Where the wolves walk upright

There is a place in the backwoods of the high country where there aren’t any towns or villages. It’s too remote for all but the most rugged of settlers. For those who dare to venture into the dense wilderness of the frontier, they practice caution and security. No one hunts in the forest alone. It’s not a very desirable location to be stranded in after the sun goes down. All of the locals know it. There’s all manner of enchanted spirits and wild beasts haunting those woods after nightfall; and not all them are benevolent.

The mysterious wolves which roam the forest and howl at the moon are said to traverse completely upright on their hind legs. From a distance they supposedly bear a remarkable resemblance and the erect posture of human beings. Many hunters swear to have witnessed seeing those unnatural creatures lurking about. They are said to surround their prey in highly-organized hunting packs, just like ordinary wolves. The primary difference being that they track and trap their prey from a seven foot tall, standing vantage point! Villagers in the nearby towns are a superstitious lot and took this sinister canine legend to heart. I never gave their fanciful folklore much credence until I saw one of the feral beasts for myself. It crept around an outlying cluster of hardwoods at the edge of the woods, near the faded light of dusk. My jaw dropped and the hairs on my neck raised up. As soon as it saw me, it wrinkled it’s snout in an aggressive, toothy snarl. I feared that I was going to have to fend off a violent attack but in the end, it retreated away slowly.

I’ll never forget the startling sight of a fully-standing ‘werewolf’; massive in size, stepping backward into the safety of the tree line. What black magic sorcery or mysterious act of the Lord was this? The fierce look in it’s coal-black eyes spoke volumes. ‘You stay inside your territory and I’ll stay within mine’; was the message.

Being so close to the wretched thing filled me with a chilling dread. Could I really trust that it and it’s brethren would hold true to the unspoken truce? I had no way of knowing but from that day forward, I forbade my children from stepping foot into the woods after sundown. Even the most obedient children are apt to misunderstand or not take parental warnings seriously. In the back of my mind, I always carried a lurking fear of the possible consequences.

Naturally my sons and daughters failed to understand the true reason for my strict, unexplained directive. I didn’t even try to tell them about the horrible abomination I’d witnessed. Being labeled a ‘forbidden place’ made it even more tantalizing. I caught all of them stealing longing glances at it, from time to time. The devilish mystique of an unfamiliar territory was slowly seducing them. Each day the temptation wore down their resistance a little bit more. The greater the opposition I raised to the damned labyrinth of beckoning trees, the heavier their curiosity bore upon them.

All-too-soon, the situation I dreaded came true. I awoke to find that my eldest two children couldn’t resist the allure of the woods any longer. They had crept outside to explore it, apparently. Their beds were vacant, the candle box was missing, and the hen eggs were still uncollected from their chicken coup chores. Calling our their names at the edge of the woods proved futile. They had too much of a head start wandering the dense highlands. I gathered up my rifle and gunpowder pack for the unpleasant task ahead. An occasional drip of congealed wax upon fallen leaves confirmed their path. I was relieved to feel that it was still a bit warm to the touch. That was a sign they weren’t too far ahead.

By mid-morning, I had picked up and lost their trail several times. Other things were active along the well-worn deer path. The disturbed leaves and brush I found wasn’t proof of their presence any longer. They would have blown out the melting candle with the full rise of the sun. From there, the wax trail went cold. I yelled and shouted their names until I was hoarse. Only a mocking echo bouncing off the nearby canyons answered me back.

I considered doubling back to the last confirmed evidence of their trek but an unknown force inside me kept pushing onward. In the blackest heart of the highlands, only wisps of sunlight can trickle down to the leaf-strewn floor below. I was deeper in the forest than I’d ever been into the dense wooded canopy. Suddenly, I felt a significant presence nearby. A dark entity was watching. I turned to face the same ferocious mongrel which had haunted my nightmares since the first day I saw it. This time the standing alpha leader of the pack wasn’t alone. I was surrounded by a half dozen other attack-ready wolves. He snarled while the others remained silent in hierarchal respect.

I had my gun at the ready but could only take out one of them before the rest pounced on me. ‘He’ was the obvious choice for my musket volley. When the leader of any rank and file organization falls, the underlings often panic. Regardless, I wasn’t likely to make it out of the woods alive. I thought deeply about the circumstances which led me there. I had been the one who violated ‘the agreement’ and broke the rules. I was in their territory. Against every instinct I held dear, I lowered my weapon as a sign of contrition.

The posture of the pack immediately changed. The alpha male stepped back slightly. Then all the others followed suit, breaking the tense stalemate. Eventually they all fell back, out of sight. To much greater surprise, my two missing children appeared from the same general direction. I surmised that ‘the majestic wolves who walk upright’ had been holding them captive until I came to answer for their careless trespass. I was glad that I found a peaceful resolution to being cornered by them. I am sure there would have been a very different outcome, otherwise.

My children and I walked back home in virgin silence. No angry words needed to be spoken, nor threats made. I saw the mortal depth of fear and greater understanding in their remorseful eyes. Never again would I have to worry about them or their younger siblings wandering into the highland woods. No doubt they would impart the importance of honoring the territorial border with my two youngest children. It was a valuable lesson for all of us.

Author: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/975e8p/where_the_wolves_walk_upright/