THE MOMENT
“Nobody move,” Albert tried to give the warning under his breath. Him and three of his closest friends were currently, inadvertently surrounding a large white wolf who'd wandered into their camp. It looked around at each of them with alert interest as Albert flicked the Safety of his shotgun off. He'd managed to tell them not to move without issue, but the sudden click was deafening, and the wolf's attention focused on Albert instantly. He gave a light chuff, then plopped onto the dusty ground. He lowered his massive head but kept his eyes on Albert. Then, he whined.
“Awww, he’s friendly,” Deanna giggled, and she started to take a step, but Albert held his hand out to stop her.
“He’s smart,” he said. He made an audible click with the Safety switch again, and the wolf lifted his head, but didn’t stand up. Then, another click as he moved it back to the ‘Off’ position. The wolf lowered his head and whined gently again. “Very smart,” he added.
“He’s begging for mercy,” Freddy said.
“He shouldn’t have to! He’s a good boy,” Deanna smiled at the wolf, and it lightly barked a yip in agreement.
“See!?” she added. Albert wasn’t convinced, but Deanna had already made up her mind. She moved toward it, and the wolf rolled over to show her his belly.
“Awww, you’re a big boy!” She knelt and immediately began stroking the soft white fur on his stomach. “Relax!” she said to Albert. “He just wants belly rubs.” With Deanna rubbing his tummy, the wolf felt comfortable taking his eyes off Albert. He laid his head down and enjoyed the friendly attention. Even Freddy ventured forward to stroke the wolf’s back, while in awe at its size. It was lying down on its side, and it looked taller than Freddy would’ve been on the ground beside it.
“Alright,” Albert finally relented and turned the Safety back on permanently before lowering the weapon. It was good timing, because as soon as it was down at his side, he was startled, and badly. If he still had the gun up, he might’ve fired it.
“THERE YOU ARE!” Albert, Freddy, and Deanna all jumped from the sudden fright, and they all turned to see a teen girl with brown hair.
“Hi, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you guys,” she smiled at them. “My name’s Astra, I was looking for my dog.” She locked her eyes on the white wolf, and it deliberately avoided her gaze by resting his head in Deanna’s lap. “So, you’re just not going to help today?” she asked in the direction of the wolf. It growled, then added a high-pitched bark.
“No,” Astra sighed and shook her head. “I guess we don’t need you to get it done. Fine,” she nodded. “You’ve earned a break.” The three friends watched the interaction with amusement. “Do you guys mind if he hangs out here a bit longer? His name’s Ben and he can find his way back when he gets bored,” she said.
“I don’t mind!” Deanna was the first to answer, but Freddy agreed, and Albert nodded.
“I’ll keep Ben safe,” Albert nodded and half-raised his gun for effect. He was still feeling guilty for almost threatening the animal. Astra giggled and shook her head.
“Keep them safe,” she said. Ben barked without bothering to face her. Then she focused on Albert. “If anything weird happens, he’ll protect you. He’s not exactly a normal wolf,” she said.
“Yeah, I’m starting to piece that together. He’s very smart, even seemed to know when I turned the safety off,” he glanced down at the gun again.
“Yeah, he did.” Astra nodded. “He doesn’t really like guns. It’s good you didn’t point it at him,” she added as she started walking away.
“He asked for mercy before Albert could,” Freddy said. Astra laughed, but kept walking.
“That gun can’t hurt him, just his feelings,” she waved at them over her shoulder. “He was asking you if you wanted mercy.”