Opan Chapter II

Tremendous pain seared through Opan's body.

He forced his eyes to open, so he could learn what was trying to maim him. Soon, he regretted ever prying open his eyelids.

What Opan saw was a horror that would live with him forever. The sight would remain in his mind for the rest of his entire, miserable life.

And the gore leaking out of his body was not what scared him.

The gruesome thing he saw was a wolf... but not a wolf like himself. Or a wolf like his father. The wolf he saw was about twice the size of his father Shull, who was one of the largest wolves in the pack. Not only that, but this wolf's fur was white. Pure white. Its eyes were blood red, with no pupils. The terrible creature's maw was filled with enormous, knife-like fangs, which were pierced into Opan's chest.

Perhaps the most horrifying part was the thing's mane. It's mane was a roaring fire spreading fire to anything flammable in Opan's den, including some of Opan's fur.

He wasn't sure where this beast had come from, or why it was attacking. He didn't even fully understand what it was. But Opan was sure of something. It was a necessity to protect his den, along with the other members of his pack.

In spite of the pain caused by his burning fur and the wolf beast's claws and teeth sinking into his flesh, Opan forced himself to stand. Due to the almost unbearable pain and the weight of the creature pressing him, he almost collapsed. But he withstood all, and kept standing.

The strange beast loosened its grip in surprise, giving Opan a small opportunity to react. He let out the boldest sounding growl he could manage, but the growl was still weak.

Fortunately, the creature released Opan even for a millisecond. Opan did not waste his chance to kill. He whirled around, bared his teeth, and lunged.

Opan caught the White Wolf off guard. As the young pup sank his teeth into the White Wolf's hide, the beast let out a yelp. The White Wolf roared as tried to shake off Opan, but Opan, though a pup, tightened his grip. Opan felt something warm soak his mouth, and realized that it was the White Wolf's blood. This encouraged him to fight harder, and he started clawing at the monster's flesh.

A deep, long, bloodcurdling howl erupted from White Wolf's throat as he willed his fur to blaze more intensely.

The heat scorched Opan. The pup would have screamed in sheer agony, but that would mean letting loose White Wolf. So Opan Squeezed his eyelids shut and withstood the pain.

White Wolf had never faced an enemy so persevering. The beast knew there would only be one way to stop this pup. He closed his eyes and braced for impact.

He chose one wall of the den and charged it, running sideways, hoping to crush Opan against the unforgiving wall.

Upon Impact, Opan let out a weak yelp. Then, his world went black.


to be continued...