Favored by God

Dinner began like any other evening at the orphanage—filled with chatter and laughter. But Ms. Clementine's voice cut through the noise, a note of concern in her words. "Has anyone seen Ethan?" she asked, her eyes scanning the room.

"He was outside when we came in. He's probably still playing," a child responded casually.

"Could you go grab him and tell him he needs to come in and eat?" Ms. Clementine requested.

The boy agreed and rushed towards the door. But the moment he opened it, he froze. A scream erupted—a sound unlike anything I'd ever heard before.

We all rushed over, our hearts racing.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw.

Ethan hung limply between the jaws of a monstrous wolf. It was massive—as tall as the building itself, with fur as dark as night and eyes like burning rubies. This was no ordinary wolf. This was a B-class monster wolf—a creature I'd only ever read about in books.

Why was it here?

The question echoed in my mind as I stood frozen, watching blood drip to the floor. Most of the children remained motionless. Even Ms. Clementine seemed paralyzed with shock.

Then Maya erupted.

Her scream was a rage-filled roar. She charged at the wolf without a trace of fear, with Micah close behind. Maya unleashed her fire bullets, but to everyone's horror, they did absolutely nothing. The wolf swatted her away like a ragdoll—the sickening crack of her bones echoing through the air.

"MAYA!" Micah screamed.

He conjured a massive boulder and hurled it at the wolf with incredible speed. But the monster simply shattered the boulder and swatted Micah aside just as easily.

It was hopeless. If they couldn't defeat it, what chance did the rest of us have?

The wolf turned, its blood-red eyes scanning us. Those beady, murderous eyes locked onto the remaining children. A massive ball of fire began forming in its mouth.

"RUN!" Rowan screamed.

Children scattered. Rowan grabbed my arm, breaking me from my terrified trance. "KAI, LET'S GO!"

We ran, "we have to find maya" Rowan screamed. As we moved, I glanced back at the orphanage—and my heart stopped.

Ms. Clementine never ran. She remained perfectly still, tears streaming down her face, frozen in disbelief as the wolf released a massive fireball directly at her and the orphanage.

"MS. CLEMENTINE!" I screamed.

But it was too late.

The orphanage—home to our happiest moments—vanished in an instant. The woman who had made those moments possible was gone, almost as if they had never existed.

I collapsed to my knees, overcome with grief.

Rowan grabbed me. "THERE'S NO TIME, KAI! WE NEED TO GO!"

"We need to get Maya," I responded, her name bringing me back to reality.

The orphanage was destroyed. Ms. Clementine was gone. But my friends were still alive, and I would do everything to keep them that way.

We found Maya unconscious and managed to get her onto Rowan's back. But when we turned, the wolf was mere feet away—having finished with the other children, we were the only ones left.

Just as it prepared to charge, a rock struck its head.

"GUYS, RUN!" It was Micah, attacking the wolf.

"HURRY, YOU NEED TO RUN!" he pleaded, charging forward.

"MICAH, NO!" I screamed.

"KAI WE NEED TO LEAVE" Rowan yelled tugging on my arm

"BUT-"

"BUT NOTHING! THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO!" Rowan interrupted.

Tears streaming, I looked back. "I'M SORRY!" I screamed, turning to run.

Micah's Perspective

Good, they're leaving. I'm glad they're... I-I'm scared. So scared.

I don't want to die. I want to grow older. I want adventures. I want to become a knight, get married, have children. I want to die old, surrounded by my family.

But instead, I'm running into a battle I know I cannot win.

It's okay, really. As long as those three make it out, I'll be okay... I'm okay.

One thing is certain: I won't go down without a fight.

"I'LL KILL—"

Micah died before he could finish his first attack. The wolf bit him clean in half.