Chapter 27

Wild Man

Ithink something inside of me might be broken or at least cracked. The stack of bones that are on either side of my chest ache, especially on my right side. I have to take shallow breaths since deep ones feel like I'm being stabbed repeatedly from the inside. Even when I do, it still hurts to breathe. Not from my injuries, but because momor is gone.

My eyes aren't as puffy, so I can see out of them now and the blackness that likes to put me to sleep hasn't come back for a while. I think it's been days since momor was taken because I've woken up several times with some of them being during the day and some at night.

Teeja has been with me each time I open my eyes. Lying the length of his warm body by my side at night when the coolness in the air leaves little bumps all over my body. He keeps Vena and the pups away. I think it's because he doesn't know if whatever attacked me is coming back. If he understood my words, I'd tell him not to worry. Momor's family won't be back. I'm sure when they left, they believed I was either dead or dying. Maybe I should be. Maybe if they did this to someone else, they would be. But I'm not letting go of my female so easily. I'll fight even death to get her back.

Teeja has brought me food; small animals he's killed. When I was first left on my own as a boy, I ate berries and bugs to stay alive. I was older the first time I killed an animal. I was so starved and sick of eating berries and bugs that I ripped into the small animal with tall ears, not caring what parts I ate, only that I wanted to fill my caved-in stomach. When I learned how to make a fire, I remembered Peepa putting food on top of the flames, so I did the same to the animals I killed. I had gotten used to eating meat raw, but I found I liked it much better over the fire. Since then, I can barely keep meat down if it's not heated by flames. I've barely been able to move, so I haven't been able to make a fire to cook the meat Teeja brings me. But I still eat it. To rebuild my strength so I can get to momor.

Food isn't the only thing I need to consume though. Luckily, as uncomfortable as it's been, it's rained a couple of times. There was a small bowl on the ground near where I laid. With a lot of grunts and pain barely tolerable, I managed to drink the small amount of water gathered in the bowl.

Thankfully, the pain in my side isn't as great today, and I'm able to move a little better.

I look down at my body and see all the dark spots on my chest and stomach. Most are marks under the skin where it looks like blood has come to the surface and can't escape, but I do have a few cuts. They don't look bad though.

I've managed to partially prop myself up against the log near where I make fires, and doing just that takes all of my breath, which makes the pain in my side worse.

Teeja whines close by, and I look at him. He's sitting on his hind legs, his head tilted to the side. If he were human, I'd imagine he'd have a worried look on his face.

Teeja first came to me years ago. I was out hunting and was just getting ready to kill a fox for dinner when I heard a yelp off in the distance. The sound startled the fox and he took off. When the yelp came again, I could tell whatever it was, was in pain. I went searching for the animal, thinking it would be my dinner instead since it scared off the fox. I came across a wolf pup that had gotten stuck in a tangle of vines. He was so young that he was probably still feeding from its noeny.

Instead of killing the pup, I freed it from its trap. Most of the wild animals in the forest keep to their own kind and don't mingle with other creatures. I expected the pup to take off as soon as it was free, but it walked up to me, sat on its hind legs, and stared right into my eyes, like he was thanking me for freeing him. When I left the area, it followed. I didn't know where its noeny was. I had seen other wolf families before, so I knew females usually had more than one pup. This one was alone though. Maybe the family had died.

I didn't shoo the pup away when he followed me back home. I had been alone for so long that it was nice to have another life near. I shared the little bit of meat I had left from the day before with the pup. He stuck around for days, following me everywhere I went, before he left. But he kept coming back.

Teeja walks up to me now and nudges my arm. With effort and searing pain, I lift my arm and lay my hand on top of his head between his ears. I once saved him all those years ago and now he's helped save me.

"Go to family, Teeja," I tell the wolf. My voice is deep and scratchy. "I'm good now."

He licks the underside of my upper arm then looks at me like he's asking if I'm sure.

I scratch the top of his head. "Go to Vena."

He looks at me with eyes that look like the sky before he turns and trots away.

I slump against the log, my eyes feeling like something heavy is trying to pull them closed. The pain in my side is getting worse again since I sat up, so I let myself slowly fall over on the side that doesn't hurt as much.

Every time I wake up, I feel a little stronger and it's a little easier to move. As much as I want to force my body up and make it work properly, I know I can't. I need to sleep and heal.

I don't know where momor's family took her. When I was a boy living in the wild, after Peepa and Noeny were eaten by the big bear, I wandered around for days and days, looking for a way out or for someone to find me. I was scared and lonely. I cried and screamed, but I learned fast to keep quiet, because there were animals nearby that I knew would eat me too. I never found a way out or another person. By the time I was older, grew stronger, and knew I could find my way out, I no longer wanted to. The thought of leaving this place was frightening. My memories of the world beyond the wild were faded. I liked where I was. I felt safe here, so I stayed.

Now it's time I leave. My female is in the big world, and somehow, I'll find her and bring her back.