The Girl With the Icy Hair

6

As the sun was beginning to sink beyond the horizon, Aura threw herself down on a log to rest. She had walked tirelessly for most of the day, only beginning to slow when the fading sunlight turned the dried grasses a fiery shade of orange. The first few pinpricks of starlight were beginning to appear. Emmerson, who was panting heavily, flopped down beside the log. Pulling out the peanut jar, Aura began crunching loudly. She was quite tired after all they'd done. It had seemed like every five minutes they were fighting brambles, checking the map, or stopping for water. They'd even come across a rather large road surrounded by wheat fields on either side. Aura had discovered, after consulting the map again, that it was highway 90. 

"If I'm right, then we're almost there," she'd said to Emmerson who had been resting on an unplanted edge of the field. "I bet we'll be there tomorrow. Come on, now, we have to keep moving." Emmerson slowly lifted himself to his paws to follow, and looked as if he were about to collapse, but kept pace with Aura. They'd followed the highway just until the reached the next tree line; Aura didn't like to be out in the open. Now, she could tell that they wouldn't make any more progress today. 

Emmerson looked like death warmed over him, and other than when he would shift positions every now and then he was utterly still. I can't say I'm much better off, she thought to herself. But we're so close I can almost taste it.

As the last sunlight of the day was fading, a rather large gale blew chilling her to the bone. All the trees seemed to shudder, their leaves twisting and mangling each other. The noise of clattering branches was deafening. Emmerson lifted his head suddenly and stared across the small clearing where they'd stopped. A deep growl rose in his throat, and a large fox, its hair the color of flames, appeared from out of the tall grass. Aura immediately stood up, trying to make herself look bigger. Emmerson was on his paws now too, yet still looking bone tired. 

The fox crept forward towards them, obviously seeing how exhausted they were. Just as it looked like it was about to leave the clearing, the fox swerved and headed for the backpack. Realizing that it was going for her food, Aura dove for the bag, grabbing it just ahead of the fox. The creature snarled and bared its sparkling, white teeth. The fox crouched down, preparing to launch its attack, when Emmerson slammed into it from the side. The fox quickly recovered and snarled angrily at him, and reared up on its hind legs to attack.

Aura watched as the fox realized his opponent wasn't getting back up and halted his attack. Just as he put his front paws back on the ground, Emmerson popped up and sank his long white teeth into the fox's scruff. The fox let out a terrific yelp, and Emmerson launched the fox into the trunk of a nearby tree. The animal made a horrid crunching sound and then did not move. Emmerson licked his lips, trotted over to collect his prize, and dropped it at Aura's feet.

"What do you want me to do with this mess?" The dog just stared back at her in reply. He licked his lips again. "So you're hungry, huh? Well, the least I can do is prepare your meal. You did just save mine." Aura pulled out the pocketknife from the bag, went well away from the campsite, and began to skin the carcass. When she was done, she carried back the pelt and the meat. Setting down her pickings, she collected small bits of wood, and dried grasses. Taking two longer pieces, she carved a hole in the middle of one, and filed an end of the other piece to a point. Soon, her pile of kindling was ablaze, and bits of the fox were cooking. The scent wreathed around her and made her mouth water. The flicker of firelight cast eerie shadows on the surrounding trees. Light played on each leaf and twig. 

"Here you go, Emmerson," Aura said as she handed a large chunk of cooked meat to the dog. When they'd finished their charred meal, Aura added more wood to the fire. Lying down in the long grass with Emmerson curled up beside her, she cast her gaze upon the stars. There are so many stars up there, Aura remarked to herself. I wonder if they know why I was chosen. A few short moments later, Aura was fast asleep, still facing the stars. The starlight filtered through the trees and engulfed her soft face in light. The blue patch on her right palm became phosphorescent, and then slowly faded out again.