Alex pulled his jacket down over his knuckles and picked up a brick from the carefully landscaped border. He hurled it at the window and the glass caved in. He cleared the glass from the lower sash with the sleeve of his jacket and climbed through.
I held my breath, waiting, listening to his steps inside. I heard scraping at the front door before it opened.
"C'mon in, ladies," he said.
I crossed the threshold into the house, sucked in my breath. I didn't see any signs of violence, but the people who lived here had sure left in a hurry.
To my left, the dining room table was covered in empty plastic bags. To my right, the living area held an overstuffed couch and chairs, but a set of shelves was empty below a giant black television.
I walked over plush carpeting to the kitchen. Cabinets and cupboards had been emptied, doors and drawers standing open. A puddle stood at the bottom of the refrigerator, forming a lake on the tile.
I searched for food for the animals. The garage contained a lawnmower, tool chests, and bags of birdseed occupied only by mice. Cardboard boxes marked CHRISTMAS were perched up in the rafters. A chest freezer sat against a wall.
I stared at it, wary. There might be food in there. Or maybe something terrible.
I pressed my ear against the top of the freezer. I heard nothing moving within.
I grabbed a rake. Holding the staff above my head, I opened the lid.
And I immediately turned away in disgust.
There was meat inside, wrapped in white paper turning black as it rotted and liquefied. I slammed the lid quickly and returned to the kitchen.
I heard Alex clomping around upstairs. He returned with a hard expression on his face. "Upstairs has been tossed. Nobody home. Empty gun cabinet, though."
"They left," I affirmed. "They left, locked the door behind them, and left those animals to die. And they didn't even have the decency . . ." I was going to say "to put them out of their misery," but I couldn't speak it out loud. The Elders had wanted to do that to Alex when we found him injured just outside our land.
Ginger reached out to hold my hand. "It's horrible. But at least we have someplace to stay for the night."
I swallowed, stared out the kitchen window at the scrawny animals in their enclosures. "We can't leave them out there."
"They'll eat us alive if we let them go now," Ginger said.
I shook my head. "No," I said. "We can't. I can't, and I won't."
I turned and walked out the front door, my heart hammering in my chest. Righteous anger glowed within me.
I walked to the first cage. The cage with the wolves. I think that they scared me the least. I circled it, searching for a latch to open it.
"Bonnet, wait." Alex rushed after me and caught my arm. "They'll tear you apart."
I wheeled around. "I will not leave them like this!" There was iron in my voice. It surprised me, and it surprised him. His grip on my arm slackened.
"It's not right," I said.
"I know. But they don't belong here. They'll hurt people if you let them go."
I lifted my chin. I could hear my voice rising, yelling. I felt heat rising in my cheeks. Rage. And not at Alex, but at the circumstances we found ourselves in. "There are no people left to hurt. And I'm not going to let this . . ." My hand sketched the broken world around us. "I'm not going to let this change or break me. It can kill me, but I won't let it change me or what I think is right."
He stood opposite me, staring at me. I was certain that he could physically stop me. He could impose his will on me the way the Elders tried, with the threat of violence or restraint.
But he didn't. I knew that he respected me.
"I get it," he sighed. "I don't want to see you mauled by wild animals. But . . ." He spread his hands, and I could see the helplessness he felt in that gesture. "I can't protect you. Maybe being food for an animal is better than dying of snake venom or vampires or starvation."
I stepped up to him and kissed him.
"Bonnet, you are the most frustrating woman on earth."
I lifted my eyebrows. "I know."
He shook his head. "You ever seen Star Wars, Bonnet?"
"No."
"Never mind, then."
Ginger knew what I meant to do. From the corner of my eye, I saw her lead Horace to the house, let him inside as if he were a giant house pet.
I found the latch to the wolf pen. Alex watched warily. The wolves hung back, watching me with their luminous eyes. I flipped up the latch and swung the door open. I stepped back, waited with my heart in my mouth.
One by one, they bolted out of the pen. They glanced at me in passing, and my heart soared to see them go. They trotted down the road, making guttural growls and yips.
One remained in the cage. He was a thin gray wolf with sad eyes. He was smaller than the others, a bit more golden, as if he had some domestic dog in him.
"Go on," I said. I felt a lump in my throat. "I don't have any food for you. Go with the others and hunt."
Alex struck the side of the fence with his boot, making a rattling noise.
The wolf whimpered softly and skulked out of the cage.
"Go on," I told him.
He lifted his nose to sniff the air. For a moment, I was afraid that he would attack me or Alex. And then he took off at a loping pace after his skeleton pack.
I gave them some time to recede beyond sight before turning to the next enclosure. The tigers.
They paced with open mouths, watching me. They'd seen what I'd done for the wolves. They knew.
And they were hungry.
The cage was held shut with two simple push latches. I flipped the bottom one up, then the one at the top. I didn't intend to open the cage. I intended to let the tigers open it for themselves.
And they came lunging toward the door, at me, in a flurry of stripes.
I heard myself scream.
CHAPTER NINE
The weight of the tiger crashed the door of the cage against me, pinning me to the exterior cage wall. It drove the wind out of me, and I was face-to-face with the giant cat. It stood on its back feet, with its paws pressing against my shoulders through the wire. I could feel the heaviness of its body and its claws prickling against the shoulders of my coat. It lowered its head to the level of mine, drawing back its lips to reveal its teeth. Its hot breath smelled like death. Golden eyes burned at me. This wildness was something far beyond my stilted ideas of good and evil. In this beastas's world, there was only kindness and cruelty.