“Are y’all ready?” Jason asked, a nervous gulp escaping into his throat.

“As ready as one can be, foreman,” replied the man with the cross-shaped scar on his cheek. A look of nervous excitement colored his face as he tightened his grip over the shovel in his hands.

The two dozen-or-so others who had joined Jason in this fateful battle also nodded their heads. While they did not share the excitement felt by the man with the cross-shaped scar they did resonate with his spirit.

This was it. This was their battle for survival. Victory or defeat will be decided at the hands of these men.

“A’right, now remember. Stay together and keep close to the mines. With the mountains to yer backs, ye don’t have to fear an attack from behind. Watch over each other and don’t do anything stupid,” warned Jason. He then turned to see one particular member and said, “Watch for an opp’rtunity with a sharp eye, lad. We’re counting on you.”

Lloyd anxiously nodded his head. Unlike the others, his hands held no weapons of any kind. Unlike the others, he was not here to pit his life against the wolves. He had a different task.

Taking one last look at the group of warriors, Jason placed a palm of his over his chest. Strangely enough, he was calm. His heartbeat was relaxed and his breathing was normal.

‘Could it be that pops wasn’t kidding? Do we really have warrior blood in our family?’ He jokingly thought in an attempt to relieve his mental stress. His heart might’ve been calm but his mind sure as hell wasn’t.

“A’right then! On my count, we charge out!” Jason screamed. “Ooo~ne!”

Lloyd gulped one last time before lowering himself to the ground. No matter what happened, he would complete his task.

“Twooo~oo!!”

The warrior with the cross-shaped scar on his cheek flashed a crazy smile on his face. His shovel, its ends sharpened against the rocks within the mine, glimmered grimly and menacingly.

“NOOOOOWWW!!” Jason roared and charged out. “RRAAAAWWWGHHH!!!”

The ragtag group of warrior-men also released an earthshaking roar before dashing out with ferocity. Their feet slammed against the wet, rocky ground echoing like thunder in its wake.

---

Simultaneously, at the entrance section of the cave.

“Do it! Do it now!” Someone quickly instructed at the mouth of the cave, seeing the warrior-men rush out.

In reply, two men wielding large sledgehammers in their hands swung their implements and crashed them against a wooden support beam.

BANG! Hit by the weighty sledgehammer, the support beams immediately gave way and crumbled. A short instance of silence later, the ground, the walls, and the rocky ceiling began to quiver and shake.

“It’s happening! RUN BACK INTO THE MINES!!” No later than when he had finished screaming that warning, the man dashed into the interiors of the mine. The two men who were responsible for collapsing the entrance immediately dropped the implements in their hands and joined the screamer in his retreat.

The earth quaked and the mountain rumbled. Tremors and roars echoed far and wide, especially within the insides of the mountain mine. Seconds later, the tremors peaked, and soon… the ceiling at the entrance came crashing down.

It was done. The entrance to the mines had successfully been sealed.

---

Outside.

The ragtag crew of warriors that had charged out of the mines almost lost their footing and momentum during the eventual shaking of the earth. Fortunately, most of the shaking was contained and amplified within the mountain itself and did not spread outwards.

Aside from a momentary stumble, the warriors managed to retain their balance and continue their charge.

“Spread out!” Jason yelled his command. “Keep the mountain to yer backs!” The men complied and immediately spread out in groups of threes. With twenty-four (24) men joining the mission, eight groups formed and diverged from their initial location.

Arriving at the clearing before the mines, the men stopped their charge and intently looked around. Moonlight shined in all its splendor, illuminating the clearing with sufficient light. The rain had already lessened and resembled a mere drizzle, further improving the conditions of their battlefield.

With the mountain to their backs and brothers at their sides, the men intently scanned the clearing and the peripheries of the forest, revealing… nothing.

There was nothing. No signs of wolves, no wolf tracks, no sound… nothing. The entire clearing was quiet. Eerily quiet.

“Don’t be fooled!” The man with the cross-shaped scar bellowed. “This is surely a trick by those vile demons! Don’t put down your caution.”

He then pointed his shovel towards the forest’s tree line, raised it into the air, and roared, “COME OUT YA PISS DRINKING SODS! COME OUT HERE AND EAT ME! COME ON!” He taunted the wolves.

His screams echoed in the quiet clearing and filtered into the forest. Once again, silence was their only reply.

“COME OUT YA SONS OF WH*RES! TAKE A BITE AT MY FAT ARSE!! COME ON!”

No reply. Not the slightest shadow was seen moving in response.

“LOOK AT THESE! LOOK AT MY MEATY BUTTOCKS!! DON’T BE A COWARD AND TAKE A BITE!”

Jason watched the unexpected proceedings with confusion in his eyes. He watched the quiet, dark forest and heard the unfiltered taunts from the man with the cross-shaped scar on his cheek. With every passing minute, the deafening silence of the forest grew more and more unreal while the curses from the man grew more and more vulgar.

‘What’s happenin? Where ‘re the wolves?’ Jason asked himself. Yet, there was neither a single wolf nor its fart to be sighted. ‘Did they leave?’ A ludicrous thought appeared in his mind.

Jason immediately shook his head to clear it. It was complete nonsense. After all, what sort of hunting beast would leave behind a weaker prey and retreat?

‘Did they sense our will to fight and decide it’s not worth it?’ This guess was even more ludicrous than his previous one. No matter how smart and cunning a wolf was, it was still a beast. What sort of beast was capable of rationalizing its thoughts?

‘What should we do?’ Retreating was no longer an option. Not since the collapse of the mine’s entrance.

Should they walk into the forest? But what if the wolves were still hiding in there, stalking their prey with the hunter’s patience.

Should they just stand here and wait? But then what? Surely, they can’t remain here forever.

‘What should I do?’ Jason asked himself once again. His settled heart began to shake as uneasiness began to grow within.

Yet still, there were no signs of the wolves.

–--

His face was covered in soot and his body was covered in mud. Lloyd, friend of Gunter Abel, laid prone on the ground, hidden somewhere amidst the battlefield. Watching the situation play out unexpectedly, his mind mirrored Jason’s.

‘What should I do?’ Lloyd asked himself. His job was a little special and different from the rest of the twenty-four miners. For you see, Lloyd was a messenger boy.

Lloyd’s sole duty was to look out for an opportunity within the chaos of the battle and make a break for it towards the town. While the twenty-four others staked their lives in a kill-or-be-killed battle, Lloyd would hide like a rat looking for an opportunity to scamper away safely.

He was –or to be precise, his task was– Jason’s final spurt of inspiration and/or backup plan against wolves. Lloyd would deliver news of the grim affair in the mines to the town while the twenty-four others tied down the wolves in battle.

Was it a proud and honorable task? No, not at all. While the other miners fought with their lives on the line, Lloyd would hide like a rat. However, it was a necessary task and of importance that rivaled the others’.

Why was Lloyd chosen for this task, might you ask? It was because Lloyd was the last of the able men who had volunteered to stake their lives against wolves, while also being the youngest to do so. This, coupled with his strong physique, quick wits, and sharp survival instincts made him a suitable person for the job.

While such reasons did sound convincing and flowery enough to convince the young man to take it up, truth be told, the other miners did not want to see a young man like him die to the wolves. Most of the other participants were middle-aged men with children whose ages were around Lloyd’s own. As fathers and men of great morality, they couldn’t allow Lloyd to participate in the battle. Their conscience wouldn’t allow them to do so. Hence, while looking for a reason to deny Llyod his participation, Jason was struck by the idea of using a messenger boy as a final backup, should they fail against the wolves.

But now, facing the absent wolves, all these plans and strategies went up in smokes. The twenty-four warrior men stood around dazed and confused, and Lloyd was no better.

Seconds passed and soon minutes. Still, the wolves were a no-show. Tossing and turning with the question of what to do, Lloyd finally resolved his heart and made up his mind.

‘I will make a run for it. If those damned beasts are hiding within the forest, I will startle them into acting, alerting the others to their presence. If those damned beasts had really left us alone, then I would be able to safely make it to the town while informing the others that it is safe.’ Lloyd’s thinking was woefully one-dimensional and full of holes, but alas, he had resolved himself.

‘Beatrice, my love. I-I’m sorry. I cannot be a good husband to you.’ He couldn’t sit still and watch while his brothers and elders fought for him. Lloyd was simply not that sort of a man.

Jumping up to his feet, just as he was about to dash towards the forest, Lloyd froze. And then, he dropped to the ground just as fast as he had gotten up.

His breath, caught in his mouth, refused to come out.

His heart, thumping and jumping in anxiety, stopped.

His blood, boiling red-hot with spirit and passion, froze.

Lloyd’s instincts warned, nay, they blared at him, screaming at him to bore into the earth and hide. They caused him to lose control of his body, turning it limp and lifeless.

As he laid limp and motionless, Lloyd’s eyes –having shrunk to resemble the smallest of pinpricks– locked themselves to a certain spot within the forest’s tree line. And there, hidden within that tree line, stood a wolf majestically.

Its fur, crimson-red and wet from the rain, shined against the soft moonlight. Its eyes, filled with cunning and mockery, stared at the lost and confused miners with sadistic pleasure. It then turned its head towards the sky and howled.

Hoooooooowl~!!

A wave of wolves jumped out from the forest’s dark tree line and swarmed towards the crowd of unsuspecting miners.