"What sort of weapons have you brought to defend yourself?"
Nicole turned to Carl.
"I have a dagger with me," he replied.
"Our daggers won't be of much use against the wolves," she said, assessing the potential situation.
"We can only use our torches to scare them away.If the wolves surround us, we must protect our
horses, find out which one is the pack alpha as soon as possible, and target it so that we may live to
see the sun rise."
"I got it."
Carl nodded, ready to defend his camp.
The horses began to thrash and wine, attempting to free themselves from their bonds.
Noticing this, Nicole hurried over to comfort Pinto and the other horse and shot a bullet of a glace over
her shoulder at Carl.
"They must be close."
As soon as had uttered those words, she saw about a dozen pairs of eyes gleaming about in the dark,
charging at her general direction.
When they were nearing the campsite, they slowed down and began to size Nicole up, sensing out for
any weaknesses and vulnerabilities through visual and auditory cues.
Then, they halted and circled around the duo, effectively surrounding Nicole and Carl who could only
stare back at them.
"Carl, they stopped," Nicole said.
"I can see that.Perhaps they are not coming any closer because of the flames,"иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмCarl
said, hazarding a guess.
"If this is going to keep them at bay, how long do you think our fire can last?" Nicole asked Carl.
"It won't last until the break of dawn."
Carl looked at the branches surrounding them, knowing that he should have gotten more of those
earlier.
"Then let's keep the fire burning for as long as possible," she ordered.
"Use anything that is flammable, and I mean everything, including the tent."
"I've counted the branches," he said.
"Alright, good.Looks like I've got no choice but to fight them!" Nicole said, staring at the wolves who
were standing in wait directly across.
As long as the flames remained kindled, they would not pounce.
"Carl, can you identify the alpha of the pack?" Nicole asked Carl.
"No, they're too far away."
Carl shook his head.
"I don't think I can tell just yet.Wait, I have an idea, Nicole.You see is pretty fast and can cover great
distances in a short span of time.I'll distract the wolves for you while you hurry back to the racecourse
to get help."
"If I go, what do you think is going to happen to you?" Nicole asked.
"There are so many of them against one of you! How are you supposed to fight them off on your own?"
"Just go!" he yelled, urging her to flee.
"Cut the crap, save your breath, and let's kill ourselves a few wolves!" she cried out.
"After all these years going through hell and high waters for you, when have I ever left you to fend for
yourself!?"
Nicole could tell what he was thinking, but she would never flee on her own, let alone leave him here to
be fed to the wolves.
"No, you're not running away," he said, still attempting to push her away.
"Don't look at it that way.You're actually going to get help, and by doing that, you'll eventually be able to
save the both of us.If you don't go now, we're both going to be trapped here."
Nicole neither answered nor looked at him, for her eyes were on the wolves.
Realizing that he could not convince Nicole to flee without him, he breathed a huge sigh.
As the fired began to dim, the wolves grew restless, and proceeded to advance on them, inching in
ever closer.
"Carl, we can't just sit still while the fire is still burning," Nicole reminded.
"Once it goes out, we'll be in dire straits!"
"Okay.What do you suggest we do?"
Carl looked at Nicole.
"Do you see that slightly larger wolf at the back?" Nicole pointed to Carl.
"Yeah, I can see it."
"I suspect that it is the alpha,"иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмshe said, analyzing the situation.
"If we can snuff him out, the entire pack will disperse, and we'll be alright."
"Okay.I'll help you out by luring the others away while you take care of that one," Carl vowed.
"Okay.Mount your horse and lead the wolves to the grove so I that I can flank them from the sides,"
Nicole explained to Carl.
"It is a feasible strategy, but with high reward comes a high risk for you. If the wolves don't tail me, you'll
be in grave danger,"
Carl pointed out.
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