Wolves Are Inside the House! - The Mad Wolf (Chapter 3)
In haste, I left the doors open endangering my wife and daughter. Will I make it back in time to save them from these beasts?
A short fictional story about a family moving to the country, seeking peace and rest, only to find ourselves being hunted and having to fight for our lives by something lurking in the dark.
Previous chapter of the story:
911, This Is an Emergency - The Mad Wolf (Chapter 2)
If you’re new to the story, start here:
A Paradise in the Country Gone Wrong - The Mad Wolf (Chapter 1)
A moment of carelessness is all it takes
I'm sorry, officer. You're on your own. I ran back to the house as fast as I could. I tripped on a root, falling down face first. My head hurts. Vision is blurry. The door is wide open. I hear screams!
“Maria! I’m coming, baby! I’m coming!”
I ran into the house. It’s chaos. War! The dog is fighting a giant black wolf! There’s blood everywhere. Whose blood? I don’t know. Maria is swinging the fireplace poker like she’s swinging a sword. Smart girl. I look around for something, anything to fight with. I grab a kitchen knife. It’s not much. It’ll have to do.
The hounds are rolling around. Growling. Biting. The sheepdog is holding his own. Good boy. He’s got blood all over his fur. I have to help. They’re too fast, too violent. To hell with it! I jump on the wolf and grab it by the back of his neck. The dog bites me by accident!
It’s okay. You’re a good boy, I tell him with my look. He backs away, bloody and crippled. I shove my knife into the wolf's throat. I stab! I stab! I stab again! It’s a strong beast. It carried my weight and didn’t crumble. A few more stabs, and it’s finally over. The wolf falls to the ground. The beast is dead.
Maria runs up the stairs to check on Suzie. The little girl was safe in her room. Or was she? I ran to close the door. There are wolves out there. They want in. Not in my house, you dirty mutts! A moment later, I see my wife falling down the stairs! What the hell happened?!
She looks at me and yells, “Wolf!”
One word is enough to send chills down my spine. One got up there. Poor Suzie. I grip the knife in my hand and step over my wife. She’s alive., but what about Suzie? I take a few steps up the stairs when I see the giant wolf staring down at me. You had better not harmed my little girl, you foul beast! I will send you back to hell!
I hear a battle cry. It’s coming from my mouth. “Aaaaaaaa!”
I’m not the one making the sound. Something ancient awoke within. All fear disappears. What is left is unknown to me. Rage! Instinct! Lust for murder!
I run toward the wolf, screaming! It doesn’t care. It’s not afraid of me with my little knife. It has dozens of its own all over its mouth. I channel my inner warrior and jump the last few steps, swinging with my knife! I cut the beast across its snout! I heard a squeal. If you bleed, you die!
The Wolf gives ground. It doesn’t run. Blood squints into its eyes. Now, it sees only red. Just like me. I will die before I let you get to her! “Dieeee!” I scream as if that would help.
The wolf makes its move. It jumps straight at me. I swing the knife wide. It ducks and bites my leg! Pain! It doesn’t let go, the beast. Oh no! It’s shaking my leg like a chew toy. I can see the white of my bone. Fuck! I lose my footing and hit the ground. The knife falls out of my hands. I try kicking the wolf with my other leg. I kick once, twice, a dozen times before it finally lets go.
I’m still lying flat on the ground as the wolf jumps at my throat! Its aim is true. It bit my left arm when I protected my face! I hear bones cracking. The beast bites hard! This ain't no dog. It’s a monster! The wolf starts to shake its head violently. Throwing me around like a rag doll. I shove my finger in his eye! I press it hard! Deep! In one move, I poke the eye out of its socket! It lets go. It's in pain. Good. So am I, you fucking hellhound!
I hear Maria yelling, “Suzie! Suzie!”
I jump up. The wolf backs off. We’re not done yet, you foul beast. I look for my knife, but it’s out of reach. I have to get past the wolf. So be it! I run toward the wolf and kick its head in! The beast stumbles. It doesn’t fall. I kick again, and again, and again. It catches my last kick and sinks its teeth deep! Shit! I overplayed my move. One sweep of its powerful neck, and I’m back on my ass!
This time, I can almost reach the knife. Almost. Just a little more. The wolf drags me away again and again. I kick it in its face. It’s undeterred. I hear my little Suzie call out for me, “Dad! Dad? I’m scared!” as she opens the door to her room. No!
“Close the door, honey! Close the door!” I yell. The wolf notices her. Easy prey. It lets go of my foot and heads for her. “Shut the door now! Suzie!”
She tries. The wolf is quicker. It knocks the door wide open, and she lands somewhere in her room. I grab the knife and limp behind them. Maria beats me to it. She runs into the room with that fireplace poker and stabs the wolf in the chest! The wolf is hurt but not dead. It turns around and knocks her on the ground. It goes for her face but bites on her arms.
“Get off of her!” I yell as I approach. “Fucking die!”
I grab the beast by his ear, almost tearing it off, and show my knife under its jaw! I dig deep. I don’t pull out. I twist the knife in the one-eyed beast until the life leaves its body. I don’t let go until all that is left is a hairy, empty shell. As it falls down, so do I.
I see Suzie hugging her mother. They’re okay. They’re alive. The beast is dead. I can rest. I feel Maria’s hand touching mine. We look at each other. I am overflown by relief. It’s over. But is it?
For a while, we stay in that tight hug. I’m so happy my girls are okay. There are no words to describe how I feel. I’m losing consciousness. Blood loss is real. I’m losing a lot. I don’t care. The body does. I fall asleep holding tight to my girls. Was it sleep, or am I dying? Who cares? They’re all right. That’s all that matters!
I wake up to the sound of a telephone ringing. It takes me a while to realize what’s going on. Everything is hazy. The phone keeps getting louder and louder. Why isn’t anyone picking up? My vision returns. I look to my left. I see a big fucking wolf lying next to me! I slide away in panic. It’s dead. The one-eyed monster is dead. Good. Where’s the bloody phone? On the nightstand next to the bed. I don’t remember putting it there. Oh well.
I answer the phone. “Hello?”
They say they’re calling from the police station. Something about the cops they sent to check on us. They’re not answering their radios. They sound worried. No shit!
“They’re dead!” I tell them. “Wolves. Send backup!”
I look around the room. Where are Maria and Suzie? I try calling their names, but I’m too weak. I can barely whisper. I caught out blood. That is not a good sign. The lady on the phone wants details. I don’t have time for this. I must find my girls.
“I don’t know,” I tell her, “Come and see for yourself. Bring guns. Lots of guns. Fucking wolves are everywhere! I gotta find my girls,” and I hang up.
I manage to get up. Slowly but surely. I look at the time on the phone. What the fuck? I’ve been out for hours! My wounds have been patched up. No doubt Maria’s handiwork. It stopped the bleeding. Good girl. I’m gonna need stitches. Lots of stitches. There’s gonna be scars. Lots of scars. I head downstairs. I still can’t yell out their names. My voice has abandoned me. Where the hell are my girls?
Every step is torture. My leg is fucked. It’s a good thing I have two. My arm’s no better. Luckily, it’s the left one. I can live with that. I hope to see them sitting next to the fireplace. The place is empty. The fire is out. It’s cold. I checked the other rooms. Nothing. Where are they? They didn’t just vanish into thin air!
I see the other dead wolf is still here. The dog isn’t. Did he pull through? He is a good boy. I want to take him in. He’s kept Maria safe when I failed her. The door? I remember. It’s closed but not locked. This wasn’t the wolves. What the hell?
I peek outside the window. It’s still dark. The sun should be up in a couple of hours. I want to wait until then. But my girls! Where are my girls? I try to force myself to open the door. I can’t. Something is holding me back. I’m panicking. In shock, I tell myself. But no. I’m just a fucking coward. Inside the house is safe. Outside is not. For me, but what about Maria? What about Suzie?
I crumble and sit with my back against the door. I don't know what to do. I notice something strange. Large muddy footprints. They look like boots. These aren’t mine. Nor are they my girls. This wasn’t wolves! What the hell is going on here?
That wakes me up. I jump to my feet. Suddenly, my strength returns. I may be terrified of wolves, but I can handle men! I taped some paper magazines around my arms and legs. Tightly! Let those mutts bite through this, I say to myself. I put on my jacket. Leather, for extra protection. Yeah, right! These things bite like a T-Rex, for Christ’s sake. I grab the flashlight and walk out the door.
Scanning the front of the house, I noticed some tracks. I’m not a tracker, but what I see makes no sense. Big and small human footprints mixed in with wolves. It could be the dog. I don’t know. I hope it’s the dog. I check the police car for a weapon. Ah, the good old shotgun. It’s loaded. I never used the damn thing. How hard can it be? You point, and you shoot. I see lights flashing in the distance. It’s the cops. They finally came.
I look at the rifle in my hand. Blood on the porch. No bodies to be found. This doesn’t look good for me. It’ll take time to explain. They’ll overreact. I'll end up in handcuffs or full of holes. I don’t have time for that. I holster the axe I used to chop wood with and head out. I follow the tracks as best I can. I know this direction. I don’t like what it means.
I made it far enough. I see the cops running around my house in the distance. Flashlights buzzing like fireflies. It’ll take them some time to catch up. Enough time, I hope. They can’t stop me now. I point my flashlight at them and flicker. I don’t know Morse code, but they get the message. I see them pointing their flashlights in my direction. Backup can’t hurt.
Now where’s that grumpy old fucker? He’d better not hurt my girls! The wolves will be the least of his problems.
To be continued…
Onto to the final chapter:
A Disturbance in the Pecking Order - The Mad Wolf (Final Chapter 4)
I follow the tracks to rescue my girls from their kidnapper, while fighting a pack of raging wolves, in a blazing inferno.
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