Chapter 5 Gradually Trusting Wolf

She winced and snarled.

"There's a piece of wood embedded in your eyeball. God! I can only imagine how much that must hurt!"

He simply gave her a look of utmost foolishness and bowed his head to the ground. She twisted around and retrieved the necessary items from the first aid kit for the next part of the treatment. Moving over to his head, she sat down and crossed her legs, patting her thigh to indicate where he should rest his head.

"Let's get this over with. That splinter needs to be removed before it gets infected, and then you'll really be in trouble."

He rose up and she scooted forward, allowing his massive head to lie atop her thigh.

"Damn! I must be out of my mind to let you get this close to me."

Funny, the wolf thought to himself as he rested his head in her lap. She unscrewed the cap of the bottle, meeting his gaze just before pouring the solution onto the wounded eye.

"This might sting a bit, so try not to freak out and bite me, okay?"

He grunted and shut his eye. She gently poured the saline solution into the wound, washing away the blood and mucus.

"Now comes the painful part, but it has to be done."

He grunted again and kept his other eye shut. He felt the pull and then the sensation of the long sliver being extracted from his eye. Finally, it was over and the relief was immense. He let out a held breath and let out a giant sigh of relief. She poured more saline into his eye and began to apply a gauze patch over the wound.

"Now you look like a pirate."

After saying it, she burst into laughter. He opened his good eye and looked up at her, then he joined in on the laughter. They both laughed even harder as they realized how bizarre the whole situation was.

He began to feel anger rise up at her laughing at his pain. Then he stopped and simply took in the sound of her laughter. It was so refreshing to hear a woman laugh, especially one who looked as nice as she did.

With a final release of tension, he gradually closed his eyes and surrendered to unconsciousness. The sight of the colossal wolf sleeping before her compelled her to sit on a campstool, struggling to make sense of what she was witnessing.

This was not just a mere magnified version of the species; there was a remarkable intelligence emanating from it. She racked her brain for a logical explanation for the events of the past three hours, but all she could come up with was confusion.

The idea that this could be a hallucination induced by some unknown plant she had accidentally ingested was quickly dismissed. This was undeniable and unequivocally real. There was no denying the presence of the giant wolf right in front of her.

Then a twisted memory from a science fiction/horror novel by that Koontz fellow surfaced in her mind. It involved a genetically modified dog and a monstrous mutant gorilla. Was this creature the result of a government experiment gone wrong? Was it shot by authorities, only to escape and leave behind evidence of its existence? It seemed unlikely, but then again, such things only occurred in works of fiction.

But this? This was real. R-E-A-L, real. The wolf lay peacefully in front of her. Then what? Was it a form of reincarnation? She vaguely recalled her college professor mentioning that many religions believed in some form of afterlife. But didn't reincarnation involve forgetting past lives and starting anew? Or was she confusing religious beliefs?

She regretted not paying more attention in that class, but the professor had always given her the creeps. She had no real interest in religion anyway; she had only taken the course because someone had told her it was an easy A.

With a sense of determination, she knew she had to discover more about this magnificent creature before she could decipher its true nature. At least she could take comfort in the fact that it didn't seem inclined to harm her.

She was grateful she had emptied her bladder before emerging from the bushes, otherwise she would have surely wet herself in shock.

As for the other, HAH! She had grasped too tightly for a flatulent escape. Damn! This creature was MASSIVE! It must weigh 250 pounds, at the very least, possibly even more. Its head was twice the size of hers and when it stood before her, it seemed to gaze directly into her eyes.

And she was tall, 5'10" without boots on. The fur was peculiar as well. At first, she believed it to be a solid steel gray, but upon closer examination, she noticed various shades of gray intermingled, shimmering as she shifted position. No dog or wolf breed she had ever read about boasted such a coloring.

After observing the wolf slumber for an hour, she realized she hadn't eaten anything yet. With utmost caution, she retrieved a food bar from her backpack. As she settled on her camping stool and began unraveling the wrapper, the wolf opened one eye, glanced at her, then closed it once more and resumed sleeping.

So, it doesn't trust me either, she surmised. Well, I can't really fault it. Examining the wound on its side, she could easily discern the cause. Nothing else mutilated animal flesh in such a manner but a high-powered rifle. Someone had shot this majestic beast. She couldn't recall hearing any gunshots earlier, so it must have occurred several miles away.

The notion that this animal had traversed that distance with such a grievous injury was almost unbelievable. She paused, comprehending her own words and snorted, hard to believe! This whole situation was incredulous.

She slowly chewed on the high-energy food bar, pondering her options. She could either remain here and wait for the wolf to heal enough to leave, or attempt to sneak away while it slumbered. The latter option did not seem wise, especially if this creature's senses were sharp enough to hear the rustle of a food wrapper. She didn't even want to fathom the consequences if she managed to anger it. No, she would have to exercise patience and see what this wolf would do.