Zac was crouched in the undergrowth, watching with wide eyes as Fredrick practically danced through the wolves, a whirlwind of destruction, while the other Augmented dove down again and again, leaving an injured or dead wolf as he flew up again.
'Damn! I hope I get to be as badass as them. If only I could transform into something other than a slimy newt hybrid.' Zac grumbled as he crouched there, his eyes shining with admiration.
'I wonder if Winston is still okay, these survivors don't need me anymore, I should head back and see if he's fine.' Zac almost smacked himself on the head, he should have headed back to WInston the moment the other Augmented arrived, instead of spending so much time watching them fight.
In a tangle of leaves to Zac's left, a solitary Forest Wolf was crouched, drooling at the sight of the unaware prey, its eyes locked on to his neck, and it bent its powerful hind legs, ready to pounce.
'I hope the old fella hasn't run off.' Zac stood up, and turned back towards where he had seen the old man last, planning on retracing his circling route around the clearing. Though the wolves were being taken care of quickly, he didn't want to risk running into the growling and whining that was echoing from the clearing.
A ball of dark fur and gleaming white fangs exploded from a bush next to Zac, who didn't even have time to yell out in surprise, the wolf had been aiming on tearing out his throat, but his instantaneous decision to run back to WInston had saved Zac's life.
The wolf slammed into Zac's legs, bowling him over and sending him tumbling into a thorny bush behind him.
'What the f******* f***!' Zac was in shock, completely confused and disoriented from the tumble into the bush, the thorns all around him scratched him as the silver blanket was shaken free from around his shoulders.
'Oh man. I'm so f******, that was a Forest Wolf, and my Mana Core isn't doing s***!" Zac's heart sunk in his chest, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
'I can't even call for help, if I do, then only the man watching over the survivors will hear me, and that'll leave that poor mother and child vulnerable.' Zac's mind flew through all his possible options, as he scrabbled his way free of the thorns.
As Zac was coming to his feet, the wolf was picking itself up from its failed ambush, instead of its jaws closing around Zac's throat, its head had slammed into his bony knees, giving it a nasty blow to the head.
'If I can just survive until I can transform again, then I'll have a chance against this f****** wolf!' Zac thought, looking around for an escape route, he spotted a bowed tree, bent over, crowded out by its neighbors.
'There' Zac ran for the tree, the dazed Forest Wolf struggling to focus its eyes on its target, who flashed by it, his feet carrying him as he climbed up along the sloping trunk.
By the time Zac had climbed up to the highest part of the bent trunk, the Forest Wolf was back on its feet, its green eyes no longer glazed over, stared hungrily up at Zac, whose feet and parts were dangling down as he sat on the trunk.
The wolf growled, and leaped up into the air, and Zac swung his legs up, the wolf's jaws narrowly missing him.
'Oh s***! I'd either be an amputee or a eunuch if I moved any slower. Damn it!" Zac was now squatting precariously on the trunk, and the wolf was pacing in a circle below, gazing up at Zac occasionally and growling.
'I'll just wait it out up here.' Zac thought to himself, sighing in relief as he realized the Forest Wolf couldn't get to him.
'No, no, no, don't do that!' Zac had underestimated the wolf's determination, of course, it couldn't ordinarily climb a tree, especially one with a vertical trunk. But in his hurry to get away, and because he had looked for an easy route, Zac had climbed up a tree that the wolf just might be able to scale.
Zac watched in horror as the wolf placed its paws awkwardly on the trunk, its enormous bulk bending the trunk down, a cracking noise coming from the old tree.
"Don't you dare!" Zac yelled at the wolf, all thoughts of not alerting anyone thrown aside, as his life was once again in jeopardy.
But the yelling, thumps and clangs from Fredrick, mixed with the wails of the dying Forest Wolves drowned out Zac's desperate cries, even if he had called out for help, nobody would have responded.
'Godamn it. Why did I have to try and be a hero and run off on my own, instead of doing the sensible thing and running to where all the Augmented are!' Zac's tears were now streaming down his face, and he sobbed, now clinging to the trunk with both arms as the eight of the wolf trying to climb onto it shook it to and fro.
'F*** Transition Zones! F*** Magical Beasts! And most of all f*** trying to be a hero!' Zac was at his breaking point, after an entire day of being chased by one Magical Beast after another, and transforming into a weird slimy newt thing, he had had enough.
The trunk shook more and more violently, and Zac's twig arms were becoming tired, his grip was loosening, and worst of all, he was mentally about to give up.