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“Is that blood?” I whispered, my stomach flipping several times. While I didn’t like to think myself a coward, I was practical, and it didn’t exactly take genius survival instincts to know that going in the opposite direction of danger was probably a good idea. Although, what if somebody needed help? It wasn’t entirely unheard of for someone to get hurt in the woods and need assistance, and no one would have committed a crime this close to the road. Right? “Hello?” I called cautiously, pulling my phone out just in case. I liked to think I could handle myself in a lot of situations, but there was no need to be cocky. I also unlocked it and made sure I dialed the 9 and the 1. Maybe that was a bit paranoid, but I preferred to think of it as prepared. After all, while I was only half-white, I was definitely doing the thing in horror movies where Caucasian women inexplicably went toward the danger instead of away from it. But I couldn’t, with a clean conscience, leave someone if they were alone and hurt. “Is someone here? I can help! Make a sound to let me know where you are!” I paused, waiting to see if anyone responded. It certainly would have made me feel better if they did, because all sorts of thoughts about possibly finding a body or even parts of a body floated through my head. It was a lot of blood. I was pretty sure that if the blood did come from a human then they were already dead. I should probably just call the authorities…but then the thought of being wrong and wasting a bunch of time made me think otherwise. We were far enough out that it would take at least thirty minutes for cops to respond from the city, and in that time, if someone was hurt... well, it wouldn’t bode well for them. So, I kept going, dread building in my stomach. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected to find, but it certainly wasn’t to step through a thick line of foliage only to find a giant wolf lying on the ground, its back pressed up against a rotted stump for protection. “Oh, my God!” I cried, leaping back. The wolf didn’t so much as lift its head. With my heart thundering in my chest, I realized the blood trail I’d been following came from this animal. Specifically from the gaping wound on its side. “You poor thing. That has to hurt.” Now, I wasn’t some idiot who thought I was a Disney princess, so I didn’t get any closer. Injured animals were often the most dangerous, and this wolf was pretty injured—life-threateningly so. In fact, I was probably in danger by being this close to it. And yet I couldn’t bring myself to step away. There was something so inherently tragic about seeing such a majestic creature struggling to breathe, no light in its eyes. Wild animals were incredibly resilient, so it likely only needed the tiniest bit of help to push it away from the brink of death. The most obvious way to do that was to stop the blood flowing sluggishly from its wound. No. No. I cut that thought off immediately. It would be the worst idea to try to help a wounded, wild animal all on my own in the middle of the woods. I’d have to be crazy! I knew that, and I told myself so with all the sternness I could muster. It wasn’t happening. I was going to turn around and— Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted to help the wolf. Well, if I was going to be lethally dumb, then I’d try to do it as carefully as I could. Setting my pack on the ground, I pulled out the bowl I ate my cereal out of at work, then tipped the contents of my water bottle into it. Hopefully, it would help a little. I put it on the ground and used a stick to push it closer to the wolf’s head. It wasn’t easy, and plenty of water sloshed over the side, but at least I kept my distance.