-splitting screech made my eyes fly open.

Did some kind of bird make that noise?

I forgot about the bird when I saw the tops of trees silhouetted by moonlight.

This couldn’t be real. Was I hallucinating? Or maybe I was dreaming.

That was a better explanation than I was losing my mind. It just wasn’t possible for me to be lying on the ground in the woods.

I remembered having dinner with Lily. We talked and laughed until bedtime. I was ecstatic to finally have a girlfriend. She was a terrific listener and knew everything about everyone near Denhurst, including Grey.

After we both started yawning, I went to sleep in my clean, comfortable bed. Now I felt crunchy leaves, small sticks, and pine needles beneath me. It had to be a dream.

But a large bug crawled across my thigh, assuring me my situation was very real. I let out a scream and brushed the creature off me.

Hoping to avoid any other creepy crawlies, I jumped to my feet. Brushing away dirt and any other bugs that may be on my body or in my hair, I realized I must have been sleepwalking.

There were similar incidents when I was ten, and my mother’s mental status had grown suddenly worse. Twice during that time, I had awakened behind the couch in our living room with no idea how I’d gotten there.

The sleepwalking stopped on its own, and I never mentioned it to anyone.

I did a slow circle to try to determine which direction was the way back to Denhurst.

“Emma, what did you do?” I whispered.

If I’d been awake, I wouldn’t set foot out here, especially alone in the dark.

“Stupid subconscious,” I grumbled. “Look at the mess you got me into. And if Grey finds out, he’s going to be mad at me.”

I couldn’t see through the trees more than twenty feet in front of my eyes, but there was a soft blue glow to my left that could be the swimming pool lights.

Crossing my fingers, I turned toward the glow and began making my way over the detritus on the ground and around the dense trees.

As I got closer to the glow, I was sure it was the pool. The trees and brush became thinner, and I could make out the white picket boards of the garden fence.

I was about to congratulate myself on being able to get myself out of this scary situation when I heard the first growl.

Coyotes! The thought made my hair stand on end, and I froze for a second.

Then I heard movement in the deeper shadows and more growls and snarls.

Bolting toward the blue light, I hoped to make it to the pool house before being ripped apart.

There were several sets of feet running along the ground behind me. And they were getting closer.

“Grey, help me!” I screamed in my mind.

But I didn't know how many of them were chasing me. Maybe Grey couldn’t save me from these beasts. It was better if he stayed safe inside his cabin.

If I was going to be torn apart, I didn’t want to know I was responsible for his death too before I died.

I made it to the garden before I was hit from behind and landed face down on the ground.

Gleeful howls rent the air as four large animals circled me. I was no expert, but they were not coyotes. The four dark brown, shaggy-looking animals that surrounded me looked like wolves.

They were larger than I thought wolves would be, but as savage as I expected. They licked their lips, bared their teeth, and drooled upon the grass as they yipped to each other.

The sound reminded me of laughter. I suspected the beasts were enjoying my fear.

That made me angry. I wasn’t going to die, sniveling on the ground.

I pulled myself to my feet and grabbed a hoe that Grey must have forgotten to put away, while keeping my back against the garden fence. The hoe wasn’t the best weapon against four attacking wolves, but it was better than nothing.

“Well, come on then,” I told them. “Let’s do this.”

Saying the words made me feel stronger. My adrenaline was flowing and even though I had little chance of surviving, I was determined to give them a fight.

“Are you cowards who attack a lone woman together,” I asked them. “Or can you handle a fair, one on one, fight?”

The wolves seemed to understand my words. They exchanged glances before one of them moved closer and snapped its teeth at me.

I swung the hoe, missing it, but making it turn away.

Another came at me before the first could fully retreat. I managed to hit this one on the head hard enough to elicit a yelp of pain.

That seemed to make them angry. The first wolf made a series of guttural sounds and all four moved toward me at once.

But before they reached me, three more wolves arrived on the scene.

"Oh, crap,” I whispered. I was doomed! The lead wolf of this group was a pure black and much larger than any of the others. Its head was level with my chin!

But instead of attacking me, the black wolf led the other two wolves into battle against the first four animals.

Something about the fight stirred my blood. The energy was exciting. I bit my lip while cheering on the newcomers as they fought my attackers.

The fight was vicious. The sounds of the battle gave me goosebumps.

I was mesmerized as the huge black wolf’s jaws snapped furiously, tearing through flesh and fur.

It received no injuries, but its two opponents were wounded and bleeding copiously. They retreated, back into the woods, while their two comrades were still locked in combat.

Suddenly, there was a shrill scream of pain. It came from the smallest wolf who had come to my rescue. A light brown in color, the tips of the small wolf’s fur appeared pink in the moonlight.

This pinkish brown wolf had been valiantly battling a much larger opponent when its back leg was captured in the other wolf’s mouth. The larger, shaggy brown wolf shook its head rapidly from side to side, inflicting pain, and greater injury.

“Let it go!” I screamed and raised the hoe, planning to hit the nasty thing hard enough to make it release the smaller wolf.

Before I could take a swing, the gigantic black wolf took one mighty leap and had the shaggy brown wolf by the throat.

The brown wolf made whining sounds as blood flowed down its front leg to the ground. Instantly, it let go of the smaller wolf’s hind leg, and the black wolf released its throat.

Then both remaining shaggy brown wolves also hurried to retreat into the woods, and they disappeared.

I backed against the fence again. The hoe would be worthless as defense against the black wolf. It was big enough for the pinkish wolf to ride it into battle.

But it was beautiful with its shiny black coat rippling in the light breeze. I wanted to touch it, to see if its fur was as soft as it looked.

The black wolf came to within a few feet of me and seemed to look me over with eyes that appeared to be a familiar shade of pewter in the moonlight.

Expecting an attack, I was astounded when the huge wolf used its massive head to gently nudge me toward the safety of the house.

“What is going on, Emma?" I whispered. “This time, you’ve got to be hallucinating.”

Shaking with fear, I began walking in the direction I was being pushed, with my wolf bodyguard at my side until I stepped onto the patio.

I darted inside the house and locked the door. Looking through the glass, I saw the black wolf was gone.

“Unbelievable!” The black wolf had actually escorted me back to the house. Things like that don’t happen. Was it a tame wolf someone kept nearby?

And what about the pinkish wolf? The wound to its back leg had looked terrible. It was limping badly the last time I saw it. Maybe I should call a vet to come here and catch it or something.

I had no idea what to do next. I was still shaking, and I was filthy and itchy from laying on the ground.

I could wake Lily and ask for her advice. I just hoped she believed me. What just happened to me was incredible.

I couldn’t let that poor little wolf suffer, not after it got hurt saving my life.

"Lily has to believe me,” I said to myself. “I’m going upstairs and waking her.”