"Die! Drop dead! Rotten soul! Burn, creature!"
Now the crowd's screams were crystal clear, and I could see the whole damn picture. In the center of this godforsaken village stood two posts, one already blazing with bright, hungry flames, and the dancing shadows looked sinister as hell, because tied to that post was a body, a dead charred corpse... of a child... Why don't I smell burning? Why do I want to cry? To rage. On the second post... another—another!—living girl. Her mouth was gagged, her hands were tied... She had no hands! The little girl had no hands! A kid about twelve years old, she's sobbing, her cropped hair sticking out messily in all directions. Tied by the waist to a wooden post...
She had no strength left to fight, the bandaged stumps were bleeding. Instead of clothes they'd thrown some torn sack on her, and through its holes you could see countless beatings and burns.
It's one thing when you see casualties of war, when men kill each other, when after another battle you accidentally find dragged-in civilians. But this... This is some special kind of evil. A crowd of people—adults, young folks, children, parents... Their hatred hung in the air, and all of it was aimed at this girl. I felt their emotions on my skin, like hurricane winds. Why, why are they doing this? This can't be real, this is madness!
My teeth involuntarily bared, and I barely choked back a growl. A quick memory flashed—about how I saved a girl from my world. If I quickly cut the ropes, I can grab the little one and get the hell out of here! I filled my lungs with air. Come on, wolf, everything will work out!
As soon as my snout stuck out a little more from behind the fence, the girl's gaze cut right through me... Exhausted and swollen children's eyes looked at me, right at me! How does she know?
Pulling myself together again, I prepared to jump, when suddenly the matted hair swayed from side to side. The girl shook her head no, so slowly, so carefully, but it was a clear "don't." I don't get it... Why?! Witch, if you can hear me! We can help! Why? Why...
Tears flowed down the dark fur. These are... my tears?
"She can't be saved..." I heard the whisper again.
My body refused to budge. There was no answer to the question "why?" So, choking with helpless rage, I watched as they lit the straw with a torch, and fresh fire instantly flared up. And there was no fear on the child's face... Only relief.
Very soon the agonized moans were replaced by the empty crackling of flames.
"Die, witch!" the crowd kept chanting.
I need to leave, I need to... How I want to tear them all to pieces! Burst into the middle, cut, slash... but breaking a promise so quickly would be shameful. Besides, however horrible it looked, among the celebrating people there are also... children.
Leaving the village wasn't hard, and here, again deep in the forest thicket, I just waited for when the witch could talk to me. How far does this local wilderness even stretch? And who had the bright idea to build a whole village in the middle of an impenetrable forest? Damn it, there are only more questions! I have to wait, that's all that's left. Hell, and the plan seemed good! Only plans have one very bad habit: they fall apart.
Under cover of night exhaustion took its toll, I barely closed my eyes, settling on the cold ground. And the recent gaze of the girl drowning in bright light...
"Don't sleep, wolf!"
The witch's scream was deafening, like she was yelling right in my ear.
Anger was replaced by a familiar smell. Son of a bitch! Hunters, they're too close! How? When did they manage to catch up? That man... Most likely, he put them on the right trail.
I tore off from the spot in a dead sprint, luckily in the pitch darkness I could see almost like daylight. Briefly catch my breath, switch running to walking—and again running full throttle. Night had long given way to day, and the damn forest still had no end in sight. Well, at least the smell of pursuers disappeared.
Day, night, another day. Seems I was starting to get used to it and even see the perks of the new body.
It's fast. When I got hungry, a white rabbit couldn't escape me.
It's strong. When I had to cross the river, knocking down a tree wasn't tough.
Sounds, smells... If the whole situation wasn't one huge mess, I could've celebrated what I couldn't see or hear before: the first rays of sun stabbing through tiny snowflakes, the crunch of frozen grass, the beauty of the night sky. The witch's voice no longer sounded, the terrible scene with the child gradually faded from memory.
Licking my paw, I thought... Where am I going? Hmm, don't remember. Well, I'm going somewhere. Seems like it's important. After another day of travel I came out to a clearing where I saw another wonder of nature: small black flowers, not letting snow near them, formed a circle.
I picked one. A pleasant smell... I don't know, something sweet... filled my nostrils. Where... am I going? Mmm, okay, I'll smell a little more, and then I'll need to find food.
Crossing the dead snowy field, I suddenly realized I'd stopped counting days. Probably another day or two passed. I glanced at the horizon: trees. North, east, south, west... Trees everywhere.
I kept walking randomly. Almost reached a new clearing—and slipped: under the snow my paws slid on ice. Apparently there was a stream or some channel here.
Shaking myself off and growling, I stared at my reflection. Red tired eyes, dirty fur, bloodied fangs. Is this me? Was I always like this? What kind of question is that, of course it's me!
My ears twitched at some sound, and I sniffed. Food. I quickly found the source of the smell. A white bear was scratching its back against a massive tree, and a black circle decorated its forehead. There was even a whole... mmm... forgot the word... Bunch? Yes, a whole bunch of circles! All the animals I'd met were white with black markings.
Why am I even thinking about this?
Growling angrily, I challenged the bear to battle, continuing to stand on two legs. A familiar growl came in response: "This is my territory, get lost!" I'd heard this so many times I'd learned to understand.
The bear stepped forward. It was huge, the biggest of all I'd seen. Without looking away, I stared directly into its eyes and slowly circled from the side. I snapped my fanged jaws, and spit flowed down my chin.
The first attack was a bust: a huge paw swatted me aside, but for some reason my body remembered how to roll, and I quickly got up. I think wolves shouldn't move like this, but it happens automatically.
Exchanging growls, we came together in a test of strength. The bear opened its jaws—it reeked of week-old roadkill. Jumping back slightly, I finally managed to catch the white hide with my claws, but the bear's next blow threw me to the ground again, so hard I rolled head over heels. Strong... Too strong. "Get lost!" the beast kept growling.
Self-preservation finally kicked in, and backing away, I left the enemy's territory. But the feeling of defeat ate at me much less than hunger... How I want to eat! But I can't smell anyone.
"We've almost arrived, wolf, pull yourself together!"
Whose, whose whisper is this?
"The werewolf is winning inside you. A little more, wolf, go a little more, and reason will return!"
Shut up! What is this? Am I losing my mind?
My stomach rumbled. Food, I need food. Exactly! Maybe that calling sense of direction... I'm being drawn to where there's food? Forgetting everything, I rushed forward.
Indeed! Delicious smells! There are many of them, so many!
Kicking up snow, I flew forward. Tree, another tree... It seemed they would stretch forever. But finally, I burst into open space! Look left, look right. Forward.
Two girls with eyes wide with horror stood before me, holding hands, one had her right eye bandaged. Light wind stirred warm hand-knitted vests and scarves. The girls' lips trembled. Maybe this is food?
I growled angrily, but something held me back from pouncing.
"Aunt Rita! Aunt Rita!" The girl with long black hair dragged the bandaged one away.
My stomach was already twisting inside out from hunger, my eyes were getting foggy.
Ahead stood a house—a small little house, thrown together from whatever scraps they could find. How many delicious smells come from inside... I noticed more children near the door, girls. Seems like one of them had an animal tail?
Doesn't matter! Finally the strange feeling retreated, and using my hands for balance, I began pursuit.
"Aunt!" At the children's screams, throwing the door wide open, an adult girl ran out of the house, almost naked. She clearly felt no discomfort from the cold, and the furry tail sticking out from under her cloak hinted at non-human origins. Her bare feet sank into the snow, the rescuer made it just in time when my claws almost reached the bandaged girl. I caught a solid punch to the snout—so powerful it instantly dislocated my jaw and threw me back. Even farther than that bear.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed another girl appeared, who like a mother with daughters, hugged the girls and quickly herded the other children into the house.
"Wild? How did you even get here?" asked the first one, stretching her neck. Red pupils filled with anger; messy brown hair fell along her back to her waist. Jingling a necklace of multicolored stones, the girl took a stance matching mine, ready to pounce. "Sorry, but today you die."
She took one last deep breath—hot steam poured from her mouth. The slender body gradually sprouted hair, pointed wolf ears appeared on her head, replacing human ones. Gradually removing her clothes so they wouldn't tear, a werewolf was preparing to jump in front of me, just like me! Only the brown hide and smaller build hinted at the female gender of its owner, and there was slightly more fur on the back of her neck, and it looked like a mane.
She shook her head, and the sound of stones from her necklace again broke the silence.
Setting my jaw back in place, I also prepared for battle. In front of me stood an enemy, and enemies must be destroyed!