Louis and the wolf's eyes met. It had bright golden eyes shining through a black, shaggy coat. It was larger than any Louis had ever seen back at the farm. It sized Louis up too, clearly thinking about attacking. It sniffed the air with its big, black nose, smelling the fresh chicken meat in the cart.
Neither of them moved. Louis considered his usual trick of waving his arms and yelling, but didn’t dare. The wolves on the farm were much further away when he did that. This wolf seemed to be alone, which was a small mercy. Although it did look a little desperate. How long had it gone without food?
The decision was made for them. In a sudden fit of terror, Pearl whinnied and reared up, which triggered a fight or flight response in the wolf. It dashed towards the cart, darting between Pearl’s legs and leaping up beside Louis. Louis tried to react but ended up dropping the knife. The wolf hesitated for a split second, then lunged for Louis’s neck. Louis raised an arm to shield himself and the wolf sank its teeth into his forearm.
Louis yelled out in pain. Pearl bolted, yanking the cart recklessly down the road. The sudden swerving caused the wolf to lose its grip. Blood spattered across the seat. The wolf readied itself to pounce. Louis reached for the knife. Then the wolf collided with Louis just as he turned back. The wolf yowled. The knife was embedded deep in its flank.
Sensing the fight was over, Pearl slowed to a stop. Louis pushed the wolf off, letting it drop onto the seat beside him. It looked up at him with those doleful golden eyes, before they closed. Louis panted heavily, scarcely believing what he’d just done. He was still jittery from the excitement and numb to all but the pain in his arm.
Then an odd feeling came over him. He was hit by a sudden sense that the wolf was still alive, even though he could see it dead in front of him. He fancied he watched it getting up and walking towards him, even though he could see nothing of the sort. Then he was hit by a wave of dreamlike images. He saw trees and grass, he smelled earth and wood, he felt fur and hot breath. He shivered, and the hallucinations faded.
The wolf was definitely dead, and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was still close by. He dropped it over the side of the cart and urged Pearl to gallop as quickly as she could. But no matter how far they got from the wolf, Louis still felt as if it were right behind him, watching, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.