In his valley he had been free in ways that were unimaginable. And yet in some ways he was a child. He had no knowledge of anything that he knew now. Innocence once lost can’t be regained and he wondered if he would ever see his valley again. He wondered if he really wanted to.
The sun had set in the west and the light of dusk was slipping from the world. Aceso slowed down but she still drove hard for the north. He followed in her wake as closely as possible but even that precaution was not enough to stem his fears of injury. Seeing the ground was getting harder and the rocks and crevices were not getting any less sharp.
Aceso slowed down to a trot and he was grateful for that. She looked back at him and he nodded toward her. She turned back around and kept moving. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday even though he had drunk some water this morning. His stomach was beginning to feel past empty and it rumbled. He rubbed at his abdomen and ignored the feeling of hunger. He had gone without food some much since he left his valley the almost constant feeling of hunger was beginning to feel normal. He just ignored it. He would eat when he ate and there was nothing he could do about that except wait.
Aceso stopped inside a sharp crevice and turned around to watch him. He followed her in the enclosed space. There was not a lot of space to move around but the rocks provided an overhang that would protect them from their old friend, the eyes in the sky, the Blackhawk helicopter.
He lay down and pushed himself as far under the overhang as he could. He pulled one of the pieces of denim out of his pants and rested his head on the fabric as a makeshift pillow. Aceso shielded him further from sight by lying down and pressing her body up next to him. Once she had, he couldn’t see the sky at all. He would miss the stars but he was warm and protected. Aceso gave off heat like a radiator and even though the rock was quickly cooling around him most of his body was off of the cool surface and the body heat of Aceso was more than enough to compensate for the heat loss. It didn’t take long for his eyes to close. The combination of her warm body and her earthy scent was enough to comfort him. The last thought he had was that this was another mark that would have to be repaid.
He awoke the next morning to find that Aceso was gone. He pushed himself free of the overhang and stood up. The frigid rock was cold and he wanted to warm himself as soon as possible. The sun hadn’t risen over the mountains yet though the sky was a light blue in preparation for the suns return. He stretched and rubbed at himself. The chill of the rocks would not leave his skin and he shivered as he tried to get his own body heat working. He trotted up and out of the crevice. He raised his knees high with every step in an attempt to generate more heat. He looked north at the mountain. It was bigger than it was yesterday. He wondered what was waiting for him on that strange snow-covered mountain. They might reach the base of the mountain by today. There was a lot of flat ground to cover to get there but at the speeds that they were capable of traveling they could make some cars jealous. If that car happened to be a car that had four doors, four cylinders, and was towing a massive trailer, maybe.
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He shook his head and smiled. He knew that boast had been ridiculous and the reality of what he had just imagined knocked him upside the head and he couldn’t help but laugh at himself. He must be going crazy.
As he gazed at the huge mountain to the north, he felt Aceso walk up next to him. He had felt her from a few feet away without hearing her or seeing her. He wondered if that was another side effect of his being part of her pack. Were the two of them able to find each other now that she was his alpha? How far away could they feel each other? These thoughts intrigued him but before he could question her at all she started running.
Before long the sun broke over the mountains and flooded the world in warm yellow rays. They ran out of the mountains and through the northern foothills. The stone melted into grass and he found that running downhill was a lot easier than running along the mountains.
After some time Aceso led him to a river. It was small but she was able to jump in and grab three good sized fish. He washed the food and cooked it over the fire he had prepared. They ate their breakfast and erased the signs of their passing. He relieved himself behind some bushes and Aceso disappeared for a few minutes. He understood that she was doing the same thing he was. He cleaned himself off in the frigid water of the river and before he got out Aceso was waiting for him. He jumped out of the water and rubbing his legs dry he put back on his pants and ran after his guide.
The grass covered foothills they were now running on were soft under his feet. The gentle rolling hills gave them no protection whatsoever from inquisitive eyes. They stayed in the dips of the hills even though they could hear the nearby traffic of civilization they stayed well away from it and remained hidden.
The hills were covered with grazing cows and horses. He had to keep his eyes on the ground; he no longer had to worry about rocks slashing his feet. Now he had to worry about other more disgusting and smelly obstacles.
The sun was almost directly overhead and he wondered how much farther they could travel in one day. The mountain was looming ever higher in his field of vision. He knew that they couldn’t reach the mountain today. There were towns and other signs of people that they had to avoid.
The hills were becoming shallower. There was a sharp decrease in the amount of cover they had to hide themselves with. Aceso turned to the east and ran along the base of a hill. He followed her. Soon the faint sounds of traffic disappeared altogether and there was an eerie quiet that settled around them.