Breaking the Cage

8.

Chapter 8

Willow

Willow trudged along the path in front of her. The sun was high in the sky and Willow knew that they could not continue on like this for too much longer.It had been several days since they had left the camp and their food and morale were both running thin. They walked in silence as the days went on. Talking seemed far too much of a waste of energy. They ate when they could forage for food in the nearby forest. They skirted towns as much as possible. There was no saying what type of people they could run into whenever they got too close to people. If they had to go into town Willow went quietly and stole what she could before slipping out again. She hated having to steal from good people but Grant had not thought to include money in any of the packs that had been prepared.

The nights were getting colder and Willow was worried that they weren't going to make it over the mountains before winter took hold in the hills. They spent the nights huddled together under the thin blanket they had found in Grants pack. Every night they had to make the choice of whether or not to light a fire to keep warm and keep the animals away, or to sleep without just in case they were being followed. Every day they grew the distance between them and the camp but Willow never felt like she was far enough to be able to breathe easy. Willow watched as Sarah grew a stronger bond with the wolf inside her while at the same time losing what little physical strength she had.

The night after they had finished the last of the food, Willow told Sarah that she was going into town in the morning to see what she could get. She didn't want Sarah following her and possibly attracting attention. The dress she had stolen from the camp barely covered her thin tall body. Willow awoke the next morning and hurriedly packed her belongings. The walk into town was unfamiliar to her and Willow had never felt so alone and vulnerable in her life. The birds sang in the trees completely unaware of the two women's flight to save their lives. The sun filtered through the leaves leaving pretty patterns on the trail in front of her. If she had grown up with her brother and her parents this would have been the kind of thing she would have really enjoyed.

The forest gave way and Willow found herself standing on the outskirts of a small village. There were no signs of wolves that she could see from where she stood. There were cars and houses and even a park, no breaking post, no soldier barracks, and no packhouse. Carefully she skirted around the edge of the first building she came to. The idea of stealing from people that weren't wolves sat like a stone in her stomach. A dog barked behind a fence causing Willow to jump in her skin. Kids a few houses down were playing with a ball in the yard their mother watching from the front porch. Willow felt sadness fill an empty spot in her chest.

Getting into town was no trouble. She simply walked down the street staying as close to shade as she possibly could. She knew that her manner of dress and her bushy curly hair would be easily remembered if the right person were to look. There near the center of town was a small grocery store and Willow knew that she was going to have to go in and take what she could instead of breaking into people's homes. The doors gave way as she crossed the threshold. Cold air blasted her from somewhere she couldn't see and Willow stifled a shiver as she went to the fruit stand. Her hand had just clamped on an apple when a voice caused her to still and go rigid.

"Sephtis said that they had lost two of their most valuable slaves." Willow shrank back from the shelves as if the name of her former master had burned her.

"Yeah that particular wolf is really getting around lately, I heard that they are going to be pushing west soon." Another voice joined the first.

"I doubt they will if they are missing such valuable people.' The first grew fainter and Willow guessed that they had moved up the aisle. Quietly she followed them from the other side of the shelves.