The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Author:Ambelin Kwaymullina [Kwaymullina, Ambelin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780763672256
Publisher: Candlewick
Published: 2014-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

SIX MONTHS AGO

I don’t know how long I lay on the grass, sobbing into Jaz’s last footprints. Eventually, Ember and Daniel came and found me. Ember stroked my hair, making soothing noises, while Daniel lifted me off the ground in his strong brown arms and carried me back to camp. I thought, I want to die. For four days, I didn’t move or speak. Then, on the fifth day, the wolves came.

It started with a single howl, a long, eerie wail right before dawn. Then another, at a different pitch. And another, different again, until the whole forest echoed with their cries. It sounded like there were hundreds of them out there, even though it was only a twelve-wolf pack. I tried to ignore them like I’d ignored everyone else, but they went on and on.

Finally, I stood up and stumbled out of the caves where the Tribe was camped. It was icy cold outside, and I wrapped my arms around myself, peering into the gray dawn light until I spotted one of them. I knew which one it would be. The same wolf who had been sitting at my feet when I’d woken up on that first morning in the wood. He’d hardly been more than a pup back then. Now he was big and lean, his orangey-brown coat shining with health and his pale yellow eyes watching me above a toothy canine grin. He yipped once and ran off, clearly expecting me to follow, as any wolf in his pack would. And I did, wanting to do something, anything, other than think of Jaz.

I ran lightly, swerving to avoid trees, racing over rocks and through shallow streams with the rest of the pack, never hesitating and never losing my footing. I ran until there was no Jaz, no saurs, and no Tribe. Just me, the wolves, and the sights and smells of the forest, rushing past me and around me until I was almost dizzy with it. When I couldn’t run any longer, I stumbled to a halt, threw back my head, and howled my grief to the forest.

The wolves slowed to a trot, and then a walk. Pack Leader circled back to where I was standing. I would’ve liked to keep going, but I had a stitch in my side and my legs were shaking with exhaustion. He nosed at my knee, as if he were trying to tell me something, and he was. I couldn’t explain how I understood him, any more than I could explain why everyone in the Tribe developed a bond with one of the forest animals. None of us could communicate with our animals as well as Georgie could with those creepy spiders, but I understood Pack Leader. He thought I would be okay now. The terrible thing was, I did, too, and I didn’t want to be okay. I didn’t want to be able to go on, not without Jaz, not after I’d failed to save him, like I’d failed to save Cassie.

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