The wind whistled through the trees as I buried my hands in the pockets of my jacket. It was far too cold in this town, but I preferred it over listening to Sheriff Manghlen talk one more second against the town’s wildlife.

Apparently, there had been several attacks by a wild animal on certain citizens. The attacks were becoming more frequent, and people were clearly scared. According to the "wise" sheriff, we needed a hunt to drive these wild animals away from our habitat. Our habitat? We’ve been invading the animals’ environment for YEARS! That sheriff had not an ounce of empathy for them. Doesn’t he realize that we should be the ones to leave? I clenched my fists inside my jacket and furrowed my brow.

I heard my stomach growl. I was hungry. There was food at the meeting, but as a silent protest—because my mother forced me to go—I decided not to eat anything. I quickened my pace a little to get home sooner, passing through the park where several tables stood. The townspeople usually gathered there for festivals, but since everyone was at the meeting, it was mostly deserted.

A growl pulled me out of my thoughts about what I’d eat at home, and I froze. Had I heard that right? Then I heard the growl again, and a chill ran down my spine. My hands began to tremble. I didn’t want to look in the direction of the sound, but I felt I had to. I slowly turned to see an impressive animal: four legs, dark gray fur that looked thick, red eyes fixed on me like I was its next meal, and large exposed teeth. Its stance made it clear it would leap at any moment.

“Easy…” I spoke cautiously, raising my hands slightly, wanting to show I meant no harm, as if the animal could understand me.

The creature growled louder and advanced slightly towards me with its massive paws. I felt myself trembling, and my body instinctively began to slowly retreat.

“Stay calm…” I murmured, but then it bared more of its teeth, and its paws shifted as if preparing to lunge.

I ran to the right, quickly ducking under one of the tables, which fortunately had those static benches attached. That kept the beast from immediately crushing my bones with a single bite. But it wasn’t giving up; it rammed against the table, trying to maneuver its muzzle to drag me out. I curled my legs and arms as tightly as I could. With every hit from the beast, the table seemed closer to giving way, leaving me exposed to death. I screamed with each impact, feeling my throat tear from within.

My heart wouldn’t stop pounding, and my body trembled even more as I watched the bolts and screws of the table fly loose. One of the benches fell in front of me. The table had finally given way. The monster wasted no time and charged at me. Acting purely on survival instinct, I grabbed the bench and held it in front of me like a shield, my last desperate attempt to stay alive.

The beast’s strength was overwhelming. My noodle arms were barely keeping it at bay, and while they were already giving out, its teeth were beginning to destroy the bench. I could feel its hot breath and drool getting closer to my face. I closed my eyes. This was it. It was over.

A loud, dry sound rang in my ears, followed by a pained yelp from the creature. Then I felt the pressure on the bench ease. I opened my eyes to see the animal bleeding and collapsing at my feet, breathing heavily.

One, two, three, four. Those were the bloodstains spreading across its silky gray fur. No…

I tried to approach, but the creature let out a faint growl before another shot rang out, this time striking its head. It instantly dropped dead, splattering more blood on my body and face.

I screamed. What had I just gone through? I had almost died, but now I watched this animal lose the light in its eyes.

“Malena!” I heard my mother shout.

I looked up, still dazed, and saw Sheriff Manghlen with his gun still extended, pointing at the wolf. He saved my life... The whole town was watching the scene, concerned, while my mother cried, her arms extended as if wanting to embrace me but too terrified to approach too closely.

“See?” I heard the sheriff say. “What more proof do you need? We have to begin the hunt. We can’t leave our children and teenagers at risk. We start now.” The sheriff spoke with determination as the crowd cheered, placing their trust in him to put an end to this threat.

I looked down. The wolf’s blood had splattered all over me. I heard my mother thanking him for saving me; others praised his aim. All this time, I had thought he was the villain, but as I watched the blood drip from my fingers, I realized that everything is a matter of perspective...