Pack of Attackers

As I expected this time of day, few people were in the park outside of joggers and the dog walkers. It was still warm enough that I wouldn’t need my coat, and seeing as I hadn’t picked it up when I stormed out of the hotel room, that was a good thing. I wasn’t sure how long I should give Jay before I would crawl back to him, but I wanted to make him worry about his ‘lost investment’ for at least a bit.

I couldn’t stop the slight sigh that escaped my lips as I slowly travelled down the path. Why had I been giving him such a hard time again? I had thought it was just so that I could have a reason to divorce him, but now I was feeling upset about not being cherished by him at all. Had I caught feelings for him?

“Ugh, no way,” I muttered to myself and shook my head swiftly. There was not a chance in hell that I had any feelings for such a man! He was too pathetic and sickly sweet.

Passing by a small group of people, I paid no heed to anyone else around me as I muttered quietly under my breath. I glanced their way as I stepped around them; the group looked at me as if they were about to start a fight. I was nervous at first, but when not a single one of them did anything, it relieved me. I hurried down the path and away from the group, but in doing so, I had to take a different path. One that led through the small cluster of trees.

Halfway through the path, a large dark dog jumped out in front of me, growling and pulling its jaws back into a snarl. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. Was it a stray? Or had I startled it somehow? It looked too feral to be a pet.

“Good doggy?” I whispered. The beast of a dog growled louder at my words. Slowly backing away, the dog matched the pace I set. If it attacked me now, would someone get to me in time to help? I bit my lower lip and continued to back away before the sound of more snarling came from behind me.

I froze. There was more than just one of them and this one sounded just as angry as the other. I dared a glance back, though I tried to keep the first dog within my view. The other one was similar in fur colour, but was almost twice the size!

Fearful for my life, I glanced around for any sign of another person. The group from before had gone. There was no other human nearby at all! I let out a quiet whimper when I realised I was on my own. The only thing I could do was run, knowing very well that with my pampered lifestyle, I stood no chance to outrun these things or two, pick a tree and hope I could climb it high enough before they could bite me.

As soon as I darted for the nearest tree, the two dogs leapt to attack, biting and snarling at my ankles. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but the only thing they did was pull my shoes off of my feet. I was thankful that I had put on slip-on shoes when storming out. Climbing up into the tree and as high as I could get, I saw more large dogs around me. It was almost as though they had planned for me to flee so they could ambush me.

That’s when I realised. These were not dogs. They are wolves!

I had expected wolves near Jay’s resort but at the seaside? There shouldn’t be any wild animals outside of birds and rodents here! So why was a wolf pack here now? Not only that, if they were so brazen as to attack a human, then others in the area were at risk, too.

“Help! Wolves! Someone! There are wolves in the park!” I yelled out as loud as I could, but all I heard in response was even more growling from the beasts below. A couple of them jumped up to get at me. I climbed higher as a result. I couldn’t stay here all night, but nor could I climb down until I was saved.

Has everyone in the park suddenly vanished? I tried calling out again, though it felt like my attempts were in vain. “Someone please help me! Wolves!”

One wolf leapt up again, using two branches as stepping stones. I just barely pulled the hem of my dress away from its maw as it snapped down. I let out a frightened sob, knowing that if no one came for me, then I might die here. If the wolves didn’t kill me, the exposure to the nighttime coldness would.

I didn’t know what else I could do; the wolves were persistent in trying to get to me. I didn’t understand why they seemed to think I would make a tasty meal. I wasn’t their usual prey, and they didn’t look like they had any sickness to make them act like this. Though what did I know? Wolves shouldn’t even be in a place like this to start with!

I continued to climb a little higher, though my footing slipped just enough to allow one wolf to catch the edge of my dress. I thrashed my leg out, kicking it in the muzzle hard enough that it let out a yelp and fell back to the ground. Getting my balance again, I sat on a higher branch and looked down at the group as they looked up at me.

I let out a choked sob. They would not give up, and no one was going to come to save me. I was at a loss about what to do. I was going to die here, alone, and no one would find me until morning when it was too late.