The Overending

by Rick Johnson

  After securing the boat on the bank, the Wolf said something to the crocodile and slapped him on the back in a playful way. Although Emil could not hear the Wolf’s conversation, it was clear that she had no fear of the monster. After shaking its head side to side, as if communicating something to the Wolf, the giant reptile turned and slithered into the water. Even as the monster disappeared into the darkness, the Wolf turned and quickly walked off up the hillside, passing Emil and PorNart’s hiding place. The hidden beasts continued to lie pressed to the ground, unmoving and silent, for several minutes after the Wolf passed by.

  After about ten minutes, as Emil judged it, there was no sign of the crocodile or the Wolf returning. “Let’s move,” he whispered to PorNart. “We’d best be goin’ before that big fellow comes back. I don’t want to find out if he’d see us as friends, or a snack.”

  Backing quietly out of the grove of trees where they were hiding, Emil again bent low so that PorNart could climb on his back. The Coyote was still weak from his ordeal and could walk only with halting, unstable steps.

  “Here ya go, old fellow,” Emil said softly as PorNart put his arms around Emil’s neck. “We’ll just follow where that Wolf went, real careful like, and see what’s what. You’re goin’ to need some better care than I’ve been givin’ you. Don’t know if that Wolf beastie is a bad one or not, so we’ll take it real easy like. But maybe she can lead us to somewhere we can get help.”

  Moving silently, Emil chose each step carefully as he followed the Wolf. Struggling through the darkness and the scrub brush that covered the lower part of the hill, Emil found that he could not keep pace with the Wolf. Staying on her track, however, turned out to be easier than expected. A well-worn trail ran up the hill—one that the Wolf clearly knew well enough to run in the dark. Although the Wolf soon left Emil and PorNart far behind, there could be little doubt she was ahead of them on the trail.

  Struggling along through the brush, bent nearly double with PorNart clinging to his back, Emil looked like some fantastic hunchback creature. Somehow, however, his spirits had not been higher during his recent ordeals than they were now. “Regardless of the reptile company that Wolf keeps,” he muttered to Por-Nart, “she doesn’t strike me as a bad beast—no sly sneakin’, no harsh words to that Croc, no shifty lookin’ this way and that…”

  In less than twenty minutes, they left the brush behind and broke out into open farmland. The trail continued on, as well-worn as ever. Emil realized that this meant it must be used heavily. Wherever the trail was taking them, there were other beasts about.

  Brothers Outside the Law

  The smell of wood smoke first caught Emil’s attention. Quickly following that unmistakable odor was a glimmer of light some distance ahead. Pressing on toward the light, Emil came upon a neat house, showing its brown color in the light flooding through the windows. Nearly staggering now with weariness and hoping against hope that the house might mean help was near, Emil nevertheless maintained caution. Crossing the open ground to the house as low as possible, he pulled up just before the front porch. Voices from inside the house filtered out through open windows.

  “Speed and I found the balloon,” one voice said, “but there was no one around it. Looks like they set up a makeshift shelter, but then lit out—probably when they heard us coming.”

  “Well, of course, they lit out!” another voice said with booming laugher. “With Speed bellowing like a choir of hellions the way he does—why, I’d light out myself!”

  “But, what was I supposed to do?” the first voice replied. “There was no way to get to where the balloon went down without using Speed to plow through the grass.”

  “I know that,” the second voice chuckled, “it’s just no surprise that they didn’t want to meet their rescue party!”

  “YAR!” Emil yelled, breaking into a smile. Despite PorNart clinging to his back, Emil clumped up the stairs and sprang across the porch with enough noisy energy to wake the dead. He was about to bang on the door, when it opened. There stood the young Wolf they had been following, along with a much older male Wolf with long ashes-gray hair, broad shoulders, and clear eyes circled by wizened rings. The rough, dark clothes of the older Wolf were of the style of a sea-beast. Another female Wolf, heavy-set, wearing a homespun dress and plaid apron, came from another room to join the group as well.

  “YAR! YAR! YAR!” Emil cried joyfully, laying PorNart carefully on the floor. “We’re saved!” It was the last thing Emil said, as the exhaustion and terror took their toll, and he collapsed in a heap.

  “Glory,” the older female Wolf exclaimed, “do you see that? Why, it’s a Wood Cow—and carrying some poor escaped beast, I’ll be sure!”

  Surprisingly enough, PorNart was in better shape than Emil at the moment, and was able to answer the questions which flew from the three Wolves. Yes, he and Emil had escaped—from the sacred climb in the Hedgelands. Yes, they had fled the downed balloon when they heard the bellowing of the monster crocodile. Yes, they would be very grateful for some help.

  “Now, we best hush up for a while,” Mar-Marie, the older female Wolf, said at last. “These poor, harassed beasts need food and comfort, rest, and relief.” Giving the male Wolf a knowing look, she continued, “We’ve got to get these friends below right away—the High One’s thugs may be after them. We can trust them—no need to play our assumed roles.”

  “Aye, Mar,” the older Wolf replied, “Angelana and I will move them into the safe room.”

  Suddenly alert, PorNart eyed Mar-Marie. “Assumed roles?” he said, slightly suspicious.

  “When you live way out here, helping beasts, like yourselves, escape the High One, you can’t just hang out a sign saying what you’re doing. So Ord and I normally let on that we’re simple farmers who’ve lived here for more’n thirty years. Only those we absolutely trust know the truth.”

  PorNart let out a low whistle and started to ask more questions.

  “Not now, friend. We’ve got to get you to safety.”

  With that, Ord quickly moved into action, as if emergencies such as this were a normal part of life. He opened a tiny closet, which appeared to hold only a few pairs of boots, brooms, and such small household goods. Moving the items out of the way, he walked to the opposite side of the room. As he stepped into the very corner of the room, a floorboard creaked under his weight. To PorNart’s amazement, a few seconds later the back wall of the closet slid aside and an opening appeared! What had almost seemed too small for the few household items inside it, now showed itself to be a mere passageway to a larger space beyond.

  Ord turned and gave PorNart a kindly smile. “Can’t be too careful—don’t want it to be easy to figure out the secret of that closet. Now, you just hold any questions you have for now. We need to get you two to safety as fast as we can.” Motioning to Angelana, he continued, “Let’s show them the way.”

  “O.K., friend,” Angelana said, giving PorNart a kindly grin, “We’re going to take you and the Wood Cow to a place where you can get some rest.” Gently helping the Coyote up, Ord and Angelana squeezed through the narrow closet, supporting him between them. Mar-Marie led the way into the dark passageway with a lantern.

  PorNart noticed a tiny Rabbit hurrying down the stairs ahead of Mar-Marie. The Rabbit was exceptionally tiny, even for Rabbits, who were generally short and thin. PorNart’s guard immediately went up. Rabbits were a bad lot. Their oversized jowls, thick necks, body tattoos, and bulging muscles made them look creepy. And, as every wee beast knew, they were a greedy, thieving clan. Something else about the Rabbit also gave PorNart shivers—the beast had no arms! The Rabbit wore typical clan attire: low-crowned cap with a long bill, tight-fitting pants and shirt, and soft leather boots that were more like socks than shoes. The shirt, however, had no armholes and simply hung from the beast’s shoulders.

  “That’s strange,” PorNart thought, “such a tidy and well-arranged house, but Mar-Marie allows such a vile creature in the door!” Rabbits were th
e worst thieves and liars around, and usually filthy, to boot! Almost every Rabbit he’d ever heard of was either in prison or ought to be. How many times his mother had told him to stay clear of Rabbit neighborhoods. The few times PorNart had encountered Rabbits in the street, they smelled of filth and trouble. Yet, no one but PorNart seemed to be bothered having such a creepy creature among them. “Strange and curious—a curious household,” PorNart thought as they moved forward.

  As ill as he was, the strange and wondrous events of the past few minutes made PorNart come alive with curiosity. His eyes sparked with new energy as the narrow passage became a winding stairway leading downward under the house. It was not more than perhaps twenty steps that separated the closet from a room below the house. Walls of neatly laid stones enclosed a room containing several bunk beds. The sparsely finished room was empty except for the beds, a few tables with chairs, washing bowls, and water pitchers.

  Ord and Angelana gently lifted PorNart onto one of the lower bunks. PorNart sank into the comfy bed with a long sigh of sheer relaxation. Unlike Emil, however, who was still closer to sleep than wakefulness upstairs, PorNart could not sleep. His mind was racing and, just as his hosts had poured out questions, he, too, had much to wonder.

  Within a few minutes, they also brought Emil down the stairs and laid him carefully on a bed. The exhausted Wood Cow was sleeping so deeply that, although he was in good health, he seemed to be barely breathing.

  “Rest, friend,” Ord said to PorNart as he turned to leave. Angelana, however, pulled a chair near to PorNart’s bed and sat down. “Angelana will be staying with you for a while, until she’s sure you’re both sleeping soundly. Later on, we’ll be back to check on you and bring your dinner. For now, your job is to rest and—whatever you do—try not to make noise that might be heard upstairs. You never know when we may have visitors who would not be pleased with our little hideout down here.”

  Ord turned his head toward the Rabbit who was standing quietly off to the side. “This is S’Might,” he said. “Once I and Angelana go back upstairs, S’Might will stay here with you. If you need anything, you just tell S’Might. He will take good care of you.” Seeing PorNart’s surprised look, he added, “He’s the most reliable friend I have, so don’t you worry about him. And—” Ord continued with a grin, “S’Might came to us as an outcast also, so you both arrived here as fugitives. Makes the two of you brothers outside the law, eh?”

  Although not entirely put at ease by Ord’s explanations, PorNart decided to move on and asked a different question: “Why don’t you want anyone to know we’re here?”

  “Well,” Ord replied with a smile, “let’s see, as I just mentioned, you and your friend are fugitives from the High One, unless I miss my guess. And, as I recall, both being a fugitive, and harboring fugitives, puts the High One in a very disagreeable mood…rather likes to hang beasts like that, I seem to have heard.” The Wolf’s smile was broad and friendly, but his eyes were deadly serious. “No, friend—no noise from you two good beasts, please. I like the length of my neck just as it is, and I don’t guess you want yours stretched on a rope either.”

  “No,” PorNart replied, “we’re as quiet as quiet can be.”

  Not daring to talk to Angelana or S’Might after Ord departed, PorNart closed his eyes and tried to sleep. It was hopeless, however. The recent dramatic events raced through his mind. It seemed obvious that he and Emil were now in some kind of carefully created hiding place, apparently able to hold several beasts at a time. Why? Who were these beasts? Question after question boomed through his brain. With seemingly unending curiosity, PorNart did not notice when he finally slipped into a deep sleep.

  Many hours later, PorNart stirred, but did not speak, when Angelana awakened him. Emil, on the other hand, let out a startled cry as Ord prodded him awake. Ord motioned for the surprised Wood Cow to remain silent. “There, there, young fellow,” Ord whispered, “come on over to the table and have a bite to eat. You’ve been sleeping so long, you must be famished.”

  “How long did I sleep?” Emil asked.

  “You and your friend have been asleep for the better part of the past day,” Ord replied.

  “Oh,” Emil smiled, “that’s why I feel so much better!”

  “Yes,” Ord said, “you do seem much better, but now you need to be quiet. No more talk for now.”

  Quietly, PorNart and Emil moved to a table and sat down while Ord and Angelana unpacked a veritable feast of cold foods. “Sorry friends,” Angelana explained matter-of-factly in a low voice, “hot foods give off too much aroma. No one needs to wonder about delicious smells coming up through the floor!”

  Even cold, the hearty food was delicious. A salty stew of brown beans, tomatoes, bits of fish, and hot peppers was just thick enough to be filling, yet thin enough to be cool and refreshing. Crisply fried patties of brown rice, spread with deliciously sweet fresh fruit jelly, balanced out the salty spiciness of the stew. Bowls and spoons made of extremely strong, leathery plant leaves allowed the famished visitors to eat noiselessly.

  As they ate, Angelana quietly explained what would happen next. “We know you have many questions,” she began. “But we cannot answer right now. We need to keep you as safe as possible while you are here and move you on as quickly as we can. It is just before dawn outside now. As soon as you are finished eating, I will lead you on the next stage of your journey out of here.”

  “Where are we going?” Emil asked in a low voice.

  Angelana motioned for him to be silent. “No questions, now,” she said firmly. “Later, you may ask all you want. For now, you must trust us, since the fate of all of us depends on our ability to get you out of the Everlost safely.”

  “Now, finish eating,” Ord said kindly, giving PorNart and Emil a fond embrace as he left. “I will leave you with Angelana—she’s in charge now. Follow her instructions.”

  “But won’t we see you upstairs as we leave…” Emil began to ask. Seeing Ord’s exasperated look, he immediately quieted.

  “Yes—” Ord said, smiling one final time, “—later. Questions later.”

  Into the Grand Deep

  PorNart and Emil quickly finished the simple meal. Once the food was gone, Angelana rolled the leaf utensils up into a single bundle so that she could carry them easily. Motioning for her new friends to follow her, Angelana walked toward the stairs leading up to the house. Instead of walking up the stairs, however, the young Wolf stopped and turned to S’Might. The Rabbit, who had been watching her, gathered himself into a crouch. Leaping high in the air, he neatly performed a complete flip. The leap was higher, in fact, than PorNart would have believed possible, had he not seen it with his own eyes. The leap was so high, and the flip so well-planned, that the Rabbit’s toes lightly brushed the ceiling of the room. Moments later, a portion of the side paneling on the stairway silently slid open.

  “Ingenious!” Emil could not help exclaiming under his breath.

  As S’Might landed, and again crouched on his haunches to rest, Angelana smiled. “Sometimes, the tiniest beast makes the biggest contribution,” she said, looking fondly at the tiny creature. S’Might grinned at PorNart with devilish delight.

  “Well,” PorNart said softly, “S’Might is a whole lot more than I reckoned when I first saw him.”

  “Yes, he is,” Angelana replied, “and you rely on him now, more than you realize… Come on now, we’ve got to move out.”

  Picking up a small pack resting just inside the opening under the stairs, Angelana opened a small pocket on the side. She pulled out several small balls of a dark, waxy substance and handed two to everyone in the party.

  “For the next two hours,” she said, “we are going to travel through a vast cave—the Grand Deep. It’s called that because it runs miles and miles deep underground. The route through the cave is extremely dangerous, but if you follow my instructions carefully, we will all get through it just fine. I’ve never lost a beast or had anyone hurt, and I don’t want you to be
the first. Just do as I say and all will be well. You will likely be terrified at times, but there is nothing to fear.”

  “I’ll be terrified, but should not be afraid?” Emil asked quizzically.

  “Yes,” Angelana said softly. “You must trust me for now. I cannot answer questions right now, but I will later. Just listen carefully to what I tell you.”

  PorNart and Emil exchanged sober glances, both trying to imagine what would come next.

  “Those are balls of gum-putty that I gave you,” Angelana continued. “Gum-putty is very flexible and can be pushed easily into any shape. After I finish with my instructions, I want you to shape a ball of putty to fit in each of your ears. That will serve as earplugs for you. There is going to be deafening noise as we go through the Grand Deep, and, without earplugs, the sound will be overwhelming. There can be no fooling around about this. I am deadly serious. Do you understand?” The young Wolf looked grimly at Emil and PorNart to emphasize her words.

  “Yes,” Emil replied, “I understand.” PorNart nodded in agreement.

  “Good,” Angelana replied. “In a few moments, we are going to step through this opening and enter the Grand Deep. Keep your eyes fixed on the trail in front of you. There are amazing things to see in the cave, but you must not be distracted. At places, the ground looks perfectly solid but, if you step on it, it will instantly collapse. You would likely land in boiling water or mud and that would be a most unpleasant end to your journey. Stay on the trail and you will be safe.”

  Taking her own balls of gum-putty, Angelana showed the others how to form them into earplugs. “Once the earplugs are in, we will not be able to talk to each other until we are out of the Grand Deep.” She smiled, then continued, “And it will be so noisy that we wouldn’t be able to hear each other anyway. Now, put in your earplugs and follow me. S’Might will lead. I will bring up the rear. This is the last we will say until I speak to you again. You will notice the temperature rising as we walk and there will be steam and the smell of sulfur. About ten minutes into our journey, even with your earplugs, you will be aware of loud hissing and whistling from steam vents and erupting mud geysers. Don’t worry. Keep your courage. The route is safe. When S’Might or I signal to do something, follow us exactly.” So saying, she turned and headed off with Emil and PorNart following.