Chapter 2

I screamed into the silence of the forest, clawing at the ground and one of my feet kicking against a tree's root. Frozen snow was mattered in my hair, my limbs covered in cold slush, old blood and dirt. I didn't know what was happening. Were the wolves back? Had they decided that letting me bleed to death was too much? Were they back to finish me off, to tear the skin from my bones?

But I forced my eyes open and only saw snow and dirt, my arm covered in dry blood on my arm. My back arches as pain runs over my spine. I hear a sickening crack felt something move along my skin. I cry out in agony, my fingers burying into the hard dirt and my cheek grazing against something hard and cold. I cringe against the pain, clawing at my skin, at the icy snow. I'm sure I was covered in slush, the ice melting against me, but I didn't feel its icy fingers prickling me. I felt the pain which wrapped around my, trying to climb out of me.

After what felt like hours of pain, sickening cracks and ice scratching against my skin I stopped twitching and withering. Instead lay on the ground, my breath puffing into smoke. A sound, so faint I was surprised I'd heard it; I raise my head, looking towards the scuffle.

A few meters away lay a dark brown wolf, his eyes trained on me. It let out another breath, the puff of smoke swirling in front of its face for a second before it faded. Behind him was another wolf, this one preoccupied with something, its nose in the snow, ears twitching and its tail high and wagging.

I shrink back slightly, and am surprised when a growl echo's from me. A muscle twitches in my shoulder and I try to move backwards but find the movement odd and barely affective. The other wolf, a sandy coloured wolf lifted its head, eyes fixing on me.

I shank back again, my head low and curled into myself. The sandy wolf let out a high bark, her tail resuming it swinging before she went back to sticking its nose in the snow. It seemed very spirited and playful which seemed odd to me. Wasn't it going to try and eat me? The dark wolfs ear twitches, just the slightest of movements and I shrink back again.

The wolf stares at me for a long minute before standing up, the move slow. I hear the sound of the snow moving under him and oddly enough feel my own ear twitch. Slowly and purposely he walks towards me, tail down, ears twitching toward me, then away, before swivelling back to me.

I freeze as he comes to me, too scared to move. He lowers his head and presses his wet nose into my cheek. I shiver and edge away slightly.

His ear flicks again and he steps forward, rubbing his nose against my head and ear. When I don't move, too scared to, he licks me and lets out a low sound. I ignore the urge to shudder and stare up at him. He steps back, seeming uninterested and collapses back into the snow beside me, letting out a big huff of air.

Pain tears though me again suddenly, ripping me apart. I let out a scream which sounds haunted and distorted. The brown wolf starts, head jerking violently. Through blurry eyes I see the sandy wolf jump, tail tucking between its legs before suddenly flicking up quickly, hair on end.

I let out another scream and claw at myself again, twisting in the snow, my skin crawling, my stomach twisting and my limbs screaming in their own silent agony which only I could hear.

Another snap comes, one that makes me cry out and I writher at it. I let out a sound of distress, my cries shrilled and sharp. Then everything goes black again, my body still aching even as the darkness consumes me.