Read Online Hunger and Thirst by Wayne Wightman - Free Book Online
Authors: Wayne Wightman
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your own.”
“I'll do whatever you want! I'll be your slave, anything, the rest of your life! I'll live outside like a dog!” She dropped to her knees. “Just don't leave me out here to die!” she bawled at him.
“Stand up.”
“Just kill me here.... Kill me now....”
Jack wondered what Natalie would do. Probably break her neck and walk away.
“What's your name?” Jack asked. He had to repeat the question several times, and louder, to get her to hear.
“Brigit,” she finally said.
“Brigit, if you get up and walk, I'll walk with you a while. If you don't get up, I'll knock your brains out with this and leave you here for animals.”
She slowly got to her feet. She boo-hooed shamelessly, pathetically, but she began walking, arms limp at her sides and her head thrown back. Jack asked her a few questions — how old was she, where had she been — but all she said was variations on
“You're making me die! I'm gonna die out here and you don't even care!”
Jack did care. He didn't want to do this, but he couldn't see an alternative.
He let her pull gradually further ahead. Finally, her cries were almost inaudible, their louder moments mixing with the occasional far-away bark or howl of other animals.
She became indistinct and then vanished in the moonlit darkness. Jack scanned the desert. He thought he might be seeing the eerie beauty that Natalie saw. The desert was the color of blue ashes.
....
Sun on his face, Jack stood out in the scrub, hands in his pockets, gazing at the snowy mountains. The snowpack had reached its maximum and was probably starting to thin. From nowhere, out of silence, Natalie's arms slipped under his and clasped him to her.
“You look at the mountains a lot.”
“I think about Artie. I miss him. Sometimes I think he might have gone on without me. He's probably dead. He walked with me through rain and mud and desert all the way from Colorado. And he took shorter steps than I did. He even swam part of the way when our boat fell apart and went under on some no-name river. I miss him.”
“Maybe we could find another.”
“What friends I've had I can count on one hand, and I'm counting Artie. Most of my friends had four legs.”
“I suspect he stayed with you because you fed him. The only reason he didn't eat you is because you're bigger.”
“I gave him permission to eat me.”
“He could have stayed here with you, but Artie is a predator with certain necessities. He has to see to those.”
“He offered to feed me when he didn't have to. He brought me rats he'd killed. A couple of times it was the only thing I'd had to eat in days. He didn't have to do that.”
“Perhaps he was full. He fed you, kept you alive, and you protected him. Friendship doesn't fit all that well into the mechanics of survival. In the mouth of every living thing you find the remains of the dead. Sometimes one even has had affection for what's on one's plate. Some of the rabbits are very sweet.”
“Right up to the moment you break their necks. Everything is eaten and nothing goes to waste. It's a terrific system, but still miss Artie. Could you ask your bones if he's still around?”
She looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I already did. I got the equivalent of 'No comment.'”
“He was a friend.” Jack pulled back enough to look into her face. “You tell me you're the queen predator of this place. Do you love me as much as you say, or am I a necessity?”
“I love you so much you feel like a necessity. I don't want to think about going on without you, but don't hold it against me for being a part of the way the world goes. Kiss me. Let's go in.”
He kissed her.
“I'll be in in a few minutes. I want to think about Artie a little more.”
“Don't be long.” She left him with a lingering drag of her hand across his shoulders.
Jack kicked at the dirt and looked again at the mountains. Although it didn't show, he was thinking, the snowpack had probably started to
“I'll do whatever you want! I'll be your slave, anything, the rest of your life! I'll live outside like a dog!” She dropped to her knees. “Just don't leave me out here to die!” she bawled at him.
“Stand up.”
“Just kill me here.... Kill me now....”
Jack wondered what Natalie would do. Probably break her neck and walk away.
“What's your name?” Jack asked. He had to repeat the question several times, and louder, to get her to hear.
“Brigit,” she finally said.
“Brigit, if you get up and walk, I'll walk with you a while. If you don't get up, I'll knock your brains out with this and leave you here for animals.”
She slowly got to her feet. She boo-hooed shamelessly, pathetically, but she began walking, arms limp at her sides and her head thrown back. Jack asked her a few questions — how old was she, where had she been — but all she said was variations on
“You're making me die! I'm gonna die out here and you don't even care!”
Jack did care. He didn't want to do this, but he couldn't see an alternative.
He let her pull gradually further ahead. Finally, her cries were almost inaudible, their louder moments mixing with the occasional far-away bark or howl of other animals.
She became indistinct and then vanished in the moonlit darkness. Jack scanned the desert. He thought he might be seeing the eerie beauty that Natalie saw. The desert was the color of blue ashes.
....
Sun on his face, Jack stood out in the scrub, hands in his pockets, gazing at the snowy mountains. The snowpack had reached its maximum and was probably starting to thin. From nowhere, out of silence, Natalie's arms slipped under his and clasped him to her.
“You look at the mountains a lot.”
“I think about Artie. I miss him. Sometimes I think he might have gone on without me. He's probably dead. He walked with me through rain and mud and desert all the way from Colorado. And he took shorter steps than I did. He even swam part of the way when our boat fell apart and went under on some no-name river. I miss him.”
“Maybe we could find another.”
“What friends I've had I can count on one hand, and I'm counting Artie. Most of my friends had four legs.”
“I suspect he stayed with you because you fed him. The only reason he didn't eat you is because you're bigger.”
“I gave him permission to eat me.”
“He could have stayed here with you, but Artie is a predator with certain necessities. He has to see to those.”
“He offered to feed me when he didn't have to. He brought me rats he'd killed. A couple of times it was the only thing I'd had to eat in days. He didn't have to do that.”
“Perhaps he was full. He fed you, kept you alive, and you protected him. Friendship doesn't fit all that well into the mechanics of survival. In the mouth of every living thing you find the remains of the dead. Sometimes one even has had affection for what's on one's plate. Some of the rabbits are very sweet.”
“Right up to the moment you break their necks. Everything is eaten and nothing goes to waste. It's a terrific system, but still miss Artie. Could you ask your bones if he's still around?”
She looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I already did. I got the equivalent of 'No comment.'”
“He was a friend.” Jack pulled back enough to look into her face. “You tell me you're the queen predator of this place. Do you love me as much as you say, or am I a necessity?”
“I love you so much you feel like a necessity. I don't want to think about going on without you, but don't hold it against me for being a part of the way the world goes. Kiss me. Let's go in.”
He kissed her.
“I'll be in in a few minutes. I want to think about Artie a little more.”
“Don't be long.” She left him with a lingering drag of her hand across his shoulders.
Jack kicked at the dirt and looked again at the mountains. Although it didn't show, he was thinking, the snowpack had probably started to
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