The Last Coyote

Chapter 1

The day was bright and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. All was quiet. No birds chirping, frogs croaking, snakes slithering, bugs buzzing or kids chattering. The wind was calm and the trees were droopy. The stillness was overpowering. A small meadow was bordered by pine and aspen trees, with a dense underbrush of yellow and reddish leaves. A small creek in the middle of the meadow had a trickle of slightly, yellowish water. The smell of the water was old and stagnant.
    Out of the woods he came. He was limping slightly and his coat was old and shabby looking. He was looking for water and a bite to eat. As he came to the small creek he knew the water was not right. He was weak and thought to himself that he could not go on. If only there was a gopher or a small mouse to catch, so he could ease the rumblings in his stomach. Where was his strength, his courage and his alertness. He could barely remember the days when he ran through the woods after a deer, that he could never catch. Or sitting on a hillside watching the ranchers cattle grazing in the fields. He was lonely and there seemed to be no other creatures, alive, anywhere. He would not give up. He would keep moving on. He could not believe that he was the last coyote.
    Oh, just another day. What will he do. He was running out of what little hope he had left. He thought he would move on. But then, his nose wrinkled with the smell of something new coming in on a slight breeze. Almost causing a sneeze, he perked up a little, shook the dust off his fur and slowly walked toward the smell.  
    Ken was sitting at his campfire, just finishing up some roasted wild parsnips he had dug from the hillside. He poured himself a cup of dandelion tea. Food was scarce and he was getting more hungry as each day went on. He did not know where his next meal would come from. There were no animals or birds to be found. He had not seen another human for six months. Everything in the world had come to a screeching halt. He still did not know what happened, since he had not seen anyone since he had come out of that cave he had found. Down in that cave he had at least found a good source of water. All the water in the creeks and springs smelled real bad and was not fit to drink.
    As he was relaxing by the fire he thought he heard something in the woods behind him. Being out there all alone his mind had been playing tricks on him so he did not know if he really heard something or not. All he knew was that in the morning he was going to be moving on. 

Chapter 2