Early the next morning the sound of a squirrel running across the part of the roof that remained intact woke Mawei. She listened to it scramble down the snow-covered incline and jump onto a nearby tree. She looked up at the wooden planks above her and wondered what could’ve gotten a squirrel out in the snow. She stretched and moved the child over onto Ruffer so she could get up. She decided to go outside to get some fresh air in her lungs and see what she could smell. She went out and sunk her feet into the snow, enjoying the cold between her toes.
She looked out and was surprised to see some deer moving, far off across the meadow. She squinted and saw that there was an albino deer, but then no, she realized it wasn’t a deer at all, it was a yeti, two yetis, and they had seen her too.
Mawei ducked into the structure and slammed her head on a crossbeam. She took Helena under her arm and pulled Ruffer to his feet before he was fully awake and he stumbled into the cabin wall, cracking it and breaking a window. He recovered quickly and was right behind Mawei as she climbed out the back, over the collapsed roof.
She was running as fast as she could, and Ruffer understood vaguely what must’ve happened. He followed her into the woods and they jumped down a series of small cliffs into a gully. They splashed across a half-frozen creek and up the other side. Helena, who was crying from having been woken up so violently, began screaming when the water hit her, and she clutched at Mawei’s fur.
Ruffer stopped Mawei and told her to follow him. They were close to his wild and he said he knew a place where they could lose their pursuers. He began heading south, and soon had them coming down a steep rock face that didn’t look passable from above. Sanai and Hatcher would have to go around it, which would take at least an hour.
“We should split up.” Ruffer said to Mawei. “You take the little bird to my wild and hide. I’ll draw them off your trail and let them catch up with me tonight somewhere far south of here. They don’t know where my wild is, and they wont know where to look for you. When I’m sure they’re not following me I’ll come find you and we’ll take her east.”
“What do you mean ‘take her east’ -take her where?” Mawei asked.
“Someplace where they won’t look for us. We’ll find new wilds and raise the child ourselves.” Ruffer said. “Your uncle would certainly get her killed.”
“But what’ll happen when they catch you?” Mawei asked.
“They might hurt me, but they won’t kill me. We can save her. Come on, I know where we can split up without them knowing.”
He led them to the edge of a cliff that dropped about twenty feet down to a small creek. They ran along the rim until they reached a stand of trees, all growing at a precarious angle and straining for light against the steep slope. Ruffer stopped at a fallen cypress that had bridged the chasm above the creek, connecting to a rocky ledge on the other side. “Cross here,” he said, “and when you get to the other side push the tree down into the gulch. I’ll continue on this way. Head south with the creek until it meets a larger stream, go in the direction of the current until you come to a clearing with woods on the far side. That’s my wild. Hide anywhere in those woods and I’ll find you.”
“Ruffer, thank you.” Mawei said. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“I got myself into it.” He said. Mawei wanted to say something meaningful, but couldn’t think of anything. She leaned in and touched her nose to his, surprising him. “Go.” He said.
She put Helena on her back and told her to hang on, and then started across. When she got to the other side she turned to push the tree down and saw that Ruffer had already gone.