The Half Mutt Mate

Chapter 2

I shivered, clutching my arms to stave away the cold. The chilly autumn air bit at my sides, causing my flesh to rise in little goosebumps. I had been on the road for weeks and it was only getting colder; you'd think I would have gotten used to it, but you can't get used to the cold.

I was walking in a valley by a highway, near enough to see the road but hidden by a thin layer of trees so that no cars would see me. In the distance a series of mountains obscured the skyline, hiding the dawn. I watched the rising sun carefully, waiting for its splotchy yellow and pink light to illuminate the valley and make travelling impossible. 

Ever since that fateful day, the day I became a Rogue, I had to be careful. I could only travel at night, when there were less people to see me and no light to see me by, and I had to keep moving. I slept as little as possible, instead using my time to find food or shelter and to walk as fast as I could. 

I was scared, truth be told -- no, I was terrified. If I slowed down, if I wasn't constantly on the run then they might find me. He might find me.  I couldn't let that happen. 

My legs were aching as I sped up my pace, hoping to cover as much ground as I could before the sun came up. My feet protested, but it was easier to silence my sore feet then the worrying in my head so I kept going. The sun crept over the mountains, sweeping away the dark night sky and replacing it with soft blues and yellows, and then the faintest smudge of pink.

Birds chirped around me and I noticed the sound of more cars speeding past me on the highway as people headed off to work. It had only been a handful of months, barely any time at all, and yet I could no longer imagine a life as normal as that. I sighed and, deciding it was light enough already, turned away from the highway and further into the woods. 

It didn't take me long to find a low hanging tree to sleep under, though I had to be careful to stay in the shadows, where there were brambles were growing in the shade of the tree. Hopefully, if anyone passed by, they wouldn't be able to see me through the dirt and shrubbery. 

I put my bag under the tree, hidden by the bushes, and moved a few leaves to make sure it was completely covered. It would be easier to sneak around if I didn't have my back pack weighing me down.

The next task was to find a bit of food -- that was the tricky bit. I had trained myself to eat only what I absolutely I had to and save the rest for later, so I was used to an empty stomach. In the summer months I had survived off berries and any other edible plants I could find, and I'd even managed to catch a rabbit. I hated doing that, skinning the poor thing was one of the worst things I ever had to do, but I was hungry and needed the meat, so I gritted my teeth and did it. I only knew a little bit about outdoor living from when I'd been in a wilderness club, but I'd been forced to pick up a lot.

As Autumn had settled in and there was no longer any berries to scavenge I had to find new methods, though. I had been forced to wander into the small towns built by the side of the high way, looking for any morsels to be found, and even sneaking into the tents of campers in the woods to take away only the leftover food they wouldn't miss. I hated what I had to do, but it was necessary -- that's what I told myself, anyway. I had been slowly collecting the coins I found on the street, so that hopefully I would be able to buy a little food in the winter, when things got even harder. 

I sighed and looked around. In the distance I could see a thin trail of smoke -- campers. They were most likely asleep, with the fire put out but still smoking and food packed away in a tent somewhere. I guessed the distance -- it was probably only a ten or fifteen minute walk -- and decided to forage on my way there. If I could find enough food growing on the bushes before I arrived then I would leave them be, but if not I would have take something. Hopefully a burger, but I only ever took what they wouldn't notice. I had to be careful, after all,  and under no circumstances could I be caught.

I made my way quietly over the forest floor, trying not to make a sound. The woods were coming to life around me and I could hear the scratching of mice in the undergrowth and birds in the trees. The fresh, moist smell of morning dew overtook my senses, along with the scent of a few different animals and plants, and as it got lighter I could make out more of the mostly green trees and the few crisp brown leaves that had already fallen.

I found a few blackberries as I wandered along, as well as enough dandelions to be sick of them. While technically edible, dandelions did not taste nice. I tried not to gag as I collected them, instead choosing to focus on finding more. I had been walking for maybe five minutes when --

snap

-- I heard something in the forest move.

I paused, my hand still stretched out and ready to grab a blackberry, and listened. The noise was too heavy to be any small animal, it was either a human or predator. I didn't know which would be worse. After a moment, the noise started up again, as well as the sound of hushed voices. Whispering -- so it had to be human. I was frozen in place. I couldn't move. One wrong step and they would hear, they'd find me -- and then it would be all over.