Wild Dog City (Darkeye Volume 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

his
mother might be here… He happened to glance left and saw that Bii
was still awake, his button eyes shining slightly in the dim light,
his ears trained forward. His injured leg made the scent of blood
linger in the air of the room as the remaining daylight faded
away.

4
    To
Market
    "Why does Mhumhi have to go with Bii?"
    That had been Kutta, prowling around in their
little kitchen the next morning, claws clicking on the tiles.
Displeasure was evident in the way her tail swished low around her
hocks.
    "Because," said Sacha, who had taken up her
preferred vantage point up on the counter. "Mhumhi's got the
biggest belly, and he can eat the most meat. He'll be eating both
his and Bii's portions."
    "But why can't Bii just-?"
    "He's told me he can't regurgitate it, like a
domestic," said Sacha, tone wry. Bii himself was lying on the floor
near the door, forepaws lined up neatly parallel to each other. He
was clearly eager to go.
    Mhumhi gave his own sad little whine, as he
had hoped to be exempt from the whole regurgitation business. He
returned to ripping at the tattered fabric that remained on their
couch to vent his frustration. Kutta looked at him, and he knew
what she was thinking: they'd have to postpone their secret mission
until they could figure out a way to sneak out alone together.
    "I'll go with you later, Kutta," said Sacha.
"We shouldn't be all together in a group… no need to attract too
much attention."
    Mhumhi wondered if Sacha hadn't somehow got
wind of their plan- she was being so nefarious- but of course
everything she was saying made perfect sense. The addition of Bii
to their motley group would be very noticeable, especially once
they left their neighborhood and the dogs that were familiar with
them, and it had been drilled into them since they were puppies not
to have a reason to make the police take interest in them.
    Kutta huffed through her nose and trotted out
of the kitchen and up the stairs. They heard her scratching around
in the bathroom a moment later.
    Sacha hopped from the counter down to the
scratched old table, onto a chair, and down to the floor.
    "I feel better keeping an eye on her," she
told Mhumhi. "She's been wandering off lately, and she hasn't been
giving Keb much meat, either. Doesn't it make you wonder?"
    "Wonder what?" said Mhumhi, turning so that
his front paws dangled off the edge of the couch.
    "If she's met somebody," said Sacha. "If
she's thinking of splitting off."
    Mhumhi was shocked. "Sacha!"
    "Well, I don't know what else would make her
act this way," Sacha grumbled, furrowing her brow. Mhumhi looked at
her a moment, then stepped down off the couch to nose at her
shoulder.
    "Kutta just likes to run around. Don't worry
about her, she's not going to leave anytime soon."
    "It would be good if she did," said
Sacha, turning her nose up and away. "For her. To be with her own
kind, I suppose."
    Mhumhi licked her tiny ears, saying nothing.
Now he was beginning to feel rather guilty.
    "Mhumhi," called Bii, over by the door.
"Let's go now. We don't want to have to wait in line too long."
    Mhumhi looked over at Bii, who he was feeling
somewhat less kindly towards today. He'd been woken up to the loud
crunching sound of the fox sitting up next to him devouring a large
cockroach. When pressed, he had admitted he'd pawed it out from the
underside of the toilet hole.
    Still, a dog had to eat, after all. Mhumhi
tried to let go of his negative feelings as he trotted beside the
fox down the street, where the morning crowd was amassing. He
spotted his fennec neighbor sitting in his storm drain, yawning.
Mhumhi gave his tail a friendly wave and the fox blinked at him a
moment before vanishing back into the darkness.
    Even though it was still early morning it was
shimmering hot in the streets, the last of the previous day's rain
vanishing into a haze above the hot asphalt. The dogs around Mhumhi
were all trotting with ears back and tongues hanging out, a crowd
of lean legs and small white