Be in the Stars

Wild

WILD

For fifteen years she didn’t know anymore then to be wild.

And this wasn’t the kind of wild you find in the middle of New York at midnight; girls swaying their barely covered hips and men grinding them in a bar.

Or the kind a seven year old gets, from the thrill of a falling rollercoaster, the laughter and screams unable to be dispatched or torn apart.

Her wild was the smell of dirt, the taste of murky water and the feel of splinters beneath her skin.

She knew no such life as money or electronics.

She had no more goal than to supply food for her family, and in her life a bottle of water that was fresh, was a treat.

Sure she had fun, her seven brothers and two younger sisters played survivor.

Who could kill the beast beyond the woods first?

She never allowed any of the younger ones to kill animals that were dangerous.

So they usually chased rabbits and native birds that didn’t fly.

It was they deadly creatures that were her game.

-They were the ones that she could enjoy finding, and learn from by fighting.

Only her, Tombonia and Minatchy went after the big ones.

-The ones with jaws of power and claws of destruction.

-The ones that would panic their home into the question of “who’s coming back?”

Today was no different, the family were running low on meet and the season brought snow over any crops or edible plants.

So she set off with her two brothers into the white land that could kill them by its undetailed depths.

She started near the caves -where the wolves lived- an animal that was the most dangerous and that she’d never faced without a scar in return.

Tombonia decided to help while Minatchy searched for clues of hibernating bears, a much safer choice.

She signalled to Tombonia to follow behind her while she slowly used the curving wall to guide her into a small hollow cave.

She could smell fear from her brother, but couldn’t turn to tell him to stop, because she knew it’d only provoke any beasts more so, than the sent.

Wolves were very territorial and humans were threats and meals.

-Likewise for the other way.

She suddenly felt a patch of warmth.

Knowing life was nearby or had passed recently.

She stopped in her tracks crouching to get a better idea of any sounds.

She was pleased to hear snoring and tiptoed slowly to the pray.

Her hand shot out so quickly that anyone else surrounding wouldn’t have noticed.

A howling/whimper pleased her ears as she felt the liquid of blood pour onto her hand, her knife now buried into the centre of the heart of a cub. She gave its neck a quick crack, silencing it and sending a few words of sorry to the animal.

It was frowned upon to not thank her gods of any meals, and she knew the heart ache of losing family, which she’d just caused for this cubs parents or siblings.

Once the whispers were out she ran soundlessly with her food and brother. Her food was heavy, but she could handle it.

She knew she’d be chased now, and would be lucky to escape.

She could see the white glisten of snow ahead and yelled at Tombonia to warn the village.

He hesitated which was punished by a grab from an elderly wolf. She held in her scream watching her brother be dragged against the ground, coating it with red.

She held tighter to her prize, throwing a spare knife to the pack and continuing forward, with no time to rescue her most likely dead brother. She whistled loudly to tell her other sibling to be aware, then took a turn to the rivers.

She felt sweat crawling down her neck, and knew she was out of luck, unless the ice was thick on the river bank she’d die.

It seemed to be too many against one, and wolves were warriors they took pride in getting revenge.

She stopped by the lake knowing she needed to either drop the cub or take her odds with extra weight.

The wolves weren’t far behind she could hear them as if they were right next to her.

She decided to drop her prize and started to slowly enter the slick surface of the lake; biting her tongue.

She could feel her gear wanting to slide out from under her and dared to look back.

The pack had given up the chase, knowing they were done for on the ice and claiming their offspring back as a badge of winning.

She sighed.

-A mistake that she could not take back.

The sound of the ice beneath her cracking sent a shock of stillness through her body.

Game over.

After that it was so quick and cold that she had no time to recall much more.

-Her death drowning in a splintered, icy, trap.

That was the end of Jimpers life.

-Because a life of being wild didn’t last.