Good, Evil, and the Gray Area (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 49

We trudged wearily through the woods, carefully avoiding the snow drifts so we left no tracks. I walked slowly, my tail down, my head drooping. Ava mirrored my actions. 

Our wounds and exhaustion made it hard to even walk, but we had to push on, had to get out of there before we were hurt. 

Achen had been dead when we arrived, the bullet would crusted over, her skin cold. She had no pulse, her breathing was nonexistent. We had left her there, and I thought that Ava was guilty about that. 

She had no major wounds, and I had only the ribs and the burn, and those hardly were classified as major for me. 

We were going vaguely in the direction of the army that I had seen, but I assumed they had moved on. Plus, we were heading back to Maine, to civilization hopefully, and staying there until we could contact Zahir. Then, we would stay in Africa. That was my plan, at least. 

Ava's was probably more like: save the world. The end. 

Our footfalls made crunching noises as they broke through the thin sections of the crust, and made hollow thumps on the thicker sections. Ava's thick brown fur was looking scraggly and thinner then usual. I'm sure my black one was patchy and worn looking. 

I was cold, as panthers aren't exactly meant for this kind of weather. 

"Um, Lee? What's that?" Ava spoke nervously. I looked over accordingly, seeing nothing at first, then picking the individual shapes out from the trees. 

"Well, there were these people... I assumed they'd be gone," I said nervously, suddenly wishing I'd told Ava everything at some point. 

"What?" she asked. Even as a wolf you could tell that her eyebrows were raised. I resisted the urge to laugh at her expression, though the situation was a serious one. 

"Ah, they tried to capture me... I think. Maybetheyweretryingtokillme. I dunno," I said quickly, hoping she wouldn't catch the killing part. 

"Thanks for the info, Lee. Thanks for keeping me in the loop!" she said angrily, a hard edge in her actions. I lowered my ears appolegetically. 

"Er, they're coming this way. I think we should talk to them, right, 'cause we are trying to save the world and all, and um they might be dangerous?" I said, squinting at Ava. She blew air through her nostrils, but turned back to them. 

"How much do we tell?" she asked. 

"Depends... on how much they make us tell." I said, a laugh in my voice. I knew that then wasn't the time for a laugh, but hey, when you gotta laugh, you gotta laugh, sometimes. 

Ava glared at me, and I smiled apologetically. 

"You better be ready for a fight... or a friendly discussion. 'Cause I'm sure that's what's gonna happen." She upped her glare. If looks could kill, I'd be in a pile on the ground without a pulse. 

"Um, they're here," I pointed out helpfully. Ava spun around.

"Ah, you again. The little lynx, now a big bad panther. Think you can take us now?" the woman asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. I bristled. 

"Yeah, maybe I do, bitch! Back off!" I hissed. She just laughed, and I didn't bother to wonder how she knew it was me, or how she could understand me when we were two different species. Although, hadn't I been starting to do that with Achen?  

"Lee..." Ava growled warningly at me. She was right. I didn't need to start a fight right off. 

"Well, what do you want?" I asked the woman, "why did you try to capture me?"