Fleeing

As the wolf began to wreak havoc over the town, Fang slowly exited his house. Gliding down the stairs, he exuded the bearing of a master. Gentle admonition in his eyes, he stared at the mountain with pity.

Seeing the wolf descending down the mountain, he sighed and shook his head. Turning around, he joined the villagers in evacuating the village.

"The wolf is attempting to destroy the village, hmmm?" he spoke.

"Well, I'll leave it to the EPA to deal with... not my problem... I've been wanting to relocate anyway...my current farm is too small," he muttered.

Around him, similar discussions were occurring. Everyone was struck in a panic as they attempted to regain some semblance of normalcy and attempted to figure out what they'd do.

Walking in stride with the other villagers, he began to leave the village. They exited the village in a chaotic herd. Everyone fled for their lives, uncaring about their homes or property. After all, if your life was lost, what use was your property?

Although they weren't rich by any standards, these people weren't too badly off. The only issue was that the soil on the mountain was only good for growing certain types of crops. These crops weren't at all cash crops and therefore, the villagers didn't make much.

They would all have left a long time ago, but being struck with the terrible curse of complacency, they required an external push to uproot their lives and move to another place. The wolf gave the just the excuse.

Having wanted to leave for years, but being constrained by social opinion and the constraints of filial relationships to their ancestors, they were trapped in the village by the chains of their own minds. These chains were the hardest to break because they were simply of their own making.

As the villagers fled, they all secretly felt a sense of relief and adventure, along with understandable terror. Terror at the possibility of death looming over their very shoulders, but a small measure of relief at being able to leave and start again where they would no longer be judged by the same eyes that judges them from childhood.

Indeed, it was time for a fresh start.

Feeling in great droves of people, they ran frantically to the edge of their village, away from the forest.

[20 minutes later]

The villagers stood breathless, panting at the long run they had just endured. The elderly sat down with the children, while the others stood, looking out at the village.

Fang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, peering with a sharp gaze at the village below him. The faint outline of the wolf could be seen... but it's behavior was odd...

Instead of destroying the buildings or ravaging the food stores, it roamed around aimlessly. It's tailed wagged between it's legs and it sniffed the air. Slowly it turned this way and that, as if it was hunting for a specific scent.

'What could it possibly be doing?' flashed through the villager's minds.

Fang's expression was slightly awkward. His face twitched and he returned to his normal expression: a stone cold stare. He could almost hear what the villagers were thinking, sighing inwardly at the stupid wolf.

Finally one of the villagers couldn't take the suspense anymore.

"What...What is that....thing....doing?!?!?" he questioned in an incredulous tone.

The rest of the villagers immediately turned to stare at him, all wondering the same thing and thanking this man for coming out and saying what their social anxiety would not allow them to express.

Fang's face began to twitch again and he groaned.

'Why....why must you cause me this much trouble?' he lamented as he cursed the heavens for the hundred thousandth time.