The Hunt

The day was morbidly cold, the wind was slowly picking up. Snow was seen everywhere for miles. It felt as if my hands were frozen to the rifle; as if the rifle itself had become a part of my body. The wind seemed to sting my exposed face. I tried to ignore the feeling and focus all my attention on my task. I looked carefully down the sight. There was nothing to be seen. I had been laying here for what seemed like hours now with nothing but the insulation of my heavy coat to keep me warm. I let out a long sigh at the disappointment. Then, just as I was about to pack up and call it a day, I saw the wolf. I tried to adjust my aim, but I was too unsteady. I could feel myself starting to get nervous and trembling. I tried to calm myself down from the excitement of finally seeing some prey in a long time. I couldn’t let this moment go to waste. I couldn’t wait any longer. I inhaled deeply and then held it in; my aim was beginning to steady. The wolf was lined up perfectly now. I couldn’t hesitate any longer; this had to be in one smooth motion. I took the shot and tried to keep the rifle steady after the recoil in case if I would have to fire again. The wolf quickly flinched in pain, and then dropped to ground. I walked over to its corpse in excitement that I would finally be able to feed my village tonight. I quickly pulled out my knife and dug it into the wolf’s skin, slowly carving out the amount of meat I needed. I then placed the large ball of meat in my leather bag, sealed it up tightly, and began heading back home.