15

                                    

                                          
I drew some of the main characters eyes. Enjoy.
                          
Sarah gasped loudly. "YOU'RE HIS MO-"
                          
I put my paw over her mouth. "Quiet! You are so loud!"
                          
"Sorry." She mumbled underneath my paw. I pulled it away so she could breathe.
                          
"I was his mother," The coyote said, "but not anymore. I revoked that privilege when I left him in the desert to die." She did her best to keep her voice even, but she choked on the last word and began sobbing.
                          
Sarah and I watched awkwardly. She stretched out a paw and patted the coyote's back. "Um, there there."
                          
She snapped at Sarah's touch, her green eyes glaring wildly. Sarah jumped behind me, whining a quick apology. 
                          
"Don't touch me!" She growled between long teeth.
                          
I gulped. If this coyote was really my mother, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know her.
                          
"Sorry. She does that." I said quietly.
                          
The coyote let her lips relax and hackles smooth. She realized her mistake once she calmed down.
                          
"Oh. Forgive my emotions. I . . . I'm not allowed to be touched. Or talked to."
                          
"Why not?" I asked just as quietly.
                          
"I . . . I'm nothing. I'm nothing but a slave now." She grumbled. When she looked down at her paws, her neck fur stuck up in dirty, matted clumps. "I shouldn't be talking to you. I'm sorry. Forget what I've said."
                          
She tried to scuttle away, but I blocked her. "Wait! Hold on!"
                          
She looked up at me. "Mi hijo, leave me!" She darted down a side tunnel, slithering into the darkness.
                          
"Wait!" I yipped, going after her.
                          
Sarah called out to me, but I wasn't worried about her right then. I was worried about the truth.
                          
After twenty strides, I couldn't see a thing, but it didn't matter. The scraping sandstone and soft panting led the way. As she turned right, my hide scraped against the wall. When she made a left, I smashed face-first into stone.
                          
I cursed and shook my head. After listening for a moment, I heard movement to my left and Sarah yelling behind me. I headed left.
                          
A dozen other turns and bruises later I could tell the coyote was getting tired. Her breaths were thick, like the air around us, and her scent was stronger. It filled the cave like a summer thundercloud filled the sky.
                          
"Wait! Hold up! I-I'll forgive you if you stop!" I barked.
                          
The coyote stopped abruptly and I nearly ran into her bony hide. "Oh, sorry," I muttered, taking two steps back.
                          
"Astor! Astor, wait for-" Sarah slid down the cave and thumped into my back. I growled as a friendly reminder to get off.
                          
"You . . . forgive . . . me?" The darkness said between raspy breaths. "No. No one could ever forgive me for what I did."
                          
I took a deep breath. "I'll forgive you if you tell me what happened. Are you my mom? My real mom?"
                          
It was quiet, then she answered. "Yes. But I don't deserve to be your mom. I . . . I gave you up a long time ago. I didn't think you would survive. How are you alive?"
                          
I let out a small laugh. "I ask myself that question all the time."
                          
"Where have you been?" She asked.
                          
"I've been with the Piedra tribe mostly, but these last few days have been pretty crazy. A shape shifter impersonated our leader and took over the tribe. He exiled me and I found Saguaro."