A wolf howls in the distance. Her steps hurried, she moves faster and deeper into the woods. She picks up a steady jog, already dreaming of her nightly supper. She can almost taste the green tea and rye crackers.
The groceries will have to wait. Tomorrow she’ll make another trip. The shop deeper in the village and by the brook hasn’t been cleaned out yet, or at least she’s never heard or sensed anyone walking down there.
What will happen after she’s cleaned out this last source of nutrition? In the dead of winter, alone in the woods? Will she start farming? In one of the abandoned greenhouses by the suburbs? Endless images of dead and dying houseplants flash through her mind. Nope, farming’s not an option. Starving to death might be.
The distribution center run by the Unchipped community is not an option either. The group of fifty or sixty outcasts have taken over the center, controlling who gets what and for what price.
For Kaarina to do business with them, she’d need to bring animal meat. She would have to kill one of her companions. The Unchipped know she protects the animals. Luckily the animals around the barn are smart enough to flee the scene whenever a stranger approaches. It’s like they know what the outcasts are there for.
Until now, Kaarina’s been able to find some canned and dry goods, nuts, seeds, dry beans, and crisp breads from smaller shops located further away from the Unchipped community. The selection was poor from the get-go, but now it’s starting to wither away to nothing.
Another howl echoes through the forest, interrupting her hungry thoughts. Her jog turns into a full run. Because of her soaking wet socks, her freezing feet have started to send cool shivers through her body. It’ll take hours to get warm. She’ll need to turn on the small space heater tonight, get snug inside a doubled-up sleeping bag.
Then something else reaches her ears. The sound echoes through the woods, stops her in her tracks. Out of breath, shivering with cold, she freezes to listen. Has she imagined it?
There it is again. A horse—whinnying in distress. She can’t see the barnyard but she already knows who it is. There’s no other option. Any other horse would run away from a stressful situation. Rocky wouldn’t, he can’t. He’s too weak.
She takes off running. What has upset Rocky badly enough for him to cry for help like this? Has the barn roof collapsed? A wolf wandered too close? Usually they stay away, focusing on deer or badgers or raccoon dogs.
Her ripped shoe gets stuck in the mud, slips off, and lands on the path. Not stopping to pick it up, Kaarina sprints toward the dimly lit barnyard. Against her usual habit, she’s left the light on so Rocky can rest in one of the bedded stalls downstairs.
A dozen shadows dance wildly under the dim outdoor light. The barn doors are wide open, the other sliding door hanging off its hinges. Rocky rears on his hind legs, kicks with his front. All around him people dodge his hooves–some holding knives, some syringes.
“Hey! HEY!”
The Unchipped stop their dance and turn toward Kaarina’s fierce voice. Twenty strides and she’s at the barnyard. Barging through the crowd, she races straight to Rocky and places herself between the foaming horse and their uninvited guests.
There are ten of them, maybe more standing guard in the shadows. Restrained hostility lingering on every face, they loom still and stare at Kaarina and the horse. Heart pounding out of her chest, she searches the crowd for a leader. A man three times her size steps forward.
“Good evening, Kid. You’re home late this evening.” He cocks his head, eyes narrowed and fixed on hers. A low grunt reaches Kaarina’s ears. A new Unchipped leader, one that Kaarina hasn’t met before. He seems too young to lead a wild crowd like that. Kaarina estimates he’s in his late twenties.
His face is marked by several cuts and bruises. His wide frame rises in front of her, sturdy and indestructible as a mountain. Like the leader before him, the man looks confident, strong—and wary. But there is something different about him. Something about his face. His eyes.
Sadness.
Kaarina forces herself to stand her ground, refuses to take a step back. Rocky snorts behind her, his muzzle poking the pharmacy bag Kaarina’s holding.
“Why the hell didn’t you stash those pills, Kay? Hide them, quick. This Yeti is not here to play house or exchange greetings.”
Careful not to speak to Bill out loud, Kaarina answers him inside her head. What do I do, Bill? What the hell do I do?
“Just relax, he’s here for the horse, not you.”
For the love of god, Bill!
“Okay, okay. Just answer him. Talk your way out of this. You just scored a bagful of meds for a five-minute talk with a guy you’ve never met. Not even a private escort gets paid that well.”
Her mouth opens but no words come out. She’s too terrified to talk. The memory of the Unchipped leader’s knife digging into her face flashes through her mind. With a slightly amused look on his face, the Yeti cocks his head, waiting. She presses her lips together, opens her mouth to try again. Nothing.
“Jesus on a bike, Kay! You look like a blow-up doll.”
“Not in a chatty mood, then.” The Yeti’s low voice rumbles. “Well, we’re heading back to the center after our little shopping trip. It seems like we’ve completely missed all food supply at your neck of woods. The store by the brook had some good stuff left on its shelves.”
The Yeti nods at a slim,
