Eyeseffendee

16

I didn't draw the picture at the top, I found it on Pinterest, but this is Kind of how I imagine Sarah looks. And it's such a beautiful illustration 😍😍😍

The sand was muddy and the sky was gray, but we couldn't waste anymore time. We ran, even through our pelts were stained red and the rain wouldn't give up.

I glanced to my left as we passed the cliffs where Sarah and I thought the Guerro were. I could see the opening to the cave and the slot canyon next to it. The thought of those ugly white creatures still made my fur crawl . . . I could still feel their ragged claws and hear their horrible voices. What were those creatures?

I'd have to ask Sarah later when we weren't running. I could barely breathe in the rain and mud, let alone speak understandable words. Sarah wasn't doing very well either.

She was panting heavily and lagging behind the pack. Her strides were clumsy and slow, causing her to trip in the mud. She tumbled into the ground face first, splashing water all over herself.

"Sarah!" I yipped, turning around.

She was covered to her ears in red silt. I grabbed her scruff and pulled her up.

She coughed. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"You are not fine. But you've got to keep up." I said, setting her on solid ground. "Run with your shoulders and your thighs, not your ankles."

"I can run how I want to, thank you very much." Sarah sneered.

I looked her in the eyes. "Not if you want to get to the Piedra tribe anytime soon. Now get up and run the way I told you too."

She did as I asked with lots of muttering and mimicking. "You're grumpy today, aren't you?" She yelled over the rain.

"I'm always grumpy." I yelled back.

We ran until Sarah and I couldn't go anymore. I was used to running, but even I had a hard time keeping up. I was secretly expecting the Guerro to be out of shape, but they were fast and strong. As for Sarah . . . I'll just say she wasn't good at exercise.

"Verde, can we stop soon?" I asked. He was trotting at a leisurely pace behind me.

"If you find shelter, we will stop." He called to me.

I scanned the dark landscape between squinted eyes. It was hard to see in the dark rain.

A small grove of juniper trees and sage brush clustered together near the red cliffs.

"Over there? Under the juniper trees?" I asked Verde.

"That's your decision. You're the leader." He said nonchalantly.

I growled. I didn't like making decisions.

"Let's head over there!" I said.

"What?" Sky yelled.

"I said," I hollered back, "let's head over there by the JUNIPER TREES!"

"We need to keep moving, I thought we were in a hurry!" Mountain called out.

"Sarah needs to stop!"