The Wolf and The Savior

In hindsight, it was dumb of me to scream at the top of my lungs in a Leo-from-Titanic fashion in a forest, especially within the range of a dragon. Luckily, the dragon that flew past me earlier did not return, but something else heard me.

A menacing snarl inched towards me from my left, revealing itself from the shadows of the trees with its steaming huffs in the cold air. The creature was oddly shaped for its size, making it difficult to place its species. At first, my mind was perplexed, trying to figure out how a bear could get so skinny. But it was no bear, just an abnormally large wolf, big enough to ride even… if you were crazy or drunk.

Once finally into the whole light of day, the large wolf stood at an intimidating six feet tall. The dragon didn't scare me as much because I had no reference to it back at home. But seeing the size of this thing unsettled me to my core. My mind was screaming at me that this thing will kill me just for the fun of it.

I froze still and maintained eye contact to assume dominance, for in the slight off chance, it might be more afraid than I am. Which was an enormous reach because my arms and legs were trembling frantically like a vulnerable doe.

What felt like an eternity was the standoff we held with our eyes locked. My only hope was that this wolf was not going to attack alone and would wait for its pack. It was a double-edged sword to wait, though, but that didn't seem likely since the wolf had not called for others yet. This stubborn wolf was not going to budge, so I needed a plan to escape.

Yelling? Loud noises might intimidate the animal and scare it away. Not likely, though, especially for an animal of this size. I'll likely provoke it to charge. Would throwing rocks work? Since it's alone, it might not attack and will just stay nearby until its pack arrives. Or that'll just piss it off more. Running away? It would beat me in a short and long race, no question.

I got it.

While not breaking eye contact with the wolf, I steadily reached my arm across to take off a strap of my backpack from my shoulder. I brought the backpack itself around to the front and readjusted the straps so I could carry the pack reverse-style like a baby harness.

The enormous beast in front of me growled from my sudden shuffling, but thankfully, it did not budge an inch. Maybe it was alone. It didn't matter; I had to act fast before I could find out.

Since my current backpack is a vintage Rucksack design, the zippers for the exterior compartments were still fastened by buckle straps. So I didn't have time to waste undoing them. After unzipping just enough room, I snuck my hand inside the front pouch and felt for what I was looking for.

Hopefully this works with wolves, cause I can't think of anything else right now. Come on. Where are you… Bingo.

I pulled out a bear spray bottle I keep for emergencies in case of encounters with such creatures, but this freakishly large wolf would have to do. I removed the plastic safety cap and firmly pressed the trigger down to release the spray.

The forceful mist fired out to reach the wolf's eyes. The wolf's glaring eyes were now shut tightly as the poor beast yelped and barked. For good measure, I continued to spray as it staggered and violently shook its head. Its massive paws reached up to its snout as it bowed down to clean off the spray's chemicals from its nose and eyes.

Now was my chance. I made a dart in the other direction, away from the cliffside. The bear spray only had one use, so I tossed it away, no longer needing it. As much as I hated littering, I didn't have the time to worry about properly disposing of recyclable materials.

My boots descended downhill, nearly leaping from boulder to dirt as I made my way to the village below, which I had spotted from the cliffside view. Because of how fast I was moving, I had to carefully plan where I was going to place my next step, for a slip-up could be quite fatal when going downhill fast on uneven terrain. Just when I thought I was in the clear, a chilling howl echoed behind me.

Woooooo!

Its warning call bounced off the mountainsides of the valley, making it sound as if there were multiple wolves present, which I hope doesn't come to fruition.

My pace quickened, now throwing caution to the wind with each swift step. My trusty backpack, which was still placed on my front, was bouncing up and down with all my stuff tumbling inside with each jolt.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

It wasn't my backpack being tossed around that made that noise, but it came from my six o'clock. Shifting my head back for a millisecond to glance behind, I could see a dark gray figure sprinting on all fours, right at me.

What did this wolf want? I mean, I know it wants to eat me, but I thought I had scared it off. If not that, I was hoping for the wolf to be inconvenienced enough not to follow. Looks like it took the bear spray personally and was coming back for revenge.

The rhythm of padded thumps began to grow louder and closer. A nasty snarl quickly paired with the menacing steps dashing towards me. The thought of the wolf pouncing on me any second was eating away at me from the inside.

Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!

In between each leap and lunge, I once again reached inside the front pouch of my backpack. I did my best not to break my momentum of speed as I maneuvered my hand inside the shaking pouch.

I didn't want to use this until absolutely necessary, but I don't have any other choice. Who knows how long it'll take to reach the bottom where the village is, and this wolf is bound to make its attack at any moment. My hand pulled out, my Hail Mary, the tool I needed- a flare gun.

I aimed it behind my back with my eyes remaining fixed in front. I was waiting until I had a clear path in front of me to turn around long enough to aim correctly at the wolf.

Now.

"Take this stupid wolf!"

I spun my head back, steadied my hand, centered my aim towards its moving body, and…

"Shit," I yelped.

My right foot misjudged the next step, and the sensation of falling then threw me off balance. The only thing to compare it to is stumbling down some stairs after missing a step. Although I caught myself from totally collapsing and kept running, my arm had shifted much higher than anticipated.

POP!

A bullet of red and smoke shot out from the flare gun. Much to my chagrin, the fiery round completely missed the head of the wolf by an embarrassing margin. My pitiful chance of survival swerved through the branches of the tall trees and made another pop in the sky.

It was official: I was screwed. Not that I had put all my hope in the flare round to kill the wolf, but maybe it catching fire or blinding it would've been nice. As a last-ditch effort, I threw the gun itself back at the wolf. This maneuver, however, took my eyes off the path for too long a second at the wrong time to trip and begin to fall downhill.

SNAP! TWISH! CRACK!

My ragdoll body tumbled through the thicket of the forest floor with each collision breaking a small branch or two. Fortunately, my backpack was able to cushion my front torso to some degree.

THUD!

The worst natural slide in the world came to a halt as I landed in a dirt clearing. A puff of dirt rose from the ground, causing me to cough and spit debris from my lips. Right on cue, the pursuer caught up with the prey and, with much more grace, stuck the landing on all fours.

Whelp, this is it- no more cards to play.

The wolf crouched down, in its final position just before striking with much anticipation. All that could be done was to close my eyes and brace myself for the worst to come. My short-lived journey to a fantasy world was as realistic as it was adventurous. It only makes sense for a shut-in student with no combat or athletic ability to die on the first day in an environment teeming with wildlife and danger.

Suddenly, a rising echo of hooves galloping cut the tense atmosphere, and brought the wolf and I's attention over to the edge of the clearing facing downhill. A saddled horse cut between us and seemed to pay no mind to the dinner course that wolf was about to partake in. The chestnut horse's stride decelerated as it circled the other end of the clearing. The full three-sixty prance it did made it clear that the horse was missing its rider.

A guttural bark from the wolf brought my focus back to the matter at hand. Only, my would-be killer was not looking at me, but upwards toward the sky.

Throughout the chase on the mountainside, the gray clouds had now parted ways and brought out the sun with warm splendor. But a dark shadow remained high and eclipsed the sun. This shadow oddly glinted with light like a silver coin being tossed up in the air. And like a coin, it plummeted down with ferocity, landing between me and the wolf and creating a cloud of dirt similar to what I had done, only this… person was still on two feet.

In front of me was a literal knight in shining armor. A dazzling red cape flapped behind them as they unsheathed an impressive sword from their side. The most unique thing, though, was their flow of long white hair moving gracefully in the wind. It was not a white color from aging, for the volume and contour were youthful, but a shade of white that was only found in the purest of snow.

The silver armor clinked and clanked with the knight's shift into an attacking stance. I could do nothing but once again be thankful for the divine mercy at play, for my life was in the hands of this mysterious warrior.

"Have no fear, sir. Stand back. I'll take it from here," they exclaimed.