“They have pet rescue people?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“And they just pick up any dog they want to?” He seemed shocked by this.
“Well, not any dog,” I said. “Just the ones that don’t have a home. You know, the ones that live on the streets; strays.”
“But if an animal lives on the street, they are looked after by everyone in the village,” he said. “They’re not captured and given to one family to raise. Dogs and cats on the streets look after things. They kill the vermin.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not now. Now, if a dog or cat is a stray, they’re picked up and taken to the pound and if they’re owner doesn’t come to get them or they can’t be adopted, they’re put to sleep.”
“Put to sleep?” he asked.
“Yeah, you know, euthanized,” I said but he didn’t get it. “They’re given a needle with some kind of drug that kills them.”
“They’re killed?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Why?” He sounded so appalled.
“Because we have too many dogs and cats,” I tried to tell him. “If they were all left alive, their population would get out of control. We wouldn’t be able to feed them.”
“That’s why you leave them in the streets,” he said. “They eat the vermin. Nobody has to feed them, even though some choose to. You see, that way, the rats and mice are taken care of and so are the cats and dogs. My way is much better and a lot kinder to the dogs.”
“Anyway, if they have a license,” I said, “they must have an owner.”
“A license?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Your dog has to have a license. So does your cat.”
“Do you have to buy this license?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Who do you buy it from?” he asked.
“The city,” I answered.
“Ah ha,” he laughed. “The real reason you need a license. It’s no more than tax collection for the mayor. Does every city have this tax?”
“Yeah, I guess.” He was making it sound like some kind of scam by the government.
“I admire the government of the people,” he said. “Always coming up with new ways to bleed money from the people. Paying to keep an animal. Ingenious!”
“Bottom line,” I said, trying hard not to be angry with him. “Barker’s been through the portal more than once.”
“What about us?” he asked.
“What about us?” I repeated his question.
“Well if there is a portal,” he continued, “and it’s only located in one spot, how did we get here? We didn’t all fall through the same portal.”
“I think,” I started, “the veil between worlds becomes porous when the 360 hits, leaving little holes all over the world. We’re just the unfortunate ones who unknowingly found them and fell through.”
“Hmm,” he said. “That makes sense.”
“Thank you,” I smiled at him. “Sometimes I come up with reasonable explanations for things.”
“That you do,” he lifted my hand and gently kissed the back of it. I blushed uncontrollably as he lowered our hands back down. He looked over at Marshal. “Do you think he’ll make it?”
“I don’t know, I hope so,” I said. I didn’t want to even consider the possibility that Marshal could die. He was my friend and I loved him too much.
“I hope so too,” he said.
We sat there, holding hands and staring at the stars. We didn’t want to talk too much, afraid that we would alert the Blood Demons to our presence. I was hoping that they, too, had stopped for the night. It was just as hard for them to see in the dark as it was for us. After a while, I rested my head on his shoulder and fell asleep. What seemed like only seconds later, Max was shaking me awake. My eyes flew wide open when I remembered where I was and what we were doing.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. I was scared that we had both fallen asleep and that the Demons were closing in on us.
“Everything’s good,” he whispered. “The sun is rising and we should get going. I’ve waken the others and they’re all ready to go.”
“Why’d you let me sleep so long?” I was angry that I was the last one up. I didn’t like that everyone was waiting for me.
“You were exhausted,” he told me. “You needed the rest. It doesn’t really matter anyway; we should get going. Robert’s going to carry Marshal again. Emma Lee’s going to sprinkle the powder.”
“Oh,” I felt a little left out. Max recognized my self-pity.
“We need all the fighters ready to take on Howling Wolf and his men should they be waiting for us,” he said. “Robert can’t really help; he’s carrying Marshal and, I figured, you’re a better fighter than Emma Lee so, I suggested she take charge of the powder.”
“Oh, okay.” I felt a little better.
We slowly left the coverage of the forest and tentatively started walking east. We kept alert for the possibility of an ambush, our guns raised, ready to fire. Emma Lee took some powder out of the cup and sprinkled it into the air. The tiny particles of dust gathered together forming a cloud and then floated quickly in the same direction we were going. This was good; we had been heading the right way.
The cloud of dust took its time today; we followed it for about half an hour before it decided to swoop and swirl and then take off. We stopped and looked to Emma Lee who had already reached into the cup for more rock powder. Max took Marshal from Robert and Emma Lee released the powder into the air. It was going in a new direction now. It was still heading east but now it floated a little more towards the north. That made sense; Calgary was a little northeast of where we were.
This time we were able to follow it longer. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight, and the powder held a steady direction so, we were able to see it from far away. We had been out of the woods for over an hour now and, still, no Howling Wolf and no Blood Demons. Maybe I was right and they were sticking close to Marshal’s, believing that we would eventually go back there. I thought about the house we had all built together. I could still see Barker digging out the wooden planks and smiled at the memory. It was heartbreaking to think what those men were doing to it. I wondered if they had discovered the underground fortress as well. What did it matter, though? If we found the portal, we would be leaving this world anyway; away from this savage world, away from the Blood Demons, away from the homes we had worked so hard to build.
“Okay, mate, it’s my turn to carry the lad,” said Cornelius. Max had been carrying Marshal for almost an hour and the strain was starting to show on his face.
“No,” said Max, “I can go a little further.”
“Look,” said Cornelius. “You can’t wear yourself out and I haven’t carried him yet. Come on don’t be such a hero and give him to me.”
“But the powder...” Max started.
“I can use more,” said Emma Lee. “Besides, the sun is in my eyes. Maybe we can stop for a bit while it rises higher and out of our line of sight.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Robert. “We should check on Marshal. I want to make sure the tape is holding.”
So, we stopped, although I didn’t want to. The sooner we got to where the city should be, the better. I didn’t like the fact that we hadn’t seen anybody. Where were the hundred men that Howling Wolf had? Surely, they were somewhere around. If he was smart, he would have had them positioned all around the forest waiting for us to come out. He did see us when he killed Billy and Kitten. They were obviously close to the mine when they slaughtered Cocoa. So, where were they now?
“Worried?” asked Max when he noticed that I hadn’t sat down to rest.
“It doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Where are they?”
“You’re right,” it was Colonel Al who had walked over to join us while Robert and Emma Lee checked on Marshal. “Any good commander would have established posts to look for their enemy. But just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re no
t there. We shouldn’t stop for very long. The further away we get, the more at ease they will feel.”
“Why would we want to make them feel at ease?” I asked.
“Because,” said the colonel. “If they feel at ease, then we know that all they want is a piece of land. If they leave that piece of land and start hunting us, then we know their goal is to kill us. That’s when we worry. That’s when we run. There is no changing the mind of a determined hunter; the kill is their drug and a powerful one at that. There is no addiction worse than killing. I’ve seen a lot of these addicts and there’s no stopping them.”
“So have I,” whispered Max. I looked over to him and reached out to touch his arm.
Barker came over to our little group and pushed his nose into my hand then did the same to Colonel Al. He looked from one of us to the other and whined before looking out into the field with his ears cocked and his tail curled high up in the air. We followed his line of sight and I felt my heart stop. There were two men on horseback about the length of two football fields away. They were holding what looked like binoculars to their eyes, searching all around them. They had not discovered us yet.
“Get down!” Colonel Al whispered. We all fell flat to our stomachs without being told twice. The grass was tall out here in the field where it had time to grow without anyone mowing it or trampling it. Hopefully, it was tall enough to keep us hidden.
“If we’re going to proceed without being seen,” said Colonel Al to Max, “we’re going to have eliminate those two. It won’t be long before they discover us and signal the others.”
“You’re right,” said Max. “I think we should sneak through the grass and attack them.”
“Right,” said the colonel. “You go to the left and I’ll go to the right. We’ll attack them from the side, preferably with knives so, the others won’t hear the gunfire.”
“Okay,” said Max, crouched and ready to go. I didn’t like this plan but Max shot me a look that said ‘don’t interfere’ and I kept quiet. If anyone could do this, it would be Max and Colonel Al so, I shut up and let them.
“They’ll be okay,” Robert said and I looked over to him and nodded.
We watched as Colonel Al and Max took off through the grass. They were fast despite the fact that they were practically crawling through the grass so they wouldn’t be seen. I kept my eyes on the two men on horseback, hoping they wouldn’t see them. They still had the binoculars to their eyes and were focused on something to the south of them. I couldn’t see what they were looking at but I didn’t care at this point just as long as they didn’t see Max or Colonel Al.
They both got to the men at the same time. Neither Blood Demon realized they were there until their horses started to fidget and move backwards, heads high in the air, ears turned back. The men dropped their binoculars and tried to steady their horses. They still didn’t detect Max or Colonel Al. Then it happened. I saw Max reach up and pull his man off of his horse and down to the ground; the colonel did the same. I held my breath as the men struggled on the ground, rolling through the grass and wrestling back and forth. I saw Max raise his hand and come down fast. A couple more lunges and it was over. He looked over to the colonel who had already killed his man, his military training obvious. The colonel had broken the man’s neck before his feet touched the ground after being pulled off of his horse. I saw them shake hands then turned and waved at us to show that they were okay.
They weren’t okay, though, and neither were we. While they shook hands and waved at us, celebrating their victory, the horses had run off. Killing those men was pointless if they let the horses make their way back to Howling Wolf with their riders no longer on them. I gestured for them to come back as quick as possible.
“Emma Lee get more powder,” I said. “Cornelius, pick up Marshal. We have to go!”
“But it’s okay now,” said Cornelius. “We have a bit more time.”
“No, we don’t,” I urged. “The horses ran off. It won’t be long before the others come to find the missing riders. We need to go, now! And we have to travel faster than before because if they come and discover the bodies of those men, they’ll send their whole army after us.”
“Nicole is right,” said Robert. “As soon as they get back, Emma Lee, throw the powder.”
Max and the colonel were back in less than five minutes. They, too, realized what it meant to let the horses escape. Emma Lee released the powder and we all followed the small cloud faster than we had before; we were practically jogging. It wasn’t long before the fast pace and the weight of Marshal became too much for Cornelius and we stopped so he could transfer him over to Robert. As we increased our pace, carrying Marshal became harder and we had to stop and transfer him a few times.
The good thing about our increased speed, was the fact that we didn’t have to use a lot of the powder in the cup that Emma Lee carried. We were able to keep up with it as it flew through the sky. I knew we were getting closer to where the city was supposed to be when I noticed Barker getting more and more excited. He kept running far out ahead of us and coming back, wagging his tail and letting out low barks. We had to be getting close. We were into the afternoon now and the increased pace was making me thirsty. We stopped again to catch our breath and have a sip of water from the bottles in the backpack.
“I don’t think anyone has found the bodies, yet,” said Max. But just the fact that Max even mentioned this, showed me that he was worried. “We shouldn’t stop long, though. They have horses and could easily catch up to us even if they found them now.”
We finished our sips and moved Marshal to Robert’s back for the third time. Emma Lee threw the powder and we were off again. We must be in the city now, I thought to myself. It was weird to see all the land without houses or buildings of any kind; no people or cars cluttering the roads. No roads! It was just land for miles and miles around us. It felt so open and free.
“Private, are we done?” Colonel Al’s voice broke my daydreaming. I hadn’t noticed that Barker had stopped. He was lying on his stomach growling at something none of us could see.
“Barker, are you okay?” I asked as I knelt beside him and scratched behind his ears. He looked at me and barked. “What?”
“Is this it?” asked Emma Lee. “Is this the door that leads to the other world?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. I reached out to check but felt nothing. I don’t know what I was expecting the portal to feel like. Maybe I would see part of my arm disappear if I reached into it. I stepped a couple of more steps farther and reached out again. Still, I felt nothing. Maybe this was the wrong place. I looked down at Barker and he stood and started barking louder at the empty space in front of him. I didn’t understand.
Then, the sound of a gun being fired filled the air and I turned to look behind us. The Blood Demons were coming! There must have been about twenty of them, all on horses, galloping toward us. They had guns raised and were firing one bullet after another. I looked at my friends to see if anyone had been hit and saw them all flat on the ground trying to avoid the gunfire. I looked down at Barker again.
“How do we get through?” I pleaded with him. The portal was our only escape now. If we didn’t get through now, we would die! “Please, Barker, show me!” He came to me and started pulling on my coat. I let out a frustrated sigh and felt tears come to my eyes. Why was he trying to pull me down? It wouldn’t help. They would be here within minutes to kill us. He pulled on my jacket again, growling and barking. “No, I don’t want to get down! I need you to show us how to get through!”
“What’s in your pocket?” It was Max. He had been watching Barker pulling on my jacket. I reached into my pocket and felt the pile of rocks I had put in there in case we needed to make more powder. I pulled one out and Barker started wagging his tail and barking uncontrollably.
“Will this do it?” I turned to where I thought the portal was and threw the rock towards it.
A ripple of air appeared and then a hole opened.
I couldn’t see what was inside. It all looked blurry and full of swirling colours. I stared at it in disbelief. Here it is, I thought. This is my way back home. An arrow flew past my head, catching a bit of my hair. I looked at the others and locked eyes with Max.
“Let’s go!” His decision was made for him. I knew he didn’t want to go, that he wanted to stay in this more familiar world but he had no choice now. The demons were getting closer and their bullets would become more accurate. I reached out my hand but he didn’t take it.
“Go!” he shouted to me. “I’ll keep them away.” He turned and started shooting at the approaching men. Oh, how he frustrated me!
I looked to the others who were already on their feet. Robert went first with Marshal on his back followed by Cornelius and Emma Lee who were holding each other’s hand. I looked at Max who was still firing at the men on their horses. He had been joined by the colonel.
“Come on, you guys, let’s go!” I yelled. “The others are through. It’s just us. Please, let’s go!”
“Go, Colonel,” Max told the man standing beside him.
“Not without you,” said Colonel Al and I was thankful he was on my side.
“I’ll be right behind you,” urged Max. “Go! Take Nicky with you.”
“No!” I yelled but it was too late. Colonel Al grabbed me and started to leap through the hole that seemed to be getting smaller. It needed another rock thrown into it to keep it open but the rocks were in my pocket and I couldn’t get to them. I stared desperately at Max, hoping he would stop shooting and come through the portal. I saw Barker run over to him and grab the end of his coat in his teeth and pull him towards us. I love that dog, I thought as I saw Max lower his gun and turn towards us. The portal was shrinking fast and I prayed they’d get through before it disappeared. Our eyes locked and I felt relief as he and Barker started towards us. My relief turned to horror as I saw an arrow flying through the air, aimed at Max’s back.
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