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Refenial and the party of children walked softly through the woods. Once they had passed under the great boughs of the trees, even the energetic Obit had gone silent, unwilling to break the sombre silence of the still forest's air.

The children, Refenial included, quickly collected sticks from the ground. Maxit, however, stood tall as he watched over them, occasionally glancing out into the forest's gloom, his hand tight on the haft of his spear.

The work was simple, but the children came to collect wood daily, so there was little to find in any particular spot. The group was constantly on the move as they slowly meandered through the forest.

After about an hour of working through the forest, They heard the snapping of wood underfoot from behind one of the many bushes that dominated the forest floor. All the children froze in place except for Maxit, who tensed, spear raised into a fighting stance.

"Stand behind me." Maxit hissed at the children in a stressed and urgent voice. Refenial and the other children quickly scampered behind him.

After a moment of tense silence, the bush from behind which the cracking sound had come from rustled, and a gravelly voice called out from behind it to them. "Oh my, oh my, please forgive me, lovely, sweet children. I didn't mean to startle you. Please forgive this poor old man his mistake."

"It's one of them," Obit said softly, but the pigtailed girl shushed him. Maxit glanced back at the group, his eyes fierce and his mouth pulled taught. His demand for silence clearly implied to the group Maxit turned back to the shrub.

"That's fine. Please, feel free to carry on with your day." He said slowly and carefully to the owner of the voice.

"Oh, would that I could; would that I could. You see, I am but a poor travelling sweets merchant and I dropped my sweets on the ground. Please help me pick them up, and I will share them with you. With all your little hands, I'm sure it will be time for some delectable treats." as the voice spoke, it cracked here and there into a monstrous and hungry timbre.

"One moment, good sir, and we will help you," Maxit said before turning around and bringing the children into a huddle to whisper to them out of earshot of what was behind the bush. "This one can talk, so it's probably tough", Maxit whispered to the children.

"what is it?" Refenial whispered back.

"It's a monster", Obit whispered. "They start out dumb but get smarter and tougher if they eat enough people. This one must have eaten lots of people to be this smart."

"I'll lure it out. If it looks too tough to kill, I'll keep it busy while you all scatter. Head back to the village and get help." Maxit said.

"but-" the pigtailed girl began.

"No, there's no time to discuss this. Do what you're told," Maxit said, then turned away, making it clear he considered the conversation over.

Maxit took a deep breath as he looked at the bush, then took several slow steps away from the children and towards the bush. He stood there still as stone in the calm of the forest, then slowly raised his spear, pointing it towards the bush in a defiant challenge of the unseen horror that lurked behind the verdant green. "I know you're lying, monster. Come out and face me if you want to die." He called out loudly and with determination, breaking the quiet air of the forest with his words. Refenial could see Maxit's free hand tremble slightly before the boy tightened it into a determined fist.

The voice behind the bush laughed, "Very well, very well, sweet, delectable little one."

There was a rustling and out stepped a colossal wolf walking on its hind legs. Anatomically it was a strange mishmash of human and wolf, though clearly more lupin than human in its build.

Its movements were odd and shuffling, and each step was more akin to a dog walking on its hind legs than a human's step. It stood well over eight feet tall, even with its slightly hunched posture, its hulking muscles clearly visible beneath its thick fur. Around its neck was a crude approximation of a necktie weaved from long grasses.

It looked at the children, saliva languidly dripping from its hungry maw.

Maxit stepped back, the shake of his hand even more noticeable as the monster emerged.

The wolf walked towards Maxit and the children, its pace slow and unhurried, like a gentleman out for a peaceful evening stroll. The wolf's eyes carefully watched the children as it drank in the fearful looks they gave it.

The wolf slowly and deliberately reached out and casually scratched deep grooves into a nearby tree, clearly enjoying the terrified looks of the children.

"Come, little ones, it's snack time", the wolf mocked them.

"Run!" Maxit screamed hoarsely as he charged spear first at the monster.

As the other children began to scatter, Refenial could only stand still in horror as he watched the wolf casually swat Maxit's spear away with only one hand. With the other hand, the wolf reached forwards, grabbing Maxit by the top of his head, the wolf's substantial clawed hand quickly finding purchase on the boy's skull.

He lifted Maxit up by the head effortlessly and chuckled deeply to himself as he stared deeply into the squirming boy's eyes and slowly licked his chops.

Refenial realized his body was moving well before he consciously decided to do so. He ran forwards, grabbing Maxit's spear that had fallen to the ground and charging at the distracted wolf. He screamed gibberish, his mind too lost to fear to articulate words as he stabbed the spear into the wolf's side with terror-induced strength.

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The spear slammed into the side of the distracted wolf. The unnatural toughness of the wolf stopped it from going far, but it still pierced the monster's shaggy hide, making it howl in pain and surprise.

As the monster jumped back from Refenial, in a combination of shock and surprise, it half dropped, half threw Maxit. The youth crashed into a nearby oak with a force that shook the venerable tree and guaranteed shattered bones at a minimum, if not instant death.

The wolf snarled and snapped angrily at Refenial. It bared its yellow teeth, infuriated, its pride more wounded than its side.

Refenial threw the spear clumsily at the wolf. The wolf's gaze followed the spear, ready to sidestep it. Refenial's throw went wide harmlessly falling to the forest floor. The wolf glanced back at Refenial, who was already running and began to give chase.

The wolf roared with rage as it chased after him. "I'll rip, and I'll tear, till your body is broken and your spirit is mine to keep.", The monster declared, all hints of humanity gone from the monstrous and deep timbre of its unnatural voice.

Refenial ran like his life depended on it, for it certainly did. The wolf roared towards him like a hurricane of death and devastation. While Refenial ducked and weaved under branches and around bushes, the wolf tore through it all, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.

The beast was faster, though, despite its misshapen legs. The sound of Refenial's heartbeat drummed a deep and manic tattoo in his ears as he struggled to stay ahead of the wolf as it slowly gained ground.

K-Kaw! K-Kaw!, a crow screamed out, its perch destroyed by the lumbering behemoth, and several more answered it in the distance.

With a sudden burst of speed, the gap closed, the beast was upon him. The wolf slammed a clawed paw into a tree Refenial was passing by with such force that Refenial's ears rang from the explosive noise. The tree, an ancient oak over 50 feet tall, groaned ominously as if at risk of being felled by the blow.

Refenial's path was blocked by the wolf's arm. He looked up into its hunger-maddened eyes, uncertain of what to do.

"You have annoyed me, little snack, and those others with you have got away." The wolf snarled.

The wolf leaned forwards, his wicked sharp teeth inches from Refenial's neck and ear. He could feel the hot wetness of the monster's breath upon him and smell the sickening scent of rotten meat from its mouth.

The beast began to whisper in Refenial's ear like they were friends whispering secrets to one another. "I know you all came from the village near here, little one. Heh, after I devour you, I'm going to pay it a visit. Do your friends live there? or do your parents? I'm going to eat them all. Oh, with that many people in one place, it could take me days to eat them. Oh my, oh my, from the feet up, you'd be surprised how many days it could be before the first one even needs to die." The wolf's voice exuded savage joy as it spoke. Refenial's heart hammered in his chest harder than he thought possible at its words, and he felt a warm patch slowly spread across his trousers as his bladder involuntarily relaxed.

The wolf slowly reached its free hand towards Refenial's neck. Before he made contact, there was an angry screeching of birds as a murder of crows dived down upon the sadistic wolf.

The wolf pulled back, swatting viciously at the crows.

Refenial slipped to the ground in the chaos, his legs weak with fear. With a desperate drive to survive, he launched himself back and away from the wolf, running towards the wolf's trail of destruction.

It only took the monster moments to slay the crows, but Refenial was able to run several yards giving him a tenuous gap between himself and the wolf. By passing through the trail of destruction, he was also able to avoid obstacles, which stopped the wolf from gaining ground as quickly as it began to chase him again.

The trail ended too soon, and Refenial found himself back where the fight started. Maxit was still slumped against a tree. He wasn't sure if the older boy was unconscious or dead, but he didn't have time to check.

He ran for the spear, grabbed it from the ground and threw it again at the wolf. This time his aim was true. The wolf didn't even break its stride as it batted the spear aside like it was no more than an annoying housefly.

Taking the spear and throwing it had taken too long, and once again, the wolf was nearly upon him. It slowed as it got close, and it was silent this time as it glanced side to side cautiously, half expecting another attack from birds or a spear-wielding child.

Refenial backed away slowly, walking several steps backwards until his back gently thumped into a tree. He was trapped once again.

The wolf began to walk forward more confidently, a toothy smile returning. "Oh my, oh my, look at you all cornered and no birds to save you now." Refenial's shoulders pressed hard against the tree as he stared at the wolf looming over him.

Something small hit the top of the wolf's head, bounced and landed on the ground between them.

Both Refenial and the wolf looked down at it in surprise. On the ground was a small walnut still in its shell.

Another nut bounced off the wolf's head.

The wolf whipped around with a frustrated snarl looking for their source, and quickly found it. Halfway up, in the bough of a nearby walnut tree, Obit stood. His small face was locked in a grimace of defiant opposition. "Hey, leave my friend alone, you stupid, uh, stupid head!" The small child shouted down, his voice wavering between anger and uncertainty.

The wolf lowered his head momentarily before roaring up at the child, "Will no one let me eat in peace!"

The wolf charged at the walnut tree, slamming into it with his substantial weight. There was a crash; wolf and walnut tree collided. This was followed by the sound of the tree's tortured wood slowly snapping as the tree began to tilt further and further to the side as its trunk began to splinter and crack.

"Woah!" Obit cried out as he struggled to keep his balance on the moving tree. The wolf ripped and tore at the tree, quickly destroying what little integrity the tree's trunk had left.

As the tree fell, Obit jumped from its branches. He cleared the falling tree but landed awkwardly on his ankle, screaming in pain. Refenial ran to the small child to help him, but Obit was clearly too winded and in pain from his fall to get up.

The wolf roared incoherently as it stomped towards the pair.

Refenial stood between the wolf and the prone figure of Obit.

At that moment, Refenial was sure he was going to die. The inevitability of his impending demise weighed on him with all the weight of the world. The weight lifted from his shoulders as he realized that if he was to die, then nothing else mattered than this moment. His fear turned to a hot bubbling rage. Nothing mattered, nothing mattered beyond this one moment, himself, Obit and the wolf.

The wolf roared at him angrily as it approached, and he screamed back at the wolf, his cry just as savage and primal as the wolf's despite coming from the voice of a child.

As the last vestiges of reason left Refenial's mind, he charged at the beast, swinging wildly with his open palm.

The wolf met his charge with its wickedly sharp teeth, biting down on Refenial's open palm. The wolf shook his head violently, sending Refenial, whose hand was still imprisoned in his mouth, swinging back and forth wildly. Refenial screamed in an incoherent jumble of pain and rage, lashing out with his legs and free hand, his limbs colliding haphazardly with the wolf.

With a crunching of bone, the wolf bit through his hand as it gave a final head toss, sending the boy flying.

Refenial landed on the forest floor hard, bouncing twice before he finally came to a stop. He coughed uncontrollably as he used the last of his strength to roll his prone body over to see the wolf.

The wolf grinned with satisfaction as it chewed on the half of Refenial's hand he had left behind. His blood painted the fur on the wolf's lower jaw and chest a deep red.

With a final gulping snap of its jaws, the wolf finished its snack and advanced once more on the downed boy.

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