"David L. Robbins - Endworld 22 - Green Bay Run" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robbins David L)

Where were the other five?

All day there had been seven wolves hounding him. He scanned the
forest for them as he ran, his heart thumping in his chest. Would they leap
from concealment or chase him, wear him down as they invariably did
with deer and elk? Wolves customarily dogged a herd or individual victim,
waiting for their quarry to exhibit any sign of weakness. They were
Nature's gleaners. Their purpose in the natural order of things was to
eliminate the sick, injured, and defective specimens they came across. A
healthy deer, elk, or moose had nothing to fear from a wolf pack.

A short bark came from the south.

He looked over his left shoulder and gulped at the sight of a pair of
wolves loping after him. They were deliberately holding back, running just
fast enough to keep him in view.

The bastards!

His legs pumped strenuously as he weaved through a stand of saplings
and reached a wide field. On the far side, at the north edge, reared a
towering oak tree.

Salvation!

He made for the tree, confident he could resist the pack once he
climbed beyond their grasp. An intense pain racked his right side where
the wolf had bitten him. He knew he was bleeding, but he couldn't afford
to take even a second to examine the wound. He singlemindedly focused
on the oak to the exclusion of all else. A quick check to his rear brought
goose bumps to his skin.

There were four wolves now.

And they were ever so slowly narrowing the gap.
 No!

He breathed in great gasps as he sprinted toward the tree. A smile
curled his mouth upward when he saw there were two low-hanging limbs
he could use to vault to a safe perch. The wolves could howl and growl all
they wanted, but he would be safe.

Or so he thought.

Until three wolves ran from behind the tree and fanned out in front of
the trunk.

Stunned, he slowed and hefted the Winchester, uncertain of what to do.
They had him cut off and hemmed in, at their mercy, and wolves weren't