The bullet flies through her head and still finds its way into my fur, but this injury isn't as deep. I drop the hunter's lifeless body and assess the injury in my chest.
The bullet is too close to my heart not to get out. I reach in, stabbing the entry wound before digging the bullet out from inside me.
“Carrie!” Jimmy's voice is filled with pain. He rushes to Carrie's body, holding her in disbelief. “You! I'll kill you!” He lets her go and unsheathes a glistening silver knife.
Jimmy immediately goes on the offensive, trying to attack. I'm weak enough for him to send me to the ground again. I block the first stabwith my front paw, but the metal glides through my skin like I'm made of butter.
“You killed her!” he screams as tears fill his eyes. Jimmy lifts the knife again, but I dig my claws into his head through his chin.
The man's eyes roll into the back of his head, and the knife falls to the side. I move even deeper before retracting my claws and letting him drop to the ground.
I end up lying there, completely exhausted. It takes a while to regain my strength, but once I hear Leena moving, I get up and rush to her side.
Both of us slowly revert to our human form. Leena starts crying immediately when she feels my body next to her. “I never thought I'd see you again,” she sobs.
“I was never going to let anything happen to you,” I promise her.
“You're—” she coughs. “You're injured.”
I sense something in the air, getting closer by the second. Leena notices this shift, too. “What's going on?” she whispers.
“There's a wolf pack around,” I warn her. “We have to get out of here. I'm sure they can smell all this blood. They know we're weak. Can you run?”
“I think so. Can you?”
“We don't have achoice,” I reply.
Both of us get up and start running. I guide her toward our land, making sure I don't move too far ahead and chance losing her.
We keep moving through the night as the darkness increases. Thankfully, our eyes are already accustomed to the pitch black of night.
“We'll be at the house soon,” I promise her. “Keep moving, make sure you don't stop.” The words feel like they're encouraging me, too. Leena continues to stumble and that's when I realize her leg is banged up.
Shit.
I pause, and once she reaches me, I lift her onto my back.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“You're injured,” I reply, already running again.
“So are you. I'll try to run on my own, I don't want to slow you down.”
“It's either we go together or no one does, but I'm not leaving you.”
I smell the wolves, knowing they're closing in. The sound of them running through the forest feels like rainfall. It's like we're being chased by a very angry thunderstorm.
We're too slow to outrun the wolves. They catch up to us in no time, surrounding us. Leena and I are trapped in their center as they form a circle of death.
“What do we do?” Leena’s voice shakes.
“They want blood,” I grunt. “I'll have to fight. The second you see an opening, I want you to run. Do you hear me?”
“What? I'm not going to—”
“Leena, I need you to do as I say. Don't argue. Run!”
The first wolf attacks, but I intercept it. Our tussle happens as the other wolves watch on. They wait to see if they need to attack as a unit or one at a time.
