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4.
With round eyes, he stared at the huge beast, still crouched and not daring to make a movement or sound.

The wolf was mostly white, with only some grey and black features on its back and the top of its head.

The eyes were unusually blue and staring straight into Baylee’s. He felt his heartbeat quicken and did nothing to control his gasping, panicked breathing. Somewhere, a voice in the back of his mind said that he should calm down. Wolves knew exactly when their prey was scared and wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage out of a helpless victim.

But what could he do? Moving was not an option, cause the animal would jump him as soon as he did and would probably go straight for his throat. Keeko wasn’t of much use either, the wolf would consume the Maltese with only one bite. Maybe even without a bite at all, maybe it would just swallow the poor thing whole. Just thinking about that made Baylee sick to his stomach and he nervously watched the door, looking for a way out.

Maybe he’d be fast enough to reach it and close it before the wild animal could react. Maybe, if he didn’t consider wolves’ absolute instinct and agility, maybe then he’d get out of here alive.

One thing was to keep eye-contact, as long as he did that, Baylee was sure the animal wouldn’t take initiative. Not for now anyway.

It was the wolf that moved first. Taking a slow step towards the boy, it let out a sound that sounded almost like a combination of a growl and a human moan. Baylee shrunk back, not much unlike he’d seen Keeko do minutes before. Flailing his arms in panic, he screamed incoherently at the animal. It seemed to work somewhat, as the wolf lowered its head and put the ears in its neck, taking a few steps back, the nails on its paws tapping the wooden floor of the studio noticeably.

“Get back! Filthy monster!” Baylee yelled panicked, taking courage from the wolf’s slightly retreating behaviour. The beast growled again, and Baylee could have sworn it sounded offended.

The wolf currently residing in his father’s studio continued to stare at Baylee with its piercing blue eyes. Baylee stared back. Cautiously, he brought up his arms, ready to try and ward off the animal if it should decide to attack.

“J-Just, err…, t-take it easy, alright,” he stuttered in a voice that shook with fear, much like the rest of his body. “I’m just gonna… ya know, g-gonna…” he trailed off as the wolf growled again. It didn’t sound angry, but well, Baylee could be fooled so easily in that case.

Keeko had stopped squealing, feeling her master’s distress and had started growling too, though it sounded rather pathetic and ridiculous compared to the wolf’s menacing, deep sound. It did distract the wild beast however and Baylee decided it was time to go for it as he jumped up and sprinted to the door with what felt like the speed of light. The wolf let out a contorted bark, but before it could follow him, Baylee slammed the door to the studio shut. His heart pounded in his ears as he leaned his back against the now closed and locked doorway. It took a while to get himself under control and to realize that Keeko was still in there.

No way in hell he was going back though. Somewhere he knew that if the wild canine had wanted to eat them, it would have jumped at them the moment Baylee had turned around to face it. But that didn’t really matter. Keeko was well hidden under the desk and no way the wolf could reach such a small, tight space. Keeko was safe for now. Baylee hoped so at least.

Soundlessly, he ventured up the basement stairs, still shaking madly.

He jumped about a mile up in the air when he saw his mother standing in the living room, a frying pan raised in her hands. He was sure she’d jumped too, cause she let out a short yelp and turned towards her son.

“Baylee! Holy cow, I thought you were a robber!”

Without a word, Baylee ran into her, wrapping his arms around her waist and sobbing into her nightgown.

Hesitantly, Mom pushed him back after a few minutes, looking into his face.

“Sweetie, what’s going on? What were you doing downstairs?” she questioned, quite reasonably. Baylee only shook his head though. He couldn’t tell Mom what he’d seen in the studio, she’d go down there to show that there was nothing to be afraid of, and then she’d surely get eaten by that monster.

Though some part of him had come up with the idea that it all must have been a dream. There usually didn’t live any wolves in or near the area where they lived and Baylee had actually never seen one in real life before his encounter in the studio. Just another thing, how did a wolf actually get in there? The studio could only be accessed by the basement stairs, which meant you first had to be in the house to get in. Doors were locked at night, and mostly during the day as well, so how had the animal gone in? Was there some kind of secret passage to the basement he wasn’t aware of?

Possibly, the house was big enough for numerous secret areas and hallways he’d never seen or been in, although he’d lived here for most of his life. But then still, what wolf was smart enough to find it when Baylee himself hadn’t even known it existed?

It must have been a dream. A stupid, extremely vivid nightmare. He swore he’d almost been able to smell the creature. He looked up at Mom and gave her a shaky smile.

“I was just hungry,” he replied lamely, “I walked downstairs and there was this sound from outside, scared the hell out of me.”

Mom looked sceptical, but nodded, “Are you telling me you’re scared of the dark now?” she questioned.

That sounded like he was an 8-year old wuss, but was better than trying to explain hallucinations of white wolves in the basement. He nodded embarrassed and Mom shook her head, chuckling.

“Come on,” she urged, grabbing her son’s shoulder, “let’s get back to bed, tomorrow we’ll have to look for your father again,” she sighed.

“He’s gone again?” Baylee questioned, trying to sound surprised. Dad disappeared every now and then to emerge after a day or two like nothing had happened.

“Yeah, why does that man never even tell us when he’s leaving the house?” she sighed in frustration. Baylee shrugged. He didn’t worry too much about his father.

Not like he worried about Keeko. Dad could take care of himself, but a little Maltese locked in with a grown wolf was destined to become an easy fast-food meal.