The large pack of wolves encircled closely around the seven terrified children. They licked their lips and teeth hungrily as they eyed them. And Vanellope swore she could see them smiling.
Their claws dug deep into the snowy ground as they started to stalk ever so close to the outnumbered children.
Witchy was clutching onto Licorice in terror. Wynter was breathing heavily, waiting for the teeth and claws to inevitably rip into him. Rancis hopped into Vanellope's arms in fear. Willow, on the other hand, just stood in front of the wolves, a blank expression on her face.
"Willow, what are you doing?" Vanellope asked. Willow didn't even turn to acknowledge her. She just faced the pack of wolves with no sign of fear.
The wolves stopped walking and just faced the small group. They were everywhere; from in front of the group to the sides to standing behind them, ready to pounce. There seemed to be hundreds there, at least in the eyes of the horrified children.
It seemed like a millennia for the children. The wolves were just standing there. Every child was just waiting, shaking and trembling, not knowing which moment would be there last.
And then the wolves pounced.
Time seemed to slow for everyone. The wolves were in the air, soaring right at the children, teeth bared and claws extended. Vanellope's pupils shrunk as she saw the huge wolf pounce in her direction.
She was so frightened she didn't even think of glitching. Finally, the wolf's front paws made contact with Vanellope's shoulders, and the two were both knocked right into the air, the massive wolf's claws digging into Vanellope's arms.
Vanellope screamed in pain. The wolf growled in her face and saliva splattered on her forehead and cheeks. The wolf opened his jaws and snapped them shut, inches from Vanellope's small nose. She jerked her head back as the force of the bite caused her shoulders and neck to snap back.
They both crashed onto the snow, the wolf on top of Vanellope. Vanellope didn't know what to do. The wolf's jaw was inches from her face. Finally, she started to roll around from underneath the wolf's body. The wolf slammed his paw on the ground next to her face and she grabbed it and pulled it back.
Instantly, both were sent tumbling and rolling over each other. Vanellope finally found the desperation and started to fight back. The wolf was twice her size, with sharp claws and massive fangs to boot. But Vanellope fought like a lion. She scratched at the wolf's snout and kicked at it as they both tumbled around in the snow.
She was soon on top of the giant wolf, and clawed at it like a madman. But the wolf pulled her down and he soon had her pinned. But Vanellope wasn't giving up. Even as the wolf bent down to bite her, she still punched and kicked with all her might.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see everybody else being attacked. Witchy and Licorice were surrounded by three wolves while Rancis was trying to club another one with a stick. Wynter was being harassed by two wolves who circled him and snapped at him occasionally. Taffyta was crying like a baby as the wolves appeared to laugh maliciously at her plight.
But as Vanellope lifted her face up, still scratching at the wolf on top of her, her eyes narrowed in disbelief when she saw Willow.
She was just standing still just like before, and all of the wolves were running past her as they made their way towards the rest of the group.
Vanellope's jaw dropped in shock, and she stopped fighting for a moment at the rather peculiar sight before them. It turned out to be a mistake because the moment she dropped her defensive stance, the wolf sunk his jaws into her arm.
Vanellope let a shriek of agony escape her lips. The giant wolf simply bit in deeper, shaking her arm in his massive jaws. His paw sank into her other arm. He started scraping at her head. Vanellope started paling and she felt her eyes close.
"Vanellope!"
Vanellope just barely managed to turn her head in the direction the voice came from. It was Rancis. His large stick in his hands, he leapt over the wolves and charged at Vanellope and the wolf.
The wolf didn't even have time to look up when Rancis smacked it in the side of the head with the stick. With a yelp, the wolf rolled off of Vanellope. Rancis was in such a rage that he charged at the larger wolf with no fear and started banging his club at its head, snout, arm, legs, back, and tail.
The wolf whimpered as the rest of the pack ceased its attack. Vanellope rolled her head in the direction Rancis and the wolf were fighting.
Finally, with a growl and a gnash of his teeth, Rancis slammed his right foot into the injured wolf's side. The force of the blow caused the wolf to fly off his feet and he tumbled down a steep hill, howling and yelping all the way.
Rancis lowered his stick and stared down as he saw the giant predator plummet towards the bottom of the hill. The wolf rolled on its side and fell snout-first on the hill and finally banged on a rock near the end of the cliff. The wolf howled in pain and was sent flying into the air and crashed on the ground at the bottom of the hill. And he just laid there, still as a statue.
After a minute, the rest of the pack slowly lumbered down the hill after their fallen comrade. They stopped and surrounded him. After a minute, the injured wolf struggled to his feet and howled into the sky. A howl of defeat.
With that, the pack fled and scattered back to the forest they had originally come from, with the wolf Rancis fought limping slowly after them.
The children watched the pack disband. Their figures grew smaller as they ran farther away form the group. Finally, when every last wolf was gone, every child snapped their heads over to Vanellope. She was lying motionless on the ground, passed out.
"Vanellope!" Rancis shouted and ran to her side. Kneeling down next to her, Rancis held her hand and bit his lips. Everyone else was standing around the two, staring intently.
Finally, Willow bent down and listened for her code to see if it was still active. After several minutes, Willow finally lifted her head up to tell the group the news.
"She's alive, but she's hurt. We have to send her back to Santa's workshop."