SNAFU: Wolves at the Door

“I guess I edited the story a little. You see, they didn’t hit one wolf. They hit two. They just didn’t notice me when I crawled away to tend to my own wounds.” He looked over at Eric as he spoke. “We’re a hearty breed. We have to be. We can heal from almost any trauma, but it takes time. They’d shattered my hips and broken my back when the car hit me. Two days later I was fine, but until then, it took time to mend. Much as I wanted to stop them, to explain what they were doing, I couldn’t do anything but listen to the sounds they made.”

He moved again and this time he faced George, who was trembling. “That’s right. I had to listen while they murdered my little girl, same as you chose to listen. The difference is, you could have stopped them.”

George looked at the man and trembled, not from fear if Scott had to guess, but from shame. That was all it took to convince Scott that the werewolves were right.

Their leader turned around and walked away from George, effectively dismissing him.

“And there you have the story. It took me two days to get better. By then all of you were long gone, of course, but I took the time to memorize your scents, and then I started tracking. It took a long time. Longer than I want to think about, but it was worth it.”

“Look, this is all crazy!” Mark was pacing, upset and nervous. Even Scott could smell his fear. “You already killed Donna! You’ve had your fucking revenge. Just, just call this done and let us go!”

“We already discussed that, Loman. You killed your wife. Not me and not any of my friends. You did that by lying to me.”

“You fucking animal!” Mark had his fists clenched, his face set in a scowl, but Scott could see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

The man smiled at him. “Yes, actually, I am an animal. But because I don’t act like a rabid one, I’ve decided to give you a chance to survive the sadistic murder of my only daughter.” He moved from Mark to George and finally to Cullie as he spoke. “So here’s the deal, gentlemen; we’re going to blindfold you and take you out into the woods. Once we’re where we want you, we’re going to take off your blindfolds and give you a map. That map will show you a ten-mile long course. Once you are on your way, you’ll have one hour to get a head start, and then we are going to start hunting you.” His lips pressed into a thin, angry smile. “And if we catch you, we kill you. It’s that simple.”

“Wait a minute.” Eric spoke up, and shocked damned near everyone. “Wait one minute. That’s hardly what I’d call a fair fight, even with the head start.”

“True enough.” The big man looked Eric over and shrugged. “But it’s better than just ripping their throats out.”

“Give them a fighting chance at least.”

“Why? Have you ever given a deer a fighting chance?”

“Hell yeah. Normally I’m too drunk to shoot and smart enough to know it.”

The leader looked at him for a moment and then laughed. “I like you. Fine. They can each have one knife.”

“Still not very fair, you’ll all have teeth and claws.”

“They’ll have teeth, Captain. They may not be as sharp as ours, but they’ll have teeth. And as for claws, that’s why I’m allowing them each a hunting knife.”

“What about my kids?” Mark was sweating, but his eyes looked less panicked.

“What about them? You fulfilled your part of the agreement. They’re safe and they’ll remain that way, regardless of what happens in the woods.”

“How can I be sure?”

“You can’t. I’m not going to call and let you hear their voices. You’ll just have to accept that. In the meantime, I hope you brought good coats. It’s supposed to snow tonight.”

Eric looked like he wanted to say something; he was even opening and closing his mouth.

“Was there something else you wanted to ask, Captain?”

“I want to go with them.”

“Excuse me?” The man stared at Eric for several heartbeats. “Why would you want to go with them?”

“Because they’re my friends and the odds are stacked against them.”

“The odds were stacked against my daughter, too.”

“I know the risks…”

“Then think about your wife and your children! Don’t be a fool! If you go out with them, you’ll be as hunted as your friends. There will be no quarter given. Do you understand me?”

That shut Eric up, which was good, because if the man who’d set everything up didn’t stop him, Scott would have.

“Say goodbye to your friends, gentlemen, and wait here. Order something to eat if you’d like. My treat. One way or another, we’ll be back here in a few hours.” Having said those words, the leader turned to his men and all six of the strangers pressed in closer to George and Cullie and Mark.

A moment later, they were out the door and heading into the night. Eric and Scott sat down. The same woman who’d served them earlier came back and gave them menus while two older men bussed the tables all around them.

Scott resisted the urge to laugh. It was a little too surreal.

“They’re gonna die, you know that, right?” It was Eric speaking, but he sounded completely wrong. His voice sounded… hollow.