01.08.2016
Halfway through the night, the bleating of sheep sounded in the distance. It took another several minutes for the night watch to realize just what the sound was. The moon had crept again into the night sky and the forest cast its shadow onto the path which lead into it. And down that path came a flicker. Dots appeared far off, which were red and white and disappeared quickly. Others flickered into existence and shook up and down.
The sound had attracted the guard and they stood on cobblestone, muskets slack in their hands. Watching these confusing dots appear, bounce, and disappear. Faint shapes appeared. Within seconds, the shapes of white sheep were visible. The dots in the night had been their eyes reflecting either the lanterns or the moonlight. The sheep were running haphazardly, clumsily stumbling into one another.
A pair of dots appeared behind the sheep, set much higher off the ground now. These moved up and down quickly. Soon enough, the outline of the wolf appeared. He was sprinting after the sheep. As he got closer and the light caught more of his shape, the guard were staggered at how large it was. At least as large as a bear. But fast and agile. Its jaws clamped on the hind quarters of a sheep and it slid to a stop on the dirt path. It quickly changed its bite to the sheep’s neck, which audibly snapped. Several violent chomps and most of it had been devoured.
The guard finally snapped to and raised their muskets to the hulking wolf. Muzzle flash and smoke erupted into the night air and then obscured their sight. More bleating filled the night air as sheep ran through the smoke and past the group, which startled the guards. Before they even had time to react, the wolf was upon them. A man was bitten in his chest and collapsed to the ground. Next, two women were taken by the neck. A remaining man made a run for it, while a woman fumbled for a musket pistol. She was bitten in the arm and yanked from her feet, into the wolf’s clutches. None of their musket shots seemed to have hit the wolf.
It tossed the injured woman to the ground and ended the fleeing man’s life quickly. The wolf then made his way back to the other guards and finished them off. The shots had waken other townsfolk, including the second guard watch, but by the time any had rushed outside to see the last of the smoke breaking up, the wolf had already dragged all the bodies off into the woods.
The following morning no skulls and spines were found. Now the wolf didn’t need to leave those behind to strike is fear. The mere anticipation of the following night was bad enough.