The tide slowly swallowed the beach as it edged the shoreline, reaching as if with hands toward a sleeping boy in the sands. A crescent moon was dim above the boy, the light being mostly stolen by the thousands of stars that surrounded the celestial body. Everything was silent, still, besides the crashing of waves and starving wolves in the forest behind the small lake.
The boy rolled over, his eyes flickering to like a dying candle. As the light slowly returned as he took in his surroundings, he felt a surge of panic in his chest. Dirty fingers clawed at his ribs, scraping and tearing until a tiny drop of blood came back, a wince in the back of the boy's throat. Just as quickly, the panic was replaced with questions.
"Where am I?" His voice is rough, as if he hadn't spoken in quite a while. The water licked at his feet now, cold and threatening. He softly retracts his legs, thin and bony hands gripping dark and torn trousers from the curious lake. His hands sunk into the cold sand around him, gently pushing himself into a further position away from the water.
Hunger gripped him. His stomach growled like a bear, ripples of emptiness filling his insides. He looked around, noting the large trees and tall grass that lay beyond the small indentation of a lake. Clambering to his feet like an infant, he struggled to stay bipedal, stumbling and using his arms to catch his fall before completely succumbing to the sand below.
"Damnit…" He gripped the sand with hands full of irritation. He tossed the sand aside and pushed himself to his feet, willing his legs to stabilize. In a few untidy steps, he managed to keep himself upright. He used the trees as makeshift railings, their closeness to one another nothing if not helpful.
And he walked, having nothing else than these two legs now. Hunger. A pain that radiated into his entire body, his bones felt each as if they were a ton. The longer he walked, the worse he felt. He was lost, he was in pain, and it occurred to him that he didn't even remember his name.
When his legs were seemingly done, he collapsed against a particularly thick trunk, roots spreading wildly around the ground beneath him. He placed his back against the tree, a hand shading his eyes as the dawn's light broke through the thick forest. Birds began their morning songs, insects seemingly joining in the choir of noise. Yet, it was peaceful. He felt his eyes begin to close, drowsy from his short walk in the woods. As soon as he did, he heard the snarls.
An awful, ear splitting howl soon followed. Sets of legs strong enough to churn up the earth beneath them as they ran, as they caught the boy's scent, tumbled through the vast expanse of trees. The boy shot back to his feet, forcing himself to forget all of the pain he was in and focus on the incoming danger.
Looking around, nothing but grass and acorns stood out. A few branches here and there, but none large enough to use as a weapon. The thought of climbing a tree - any tree - seemed impossible. Even if he had full range of motion and the strength to climb, his arms were simply too small to wrap around the large trunk of any of these trees, and the nearest branch to latch onto was three times his height off the ground. Even if he had a running start and could propel himself up, his condition was unsupportive.
"Shit," he muttered. The growls were close, close enough that he knew they were watching him, circling around him. There was no longer an option to escape or hide. He had to fight.
His ears perked, a snap of a twig to his left, the flattening of grass behind him… There's simply too many. Four, if he had to guess. Looking to the ground once more, he found a sizable branch just a few feet from his position he could probably use for a single, solid hit, if luck was on his side. He slid a foot towards the branch, a low growl instantly from his right side. A wolf the size of a horse made its presence visible to the boy.
It was massive, with dark black fur and intense yellow eyes that stared into his own. The boy trembled under the beast's gaze, his scrawny limbs dancing in terror. The wolf licked its lips, not like the boy would be much of a meal in his current condition, but because it probably hadn't eaten in weeks. The forest didn't seem to be housing anything other than hungry wolves and a witless young man.
Stay calm. Think. If - when - this thing attacks, jump for the stick. It may not be worth salt, but it can scare the wolves away with a good strike.
The black wolf lunged at the boy, and as he planned, the boy jumped for the small branch. Just as his hand was about to wrap around the stick, a set of sharp teeth enveloped his foot and pulled hard. Razors embedded themselves deep within the boy's skin, impaling themselves even into the bone. The boy let out a cry, throwing an arm down as the wolf tried to pry his leg from the rest of him. He pelted the wolf with his fragile fists, but the beast was stronger.
Tears raced down the boy's face, blood pooling around his leg as the beast released his foot and found greater leverage in his calf. As if his non-effective attacks could be worse, another wolf raced up and locked its tight jaws on his left arm. The two beasts pulled at his limbs, tearing skin and bone from its rightful place on his body. Another would rush in to get its spoils as the boy's head flew back, watching the light shine brightly from above him like an echo of laughter.
He wasn't lucky, not in the slightest. In this place, this palace of trees and blood, he was going to die in pieces. Awake or not, he was going to die, and if he had a choice, he would rather be asleep. He forced his eyes closed, a set of sharp claws tearing at his chest, teeth gnawing at his throat. In moments, he would be food for wolves, and that isn't something he had to live with, so he decided to forgive them. The fact was, they were stronger than him. Maybe a boy shouldn't wander the forest at night without a name or reason. Maybe however he got here, he would wake up from this awful dream with just a vague sensation that this nightmare was somehow even remotely real.
As the wolves ripped him apart piece by piece, his forgiveness was replaced with fire. Rage burned what little they left of him, and fire would take this forest if it was the last thing he did. For death is just the beginning, for this boy that wanders into the dark alone…