Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #15 June 2015 | Page 93

responded.

gwenth. “You killed him,” he said.

Jack ran towards her, scowling, his fist flying toward
her face. Angwenth dodged, her hand grabbing the
back of his shirt and pulling him off balance. As he
spun around, he lost footing and landed on his back.
Angwenth towered over him, her foot pressed to his
throat to keep him from standing. Wiggling under the
pressure, his face showed that he was losing his air.
He grabbed at her foot desperately.

Angwenth glanced down at the bigger man and narrowed her eyes. She looked back up at Ray.

When his face started to turn blue Angwenth couldn’t
help but smile. “Now you know how those dogs feel,”
she hissed. “Tortured, in pain, no control.” The man’s
grip weakened and his hands dropped to the ground.
A soft whimper broke her focus, bringing her back
to reality. Angwenth looked to see a beautiful black
mother wolf, white sprinkled along her nose and
around her eyes. She stepped away from the dead
man, and over to the animal.

The young boy shook his head in disbelief. “They’re
just dumb animals. Should have been smarter not to
get caught in the traps.”

Her front right paw was stuck inside a metal bear trap,
the sharp edges slammed into the leg, making it useless, the paw hung limp. Behind her was a solid black
pup, licking his mother’s other leg in fear and protest.
As Angwenth took a step towards her, the mother
wolf let out a growl. Angwenth paused, crouching
down and waiting for a moment. The wolf sniffed the
air and, as Angwenth grew closer, tensed. When her
growling didn’t continue, Angwenth took it as a sign
she could continue.

“You’re going to shoot me anyway.” She said between
gritted teeth, forcing herself to stand still. “Might as
well take you with me.”

It took a moment for Angwenth to get her fingers in
the trap and pry it open. It released with a snap, and
the wolf grabbed her pup by the neck, limping off
towards the forest. Angwenth smiled as the animal
glanced back at her. She closed her eyes, feeling her
blood cool, her pulse settle. She let the anger fade
from her system.
When she opened her eyes she saw it happen in a split
second. The mother wolf, mid-stride, dropped to the
ground. An ear shattering shot blasted past the side of
her head. She could feel the wind of the bullet rustle
her hair. Jumping up and spinning on her heel, she
faced Ray, his unbroken arm shaking, still aiming the
gun at the wolf. He pointed the barrel towards An-

“How many animals have you killed for your games?”
Her voice was a harsh, edgy whisper. It tore through
the air like the bullet. She clenched her fist to keep
herself from snapping at him, worried her sudden
movement would make him pull the trigger.

Angwenth growled and took a step closer to him.
His arm raised a bit higher, the gun pointing towards
Angwenth’s head. “Don’t come any closer, I will shoot
you.”

Angwenth saw the bush move behind him, but flicked
her eyes back to Ray. From the corner of her eye she
saw the black pup that wolf was carrying sneaking behind the boy. She readied herself, as the pup opened its
mouth and chomped down on the boy’s side. Startled,
the boy lowered the gun and went to smack away the
pup. With the gun no longer pointing at her, she ran
towards him, and yanked the gun away from his hand.
She tossed it away, and grabbed him by the head as
she dragged him to the ground.
She quickly straddled him and pulled his head up
before slamming it into the ground. “Where is your
camp?”
Ray looked up at her, and spit in her face in response.
Angwenth slammed his head into the ground again
wiping her cheek off on her shoulder in disgust.
“Where?” she growled.
He didn’t respond. Angwenth slammed his head into
the ground a few more times. “Tell me!”

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