* * *
«People! Why are there people here?»
The question sounded so deep, as if his consciousness spoke somewhere from the bottom of the ocean. However, even from there his brain somehow managed to match distances with mathematical precision and calculate the location of people in relation to the destination.
Kanny stopped and turned his nose toward the wind. The hair on his thick black scruff and wide gray back stood on end, his mouth slightly opened in an evil grin, showing a row of sharp white teeth, his ears stood straight up and instinctively turned towards the scanned object.
«They are two. Very young. He and she. Relatives. They gather mushrooms. Very close to the place…» signals came one after another from the Mariana Trench of his animal-human brain, as if somewhere there was an unknown translator of his subconsciousness, stubbornly reminding of himself. In this state, his brain worked like some kind of super-computer, giving out the data he needed in a split second… and so… not everything was so hated in this bestial nature. Its dominating essence was very unpleasant, but some of its things he really liked. For example, strength, speed, flexibility, reaction, or that special ability to literally «see» with his nose. Even with his eyes closed, he continued to fully perceive the world around him. In this body his sight was much worse and he ceased to distinguish most of the colors, but at the same time his consciousness was overwhelmed with the richest information coming to him through hearing and especially through the scent, which gave him incomparably more information than other senses. And although he did not distinguish every color and shade of the grass, or of the bark of trees, but at the same time each plant, each facet of the tree fungus, each crack in the bark exuded its own special smell, telling both what kind of plant it was and what kind of the creature lives in it or on that; here are ants, here is a bark beetle, there are ticks… In addition, his wolf’s sense of smell, one of the sharpest on earth, could tell him with amazing accuracy even what was happening at a distance of more than ten miles. And… by the way! What an amazing intuition he had! He missed it so much, turning back to the human again. Somehow, being a beast, he immediately felt the danger, understood the nature of people, knew where he needed or needed not to go…
Now, for example, he felt that there was something special in these people, but it was still unclear what exactly. On one hand, he really wanted to find out what it is, since he intuitively understood that it was this «something» that for some reason would not allow him to harm them, but on the other hand, they were close enough to the base, and according to the instructions, it would be necessary to destroy them in order to preserve the secret.
«It’s strange, they still won’t be able to get inside the protection field, aren’t they? Why does Alex insist on killing people if I meet them in this area? After all, when I’m not there, there are sometimes hunters here, and he doesn’t touch them. None of them have ever been able to penetrate the protective barrier.»
However, the order of the authorities is an order. Sighing, Kanny again «scanned» the area with his scent. One bear-male, completely fed and uninterested in anything. He certainly knows about the humans because they have invaded his territory, but that obviously didn’t bother him right now. A small pack of wolves, recently from hunting, after a young roe deer, they tried to stay away from people. One lynx, following the trail of a deer, two wild boars, getting ready for bed, the rest of the predators in the nearby radius do not pose a danger to these two. The werewolf understood that a couple of miles for him, and for them, is not the same thing. By their smell he read that these people are simply lost, and therefore do not know where they are. This meant that they might never find a secret place, and they did not pose a danger, at least not yet. However, the bestial dominating essence of the Spell did not obey human logic and continued to lead him in their direction with one and only goal – people had to be terminated.
* * *
It got dark quickly. After a couple of hours, pretty tired, the guys realized that they were completely lost.
«What do we do?» she asked, seeing that her brother does not know where to go.
«I think we need to think about where to spend the night,» he replied.
«And… where can we spend it?» Lera asked with fear.
«The best is on a tree. We… of course… will be mercilessly eaten by mosquitoes, but wild animals will not touch us.»
«Are you sure?»
«Yes, more or less. The wolf can’t. A bear will not climb a tree. They climb trees only when they are small. The adults wouldn’t. In general, only a hungry beast is dangerous, and now is the time when there is plenty of food. Lynx… attack a human only in winter time so…»
«What if we fall down?»
«Let’s get attached. You have a belt, I have a belt. Oh! I see the tree which is just right.»
Andrey confidently walked forward, and his sister followed him with a sigh, trying to keep up with her older brother, who seemed so strong and confident in this unfriendly forest darkening with every minute.
Approaching the tree the brother knocked it for some reason, and then, contrived, jumped up and grabbed the lower branch. Deftly pulling himself up, he climbed up and stretching his hand out said to his sister:
«Come on.»
«I’m afraid.»
He chuckled.
«Fine. I’ll climb up alone, and you can spend the night under a tree. I think you’ll like it.»
«What did you say?! I will not stay here alone, without you,» she exclaimed with fear.
«What’s the matter? Give me your hand.»
She timidly extended her tender girlish hand to him, and he, unexpectedly firmly grasping her, pulled her up with a fast movement. She only had time to scream in surprise, as she was already next to him.
Further it was easier. Deftly climbing from branch to branch, Andrey moved up, and Lera followed him as fast as she could.
At the height of just a little bit over three meters the brother stopped and said:
«These two branches are just right. High enough, and at the same time not so scary. They are large and you can get attached normally.»
He pulled the belt out of the loops of his jeans and buckled it to the trunk. His sister tried to do the same with her belt. Andrey looked and nodded approvingly:
«All right, Lerka. You won’t fall.»
«Not very comfortable,» she replied with a sigh.
«Of course!» he laughed. «This is not a resort, but a temporary vital necessity. So, let’s endure, somehow, this kind of inconvenience.»
He looked around. Twilight was rapidly gathering.
«We’re on time. Just got here before it got too dark.»
«Yes, indeed,» she shuddered.
At this moment a huge shadow flashed behind the trees about fifty meters from them. If it were not for the evening darkness and the changeable forms of shrubs and trees, the guys would probably have noticed her, in fact Lera only caught a strange rustle and immediately turned toward it.
«Have you heard of it?
«What?»
«Some noise. Like steps. And a dull grunt, like an angry dog.»
«Hmm… no. I haven’t heard anything. Don’t worry. That’s why we climbed here, in order to not to be afraid of anything.»
«I’m still afraid. There is definitely someone there.»
«Hey, stupid little girl. Even if there is, so what? I told you, don’t be afraid. Maximum that it can do is to come to the foot of the tree and smell it.»
«But what if?!»
«What if, what if! Well, it will eat us, what’s the problem?»
«What are you talking about?» She indignantly poked him with her small fist.
«About nonsense. Nothing to be afraid of.»
«But I want to talk. All night is ahead.»
«Oh, ok, talk. You can start with some horror stories.»
