Hunting the Wolf (An Original Story – Part 3)
Part Three
Jason bolts up the narrow path, between the two steep hills, noticing a slight grade.
The path winds upwards, a lazy snake of earth giving way to sand. Dangling strips of bark root assail his face, which he knocks away with his free hand. Larger rocks sit in the path, forcing him to climb over or around.
His attention focused on the rocks, Jason slips on a sandy section of trail. The Remington flies out of his grasp and, in trying to catch it before it hits the ground, he twists his ankle. “Ahh,” he cries out, as lightning flashes of pain trigger up his left leg.
He catches his fall with both elbows as the rifle lands with a clatter to the side, narrowly missing the snowmelt trickling down the center of the trail.
Jason tries to stand, but the ankle screams in protest. He holds onto a root dangling from the trail wall, testing the foot with carefully placed toes. No good.
An indwelt rage forms, and he nearly succumbs to his emotion. He tempers it by turning his thoughts to Little Darling.
“Little Darling’s pain is her worst enemy.” Owlfeather says to him on a wintry day when the foal wouldn’t stand. “She still fears the worst in man. The scars are within her mind. Become the emotional bedrock for her to stand on, and one day you will ride her.”
Jason breathes silently, his thoughts turning to the first day he was able to ride her. It had taken years of many physical and emotional tests, but Jason succeeded.
Jason clears his mind and stands up, ankle bruised but intact. He takes a tentative step, and the ankle holds.
He looks up and notices the trail splitting into two directions. The right follows into a narrower gulley. From the left, a howling sound, hypnotizing him to follow. I’m coming for you, he vows, turning towards the sound.
The trail ends at the top of a rocky ridge. Every other step is a challenge, especially with the rifle in one hand. The howl rises in pitch and volume as Jason reaches the edge.
“Siren’s Gorge,” he mutters, but his voice is unheard, for the howl of the wind blowing through the gorge consumes every other sound.
Risking another fall, he peers down and sees a small pack of wolves lying about, one of them licking its paws. The act fills Jason with anger, and he takes aim. But the sound of the gorge, its pitch rising and falling like a death moan, distracts him. He wonders how the wolves tolerate the continuous wail emanating from everywhere at once.
He backs away from the edge. Four wolves and two distractions -- the siren’s wail, and his ankle that won’t let up.
Too many wolves to kill, he whispers. But -- too many to let live.
Read the next chapter:
Part Four
Start at the beginning:
Part One | Part Two
"Hunting the Wolf" is a speculative science fiction story about a young man enacting revenge on an alien planet. Who do we become when we fight our enemy? I welcome feedback on this story about Man vs. Nature. Stay tuned, as I also will be publishing my 300,000 word epic novel "The Messiah" on Steemit in 2017.
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