Rain had started falling while the two were away. Red had opened the door on the lead railcar and took a seat inside as the fire flickered just outside the door.
The two approach the open railcar and Jack heaves the ammo up into the door then climbs in with the food slung over his shoulder. He turns back, extending a hand to Wolf. They grab each other’s forearms, nod and Wolf is pulled inside.
“Thanks,” Wolf says as Jack pulls away and looks over his forearm.
Wolf sees the new scratches on Jack’s arm and winces. “Sorry about that. I forget how sharp those are.”
Jack waves off the apology. “It’s not a big deal. Was my fault.” Jack jumps as a tube hits him in the chest.
“Put some of that on there,” Red says. “Don’t need it getting infected. There’s no telling what Wolf’s been running through.”
Jack nods. “Thanks, Sarah.” He takes a seat with his back against the door, using the dwindling daylight to see the scratches more clearly.
Red pulls the food bag over to her seated position on the other side of the door and begins digging into it. She pulls out a bundle of jerky, then bites off a chunk. Wolf looks over and she extends one towards him.
Wolf slides down into a seated position against the opposite wall, then turns his face away from the proffered meat. “I don’t need to be fed. I’ll get my own meal when I’m hungry.”
Red shrugs. “Suit yourself, but we don’t have regular mealtimes around here so you better eat when and where you can.”
Jack accepts some from her. “She’s not wrong, Wolf. If you’re really going to go hunting, you’ll want to do that sooner rather than later.”
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Red narrows her eyes at Wolf, then stands abruptly. “Final answer, Wolf, are you going to go out and eat before we turn in for the night?” Wolf turns his nose up, not looking or responding. “Suit yourself.” She leans back down and grabs the food bag, then gestures for Jack to grab the ammo. Jack sighs, then follows. The two hop out of the car. Wolf finally turns to look as the door begins to slide. The metal slams closed where Red drops a locking bar into place.
“Hey!” Wolf calls, as he begins scratching at the door. “What’s the meaning of this?” He pounds on the door and continues to holler as Jack looks down at Red.
“Was that really necessary?” Jack asks.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know he ate some old lady earlier today. He also pissed all over my firewood, then played dumb when I asked about it. If he wants to test the extent of his leash and what he can get away with, that’s fine, but he’s not going to be doing it while I’m sleeping. He should’ve eaten something when we gave him the chance.”
“He really pissed on the firewood?” The two of them walk to the next car, then look back as Wolf starts to howl.
“Yeah, and I’m not listening to that all night.” She continues leading them down the tracks, passing two more cars before opening another door.
“I get what you’re saying.” Jack heaves the two bags into the car, then climbs up to pull Red inside. “But, if you want him to trust you, you’ve got to start trusting him at some point too.”
“You know what happens to your Little Red Riding Hood, Jack? He eats her. You can call me paranoid and say that I have trust issues but one thing you can’t accuse me of is being a fool.” She pauses, them both hearing Wolf’s faint howls in the background, then gestures that direction. “That would be a gamble. We don’t gamble Jack, not when our lives are at stake.”
“You’re right.” He watches as she grabs hold of a piece of bread with her teeth, then pulls ammo and magazines from the bag. “If you want to toss me a few magazines, I can help with that.”
Her eyes glance up at him as she reaches to take hold of the bread. “Now Jack, you can’t go asking a lady to refill her mags. That’s an incredibly intimate thing and you should know better.”
Jack snorts. “Right. I apologize for the grave offense, milady.”
“I appreciate it, but I got it. It helps me think.” She bites the bread again returns to her task.