Chapter Four: The Others

Chapter Four: The Others

I set off down the path, my feet beating against the cold dirt beneath me. There were three birds on my tail picking and cawing at me. I tilted my head back slightly to yell:

 “Leave me be, you foul creatures!” 

We continued to run, and the forest came into sight when two dogs leapt out of the trees and began to run towards us. Both were dogs from Sanctuary. A white and brown boxer named Frodo and his grey husky companion Santana. They began barking at the birds who took off in the other direction. Both Frodo and Santana slowed from a run to a walk to greet me, but before they did, I overheard them say, “It seems like it’s getting easier every time ain’t it Santana?” 

Santana nodded in agreement and then looked me up and down once before exclaiming: “Well, tie a hot dog to my tail, and let me spin in circles ‘till I fall! Is that you Storm!?”  

“It’s been a minute, hasn’t it old friend?” I said enthusiastically. 

Santana brushed his face against mine as Frodo kept his keen eyes facing the direction the birds flew. Santana finished his greeting and asked, “Two years right? That was the last time we were here together?”

“Yea it was your first patrol right?” 

“It was the first time we saw a boar in these parts as well.” 

“Those were good days indeed. What brings both of you here?”

They cautiously eyed each other then returned their gaze to the sky before Frodo turned his gaze towards me.

“We were at the battle of Sanctuary. I remember seeing it crawl out of the shed, and we began to sing—all the dogs of Sanctuary. Then in the blink of an eye I was gone. Found myself here being harassed by those birds. That’s when he found me.” 

“That’s when who found you?” I asked rather inquisitively. 

The two dogs eyed each other again before Frodo said, “Follow us. It’s not safe to talk about it here.”

         They led me along a small path that wound through the forest. The path was nearly covered by bushes and broken branches. No matter how deep we went into the forest, we could always see the towers of the Plains. 

“Did you ever face it?” 

Santana paused, “That thing?” He peeked over his shoulder to look at me while he finished what he was saying. 

I took a deep breath as my mind raced back to that day. It wasn’t that long ago, but it seemed like an eternity. I remember racing through the forest searching for Rad while running away from The Dark One. 

I began to shudder and both turned and calmly walked towards me. Santana rubbed against me to comfort me while Frodo kept looking off towards the Plains. 

Santana lifted his head up and whispered, “It’s okay now.” 

I nodded, “I was there. At the end—at Sanctuary.” 

A look of surprise crossed Frodo’s his white and brown face. The wrinkles on it nearly doubled.

         We heard more crashing and felt the ground tremble beneath us. We lowered ourselves and hid amongst the bushes as we saw a group of elephants run out onto the Plains. They began crashing into the towers causing them to collapse and fall into one another. Wretched screams came from that place as we saw dozens of birds fly in all directions. The birds flew up and started circling the elephants. Caws rang out as hundreds more flew to meet those already circling. The sky became dark as even the light from the Oak was blocked out from the birds. 

Soon we heard a song from that place. It brought with it a cold wind, and the smell of decay was strong. One by one, we saw the elephants drop down to the ground. Each time a new one would drop, a few dozen birds to fly off and begin collecting the forgotten things to pile on top of them. I turned to Frodo and Santana, both of whose eyes were duly watching the event that was unfolding as if they’d seen it a thousand times

“Are all the towers—” before I could say anymore, Frodo shushed me. Santana gave a curt and sure nod to confirm my suspicion.

         I turned back to see the final elephant drop as a tower began to replace where she had stood. The birds began to build their towers taller and taller and their song changed with their work. The light of the Oak had been restored. If we hadn’t been there to witness the elephant’s rampage through the area, we would not believe they had done it. Everything was returned to just the way it was prior to them showing up.

         I heard Santana whisper from behind me, “We have to move quickly and quietly. We’re almost there.”

         It wasn’t much longer before we emerged to find a rather large mountainside. It was spotted with cave openings, and the two dogs led me through one. We then found ourselves winding down levels of caves, going deeper into the mountain. Soon the light from outside was all but a distant memory as we were relying on some other form of light, not fire, but almost like some foliage.

 “What’s that?” I asked my guides.

 Santana turned his head towards me as we squeezed single file into a new tunnel.

“Moss the Sentinel found.” 

I stopped and Frodo bumped into me.

“What’s going on? Why did you stop?”

I stammered, “Sentinel Eleven is helping you?” 

Frodo laughed, and Santana shook his head, 

“No, Sentinel Eleven doesn’t leave the marked path ever since he lost his hand. Sentinel Thirteen has been here with us. She says it’s where the Oak called her too. She’s even been building dog houses and other things for us. She sure seems to take after the first.” 

I could feel Frodo nodding and nudging me to continue walking. I continued following Santana. 

“How did Sentinel Eleven lose his hand?” I asked.

Santana flicked his tail and said, “Later. I’ll have to tell you later. We’re here, and I’m sure there will be some very excited dogs to see the mighty Storm among us.”

         We entered what must have been the base of the Mountain. It was larger than any cave I’d seen before. Almost seemed as big as the forest itself. You couldn’t even see where the ceiling was and the far wall wasn’t visible either. Wooden structures were set up all along the cavern as there were hundreds of dogs bustling about. 

         Santana tugged on my neck ushering me onto a not so crowded path. There were two dogs on the path, two corgis. One was blonde and plump. The other was thin with a tri-colored coat. The larger one turned toward us and bowed her head.

She said to the other corgi, “Come Bailey. Let’s get out of their way.” Bailey rolled her eyes and began to mutter something about always having to move for the patrols.

“They’re big enough to walk around aren’t they?” 

The bigger corgi grabbed the scruff of little Bailey and yanked her to the side of the road. The pup let out a small, “Yip!”

         We didn’t walk much farther before we made it to a ramp which led to a small porch. It looked almost like a log cabin from the outside. Four walls, no windows, a roof. A large door for us to enter through. As we did, I saw the inside of the cabin. Several dog beds, mostly made from leaves, vines, and other foliage, were strewn about. A chair sat in the middle of the room empty. Next to it sat two dogs, one on either side of the chair. One was older with a coat of onyx who had clouded eyes. The other was small with a coat the color of tree bark. Both their coats were smooth and short, much like my own. The small brown one began to thump her tail and gave a small and rather unsure smile. 

The older, black one asked, “Who’s there? Frodo and Santana is that you?”

 Frodo responded, “Yes Harriet, we have returned with a special guest. Is he back yet?” 

The black dog, whose name was Harriet shook her head.

 “No, not here, anyway. You may want to check the Sentinels quarters. I smell his stench coming from there.”

Santana softly chuckled as we thanked them and left from the way we came. We greeted Bailey and the plump blonde corgi as we left the cabin.

 “Long trip, dears?” the larger corgi asked. 

Santana nodded as we walked by. The little one’s head drooped ever so slightly, and the larger one shouted out:

“We’ll make sure to save some of the good stuff for you all!” 

Frodo’s nub of a tail picked up and began wagging as he looked back.

 He shouted back, “Thanks Bon!” 

 I watched the two corgis as the bigger one, “Bon,” seemed to be consoling the smaller one.

“The two corgis are a part of the group that prepares our food. Not fit for scouting or fighting so we keep them occupied around the camp.” said Santana.

“Although Bailey may make a fine scout one day—assuming she doesn’t fall into her mother’s pawsteps.” Frodo shot back at him. 

Santana offered a small nod, “And the other two? The black and brown dogs? Who are they?” 

This time Frodo responded. 

“Harriet, the old blind one, is part of the new council. We had to form a new one after we got here. Although, the council really just works as a group of advisors for him, you know? They don’t make too many decisions, just offer some input every now and then. Still a big role nonetheless!” 

Santana rolled his eyes, “And the small brown one is her seer, Hanna. They group together on the other side of the shed. For as long as anyone can remember they’ve been together. Though we’re not sure who would be worse off without the other. Sure Harriet wouldn’t be able to see, but, well, Hanna is a unique dog.” 

I cocked my head, “Unique how? Who’s him? Where’s the Sentinel’s quarters?” 

Again Santana rolled his eyes and then motioned with his head to a smaller building close by, “That’s where she stays. It’s the only building with a door. She hates using the doggy doors. Some buildings even have a back door just so she can use it without having to crawl through one of our doggy doors.” 

The two dogs laughed at the thought of the Sentinel crawling through a doggy door cross was enough to break their serious demeanor. 

I looked at them expectantly and they each took a deep breath and then sighed before seemingly remembering they weren’t alone. I left my head turned to the side.

“So shall we go in?”

 Santana shook his head, “No, this is as far as we go. It’s just you from this point. Go knock on the door; they’ll answer. We’ll be in the dining hall once you’re done.”

         I bid my dog’s farewell and went up to the door. Raising my paw I knocked just two times. I heard the snap of fingers, and the door slowly creaked open. There were two figures standing on the other side. Each one obviously expecting my arrival. A single voice broke the silence.

 “You’re late, Storm.”