Although called to the full, Gobel would not stop. He had a goal in mind and showed no sign of giving up. In the tangled forest of sparse autumn colors among the evergreens, they had all turned into a herd of beasts.
It didn't last long. They knew those places well enough to proceed at a brisk pace between continuous ups and downs, rivulets of mountain water, and timid clearings. Gobel was like a hound: without slowing down, he rewound the thread of tracks that gradually became weaker and fainter. Johan and Rolf joined him at practically the same moment they saw the cliff. He was already standing, between the last massive pine and a rocky ridge. About ten meters below them the green stain continued, interrupted only by that stone scar. The low, narrow mouth of a den opened into the mountain.
While Alan, Katia, and Isik came running out of breath, Rolf had already tried to look into the dark cave.
"It comes down," he stated simply «and it widens. After a few meters you can stand up, or so it seems."
"Don't even try." Johan took Gobel by the arm, shaken like a kid on the sacrificial altar. "We won't go in there."
"How many wolves can there ever be? Four? Five? After the first shot, they will try to escape in any direction. We can slaughter all the bastards."
"Are you nuts, boy? Let's just go."
"I say we have to get it over with. I have no intention of leaving whoever killed my family without punishment. I'll skin them and with their damned skins, I'll take shelter for the rest of my winters."
Johan didn't want to leave the story behind as if nothing had happened, but he was worried about the girls and Gobel. Leaving them alone and helpless, even for a few minutes, made him feel sick. And Rolf was starting to talk as if he had lost his mind. "I can smash the heads of a couple of beasts, but if they run out..."
"Katia, can you climb?" Alan spoke as if he had the best idea ever.
The girl did not make a move.
"Of course, you can climb, I saw you. You can stay on one of these plants until we get out. That way you would be safe. I believe."
Rolf seize the opportunity. An indomitable fire burned in his eyes. "I go."
So saying, he disappeared into the darkness.
"Crazy mongrel." Johan felt cold down his spine. Should he let the boy go to the wolves' den? Alone, however armed with a rifle, he would have risked a horrible end like that of the unwary villagers. He was the only grown man left, he realized, and the only one who had to make a decision.
"Gobel," he began, staring into his vacant eyes, "stay with Katia. Help her with Isik. Climb the tree and don't go down until we get back. Do you understand, Gobel?"
The boy put his hands in his hair.
"You understood?"
With convulsive jerks, he nodded.
Smoothing his mustache, Johan gestured to Alan. "Let's go help that crazy brother of yours."
"And to avenge our family."
Johan wasn't sure it was the right thing. He felt he was straddling a tortuous and unstable path, ready to collapse under his feet at the slightest mistake.
Alan wrapped his hands around the hatchet. Seizing the moment, he kissed Katia on the cheek before fleeing to slip into the den. She was amazed, as if petrified, while after him even the solid Johan abandoned her with her infant sister and the retarded boy.