The Girl, The Wolf and The Woodsman.

[Dallas Walker]

Towering trees framed a well-worn path, the flora covered in morning dew. It dripped down the canopy overhead, the occasional drop landing on the thick woolen cloak that covered her head. She pulled it tighter around her as she entered deeper into the forest...what little sun light could break through the heavy ceiling of leaves made strange patterns as a breeze blew past.

It's a story most, if not all, children have been told - a little girl goes into the woods, taking a basket of goodies to her sickly grandmother. Anita was familiar with it, of course, and it seemed her subconscious had decided to cast her in the starring role. So far it had been a pleasant dream; she kissed her mother good-bye, telling her she would stick to the path and not talk to any strangers she may encounter. The day was brisk, the sun shining just enough to keep a chill out of the air. A perfect day.

[Anita Stern]

Her hair in curls spilling out her red hood, the little girl skips down the forest path, humming a sweetly delicate tune for her own ears. The basket swings back and forth to the pace of her arms' arc, never coming to close to spilling. The sun is shining bright today, the birds singing happily, and she hoped hard herself that her grandmother would like the treats well enough, and that the sweet old woman would get better soon.

The peace of the forest would be unsettling to some, but Anita hardly noticed. It was such a beautiful day, filled with hope. A squirrel scampered up a sturdy oak, and peered down at the girl as she passed by on the path, chittering to himself, or perhaps another squirrel hidden amongst the leaves. Leaves and twigs crunched under her feet as she hop-skipped along, punctuating the wordless buzz that was her hum.

The bridge over the creek that lead to grandmother's house was still a short way's off.

[Dallas Walker]

She reached the bridge, skipping over it while still humming her cheerful tune. The leaves rustled, the wind changing direction and blowing clouds in front of the sun. The entire feeling of the forest shifted as it became darker. Shadows from above twisted and twirled as the wind rattled the branches...

Anita let out a gasp as a dark figure stepped before her. He wore a worn woolen coat, a hat pulled down to cover his features. A gloved hand reached up to straighten the tie around his neck, before clearing his throat.

"Little girls shouldn't wander these woods alone...it's not...safe."

The creature raised its head, revealing a masked face that wore a wolfish grin. It cocked its head to one side, the grin spreading over it's features until it was passed its ears.

"Where are you going?"

[Anita Stern]

The girl gasped frightfully, hand to mouth and stepped backward a few steps, her eyes locked on the sight, the basket held against her with the other hand. The peace of the forest had betrayed her, the tune she issued blocked out any rustling. This monster in front of her was a most unkind surprise!

"Wh-who-who ARE you?" she stammered, a little shaken. Where was she going??

Suddenly, uneasy defiance welled up in her young eyes, and she glared at the man with the wolfish grin, her lip trembling just a touch.

"Why should...why should I tell you?!"

She backed up a few steps more over the bridge, clutching the basket tight to her person, her hooded cloak teased menacingly by the wind.

[Dallas Walker]

The man folded his arms behind his back, his grin still as wide and sinister as ever. He took a step towards her as she backed away.

"I'm merely a...concerned person, who cares about your well-being. The woods are full of dangerous surprises if you stray from your path."

His arm shot out, catching her elbow. One more step and she would've missed the edge of the tiny wooden bridge. He pulled her closer to him, tsking her with a wave of his index finger.

"See? If you stray, and bad things will happen."

[Anita Stern]

She wiggled strongly in the demon-man's grasp. The look on his face, his eyes, his voice made for one terrifying and wholly unexpected package. The fear made her grip tighter to the handles of the basket, rather than dropping it. The girl was tense. Where did this monster come from, and what was he doing in her peaceful forest? Why was he terrorizing her? What is going on here? So many questions! So wrong! All of it!

"LET ME GO!!" She demanded loudly, amongst her physical protestations. This was not good. Not good at all. She didn't know when it would end...mother would worry. And grandmother would never get her treats. Oh, grandma...

Tears started to well up at her terror, feeling hot as the anger mingled with it. This stranger would not get away with...with...well, whatever it was he was after, that was certain!

[Dallas Walker]

His shoulders raised in a sigh, his face twisting into a snarl as he shoved her backwards.


"FINE!"


Anita fell, and kept falling. The woods seemed to fall away, fading into darkness as she kept falling, deeper and deeper into the pitch. There was a loud splash as she hit bottom, landing in a pool of foul smelling water. She bobbed to the surface, sputtering. A long dark tunnel, with walk-ways on either side...the sewers...

The water a few feet away began to bubble and swirl. A frightening and familiar face slowly rose from the depths, gray skin blending in with the shadows. Reddish eyes gleaming as he caught her in his stare, a vicious smile forming as he started towards her...

[Anita Stern]

Wide-eyed, still catching her breath after surfacing, all she could do was stare. Stare at the darkness, at the piercing points of hellish red light that steadily grew larger, closer. She started to back up, back up as fast as she could from the approaching menace, but her eyes, they would not... could not move from the approaching monstrosity. It was a locked kind of fear, clawing at her heart and soul, gnawing ever so lightly at her sanity.

"Don't you... stop..." She stuttered out. "Stop! Don't come near me! Don't..."

He continued to advance, she continued to retreat, oblivious to the stench of the water, and almost tripping over the muck at every reeling step backward, the dank toying with the idea of consuming her - if this evil didn't do so first. It was cold and dark and she couldn't focus on anything other than her apparent fear.

[Dallas Walker]

Hands clamped down on her ankles, the water around her bubbling as more dark things rose from the depths, all wild eyed and grinning. A pair grabbed her arms, two more her legs, hefting her from the water and into the air. Another set of clawed hands held her head, as Dallas strode confidently towards her. He trailed his tongue down her cheek...

"So much tastier when they're full of fear...No-one is going to stop me. There is no white knight, no happy ending. I'm going to kill you, then watch your corpse float away with the other garbage. Out and away, where no-one will find you..."

[Anita Stern]

That was the feeling of more than dread thundering through her. It was the feeling of hope draining out of her, a preamble to life slipping away. She wanted to fight it, didn't want it to end this way, but the odds were stacked against her, and even with her impressive faculties of mind, she couldn't see a way out.

"Why?" She asked, half-screaming, half-pleading, now shivering. The convulsiveness the dank cold of the swamp-place was threatening to overrun her. "Why... me?

The cold made breathing a little difficult, as well. She was starting to gasp to catch her breath amid her shivers and sobs.

[Stern]

Just as she began to truly lift of the ground, a strong warm hand grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her easily back to her feet.

A young man with shining blonde hair picked her up in one arm as easily as if she were a toddler and placed her down behind him. A large axe rested on his shoulder. His stubbled face broadened into a large smile.

"I've got you," he said to her.

His presence was like radiant light and his voice soothing warmth. He stood between the girl and her attacker with feet apart, knees bent, ready for battle. The axe came off his shoulder and his held in in both hands. His confident smile widened and he took in his prey.

"Come, dog."

[Dallas Walker]

The dark creatures cackled and pounced on the newcomer, as Dallas stood watching with an equally confident smile. The creatures hissed, clawing wildly at the "woodsman" as he brought his axe down upon them. They shrieked, splitting into piles of dark ash that was washed away by the fetid waters below...

[Anita Stern]

"He... doesn't know when to stop." Her shaking voice passed weakly from between her fumbled up lips. Being broken free from those creatures immediately brought with it a return to sense. The strong body of the woodsman (strangely out of place in a sewer, an offhand thought brought to her) brought with it a sense of security. The halted advance of the monster/man brought with it a mild sense of confidence... but the crooked and confident smile from him made her still uneasy.

"Don't let him get me... don't let him get YOU!" It was a realization that suddenly ran through her brain, that the monster-man was capable of terrible things that reached out and gripped her mind, tore at her heart, clawed at her soul. He could do the same to the woodsman, if he were not careful. "Be careful, please!"

[Stern]

The woodsman shrugged off the creatures and swung his axe in a wide arc around him, knocking the creatures back into the murk. The light around him grew faintly and seemed to summon forth stars. The murk became swamp, sewer pipes became vines and trees.

The woodsman walked forward, slogging through the swamp muck with powerful strides. The creatures stood up and jumped him again. The woodsman ducked and bobbed, countering each lunge with a heavy strike with his axe until they seeped back into the swamp to never rise again.

"Is that all?"

In the growing light the red-hooded girl's hero seemed much taller. It was much more apparent that he was broad across the shoulders and built as solid as the trees he felled.

"There is no danger here for you, Miss. Take comfort."

[Dallas Walker]

The monsters shoulders lurched forward as the sewer gave way to the fairy-tale forest. Thick fur sprouted from tears in his coat, the mask he wore twisting into the snarling muzzle of some horrific beast...A wolfman with a wild grinning maw.

He was as tall and broad as the woodsman, but he seemed to absorb the darkness while the other shone brightly against it. The monster shook it's fur, ridding it of the sewer water, before huffing a snarl at Stern.

"SHE'S MINE!" More shadow creatures rose from the swamp, surrounding the girl as their master pounced on the woodsman, sending them crashing to the ground.

[Anita Stern]

"AAAAH!!!"

Anita was surrounded again! The creatures making yet another attempt to drag her off into the deep while her supposed saviour beat them away swiftly ahead of him, their master suddenly pouncing at him, the girl too absorbed by her renewed predicament to worry about how the woodsman would handle it, just trying to believe so very hard that he would and everything would somehow be okay.

"Make it STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPP!"

[Stern]

The woodsman took the handle of his axe in both hands moving it so he and the wolf both grasped it in their struggle. Rather than try to shove the beast off of him, the wild man yanked the axe handle toward him to bring his adversary in range of a headbutt. He followed the headbutt with a solid knee strike to its stomach. Then he rolled over so now he was in the dominant position with the wolf underneath him.

"Duck!" The woodsman called to girl and lunged towards her with a blast of radiant light.

The woodsman stood over the crouching girl not a second too soon. The creatures dove at the woodsman instead, and he repelled them with a wide circular overhead swing.

"Stay close," he said to her.

The woodsman was glowing brighter, or the woods were not growing so dark.

"COME GET ME BEAST! NO MORE INTERFERENCE! YOU WON'T BE GETTING HER UNTIL YOU KILL ME FIRST!"

[Dallas Walker]

The creatures shrieked and howled, returning to the swamp in a shower of dust. The wolf growled low in his throat, the darkness rising up behind him, almost as if it was alive, clashing with the glow of the Woodsman. His lips curled back over clenched teeth, hissing out a curse as he rose to his feet.

The snarl slipped easily into a grin, as the monster stalked closer. "...I'll leave you with just enough life to watch me slaughter the girl. Then I'll tear you to shreds."

[Anita Stern]

She wanted to cling to him, but knew he needed the space for the oncoming battle with this monster that threatened their existence. She stayed close enough to reach out and touch him - knowing full well she would want to hold on without though if fear overcame her again - and tried to watch out for anything that might grab hold of her again.

I must trust him. She thought. I must believe when he says I will be safe, that no more harm will come to me.

If - if! - they came out of this alive, not necessarily unscathed, then she knew she would have a great deal to thank him for. It was only polite to give thanks, her mother had taught her.

[Stern]

The woodsman swung the axe hard into a tree root, making it bite deep and stay wedged where it was. He took a broad stance and waited just a moment. Then he lunged at the wolf.

He fell upon the wolf, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck and clamping a hand over its muzzle. He needed to turn it over onto its back, but the beast struggled fiercely.

No more talk. He would not bend to the wolf nor waste his energy on it. As long as the beast stayed away from the girl, she could stay where she was.

His light pressed against the wolf's darkness as they grappled with each other and the swampy mire bubbled as it began to recede from around the woodsman's feet, giving him solid ground and stable purchase.

[Dallas Walker]

The wolf snarled, struggling against the mans grip, snapping it's jaws closer and closer to the woodmans face. The swamp was changing once again, the water bubbling away, the forest floor returning. The creatures claws dug into the soft earth, giving it more leverage against his opponent.

[Anita Stern]

When the swamp began to bubble away and vanish, when the forest floor began to return, it took the girl by complete surprise until a feeling of relief at the familiar territory of the trees and the bridge beyond, behind the seething beast scuffling violently with her would be - or perhaps soon-to-be - saviour... if the beast was not victorious. This now was her worst fear, because she then knew what was to come, if so.

Please let everything be alright. She thought, fearfully. I don't want to die.

And she tried to watch/not watch/not cry out in fear, for fear of distracting the woodsman from the fight. Little whimpers issued from her lips, as she stumbled back into the strong trunk of a tree, and leaned there dependently, watching, not knowing what might come next.

[Stern]

The woodsman held the wolf back as best he could, but not before the wolf managed to cut his face with one long sharp tooth. He threw the wild dog against a tree trunk and reached for his axe. He just needed to wait for the right time to strike. It would all be over before they knew it.

[Dallas Walker]

The wolf slumped against the trunk, breathing heavily and casting a hard gaze at the girl. It's lips curled into a snarl...

"Even if your precious hero kills me, there will always be others like me. Some in plain sight, but others who'll be wolves in sheeps clothing..."

The creature rose to it's feet, brushing off the remaining tatters of its clothing. It straightened, feet shifting it's weight as it prepared to pounce.

"He," it leveled a stare at the woodsman, smirking and pointing a claw in his direction. "He will not be there, always protecting you. Put your trust in men who like to play hero, and see how well they can save you from us... One mistake, and you'll be mine. If not mine, than some other monsters."

There was a flurry of fur and flesh as the wolf leapt with all his might onto the woodsman, sending the pair crashing through the underbrush. Anita moved to watch the pair, as they stood inches apart, breathing hard and not moving...

[Anita Stern]

The wolf was a terrifying sight, and a terrifying sound. The girl was very nearly hugging the tree, wanting to scuttle behind it, but too afraid to draw too much attention to herself. So she just remained against the tree, unable to move her eyes from the scene in front of her.

"No... You will not win, wolf." Her determination was shaky, rather feeble at best, but she believed it to be true, above the underlying doubts within. Her voice was unsteady. "Even the trees of this forest and the skies above call out for your blood. I know it. I know it to be true."

[Stern]

The woodsman leaned heavily on his axe. The big man's body was covered in scratches from the beast, the brambles, and the broken sticks and twigs. He was breathing heavily, but determined to stand between him his charge.

"I will be where you need me, when you need me," the woodsman told the girl. "Trust me, call me. Rely on me."

The woodsman took a knee and held his stomach. "Don't worry. As long as there is light, there is hope."

The woodsman fell.

[Dallas Walker]

The woodsman fell, and the sky grew dark. The wind picked up as the wolf turned his attention back to his original prey. He licked his teeth, grinning wildly at the now helpless girl as he took a step towards her...

[Anita Stern]

Oh, how she wished she could just disappear into the tree, the big and mighty tree. Seeing the woodsman fall caused her anxiety, her waves of fear to spike and rise to tsunami, respectively. Her fingers dug into the tree. She knew full well that she could not outrun such a beast, and for all intents and purposes, she was trapped. Demise was imminent. The spark of faith, the flame of belief grew dimmer as each step the beast took closed the distance.

I don't understand... why me? What have I done?

One last-ditch attempt to hold the end at bay - "Stay away! Stop! Don't come any closer..." - did nothing to keep him back.

She closed her eyes, shut them tight, trying to keep out the malicious grin, to try in vain to block out endless night.

[Stern]

The woodsman burst forth from the undergrowth with his axe held high over his head. "Didn't you hear her?" he said. "She told you to stay away!"

The woodsman brought the axe down hard over the wolf. The light broke forth out of him, engulfing the wolf's darkness and casting a bright beam of light around the young woman.

[Anita Stern]

She heard a voice, just barely. Hope sparked in her again, as the beast drew closer, and then...

Barely a foot away, and the beast shattered, broken through by a grand light. Points of it shot out in every direction. She found herself having to shield her eyes from its powerful brightness, until the flash that illuminated even her skin started to die down. Before her, on the ground, an axe lay with blade buried into the dirt and brush. Behind that axe was the woodsman.

The relief was great. So much so, in fact, that her hold on the tree weakened and she slid to her knees at the base of it. All she could do was cry against the bark, feeling as if she had too little strength to do much else. The beast had nearly terrified the life right out of her and when she lifted her head, looked with her eyes above tear-streaked cheeks, he was there for her.

"Thank you... for saving me."

The woodsman was there, wearing the smallest of smiles, aglow with the light.

He would always be there.


----------------





Anita jolted awake, sitting up from the recline of the seat on a jet airliner en route to France. A hand to chest, breathing in-out-in-out-in-out, the book that had lay across her torso having tumbled to the deck. A bare film of sweat had formed on her forehead, that she dabbed at with her sleeve, still a long way from calming down. Most everyone around her slept. The older man next to her snored lightly.

"Michael..."

She was afraid. And the best she could do was push on through, alone.