Wolf of Equis

I continued to run, almost gliding across the landscape as the sound of gunfire and angry shouts ringed from all around me. I could see my shadow ahead on the trees as the constant bark of gunpowder sounded off a terrible symphony of death and pain. I knew that I could use my own weapons to return fire, but I made sure to hold back as many of the angry mob on my heels were but children misled into hating my kind, those who looked human but became a wolf by night as they said, the lot of fools. All humans knew of my kind was the writings of hateful beings that held no trust for anyone but their own kind...

*CRACK!!!*

Snapping quickly to attention I was forced out of my thoughts by the loud sound of metal biting into wood, giving me a clear reminder of where my attention should be held. Sparing a quick glance behind I could see that the mob had grown to include 50 humans, and while it would be simple enough to kill them and be on my way, I refused to bloody my hands with the blood of the young and innocent. Picking up my pace I weaved between the trees of the forest, my forest, the one these fools attempted so catch me in. The small smirk that had made its way onto my face from their mistake quickly fell as I smelled the sickening stench of smoke long before I saw it, and when I did I stopped and stared in abject horror at what lied before me, the forest... was on fire.

I didn't blink as I felt a stinging tear fall from my eyes and roll down my face as I watched the flames hungrily lick at the trees and bushes, eating away at the forest that my family had defended for generations. Behind me I could hear the sound of footsteps growing closer, but I paid them no mind as I sunk to my knees in sorrow, watching as the thing I cared for most in my life burned away to ashes, knowing that even I could not hope to save the forest with how far it was gone, and knowing that it was too far from any cities for any humans to bother saving it. Finally, the footsteps stopped roughly twenty feet behind me, and I heard the clicking of guns readying to fire.

In that moment I couldn't contain my hatred and anger any longer, standing to my feet I let my stetson block my eyes as I let out a saddened and aggravated growl. Looking up I focused my sight through the tears as I beheld the group, and I saw that they were no longer quite as confidant now that they had my attention. Stepping forward I didn't bother to transform or use my own guns as I moved faster than any of them could hope to react in their surprised states, and tore my hand through the chest of the human closest to me, holding his now fading heart in my grasp behind his back as I glared into his terrified eyes. I heard the humans shift to fire at me, so in defense, I held up the body of my victim and used him as a meat shield as bullets rained down onto his flesh rendering it to the consistency of ground meat by the end.

Discarding my kill to the side as they moved to try and reload I rushed the group and began ripping them apart with ease as they panicked to refill their guns with silver bullets. The fools didn't even realize that such items only killed one such as myself if hit in the heart or brain. Having finished ripping one human in half I turned around and was met with a hailstorm of silver into my stomach, the wounds releasing smoke that wafted up through the collar of my duster.

I leveled my rage-filled gaze onto the young man who had shot me and was now cowering in the utmost terror. I knew him of course, he had always been a nice child but had always been so afraid of that which went bump in the night. Instead of killing the misguided fool, I sent the back of my hand into the side of his head, quickly sending him to the ground unconscious.

The very one-sided fight continued for several minutes as I killed 40 of the humans who had chased me, only sparing those who I knew were just misguided by those that came before them. With the main body of the group disposed of I collected the other ten left alive and began to ferry them back out of the forest at full speed. Within five minutes the ten were safe and I was back at the fire, watching helplessly as it burned beyond control. Taking a seat I accepted my fate, as I had no plans to leave this forest.

Slowly the fire made its way to me, the heat growing almost unbearable, though I gave it no thought as my tears began to turn to steam upon my face and my hair began to burn away. As I felt myself burn I found something strange enter my mind, a single realization that something was off with the sensations I was feeling. Looking down I noticed that my body was not burning, but was instead beginning to fade in an almost ethereal manner wherever touched. I watched in morbid fascination as fire licked at my arm, causing my flesh and muscle to be forced away to reveal whatever muscle and bone was underneath only for those to meat the same result. While most would have left at this turn of events, I stayed in place as I thought that the fire was still doing its job of ending my life along with the forest.

It took several minutes but I finally began to feel darkness creep into my vision, a welcome sight as I knew I was no longer going to be within the land of the living. Laying back I stared at the sky through the burning branches, with only one wish on my mind as I faded, to see the beautiful glow of the moon one last time. Unfortunately that wish did not come to pass as I slipped further and further, the smoke and glow of the fire making it impossible to see far into the sky, and leaving me with only the horrible sight of my beloved home burning away as I died to be the last thing I would ever see. Or so I had thought.