The heavy breathing prevented him from hearing the whistling sound, but his eyes noticed movement. Marianne jumped to the side and ran on all fours for the trunk of a nearby tree. A net shot from a net shot flew overhead and tangled in the branches behind him.
The enemy had enough time to set up a trap for the pursuer. He left the snowmobile in a prominent place, while he went around in a wide arc and waited to attack from behind. The feline reaction and vision helped Marianne out.
A gray silhouette of a werewolf appeared from behind the trees for a second and took cover again. Marianne peered cautiously in that direction. Nero fiddled with the same tree. Only now did Marianne see part of his white camouflage.
Marianne came out from behind the tree and ran at Nero.
Another biting bang against the barrel rang out over the left ear. Then – an abrupt crack. The released net tore off the bark and fell into the snow. Marianne was wrong – the enemy was not reloading the weapon, but aiming. Marianne was very lucky this time too.
Nero is huge. He seems much more now than half an hour ago by the fire. The weapon is not visible in the hands. There will be no next shot. Nero is hunched over, ready to jump, and ready to charge.
Their gazes met. Nero’s eyes were not eyes. Red glazed dots looked at him from under the brows of a shaggy black head. The wolf’s face is twisted into a grin. Nero was now insane and more a wolf than a man. Marianne could not believe that even five minutes ago he had heard human speech, intelligent words from the mouth of this creature. Nero smiled. He looked at Marianne. The short guy in the school jacket seemed defenseless in front of the Werewolf.
Marianne lunged forward at the enemy. Nero seems to freeze. Now he knew for sure that he was just a student, if he had not yet understood it. A loud growl filled the air. It bounced off the trees and sounded from everywhere, pierced to the bone, could shake confidence. It’s hard not to notice him. But you can ignore it, try not to think that this threatening evil sound may be the last thing you hear in your life.
Marianne ran very close to the enemy. Here are his eyes, red and lifeless. The grin of sharp fangs turns into a satisfied smile. Nero is glad to meet you. A new, or perhaps a long-awaited prey found him herself. He did not doubt his victory. His huge body, as if disheveled, is ready to rush. The roar grew louder, inhuman, but not wolfish either, somewhat reminiscent of the cry of a winner. Nero is already sure that he won, is about to sink his fangs into Marianne…
It’s hard to think sensibly in such a situation. Marianne raised his hands in front of him. The claws are directed forward. He’s still running. He will knock the werewolf off his feet.
Nero jumped, the growl turning into a squeal on a new high note, cold and wet breath hitting Marianne’s face. The claws ripped open the school jacket, but only tore off the button and scratched the air. Marianne’s reaction was faster than Nero’s. He jumped instinctively, dodging the huge mass of the enemy, and the werewolf slipped under him. For another split second, Marianne grabbed Nero by the back, but he walked past, slipped by inertia through the snow. Marianne rolled in mid-air, clawing at Nero’s back, and fell into the snow.
The youth hurried to his feet. Just in time: Nero had already turned around and was heading for him again. Nearby is the thick trunk of a huge tree. Marianne waited until the last moment before jumping up and grabbing the trunk. The roar from below ceased. Nero crashed into a tree. Marianne jumped down, trying to land on the enemy with as much force as possible. Nero was just rearing up, opening his mouth when he was kicked in the head and back. Marianne slid over the Wolf’s body. White camouflage cushioned the fall. Marianne grabbed Nero’s neck with all his might, both rolled in the snow. Marianne quickly worked with his hands, scratching the neck and head of the enemy, and he tried to throw off Marianne, turn to face him and tear him to pieces with his teeth. But Marianne wrapped his legs around Nero’s waist and tried to keep his grip.
A sharp pain gripped my right leg. Marianne screamed, then felt a strong blow from his back against something solid, his head spinning.
Claws and palms seemed to burn. Blood appeared on them.
Marianne felt Nero free himself. A moment’s clouding from pain – and Marianne loosened his grip. Now you need to get to your feet as quickly as possible. The young man raised his head. The forest floated before my eyes, dark spots doubled and multiplied between the trees. Marianne crawled to the nearest tree, stood up, grabbing the trunk. A black wolf’s face appeared. The white hood is not visible. The same red eyes with thick fur above them. Teeth covered in blood. The fangs are huge. This black head was heading straight for Marianne.
The limbs themselves grabbed the trunk of the tree and quickly started working. Pain throbbed in my right leg.
Another blow to the leg almost threw Marianne down. He screamed, but held on and pulled himself up even higher.
Under the tree, Nero ran on all fours and threw himself over and over again up the trunk, but he could no longer reach the young man. And the barking full of hatred turned into human abuse.
Madness fueled rage. The helplessness pissed off Nero. But a minute later, with an incredible effort of will, he curbed his wolf instincts, sat down under a tree, took a breath and shouted:
– I’ll get you anyway!
Marianne watched closely the werewolf below. Now he looked at the snowmobile and the bound Juniya. The girl was lying in the snow and, it seems, was trying to free herself from her bonds.
– You’re finished, kid! Shouted Nero. – I’ll skin you alive!
And a quiet, menacing roar came to Marianne’s ears. We had to act quickly. He decided that Nero’s hot temper could be beneficial. You can try starving Nero out. “Probably, he cannot think logically at all in a fit of anger. We must not give him time to move away from the blinding anger!”
Marianne dangled his left leg down and said, trying to hide the fear in his voice:
– You can’t even get my leg! And you’ll never get me! Where can you strip off your skin? Only yours!
Before Marianne could finish, Nero shot up into the air, clutching his leg. His teeth clicked loudly. Marianne managed to pull himself up and immediately hung with one hand on a branch, bending it down. Snow fell from the branch onto Nero’s head. He closed his teeth, but caught only the snow. Then he closed his eyes and began shaking his head, shaking off the snow flakes. Marianne smiled deliberately, reached out to a nearby branch and brushed the snowball off it. Nero was ready, deftly dodged. Not a single snowflake hit the Werewolf. Marianne dangled his leg again. Nero immediately jumped after her. A roar, a cry of anger echoed in the air.
Marianne did not remove his leg. He threw out the second and collapsed onto the Werewolf.
Both of Marianne’s boots hit her grinning mouth. Hit. A short screech escaped the fallen Nero. Marianne landed heavily on him, and there was a crunching sound. Probably the neck of a werewolf.
Marianne bounced off the lying Wolf, still fearing him. But the body in white camouflage did not move, the head was turned on its side and hidden in the snow.
A faint groan escaped the limp enemy. Better not to waste time. Of course, Nero suffered, but not enough to give up the spirit here.
“Have I won?” Marianne hoped to gain the upper hand over Nero, although he himself did not have a clear plan. But when he appeared in the formidable guise of a wolf, there was almost no hope of a positive outcome. And here is such a gift of fate! Or a lucky coincidence. The branch broke off, and there was nothing to do but fall into the werewolf’s mouth.
Marianne walked away from the Wolf. Limping, he walked over to Junia and leaned over to her. She did not move, she just looked at the defeated Nero, then at Marianne. She recoiled a little, as if she were afraid of Marianne. If you think about it, he really looked distrustful. Although in the guise of the Werewolf Cat, he still looked