tears of the wolf (original version)

Tears of the Wolf: Chapter 1: Revenge-The Hunter’s Past

            class=SpellE>Okami stared at his watch in irritation. Six hours of
walking had brought him to this pitiful town. A place so small and unimportant,
not even the shuttle would stop there. So, he had to walk. Okami
pushed the dirt and twigs on the ground with his foot. He looked up through the
gnarled trees. No power lines, no planes… it had been a long time since the
hunter had seen woods. Nowadays, man had destroyed all it could.

            class=SpellE>Okami pushed back a bush and smiled. There, on the ground,
was the imprint of a wolf’s paw, but it was far too big for a normal wolf.

            ‘So, you’ve
come here. Why? You’re no wild mutt… you’ve always stuck to the cities. class=GramE>Why the change?’ He stamped out the print. His eyes narrowed
in fury and he slammed his fist against a tree with a yell.

Ten years ago…

            class=SpellE>Okami moved quickly along, nearly skipping at his pace. When
he got home, his daddy would show him how to ride the new bike he had gotten
for his birthday and then they would go out for ice cream. Mint chocolate chip
with rainbow sprinkles, fudge, and a big, fat cherry on top was the best. ‘Course,
he had a lot of homework, and most of it was math, the only class he truly
hated, but that didn’t matter. His mommy was real smart and would make all the
work go by faster. Besides, the promise of new-found speed and ice cream
weighed more heavily on his mind.

            But, as he
saw his house, all these things disappeared from his thoughts. The white house,
which once stood proud in the middle of the street, now looked as though it had
been torn apart by a raging monster. The green shutters from the first floor
windows hung from single nails; the slightest breeze would tear them off, the
windows thoroughly smashed, and long cuts lay ragged across the wood as though
made by large, furious claws…

            class=GramE>“Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?” class=SpellE>Okami crawled through the haze of destruction that had been
the living room. There was a strong musk in the air, like that of a wild
animal.

            His sense
of curiosity turned quickly to horror as he picked up a bloodied shred of his
mother’s dress. Realizing what the red was on the yellow cloth, he tossed it
from him with a squeak.  

            A low,
rough growl came from directly behind him. He whirled around to face sapphire
blue yes from across the room. It was a huge, snow white wolf,
roughly the size of a pony, a scar on its front, left leg. It snarled at him,
its muscles tightened, its ears perked, and it bared its teeth. Something wet,
red, and dripping hung from its jowls, staining its muzzle crimson. It was that
piece of flesh that startled the child into action. As he ran to the window, he
felt the wolf’s hot, foul breath at his shoulder, it’s
claw missing him by a mere inch. He crawled frantically out of the window, not
noting how the shattered glass cut him. If it weren’t for the beasts’
incredible size, he would have been dead by now.

Present…

            class=SpellE>Okami stared numbly at the blood dripping down his palm.

            “I will
kill you! YOU MONSTER!” Okami
howled into the lonely sky.

End Chapter One