by StacyPlays
All of a sudden, Stacy saw Wink flying through the air above her. He jumped the full twenty feet down the ravine and landed, surprisingly gracefully, at Stacy’s feet.
“Wink!” Stacy exclaimed. She stared at his legs, which were firmly planted in the red sand. “How did you do that and not break every bone in your body?” Wink shrugged and positioned himself behind the donkey. The donkey snorted and jerked his head up and down. He definitely did not like being this close to a wolf. Quickly, he stepped forward and started walking up the track of sticks in the sand, with Wink guiding his hooves toward each stick, one after the other.
“Good job!” Stacy shouted, looking over her shoulder at Wink, whose nose was just inches from the donkey’s behind. “Don’t let him take any steps backward!”
The donkey had figured out how to step on the sunken footholds by this point, and took off up the ravine, trying to get away from Wink. As soon as he reached the top, though, he saw there were five wolves waiting for him, and he reared back on his hind legs, braying with fear.
Stacy almost toppled backward. For a moment, she hung dizzyingly over the edge of the ravine. She quickly swung her leg over the donkey’s back and managed to jump off. She scrambled up the rest of the rope ladder, pulling on the reins so hard that the donkey had no choice but to come down from his hind legs and walk the rest of the way up the ravine and onto the trail, resisting all the way.
“Back up, guys,” Stacy said to her wolves. “Give him some space. We don’t want him falling down again.”
The wolves retreated about ten yards down the trail, including an exhausted Wink, while Stacy looked over the donkey one last time to make sure he didn’t have any injuries.
“You probably travel this trail every day, huh, boy,” Stacy said to him, untying the sticks and stuffing the climbing rope into her satchel and pulling out an apple and feeding it to the donkey. “Go on then, and catch up with your group. Hopefully they won’t miss this rope too much.”
The donkey ate the apple and buried his muzzle into the crook of Stacy’s arm. She pressed her face against his.
“Everest, can donkeys live in the taiga?” Stacy yelled back to the pack’s alpha. She knew the answer, though. The big white alpha shook his head no.
“I’m going to miss you, boy,” she whispered to the donkey. “Be good.”
And with that, the donkey let out a happy bray and began lumbering down the switchbacks in search of his own pack.
“That donkey obviously belonged to someone,” Stacy said to her wolves as they returned to where she stood. “Either tourists or tour guides . . . I’d like to avoid both if possible, so I think we should head back north to camp.”
The group retraced their steps from the morning, passing their campsite from the previous night and heading into the low mountains to the north. This was exactly the type of rugged terrain Stacy had been hoping to find when she first hatched her plan to hide out away from the taiga for a month or two. The chance that another person would be out here in the desert mesas was very slim.
They were just coming up to a flat stretch of trail when Stacy looked up from the steep pathway she was navigating and let out a sharp gasp that sounded a lot like a horse neighing. She was right about not seeing another person, but she had completely forgotten about mountain lions.
And there was one standing right in front of her.
Fourteen
THE MOUNTAIN LION was crouched on a boulder a little above the trail, her pale gold eyes trained intently on Stacy. Everest pushed protectively in front of her and Page, fur bristling along his spine. The lion’s ears flattened slightly, her muscles tensing, and her long tail switched from side to side. She looked ready to leap.
Mountain lions don’t usually attack people, Stacy reminded herself, remembering a book on wildlife she had read back in the taiga. And she certainly won’t attack the wolves. Not unless she’s frightened and doesn’t see another way out.
The only one of her pack really in danger was Page. As if she’d come to the same conclusion, Page pressed against Stacy’s leg, whimpering slightly. Basil stepped forward beside Everest, blocking the little dog from the mountain lion’s view. Everest growled at the mountain lion and tensed, preparing to lunge.
Somebody’s going to get hurt.
“Stop!” Stacy said urgently, wrapping an arm around Everest’s neck and pulling him backward. “This is her home.”
The huge alpha gave her a look of annoyance, but slightly relaxed his tense stance, no longer poised to attack. Careful not to turn her back on the mountain lion, Stacy let go of Everest and glanced out the corner of her eye at the rest of the pack. Noah and Tucker were poised to back up Basil and Everest if a fight broke out, while Addison was looking thoughtful. Wink stood protectively beside Page, his usually playful expression now serious.
“Everyone calm down,” Stacy said. She tried to remember what the book said to do when you encounter a mountain lion. Try to look big, it had said. Maintain eye contact. Don’t turn your back on them. And whatever you do, don’t run.
Stacy raised her arms above her head, spreading them wide. “Back away,” she told her pack. “We’re not going to attack her in her own territory. She belongs here. We’re just visiting.” She kept her own emerald eyes on the golden gaze of the lion and took a step backward. “It’s okay,” she said in a calm voice. “We’re not here to fight you. We’re leaving.”
Stacy backed away a little farther. “Come on, guys,” she said. Reluctantly, the wolves shuffled backward.
With a final long look at them, the mountain lion turned, slipped quietly down from the boulder, and disappeared from sight among the red rocks and scrubby thornbushes of the slope. Stacy let out a relieved breath and lowered her arms.
“I think we should follow a different trail,” she told the others. Everest huffed in agreement.
Scrambling back down the steep pathway, one hand on Addison’s back for balance, Stacy kept a sharp eye out for other animals.
As they found another trail that wound high into the mountains, Stacy could tell the rest of her pack was keeping watch as well. Basil kept dashing ahead to scout the territory, her fur flashing white through the underbrush as she made wide circles and then returned. Everest, Tucker, and Addison paused frequently to scent the air and look around suspiciously. And Wink stuck close to Page’s side, guarding his small friend.
When Noah stopped dead in his tracks, pricked up his ears, and sniffed the air, Stacy thought he was checking for another mountain lion. But then the blue-eyed wolf shot off the trail as if he’d been launched out of a cannon, scrambling up the steep side of the mesa. The rest of the pack watched, heads jerking up in surprise, then started to follow him, one by one.
Stacy grabbed hold of the thick fur between Tucker’s shoulders to help herself up the slope. After a few steps, she heard a whine behind her. Stacy turned and saw Page trying to scramble after them. Wink was below Page, trying to help by nudging her forward. The mountainside was too steep for the little dog.
How could she carry Page and climb at the same time? Page was just a little too big to fit into Stacy’s satchel with the supplies already in there. While Stacy hesitated, Wink lay down on his belly and Page climbed onto his back, taking hold of the tuft of fur at the back of his neck with her teeth.
“Good thinking, Wink,” Stacy said. “Can you hang on, Page?” Both Wink and Page wagged their tails.
As they climbed the slope, Page, Addison, and Wink all kept sniffing the air, their eyes bright with excitement, their ears perked up. It was clear that all three of them could hear and smell something Stacy couldn’t. But after what seemed like an endless time of hot, exhausting climbing, she finally heard it.
Running water. It was just a trickle, not a rushing river, but there was definitely water somewhere up ahead.
The sound gave Stacy new energy. The prickly pear fruit had helped to quench their thirst, but the thought of actual water was amazing.
Whe
n she and Addison, followed by Wink with Page on his back, finally scrambled up to the ledge on the top of the cliff, at first they didn’t see the rest of the pack. Instead, there was the flat ledge and, on the cliff face, a dark square opening, supported by heavy timbers.
Stacy looked at it dubiously. “It’s definitely man-made,” she said. “It looks a little like the iron mine back in the taiga. You don’t think . . .”
The sound of water was coming from inside. Cautiously, Stacy walked forward to peer in, Addison and Wink on either side of her, Page still riding proudly on Wink’s back.
Inside, the square entrance opened into a wide cave. Stacy stepped inside. It was dark and refreshingly cool after the heat of the mesa. Taking a deep breath, she let the cold soak into her skin and begin to cool her down. She could hear splashing and saw a flash of white fur. Something glittered in the rock wall.
As her eyes adjusted, Stacy realized that she couldn’t see the back of the cave. It seemed to go on and on, disappearing into darkness like a vast tunnel. She could see the marks of picks on the walls. There was a broken-down old cart close to the entrance, and a pile of objects near it. Examining the pile, Stacy saw a couple of picks and hammers with worn wooden handles, and a ragged old sack.
It’s an abandoned gold mine, Stacy realized. The cave really was the entrance to a huge tunnel, which must go on and on and down into the heart of the mesa.
Addison’s cool nose touched Stacy’s hand, calling her attention back to the cave. There was a happy yelp—Basil, she thought—and splashing over to her right. Wink and Page hurried past her, eager to join the fun. She and Addison followed.
Near the side of the tunnel, a spring bubbled up from the ground, and ran down the rock deeper into the cave. Noah was lying happily in the middle of the spring, water flowing over him, plastering his fur to his sides. Everest stood beside him, his big paws sunk into the water and an expression of pure happiness on his face. Page, Tucker, Basil, and Wink had their noses in the water and Addison joined them, dipping her face down to take a long drink.
Fresh water! Now that she saw it, Stacy was suddenly thirstier than she had ever been. She waded into the spring, which came up only a few inches above her ankles, and bent down, cupping her hands to scoop up water. She drank in long, deep gulps, the cold water running down her throat. Water streamed over her feet, cooling and refreshing her, and she drank and drank.
When she finally wasn’t thirsty anymore, Stacy waded back out of the spring to investigate the mine. Page followed her, shaking her thick coat vigorously as soon as she was out and splattering Stacy with more water. Everest came, too, his heavy fur dripping.
Stacy couldn’t tell how far back or how deep into the mountain the mine went. A few steps past where the rest of the wolves were still playing in the water, it became too dark to see. “Hello, hello,” she called, and her voice echoed back as though the mineshaft went on a very long way. Milo took off into the darkness of the mineshaft.
“You don’t think there’s anything else alive in here, do you?” she asked, and Everest snorted and shook his head. “No, I’m sure you checked.” Before he drank, Everest would have scented the cave carefully to make sure no other animals were living there. Retreating a little from the darkness of the mineshaft, Stacy looked around the mine entrance again.
It was a wide cave with a level floor. The spring ran along one side, but the rest of the mine entrance seemed pretty dry. It was pleasantly cool after the heat of the mesa, but not too cold. Light came in from the entrance. We’d be sheltered in here, Stacy thought, looking up at the cave roof, and we could even build a fire on the ledge right outside.
This was much better than where they’d made camp the night before.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked Everest. The silver-eyed alpha looked slowly around the mine entrance and back up at her. Then, deliberately, he lay down on the cave floor and sprawled out, looking totally relaxed. Page yipped and licked his ear.
“That’s right,” Stacy said, and sat down beside him. The stones were smooth and cool beneath her. “Home sweet home . . . until we can go back to the taiga.”
Fifteen
SUNSHINE STREAMING THROUGH the mine entrance woke Stacy early the next morning. The cave was cool, but she was warm and cozy, nestled in the middle of the heap of wolves, Page curled beside her hip. Stacy was cuddled up to Tucker, her head on Everest’s side and her back against Addison.
Carefully, Stacy got up, trying not to wake anyone else. As soon as she was on her feet, Page jumped up and looked at her expectantly. Everest lifted his head and yawned. Addison opened one eye, and Wink rolled onto his back and gazed at her, his paws sticking straight up in the air. Tucker and Noah didn’t move, but Stacy was pretty sure they had woken, too.
“Okay, okay,” she said, laughing. “I’m not that stealthy.”
She went over to the spring, took a drink, and washed her face. Behind her, she could hear the wolves getting to their feet, stretching and yawning. Stacy dug in her satchel, pulling out a peeled prickly pear and the last loaf of bread. Now there was nothing but a few pieces of fruit left. Stacy divided the bread with Page, who sniffed it doubtfully, but ate it.
“Do you want some?” Stacy asked, offering the bread to the wolves. None of them stepped forward, and Everest huffed through his nose, indicating that Stacy should eat it herself.
We need to get more food, Stacy worried.
In the wild, wolves often ate only one big meal every week or so. Back in the taiga, her wolves had gotten used to eating with Stacy every day, but they would be fine for several more days without eating. Stacy and Page, though, needed to eat more often.
The pack didn’t hunt in the taiga, because there they rescued the woodland creatures that were their natural prey. Without a river where Noah could fish or some other type of food source, though, she was pretty sure the wolves would hunt the animals of the desert biome rather than let Stacy and Page go hungry.
But she really didn’t want it to come to that.
Stacy knew there had to be a river nearby somewhere. It was just a matter of locating it. With a fresh day in front of her, she figured she’d let some of the wolves rest in the mineshaft while she and Everest explored their new surroundings. But just as Stacy was fastening her satchel, she heard flapping wings.
“Milo!” Stacy exclaimed, happy that the bat had found them again.
Milo swooped through the air around Stacy and then fluttered excitedly around Page’s head. The little dog, her big ears held high, yapped questioningly at him and then looked up at Stacy.
“Another rescue?” Stacy asked. “I guess you’ve made quick work of getting to know the local bats. Okay, Milo, lead the way.” She, Page, and the wolves hurried after him out of the mine.
Outside, Milo flew over the entrance to the mine and above the top of the mesa. Stacy and the rest of the pack scrambled after him. Above the mine, the mesa flattened into a plateau, and Stacy and the wolves were able to move quickly.
Stacy didn’t see the canyon until she was right on top of it. Skidding to a stop, her boots at the canyon’s edge, Stacy teetered dizzyingly for a moment. Then a firm tug yanked her backward. Taking a deep relieved breath, Stacy turned to see that Everest had grabbed on to the back of her shirt with his teeth.
“Thanks, Everest,” she said gratefully.
Milo dipped down into the canyon. Stacy watched him fly lower and lower. It was a slot canyon, she realized, a split in the mesa much deeper than it was wide. The two sides of the canyon were striated with different layers of red, yellow, and tan rock and honeycombed with cracks and ridges. In some places, the sides of the canyon almost touched, and it looked like they were less than six feet apart most of the way down. But it was a very long way to the bottom.
Milo was hovering over a ledge about halfway down the side of the canyon. Stacy leaned forward to see more clearly. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at.
“Oh, no!”
There was a small black, brown, and white dog huddled on a narrow ledge below them. Its long ears were drooping, and it looked very scared.
“Looks like some kind of beagle mix,” Stacy said. “How on earth did a dog wind up all the way out here?”
The top of the canyon was ridged and sloping enough that the dog probably could have scrambled along it pretty easily, but then there was a long drop to the ledge it was resting on. There was no way the dog could climb up or down.
“I wonder how long it has been down there,” Stacy said. Tucker, the healer of the pack, whined apprehensively. The sun was very hot, but nights spent on the exposed rock of the canyon must be cold. And there was no food or water.
“We have to get it out of there as soon as possible,” Stacy said. But how?
If they walked a bit away from where the little dog was trapped, they could then start to scramble partway down the canyon walls leading up to where the dog had gotten stuck, she thought. And, if she braced herself between the walls of the canyon where they were at their closest, Stacy might be able to get far enough down to drop onto the narrow ledge beside the dog. Only Stacy would be able to do that, however—wolf bodies weren’t built that way.
It was a very narrow ledge, with a long fall beneath it. Stacy would have to be careful to drop in the exact right place so that she didn’t either land on the dog or miss the ledge completely.
Cautiously, Stacy started to move toward the cliff edge. Everest growled and took hold of her sleeve in his mouth, pulling her to a halt again.
“I’m not going to jump in,” Stacy told him, but the wolf’s eyes narrowed and he yanked on her sleeve. Stacy stopped and looked down at Everest. “We’ll do it together,” she promised, “and we’ll be safe. I just have to figure out how.”
