The Feral Child

By Uma Styles

Abandoned in the Forest after birth by his young mother, he grew up in a coyote family. He behaved like a true canine.

Conceived as an illegitimate child by a young girl, he was left in the forest to die. He was rescued by canines and grew up with them. He ran on all fours, barked and growled. He was later discovered by a hiking couple and brought back to civilization. This story is about his transformation from a canine in to a fine civilized human being.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 29, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469116945

Uma Styles

Uma Styles is a practicing physician and writer. She lives with her family in Texas. She writes science fiction, psychological thrillers, mystery and horror. She has traveled widely all over the world and derives her strength to write from true life experiences and real stories.

Book preview

Chapter 1

May 1986, 6:00 p.m., Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Katie was lying on the soft, thick grass bed under a large shady tree, panting and screaming. Yes, screaming as the intolerable, intense labor pains knotted her belly with contractions. She was alone, yes, alone in her misery and pain. An event that is usually lively and joyful in the world was lonely, ghastly here! Her face was a shade of crimson red, and her angelic features appeared grotesque with every wave of tortuous contraction. Her bag of waters had already broken, and the birth was imminent.

She had immediately left the fields where she was working with her family around 2:00 p.m., when she had felt the first hint of the threatening labor pains. She knew the time had come. She rode the Conestoga wagon for about three hours along the Allegheny forest ridge until she came to the edge of the Cook’s forest. She knew from her previous hiking experiences that Cook’s forest still held strands of virgin jungle where no hiker had ever set foot. There, she abandoned the wagon and ordered her beloved horses to go back home. When she could no longer see or hear her horses, she entered the forest and walked to the chosen spot. She was sure that she would be alone, and no human soul would witness her giving birth to her first child, the child from her first love, her child out of wedlock. It was an undesirable illegitimate baby in her conservative Amish community settled in west Allegheny ridge. She had not confessed about her pregnancy to anyone except Joshua—the father of the child and her first love. She had loved Joshua sincerely. She was ready to lay her whole life at his feet and surrender to him. They were so much in love—at least that was how she felt in her heart. They had spent many nights out in the cornfields, lying on the cool hay beds, gazing in each other’s eyes, and confessing their love to each other, under the spell of the twinkling stars. She always thought Joshua was so special. He treated her like a queen and gave her tender loving care. She was always so careful, and he was ever so insisting. He did not want to wait until they were married. After all, she was only fifteen, and he was twenty-five. He knew life more than she did, and he said it would be all right. Overwhelmed by his desire for her young, pure flesh he could not resist his feelings any more. That night he had entered her against her wishes speaking his magical love-struck words. After a few weeks when she had missed her period, she became scared. She knew her strict father, who worked as a priest in their church, would never accept that his daughter became pregnant at the tender age of fifteen; and she was not even married! However, she trusted her love, Joshua. She was sure he would come to her rescue and would ask her father for her hand, and everything would be all right. When she had delightfully broken the happy news to her eternal love on their next night escapade, how he had changed! The loving Joshua, who was ready to make love to her right that minute and was breathing heavily—coming on to his queen—had recoiled in horror. He suddenly was so irritated, angry, and mean! How could she do this to him? How could she be pregnant? Why was she not being careful? Suddenly, it was all her fault! She, the fifteen-year-old girl, was supposed to know it all. He, the twenty-five-year-old man, was not responsible for it. He did not want any part in this celebration of coming of a new soul. That night, they did not make love but argued. She cried and pleaded for him to help her, but he had turned ice-cold and quickly walked away, threatening to kill her if she dared to tell another soul about it. That night, she was alone in the faithful company of moon and stars and the cool, soothing winds. She had cried for several hours in her favorite cornfields, and she had cried until she could cry no more. Then she had walked home and crawled into her bedroom from the window and fell asleep, tired. That was the last time she had shared Joshua’s company. After that night, he had always avoided her. If their paths crossed in the fields or the church, Joshua did not recognize her. He had already taken another girlfriend. She was alone and desperate in her misery. She could not tell her mother, her father, or anybody for that matter. Her family was conservative and old-fashioned. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father served as a priest in their Amish church. He preached about importance of family, marriage, and God. She knew that if her parents found out about the pregnancy, the hell would break loose! This was unacceptable in their community, and it was all her fault. Nobody would punish Joshua, but everybody would be looking daggers at her! She knew all about it and she had seen it happening before. Therefore, she decided to keep it a secret, just as Joshua ordered. She would go to the woods, give birth, and abandon it when the time comes. Then she would just come home as if nothing happened! Her fifteen-year-old reasoning and thinking had decided to solve her problem in its own way.

For the next nine months, she pretended to eat larger portions at the family table. She did her chores around the house and the fields in slow, cautious motion. Her mother had scolded her for gaining weight and becoming fat and lazy. Her father insisted her to lose weight, but she ignored them. She just focused on passing her wretched nine months, unnoticed. Her long black flowing skirt hid her growing tummy well. She always pinned her blouse loose so her mother would not notice her enlarged breasts. Every month she pretended to have her menstrual period and made sure that her mother also knew.

The clock slowly ticked away and the harsh nine months somehow passed. She was finally ripe and ready to give birth. She had already chosen the spot in the forest where she was going to have the final ceremony. She had hidden water, dry food, towels and blankets, a change of fresh blouse and skirt, aspirin tablets, rags in the bushes. She even had a small pillow to lay her head on. She did not bring anything for the baby. She knew when her belly would contract and push out the life growing inside her—she would abandon and leave it there and would never look back. She had no plans to protect the newborn, the nuisance!

Chapter 2

"Eee . . . eee." Her volcanic screams filled the woods, scaring the sleeping, resting birds perched on the old chestnut tree branches—away. The labor pains were agonizing, nothing like she had ever experienced before. She had already swallowed half the bottle of the aspirins, but it did not help a bit. Her belly muscles were contracting in a hard knot, trying to push out the baby. The evening air was cool, and a breeze was blowing, but she was sweating and panting like an overworked farmer on a hot sunny afternoon. She had ripped her white cape off and torn open the pinned white blouse. She had discarded her long black skirt hours earlier. The grass covered with blood and her broken water bag was emitting a strange smell, making her nauseate. She was feeling weak. Her pelvic muscles had torn open about an hour ago, but this baby was having hard time coming out. She had lost lots of blood.

"Aa . . . eee . . ." She screamed and pushed hard with all her might, and her face appeared torturous, contorted, and drained of its usual pink color. Suddenly she felt her muscles tearing again, and the baby was finally slipping out. She felt little elation in her desperate soul and pushed harder. She kept pushing until she could push no more, and the darkness of the night descended quickly over her shut eyelids. Her world was spinning around, and she was sinking into a black hole.

When she came to, she found herself shivering. She was cold, thirsty, weak, and alone in the mysterious dark, dense woods. She tried to look around but could not even move her head. Then she heard some whimpering noises between her legs. She gathered all her strength and made herself lift her head a little, just enough to glance down, and she got glimpse of a tiny baby lying face down between her legs. Its head was resting just below her crotch. She was too young and too tired to notice the baby had come out bottom first, and that was why the birth was so hard on her. The unforgiving labor forces tore all her intimate muscles. The baby made some muffled noises. She tried to move some more and touch the baby’s head, but then she felt another wave of pain. She screamed again, and the agonizing pains made her push hard. She felt the warm placenta slipping out with a gush of hot blood. The placenta pushed the baby down farther away from her. Her torn pelvic muscles were burning from the bath of fresh blood. She reached out for her bottle of aspirins and emptied it in her mouth. She washed it down with water and fell back exhausted.

She woke up again after a few hours when she felt a warm, soft touch on her exposed legs. She felt the tingling touch move up and down her thighs. The night was cold, dark, and the moon was a half crescent. She had worked in the fields all-day, hardly eating anything. She felt exhausted from the strenuous childbirth. She was dehydrated and had lost a lot of blood. These had all added up for the worst. She ran her dry tongue over her parched lips and strained her ears to listen. She tried hard but could not hear the baby anymore. Perhaps the baby is cold, she thought. She felt the warm tongue again. Something was licking her legs. She sprang up in fear! She could not see anything; it was too dark. She tried to focus hard but her vision was playing tricks on her. She thought she saw two fluorescent eyes staring back at her! Was it a wolf? She wondered. Her mind was whirling at a great speed. She tried to get up and run and took few weak steps, but her legs could not take her anywhere. They were wobbly. She felt exhausted from the strenuous childbirth. Suddenly her vision clouded and she fell, passing out. She hit her head on the hard, cold large stone lying nearby and instantly passed out on the rough forest floor.

Chapter 3

It had been about one week since Mother Coyote had been nurturing her pups. The father of the pups was an American water spaniel. He had come to the forest with his master a few months ago for hunting. He loved his master and helped him to hunt small wild animals. His master called him Spaniard and showered him with all kinds of gifts. His master’s wife had two babies in the last two years. Spaniard loved to play with the babies. His master had taught him to be careful around the babies. He also loved his mistress. She was always so kind and loving to him. She loved to stroke his shiny black fur and tickle him under his chin. Spaniard had been coming to the forest with his master, often. Spaniard enjoyed these hunting trips, but on that particular day, his master had collapsed and died of a sudden massive heart attack in the forest. Spaniard had dutifully stayed by his side and waited patiently for his master to get up. He licked his master’s face several times, but his master did not respond. Spaniard watched helplessly as his master sprawled out in the woods—dead. He protected the body from the preying birds, rodents, and coyotes passing by for a few weeks. He wept in silence and waited patiently for his master to rise and take him home, but instead he had to watch his master slowly rot away. He stayed in the woods and made the spot where his loving master had died his home.

This is where he had met and mated with the young female coyote. She had shown up suddenly on one cheerful early spring morning. She was young and beautiful. She had a light gray body with a thick bushy tail. There was a soft white fur covering her upper lip and under chin. Spaniard had been lonely for the last few weeks since his master died. He had fallen in love with the young female coyote on the first sight. She was lonely too! She had separated from her herd and was wandering the forest for the last few days. They just stood there—their gazes locked—spellbound, each viewing the other. Then Spaniard had made the first move. He had walked up to her and smelled her delicious, ripe scent. She was ready to mate and was submissive. They had mated on the same day. Then together they had dug a den under the nearby bushes, and she had given birth to the pups after two months. Spaniard had been watching the den and bringing her food as she was nurturing the pups.

Mother Coyote had heard several screams that night, and her erect ears had captured every sound. Tonight she was overprotective of her young ones. From her animal instincts, she knew someone was in danger. Spaniard had also noticed the sounds and was hovering around the den cautiously. It was almost time to go look for some food for Mother Coyote. He gave out a howl to warn her and disappeared in the woods.

Spaniard had approached the unconscious body of Katie while chasing a small rat. He noticed a small moving object between her legs. Spaniard was glad to see Katie. He was wagging his tail vigorously, and he started licking her legs clean. They smelled of fresh blood and body fluids. She looked so much like his mistress! He felt overjoyed. He carefully picked up the small baby from between her legs. He was cautiously moving it when Katie came to her senses. The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. Then Katie gave out a howling loud scream that scared Spaniard. He did not want to scare his mistress. He stared in silence as he watched her get up, run, and falls again. He withdrew, retreated, and disappeared in the woods silently. The baby was still dangling in his mouth and the placenta dragging behind him. On his way back to the den, the placenta entangled in some fallen tree branches, and Spaniard tried to free it with his teeth. However, it broke off, and Spaniard returned home with the baby.

Chapter 4

When Katie came to her senses the next day, her head was throbbing with intolerable pain. She felt exhausted, dizzy, and drained out. She tried hard to get up, but her legs did not move. She wondered what was wrong with her legs. The sun was hot, and it was midday. She could feel that her death was near. She was in the middle of the forest, had lost lot of blood, and no one knew about her whereabouts. She could not even move! Lying naked, starved, and thirsty on the cruel rough forest floor, she saw a huge vulture hovering up in the blue sky. Its gaze fixed on her. She felt a pang of fear! She tried to get up and run, but her legs did not cooperate. Her head had a large dried bloodstain from the fall on the stone last night, and it was throbbing with pain. She tried to drag her body with her hands on the rough, stony forest floor. However, she was too slow, and the vulture was young and swift. It came down with a swooshing loud sound and plucked on her exposed naked flesh with a great force. Katie screamed and rolled over. Now there were more vultures. They attacked her bared bosom and tore open her breasts! Katie screamed and screamed, but no one came to help. Her mind danced around in circles with pain and fear! She felt the vultures’ beaks attacking her eyes, chest, and legs. She quickly slipped into oblivion where she could no longer feel the sharp, cruel beaks, tearing off her delicate young flesh.

Mother Coyote did not like the strange pup brought home by her mate. She made reluctant, disapproving grunts and tried to push it off. However, Spaniard became angry and growled back at her. He was usually a loving mate, and Mother Coyote instantaneously noticed his unusual anger. Spaniard loved humans, and he could tell that he had brought a human baby. He still missed his master immensely, and he remembered all the lessons his master had given him about how to behave around small babies. He would not let Mother Coyote hurt the baby! He put the baby close to her dripping nipples and growled with anger when she refused to suckle it. He revealed all his sharp teeth and loudly barked at her. He kept insisting until she finally obliged. She crawled closer to the baby and noticed that it was moving its mouth in sucking motion. Perhaps it was hungry. She turned around and cautiously lowered its dripping nipple into the baby’s mouth. It started sucking vigorously. It was definitely hungry. She stood over it and let it feed from her. Soon her other pups joined in for a family supper. Spaniard made approving grunts and licked Mother Coyote lovingly. Mother Coyote felt elated to gain his approval.

Next morning, Mother Coyote had licked off the newborn clean. She liked its soft, hairless skin and its soft head. She had warmed its cold body all-night with her own, and she had let it suckle on her engorged nipples. It did not feel much different from her other pups. She was already feeling attached to it. It was just like another pup to her now. She heard the same screams again in the morning. She had receded far into the den with all her pups and the new baby and hid there all-day. Spaniard had gone out to get some food for her and had quickly returned with some wild berries and a small rat. She had quietly feasted on it and rested all-day, lying down with her pups and feeding them.

Four weeks later, Mother Coyote was feeding her pups with the regurgitated food. All her pups were accepting it. The baby was also accepting it, but he preferred to suck on her nipples more. Her other pups were still staying in the den as they could not see well. Nevertheless, she knew that in a couple of weeks it would be time for her to take them out. Spaniard loved the baby. He reminded him of his master’s baby. He liked to lick the baby clean and roll him around. Spaniard barked softly when the baby made noises or cried. He made sure Mother Coyote would let him suck on her nipples whenever the baby appeared hungry. The time was passing by swiftly and quietly.

Chapter 5

Seven months later, Mother Coyote was rolling around in the soft snow on this freezing December morning with her herd. Her pups were almost adults now, except for one. He was taking too long to grow up. He still did not have any hair on his body. He did not like the cold weather and did not crawl out all winter long. Spaniard stayed with the baby and watched over him while the rest of the family played outside. The pups were growing fast, and they loved to hunt with their mother. She usually brought some fruits or meat back for the baby. The baby did not eat much and accepted the fresh fruits to nibble on or a little piece of raw meat. He was still suckling on Mother Coyote. Mother Coyote found it unusual, but she loved the baby and treated him like her other pups. The baby did not have hair or sharp nails like her other pups. He was learning to yap and bark. One time, when Mother Coyote had refused to suckle him, as she felt tired after her long hunting trip, the baby growled at her. Whenever he made those sounds, she felt close to him as he behaved like a coyote. She did not yet fully understand her unusual pup, but she loved him and his odd ways. She licked him clean almost every day. She liked to watch him as he slept and made strange facial grimaces. Sometimes he cried like a human, and she did not like those sounds. She always made disapproving grunts and rolled him around until he shut