Page 33 of Wild in the Woods
She waited until he turned his back and slid one chocolate bar into the thigh pocket of her hiking pants. Feeling smug, she turned toward the kitchen.
“You know that I can smell that, right? Take it out of your pocket.”
Damn.
She put it inside the backpack and zipped it closed to keep it away from the dog, then followed him.
“We’re going to spend the day and night here today and head out before sunrise tomorrow. Open that foil packet so we can go through it and get going.”
Opening the packet, she listened intently as he explained what each item was. There was a small packet of fishing line and one hook. More waterproof matches. A flint and some cotton for starting fire. A small utility knife, a tin cup. And a loop of paracord. She added the compass and extra matches and hooks he said she could keep. He explained that the packet turned into an emergency blanket once opened completely, then showed her how to refold it.
Once closed, the foil packet fit in the thigh pocket of her pants.
Fox put Osprey in a large dog crate in the living room and walked to the door. “Let’s go.”
They walked outside as colors began seeping through the trees as the sun slowly rose in the sky. There was a soft tinkling sound in the air. She thought she’d heard it the other day when she was here but had brushed it off as the leaves fluttering in the breeze. Fox grabbed a battered canvas backpack from the porch and walked down the steps and around the back of the cabin. They went a few yards and the lawn turned into forest. A gravel path led them through the trees. The only sounds were the crunch of their boots on the gravel, the dog panting, the backdrop of birds singing.
The trees gave way shallow bank before a wide stream. The water smelled crisp and fresh. Lulu inhaled, and then inhaled again, positive she never smelled anything quite so delightful.
"Do you know what riverfront property goes for in Chicago?"
“This is a stream, not a river.”
“Still, this would be worth a fortune in the city.”
He scoffed. "That's one place you’ll never catch me."
They walked the bank of the stream until they reached a strip of ground that had turned to mud in last night's rain. He got down on his knees in the wet earth and pulled a small shovel from his bag.
"Do you like fish?"
"Yes. There's a restaurant downtown that makes incredible salmon.”
“I’m talking fresh from the cold, mountain stream kind of fish? The kind you have to gut and cook yourself.”
Her stomach flipped. She swallowed a lump in her throat.
“I’ve had a lobster right out of the tank, but I didn’t have gutorcook it."
“Oh boy.”
Fox dug in the dirt with the palm-sized shovel and plopped a giant scoop of earth at her feet. It was full of slowly moving worms.
"Take out your survival pouch and get the fishing line and hook.”
She did as he asked and then stared at him in disgust as he pulled a worm from the dirt and handed it to her.
"What do I do with it?" The words were raspy thanks to the bile in her throat. She realized she’d made no attempt to take it from him but couldn’t bring herself to do so.
Fox grabbed her hand and flipped it over, deposited the squirming, dirt covered worm in her hand.
“Well, you can eat it, or you let the fish eat it. I guess it all depends on what you’d rather have for breakfast.”
Chapter Thirteen
Foxmoveddownstreamtothe remains of a tree which had fallen and partially landed over the water.
Lulu followed stiffly, so very aware of the worm in her hand.
