Two days crept by. Nature had turned against Kismet and had used its worse tactics on the boy. Kismet struggled through overgrown vines, tumbled down rocky hills, swam through mosquito infested ponds, and scrambled up trees from black bears. Rain, fog, and the sun’s stinging heat thundered against his weakening frame, driving him to the point of insanity. On the second day, when the sun was a bold red, Kismet pulled himself out of a deer’s abandoned thicket, and dragged himself to the nearby stream. He dropped his full face into the cool water and allowed the flowing water to soothe his worn face.
I must be getting somewhere. I ain’t lost. I’m gonna find—oh, why am I so hungry? Kismet clutched his sunken belly and turned over onto his back. His forehead crinkled in discomfort and he tried to think of something nice back home, but all he could remember was Mrs. Simmons’s stone face. He closed his eyes, hoping to rid of the memory, but it was just as vivid as when he had first seen her. As he lay there, with one hand in the water, and the warm sun tinting his face, a cold wave of water splashed all over his chest and face. Kismet flailed into the sitting position, sputtering and coughing. Praying it wasn’t a wild animal Kismet grabbed a nearby stone and hurled it behind him without looking. Once he steadied himself into a prepared position, he made eyes with his attacker.
“Banner?” Kismet mouthed. He lowered his rock and sat down in disbelief. He couldn’t laugh, or cry. He was stunned. He had believed he was the only one left. And there, just as ragged and torn as him, was one of his closest friends.
“Kismet?” Banner whimpered, standing up in the stream. He dropped his stick and propelled himself onto Kismet. The two of them struck the ground and the only sound heard that morning was the joyful laughter of Banner. “I thought you dead! But you ain’t!” Banner ruffled Kismet’s hair and gave him a tight embrace. “You as alive as ever!” Banner wiped away his tears and punched his friend in the shoulder playfully. “You find Prestige?”
Having only read the word “Prestige”, Kismet at last responded. “No…you?”
Banner shook his head. “I’ve been running.” The boy wiggled two fingers over his palm and thumbed over his shoulder at the direction he had come from.
“From who?”
Kismet’s friend raised both his index fingers to his mouth and curved them. His brows frowned and he made a hissing sound.
“Snake?” Kismet guessed.
“No.” Banner made fists of his hands and placed them on top of his head like ears. He puffed out his cheeks and held his breath.
“Bear?”
Banner broke out into a smile and nodded his head. “Yessir! Scary fellas, too! You hungry?” Banner made spooning motions to his lips.
“Yes!” Kismet declared, rubbing his stomach. “A lot.”
Banner threw his hands into his overall pockets and pulled out half a piece of bread and a cracked head. He passed them over to Kismet. “The egg is fresh. Bread soggy, though.”
Kismet crammed the piece of bread into his mouth and cracked the egg open. The gooey innards spilled out onto the front of his shirt, but he didn’t care. He sucked it up and licked the shells’ insides clean. He winked at Banner in gratitude.
“Much obliged to do it for ya!” Banner clapped Kismet on the shoulder and stood up. “Where you heading?” Banner pointed in all four directions and shrugged.
“I’m looking for Shirley and Jovie.”
“Oh. What about Prestige?”
Kismet stood up and swung an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “I ain’t worrying over Prestige, he’ll find me.”
YOU ARE READING
The Wolf's Boy
KalandKismet and Prestige are just as unusual as their names. Though one is a boy and the other a wolf, they both desire the same thing: love. Through the years, their friendship grows and they become inseparable. But when their town is hit by a natural...
