A Change In The Weather

Chapter 54: Cry Wolf

16 April, 2008 – 7:56 am

The path continued to wind on as the day grew long, twisting around the landscape, following the hills and holes of the countryside, whilst all the time hugging the border of the looming forest nearby.

Over the course of the day the forest served to be a constant reminder that they were somewhere other than home; two lands so far away from each other, and yet – perversely – at the same time separated by the merest sliver of reality infinitely thinner than a single sheet of paper.

It was a distance that could not be measured by normal means, or – indeed – any means at all.

The evergreen forest of Tannith and its dark, odious interior, seemed to be everywhere as they trudged along the dirt track. No matter how quickly they walked, or how meandering the path became, the forest seemed to follow them, like the eyes of some imperious portrait.

‘Did they have to build the path so close to the trees?’ muttered Scarlet, to herself. The forest had filled her with a morbid dread that for whatever reason she couldn’t shake off, and as she glanced at the pines and conifers once more, with their dense vertical trunks, she tried to imagine what creatures inhabited its interior.

Hillary had suggested that they follow the signpost in the direction of the peculiar-sounding ‘Lesser and Greater Winding’. And so, as the day drew on and the sun hung ever lower in the sky, Scarlet was beginning to wonder whether they would meet anyone at all from this strange, but yet at the same time, very normal-looking land.

She glanced to her right and tried to make out some shapes in the trees, but she just shuddered as she let her imagination run away with itself. Why were they going in this direction? How did Hillary know where to take them? But the questions in turn begat more questions in her mind, and she shook her head and looked over to check on Thomas who was lagging behind her.

She frowned: he looked desperately sad, and so she stopped and waited for him to catch up.

‘C’mon Tom. What’s the matter?’ she said brightly, trying to lift his - and her - flagging spirits.

He looked up, but just shrugged.

‘It’s mum and dad. I can’t help it. I just keep thinking about them.’ He said, kicking up some dust and stones. ‘With the cold and snow and everything happening back at home - will they be alright?’

Scarlet looked at him; she hadn’t really noticed before how small and helpless he’d become.

‘I’m sure they will.’ she said, eventually.

‘I hope so,’ he said. ‘I really miss them.’

She was lost for words momentarily, because she missed them awfully too, but had tried not to show it, for fear of upsetting Thomas. It wasn’t as if Thomas was known for showing any outward signs of emotion, but even so, she still felt as if she should protect her younger brother, especially now where they were out of their depth, far beyond normality. His emotions took her by surprise and it tugged at something deep inside. For a moment she felt vulnerable and alone, and tried to hold back and stop herself from blinking as an unexpected tear welled up in the corner of her eye. If she thought about it anymore she would break down in floods of tears. Instead, she smiled back at him.

‘Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.’ She said, reassuringly, trying to fight back a sob.

It was at that moment that she noticed Hillary - who was up ahead with Tobias – had stopped in the middle of the path. He was looking towards the trees to his right, and so she too followed his gaze and stared into the innards of the forest.

And then something made her jump.

From out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something move, and quickly wiped her tear-ridden eyes with the back of her sleeve.

Something felt wrong.

And then, without warning, as quick as lightning and too fast to make out, something large shot out from the cover of the trees and across the path, taking Wendle with it in the process, and disappearing into the trees on the opposite side. A cloud of dust was churned up in its wake, leaving behind just a dislocated silence that awkwardly hung in the air. Whatever it was, it moved far too fast for it to be identified.

‘Wendle! Wendle! Where the hell is he?’ screamed Scarlet.

A terrible howl filtered through the trees - competing with Scarlet’s scream of susprise. It travelled through the air, forcing Scarlet to clap her hands over her ears in an effort to mute the loud, doleful sound. It was almost as if the Cockatrice had returned. In the confusion, she didn’t know which was worse.

Hillary ran back towards everyone, waving his hands in the air frantically.

‘Everyone get in a circle!’

Needing no further explanation or incentive, they quickly huddled themselves together. As they did so, another howl – this time further away – rang out through the forest. It was uncertain as to whether it was the same creature or another one.

‘What the hell was that Hillary?’ stammered Tobias, his eyes everywhere.

‘A wolf. No time to explain. There may be others.’

‘A wolf? Like hell it was. It was massive! Didn’t you see it?’

Hillary reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch.

‘We’ll need this,’ he said, taking a pinch of something from the pouch. ‘Everyone, hold out your hands.’

Taking the powder, he sprinkled it onto everyone’s palms.

‘What is it?’ Scarlet asked, breathlessly.

‘Aconite: wolfsbane. It will ward off the wolves if they get too close. Don’t lick your fingers though - it’s highly poisonous. Deadly even. Rub it over your clothes. Quickly!’

Scarlet nodded slowly, then looked up.

‘That wasn’t a normal wolf was it?’ she said.

Hillary shook his head.

‘No.’

He put the pouch back in his pocket and looked around.

‘It was a dire wolf.’

Scarlet had never seen a wolf before, and she’d definitely never heard of a dire wolf before. Even its name sounded dangerous. Instantly she longed for home and her comfortable life, her parents, and normality. She shuddered to think at the other creatures that they might encounter. It didn’t bear thinking about.

She desperately looked at the powder coating her hands. To her it was just powder. What good would it do against a slathering wolf the size of a tiger?

And then Wendle – bloodied and ragged - crashed back through the foliage, collapsing in a heap in the middle of the path.

Scarlet started to run towards him, but Hillary grabbed her by the arm and pulled her firmly back to the others.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she said crossly.

Instead, Hillary nodded towards the path where Wendle had just reappeared.

Scarlet’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

Something skulked out out of the darkness of the forest; a vast silhouette with eyes that burnt red and fierce and bright. Its slathering mouth was warped into a perverted grin that showed off its sharp canines, which glinted in the evening light. With a back bristled with stiff fur, it slunk from the murky gloom of the trees, trying to gauge their motives and sensing their intentions, whilst all the while keeping its burning eyes fixed firmly on Scarlet.

It warily sniffed the air, before letting lose a powerful howl to the sky.

Scarlet’s mouth dropped.

‘Oh god. It’s huge.’

Immediately, the wolf’s call was answered with other howls from the deep forest. How far away they were could only be guessed at. But it confirmed one thing: they were definitely not alone…

Posted in A Change In The Weather |