Free The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie) by J.K. Hawk Page A

away.
                  The necro-wolf's mouth snapped ferociously, and a putrid stank filled my nose. Rotten flesh still clung between its infectious teeth, and a thick white foam collected and dripped from the corners of its mouth. Just like a rabid dog. With what little strength I had left I grabbed the wolf by the neck with my left hand and pushed up hard, pain once again shot down from my shoulder and back into my arm.
                  Holding tight, my right hand released the knife from its sheath and with great force I buried up through the canine's neck and into its brain. The beast instantly slumped down atop of me as its blackened blood began to trickle down over my face. The wolf's lungs deflated with a mucousy hiss and its legs twitched for a few moments before it slowly fell completely still.
                  Frantically I rolled the carcass off of me and desperately scooped up clumps of hard-packed snow from the ground. Icy pins and needles pierced into my skin as I vigorously scrubbed my face to clean the infected blood away from both my eyes and mouth. The snow works surprisingly well, and not just for cleaning, it has a multitude of survival uses. Shelter, meat-storage, trapping, and even drying clothes.
                  Satisfied, I stopped and scanned the area to ensure no other wolves lurked behind the darkness. But there was nothing, not even the whimpers of the orphaned pup. With haste I made my way to the cabin, tossing the other wolf aside and desperately forcing the door open. The girl tried to brace it shut, too scared and frantic to realize that it was just me. As soon as I breached the door I rushed in and cradled her in my arms.
                  “It's okay, they're dead,” I reassured her.
                  Quietly I laid there, dead-tired with the girl buried into my chest, panting heavily like a dog. She didn't struggle, she didn't fight. She melted into my arms in some sort of shock, eyes wide and glassy, but no life behind them. I could even feel myself drifting away, no thoughts of any kind, no contemplations, my brain was depleted and within moments - I was asleep.
     

19th Day, 5th Hunger Moon;
     
                  When I opened my crusty eyes this morning, an unbearable sharp and agonizing burn consumed my shoulder. In actuality it was almost mid-day. The sun was high and the Gray-Jays created quite a racket as they sung their mystical songs all about the forest. I gritted my teeth through the suffering as I pulled myself up from my pathetic fetal position and rubbed the crust away.
                  For a moment it seemed like the night before had just been some horrid dream, until I noticed the blackened gore that caked my hands. My head was in a daze, like waking up after an entire night of binge-drinking. My thoughts were as foggy as the eyes of the dead, and for a moment, I had even forgotten about the girl.
                  Soon though, my senses came back and I realized that she was not in the cabin and the front door had been left slightly ajar. Stumbling to my feet I made my way outside and into the yard where my eyes instinctively snapped shut. The sun's excruciating blaze reflected with menace off the pristine snow. Immediately I raise my hands up to shade the blinding rays and scan the area, but there was no sign of her. All that was to be found was the lifeless remains of two virulent wolves.
                  “She couldn't have gone far.” I thought to myself.
                  Repeatedly I whistled out, however the only response was the high-pitch chitter-chatter of woodland critters. Waiting in place, I listened with great intent, as my eyes gazed down upon the grisly mess around me. The infectious blood had already saturate the snow, which shoveling it all away would prove difficult.
                  There was no point in waiting any long to