The air was dank and smelled heady of compost and fresh kill. Melody spun around, but because of the darkness and thick wood she was unable to find her bearings.

In the distance came the breaking of branches and a soft snort of some large animal. In her mind, she went through the list of possibilities:

Bigfoot? Unlikely.

Bear? Anything's possible, I suppose.

Wolf? …..Wolf??? Oh crud. YEAH! It's a wolf.

The blood-curdling howl that sounded next confirmed her fear and from the sound of it's determined footfalls it could be nothing else.

Canis Lupus were not unknown to these black woods -- at least as far as she knew. Melody wasn't entirely certain how she got here in the first place, though knowledge of this land seemed oddly instinctive.

Melody turned and ran, shouting as she did so. “WOLF,” she cried. “HELP! WOLF!”

Madly, however, something in her brain made her afraid she might be taken out of context, so she explained as she ran.

“Just to clarify, I'm not asking for your help, Mister Wolf, but rather protection from you! In case you were wondering.”

Melody tripped over one of the many sprawling roots, and fell forward onto her chest. Covered with dirt and helpless, she rolled over only to find the snarling beast staring down at her, ready to leap upon her person and most likely tear her to pieces. Its mouth was open and dripping saliva and....