The Girl and the Wolves

[BRUTIS]

I do not remember my name. The wolves call me "The Human." Or, at least, they used to. My real father and mother are dead. The ones who raised me are, sorry, were wolves, but I was (and still am) not one of them. I never did fit in there. My fellow humans hate me. I'm an outcast no matter where I go or what I do. Well, that hardly matters now. I know my life is coming to an end. Something, or someone, is going to kill me soon. I feel it in my bones. This is why I need to tell my story...before it's too late. Maybe my wisdom can help others avoid the same fate I will surely meet.

[BRUTIS]

I don't remember how I came to be adopted by wolves. The more I try to think of it now, the foggier it gets. I'm not even sure how old I was at the time. Probably two or three. I could speak, but not very well, and I could run. I know the cold facts of what happened. My family and I were traveling by horse-drawn carriage. Our supplies were in a covered wagon behind us, pulled by oxen. I guess we were a rich family, since most families at the time rode with their supplies. We were attacked by bandits. Everyone else died but me. I tried to run, but they wounded me and thought I was dead, since the wound was so close to my heart. Even if I wasn't dead right then, I would've been very soon, or so they thought. The carriage, the wagon, everything, was taken by those people.

That's what the facts are, but all I can remember is that there was lots of screaming, then pain, then...the face of a wolf. We humans assume magic doesn't exist. We think wolves are just something that attacks anyone near them. They are considered savage beasts. Well, all three of these things are completely wrong. That wolf, after growling to the rest of the pack, healed me with magic. He didn't lick the wound clean, nor did he place an herb over it. He just...touched his muzzle to my wound, and it was gone.

The pack then started to leave, but I didn't want them to. I clinged to the alpha and held him tight, wailing until he finally gave up and let me follow the pack, or so he claimed. It's still foggy to me. All I remember was that I was led to a cave with the rest of the wolves, were they all sat in a circle, growling at each other. I think they were trying to decide what to do with me. I was tired, so I fell asleep, not caring how uncomfortable the rocky floor was.

[BRUTIS]

Chikara, alpha of the pack, told me I was one vote away from being killed right then, right there, though I'm not sure how truthful that is. I think he might've just said that to make it seem like I was in danger of being killed if I disobeyed his orders. Then again, I have no way of knowing such a thing for sure. He also told me the only reason I wasn't was because I was all skin and bones, and wolves didn't simply murder others. Again, I have no way of confirming this. I was still brought up as if I were one of the wolves.

Humans underestimate other species' intelligence all the time. I learned how to communicate with the wolves, how to not be wasteful, how to operate in a group, what it meant to live for the pack...all good things to know. Fellow members of the human race don't seem to quite understand these things, and then they claim they are the smartest species on the planet and all things were created for them. I've tried to explain multiple times why this is wrong, but nobody listens. Maybe nobody wants to listen, I don't know. Fellow humans baffle me. They encourage you to speak your mind, but as soon as you do, you're either belittled or ignored.

When I was sick, or when I got old, Chikara or descendents of the original pack always healed me. I look to be no older than my 20's now, but in reality, I'm probably much older than any human should ever be. I've been blissfully unaware of their world...until humans decided to slaughter my pack.

[BRUTIS]

I'm still not sure why we were attacked. We didn't kill any humans. It's possible we feasted on human livestock before, but that was only when we had no other option. And it's not like we ate all the animals there. Maybe humans were paid to kill my pack. Humans do many things for money, and I'm still not clear on what they'd be paid to do. Maybe they blamed human disappearances on my pack, even though we never did anything to them. I have no clue, and when I ask, my fellow humans will look at me like I'm crazy and not give me any form of response.

I was alpha of the pack during this time. At first, it was just an honorary title for me, and I actually had no real power. The beta had it all. However, I strove to be such a fantastic wolf that I would one day be a true alpha, and I succeeded. It feels like I was alpha for a lot shorter than I really was. In my memory, it's like I was given the power to lead the pack one day, and the next, we're being hunted. Maybe that's just how memory works, but I could swear I led the pack for many years before all of that.

I remember...we were sleeping. And then, out of the blue, there was this big noise, which I later found out was a gunshot. We hastily assembled and tore through the woods. But the humans had surrounded us. I heard shot after shot, whimper after whimper. I howled, trying to call my pack to me and allow us to regroup. We had gotten separated along the run in our panic. I wish I were with the rest in their final moments...When I howled, I heard a click and turned. The human, whose figure I could barely make out in the darkness, had his gun right up against my face.

"Y-you're..." he started to say. A gunshot in the night seemed to cut him off, or maybe he was just at a loss for words. He wasn't expecting me to be human, after all. "We'll decide what to do with you." I growled and pounced at him. The monster killed my pack! Who cared if he had a gun? I felt like someone had hit me in the chest, hard. Then, the burning sensation like it was on fire kicked in. I fell, and the world around me became dark. I heard more gunshots before I completely lost awareness. I had no clue what the humans intended to do with me. Maybe it would've been better if I had died there, with the rest of my pack.