Bob returns to the barn with the chicken in his arms. As though the animals are aware of what just happened, they followed Bob back to the barn. He kneels as he lay down the chicken and removed the arrow. He looks behind him and saw the animals staring back at him. He then stood upright and with stern eyes looks at them

“Susan might be insignificant to it. But she is one of us and I will not let her sacrifice be in vain!”

“Moo.” One of the cow walks towards him

He then wipes the tears from his eyes. “Thank you, Mara.”

It will only be a few more hours before sun down and he hasn’t watered the plants yet. After removing the blood from the chicken and removing the feathers he placed it inside his house at the table, right next to the book that Nesbitt gave him. He then spends the entire time watering the crops.

It is way past sun down when he had finished. He went back to the barn where the animals are already there, the chickens in their coop, and the cows and sheep in their own stall. He grabs a bucket right next to the pan where he emptied the chicken’s blood and stool on the opposite side.

Milking the cows is something that he regularly does at night. Nesbitt’s unexpected appearance made him unable to do so yesterday.

“Here Ara.” He hollers.

While milking he thought of the things that he needed to prepare. The wolf is wounded so it wouldn’t be back right away or might just go away forever which is very unlikely. ‘I’m lucky that there is only one, if there were a pack, it won’t only be Susan.’

He fills a stock pot with all the milk the he got from the cows and brought it inside his house and placing it on top of the stove. As for his preparation tomorrow, that in the small chance the wolf returns he took his axe and place it by the fence. The bows are place by the door and the arrows are on top of the railing by his porch.

He went back to his house and grills the chicken and heated the milk on the stove. After heating he poured the milk inside the bottles that he has set aside for such use. There is no seasoning on the chicken so it is as bland as it can be. He smells the meat and with tears in his eyes he said to himself.

“Oh Susan, thank you for being a source of health. I will use this strength to avenge you.”

The next day, Bob started much earlier. He went near the fences and looked for clues, the wolf indeed didn’t come, there were no prints anywhere near the field. The barn is safe as well. He checks the axe if it is still there as well as the trap. He triggers the trap and made a new one in its place.

It is already dawn and Bob made some more traps including a trip wire that would shoot arrows if triggered. He added more fences to surround the animals and make sure that they won’t go too far.

He stills keeps the machete to his side and started early in filling the barrels with water. He usually has the water straight from the well then use it to water the plants. But this time he decided to just use the barrels that he filled. It would take more time for him to do other work but it would be flexible enough for him to defend the place if any monster decided to show up.

The day ended with the wolf not coming as he suspected. The animals return to the barn and he has already finished milking the cows. There were still leftover of the chicken from last night which he refuses to eat thinking, fresh or not the wolf will still eat it. While waiting for the milk to heat up he glance at the book that is Nesbitt left and skimmed through it.

“Adventurer’s Guide.”

He flips the pages and saw text after text that seems to overwhelm him. He was able to see some markings and drawings but not enough for him to be incline to read it. He closed the book and left it where it was then filled the bottles with the warmed milk.

Outside the house a cold breeze pass by him as he sat by the porch. He looks at the distance where his field is dimly lit by the crescent moon. The axe is on a stump by the shed overlooking the field while being surrounded by fireflies.

‘Tomorrow, he’ll definitely come.’

Bob was immediately awakened by a disconcerting feeling. He went to the porch already wearing his working clothes, muddied boots and mud stained overalls over his worn-out blue shirt. Buckled to his side is the machete still sheathed.

There was nothing before him. Just the cold wind passing through the field. He sat at a chair by the porch and rests his eyes. He hasn’t been working that much since he started living here which made him fatigued more than he is used to.

The sun started rising and he still sleeping on the porch. If it weren’t for the unending crows of the rooster he might not have woken up in time. He realized how late it so he immediately let the animals out.

He went back inside and grabs the now almost smelling rotten left over and placed it on the trap outside. Inspecting the traps and fences makes him more settled knowing that it hasn’t come yet, after all, he did fell asleep while waiting for it.

While going up and down the hill to fill the barrel that he has used up yesterday, he notices the animals are going back to the barn he immediately left the water-filled bucket and went straight to the barn. The animals are already there as if cowering in fear. He bolted the door and went to grab his bow and some arrows.

A small thud was heard in the field. The wolf got caught on his snare trap and he immediately went straight towards it. It was struggling whilst hanging with its hind leg. It chewed the rope while Bob is rushing towards it and was able to escape the trap just in time for him to arrive.

With a drawn bow and point-blank range, Bob stood while the wolf is growling at him. Upon closer look the wolf is different than the one he is used to before he lived in the peninsula, it is bigger, about twice his size. The arrow he shot before is still stuck to its back which is why he knows it is the same wolf. Then he realized that the prints that he saw were bigger but he didn’t think of it much at the moment.

Sweat covers his face as he gazes upon the monster before him. It was a monster before to him but now only a monster could describe it. He trembled a little thinking that he might not survive. Deep breaths can be heard from his trembling, he began to hesitate if he should release the arrow or not.

The wolf began to howl and it startled him. He shoots the arrow, but due to him being startled he missed. He runs toward the fence and grabs the axe. The wolf plunges towards him but he was able to roll over. It smashes the fence and gave him enough time to brandish his axe on his left hand and the machete on the right.

“For Susan!” Bob shouted with a war cry and charge towards the wolf.