Two Wolves

Ben awakes in the morning next to the river and vomits, feeling drained and sick from the trials of the last few days. Olive is also sick. He retrieves the money, and the kids spend the morning foraging for food, eating raw roots and grubs. Ben thinks about his father’s get-rich-quick schemes and realizes that he has the money his father always wanted. Olive’s condition worsens, and she passes out. Ben carries her, hoping to reach the cabin and find rescue. By dark, nobody has found them, and Olive won’t wake up.

When Ben awakes in the morning, he panics on discovering that Olive no longer has a pulse; however, pressing his fingers deeper into her neck, he finds a very faint, weak heartbeat. Continuing to carry Olive upstream, Ben manages to find the cabin, but neither the police nor his parents are there. Ben lays Olive on the workbench in the cabin, and the two of them eat some of the leftover supplies before falling asleep. When Olive wakes up, he tries to figure out what to do. Then an idea strikes him, and he retrieves a shovel from the cupboard.