Evelyn Ford looked out the window and spotted a massive Red Wolf several hundred meters away. It stood on a rock, silently watching the wolf pack and the two vehicles.
Just as Officer Graham started to drive forward, the Red Wolf let out a howl—AWOO—and all the gray wolves suddenly sprang into action. They slowly closed in on the vehicles until they were surrounded so tightly there was no way out.
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look. "That Red Wolf is commanding them."
"Mr. Graham, stop the car for now."
"Ronan Kendrick, is there a way to tame them?"
Ronan Kendrick pondered for a moment. "There are too many. It might backfire. But if I can hypnotize the Red Wolf, our chances will be much better."
Everyone knew just how lethal hundreds of wolves could be; Evelyn Ford didn’t need to say a word.
"If all else fails, we still have the Gatling gun in the space," Evelyn Ford whispered. "I’m just curious... what do they want with us?"
’Are they planning to eat us? Then why are they so calm? Why not just attack?’ Evelyn had so many questions. Watching the Red Wolf, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was unnervingly intelligent.
"Maybe we should let the two White Wolves out of the space to communicate with it?"
It was a shame Zoe could only communicate with birds. Otherwise, they could have sent her to negotiate with the Red Wolf.
For some reason, despite the hundreds of gray wolves eyeing them hungrily outside, Evelyn Ford felt neither scared nor nervous.
Just then, the wolves at the front suddenly parted to form a path. All the gray wolves howled in unison, the sound deafening. Evelyn Ford quickly covered her ears.
The howling lasted for ten seconds before stopping. The wolves stared at the people inside the vehicles, then began to move forward slowly.
"What does that mean?"
Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Graham, drive. Follow them."
Officer Graham didn’t question Ronan Kendrick’s words for a second. He quickly started the vehicle and drove down the path the wolves had cleared.
Evelyn Ford took rifles out of her space and handed one to everyone except Zoe.
Ronan Kendrick moved to the front passenger seat while Evelyn Ford stood by the window, her eyes fixed on the Red Wolf walking alongside them outside.
Ethan Dawson followed in the RV. Besides him, everyone else in that vehicle was unarmed—and they were the old, weak, sick, and disabled. They were all on edge, terrified the wolves might suddenly go berserk and attack the RV.
Evelyn Ford took a deep breath. "It seems like they’re trying to lead us somewhere. Let’s follow them for now. I don’t sense any malice from the pack; I don’t think they want to eat us."
Quincy, holding his rifle, was trembling slightly. "Evelyn, do we have enough ammo?"
"Plenty."
"Okay, that’s a relief."
The vehicle was tightly flanked by gray wolves on both sides, with three large ones leading the way, forcing them to drive slowly.
Too young to know fear, Zoe even waved at the wolves outside, leaving everyone unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Daddy, what are those animals?"
"Those are wolves. They’re very vicious predators."
Zoe shook her head. "They don’t look vicious."
Quincy sighed. "If they decide to get vicious, we’re done for. Zoe, can you understand what they’re saying?"
Zoe nodded. "They’re going ’awoo awoo’."
Quincy was amused by her feisty-yet-cutesy demeanor.
"Wait..." An idea suddenly struck Evelyn Ford. "Could it be... they want to escort us out of the restricted zone?"
Evelyn even laughed after saying it. The idea was too fanciful, almost absurd.
"It’s not impossible," Ronan Kendrick said, glancing at the Red Wolf. "I’ll get out of the car later and test it. If it shows no malice toward me, then they’re probably escorting us out."
"No way," Quincy was the first to object.
"That’s too dangerous. I know you’re strong, but you can’t go out there."
Ronan Kendrick looked at him, amused. "I’m not going out there to die."
"How is this any different from suicide? Do you want to make Evelyn a widow? Not that I’d mind, of course. If you die, I’ll find her a younger, better-looking man."
Ronan Kendrick... ’That really won’t be necessary.’
"You know, you could just say you’re worried about him," Evelyn Ford said, patting Quincy’s shoulder.
Quincy reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Who’s worried about him? I just don’t want to see a bloodbath! In any case, you’re not allowed to go."
Evelyn Ford and Wyatt Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh.
"These are wolves! Are you all out of your minds? So what if you can kill a black bear? That’s just one bear. There are hundreds of wolves out there! Even if they were rabbits, a swarm that big could bite a person to death."
Quincy planted himself in front of the door, looking as if he’d die on the spot to stop Ronan Kendrick from leaving.
Ronan Kendrick’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t say anything more.
The Red Wolf seemed very interested in Ronan Kendrick. It suddenly broke away from the pack and walked right up to the right side of the vehicle, its eyes fixed on Ronan in the passenger seat.
"Don’t tell me she’s taken a liking to Ronan? But... it’s a male wolf," Quincy whispered to Evelyn, leaning in.
Evelyn wanted to crack open Quincy’s head to see what was inside.
"Quincy, are you a Gemini?"
Quincy raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"
"Your head is full of wild, random thoughts."
"You can insult me, but please don’t attack my star sign," Quincy said, flicking away a non-existent lock of hair from his forehead.
"I was complimenting your imagination."
"So what’s your sign?"
Wyatt Vaughn, listening nearby, was speechless. Surrounded by gray wolves, and these two were discussing astrology. They really were like a brother and sister from different parents.
"I’m a Libra."
Quincy’s eyes lit up. "No wonder we could be brother and sister! We’re both air signs. It’s fate!"
"Daddy, what’s my star sign?" Zoe asked, looking curious.
This stumped Quincy. So much time had passed that he had forgotten Zoe’s birthday.
"You’re the same sign as me. That’s called heritage, you know? Star signs need to be passed down, too."
Zoe nodded with a serious expression. "I know."
Evelyn didn’t want to listen to his nonsense anymore, so she sat down on the sofa and poured herself a cup of tea.
Because the vehicle was moving so slowly, they had only covered seven or eight kilometers in an hour. At this pace, Evelyn was starting to feel sleepy.
The gray wolves were like mindless puppets. Unless the Red Wolf gave a command, they did nothing but follow alongside the vehicle, showing no other behaviors or actions.
It was as if they had undergone military training—they were perfectly synchronized, and not a single gray wolf fell behind.
"What should we do? It’s getting dark. Are we going to have to travel through the night?"
At this speed, there was no way they would make it out of the restricted zone today.
"I think Ronan Kendrick is right. We can test them. At 7:30, we’ll stop the car and see how the Red Wolf reacts."
This time, Quincy didn’t argue. "You’re the brains of the operation. I’ll listen to you."
"Of course, Ronan is smart too, but he’s more reckless." Quincy really knew how to be impartial.
At 7:30, Officer Graham slowly brought the vehicle to a stop. The Red Wolf looked at the people in the car with confusion, but otherwise didn’t react.