The+Lone+Wolf  

By Anna Davies Wolf sat on the sun-baked rock. They had abandoned him. It was just like them to leave him. They were always playing tricks of abandoning him. Now they really had! All he had done was to go hunting for the first time. The first time! And what did they do? As soon as he was on the trail of his first prey, they scattered! He stared down at the lifeless mouse. They had left him while he was chasing the little animal. Typical! Why then? Why now? Lonely and afraid wolf left the dead mouse. He wasn't hungry anymore. A passing owl could eat it for all he cared. A kestrel flew over head. He wondered why he had been such a bother? He was always quiet, well behaved and that was more than he could say for his brothers. Why did they always leave him? He stared at the sky. He wondered if the kestrel was lonely too. Just then the bird shot on like a bullet. Wolf spun round. There was a rustling in the bush. He sniffed at the air. Men! He darted through the forest. He could hear men's voices. He dodged the strong trees. His heart was pounding! He wished his family would come back and lead him away just like they did when he was too young to understand what humans were. He ran as fast as he could but then he stopped. He skidded to the left. He smelt wolf. Another pack! Maybe they could lead them off his trail! He howled. His heart lightened from the burden he was carrying. He should have stayed with his family and not gone hunting with his father. A answering chorus of howls came back at him. He reached the pack. He spent no time explaining. All they had to do was see the look in his eye to know what was wrong. He dashed to the left and they followed. He then leapt into the air! He dodged the stream and started up the hill. He looked back. The strange pack didn't follow. He saw the men rush on after them. On one of their backs... ... was a limp looking creature that was familiar to Wolf. It was his Mother. The man carrying the poor she-wolf was grinning. The savage man had obviously enjoyed killing her. So, she didn't abandon him and his father. She rescued them! Wolf felt a twinge of guilt. Not only had he blamed his mother of abandoning him, but he had lead another pack to their death. But what he did next was very unusual for a wolf from another pack to do. He decided to save that pack! He splashed through the river. This was the quickest way to get to them but it was turning out a hard experience. The cold water whipped his face. He was sopping wet. But he had to go on! He had put that pack in danger, so now he must get it out of it! He swam up the current. His legs were stiff from the perishing flow. He panted on. When the water bed narrowed, he clambered out and shook himself free of the icy effect that the water had on him. He galloped on. Within moments he heard cries of "Almost got one!" and the squeal of the wolf as it was almost caught and pinned down by the human. That only made him ever more desperate to save them. All of them. He was catching up fast. His guilt made up for his loss of time. Soon he was upon them. He leapt up well into the air and pounced onto one of the men. He was almost stabbed by the spear in the man's hand but he nimbly avoided it. The man fell to the ground. Knocked out. Two men were left standing. They hadn't quite noticed their colleagues downfall. Wolf raced ahead. He knew it was crazy but he had to find a way to sort this out! He sped in-front of both men and stopped dead. The big rough man fell over him. He landed on his spear. He lay still and his breathing stopped. The last man saw him. He saw what had happened. He tossed the body of the she-wolf to the side. Wolf was silent, he payed respect to his mother. The pack ran ahead. One she-wolf looked back. She signaled to him that if he survived to come and find them. They were in debt. But Wolf didn't feel that he would live. He was sure this was the end. The man raised his spear. He plunged it down with a sharp force. Wolf leapt to the side, just in time. The man looked surprised. He tried again. The same thing happened. Just when Wolf thought he had a chance. The man pulled a small black object from his coat. 'Uh oh.' thought Wolf. 'I wasn't expecting that!' The man smiled and pulled a small trigger. A tiny, round and shiny bullet shot out. It hit Wolf. At first Wolf was sure it was black-out. But it wasn't. As Wolf tried to dodge it he couldn't. But his attempts weren't failed. It hit him on his tail. A small red hole started to bleed.He bit the man full on in he leg! The man shrieked in pain. Wolf sprinted into the dense Bracken. His paws began to hurt but it was worth it after all. He had saved that pack. And he had lived too! He found the pack not far off where he had found them. They greeted him as their pack leader. The she-wolf came up to him and kept him close. He was their new pack leader. And he knew that the two surviving men wouldn't be back in a hurry. He was just settling in for a good rest when he saw a dark shadow cross the ground. He looked up. It was his Dad. His two brothers were at his side. His Dad bowed his head at his son in respect to his Mum. His Dad turned to go. His brothers gave him a playful nip on the ear. Once his family had left She-wolf came up to him and stood beside him. He understood full well why his Dad had left him here. He wasn't a lone wolf anymore. He had a pack of his own! **
 * __T__ __he Lone Wolf__