The Crow & The Wolf

It was late and I hadn't been sleeping well. Waking at all hours from nightmares and panic attacks I dread going to sleep every night. It’s a side effect from the war, but that hadn't been over for more than a few years. Sully, the one person in this world I trusted, was out. Gone off on whatever nighttime adventure tickled his fancy. He suffered from long-term trauma as well, not just from the most recent war. I was alone in the bookshop. The second floor's only source of light came from the dim glow of the moon, casting eerie shadows in odd places. 

Groaning, I got up, and pulled on my old black leather boots. I grabbed the sweater off the old couch, walked past the shadows to the second-floor overhang, and stared out into the still night. The late-night air caused gooseflesh over my exposed skin and I sighed in relief.

Birds were flying overhead making little noise, enjoying the night air too I suppose. Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply until my chest burned. Exhaling slowly through my nose, and when I opened my eyes there was a raven staring at me on the stone railing. A low, gurgling croak resounded from its beak, and its head tilted. My head tilted in response.

"Follow." The raven said in an almost human tone before flying off the overhang.

So I followed. 

I ran across connecting rooftops, keeping up with the bird. It dipped to street level. I jumped down onto a pile of crates and landed unpleasantly. Going to feel that tomorrow. 

I caught sight of it just ahead darting left on the next street. I turned the corner after it and stopped dead in my tracks. There was no longer a city around me, instead, I faced an almost arctic wasteland with dense woods to my back. 

I scanned my surroundings again to be sure this wasn't in my head, which it could very well be. Again I saw the woods to my back and nothing but a blizzard ahead of me. The raven was nowhere to be seen, I felt alone once again. I heard a croak again and blinked. About a hundred yards ahead there was what looked to be the faint outline of a cabin. I started towards it, cursing myself for not wearing anything more than a wool sweater.

I stood outside the seemingly abandoned cabin. The windows were crudely boarded up, and the door groaned against the storm. I grabbed the handle and turned. To my surprise, it blew open and almost had me flat on my face. 

I regained my balance and closed the door as quickly as I could. I felt something staring at me in the cold darkness and didn't yet turn around. After a minute I slowly turned and saw absolutely nothing. 

I blew out a breath and crept forward. The only sounds I heard were the wind terrorizing the exterior and the inward protests of the wood groaning against the foundation. I made it to the end of the hallway and felt more eyes on me. I glanced to my left. It led to a back room. Inside was a creature almost as tall as me standing on four legs. Its fur was thick and it stared through the dark with intelligent eyes. I moved towards it but as soon as I took a step it vanished. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. 

"I know you're there, you can come out. I think you're well aware I'm not here for a fight." I moved down the hall, the wind covering the sound of my footsteps. I stepped into the next room. From the doorway, I saw a worn-down shelf with several tattered books to the far left wall, and a bed with a pile of dark blankets hanging off it to the wall in front of me. There was an old desk directly to my left with a tornado of notes on it. I moved towards the desk and picked up a few of the notes. The first was a newspaper clipping with the headliner "Woman Seen With Wolves" and notes along the edges correcting the accompanying story. The next paper looked like a journal entry : 

3rd December, 1922 

There's a storm coming soon, not sure how much longer I can stay here. Out of supplies and the wolf isn't fully recovered yet. Will have to risk the storm. 

The crows visited last week, and I shared my meal, it was nice. They told me someone would come soon, someone of importance. That was all, unsure what it meant or if it was a warning. Anyway, I have to prepare.

-V

It was dated two days ago. Whoever wrote this clearly hadn't come back, and it seems they went alone. I heard a soft shuffle and turned. A massive wolf was in the doorway. It stared at me with all too knowing eyes. It turned and limped out of the room. I followed. 

The wolf led me back through the house and into the kitchen. It looked almost bare aside from a few spice jars, several tea canisters, and a beat-up box that looked like it contained war rations. The wolf stopped at a small door hidden by the wood stove and nudged the handle. I walked over and brushed my fingers along the creature's fur, the wolf relaxed at the touch. I grabbed the handle and twisted, the hinges squealed like they hadn't been oiled in years. I opened it and went down the dark, icy stairs. 

There was a spider web crack in the small window at the back of the small cellar, the breeze was unkind. I kicked around the dimly lit room and my foot snagged on something near the center. I bent down to feel what seemed to be a pack. Supplies were strewn about the floor. Someone was in a hurry and left without the spare pack. I felt around some more and quickly shoved what supplies I could feel back into the pack. I slung it over my shoulder and walked back up into the cabin. 

Two wolves greeted me in the kitchen. The injured one nodded in the direction of the door and the uninjured wolf led me out of the cabin. He turned right once we came out into the blizzard. We walked for about a dozen meters while I tried to keep the wind from tearing at my face. The wolf hunched low as we made our way farther into the wasteland. I was about to complain when I saw something ahead. It looked like a tangle of limbs and overgrowth but faint. The wolf stopped and huddled down in the growing snow, waiting. I rubbed his wet head and kept walking towards the tangle. 

As I got close I saw that it wasn't an overgrowth at all but a collapsed shed and a pile of wolves underneath the split wood pieces. I crouched and nudged my way towards the pile. The wolves looked up solemnly. 

"It's okay, I'm here to help. Your friend brought me," I said through chattering teeth and shivered. 

Snow fell off my body as I reached out to pet the wolves. They all looked a little thankful for the extra warmth. Then without warning they all got up and left the makeshift den. When they'd cleared out there was a small form curled up on the ground, shivering violently. 

Okay, they're alive, that's good. Maybe it's the one who wrote the note. Without being able to get a good look at the form features I carefully placed an arm under the legs and the other behind an armpit. I slowly stood, careful not to worsen any injuries. Their head shifted into my neck and I pulled their body snugly against me, safe from the raging storm. Cold breath blew into my sweater and I shivered. 

I turned and only one wolf was there, the one that brought me. I nodded and it turned to start the trek back to the cabin. I followed again. 

I had to high march through the snow drifts. The walk back felt much farther than the dozen meters I'd walked. it felt like the weather was conspiring against me. Finally, we made it to the cabin. 

At some point on the walk back, the shivering mess in my arms had wrapped their hands hard around my torso, face still plastered to the skin on my neck. 

I moved to the room with the bed and pried them off. Carefully place them on the mound of blankets. Finally, I took a breath and stared. It.. she was human, or as human as I could tell. She had dark red hair almost elbow length, her fingers were long and callused, and her nose was straight and… not bad to look at. Her cheekbones were high and round, her face pinched in anger and pain. Her breathing was shallow and growing weak. I moved in and stripped her of her clothes, they were soaked through. I removed my wool socks, my long johns, and my sweater. I pulled back on my pants, boots, and undertop. I put her in my clothes and wrapped her body in the blankets. The wolves moved into the room to lay beside her, giving her their warmth. I left them and went to the kitchen. 

I found a pot and filled it with snow. I set the pot on the stove and rummaged through the pack looking for matches that I had laid by the door. I managed to light the stove and started to melt the snow. I found a broken clay bowl in one of the cabinets and rinsed it out with the hot water. I grabbed a small chunk of black tea and infused it in the now boiling water and turned the stove off. I put some snow in the tea to cool it off, grabbed one of the rations, and went to the room with the woman. 

I sat on the edge of the bed, setting the tea and rations on the floor. I nudged the blanket from her face and placed the back of my hand on her forehead, it burned with fever. The woman moaned. Her eyes shifted behind her lids and she tried to open them. 

"Shh, don't try to move too much," I said in a hushed tone. "You have a fever and your body is still trying to get more heat, I have you."

She moaned again but stopped shifting in the blankets. I moved one of the wolves out of the way and put her head on my lap. 

"Drink," I whispered.

I propped her head up and put the edge of the bowl to her lips. She opened her mouth slightly and took a pained swig. She sputtered and coughed. She mumbled something but I couldn't make it out. I made her take another drink before letting her head fall back in my lap. I waited until her breathing evened out before relaxing. I slid my hands beneath her head to get out of the bed but a hand shot out, her hand, and I thought I heard a faint 'stay, warm.' 

"Okay. But I need you to eat something, okay?" I asked warmly.

"Okay," she mumbled. 

I grabbed the ration and chipped off a small piece and brought it to her lips. They opened just enough and she chewed lethargically. I raked my fingers through her wet hair, cautious to not pull too hard. I started to hum a tune from when I was a boy. When I felt her drift off I started to sing it. 

"Un pericotito

gracioso y bonito

asomó su hociquito

por un huequecito

y un gato malvado

apenas lo vio

le tiró un zarpazo

y lo atrapó

Pero el pericotito

muy rápido escapó

se metió a su huequito

y allí se quedó

se metió a su huequito

y allí se quedó.

Tra-lalalalala

tra-lalalala"

I repeated the song until I heard a soft snore. And without meaning to I drifted into a warm sleep. The kind that I don't think I'd ever had before. 

I jerked awake, cold, and saw the raven perched on the desk. It eyed me and tilted its head. I looked around, the pile of blankets was empty aside from me. The woman and the wolves were gone. By the desk I saw the pack, it was set upright and looked full with a note on top. I got out of bed, back cracking, and strode over. I bent down and picked up the paper. 

Hey, I don't know who you are or where you came from but I am forever grateful and seemingly in your debt. But to be clear I don't need a man or anyone to save my ass but just this once, thank you, really. If you see me again, which is unlikely, I'll be the one getting you a drink. 

-V

I stared at the paper with what was probably a stupid smile. I'll definitely be seeing you again V, I'll bet my life on it. I folded the paper and placed it in the pack. I looked up at the raven and nodded. 

"Back." It said.

"Yeah, back," I replied. 

So I followed.