The Wolf

• Chanel Pagalia, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2023

I scratched and clawed at my legs in nothing but sheer agony, as ruthless mosquitoes latching onto my thighs triumphed in the battle of survival. After much restraint at trying to stay upright and on my legs, my feet had buckled underneath me causing for me to collapse onto the prickly grass field that had previously been resting peacefully below. I felt my face morph into one of horror, as the grass once a light brown colour immediately became replaced with a tinted red one due to the amount of blood seeping through my dirt covered flesh. The blood flowing relentlessly, and time had one similarity They were both running out at a rapid speed. The thump thump thumping of my heart had consumed my ears entirely, blocking out any lingering insect’s chirps and calls attempts to snap me back into reality. I snuck a pained glance up from my place on the grass hoping to be met with the clear and sunny sky. However, I was met instead with the moon taking dominance of what was once a scorching hot sun. A sea full of stars shined down as if taunting me of my misfortune. A full moon. Once again, I was putting not only my life within a massacre of danger but the lives of all those around me in worse.

I distracted myself by thinking back to the young blonde girl I had met in the disturbingly close town earlier today. Her thick locks of hair had flowed freely behind her in neat curls as she passed out smiles like money. I had watched in awe from my place on the curb of a once street as she walked with confidence as if she wasn’t calling home the poorest town there was. Dawning on me was the unsettling feeling that in a matter of even minutes she could be a pile of straight bones, disappearing as if never once existing.

Forcing me back into an unwanted reality was an abrupt but expected pain shooting through my head signaling that it was happening. The hair on my back turned into an unbearable amount as my senses around me heightened. The smell of blood become more desirable and prominent by the second. My breath became more and more labored as the weight of what I had become was strangling me with two closed fists. Time was out. Taking one last snapshot in my mind of the sleeping town ahead, I released all the resentment within me.