by Bryce THOMAS
The group followed him to the water hole at the back of the first big cave and, like Rhamin, took their fill. When he saw everyone was ready, he trotted out of the cave into the bright morning sunlight climbed over the facing rock and set off at a steady lope, his long thin legs eating up the ground as he gazed at the dark line of mountains on the distant horizon. The air was stirred by a light breeze, sending up the dust in eddies that travelled along in front of them. The sun was behind them at first and their long shadows danced ahead of them on the surface of the bare dusty ground; but as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, with every stride and every heartbeat, their shadows shortened beneath them, becoming black spots, magic carpets of darkness transporting them effortlessly, through the blistering sunlight, to their destination.
For half the day they kept up the pace and still the distant line of mountains appeared no nearer. There was a river nearby where they intended to stop and rest for a short while. But when they arrived at its bank the river bed was dry and cracked as far as the eye could see. They split up and wandered along the dry depression looking for any sign of wetness but the surface was hot and as solid as rock. ‘Okay,’ Rhamin stated. ‘That just means we have to find and take on water before we invade the compound. None of us will have time to stop afterwards.’ With that, they regrouped and resumed their loping trek towards the mountains.
It was late in the day and an hour after sunset when they arrived at the sharp metal strands of fencing that formed the outer perimeter of the farm. The mountains to the northeast were still no bigger, yet they had travelled more than sixty miles towards them. They all lay down and panted, sniffing the air to obtain as much information as they could about their surroundings. There was a faint smell of water on the breeze but it was towards the centre of the farm compound, possibly another three miles ahead. There was no sign of cattle, calves or sheep.
Silvah looked along the fence. It seemed endless but she noticed that it was not impenetrable. With her sharp eyes she had spotted a patch that had been repaired. They ambled towards it. ‘Looks like a good place to go through,’ she said as she squeezed under the bottom wire. The others followed without a sound, although Seth gave out a faint squeal as his ear was slashed by a spike on the wire that was as sharp as a mountain lion’s claw. Powla licked it clean and silently nudged him for being so careless. When all were through the fence Rhamin silently set off again loping gently on ahead. Without a sound, the others followed in single file. They all knew how important it was to be totally quiet. Their big feet made almost no noise at all, and despite the long journey their breathing was still easy and unlaboured. They crossed another line of fencing within sight of the farm stead. This fence was less difficult to traverse, being only three strands of sharply barbed metal. Yet there was still no sign of any animals. Rhamin looked at the others. Even Solin looked puzzled, though he didn’t say a word.
‘I smell water,’ Natan declared in a whisper. They all stopped and lifted their heads. Instantly they realised that they were within a few hundred yards of the farm troughs, containers that men used for putting water in for their animals; and despite the strong smell of sheep mixed with the scent of various other animals, there was clearly water close by.
Moving on, they would soon see now that the troughs were inside a third line of fencing, this time made from tall posts and rails of wood and covered with a strong metal net. Rhamin sat and studied for a while. There was a farm house in the centre of the complex half hidden behind a large man made shelter. There was a similar large man-made construction on the opposite side, forming and completing the square. They were big but got even bigger as they headed towards the first trough. Jumping easily over the fence Rhamin took a drink of water. The others followed suit. It was warm water, heated by the day’s bright sunlight, but it was refreshing.
‘Take your time,’ he whispered. Daylight had now faded into darkness. There was no cloud cover and the moon was dark, but starlight would be adequate for their keen eyesight. He signalled for Fayli and Charka to go around the fence to the right and for Seth, Rasci and Natan to circle round to the left. They all knew what they were looking for. Rhamin nodded to Solin, Powla and Silvah to follow him. He was taking the direct route straight to the centre of the farmstead. Soon the four were up against the walls of the large structure. It was even higher than they had expected, its black form towering into the night sky above them. Slowly, they edged around the perimeter of the building to an open end facing the house; inside was darker than the night. It took him only a moment to realise there were no animals there. It smelled of old dirt and stale fodder.
Then suddenly they heard it; the sound of a sheep bleating. The silence was so great that the sound, small as it was, made them jump. Their ears pricked up and zoned in on the silence where the sound had been only a fraction of a second before. There were, no doubt, animals penned up at the opposite side of the farmstead.
‘Come, let’s head round by the water troughs,’ Rhamin whispered, turning to head back the way they had come.
‘What? For goodness sake!’ Solin protested.
‘Quiet!’ Rhamin was angry. On a still night such as this any sound carries for miles. He turned and headed away from the farmstead, looking for the other two teams. But when he got to the fence he realised that Solin had not followed.
‘Damn’ Rhamin cursed. His eyes strained into the distance but Solin was nowhere to be seen. ‘I’m going back for him,’ he growled. ‘You two see if you can regroup and get around to the enclosure at the other side of those buildings.’ With that he loped quietly back towards the opening between the house and the building. He stopped at the corner. He could hear voices inside the house. A dog barked and then there was more talking by a man.
Where is Solin? he thought to himself. Surely he hasn’t gone straight through the farm yard. Once again he stopped and waited, listening for any sound. Suddenly a light beam shot out from the peak of one of the three buildings, drowning the far side of the yard in light. The dog barked again, only this time it didn’t stop. Rhamin stayed in the shadows, concealed by the corner of the building. He peered into the floodlit area, wishing the dog would shut up. It was warning the men folk. Even at that distance he could hear the dog saying that there were intruders in the yard. The farmer was yelling back at the dog with commands that Rhamin did not understand. Solin was nowhere to be seen but he must have done something that had caused the shaft of light to appear. They will see you. He recalled what Zelda had said. The light beam must have picked out Solin. But still Rhamin did not know what to do. With Solin in there somewhere, the farmer was bound to see him now.
And then, suddenly the dog stopped barking and the lights went out.
It was a false hope that the farmer was going to settle down for the night. The silence lasted all of two seconds. Suddenly, a door opened and a broad shaft of light sprang across the back yard and onward to the adjacent field. Then, a shadow broke the light beam and behind it there was a man with a long pointed stick in one hand and a shorter, thicker stick in the other. Suddenly the short stick lit up, sending a beam of light where there had previously been darkness. Wherever he turned the stick, the light beam followed, totally under his control as he swung it around in the darkness looking for the intruders. Then, without warning, the dog pushed past him and headed for the paddock at the far side of the house. The dog was big and, from where Rhamin stood, looked as if it had no ears. As it spun around in the beam of light, he realised that it had soft floppy ears, in his mind, not much good for hearing directionally. It had a broad face with correspondingly floppy jowls, a thin smooth coat and a tail no longer than the tip of its nose. It was at least as big as a wolf, even as big as Rhamin, and much heavier; it was wider and, by the looks of it, much stronger. It looked like a solid block of muscle. Beneath the dog swung its pendulous udders. It was thin in the waist. Obviously it had recently given birth to a litter of pups and Rhamin supposed she was still feeding them. For an insta
nce he thought of Yeltsa and her babies. They were overdue, but birthing was a cherished time for every wolf in the pack. All would take a part in helping to rear them. It was an activity that bonded every member of the pack to every other. Most of the time.
The torch light flashed towards Rhamin but he kept well down. As the light beam panned past him he watched as the man shone it in the opposite direction and headed towards the far enclosure. The sound of bleating sheep could be heard clearly now, coming from the far side of the farm. They were not calling for their offspring as the calls heard earlier no doubt had been. The sounds now were noises of fear and panic. The other wolves were already attacking. The man shouted something and the dog veered off in the direction of the light beam and the crying sheep.
Rhamin knew he had no time to make his way around the perimeter of the building. Instead he sprang up and raced across the yard, sheltering from the man and his light behind the corner of the house. He could see it all happening from there. The farmer shone his light at Seth who was holding down a sheep by the throat. The light beam startled Seth, and instantly, realising he was in danger, he let go of the sheep and began to run. But swerve as he did, he could not shake off the light beam. The manoeuvring slowed him down and within seconds the dog had intercepted him. They shouted something at each other and then the dog’s jaws clenched tightly on Seth’s shoulder. There was a fight unlike Rhamin had seen for many a year. There was snarling and growling and teeth snapping and tearing. Then suddenly the man, who had been running and closing in on them, shouted and the dog let go and dropped to the ground like a stone. The man lifted his pointed weapon. There was a crack like thunder; a flash of flame from the tip of the gun; and Seth fell over. He didn’t move.
The man took only a second to contemplate the dead wolf before swinging the torch onto Fayli who was carrying off a dead sheep. She kept hold of it as she ran but it was impossible to outrun a dog with such a heavy payload. The dog soon caught up to her and, as Fayli dropped her prey, she sunk her long canine teeth into the jowls of the enraged attacker. Once again, there was an almighty scrap. Blood spurted from the dog’s face as Fayli wrenched at it with her iron jaws, refusing to let it go or be shaken off. For a moment Rhamin thought that Fayli was going to win the fight. He felt so proud of her as the dog tore itself free from her clenched teeth. But then, suddenly, seeing his dog free, the farmer shouted and once again it dropped like a stone. A sound of thunder, a flash of fire, the smell of something burning and Fayli fell over with a yelp.
Rhamin stood there helpless. He just had no idea how to get around to the other side to help his comrades. He did not have time to circumvent the farmstead’s massive buildings, and going straight through the yard would just take him within yards of the farmer and his deadly device. He just watched and hoped that the others had fled. They were getting killed and the only way to end the carnage was to get everyone out. But the light beam swung in a wide arc across the paddock. Sure enough there were two more wolves attempting to carry off a sheep.
The man shouted a command, the dog bounded towards the wolves and the man ran after it. He was a long way off them and it was obvious he needed to get closer to do the manoeuvre that was to kill them. Rhamin had no time to waste. He had to distract the dog and the man somehow. He howled at the top of his voice. The dog spun around, but the man commanded and the dog set off again after the two wolves that were, perhaps, two hundred and fifty yards away. They had seen the dog and had dropped the sheep. They were running and swerving, trying to escape from the sticky grip of the light beam.
The open door of the house was only fifteen or twenty paces away and Rhamin was heading past it. With the intention of distracting the dog, he called out again, spurring the farmer to swivel the light beam around, blinding Rhamin for an instance. But then, suddenly, from out of the black shadows, Solin raced past Rhamin’s shoulder and went through the open door and straight into the interior of the dwelling. At first Rhamin thought he was imagining it. His pack was being slaughtered and Solin goes into their killer’s home! Without thinking, he followed close on Solin’s heels. Solin had stopped. There, in the corner of the room were two young children; and behind them lay a basket with a mound of heaving puppies.
‘We have to kill them to distract the man,’ Solin barked. The two children stood, huddled together, their saucer eyes transfixed by the salivering jowls of the big grey wolf that confronted them. As Solin paused, Rhamin could see he was deciding whether to take the larger or the smaller of the two.
‘No!’ Rhamin commanded as he lunged towards Solin from the middle of the room, but Solin was taking no notice. Somewhere there was a scream. Solin’s teeth flashed as he lunged at the little boy, but he didn’t know what had hit him. Rhamin’s feet landed on Solin’s side, knocking him off balance and making him slide on his side towards another door. There was a woman standing there that, in the heat of the moment, neither of the wolves had seen. She lowered her hand from her mouth and screamed again.
‘Get out now,’ Rhamin said to Solin. ‘If you don’t, then I’ll kill you.’
‘You fool; you want to have the pleasure of killing them yourself.’
‘Out!’ Rhamin repeated and went for Solin’s throat. Solin was fast. He side stepped and caught Rhamin on the side of the head with his long teeth as the black wolf slid past on the slippery floor. As Rhamin swung around, Solin, once again, was between him and the children. Keeping his eyes locked on Solin’s, head down, slowly, Rhamin circled around him so that yet again he formed a barrier through which he knew Solin would, this time, not attempt to break.
‘You’re a fool.’ Solin turned to the door. ‘I hope he kills you,’ he snapped and then lurched out into the cool breeze.
Rhamin looked up at the woman. She was quiet now but still holding her hand to her mouth. He looked at the children. Their eyes seemed even wider now. The bundle of puppies still squirmed in the basket behind them, oblivious to any danger. Without wasting another second he pushed past the little boy whose tiny hands pressed against the wolf’s thick black pelage. The little boy had reacted automatically; fearlessly trying to push the animal away from his sister and himself.
But Rhamin felt nothing as he reached into the basket and grabbed two of the sightless dog pups. They didn’t move. They didn’t even make a sound. He turned, looked once more directly at the little boy, their eyes locking as they exchanged glances. The boy’s big eyes didn’t show fear anymore. They revealed a child’s courage as he, mouth pursed with determination, once again pushed with both hands against the shoulder of the giant wolf. And then, letting out a grunt of admiration, a sound possibly not understood by his tiny adversary, Rhamin bounded out of the door and headed towards the shadows at the other side of the yard.
The man was heading back. He had heard his wife scream, but he was still a good hundred yards away. He had shouted a command to the dog and she was on her way to attack Solin and delay him until the man could get near enough to get a clear shot with his weapon. Solin took the dog head on. He was going to sort it out once and for all. But it had a weight advantage and when they collided he went bouncing off heavily to one side like a rubber ball. The farmer was closing now as the dog intercepted Solin again. Rhamin could see what was going to happen. He thought he should leave Solin to his fate but then he put down the puppies and howled at the top of his lungs, ‘See what I have got, you big ugly prairie rat!’ The dog spun around only to see Rhamin pick up the two puppies again and head off towards the fence. He knew the dog was after him, guessing that her puppies meant more to her than the man’s stupid sheep. He knew she would be upon him soon if he didn’t clear the fence first time. He did. His long legs streaked over it and he landed on his big cushion feet and sped off into the darkness. He felt a rush of air as a piece of hot metal passed between his ears and whined as it skimmed the rock hard ground. A cold shiver snaked along his back as he recalled the horrible memory of a similar piece of hot metal that skimmed past Silvah when they
were being hunted that first time by men. Another tiny but deadly missile went way over his head, but he didn’t stop to look round; he could hear the panting dog in close pursuit. She was gaining on him.
They must have been half way to the outer perimeter fence before the big dog barked. Sheer determination driving her on, she was now only a few strides behind him. Hardly slowing, Rhamin dropped one of his prey and kept on running. He thought the dog would stop to attend to that one puppy but he was wrong. With one less puppy to carry, he could breathe easier now, but he was still losing ground. He figured that if he dropped this one she would still keep after him. No, he had no choice. He ran. Then, from behind he heard Natan barking at the dog. The young wolf was heading towards the puppy that Rhamin had dropped. The dog slowed and then stopped. She saw another wolf coming up behind Natan, and they were going to kill her baby. She raced back towards it, picked it up and stood there, puppy in her mouth, chest heaving, and growling at her two attackers as they veered off and followed Rhamin into the night.
CHAPTER THREE
The shadowy forms of Natan and Charka emerged out of the distance as they cut across towards Rhamin. ‘You okay?’ he asked them as they slowed to a trot.
‘You were right,’ Natan said, his tongue lolloping out at the side of his mouth as he panted. ‘Men’s animals are not as easy prey as they look! And men kind are deadly!’
‘Old Zelda was right,’ Rhamin replied. ‘Our plan was about as useful as a ten day old corpse in a hot summer.’ He sat down dejected. ‘What have I done?’ he groaned. ‘We’ve gained no food and lost two of our family into the bargain.’ He looked at Charka. ‘I am so sorry about your sister, Charka,’ he said, and went over to her. He licked her face where a tear had left a dark stain down her muzzle. ‘I am so sorry.’
She nodded. ‘Fayli was a brave wolf. But she died in a fight, and that’s the way she would have wanted it to be. She was never one to want to grow old gracefully. I mean, look at Zelda for goodness sake!’