Wolf Girl

“Aye Dios Mio! That poor woman. Eleven years and it still haunts me today," Eduardo took off his hat and looked away from the campfire. “Filipe just barely caught up to me when he saw it himself. He almost looked like a white man! He turned so pale at the sight of her body. When that poor man John Dent first came to us, he was battered and bruised. The storm was rough that night. He pleaded with me and Filipe to help him with his wife who was in labor. Well, we just felt so sorry for him we couldn’t turn him down. So we decided to leave the ranch in the care of your father, Juan. Unfortunately for John, God struck him with his wrath. He was electrocuted on the spot. After burying the body, we continued on to help the woman. There was no helping John anymore now but we could probably help his poor wife at least. But the storm proved too powerful and we were forced to wait it out. When the storm passed, we headed towards the place he had given us directions to. But I guess they weren’t in God’s good favor because when we got to the cabin, the wife was dead, just as her husband. Except instead of being electrocuted, the wolves got to her instead. Tore her into pieces. I guess the only way they’ll be remembered now is by their gruesome fates.”

“So what happened after that, Uncle Eduardo? Did the wolves tear the baby to pieces, too?” Juan interrupted Eduardo in the middle of his story. His voice wavered slightly when he asked and he blinked several times. A chunk of rabbit meat hung from his cheek and he swiped it off with his tongue. His eyes were completely glued to Eduardo. Absentmindedly, he almost dropped his pan plate of meat. He tore away at his tortilla waiting for his response.

“Well, if you had decided to have waited for two seconds and not have interrupted me, then you would have known by now,” Eduardo said. Rolling his eyes, he rubbed his hand over his temple. He ran his fingers through his graying hair and frowned at the sky. “Now where was I again?” Eduardo asked.

“You were at the part after we found her body. To where we found the wolf tracks,” Filipe said, filling him in.

“Ah, yes, I remember now! For that poor woman to have died the way she did, and her child along with her, was horrible. When we discovered the body, we found wolf tracks and put the missing pieces together,” Eduardo said. “Because it was so muddy that night from the storm that the wolf tracks were really noticeable. That’s when we discovered where the wolves had come from.”

“Where did they come from?” Juan asked, interrupting him once again. Eduardo sighed loudly and Juan bowed his head awkwardly, staring at the ground. Filipe shook his head.

“They came from Devil’s River,” Filipe said. “There are stories about that place about the wolves there. They’re wild and vicious. It’s a dangerous part of the country no one should go alone in. Now it’s known as the place where the wild wolves roam.”

“So what did you do after all that?” Juan asked. He stammered a bit when he asked the question and picked at his shirt sleeve, staring at the plains ahead of him. Filipe smiled at Juan. A distant look of sadness was in that smile.

“We buried her near where her husband was. There wasn’t really much more we could do after that. We needed to take care of our goats at the ranch after all. We couldn’t let your father do all the work,” Juan took off his hat and Filipe gathered up the tin pans.

“Is that why we’re going after the wolf girl?” Juan asked. Filipe winced at the sound of the wolf girl’s name. Eduardo perked up at the mention of it and immediately spoke up.

“Well, yes and no. Stopping the wolves is important, yes but most importantly it’s to prove to your father and the rest of our ignorant, blind neighbors that she really does exist!” Eduardo slammed his fist against his knee, his eyes danced as lively as the fire pit in front of them.

“Those are just rumors, Eduardo! Nothing more. Don’t you think it’s time to stop chasing imaginary creatures now? You’re much too reasonable to believe in fairy tales such as those. I’m only here with you to prove you’re wrong and to stop the wolves from eating our goats,” Filipe took the pans and headed over to the creek.

“Wait! Filipe! ” Eduardo said. He yelled at him but Filipe only walked faster. Eduardo sank back into the log he was sitting on. His face fell and his wrinkles were more noticeable than before. Tired and old, he looked more like a grandfather rather than the adventurer that Juan heard of in Eduardo’s stories.

“I believe you, Uncle Eduardo,” Juan said. Eduardo looked up. The light in his eyes flared back to life. Juan shuffled his seating on the ground and picked at his sleeve again, never once looking up at his uncle to make eye contact.

“Filipe will come around. We’ll catch that wolf girl and we’ll show him!” Eduardo smiled and stared happily at the fire, lost in thought. Perhaps he was reminiscing about his earlier days as a monster hunter. Or at least that’s what Eduardo would tell people he was. Although really he was only a simple goat rancher who had never once caught or saw anything monster related to his life. He tried on numerous accounts, however, and once thought he was close to catching the chupacabra. But alas, it simply turned out to be a rather large dog and the quest for the chupacabra was over. His uncle had almost given up on finding any monsters at all until his wife claimed to have seen a wolf girl. To this day, she swears, that as she was doing laundry, she looked over the distance and saw a girl among a pack of wolves eating a rabbit. Of course, no one really believed her at first especially since she was the one to have spotted the chupacabra in the first place. That is until Eduardo saw her with his own two eyes. He claimed to have seen her trying to untie the fence door where the goats were kept before he chased her away. Eduardo broke out into a fight with his brothers when they didn’t believe him and he decided to set off to find her himself. Juan still remembered that night and remembered what his father told him.

“Juan, why don’t you go with your Uncle Filipe to keep an eye on Uncle Eduardo?” He asked Juan as he milked one of the goats. Juan nearly dropped the pitchfork he was cleaning the stable with. Him? Go with his crazy uncle on a wild goose chase? It sounded almost like fun since it would get him away from the chores of the ranch but it didn’t sound like something his dad would have wanted for him to do. Ever since his mother had died, his father had felt the need to protect Juan, so it surprised him that his father would even dream to suggest something that sounded remotely dangerous.

“Really? I can go with them?” He asked incredulously. His dad approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re young Juan, nearly sixteen. You should experience some adventure before you get too old like me. Anyways you’ll be with Uncle Filipe so things shouldn’t get to bad as long as you listen to him. Just don’t get drawn into any of Uncle Eduardo’s crazy stories, alright?” He asked. Juan hugged his father thanking him profusely before leaving the next day.

“Juan! Get to sleep. We have a wolf girl to catch tomorrow,” Eduardo said, snapping Juan out of his memory lapse. The fire had faded to a dull glow and both his uncles had already laid out their blankets by the fire. Juan went to bed dreaming of wolves chasing him.

Eleven years after that fateful night, the wolves stood over the shreds of a dead woman. By her side was a wailing infant. The other wolves moved in on the child, licking their chops. However, one of the female wolves stood over the child. She pawed at the ground and growled at the other wolves. Each tried to approach her to devour the child but were met with her fangs. Soon they gave up, and they sprinted through the woods. In one of the wolves’ mouths was the human infant. Once they reached Devil’s River, the wolf gently laid the infant close to her cubs. The other cubs snapped at the infant and tried to drive her away. One of the cubs lunged at her. Before the cub could attack, a cub with silver fur like the moon pushed him out of the way. Standing in front of the infant, he snarled at the other cubs, baring his glistening, pointed fangs. The cubs backed down and retreated to their mother. The cub licked the top of the infant’s head and then snuggled close.

A young girl of eleven, covered in hair, sat by one of the wolves. The moon illuminated the wolf’s shining fur almost matching its silvery light. That and his lightning eyes made him stand out from the rest of the pack. They were the only ones awake and kept watch. She leaned her head on the wolf and rubbed her forehead against his own. The wolf licked her nose and she smiled and did the same. By the light of the moon, together they lay on the desert floor, protecting each other and their loved ones. They stood by the camp of humans keeping close inspection of them. They kept following these humans to make sure that they would not reach their territory, Devil’s River. The girl was known in the wolf pack as the infiltrator. The silver wolf realized her potential long before any of the other wolves had and they soon realized this when she could stand on all fours for the first time. One day she simply walked up to a gate and flipped open the latch. A herd of cows escaped and the wolves feasted that night. From farm to ranch they roamed the areas around Devil’s River never picking off the animals for themselves. But soon the wolves realized that the humans were onto them now so they kept a close watch to make sure they didn’t invade their homelands.

The next day, they saw her. Or rather, Juan saw her. It was early afternoon and the sun was grazing the horizon, glowing like an orange. She was with the pack, running on all fours. At first, she had looked the same as the other wolves. There was hardly a difference between her and them as they sprinted through the valley close to the lake. But as the wolves ran faster, she rose to her feet and on her legs, she caught up with them. Dark, matted hair covered her entire body. Leaves and twigs were tangled in her hair almost making her resemble an awkward sort of tree-like nymph that had never learned the process of hygiene. Dumbfounded, Juan watched the girl. He had momentarily been separated from his uncles due to his horse not wanting to cross the creek. She stopped and looked behind her to see Juan with his frightened eyes and gaping mouth. Snarling at him, she went down on all fours. In a hunched, bear-like stance, she looked up at him. Wildness filled her storm-colored eyes. Her eyes, like the wolves, had a wild rage to them. Alone she stood, prepared to face him. Her back was arched, and she growled, snapping her yellow, sharpened teeth. Blinking stupidly, Juan sat on his horse. The silver wolf jumped in front of the girl and rushed at him, fangs out, ready to pounce. Pulling the horse’s reigns, he galloped away, calling out to his uncles, barely missing the wolf’s sharp teeth. His uncles heard Juan’s calls and lead their horses towards the quickly fading sound of his voice in the distance. The wolf and the girl bolted through the endless row of trees. From behind them, they were closing distance. Soon Eduardo was at the girl's heels. He motioned Filipe to drive her away from the wolf and towards the edge of the cliff wall, they were about to approach. Filipe nearly froze with shock when he saw the wild girl. But Eduardo shouted him out of his haze and together drover towards the cliff walls. Against the cliff wall, they cornered the wolf girl separating her from her wolf companion. Eduardo was the first of them to approach her. Holding out one of his hands, palms out, he cautiously approached the girl. With soft words, he inched closer. But before he could snatch her, she pounced on him. She ripped fistfuls of his hair and clamped her jaws viciously onto his neck. Filipe and Juan rushed forward and tried to pull the girl off but were met with clawed fists and teeth caked in blood. Before the girl could make another attack, her wolf companion leaped from the safety of the surrounding trees. The wolf shoved the girl away and leaped onto Eduardo. Before he could make his move though, Juan cocked his rifle, and with a loud bang that echoed across the cliff’s walls, the wolf lay dead. For a moment the girl was silent. Glistened by tears, her eyes drifted towards the wolf’s body. Then a howl neither human nor wolf pierced through the valley and the girl collapsed.

“Eduardo, you okay?” Filipe asked. He touched Eduardo’s neck and he winced. Filipe went to the horse and bound up his bite. Filipe looked at Eduardo when he was finished and he nodded at him half smiling.

“Haven’t been in such a rough fight for almost ten years now,” He said and then chuckled.

“So….we’re taking her to the shed, right?” Juan asked. His uncles nodded at him then looked at the girl then looked back at him. It took Juan a few moments to realize that they wanted him to pick her up and carry her there. Fidgeting with his shirt, Juan looked down at the ground and proceeded to pick up the child. With his spare blanket, he wrapped her up and was surprised when he found that she was much lighter than he thought her to be. Together they headed to the shed. As soon as they lay the girl down, she woke up. Cowering in the darkest part of the shed, her legs tucked in underneath her, she looked like a lost puppy. Juan tried to give her a scrap of their leftover meat, but she swatted it from his hand, scooting further into the shadows, growling and whining at him.

“Remember, she’s more animal than human right now. She’s not used to being with people and all. Let’s just keep her up in here for now and see what we’ll do with her tomorrow,” Eduardo said.

Juan studied the girl’s face. Although she was hairy and oddly proportioned, he saw that her eyes were grey like his mother’s had been. Tears were running down her pitiful face. She covered her face with her knees and whimpered. Never in her life had she been more alone than she was now. Scratching and clawing at the walls, she desperately tried to find a way out, but there was none. The walls felt like they were closing in on her. All she had ever known was open space and sky. Her pack was gone and she needed to find them. Juan watched her and was reminded of the time his father left him alone in the house for the first time. He had forgotten that his father had told him he would be gone and panicked. He rushed around everywhere trying to find him. In this way, he came to a sudden realization. Maybe being an animal wasn’t all that different from being human after all. A sick feeling washed over him and guilt struck him at the thought that he had killed her friend.

“Juan, keep watch of her okay. If she tries to attack you or anything, shoot, okay?” Eduardo said. Juan nodded slowly, his eyes widened.

“You’re a good kid, Juan. You’re a pretty good shot, you know,” Eduardo smiled and headed towards their campsite.

“Thanks,” Juan looked down at the ground. He brought his knees up to his chin.

“I’m sorry,” He said this in a whisper. “I didn’t mean to kill your friend back there. I just thought he was gonna kill my uncle, you know. I mean I know you’re almost like an animal and all, but that doesn’t mean that what I did was alright or anything either. Just cause he’s an animal doesn’t mean he has to die. You and I and my uncle have every right to life as much as anyone or anything else. But I couldn’t let Uncle Eduardo die either. He’s my uncle you know. I guess you don’t know what I’m saying though, do you?” He said, burying his face in his knees, tears rolled down his cheeks. Then he felt something against his leg. He looked down to see the wolf girl with the strip of meat that he had tried to give her. It was hanging from her mouth. When he looked at her, she put it by his feet and nudged it towards him. He picked up the slimy, raw piece of meat and tried giving it back to her. She snatched it from his hands and held it up to his face. It was then that the girl looked at her hands. She stared at them, wiggling her fingers and clenching her fist. She had seen humans use their hands multiple times and had used them before with unlatching gates, but it was the first time she had used them to give rather than to take. It was also the first time that she had been up close to a human. She touched her nose, then touched his. She jumped and then blinked a couple of times before cowering back into the corner, whimpering. Juan reached out to touch her. Suddenly Uncle Filipe appeared.

“Juan, camp is set. Lock up that shed door, okay?" He left and the girl tried to jump out through the door. Juan shoved himself against it and locked it. She pounded away at the door and howled but Juan did what his uncles told him to do and simply sat by the shed and kept watch over her.

That night, they camped outside the shed. In the night, the girl’s shrieks resonated through the woods. Haunting and lonely, her shrieks were a mix of the howls of the wolf pack that answered her back and the cries of a girl. That was when the wolf pack came. The horse’s panicked whinnies awoke them and what awaited was truly chaotic. Leaping and slashing, the wolves bit and clawed at the pathetic horses tied to their posts. Eduardo and Filipe gathered their guns and wildly shot round after round. Juan was about to follow, but Eduardo shoved him toward the shed, ordering him to watch the girl. Juan shuffled over to the shed. He opened the door to see the girl trying to escape out the window. At the sound of the door clicking open, she froze. Caked in snot and tears, her face was so red and swollen she looked like it was punched repeatedly. All up the walls of the shed were claw marks, leaving her nails bloody and torn. Juan turned away from the shed and left the door wide open. At first, the girl wasn’t sure what was going on. Then, bolting from the entrance, she took off. Juan watched her go, running towards her pack. Before leaving with the wolves, she turned around, and with a smile full of fangs she thanked him.