Wolves

The howl was the precursor to the charge.

From the position of the echoing sounds, it was apparent the predators had already formed a semi-circle around the children and were closing in. The wolf straight across, presumably the pack alpha as he had begun the howl, leapt out from hiding and began to rapidly cover the ground to the children, leading the charge at the defenseless little people.

Finn didn't hesitate, but ran straight at the lead wolf.

"GET INSIDE!" She screamed to the children, finally breaking the spell the howl had seemingly cast over them.

The elder children scrambled to grab the smaller ones and drag them towards the nearest house. The occupants of the home, having heard the noise while working in the vegetable garden, swung their door open to usher the children towards safety.

Finn didn't stop to scoop up the nearest child, nor did she turn around when she passed them. She ran straight at the pack leader, who had just crossed the stream, screaming and yelling and waving.

"GO! GO ON, GET!! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE! GET AWAY!!" A nearby wolf whirled slightly, clearly not expecting prey to come charging towards the pack so aggressively. The pack leader momentarily slowed his pace, unsettled by Finn's screaming and lack of fear.

Clearly, they had been expecting normal human behavior. Finn hadn't provided that to them.

The slowest child, a girl of three, struggled to understand the situation and only now began moving towards safety. Finn shuffled to the side, positioning her body between the girl and the wolf whose target she seemed to be.

"Run, run fast," Finn whispered in a gentle but urgent tone to the child. Not waiting to see if she was obeyed, she again took up her verbal barrage against the canine attackers.

At this point, being confronted with the wolf only feet from herself, Finn realized she would love to have had some sort of weapon, even a stick, to intimidate the wolves. She'd dropped her bucket when she began her frantic and unexpected run, so she didn't even have that to throw. She dared not bend to pick up a rock from the stream's edge, fearing it would leave her vulnerable with her head and neck that much closer to the ground and the wolves' teeth.

Just then, the wolf on her right lunged around her towards the finally-fleeing girl. Reacting without thinking, Finn spun and kicked with all the force in her body while yelling again, "NO!"

Her boot made contact with the wolf's ribs as it leapt, surprising Finn a great deal. She wasn't the most coordinated of girls and hadn't expected her foot to find its target. The wolf was less surprised than it was hurt and angry, turning its head to snarl and snap.

"Finn!" Riley, her neighbor, yelled as he ran toward her. Apparently the howling had caught the attention of several neighbors who had all come frantically in search of the village's playing children.

Knocked to the ground after her kick landed, and distracted by Riley's warning, Finn scrambled back to her feet. She could feel her heart beating through her chest as she fought back the panic which had finally crept in on her.

She continued screaming at the wolves and maintaining as intimidating a posture as she could manage. The wolf she'd kicked slunk low to the ground, snarling and shifting slowly, deciding how best to strike. Finn's eyes stayed locked on the wolf's, while mentally she tried to keep tabs on the other wolves.

Was one or more behind her? Was she surrounded now? She hadn't gotten a solid count on them before charging in, why was she so stupid? Her ears strained to add more information to the situation while her eyes dared not drift from the nearest snarling face.

Her hearing became filled with her rapid heartbeat, useless to warn her of threats other then the one directly in front of her. She shifted her weight to her front foot, realizing another kick was her best defense if the wolf should lunge again.

Had the little girl made it to the house yet? Was she about to be mauled from behind? Surely someone would scream a warning if that were about to happen? Maybe?

The neighbors had had the foresight to grab gardening tools and other implements as they closed in on the events. The men came to her side as the women finished gathering the scrambling children into the nearest house and sealing the door, wrapping them in safety.

Seeing the tide turning against the wolves, the pack leader gave a final snarl before slinking backward and disappearing back into the brush, followed by the rest of the half-dozen wolves that had made up the hunting party.

"Wow, Finn. I don't want to puff up your ego or anything, but you're kind of a hero." Riley gave her a lopsided grin that was somewhere between relief and exasperation. His eyes drifted downward and his eyes widened. "Did you know you're bleeding?"

Finn, suddenly exhausted upon the cessation of the immediate threat, felt her heart stutter after its sprint. She looked down to where her dress was torn and a red stain was spreading from the side of her calf outward across the fabric. All her energy seemed to drain out of her in an instant.

"Oh. Um… it's… it's probably fine. I just feel… tired." She replied uncertainly.

"You're not just tired, you're clearly hurt," Riley insisted.

"Maybe I could lie down for a moment if it's… no, I should start cooking supper." Her mind clouded as her body began feeling as heavy as a lead cauldron.

"Lying down sounds like a better idea," Riley's concern seemed to be mounting.

"No, I don't think…" Her voice faded as Father rushed up behind her, catching her just as she lost consciousness.