Cold, damp, and dark.
This was the overwhelming sensation Maggie experienced as she reentered the Moonlit Forest. The gray wolf sensed her shivers and offered a reminder, “If you’re feeling cold, press your body against my fur.”
“Thank you, Marvin. The Moonlit Forest didn’t feel like this the last time.”
“That was during the Spring Hunt, under Selene’s protection. Now, the fierce creatures that reside in the forest year-round are out, and it’s hard to handle them.”
“I can’t believe it’s this dangerous.”
“What’s even more dangerous is Aldrich! Despite knowing the deadline for the Spring Hunt, he stayed behind just for a few Energy beads. He’s so obsessed! Did he really think he could take on the forest’s creatures?”
It was all for her. Maggie’s heart trembled at Marvin’s words, knowing that it was her presence that had put Aldrich in this perilous situation. She couldn’t wait to see Aldrich again.
“Have you contacted Aldrich?”
“He’d better be dead, for all the silence I’m getting!”
Maggie was almost suffocating. “So where do we go now?”
“Outside the forest. Even if there’s a flash flood in there, we won’t sense it outside.”
Suddenly, a black beast lunged at them from the side. The gray wolf growled and evaded, and in the process, Maggie nearly brushed the ground. She clung tightly to the wolf’s neck, limbs wrapped around it.
“It’s a brown bear!”
As the gray wolf steadied itself, the brown bear roared ferociously at them. Maggie buried herself deeper into the wolf’s fur, fearing that her ears might go deaf from the deafening sound.
“It’s a hungry brown bear hunting for prey. We’ve hit the jackpot!”
“This brown bear is so powerful. Confronting it head-on won’t work!” Maggie struggled to say.
“I know, that’s why I need you to hang on…”
The gray wolf signaled for a challenge with the infuriated bear. The bear’s roars grew even fiercer. Yet, the gray wolf suddenly turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, with Maggie holding on. The enraged bear leaped, and Maggie felt the ground quaking beneath them.
She glanced back at the relentless pursuit of the brown bear, nervous and reported, “It’s getting closer!”
“No kidding, I can feel it!”
“Marvin, it’s going to crush us!”
“Hang on!”
In a sudden flip, the gray wolf maneuvered to place Maggie on the safer side, exposing its vulnerable underbelly to the bear’s powerful strikes. Even so, the gray wolf stood its ground to ensure Maggie’s safety.
During the flip, one of the Energy beads in Maggie’s pocket fell, and she hurriedly reached out to grab it. The Energy bead emitted a bright light, and the bear halted its attack.
“It’s afraid of this light,” the panting gray wolf exclaimed.
Maggie gripped the glowing Energy bead and silently chanted a spell. The Moonlit Forest, which had been plunged into darkness for so long, was illuminated. The eerie shapes of the trees cast peculiar shadows, and disturbed creatures, large and small, began to gather around Maggie and Marvin’s wolf.
“It’s as if things just got worse,” Maggie said, trembling with fear.
Numerous covetous eyes were fixed on them, but none of the animals dared to approach due to their fear of the light.
The gray wolf attempted to lead Maggie in a specific direction, and all the fierce creatures followed. Marvin, swallowing nervously, said, “Pray that this Energy bead’s light won’t go out, or I’ll end up as the main course for these wild beasts along with you!”
Maggie sensed the Energy bead she tightly held shifting in one direction. She felt it carefully and exclaimed, “I know, it’s west!”
“Like picking a lottery number, huh?” Marvin teased, but immediately obeyed Maggie’s suggestion and ran westward.
Many of the creatures followed them, relentless in their pursuit, and the air carried a faint scent of blood, a result of the injury inflicted on the gray wolf by the brown bear in its effort to protect Maggie.
However, the gray wolf couldn’t afford to tend to its wound; it continued to sprint. Once they stopped, they would meet a gruesome end, becoming prey for the wild beasts.
Maggie speculated, “Perhaps there’s a connection between the Energy beads, and the place it’s guiding us to might be where we can find Aldrich.”
“That would be the best! I don’t want to die in silence here,” Marvin exclaimed.
“Of course, I can’t let my babies perish here either!”
As the gray wolf sprinted, the forest ahead seemed to grow darker. The chilling atmosphere even made the thick-furred wolf feel cold.
“Marvin, some of the creatures are backing off. Only a few large ones are still pursuing us.”
“Are you sure we should keep going west? Something doesn’t feel right here.”
“Yes, the direction indicated by the Energy bead hasn’t changed.”
“It’s getting darker ahead.”
“Can’t a wolf see in the dark?”
“Then why did the animals behind us back off?”
Maggie could hardly see anything anymore. With the faint light of the Energy bead, she could just about make out the gray wolf’s fur. Gradually, she couldn’t hear the pursuing wild beasts anymore.
The gray wolf’s footsteps relaxed, but it didn’t stop moving. “Maybe we won’t be devoured by wild beasts, but we might end up dying here from being trapped.”
Maggie affirmed, “We won’t die.”
But in the next moment, the gray wolf collapsed on the ground. Maggie exclaimed, “What’s happened to you?”
Her hand found sticky liquid, and the scent of blood filled her nose. “You… you’re injured?”
“I can’t run anymore,” the gray wolf admitted.
Collapsed on the ground, it said, “Grace was right; I’m utterly useless. I can never bring about the miraculous turnarounds Aldrich can. I’m incapable of doing anything.”
“You protected me, I know. If you hadn’t been concerned for me, you would have surely fought that brown bear.”
“Thank you, Maggie. You’re as understanding as Grace.”
The gray wolf’s consciousness grew weaker, and its voice softer. “Maggie, if you manage to get out alive, please tell Grace I’ve gone elsewhere for further training. Don’t let her know I died being this useless. Please preserve the last of my dignity.”
“Nonsense! Where’s your fighting spirit?”
“I never wanted to compete; I wanted to be the kind gray wolf who protected small creatures and flowers. But the nature of wolves is ruthless, and the pack won’t tolerate such weakness. I’ve been pretending for a long time, and it’s exhausting. Now, I’ll enter the eternal dream and no longer push Grace away…”
“Gray wolf! Gray wolf!” Maggie shook the wolf, but it had fallen into slumber.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, you fool! When you wake up, I’ll scold you severely. Marvin, you’re nothing but a complete coward!” Maggie clutched the Energy bead in her hand, focusing on her heart and silently reciting an incantation. Pure white light enveloped Maggie and the fallen gray wolf.
Powerful energy gathered within the gray wolf’s abdomen, where the wound, torn open by the sharp claws of the brown bear, was undergoing a profound transformation under the healing white light. The flow of blood ceased, and the torn flesh began to show signs of regeneration. Marvin was rapidly recovering!
The white light from the Energy bead gradually diminished. Maggie realized that the energy within this Energy bead was about to be depleted, and Marvin, who was unconscious, didn’t awaken as he had the last time.
Once the energy within the Energy bead was exhausted, the surroundings would plunge into silent darkness, and Maggie had no capacity to protect the two of them.
“Marvin, you coward, wake up…!”
Rustle…
Maggie’s body tensed as she distinctly heard sounds coming from behind in the forest; some creatures were drawing near. She nervously turned to look back. At that very moment, the Energy bead’s energy was drained completely, plunging the surroundings into darkness…