10) Snack Run

Blue made it onto the back porch before she squatted, Wilyna stood guard over her pup until she finished then trotted out into the garden, gave me a glace, and then disappeared behind the garage.

I guess I’m babysitting then. After holding the door open for the two pups, I left them to wander around the house while I got to work.

First, there was mopping up the puddle in the kitchen. That was from Chubby I was guessing, but at least he got it on the tile. I rinsed the mop off and set it on the back porch to dry. Then I considered my options.

My last two eggs went into the frying pan with the last of the cheese. After that, I put in enough fake butter to cook up an entire diced up onion. One of the four I had left.

Onions last nearly forever in the fridge, and they’re cheap.

The last four little yellow potatoes went into the microwave to dice up and brown in a pan, and then, I was pretty much out of food.

There was some low salt, no sugar added tomato paste in a can, and some other odds and ends, but nothing that could be put together to make a meal.

A scratch at the back door let me know the smell of cooking food had brought the largest of my moochers back home.

I split what was in the pan and the eggs while Wilyna stared intently at me and Chubby whined. But, “You’re still nursing, talk to your mom.”

He did get my plate after I ate since Wiyna had licked hers clean, but I scrapped it off pretty good and let Blue get the fork to lick.

I had to get to the store. Today. Pretty much now.

The Lashers seemed more active at night, and out in greater numbers, so I had to get out now and get back before dark.

First good night's sleep I'd had in a decade or so, and it felt like I had wasted the morning.

I rounded up the putter and my spray bottle before I headed out. With a coyote and two pups trotting along with me. I tried to wave them off, but Wilyna just huffed at me. “No, you have to stay. Watch the house.”

They ignored me.

At the alleyway where I had killed the Lasher yesterday, I checked what was left of my luggage, more to mourn the money I had spent on it than out of any hope I could salvage it. "Not enough duct tape in the world," I told Blue.

What was left of the Lasher was lying near the wreckage, something had torn it open and pulled a lot of its innards out, but it didn't look like any of it had been eaten.

There weren't even any flies buzzing around, or a smell of it rotting, at worst it just looked dried up.

“Looks like even bacteria don’t want to eat something like you.” So it wasn’t just me that felt like the thing was just too unnatural to tolerate.

When I had been lying here in pain the day before, I had spotted a rusty shopping cart from a defunct grocery mart a bit further down the alley. Giving it a tug to free it from some weeds and pushing it a bit down the alley proved it to still be in working order.

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“I can’t take it on the bus, but it can hold my groceries on the way back.” Two of the furry Tagalongs looked up as I talked, the other one just sniffed at the cart.

Why am I talking to coyotes?

I picked some trash out of the cart as I headed towards the bus stop. When the pups grew tired from the walk I lifted them and put them in the cart. Chubby reared up to put his face up above the rim to watch the world go by, while his sister just curled up and tried to get comfortable.

Stashing the cart behind a nearby boarded up building, I pulled the two of them out, and their mom stayed back with them as I headed to the bus stop.

Although she kept an eye on me by peeking around the back corner of the old mechanic’s garage every now and then.

I was surprised when the bus pulled up as I realized I should have checked or called to make sure it was still in service with everything that was going on, especially in this area.

Bob, as normal, didn't say anything as I got on the bus. He just opened the door, closed it behind me, and started driving. Bob is a great bus driver.

I wordlessly gave him twenty bucks every Christmas time, he takes it just as quietly. Great guy.

The closest grocery store is all off brand stuff or name brand that's near its expiration date and already pulled from shelves in any store you’ve ever heard of.

But it wasn’t like I could afford anything better. Not if I want to keep the lights on and my internet connected.

At the store I filled up one of the mismatched carts, going for stuff that will last in case it's a while before I can get back here. Or if the power goes out.

Canned goods, eggs I can boil, crackers, whole wheat flour and yeast, dog food… Will coyotes even eat that? Is it even healthy for them?

Cheap hot dogs as well then, the stuff that’s mostly chicken. It’s not like I can bring all that much dog food on a bus anyways.

The cart started to get full, I stopped and thought, then continued to fill it. I even put it in the plastic bags they sell rather than grab some of the boxes they set out in front for free.

When the bus home comes by, it’s Mary driving. “Whoa there old guy, that’s a lot for you.”

I don't like Mary, she's young...ish. And she likes to talk. I held up my hand to shut her up for a moment.

“Listen Mary, I’m a bit too close to one of those Dungeon things so I’m getting ready to hole up for a while. Help me load this up on the bus, and then off into a shopping cart I stashed back at my stop, and I’ll give you twenty bucks.”

Mary only gets a five at Christmas.

She started to protest that she would help me for free, but I just held out a bag full of boxes of crackers until she started helping me.

Regular processed white flour crackers.

My blood sugar had been in the safe range the night before even after dinner, and this morning after eating. Asking for another shadow image and a list of my conditions had showed that my pancreas was still shot, but it felt like I was burning through what sugar I was getting from food by constantly channeling warmth into my old bones.

At least well enough I had to cut the insulin shot in half that morning after my normal shot the night before had left me feeling I was going to pass out. It had been so bad I had dug out a handful of hard candies that had been sitting around long enough to get all sticky inside their wrappers.

I could eat like a normal person again, and I might not need to go get more Redd’smart, god bless them, no prescription affordable insulin anymore as long as I kept finding things to channel Life into.

If that little Dryad was really on my side, well, there were plenty more trees in the neighborhood I could top off.

Rise my arboreal army. Rise.

I was sure that wouldn’t work, nothing ever did for me, but hoping and planning to raise an army of tree spirits cost nothing.

Mary kept up some chatter at me and the few other people on the bus all the way to my stop, talking about her plans and warning us that there was talk of shutting down the bus lines to this area starting the next day.

Well, that's useful information for once Mary, there may be a ten for you next Christmas.

She waited in the bus while I fetched my yellow shopping cart rather than just piling my stuff on the pavement or worse, driving off with it, but she stared at me in shock as I walked back.

“Are those coyotes? Oh my god, they’re cute, can I pet them?”

I looked down at the mom, she wagged her tail a bit.

“Just the one with only one eye, and the mom, the other one is skittish.”

I snagged Blue off the ground with a groan as I straightened up and handed her off to Mary who began to snuggle the pup up under her chin and make baby noises at her. Blue gave me a betrayed look.

A young guy from the bus began carrying out my stuff. “I’m helping so we can get going already, some of us got places to be. You’re welcome.”

I nodded at him. “I’ll take the help.”

I snagged Chubby and tossed him into the top of the cart where he began sniffing at my food as I took Blue back from Mary, “Thanks, but you should get going, Mr. Helper is in a hurry."

She gave me a wave as she pulled away, and I cut open a packet of cheap hot dogs to give Chubby something to do before he began tearing open anything else. Blue got one as well and Wilyna had a total of three on the way home torn up into pieces small enough that she wouldn’t choke on them as I tossed the bits at her to let her snatch them out of the air.

Then the Lasher came up over the top of the cart at me, leading with its open mouth full of sharp teeth.