unfastened one of his shoelaces. There was a downed tree
just off the path to his left. He sat down on it and tied his
shoe. He heard the leaves rustle. Fred stood up. More leaves
crunched. Closer.
“Go on! Beat it!” Fred yelled, thinking the bully had
come back for another round.
Leaves rustled very close. Fred looked along the path
but he didn’t see anything. He turned around. Several yards
away, in the woods, two bright red eyes looked at him. He
couldn’t see who they belonged to, only its shadowy figure.
He knew of no natural animal that had glowing, red eyes. He
put one hand on his side, where it hurt. He couldn’t run anymore and he knew it. It came to him with a sudden horror
that the rumors about the wolf were true. The thing started to
growl in a low tone. Fred let out a low whimper.
“What are you?” Fred asked, his voice shaking.
It didn’t respond.
“What do you-“
The beast leaped at Fred, taking another victim.