Chapter 36 Section thirty-six

But I didn't see the expected dawn.A pair of small hands anxiously tugged at my face, waking me up, and in the dark I heard Nikolai's terrified voice.In an instant, I was completely awake, and I held my brother in my arms, guessing that he had just had a nightmare.And just when I comforted him, I suddenly realized what really scared him, and my whole body froze. Those eyes stared at me out of the darkness with a terrific light I had never seen before.There was a blood-curdling growl between the pair of lifted lips, revealing the thick fangs, and their flickering cold light could be seen even under the faint starlight.This terrible demon seemed to have cast a curse on me, so that I could not move, and I could only stare at it.

Although I have never seen a living wolf, they were everywhere in fairy tales when I was a child. I don't need any knowledge of natural science to tell myself that our lives are hanging by a thread at this moment. The beast loitered in front of us, only a few meters apart, back and forth non-stop, its tawny eyes fixed on us all the time, and I knew it was picking its own meal among us. Though terrified and immobilized, my mind was racing with countermeasures, and I resolved that if one of us had to fall prey to this beast in order for the other two to have a chance of survival, then that person would have to it's me.

I mustered up some strength, pulled Nicholas aside, and hid his small body behind my back.Thinking of Yiluo, I reached out and groped again, but my eyes never left the wolf's eyes.I touched Yiluo's arm, and gently and slowly brought her to my side. When I touched her, Yiluo moved and murmured inaudibly.I stopped her quietly, telling her to calm down and stay still, lest she panic and provoke the beast to attack, which was inevitable in the end. Fear made me concentrate, and I could distinguish Yiluo's figure in the darkness.I saw her turn to the beast in front of us, her eyes wide and her mouth open, a scream about to come out.

Responding at that moment, I immediately covered her mouth to stop the scream, pulled her trembling body over, and pushed her behind me, where she held Nicholas tightly. I could feel their helpless bodies trembling against me, and I knew that their fate depended entirely on my ability to protect them. I whispered, "Don't bark, my boy. Don't do anything, don't move." I don't know if it was because they were too scared, or because they understood what I said, they all remained silent, neither moving nor screaming. I put my hand behind my back, soothing the children, feeling their response.The howling beast stopped wandering and turned to face us.I held my breath and realized that the children did the same.

Yiluo started to murmur again, I wanted to stop her, but I didn't dare to speak out, for fear of further provoking the beast.Finally, I opened my mouth and whispered from the corner of my mouth: "Ilo, be quiet. You will provoke it." As I whispered, I suddenly recognized that Ilo was speaking Hebrew, and from her chanting I realized that she was praying.This made me feel a little relieved. This young child who is only nine years old can still be so calm in the face of danger. At this moment, I really hope that I also have some kind of sacred faith, so that I can pray for help, but this idea was quickly dismissed. When it was broken, the beast in front of it raised its head and let out a terrifying howl, like a sharp ax splitting the night.

I felt the arms of the two children wrap around my waist, heard their screaming, terrified breaths, and knew I had to act now. I tried to see the ground below me, hoping to think of something to do with the canine predator, and the wolf in front of me was ready to launch a deadly attack.The surrounding trees, I knew they were tall, had no lower branches to climb.As for racing this predator of the night, even without the hindrance of the dense forest, the idea seemed too naive. From the darkness the wolf approached menacingly until I could smell its fetid breath and see the drool dripping from its thick tusks.I whispered to the children, "Get ready to run, little ones. Run as fast as you can when I count to three, and don't wait for me. I'll try to distract this beast while you run away , I will catch up with you later, do you understand? Nicholas? Ilo? Tell me you understand."

"We get it," Illo said.She grabbed my arm. "I'll take care of Nikolai, Anka. God will bless you." When I heard her words, my tears welled up, she must know what I was going to do.But now is not the time for sentimentality.I knew I had to act now if the boys had any chance of escaping. I grabbed a fallen branch and whispered to the two children, "I love you, Nikolai. And you, Ilo." Then, I said, "I'll count to three. Use the fastest Speed ​​run. One. Two. Three! Run, Nicholas! Run, Ilo!" I jumped up, waved my branch, and took a step closer to the beast, yelling, "Come, you dirty beast, come and eat me! Run, children, run!" I could hear them There were panicked footsteps fleeing into the darkness, but I didn't dare to turn around to confirm whether they had already fled, or in which direction they fled.But it's all pointless, because I know I won't have the chance to see them again.

Now, my only thought is to hold this ugly beast as long as possible, so that the children have enough time to escape.The branch in my hand is useless, it is impossible to stop the attack of the wolf, at most it is to win a few seconds of precious escape time for the children. I saw the wolf turn in the direction of the children, attracted by the movement of their flight.I took a deep breath and threw myself on the beast, determined to attract its full attention so that it would have no time to care about anything else. It seemed to be taken aback by my risky move, and it turned away, obviously not used to being counterattacked, but the crisis was only temporarily resolved.After a few seconds, it turned back to me and approached, no longer bothered by my calls and waving branches.

The fear that had previously paralyzed me was now the driving force, and I made sure that I and the children were going in different directions, then turned and fled. When I ran out of the clearing in the forest, the faint starlight was also covered, and my eyes were completely dark, but I still ran desperately, only feeling that the wolf was chasing after me.I knew I couldn't outrun it, and I figured it slowed down on purpose, just waiting for me to stumble, or collapse from exhaustion, before stepping forward to deliver the brutal death blow. I stumbled and staggered in the dark, barely maintaining my balance on my feet, walking dangerously through the bushes until my breathing became heavy and I knew I couldn't hold on.I comforted myself that the children must have fled away now, so I gathered up all my strength and ran forward, making the last struggle, telling myself that as long as I support one more step, the children will be more safe.

Suddenly, I stumbled and fell hard, my lungs sucked out of air.I turned my head and saw the wolf pounced on me.For what seemed like an eternity, it leaped above me, and I could see every inch of its sinister face clearly. The next second, it pounced on me, and I frantically waved my arms, trying in vain to push away its heavy body.Those tawny animal eyes hung in front of my eyes like a pair of lanterns, and the wolf's saliva dripped on my face, blurring my vision.The claws of the beast tore at my body, and I screamed in pain. The last thing I remember, is that foul breath as the beast's fangs pierced my skin.