The Wolf
First published in "Daily Flash 2011: 365 Days of Flash Fiction." Currently in print, non-exclusive rights.
The Wolf leaps out, its snarling dripping jaws snapping wildly about. It gnashes at my ankles and then darts past me. A second later, I hear my wife scream and I run toward her cries. The Wolf has her by the throat, its jaws locked tight. Its coat is shimmering in the moonlight—glowing. The Wolf’s eyes stare straight at me; they seem to be flames burning bright red in the night—flames rising out of the black sockets.
I lunge and grasp the Wolf around its neck, squeezing tightly. My wife screams louder. I squeeze tighter, pushing my thumbs in hard. I can feel the muscles under my hands stiffen, and my wife’s cries grow even louder. The Wolf paws and kicks at me, its back legs striking my body, while its front legs claw at my face. I press the Wolf’s neck harder—I can feel its muscles straining, tightening its grip on my wife’s throat, making her shriek still louder. I squeeze with all my strength. I feel the strained muscles convulse, and as the two bright red flaming eyes (that still stare straight into mine) slowly die out, my wife’s screams die out with them. I have saved her!
I keep my hands there for a minute, just to be sure it is dead, before I release my grip. I can’t stand to look at its hideous body! I roll on my side to face away from it, and as I do the earth falls from below me. I feel myself slipping into the nothingness and reach out my hand to grasp anything that will stop me. I float in the emptiness for a second, before I hit the hard ground.
I open my eyes. I am lying beside a bed. I rub my neck and face. I can feel stinging, irritated lines running across them—scratch lines all across my face and neck. I hear pounding, like someone knocking furiously on a wall or door…
“—everything all right in there? This is the manager. Please open up! The man in the room next to yours heard screaming. I want you to know, we…I already called the police. Is everyone alright?”
I sit up, my head level with the bed, and look over at my wife laying with the covers wrapped around her. The moonlight is streaming through the window onto her, showing a distorted expression on her face (her lips seemingly frozen in a snarl), her head twisted unnaturally to one side, dark hand prints clearly visible on her neck…
THE END
The Wolf leaps out, its snarling dripping jaws snapping wildly about. It gnashes at my ankles and then darts past me. A second later, I hear my wife scream and I run toward her cries. The Wolf has her by the throat, its jaws locked tight. Its coat is shimmering in the moonlight—glowing. The Wolf’s eyes stare straight at me; they seem to be flames burning bright red in the night—flames rising out of the black sockets.
I lunge and grasp the Wolf around its neck, squeezing tightly. My wife screams louder. I squeeze tighter, pushing my thumbs in hard. I can feel the muscles under my hands stiffen, and my wife’s cries grow even louder. The Wolf paws and kicks at me, its back legs striking my body, while its front legs claw at my face. I press the Wolf’s neck harder—I can feel its muscles straining, tightening its grip on my wife’s throat, making her shriek still louder. I squeeze with all my strength. I feel the strained muscles convulse, and as the two bright red flaming eyes (that still stare straight into mine) slowly die out, my wife’s screams die out with them. I have saved her!
I keep my hands there for a minute, just to be sure it is dead, before I release my grip. I can’t stand to look at its hideous body! I roll on my side to face away from it, and as I do the earth falls from below me. I feel myself slipping into the nothingness and reach out my hand to grasp anything that will stop me. I float in the emptiness for a second, before I hit the hard ground.
I open my eyes. I am lying beside a bed. I rub my neck and face. I can feel stinging, irritated lines running across them—scratch lines all across my face and neck. I hear pounding, like someone knocking furiously on a wall or door…
“—everything all right in there? This is the manager. Please open up! The man in the room next to yours heard screaming. I want you to know, we…I already called the police. Is everyone alright?”
I sit up, my head level with the bed, and look over at my wife laying with the covers wrapped around her. The moonlight is streaming through the window onto her, showing a distorted expression on her face (her lips seemingly frozen in a snarl), her head twisted unnaturally to one side, dark hand prints clearly visible on her neck…
THE END