“You! What were you thinking?”
Pica lowered her head. There was nothing she could say.
“You’re going straight back to the den and you’ll stay there until Mom gets back.” Taba’s voice was very angry. She turned and headed back downhill toward the den.
Dane turned after her and Pica tried to follow. She hopped along, trying not to put any weight on her bad leg, until she stepped into a small depression and stumbled, reflexively putting her leg down to brace herself. She cried out in pain. Dane and Taba turned their heads sharply.
They stared at her as she tucked her leg up tight against her chest, continuing to hobble toward them. She tried not to make eye contact. Their eyes burned into her anyway.
Taba spoke first, a slow exhale. “Oh no.” She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t have to. Pica knew exactly what she was thinking. They all did. An injured leg was a very serious problem, and in some cases a death sentence. If she couldn’t use her leg, she would never learn to hunt. If she couldn’t hunt, she would probably die.
They waited for her as she slowly hobbled up to them. Then, one on either side, they escorted her back to the den, where she lay down with relief, her whole body shaking with the effort. As she lay in the dirt, she felt Taba’s tongue begin to lick her back, and the stinging reminded her that she had wounds there, too. Dane lay beside her, his large brown eyes staring at her with concern. They waited, knowing the others were on their way back and would arrive soon.
NINE
TOGETHER
Scruff
Scruff smelled the blood right away. As he padded through the abandoned lot toward the porch, a tangy, metallic odour hung in the air. Sticking his head under the porch, he saw Jagger lying in the dirt, not moving.
“Jagger! Are you okay?” he pleaded, poking him hard with his nose.
Jagger grunted and lifted his head. He didn’t reply immediately, crawling gingerly out from under the porch and standing in the yard to face Scruff. He had cuts and scratches all over him, and he was favouring his back leg. Scruff felt his stomach bunch up in a ball.
“I’m okay. I fought them off.” Jagger’s voice was pained and angry.
“What happened? Who did this to you?”
“It was that older female pup from the Hillside Pack. And a few of those runts. I was on their side of the fence, but only by a foot or two. I was just passing through, minding my own business, when she jumped out of nowhere and attacked me.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Don’t you know?” Jagger seemed incredulous.
“They’ve never attacked us before.”
“Think about it. They know we lost our home territory, and they’re worried. They want us to move on.” He sniffed. “I think she was trying to really hurt me — she jumped on me, trying to get at my neck! Luckily I’m so strong — it was pretty easy to fight her off. But one of the pups got a good bite of my leg.”
Scruff took a sharp breath in, wondering which pup it was.
“Did you hurt the pup?”
“Why do you care?” Jagger snapped back. “You care if they live, after what they did to me?”
“No,” Scruff replied hastily. “I just wondered what happened, you know, if you got any of them.”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Then Jagger continued, “Well, I’m sick of waiting for you to decide what you want to do. It’s been more than a week since we talked, and all I get from you is hesitation. I don’t think you can delay much longer — they are worried about us, now that our territory is gone. They’ve gone on the offensive. We need to figure out a plan. It’s not safe for us here anymore.” He sighed sadly and turned to begin licking his wounds. Scruff padded over and tried to help him, licking some blood off his haunches.
“Ouch — get off of me,” Jagger snapped. Then, he softened. “Sorry, it hurts a lot.”
Scruff sat down beside him. “What are we going to do about it?”
“Well, we have two options.” Jagger paused, looking intently at Scruff. “Either we leave this place and never return. Or, we can stand up for what we deserve, and let them know that they have to let us continue to live here.”
Scruff felt panic rise up in his chest. He couldn’t imagine leaving this area — it was the only place he had ever known. Also, even though the forest was destroyed, he felt a strong pull to be near it. It was the only link he had to his family. But doing violence to the Hillside Pack — he had been wrestling with this problem for the whole week, and it made him feel sick to think about it. He hated them for killing his mother, but at the same time, he felt a strange draw to Pica and her siblings. He couldn’t imagine actually hurting them.
Jagger continued, pushing the point. “Remember, they are monsters. What is going to stop them from continuing? We should stand up to them!”
Scruff hesitated. “I don’t know. How are we going to take on such a big pack? They are so much stronger than us. Maybe we should just find somewhere else.”
“Fine.” Jagger’s voice was sarcastic. “We’ll just hop over to the next huge peaceful green hillside. I’m sure there is one just down the road, with no coyotes living in it.” He paused, and took a deep breath. “Scruff — this is the real world. If we leave, we’ll probably have to split up and each find ourselves a sorry little patch of trees that hasn’t already been claimed. Is that what you want?”
“No!” Scruff insisted. “I don’t want to split up from you. I just don’t know how we’re going to stand up to such a large pack.”
“I have lots of ideas.” Jagger grinned, his teeth appearing to glow in the darkness.
“Let me think about it, okay?”
“Think about it? Fine! You can think about it while they organize themselves to come and kill us. That’s a great idea. I can’t deal with you right now. You’re so weak sometimes. See you later. Maybe.”
Watching his retreating form, Scruff felt the panic rising up in him, stronger now. Dark birds flashed through his mind, circling, circling, waiting to claw his throat out. He didn’t want to be alone again. The anger and fear welled up in him, and he raced after Jagger, running up to his side.
“No — don’t leave. I’ll help you. We can make a plan — talk to Lamar or something. Let’s give it a try.”
Jagger stopped and gave him a cool smile. “I’m glad you’re with me on this one. You know, it’s only right. They’ve stepped over the line. Now we need to show them again where that line is.”
“So do you think we should —”
“I have a plan.”
“Okay, but I don’t want to —”
“Don’t worry about it. You won’t have to do anything. Just follow me now.” Jagger walked away into the darkness without looking back. Despite feeling uncomfortable and scared, Scruff followed him down the alley, across the busy road, and toward the industrial area down by the train tracks. He noticed that Jagger no longer seemed to be favouring his hind leg, and walked confidently, strongly, a dark shadow in the night.
TEN
APART
Pica
Taba kept watch over Pica while Dane tried to make contact with the rest of the pack. It wasn’t long before Pica saw Gree and Lamar galloping toward them across the hillside. They pulled up, breathless, and Dane, Kai, and Sage arrived shortly after.
Gree looked at Taba and Pica, panic in her face. Pica got to her feet gingerly, one paw curled up close to her, her head low in shame. Her mother came over and Pica buried her head in Gree’s thick fur.
“Ohhh.” Gree’s voice was half breath, half moan. Taba nodded silently. No one else moved.
“What happened — tell us everything,” Lamar demanded.
Dane and Taba both turned to Pica.
She realized that they had no idea about what happened. She looked down at the ground. “Well …” She stopped, not sure how to continue.
“It’s okay,” Lamar said, prodding. “I know it was scary. But you have to let us know what happened.”
>
“We came back, and I was lying by the den while Dane and Taba were in the golf course.” She saw Lamar and Gree look sharply at Taba, but they did not interrupt. She took a deep breath and then continued, “I wanted to see if I could hunt on my own, without anyone watching me, so I went over to the bushes by the path over there. I caught a vole, and then Jagger was there. He was on our territory, and attacked me. I called for them and they helped to fight him off.”
Dane picked up the story. “We heard her howl for help and raced over. He was already on top of her. Taba jumped on him and we all drove him away, but not before he had the chance to injure her.”
Taba looked up, adding, “We did the best we could. But I don’t think he’s gone for long.”
There was a stunned silence as the rest of the pack took in the information.
“I’ll kill him.” Lamar broke the silence angrily. “This time, he has gone too far. This is a call to war.”
Pica was surprised that he wasn’t mad at her for straying from the others. Instead, he seemed furious that Jagger would enter into their territory at all.
Gree looked at him, many different emotions flying over her face. “Lamar. Let’s think carefully about how to respond. If you go in there on your own, you could get hurt, too.”
“He’s smaller than I am, and besides, if you come with me, you leave Taba and the pups undefended. That is too dangerous right now. Who knows — what if he gets past me and circles back?”
Gree sighed. “I don’t know. Don’t forget that he’s got that pup with him. Maybe we should wait —”
“I have no choice — if I don’t follow him now, we’ll appear weak. And if we don’t know when he will strike next, we’ll have to be on guard at all times, and stay together. Don’t worry about that runt — I could take him out with a swipe. Gree, you know we can’t wait on this one.”
Gree acquiesced, reluctance in her voice. “Well, we have to do something. Try to take him by surprise, attack him, and make your point. But get away quickly. You don’t have to kill him to make yourself heard.” She paused, adding, “Just be careful to watch for that pup, too.”
“I will,” Lamar assured her. “You know, this isn’t the first time that a coyote has tried to challenge our territory. I’ll deal with it the way I always do.” He walked over and nosed her neck gently. She sighed.
“I know. I just wish I could go with you this time. Be careful.”
“I will.”
Pica glanced at Dane, hoping to make eye contact. He looked as tense and anxious as she felt, and didn’t look away from Lamar.
“All right,” Gree announced, the final decision made. “Track him now, while his scent is still fresh. Be careful — it will be light soon. If you don’t find him before daybreak, return here and we’ll regroup. I love you. Don’t take any risks — we can’t afford another injury.”
Pica clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from crying out. She didn’t want her father to leave. She had looked into Jagger’s eyes, and what she saw scared her. She also worried about Scruff — would he get hurt in this, too? But now the events were set into motion, Lamar already galloping off across the hillside. They watched his shadow disappear into the darkness. All the coyotes slowly found a spot to lie down, their heads still oriented toward the departing shadow, and settled in for a tense wait.
Pica’s mind raced. If she hadn’t left the den site to try hunting on her own, she would never have been in a situation where she could be attacked. She knew that Jagger shouldn’t have been on their territory, but couldn’t help feeling guilty for her part in this. How many times had her parents reminded the pups to always stay close, so that they could help to drive other coyotes off their territory? She had seen this many times before — a coyote would accidentally stray onto their territory, and either Gree or Lamar would bark or run at them, warning them to move on. And they always did. But last night, she had been all on her own, with no help close by.
She glanced over at Dane, and caught him staring at her with a worried expression. Guilt and shame coursed through her body. If only she hadn’t been so selfish, she would have thought about the danger she was putting her whole family in. The fact that she had caught her first prey was completely overshadowed by the rest of the evening.
She turned away. She couldn’t bear to look into his eyes. She repositioned herself into a ball and closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain throbbing up her leg and along her back and side.
ELEVEN
LEAP
Scruff
Scruff loped behind Jagger, following him to the far edge of the housing subdivision, away from the hillside. Jagger stopped more frequently than usual to mark poles and bushes. Scruff wondered why he wanted their track to be so obvious. The older coyote didn’t hesitate, but seemed to know exactly where he was going. Everything was dark and still. Other than the sound of their paws on the pavement, Scruff heard nothing.
On the other side of the busy road was an area with larger buildings. They didn’t typically go through this area because there was very little food available — fewer green spaces where rodents liked to live, and the garbage bins were mostly well secured. In addition, during the day, the place was crawling with humans. Now, though, in the very early hours of the morning before first light, it was quiet and still.
They rounded the corner of one of the tall buildings, and on the other side Scruff saw a gap where a building should be. Instead, there was a gaping hole in the ground and lots of machinery. Another construction site. Jagger threaded his way through the equipment, ducking under the fence where it had begun to sag out. He walked carefully along the edge of the pit. Scruff, shadowing him, looked down into the gaping hole and gasped. It seemed to go down forever, dark walls descending into even more darkness. At the bottom, he saw what might be some construction equipment, although in the darkness they looked like hulking shadows of giant animals. Jagger stepped back from the pit and settled down beside the base of a large machine, licking the dirt out from between the pads of his paws.
“All right.” He looked up at Scruff. “Here’s the plan. You stay here. Don’t make a sound, and don’t move. No matter what. Understand?”
“But what —”
“You don’t need to know anything else. Just shut your mouth and do as I tell you.”
The sharp tone and look in his eyes silenced Scruff. He had no idea what Jagger was planning, and it felt dangerous to ask, given his current mood. Jagger exited the construction site without a backward glance, heading back in the direction of the housing subdivision. Scruff stood up and took a few steps as if to follow him, then thought better of it. Jagger could be very cruel when his orders weren’t followed. He decided to stay put and think it through.
Everything was still and silent, except for an occasional breeze that ruffled some of the plastic that covered a big pile. He shivered a little bit, although not entirely from the cold. He felt nervous and very much awake, his brain working hard to figure out where Jagger might have gone and why he had been told to stay here.
Almost an hour passed, and Scruff decided that it was a bad idea to stay. Whatever Jagger was planning, he owed it to Scruff to tell him more about it. If they were going to be in a pack together, it needed to be more equal. With a sigh, he stood up and began to walk toward the fence. Suddenly he heard the sound of swift running, pads scraping on gravel. He saw Jagger slip under the fence and head straight toward him at a full gallop.
“Jagger! What —”
Scruff didn’t get another syllable out before Jagger leapt on top of him, and he felt sharp teeth bite into the flesh of his ear. Jagger had punished him before for being stupid or careless, but this time seemed much rougher. He yelped loudly, crying out in pain and surprise — was Jagger mad because he had moved from the original spot where he had been told to stay? He desperately tried to drag himself away, crying out, “Jagger! Stop! You’re hurting me!”
Jagger shook his head roughly, flipping Scruff ov
er and taking some flesh out of his ear as he went. The hot burning caused Scruff to panic, and he began to yelp uncontrollably, crying out loudly and turning onto his back, paws up.
“Please! Why are you doing this? Stop!”
Suddenly, there was nothing. Jagger had disappeared. Scruff looked around from his position on the ground, afraid to get up. He continued his keening wail, crying out the pain and sadness. Why had Jagger turned on him like that? What had he done wrong? He flipped back onto his belly, and kept his head on the ground, his ears back. He whimpered a little bit more, looking around for Jagger.
Then he saw another dark shape slip under the fence and drift toward him. He cowered, squinting to see who it was. It wasn’t Jagger. His relief was cut short when he saw who it was — Lamar.
He jumped to his feet now, tail up. There was no sign of Jagger, who, despite being cruel, was his only hope at this point. The situation had suddenly gone from bad to worse. He took a step backwards, and then another one. Lamar continued walking toward him threateningly, his tail high in the air and his ears back. He gave a low growl. With the next step back, Scruff felt nothing but air. He risked a quick glance backwards and gasped, realizing that he was right at the edge of the pit. Another step back and he would fall in. He froze, unable to move.
Lamar kept approaching until he was a few metres from Scruff, and then stopped. His ears swivelled from side to side, and he sniffed the air. He seemed confused. “What’s going on — where’s Jagger? Who attacked you?”
Scruff was silent. He didn’t want to tell the truth, because despite the attack, he still felt a sense of loyalty to Jagger. But his mind had gone blank — he couldn’t think of a lie that would make sense.
Lamar took a few more steps toward him, cocking his head to the side. Then, out of the darkness, a shadow surged toward them. Scruff saw Lamar’s confusion turn to horror as he realized that Jagger’s powerful body was about to collide with him. Before Lamar could react, Jagger hit him hard, causing him to lose his balance and skid toward the edge of the pit. Scruff heard him cry out in terror, his claws scrabbling against the earth as he tried to regain his balance. His hind legs slipped off the edge, and with a terrible howl, he disappeared. There was a brief silence followed by a dull thud that echoed off the dirt walls. Scruff was unable to move, in complete shock. All he could hear was his own ragged breath.
Street Shadows Page 6