Black Ghost

Five

What felt like years passed before Rough and Giant returned, and finally the odd silence was too great for Quiet to bear. But before she could turn around and wander back over to them, HE appeared.

The black wolf was standing there beside her, smiling at her with nothing but a dead look in his eyes. The more he appeared, the more he made her skin crawl. But the longer that time went on, the more he came. It was as if he didn’t even have to travel to her- he could just appear out of nowhere with no sign of his presence beforehand. And then he would be gone again. Gone like the wind. Gone like…

Oh, Quiet, he mouthed ominously, a grin lacing his face. He crawled closer to her so that he was only a mere few inches away, lowering himself so that he could be level with her. He truly was a huge wolf: bigger than any she had ever seen before. It made her envious in contrast to her small size. So good to see you. With a swish of air he pushed his face up so close to her’s that their whiskers touched, his pale eyes boring into her own. Don’t you agree?

Quiet swallowed, her eyes wide as she stared at him. Unable to mouth anything, she nodded after a moment, forcing her head to move. No, she thought in contrast to her response. But I’m not going to tell you that.

Backing up a few steps, she spun around and looked back towards where Giant and Rough were apparently taking their sweet time on burying Gentle. She stopped in her tracks, stiffening as she stared back towards the flowering tree.

A tall pile of dirt was scraped up alongside a hole dug into the ground. Gentle’s body was nowhere to be seen- presumably in the grave- and Giant and Rough were splayed out on the ground, their front halves drooping limply down into the hole. Quiet’s breath quickened as she stared at their motionless bodies, rushing over.

Blood was running out from underneath the two of her pack mates, sliding through the dirt and grass and running down into the open grave, spilling onto Gentle’s corpse that was beneath them. It was one of the most gruesome things that she had ever seen, and it sent the fur all along her back standing up with intensity.

Slowly turning to look back, she saw that the black wolf still standing there, watching her with a smile twisted across his face. And then when she blinked, he was gone.