The Great Race Part Three

                           The Great Race

                                Part Three

About an hour after we had set out from Mr. Howell’s cave we were led off the path and began to make our way through brambles and thickets led only by the sounds of the crickets. The light from the Oak was at our back and what laid ahead of us was only darkness. The torch I held in my mouth gave off a little light but only enough to see a foot or two ahead of me. Not nearly enough to guide myself much less the group at large. I was placed at the back of the group so Hojan and Thomas’ eyes could adjust to the darkness we were walking into.

*Crack* we froze. The crickets halted their song. My heart jumped into my throat and I nearly dropped the torch. Darkness consumed us as the fire was just an ember on the very tip of the torch. “Who’s there!” Hojan demanded from whatever presence was in the forest with us. “It’s just me.” A small Border Collie emerged from the other side of a decayed tree, her steps crunched on the dead leaves and twigs as she walked towards us. “I saw you guys on the path back there and followed. I recognize you from Sanctuary.”  I heard Hojan gasp, “Rad? I thought you went with Storm?” Silence followed and I could feel Rad thinking of what to say like a pup grasping for the edge of a pool the first time they accidentally slip in. Finally her answer came, “I did, but I left. I felt something calling me and followed it.” I felt my heart settle back into its normal place. The fire lit up and as it illuminated the small area around me I saw Rad’s face. She was a dog I recognized and had, on occasion, played with. The fire grew even brighter than before now pushing back the darkness nearly twenty feet all around us. A new friend to join our adventure, my heart soared!

          Hojan’s face told me a different story. One that said he just wasn’t convinced. Thomas’ followed suit as they gave each other a worried look. “What called to you Rad?” Hojan asked pulling his eyes away from the safety of Thomas’ and meeting the young Collie who stood before us. She looked down and shrugged her shoulders, “The Oak I suppose?” Then Thomas took a step toward her, “But it led you here?” Rad nodded her head enthusiastically, “Yes!” again Thomas and Hojan stared at each other. “What is so difficult to believe that Rad would be led here to help us?” I asked Hojan. Hojan briefly looked at me before turning his gaze towards the direction of the Elm and said, “Bailey said it was one of the Oak’s chosen who told her we shouldn’t run the race. Why would the Oak send someone to help us?” Rad quickly responded, “Because you didn’t listen.” Hojan and Thomas cautiously eyed her but eventually relented, “Alright.” Hojan said, “But you are to stay in between Thomas and myself you got it?” Rad nodded, then with a smile on her face asked, “Where are we going to go then?”

          Hojan pulled his ears up to listen for the Crickets but their song did not return. He looked crossly at Rad before muttering, “You scared off our guides. I don’t know where to go. Do you?” Rad nodded, “I think so. I think I was supposed to lead you there.” Hojan motioned his head telling her to take the lead and whispered something to her while she passed by. She flicked him with her tail and began to trot off in towards where we had last heard the crickets soft chorus.

          It wasn’t much longer before I saw a massive tree sticking out taller than the rest. Dead limbs reached out above the top of the decrepit forest as if they were begging for the light of the oak to warm their cold fingers once more. “That’s the tree we need to burn down?” Thomas asked. Hojan nodded, “She doesn’t look like she once did, but the Sentinels have stories from way back when this entire forest was teeming with life. Shortly after the Wolf came through his pack cleaned up the entire forest. Ridding it of the disease and death that had once plagued it. After that the entire forest had hundreds of years of peace and growth.” Rad turned her head for a moment, “What happened to it?” she asked. Hojan stared up at a starless sky as he said, “According to the records at Sanctuary that’s when he came. The Dark Sentinel wasn’t always that way you know? No. See once upon a time the Dark Sentinel was a man, a keeper even a Sentinel. He ventured into the place beyond the shed shortly after Sanctuary first opened with Hank who was the dog who told us all of this place. The records say that Hank returned alone revealing the Sentinel had ran off towards the Elm and wouldn’t return to Sanctuary. A second Sentinel went in after him, but we never saw her again.” Rad’s ears perked up, “What happened to her?” Hojan shook his head, “We don’t know. The Sentinels won’t let anyone read those records. Hank was the only one who knew and he told it to Sentinel eleven who keeps it in a special file we can’t get to.” Rad slowly nodded her head as Hojan continued, “Anyway, after that the Sentinels locked the place off. Not even Hank was allowed in. Despite that Hank found a way in, and the darkness found a way out. Dogs began to cough and we could see the Sanctuary begin to fade like watching a picture age.” Rad interrupted, “How did Hank stop it?” Hojan shot her a look as if to ask how she knew the next part of the story but responded by saying, “To be honest I don’t know. The last living being to know would be Sentinel eleven. He was there.”

 Rad immediately stopped and turned around. Hojan ran into her as he was still staring up at the blank sky, “He what?” Hojan shook out his coat and huffed a little before again saying, “He was there.” Rad sat down clearly confused, “I thought it was just Hank and the Dark Sentinel?” Hojan shook his head, “No. We don’t know exactly what happened, but we know that Sentinel eleven is the only Sentinel to come to this place and leave it unchanged.” Rad stared off in the direction we had come from. Looking back I could still see a faint purple glow coming from the Oak. It almost blended into the rest of the darkness but something set it apart. As if a thin line on the horizon separated the two. To offer a subtle warning that beyond it is the darkness from which few ever return.

We sat in silence. I turned my eyes from the divided horizon towards the flame. In it, I saw Hojan facing down the giant shadow which was the Dark Sentinel. Howling for the moon which came to his call. I saw myself dashing towards the dying Elm and setting it ablaze. In the light of the fire I saw Rad run at the Dark Sentinel and leaping towards it I saw her bowl it over and drive it into the fire of the Elm. I saw Thomas grappling with a sickly looking Basset who was tossed into the fire. Together we stood victorious. “You can’t believe everything you see in those flames.” Thomas’ voice broke the silence. “I thought they were never wrong?” I inquired of him. I saw him shoot a look at Hojan before Thomas cleared his throat. “The flame sees the possibility of what may come to pass but not always what will.” Hojan huffed at Thomas, “Well it’s never been wrong before, now has it?” They both rolled their eyes at each other and I looked back into the flame to see us standing in the light of the Oak. We were heralded by those who had come before us. They sang a song I didn’t recognize but I looked forward to hearing. How foolish I was to believe the lies of the fire.

Rad got up and asked us if we were ready. We fell back into our spots with Rad leading, Hojan behind her, Thomas behind him, and me at the back. It felt as though just minutes later we were there. We stood at the edge of a clearing which was nearly identical to the one around the oak. At the center was the Elm which was hanging on to its last moments of life. The entire clearing was darker than the rest of the forest we had traveled through to this point and it was difficult to see into the clearing even with the light of the fire guiding us. The darkness crept around us at first but soon pushed the light back altogether.

I saw something from inside the tree move. A shadow from inside the darkness and a voice echoed around the clearing, “Good job my sweet. You see I told you they would follow.” Rad walked into the darkness. Again my heart leapt into my throat. I felt the hackles on my shoulders rise as I tucked my tail in-between my legs and lowered my body. The light that had once followed her stopped at the edge of the clearing and began to shrink away. The shadow from inside the tree laughed, “This is what he and the Oak have sent to stop me? You three?” Hojan stepped forward, taking a deep breath, arching his back,   and straightened out his tail, “Not so fast collie.” The Shadow took only a step but appeared right before Hojan. The shadow held him with only its hand which was wrapped around Hojan’s neck. Thomas lunged at the shadow but fell right through it like the Dark Sentinel was made only of smoke. Thomas then looked at me and yelled, “Kalani the tree!” I saw the weary Elm standing there beckoning me to bring the fire I held to it, but I froze. The shadow again let out a booming laugh that shook me to my core, “It’s over mutts.” With a single hand he knocked Thomas into the tree and hit me into the forest. The torch flew out of my mouth and whatever fire was still left was extinguished. I heard a thump next to me and scrambled up to see who it was. “Hojan?” I whispered feeling desperately to see if he was still breathing. He was. He slowly got up and ran away without saying a word. I heard Thomas screaming from the clearing begging for Hojan to come save him. Then Thomas began to cry for me to save him, but once he realized he was alone and we weren’t coming he grew quiet. I saw the Shadow move towards where I thought Thomas was. I heard Thomas whimper before one more scream came over the entire forest. Suddenly, it was gone and the oppressive force of silence again came over the forest. I turned to run towards the divided horizon. Hoping I would not be left alone in this forest to suffer the same fate as Thomas. I must have ran for an eternity, or maybe it just felt like one.

Finally, I reached a weed and bramble laden road, but a road nonetheless. I continued racing off and made it back to where the purple light filtered through the trees. I picked up a familiar smell, Hojan. I needed to find him. We needed to get back to Sanctuary. I followed his scent and tracks back to Howell’s cave. I saw him lying there next to a cold fire pit weeping holding a small figure. I slowed my run to a walk and entered the cave. The once grey walls had streaks of red splattered across them. “What happened here?” I asked. Hojan never looked up and didn’t even acknowledge me. He just stared at the body beneath him, “It was a trap. All of it.” He whispered. Again I asked, “What happened here, Hojan?” He began to walk away and started to dig a hole, “They killed him. They waited for us to leave and they killed him. He didn’t stand a chance and they only knew he was here because of us!” He began to dig deeper but stopped, “And Thomas! I left him there, alone!” Hojan wept once more. “What did you think would happen Hojan?” I asked and walked up to him, I felt my head grow hot, my voice raised, talking faster, “Why did you leave me Hojan? Why did you leave Thomas?” Hojan stopped digging and sat in the three-foot-deep hole and I thought his tears alone would fill it as he wept. He didn’t say a word. He just sat there and cried in the incomplete grave of his friend. I continued walking up to him, “Tell me something Hojan! Say something!” When I got to the hole he was digging and I looked down and I saw thin strings of red mixed in with the water. I looked at his paws and saw a bloody mess. He didn’t seem to realize he had dug so hard he had ripped several nails clean off.

I pulled him out of the hole and nuzzled my snout against his. I held him for a long while in silence. Hojan quickly laid down and fell asleep unable to fight off the exhaustion that so clearly invaded him. I crawled into the hole and finished digging it. Then I got what was left of Mr. Howell’s body and buried him. I sang the song of a fallen hero.

“You didn’t see it, did you?” Hojan asked in a weak voice. I didn’t look at him but I said, “I saw the shadow.” I could feel Hojan staring at me, “You didn’t see it. It’s more than a shadow. When it held me I saw it. Evil. Darkness. There was no good in it. There was no light. There was nothing but destruction.” He stood up as he said this. I could hear him coming closer to me. “Yet you left him there.” I spouted off. Hojan scoffed at me, “And what did you do?” I looked back at him, tears once again swelled in his eyes as he said, “You think I don’t realize what I’ve done? You think all this is lost on me?” He pointed towards Mr. Howell’s grave before continuing, “I lost two good friends today. If you think Thomas’ voice has stopped ringing in my head then you are wrong. I failed my best friend.” I shook my head, “No, you failed all of us, but you can still help make it right. You can still make sure they didn’t die in vain! You can save those of us who are left.”

I started to walk out of the cave but Hojan didn’t follow. I turned around, “Well are you going to do? Huh? Are you going to stay in this cave forever or are you going to do something about it?” He didn’t move but he shook his head, “Go back to Sanctuary Kalani.” I started walking towards him, and he growled at me, “Go back to Sanctuary Kalani!” I froze. My hackles raised and I bore my teeth at him, “What are you going to do? We don’t have time to stay here we have to act or Sanctuary will be lost!” Hojan got up and walked right past me, “Sanctuary is already lost. I’m going to get my friend back.”

With that, he took off. He stopped at the edge of the cave and said, “I’m going to the scorching desert to find Thomas. I’m going to find him and bring him to the Oak.” I looked at him, “Hojan, Thomas is dead.” Hojan shook his head, “No he’s not.” Hojan turned around and he ran off into the trees towards the desert.

Now alone, I made my way back to the shed. When I made it through Sanctuary, it looked exactly as I had left it, Cokey and Seven being chased by Kelcy, who was the dog that was guarding the Shed. Bailey was looking right at me as I emerged through the shed and collapsed. I heard her bark and then a lot of commotion. Next thing I knew I was in a room with Bailey and Sentinel eleven, Bailey looked at me with narrow eyes and lips pulled back revealing her large teeth, “What did you fools do?”

The End