Fear gripped my bones, pulling them towards the dark and stiff soil below me. I felt heavy, the mere thought of trying to run bringing hot sweat to my hairline. Blood was pounding against my skull, a steady rhythm like raindrops from a shutter after a heavy pour.

Bam.

Bam.

Bam.

He strode forward, the wolf in a pack of sheep, walking with solid and dominant strides. His eyes tracked the movement of the fire warming my left side against the harsh wind that seemed to roar in anger. Those wide orbs glowed against the orange flame with a look of curiosity. Big paws dug into the torched ground as the fire flicked its scorched remnants towards the beautiful beast; the gorging fire turning the evening sky red.

Panic clutched my throat in its tight claws as they dug their way through the dry skin. My throat bobbed against the palm, but it was useless. I was a puppet to the monster known as fear.

Bam.

Bam.

Bam.

The large, wet nose of the furry beast raised, the fumes around us a mixture of the suffocating smoke and thick fear emitting off of my shaking form. The trees lurching over the forest ceiling blocked the sun I had begun to forget. Anything could happen, and the thick forest would conceal and hide the horrors, leaving the sheep alone with the wolf.

His head tilts questioningly, but his eyes remain unmoving, the same glassy orange color that would haunt my thoughts. I begged my feet to move, even an inch, but they refused, staying pointed at the grey creature merely feet from me. The brutal pounding of blood in my ears never ceased, only growings stronger and stronger.

Bam.

Bam.

Bam.

But then those eyes lost their orange glow, that snout tucked its way back towards the beast and a thin tail was all that was left of him. His paws retreated, and eventually, so did his form until I was once again all alone.