Coyote's Daughter by Corie Weaver

Author:Corie Weaver [Weaver, Corie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreaming Robot Press
Published: 2013-12-12T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Pale early light shone into the hut. Jack chased rabbits in his dreams, and I decided to let him sleep a little longer while I filled our water bottles. I'd tried to contact Mom and Dad before I went back to sleep, but my dreams for the rest of the night had been confused and I wasn't sure if the message had gotten through.

I needed to find a way to carry more food. We had extra space from where we had eaten our previous supplies; I worried it wouldn't be enough for pots and baskets. I'd figure it out when we actually found the food. I stretched, surprised I wasn't exhausted. I guess my body rested while I talked with Coyote, still my head felt like I hadn't slept at all, but lived through one very long day.

After filling the bottles I went back to the hut and ruffled Jack's fur.

"Come on, boy. We've got a lot to do." Not that he was going to be much help, but I'd relish the company.

Gathering food took the entire morning. My ankle was mostly healed, with only a slight twinge if I stepped wrong. At the first few houses I felt like a criminal, sneaking around, searching through people's possessions. I tried not to make a mess for them to clean up, even though I wasn't sure if anyone would ever be back to be angry about the violation of their privacy.

I peered inside baskets and pots, rummaged through what looked to be random piles of things, and slowly accumulated my stores. A waterskin borrowed from one home, a pair of flat, woven baskets from another, with dried berries from a third, and cornmeal from yet others. I found fewer stashes of dried meat than I had hoped. I had taken only a small piece wherever I found it but when I looked at the pitiful pile I had obtained, I went back for more. One a return trip I found a small stash of salt I happily added to my supplies.

I would be fine for a few days on corn paste mixed with water and berries, but I wasn't sure how Jack would feel about it.

The sun hung high in the sky and we were as ready as we could be. Jack had his harness back on, the saddlebags filled with water, jerky and meal. I had arranged and rearranged my backpack until I made everything fit. I didn't want to leave anything behind, and even packed a few pieces of leather from Ash's hut. They'd been useful before, they might be again.

The pack sat heavily on my back, but I knew it wouldn't be for long, especially if there was no drinkable water out there.

We started off into the hills. I don't know what to call that sort of landscape: pine trees, bent over by the wind, small and twisted; clumps of gray-green grass, and silvery sage; bushes filled with little golden flowers dotted the hills around me. Dad

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