Chapter 11

Prowling into the woods, he found a wolf staring at him with its teeth bared. Its eyes glowed red and its height was like that of a horse. Was this some kind of prank or something he thought.

It did not look like a dog but he wondered if it was a fake wolf which was controlled by some off-road computer genius. The creature was too large to be a real wolf. He knew how large wolves were but this wolf was as big as a bear.

"Okay," he laughed, spreading his arms by his side. "If this was part of the camping trip, I understand, but bringing up fake wolves and howls was not part of the deal. You can come out now Jake."

No one responded, making him uneasy. The wolf growled menacingly as Carter jumped back a bit to avoid getting bit.

"That was close," he chuckled. "How about we stop this mess and you come meet the group."

With that, he got closer to the wolf just as it jumped on him.

"Help!" he yelled, grabbing hold of the wolf's fur. He felt the heartbeat of the creature with its growls vibrating throughout its entire body and knew that he had messed with the wrong creature. "Shit! You're real?!"

"Carter?!" he heard Ashley yell out for him as the wolf bit into his hand before turning towards her. "Is that a…?"

"Run Ashley! Run!" he yelled, but it was too late. For the wolf jumped on her, scratching her arm before zipping into the dark bushes.

***

***

Ashley sat on the grass thinking about her parents impending separation. She wanted to help in any way she could but she was still just a child to them.

"Hey, do you think the owners of the reserve would know about the wolves and still let campers camp here?" She heard Carter ask while she played with the grass before her.

"I don't think they would have the license to open up to campers if they have live wolves going around," she answered. "I'm pretty sure whatever you see is a dog."

Her words seemed to calm the boy for he stood to his feet ready to get into the bushes. It seemed like he was after something but she was preoccupied with something else.

"I'll be right back," he noted to her before disappearing into the bushes.

She sat still for minutes wondering how her new life would be like without a full family. Carter had comforted her minutes ago but she knew it was easier said than done. He had lost his perfect family when he was little, but she was losing hers at a teenage age.

"Help!" She heard Carter yell out, getting her to her feet.

"Carter?" she called wondering where he had gone to and what was happening.

Following the sound of a scuffle she was hearing, she got into a clearing to see a huge horse-like creature on top of someone.

It looked like a wolf, but she knew no wolf was that big. This was something else. It growled in anger, grabbing a screaming boy by his arm.

"Carter?!" she yelled again, noticing that the creature was now a wolf as it growled menacingly. "Is that a…"

"Run Ashley! Run!" But she was petrified seeing as the wolf stood to its full height, towering dangerously over her.

She had never seen an animal that huge before. She had gone to the zoo and seen wolves, but they were not this large. The creature in front of her was monstrous and its eyes glowed a deep red.

This was no ordinary wolf.

With a swift movement, it swiped its claws towards her, hitting her arm before zipping into the dark bushes.

She looked to the ground to see Carter bleeding from his arm. Her arm stung a little, but she knew that her injury was not as bad as Carter's.

Helping him up, the two of them started back to the camp in a hurry, just in case the wolf decided to come back for a second round.

***

***

The two of them rushed out of the bushes heading back to their campsites with fear.

They had just encountered a predator and somehow made it out alive.

"Oh God!" yelled Ashley, tearing up a piece of her cloth to tie the claw marks on her hand. "That was close."

"We can't stay here Ash. We need to leave before it comes back," suggested Carter. His hand was gushing out blood and he needed first aid or he was going to bleed out.

"I'm pretty sure it's gone," she laughed. "You're bleeding."

"Oh shit!" he screamed, holding up his bloodied arm. "I am bleeding!"

"Shhhhhhh!" hushed Ashley. "Don't be a cry baby. We saw the warning signs on the wall of the hut and yet here we are."

"Yeah, but I didn't know there would be actual wolves here."

"The name of the reserve is called wolf reserve. What did you expect to find here? Dragons and unicorns?"

With a swift move, she tore up another piece of her cloth using it to tie up his hand.

"Breathe in and out Carter. You'll be fine," she smiled.

Taking in her words, he headed for the edge of the cliff to sit on. Minutes later, she joined him with a white pill in her hand.

"What is that?" he asked before taking it.

"Diclofenac," he chuckled. "It's a painkiller."

"Thanks," he tossed it into his mouth, taking the bottle of water she also handed to him. "How are you so calm?"

"I don't get the question," she retrieved her water bottle, drinking from it.

"I mean, we just got attacked and while I was screaming like a bat out of hell, you were calm and collected. You even made me calm. How are you not panicking?"

Her eyes stayed stuck on the clouds, "I don't know. I did not see any use in panicking. Sure we got attacked but screaming for help would not help us in any way. The hut is still down the mountain and we would only attract more wolves to this area if we panicked."

She was right. If they had run out screaming, they would wake up the others who would in turn scream for help, thereby attracting more wolves in the process.

They both sat at the edge of the cliff looking at the moon. Both of them, wounded by the same predator.

"My head hurts," Carter winced at the moonlight before falling onto his back.

"You'll be fine. It might be your immune system coming into play."

"No I'm serious Ash," his voice started to fade. "My head really hurts."

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking after him as he held his head in pain. "You don't look so good."

"My head hurts," he grunted. "And this damn thing won't stop ringing."

"What thing?" she asked.

"You can't hear it?"

"No."

He looked around, trying to see where the sound was coming from, but it was all in vain.

"I can hear something," he went on, looking around for the source of the sound.

A howl pierced through the night with more howls joining in as he screamed out, writhing in pain.

"What is going on?" Harold asked with sleepy eyes, getting out of his tent with Catherine. They were both in matching pajamas. "What's with the howls? There are wolves here?"

"Can you guys help him?!" Ashley called out, pouring the bottled water on Carter's face.

"Is he bleeding?"

"Yes Harold, he is bleeding. He got bitten by a wolf."

"What the hell?! We've got to take him to the hospital!"

"I've given him a painkiller and tied up his wound. He'll be fine by morning but I don't know what he's talking about some ringing."

"What ringing?"

"I don't know!" Ashley yelled watching Carter writhe around with his hands placed over his ears. "He just started screaming and talking about some kind of ringing."

"Ringing?" Catherine asked with raised brows. "I don't hear no ringing."

"Me neither," Jake joined in with red eyes. Now the whole group was awake, watching Carter scream while rolling on the ground like a possessed boy. "Is he bleeding?"

"Yes Jake. He's bleeding," Ashley grabbed hold of Carter to keep him from moving. "He got bitten by a wolf."

"Oh shit!"

"It's happening to him too?" someone asked behind them as they turned to see a sorority girl in her uniform. She looked terrified.

"Do you know what is happening to him?" Ashley asked.

"I don't," she nodded. "But it's happening to one of our friends after she got bitten by a wolf. We need to leave this place. This place is cursed. I should have stayed home."

Not waiting to hear anything from the group, the girl ran off into the distance, heading the same way they had followed to get to the site.

They all looked back to the boy who was still writhing on the ground as they watched in horror with no idea of what was going on.

"F*ck this!" Catherine yelled, storming into her tent.

"What do we do now?" Jake asked, scared to go near his friend. "All this talks about wolves and whatnot is driving me crazy."

"We put him to sleep," a now returned Catherine replied, stabbing Carter in the neck with a dart.

"What is that?!" yelled Harold in shock, staring at his girlfriend with frightened eyes.

"A tranq dart," she panted, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "That way, we would have to sleep in peace."

Everyone looked at her with frightened eyes.

"Don't worry, the tranq is strong enough to pull down a horse," she went on, ignoring their expressions.

"That is not what we meant. He could die!" Ashley pointed out.

"Ashley," she called out. "I did not come out here to have your friend behave like some possessed child in the middle of a mountain trip. I came here to rest and get away from society. I came here to have a wonderful time away from my parents with my boyfriend. I can't deal with his convulsing anymore."

"You selfish, dumbass!" yelled Ashley, squaring up to hit the girl just as Harold came in between the two.

"Alright. You both should relax!" he yelled. "We need to take him back or we would be in big trouble. We also need to get out of here. The wolves that attacked him might come back. It's not safe here."

"What?!" gasped Catherine. "What about the camping trip?!"

"We will be camping in prison if we don't find a way to deal with him!" her boyfriend yelled back at her, carrying Carter onto his shoulders. "Everyone should pack up and meet me in the car. We leave in ten minutes."

Without waiting for more orders, the group divided into different sections.

Ashley and Harold carried Carter to the car leaving Catherine and Jake to pack up the tents and the bags.

The drug which had been administered to Carter had succeeded in knocking him out, however the big question remained. Was he going to wake up from the tranq dart he was given? And if he did wake up, would he still have his sanity and not the ringing sensation he was feeling?

"We'll drop him in the backseat," Harold noted just as he opened the door, getting inside with Carter while Ashely adjusted his legs.

Within minutes, Jake and Catherine could be seen running down the mountain with numerous bags in their hands.

"Are we going now?" Jake asked, getting into the backseat with Harold exiting.

"Yep," Harold said, igniting his car. "Come on! We need to leave this place!"

The sorority girls were seen carrying one of their own who was twisting around violently into the bus they had driven in.

"What is going on?" Catherine asked in horror.

"I don't know," her boyfriend replied. "But whatever it is, I don't want to stick around to find out."

Shifting the car into gear, he drifted towards the open gate, blitzing by the guard who was waving at them to stop.