Fenris

The sun had not yet risen into the sky as I walked up the dirt road to the bus stop. Unfortunately, my truck was out of commission, so I had been forced to take the school bus. My boots crunched the little bits of rock as I continue on my way. It was an autumn morning—a balmy one at that—and the sky was slowly starting to glow pink and orange as the clouds spread out. As the darkness faded away, I could see a little further ahead. Morning dew was glittering on the blades of freshly mowed grass, and it smelled wonderful. It was so quiet and still, the light fog was starting to slither back into the forest surrounding my family’s little farm.

Just another classic Monday morning was awaiting me. I could see the end of the road coming up, but I stopped when something caught my eye. Slowly, I turned my head to see what was watching me from across the pasture. My first thought was one of the horses had jumped the fence, but I was wrong. Across the pasture, standing just a few feet away from the forest tree line a massive beast stood tall and powerful. My heart stopped at the sight of this giant creature.

The beast took a step towards me, and my honey eyes widened in fear. Muscles rippled under the thick syrup-colored fur, eyes the color of moonlight, and the moment I blinked...he was gone. My mind had to have been playing tricks on me. I glanced around the area, hoping to spot this creature again. It was almost as big as our horses, but it resembled a more canine build like a wolf. Against my better judgement, I started walking towards the barbwire fence surrounding the pasture. My fingers curled around the metal, and I was about to slide through.

HONK! HONK!

I jumped at the thundering sound of the bus horn. When I turned around, the bus tires crunched on the asphalt road and came to a halt. I jogged up the dirt road to the bus, and the driver, Mr. Hanks,
flung the doors wide open for me. Grabbing the silver rail, I climbed into the bus and smiled.

“Mornin’, Dale,” Mr. Hanks greeted when I got to the top. I smiled and greeted him quietly,stumbling down the narrow aisle. He shifted the bus into gear and started moving before I had found an empty seat. Most of the seats were filled with groggy students. The kids in town had it made, they didn’t have a thirty minute drive to school every morning like the rest of us.

I found an empty seat towards the back and plopped down. Naturally, I looked out the window and sucked in a sharp breath. That massive canine was standing in a small clearing on the roadside, staring at me. My face was nearly pressed against the glass as I stared back at the creature. It was a wolf, thick fur, long snout, large pointed ears, and moon colored eyes. I twisted in my seat as we drove past the wolf and shook my head. When I looked to the other kids, none of them seemed to have notice the horse sized wolf standing right by the road—not even Mr. Hanks.

I scooted to the other end of my seat and looked out the back window. The wolf was now standing in the middle of the road, watching us as we drove away towards Shiner Hills. My mouth was dry. That wolf, or whatever it was could take down one of our horses, or any person for that matter. I had to report the sighting for the safety of everyone. Turning back to my backpack that was slumped in my seat, I plucked out my phone from one of the pockets. I’d text my grandfather, maybe he and the deputy of Shiner Hills could go look for it.

I wondered how a wolf could have gotten so big, it just wasn’t natural.