I hear my father's words in my head, "Survival means taking from everyone else. It's just you and me Em. It's us and them."
But my circle of hugs and warmth grows and it's not just him and me. I feel Anna join and Jake. Then Sarah who is nervous of the wolf and hugs me only. Will hovers over us.
"You are a deadly shot Anna. You deserve that rifle."
She looks up at him and smiles, "Someone had to keep Jake alive."
Jake laughs. Will smiles but I can see the hurt the comment causes on his face. She doesn’t mean it the way he takes it.
Leo sits with his eyes closed and his mouth in his wolf smile. He loves the pets and strokes Anna and I are giving him.
"I missed you too. I missed you bad. Where's Meg?"
His eyes open. He whines. I sigh, "Christ, is she gone?"
He nuzzles into me.
"You speak wolf?"
I laugh at Sarah's bewildered face, "No I speak Leo. He doesn’t speak wolf either. He speaks me."
I hold his massive face and look into his yellow wolf eyes, "Buddy is Meg gone?"
He licks his lips and whines. I feel sick. He's anxious. Something isn’t right. I look up at Will, "Do the camps get attacked?"
Will looks like he might say no, but he stops himself and nods, "Once. It was a long time ago. Not that camp but another one. Why, is he saying that?"
I shake my head, "He's anxious and I left him with Meg. He left food and a bed to come find me. Seems weird. He's lost weight. He's been hunting for himself. He leans out when he hunts alone. Sometimes when I would camp out in one of our houses he would stay in the woods nearby and hunt. He would always lean out."
Will looks toward the mountain, "We need to get going then."
I want to stay one night but the dead men scattered about the yard make me rethink that plan.
"Anna go close off the bunker and Jake close up the house. I'll get Leo some water and refill the water bottles."
Will smiles, "I'll stay guard and Sarah can give me a hand."
She smiles at him. She likes him a lot. I wonder if she feels safe with him the way I do?
I stay focused on his blue eyes for a second and then force myself up.
I run my fingers along Leo's fur as we walk to the huge well. I pump the primer and then lift and pump the handle. I always let the first few pumps of water leave the spout and spill on the ground. Leo knows not to drink them too.
He waits patiently. I pull the pan I leave lying around the well house, out of its hiding spot. I rinse it and fill it with the cold water after about fifteen wasted pumps. Leo laps it up fast. He looks when the shallow bowl is empty. I fill it three times before he doesn’t seem interested.
I fill the water bottles in my backpack. I drink one full bottle of the fresh clean water and then refill it. Anna comes over and drinks one and lets me refill it too. Jake joins Will and Sarah. His limp is still pronounced. I wonder if it'll ever be better.
We leave the farm in a way that makes me feel odd. We walk and talk and snack on the jerky I had stored the last time I was stocking my supply cupboards.
Leo doesn’t seem to like it either. He is restless.
I worry about Meg. We pass by the meeting tree. I can see Leo has slept here. The grass and branches around it are in the shape of one of his nests.
We turn the opposite way of my cabin and my heart tugs. I want to go home. Leo stands there for a second and whines.
"Come on boy."
He trots after me and keeps perfect pace with me for a while. Soon he relaxes and starts to trust I am not going anywhere and moves ahead. He scouts perfectly. He is silent and sharp.
We move along the hillside without talking. I have given Jake a dirty look every time he started talking to Sarah.
I look up as we near the camp to see the scout in the tree. Will waves and the scout shouts down, "Holy shit look what the cat dragged in."
Will waves and laughs, "Actually it's what the wolf dragged in." He looks back at me.
Leo raises at lip at Will. I stroke his face.
The camp is bustling, just as it was when we left.
Mary comes running up and I hear the squeal of the little white haired brat.
"Wolfie!"
Leo curls into me. The little monster comes barreling at us. Before I have a chance Anna has his little arms, "The wolf is going to bite you. We trained it to bite little kids."
She turns and growls at Leo who growls back. The little monster cries and runs away.
Anna gives me a look. I've warned her about the little monster.
I laugh. Mary gives me an evil stare. I laugh harder.
"He means no harm." Her voice is soft and insulted.He runs to her and hugs her. He fake cries and snuggles into her. He looks back at us and makes the production even louder. I roll my eyes, "Mary this is Sarah."
Will cuts me off, "And my sister Anna and my brother Jake." Mary smirks at Jake.
Jake blushes. I feel funny. She kissed me and now she's eyeballing the guy who I happen to like a lot. I feel angry. I don’t know why. Mary isn’t my girlfriend and Jake isn’t my boyfriend but the idea of them being together hurts me.
She walks over and kisses Will on the cheek, "Well come home and welcome to the rest of you."
Okay I've had enough. I walk away and head to the tent.
Leo is clinging to me. He keeps looking back at the bratty kid in Mary's arms.
I look down at him, "I know buddy. I won't let him hurt you."
Our tent looks smaller than I remember it. I open the flap and feel heat rise in my face instantly. Meg is in the embrace of a guy I would guess is somewhere around thirty. Before I wait for explanations or introductions. Meg's eyes flicker on me and she starts screaming, but I can't stop the momentum. I leap into the tent and rip him away from her. I'm choking him on the ground and she is tearing at my arms. Leo is in the tent and growling. His slobber is falling all over the man's face.
His hands go up in the air. He tries to choke words out but I'm holding his throat with all my might.
"Emma sweet mother of all things holy stop trying to kill him. He's my boyfriend. Eric honey this is Emma. Emma. EMMA!"
I ignore her and smash his head down on the soft cushy pillows. I wish it were a rock.
Leo leans in closer. I understand his anxiousness. He knows this pervert has been taking advantage of Meg. She probably kicked him out of the tent. I want to throw up thinking about this asshole hurting her.
"EMMA!" A man's angry voice fills the tent.
I feel arms grabbing me. Strong hands lift me off of him but I kick. My boot lands square in his face. I hear the crunch. Blood gushes from his face. His hands fly to protect his face but I get a few more kicks off before I'm dragged from the man's body.
Meg is in my face slapping me, "STOP EMMA! STOP!"
I growl, "He's an old man Meg. He's taking advantage of you."
Mary is in my face. She pets my cheeks, "Emma, Meg's turned sixteen. She is allowed to choose her lovers at sixteen."
I kick Meg in the thigh with my boot, "She lied to you. She doesn’t turn sixteen yet. She's still fifteen."
Mary looks at Meg who blushes. Mary looks pissed at her but looks back at me, "You have no right to attack anyone Emma. Not here. We are a peace camp."
Will shakes me from behind and grips my arms tighter, "Emma call him off." I can still see the tent wiggling. I know Leo is probably eating the bleeding man. I wait and let him suffer for a few more seconds.
Will grips me harder and I scream as my arms go up my back. Leo is out of the tent before I have to call him. He jumps at Will and knocks us both to the ground. He is growling in Will's face.
Meg cries, "Leave him be Emma. You aint my momma. Eric? Baby?"
I look at her and point, "Get him out of my tent. I will kill him before you turn sixteen Meg." I get back on my feet. Leo still has Will on the ground.
The bleeding half naked man stumbles out of the tent. His arm has a good bite mark on it that is seeping a slow stream of blood.
He glares at me, "Crazy bitch."
"Fucking pervert." I spit at him.
He comes at me but I am ready. I punch him in the eye. He screams again and stumbles back. I leap at him but my body is caught mid air. Jake holds me to him and covers my face.
"Meg is it? Get your friend out of here." Meg is on her knees crying. I want to choke her, not to death. Just till she loses her memory and forgets he exists.
Mary steps in the way, "No let me. Eric and I have some talking to do. This isn’t his first offense in this area."
Will gets Leo off of him and grabs my arm, ripping me out of Jake's embrace, "Jesus Christ you are insane sometimes."
Jake laughs, "She was raised by wolves Willy boy. What do you expect?"
I laugh. It isn’t bitter or angry, it is a real laugh. It bolts from my body and I double over from it. It feels like a release similar to crying. I feel a cramp in my guts I laugh so hard. Leo looks scared and nudges me. He has never seen me laugh like this. Tears pour from my eyes.
Will shoves me, "You are insane."
Jake catches me. I don’t feel the pain of the rejection from Will. I know I will later but for now I laugh and it feels good.
Chapter Eighteen
Her tears bother me. I can't stand that she's upset they can't be together.
"You're not like Romeo and Juliet moron. He's, like, an old man and shit. He's a pervert." Anna is trying to talk sense to her. She sounds like Jake as she talks. Meg ignores her and howls in pain. Sarah holds her tightly and strokes her head.
"It aint easy to find a good man who'll take care of you."
I feel my nails cutting into my palms. "You don’t need a man. I'll take care of you."
Meg cries louder, "I hate you Emma."
I sigh and look at Sarah, "You ready for a swim?"
She nods. She seems intimidated again.
"The same thing is going to happen to you if you date old guys. I kill old perverts."