Growls of the Night

"Another fill. I want seconds"

"No way are you getting seconds! You already took enough previously remember??"

"But that's not fair, I have a huge appetite to compensate for all the food I'm asking !"

"Tone it down!" Daniel shouts as he smacks the two kids.

"Both of you can have as much as you want. John, get a bottle of water from the supplies we have left. Julia, please stop fighting with John on food. ", Daniel sighs.

Julia walks towards the tent and sits at the edge. She tries to warm herself by rubbing her two palms together and thinks of how they would survive. Daniel rises from the bonfire and proceeds to sit by Julia.

Daniel then picks up a stick and begins drawing funny diagrams of animals, catching the attention of Julia who scoffs at him.

"That's not how to draw a pig, hahaha. You pull it this way, and then this." Julia teaches Daniel in excitement.

"You seem knowledgeable enough for all these. I think we'd be having another wise one among us, hahaha", Daniel laughs.

"It's just something easy. You have long been the wise one among all the orphans at the orphanage. Even now, you still are. Daniel, I miss everyone. Why did it have to be just us?"

" I know how you feel. Preferably, I felt the same way after the death of Aunt Cassandra and all our friends. It's been 5 years since then and here I am taking care of two naughty kids, haha. 5 years since we lost everything, but I still have you two. It's all that matters now. " Daniel sighs as he hugs Julia tightly.

John approaches Daniel with the bottle of water and smirks at the two. He approaches them and squats whilst making a bossy face.

"Seems someone finally passed through puberty huh? Daniel and Julia sitting on a tree, K-i-s, ow." John grabs his head in pain.

"It's been long since you had a beating from me, huh, get over here hey" Daniel shouts as he chases John around in an attempt to beat him up.

Julia laughs at the current scene and sips from the bottle of water. She pauses for a moment and stares at the stars, thinking of all the time they spent together during the past 5 years.

Dawn approaches with the kids asleep in the tent. The breeze strengthens, making Daniel rise from his sleep in worry. He walks out of the tent and looks sideways to check if there's any anomaly. Upon hearing and seeing nothing after the scan, Daniel proceeds to sit in front of the tent and reminiscences his past.

The howls of wolves startle Daniel, making him move back in fear. He looks ahead to find the direction of the howls, but his senses fail to derive it. Daniel panics for a moment and retains his composure, looking for a branch in the bonfire and creating fire out of it.

The glares of nature pierce through the cover of the night, with the wolves approaching slyly. They move like a hunter hunting their prey and close in on the escape routes. Daniel looks at the tent and back at the wolves in thought of what his next move would be.

The wolves continue their advances, with the leader of the pack growling softly with bloodlust eyes. Daniel reaffirms his feet and grasps the branch with all his strength. His thoughts begin piercing through every inch of his skin, screaming to escape. However, the sense of justice and protection continues burning higher, engulfing his beliefs of survival.

*I need to protect them. If I don't, who will? I have no time to think about running away. The leader seems a bit far from my stand. If I can create an atmosphere that can suppress their sense of authority over me in the food chain, I might stand a chance.*

Growl!!

The leader confronts Daniel slowly as its jaws drool with saliva out of hunger. Daniel picks up another branch slowly and stands his guard. He waits for the exact moment to strike with all his focus on the leader of the pack. Daniel stands upright and releases the tension in his shoulders whilst clearing his head from having any fear. There are 7 wolves in total with two on each compass angle, and the leader at the North.

The wolves begin the hunt with the west-placed wolves striking first. Daniel swiftly glides his feet to position himself and smacks one with a branch and the other with his feet.

The wolves from the east also make a move and attempt to go in for his feet, but Daniel turns quickly and bats their heads into the ground. The south ones create a diversion by going for the tent, loosening Daniel's concentration.

The Alpha wolf uses this opportunity to aim for the ribs of Daniel and bites through it, causing him to fall in pain. The remaining three wolves who are still alive, advance into ending his life. Daniel grabs dirt from the ground and throws it towards them, blurring their vision.

He barges the branch of wood through the eye of the Alpha wolf, which creates a chance for him to escape its grasp. The blood from his ribs ooze into his attire, but he blocks the outflow of blood with his palm. His consciousness starts succumbing to the effects of the bite, leaving him dizzy.

However, Daniel stands his ground and grabs the branched tightly again. He waits for the exact moment to strike with his concentration on the Alpha wolf.

* Don't even dream about losing consciousness over here Daniel. Ugh, I'm losing too much blood. I have to find a way to end this quickly before it ends. I could run away but I don't think it will be good enough for an escape. Maybe taunting might help finish this before my body fails me*

"Oi there, if you are trying to hunt prey, wouldn't you at least deal with it like a pro? If you aren't ready to hunt, then let me take charge of that. You can play the prey now!", Daniel glares.

The wolves move a step backwards with Daniel holding onto his thoughts as a means of staying awake. The Alpha wolf speeds toward Daniel and leaps to bite him whilst the other 3 wolves move in for his feet.

*This is what I was waiting for. Come on you beasts!*

Daniel throws the branch from his right hand to his left and grasps the branch in the wolf's eye, smashing it deeply into the ground. The branch moves deeper into the skull of the Alpha wolf and kills it. Daniel quickly stamps the body of the wolf and plucks out the branch.

He runs towards the rest of the wolves and leaps at them, smashing a brach through the head of one and the other into the jaw of another wolf. The last wolf attempts to bite him but he swiftly lets go of the branches and grasps it by the jaw.

"Argh"

Daniel rips the jaw open with all his strength, killing the wolf and leaving him tired from excessive exertion of his mental strength. He takes a step forward and glances around to see if there are any wolves around.

* Why is my sight a lot blurry now? Oh, I forgot, my blood is still oozing. At least I protected them. Survive, Julia and John. Survi...*

Thud!