Chapter 18 The Man and trouble

I was back in the Balkas territory. I had four days left and I was only half a day away from the mountain. I would take my time. I had started to get hungry. I was hunting some mice when I smelled some meat. I sniffed again. Yes it was indeed meat. I started to follow the smell. I came around a big boulder and saw the deer carcass.

I licked my chops. I was indeed hungry. All the running I had done had made my body absorb the nutrients a lot faster. I walked toward the deer. It had the smell of other wolves on it but maybe the Balkas had caught a deer and feasted on it real quick before returning to the mountain. I walked toward it.

In a flash I felt a snapping pain that went away very fast. I turned and looked at my left hind leg. There was some sort of material around it that was a wire. I was caught fast in a wire snare. The snare kept me just out of reach of the deer. I moved a little to try and find a way to get my leg out when another pain ruptured in my right hind leg. The pain quickly vanished but I knew that I was caught in another wire snare trap. The wire part was connected to a chain that was connected to the ground with stakes. So it wasn't like I couldn't move.

The feeling of the wire around my legs drove me crazy though. It was an ancient reaction to being trapped. I tried to stay calm. I did my best to lay down in a way it would tighten the wire which I found out when I pulled a little on the right on. It had bite a bit further in my flesh but didn't break it. I lay down without putting tension on the traps. I just waited for a miracle.

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My miracle came in another way then expected. A man came through the trees muttering to himself. He was talking about something called money when he saw me. I let out a growl. Just what I needed when I had a deadline to make. The man walked closer to me. He slowly pulled something out of his pocket. It was a muzzle for a dog but all he need was to make sure I couldn't bite him.

I didn't know what it was for so I just stood there waiting for the man to kill me. When he sprung I wasn't expecting him to put it on my muzzle. He quickly buckled the muzzle on. I thrashed my head back and forth. This caused me to move my legs trying to get it off. Then I felt the pain of the wire in both legs. I dropped down panting. The man stood there deep in thought. He brought a chain into view. He clipped it around my neck and connected the other end to his belt. Then he slowly took off the traps.

Immediately I tried to get away just to find I wasn't going anywhere without the human. The human walked over to a tree that had a stump close by. He pulled the chain around the tree and connected it to itself making it impossible for me to get away. The man sat on the stump muttering to himself.

He was saying, "I wonder what I should do. It's illegal to hunt and kill wolves. Should I just release or fallow my fathers as wolfers" Then the man fell silent.

I looked into his mind. He was thinking the words, "Should I just kill it or torture it like the wolfers did. I remember my grandpa telling me and showing me how to hunt, torture, and kill wolves. I could muzzle it and let it go to starve to death. I could just slit its throat. I could poison it. I could use its urine to attract other wolves. I could skin it and let it go if it lives"

I exited his mind. I didn't like the way he was thinking. With every thought they got worse and I could see in his minds eyes what each one meant. I looked at the man. The man stood up. I didn't notice but he had put a backpack down and now he was rummaging through it. My heart was leaping to great heights. When the man turned around he had some wire and a needle. He walked over to me.

I let out a muffled growl. He knelt down besides me and poked me with the needle. I could feel the stuff he used mix with my blood. He sat back down on the stump. I started to feel sleepy. After a while I was still conscious but I couldn't move. He walked over and undid the buckle on the muzzle. He then took the wire and wrapped it around my muzzle. He then used a tool I didn't see to twist the two ends together. As he twisted it the wire burrouded more into my skin. He only stopped when I jumped even when I wasn't spossed to.

Then the man took the chain off me and left. As he left I could sense that he did feel a little guilty. After about two human hours I was able to move. I could tell that I wasn't going to get the wire off my muzzle. This lead to one thing. Starvation.