Sentinels in the Deep Ocean

by StacyPlays

  Stacy walked from the back of the cave to the center and placed the wolf backpack on Noah. She took her canteen and several gourds she had hollowed out over the winter and converted to water jugs, placing them in the pack.

  “Sorry, this is going to be pretty heavy,” she said to Noah as she tightened the strap around his chest. “Water was scarce in the mesa last time. We don’t want to run out again. You and Everest can take turns carrying it.”

  Stacy walked over to the table where Addison had set out a huge spread of food for Stacy to pack in her satchel. There was dried fish, dried apples and berries, pumpkin bread, boiled eggs, Brussels sprouts, turnips, pine needles for Stacy to brew tea with, and a small pile of birch bark (for Stacy to chew on if food was low and she got desperate). And at the end of the table was an almost-empty jar of peanut butter—the jar Stacy had bought when she had been in the mesa and had gone to a grocery store for the first time.

  “The last of the peanut butter, Addi?” Stacy said with reverence. “Are you sure?”

  Addison nodded, and Stacy threw her arms around the wolf. Not because of the peanut butter gift, but because she would miss Addison and the others so much. Still, Stacy was excited to learn more about the wolves’ ancestry . . . and maybe even find the author of the journal herself. Another element that made Stacy feel slightly better about leaving was that she knew, with it being rainy season in the taiga, that they’d be trapped in the cave for most of the month if they stayed in the forest. This will be a fun adventure. And Stacy was certain there would be some thrilling animal rescues along the way.

  “Come here, Milquetoast!” Stacy said, calling softly to the cat, who made a small meow and walked over to her. Stacy picked him up, cradling him in her arms and kissing the top of his head. “I’m sorry I keep leaving you. Just wait until our first winter together—it’s going to be nothing but scratches behind the ears while I read books in the rocking chair with you on my lap, I promise.”

  Stacy set the tiny white cat down and watched as he scampered over to his favorite spot in front of the fire. Pipsqueak was in the back of the cave, playing with the small water stream where Stacy sometimes kept the fish Noah killed until Addison had time to cook them for her. Stacy reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of dried fish skin. She broke it in half and offered one of the pieces to Milquetoast, then walked to the back of the cave where Pipsqueak was.

  “Here you go, Pip,” Stacy said, placing the treat down at the kitten’s paws. “Be good for Addison and Tucker. Keep eating, and I’ll see you soon.”

  Stacy wasn’t sure how long they’d be gone, but she couldn’t imagine it being more than a fortnight.

  “What’s the plan, Everest?” Stacy said, turning toward the large wolf, who was standing near the map of the taiga Stacy had drawn with chalk on one of the cave walls. “Should we catch a ride on the freight train again?”

  Everest shook his head.

  “You want to run the whole way?” Stacy asked, a hint of incredulity in her tone.

  Basil ran up to them and spun in circles. Wink joined her. Stacy looked at them both. Basil is the fastest wolf, no question. But if I had to rank the others, Addison and Tucker would probably be the slowest of the pack. With them staying behind, Everest, Wink, and Noah could probably keep up with Basil pretty well. And I suppose Page and Molly could ride on Wink while I ride on Basil—I have another saddlebag that I could put Page and Molly in the pockets of, on either side of Wink’s back. . . .

  “All right,” she said. “Let’s go for it.”

  The group set out, heading south, and ran for a very long time—hours—stopping only occasionally for the wolves to lap up water from streams they found along the way. They ran well into the evening, chasing the sunset until the darkness caught up with them. Basil led the way in the dark with Stacy on her back, followed by Wink, with Page and Molly on his back, Noah and Everest at the rear. They were still running as Stacy began to nod off for the night. She tied her wrists together with a magenta bandanna she had and looped her arms around Basil’s neck. She wouldn’t get good rest tonight—it was like being half asleep, stirring every time Basil jumped or changed direction suddenly—but Stacy knew she would catch up on sleep when they reached the mesa, and night was a safe time for the wolves to be traveling.

  Stacy woke to the smell of trout cooking over coals. They must have stopped running at some point during the night, but Stacy hadn’t woken up. She was curled up against Wink; Page and Molly were at her feet. Noah was turning the fish over with a stick, and Basil stoked the coals with her nose. Stacy looked around for Everest and found him sitting on a rock ten feet above her, keeping lookout. The sun must have just come up—it was light enough to see, but just barely. Stacy strained her eyes to take in the landscape around her. Wait, that can’t be right, can it? Everywhere she looked were . . . flowers. Tulips of every color—white, orange, pink, red—blush pink peonies, red rose bushes, white-and-yellow oxeye daisies, and blue cornflowers dotted the hilly terrain. Stacy stood up in excitement, the sun now peeking through the tall oak trees that surrounded them. Bees flew through the air, buzzing around Stacy.

  “A flower . . . forest?” Stacy said in awe.

  She spun around in a circle, taking in all the beautiful blooms around her. She was suddenly filled with gratitude for Everest’s idea to run to the mesa. We definitely didn’t see this from the train. Wink ran over to her, a freshly picked daisy in his mouth, and tucked the flower in Stacy’s hair.

  “Thank you, Wink,” she said.

  Suddenly, Page started barking loudly. Stacy spun around to see what she was barking at. A beehive! Hanging on a large oak tree was a round beehive, buzzing with bees.

  “Page, get back!” Stacy commanded. “They’re the reason this forest is filled with flowers. Let them do their work.”

  The group ate breakfast and basked in their beautiful surroundings for a bit before pressing on to the mesa. Stacy had a lot of time to think while she rode on Basil’s back. What a crazy thing I’ve done. I’ve brought four of my wolves and both of my dogs out of hiding and on a quest to find other wolves who . . . should also be in hiding. Where do we even begin looking for them anyway?

  Stacy reassured herself that it would be okay. Even if they didn’t find the other wolves, everyone loved the mesa biome, and it would be a fun vacation of sorts while the taiga was still a bit cold and rainy. Secretly though, Stacy hoped they would find more of her wolves’ kind. And she knew Everest felt the same.

  Hours passed as the pack ran through different biomes: the flower forest, a hilly birch forest, a swamp, plains, sunflower fields . . . and then, way out in the distance, Stacy glimpsed the first red cliff of the mesa biome.

  “Up there!” she called out. “There’s the mesa!”

  Basil looked up and zagged in the direction Stacy had pointed. Stacy looked behind her at the others. Page and Molly were clinging on for dear life as Wink bounded along. Noah looked calm; his gait was fluid and swift like a river. Everest was in the back still, his head about a foot above the others. He gave Stacy a confident look and continued to run at a steady pace.

  Stacy looked down and saw the ground beneath Basil’s paws change from dirt to red sand. The mesa. It felt a bit like coming home to Stacy, which confused her, since she’d lived in the taiga all her life. She took in the now familiar smells of sage and cactus flower that perfumed the wind in the mesa.

  “Basil.” Stacy leaned down and whispered in the wolf’s ear. “Let’s cut to the west and make camp in the abandoned mineshaft we stayed in last time.”

  Basil nodded and immediately changed the group’s direction. Stacy glanced backward and got a nod of approval from Everest. I still have no idea what we’re doing down here, but at least we’ll be somewhere familiar.

  The seven of them traversed the rocky scree at the bottom of the mesa where the abandoned mineshaft was located. Stacy was eager to reach their destination and stretch her legs, but she was grateful
to still be on Basil’s back as the wolf nimbly navigated through the cactus and tumbleweeds that dotted the trail up to the mineshaft entrance.

  The mineshaft was exactly as Stacy had remembered it. Cool. Damp. Protected. We’ll be safe here. Stacy set about making the mineshaft’s entrance hospitable for the group. First, she stacked as many tumbleweeds as she could find up against the large timbers at the mineshaft’s opening to create a makeshift doorway. She spread out the tarp she’d brought (which she had cleaned since Noah used it to carry fish) on the ground toward the back of the entrance. We’ll sleep here. That way, if someone finds us, we can escape by running down the mineshaft’s tunnels and hiding. She put the few pieces of extra clothing she’d brought—her flannel shirt and her navy sweater—down on top of the tarp. Page and Molly can nap here during the day. Next, she and Basil made a small firepit near the entrance. Stacy gathered pieces of kindling and deadwood and stacked them beside the firepit. And then she set out the food Addison had packed for them. This looks like it would last us about a week at most. We’ll need to scavenge more if we want to stay here any longer than that.

  Stacy spent the rest of the afternoon sketching a map of the mesa in her notebook, including the landmarks she could remember from the last time they’d visited. She wanted to have the lay of the land for when they began exploring. Sunset came, and Stacy watched it with the others, high up on the mesa. The sky turned purple and pink and finally gray before night settled over their home away from home.

  Stacy slept soundly the first night in the mesa, nuzzled alongside Basil, Wink, and Noah with Page and Molly, while Everest slept with one eye open near the mineshaft entrance.

  Sunshine poked its way through the tumbleweeds and the two wooden pillars that formed the entrance to the mine. It woke Stacy gently. She got up and stretched and then walked over to the fire Basil had made and brewed some pine needle tea to drink along with some of Addison’s pumpkin bread, warmed up and toasted.

  Stacy walked outside the mineshaft, still chewing her last bite of pumpkin bread, and took a deep breath. Tilting her head upward, she was amazed by how big the blue sky was. She never had this wide of a view back in the taiga, with its towering spruce trees. Stacy was still gazing up at the sky when she noticed several vultures circling not too far in the distance.

  “We should go there,” Stacy said to Everest, pointing up at the vultures. “I hate to say it, but there is probably a dead animal there. You’d be able to scare off any coyotes and eat.” I know it’s gross to eat a decomposing animal—well, to me at least—but if the animal has already passed away, at least it would be providing sustenance and energy to another animal with its death.

  Everest nodded solemnly. Stacy turned to the others.

  “Noah, how about you stay here with Page and Molly,” Stacy said. She wanted one of the wolves to stay with the dogs, but she also knew that he would prefer to eat the fish they’d brought anyway.

  Everest, Basil, Wink, and Stacy set out from the mineshaft and across the mesa toward where the vultures were flying in slow and droopy circles. Stacy steeled herself for the potentially grisly scene they were about to encounter. Basil led them down a steep ravine and into a thicket of low shrubs. Quail, jackrabbits, and lizards scurried out of their way. Basil slowed down, and the four of them crept closer and closer to the spot where the vultures were directly overhead. They were mere feet away now. Basil and Everest each took branches from the bushes in their mouths, peeling them back to reveal a small clearing. Stacy gasped in horror.

  There, in the middle of the clearing in the desert, lay a lone wolf so skeleton-like that Stacy could see the shapes of each and every one of his bones sticking out through his pale white fur.

  Six

  STACY STARED AT the skeleton wolf intently. Suddenly, his bony rib cage lifted and fell—a breath! He’s alive, Everest! But only barely. Stacy’s mind raced. Everest, you and I can probably manage to lift him onto Basil’s or Wink’s back—probably Basil since she’s fastest—who can carry the wolf back to the mineshaft. We can save him if we move quickly.

  Stacy took a cautious step toward the wolf. Suddenly, his head jerked up and his eyes opened. He stared directly at Stacy with the blackest eyes she’d ever seen and then bared his teeth and growled. Stacy took a step backward and held up her hands as Everest stepped forward, ducking under one of her arms to wrap himself protectively around her body, snarling back at the defenseless wolf. Just then, without warning, a second wolf emerged from the bushes. This wolf was also white, except for her paws, which were stained a reddish-brown color, as if from digging in the mesa’s terracotta clay. She had little bits of twigs and sage sticking out from her ratty fur—Stacy even spotted a tiny yellow cactus flower and a few needles near her neck.

  The wolf quickly ran to her skeletal pack member and laid some type of food in front of him. Stacy focused her eyes to see what it was, but the wolf quickly ate the offering and jumped to his feet. Before Stacy could react at all, the wolf with all the sticks sticking out of her and the skeleton wolf sprinted off away from Stacy and her wolves.

  “Follow them!” Stacy yelled. “They must be the wolves we came to find!” Everest and Wink were already in pursuit. Stacy looked around and saw Basil, crouching low to the ground. Stacy hopped on Basil’s back and held tightly as Basil rocketed off toward the others.

  Basil quickly passed Wink and Everest, who had both gained some ground on the two wolves. They climbed quickly out of the ravine and were running across the mesa, dodging and weaving through the mesa biome’s huge red boulders that had fallen from the cliffs above them, perhaps centuries ago. The wolf with the little bits of sticks and brush sticking out of her fur glanced back at Stacy and Basil as she ran. Suddenly, Basil veered to the right to avoid a large tumbleweed. Stacy tightened her grip on Basil’s fur and braced herself as six or seven tumbleweeds came rolling at them like a set of waves. Basil slowed and navigated around them with ease and then quickly sped up to close the distance she’d lost. The disheveled wolf glanced back at Basil. Suddenly, as if out of thin air, a giant thicket of sagebrush grew up out of the red sand—too wide to run around and higher than Basil could jump. Stacy’s head was spinning, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Everest catching up to her and Basil. He passed them, running faster than Stacy had ever seen him run, and skidded to a halt right in front of the wall of sagebrush. Red sand flew up as Everest’s sturdy paws dug deep into the earth to halt his momentum. Basil accelerated, and in one smooth motion, she jumped on Everest’s back and propelled herself and Stacy into the air and onto the other side of the barrier. Stacy turned around to see Wink soaring over the wall after them, landing with a massive thud on the soft sand. Everest would have to go around, but with Basil and Wink on the other side now, the chase continued.

  The skeleton wolf was slowing down a bit now, struggling to keep up with the other wolf, who glanced over her shoulder again—this time her eyes were wide with panic. She slowed down a bit to cross a dry arroyo and Stacy could feel Basil speed up to finally overtake her and the skeleton wolf.

  But suddenly, a prickly pear cactus no bigger than one of Stacy’s boots doubled in size the second the two mesa wolves passed it. It doubled again and again and too many times to count as Basil sprinted toward it. Huge needles stuck out in every direction and Stacy braced herself for the worst while Basil skidded in the sand, trying to stop, but she was going too fast. Just before Basil and Stacy crashed into them, Wink charged by, barreling through the cactus—his power allowing him to emerge on the other side completely unscathed. Seeing the pathway cleared, Basil jerked forward, resuming the chase. Within a minute, Basil and Wink had caught up to the two mesa wolves and were running on either side of them. The skeleton wolf looked exhausted. Stacy looked at the female mesa wolf. Her expression looked to Stacy as if she were out of ideas and resigned to being caught. She is doing this, Stacy realized. She has a power!

  Stacy heard a bark behind her and whipped her head arou
nd. Everest! He’d caught up to them and was only a few paces behind. Basil surged one last time to overtake the mesa wolves. She spun around, stopping them in their tracks. Wink went to the side and turned to face the mesa wolves as well, forming a triangle with himself, Basil, and Everest. There was nowhere for the wolves to run, and by the looks of the skeleton wolf, who had slumped down at the feet of the other, he was done running.

  Stacy hopped off Basil’s back and broke a branch off a nearby dead bush and quickly scrawled the rune symbols for friend in the red dirt. The wolves’ expressions remained unchanged.

  “Well, it was worth a try,” Stacy said glumly.

  Basil quickly stepped forward and touched her nose to the dead bush Stacy had broken the branch from, incinerating it instantly. This got the mesa wolves’ attention. The female stepped forward to Basil and walked in a circle around the ashes of the dead bush, her bushy tail gently waving in the desert wind. She took a step back, and Stacy gasped. The bush had reappeared and was no longer dead. Stacy walked forward to examine it.

  “It’s real!” she exclaimed. “She used her power!”

  Wink and Basil walked toward the skeleton wolf and gently lifted him up and laid him over Everest’s broad back. The female wolf began to lead Everest and the others up the steep terrain of the mesa. Everest, can we trust them? Stacy thought to herself as she walked alongside her pack’s alpha. Everest turned to her and nodded, reassuring Stacy.

  Stacy was in disbelief for much of their journey up to the top of the mesa. The rune was right. There are other wolves here with powers. Stacy already had a guess as to what the female mesa wolf’s power was, but it was strange. She appears to be able to make things grow . . . like some type of bonemeal effect. Could be useful. But it sure is peculiar. What the skeleton wolf’s power might be, Stacy had no idea.