Chapter Four

  "Ari! Wake up!" Michael's voice jolted me out of my sleep and I sat up quickly. The fire flickered in the pit, chasing shadows across our faces. A howl pierced the night. "Wolves," Michael said. I furrowed my eyebrows and stood, picking up my bow from where it lay beside me. "Don't, the fire will keep them away."
  "What about when the fire dies? Besides, I'm just getting some wood. Don't freak out." I rolled my eyes and walked to the edge of the circle of light that the fire cast around us. Bushes rustled just out of sight, yips became closer and closer to our campsite. "Wake Peter up and bring the horses closer to the fire," I ordered in a monotone voice as a wolf popped out of a shrub and began growling at me.
  Michael did as I said and I slowly began backing towards them, making sure to keep eye-contact with the wolf the whole time. Then my foot slammed down on a twig and chaos began. "Ariana!" Michael yelled, tossing me a stick with fire on the end.
  I caught it and waved it in front of it's nose. It snapped at me and back up a little, then lunged forward as more wolves stepped out. "Michael, come here a sec." He came up beside me and I pulled my bow off my back and an arrow out from my quiver. "Hold the torch. Peter? Make the fire bigger, then move everything closer." They both listened to me and I notched my arrow. "Please don't make me do this," I pleaded with the wolf. "Just find something else to terrorize. I'm tired, I just want to sleep." The wolf stopped snarling and cocked it's head.
  We stared at each other for a few minutes, then the wolf turned to its pack and shook it's head. I breathed a sigh of relief and lowered my bow. I dipped my head and smiled gratefully as the wolf did the same. "Ariana?" Michael asked.
  "I really have no idea, let's just be glad that it worked, okay?" I watched as the wolves retreated, then finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I seriously can't believe that worked," I laughed, sinking back onto my pallet. They smiled at me.
  "You are..."Michael paused.
  "Something else," Peter finished for him.
  I grinned at them. "Let's just hope that something else is enough to get us through this safely." They smiled and lay down as well. "Get some sleep; we have a long day of riding ahead of us tomorrow." But they were already snoring.