Escape to the Mesa

by StacyPlays

  Everest held her sleeve tightly between his teeth for a moment longer and then let go. Stacy opened her satchel and dug out the long rope of knotted vines. “It’s not long enough to connect all of us,” she said, “but if Everest, Noah, Tucker, and I go, we can tie it between us so that if one of us falls the others will pull us back up.”

  There was another step to her plan, but she didn’t want to tell Everest about it until they’d already completed the first stage of the rescue.

  Basil growled. Wink and Addison looked disapproving: they did not want to be left behind. And Stacy was sure Addison had figured out that this wasn’t Stacy’s whole plan—she must see that the four of them roped together wouldn’t be able to make it all the way down to the little dog.

  Stacy knelt down beside them. “I need you to be up here so you can move quickly if someone needs help,” she told Basil. “And I need you to look after Page and make sure she doesn’t try to follow us,” she said, turning to Wink. Taking a deep breath, she looked into Addison’s eyes. “I need you to trust me, Addi,” she said, taking off her satchel and hanging it around Addison’s neck. Addison looked back at Stacy and, after a moment, blinked slowly in agreement.

  As the other wolves watched and Page paced anxiously between them, Stacy and the others walked several hundred feet back along the slot canyon opening. Next, she tied herself, Tucker, Everest, and Noah together, wrapping the vine around her own waist and behind the wolves’ shoulders. “It’s a good thing I practiced tying knots so much,” she said finally, tugging at the rope. “I think these will hold.” She looked back at the wolves who were staying behind. “If anything happens, we’ll see you back at the mine,” she shouted firmly. “Do not try to come down after us.”

  Stacy began her descent, Everest behind her, followed by Tucker, and finally Noah. At first, the slope of the canyon was gentle enough that they could all walk along its ridges, scrambling from one ridge to the next. Soon, Stacy was on her hands and knees, gripping the rock for balance.

  But they were only about a third of the way down the canyon when they reached the last walkable ridge. Below that, the slope fell, steep and smooth, down about thirty feet to where the little dog lay. It was obvious she was going to need to jump.

  That’s a long drop, Stacy worried, looking down at the dog. What if it has broken bones? I need to hurry.

  Tucker and Noah were looking up at Stacy, confused, but Everest huffed, outraged. “I’m sorry,” Stacy told him sincerely. “But you would have tried to stop me from going. Now we’re so close, you’re going to listen to my plan.” Everest growled and shook his head, baring his teeth angrily.

  “Look at it,” Stacy said, gesturing down at the dog. “It needs us. Its owners obviously abandoned it. We’re the only ones who can help.” Everest glanced down at the small huddled figure on the ridge below, and Stacy saw his eyes soften. “I can do it,” she said quickly. “And I’ll be safe.”

  Stacy freed herself from the vine rope that had kept her and the wolves together. She reached into Noah’s pack and pulled out the climbing rope from the donkey rescue.

  She reached behind her back to the bow that Tucker had given her for her rescue day, and one of the arrows. She took the climbing rope and tied it to the arrow, tying the other end of the rope around her waist. “I’ve been practicing,” she said, notching the arrow. Taking aim on a long, deep-looking crack on the opposite wall of the canyon, Stacy fired the arrow.

  The arrow hit the canyon wall a little below the crack, bounced off, and fell. “I should have practiced more,” Stacy muttered, and used the rope to pull it back toward her.

  It took five tries, but at last the arrow shot straight into the crack and disappeared. Stacy yanked on the rope, but the arrow held fast—she hoped it was wedged firmly into the thinnest part of the crack.

  “See, the rope will hold my weight if I fall,” Stacy explained to the wolves, pulling hard on it. “Which I won’t. And the rope is long enough that once I get the dog I can rappel the rest of the way down to the canyon floor.”

  Everest growled, his jaw tightly clenched. Noah whined. Tucker stared at her in distress. Stacy walked to where the opposite wall of the canyon was closest and sat on the very edge of the ridge. She could just touch the other wall with her feet. Looking down, she could see that it narrowed a little farther below her. She wrapped the excess rope around her waist several times and then several times around her wrists. Gritting her teeth, she pushed off the ridge and, hanging on to the rope, let herself fall.

  She fell about ten feet before, with a jolt, she managed to grab on to a large rock and stop herself, right above where the canyon narrowed enough for her to brace her back and her feet on its opposite walls. Stacy took a deep breath and, keeping her body stiff, slowly began to move her feet down, one after the other, her back scraping against the canyon wall.

  It seemed to take hours to slowly rappel her way down to the narrow ridge where the little dog lay. Clouds had covered the sun, so it wasn’t blinding her, and she could see the worried faces of Everest, Tucker, and Noah peering down at her.

  Finally, Stacy’s feet felt the ledge the dog was on. She dropped down the last little bit, landing ungracefully on her knees. She felt like she’d been scraped raw, but she quickly got to her feet, looking for the little dog.

  The long-eared dog, a girl, was lying on the ledge, but she looked up at Stacy with big brown eyes and gave a soft whine.

  “You poor thing,” Stacy said. She knelt beside the dog and ran her hands over her soft fur, feeling for broken bones. There didn’t seem to be any, and the dog didn’t flinch from her hands as if she was in pain, but she felt very thin. Stacy stroked her back. “I’m going to help you,” she said. “Don’t be scared.” A raindrop hit her arm, then another.

  “We’d better get off this ledge,” Stacy told the dog. Looking up at the wolves, she called, “She’s all right!”

  Stacy untied the rope from around her waist and dropped it down from the ledge. It dangled about five feet off the canyon floor. “Perfect,” she said to herself.

  It was beginning to rain hard. Stacy wiped the rain from her eyes and knelt down to pick up the little dog. She hesitated. A trickling echoed through the canyon behind her, growing louder and louder, until it was a rushing, deafening noise. What in the world?

  Suddenly, Stacy jerked her head up, terrified. A flash flood!

  Sixteen

  STACY LOOKED UP at the wall of water as it barreled down the slot canyon toward her. It reached Noah, Everest, and Tucker first, knocking them off their feet. Stacy braced herself for the water to crash down on her, curling protectively around the little dog. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Basil appeared alongside her, ricocheting at lightning speed along the walls of the canyon. She grabbed the little dog out of Stacy’s arms by the scruff of her neck and continued racing down the gorge. It happened in less than a second. Stacy took a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much oxygen as she could. And then the water slammed into her.

  Swept along by the rushing torrent, Stacy struggled to keep her head above water. The water surged forward. Stacy took one deep breath, and then she was sucked under.

  Stacy tumbled over and over, losing track of which direction was the surface. Her arm scraped stingingly along the side of the canyon.

  Stacy’s chest felt like it was burning. She needed to breathe, soon. Black spots swam in front of her eyes. I have to stay awake, she thought desperately. I have to get to high ground.

  There was a firm tug on the back of her shirt. Stacy struggled for a second—was she caught on something?—but then realized she was being pulled purposefully along. Her head broke through the surface of the water. Stacy pulled in a long breath of air and coughed.

  Twisting her head around, she looked back to see who was pulling her through the water. Intense blue eyes stared back at her from Noah’s furry face, his jaw locked onto the back of her shirt.

  “Noah,” Stacy said. “Thank you for saving
me! Is everyone else okay?”

  Noah grunted, tugging Stacy toward the edge of the rapidly moving water. It was shallower here, Stacy realized, as if the flash flood was already exhausting its energy. The rain had stopped. Looking around, she saw that they had been washed out of the canyon—the slopes on either side of the riverbed were shallow. Probably this was a channel that water from earlier floods had made as it rushed out of the canyon.

  Everest and Tucker were already on the muddy riverbank, along with Stacy’s bow and arrow that had washed up on the shore. Tucker was collapsed on the ground, panting hard. Everest was pacing back and forth, his eyes scanning the water. When he caught sight of Stacy, he hurried forward and took hold of her shoulder firmly with his huge jaw, helping Noah bring her in to land. Tucker got to his paws and hurried over to nose along Stacy’s body, checking her for injuries. He licked her arm, which she realized now was scraped and bleeding. Her arm instantly felt better as Tucker tended to it.

  All three wolves were soaked, their thick white pelts plastered close to their bodies. Noah shook himself hard, water droplets flying everywhere.

  “Noah!” Stacy said. “I’m wet enough already.” He grinned at her, his tongue lolling out as if he was laughing. Basil was nearby with the little dog. Stacy and the others ran over to them.

  “Basil, you were incredible,” Stacy said, beaming. “Did you know you could do that?” Basil shook her head no. It was clear she was very winded. After checking the little dog for injuries, Tucker began to vigorously lick her fur the wrong way—Stacy knew that this would help her dry off faster.

  Stacy felt warm and content watching them. They were so lucky that all six of them had survived the flash flood without serious injuries. All thanks to Noah and Basil, she thought. She ran her fingers through her sopping-wet hair and then felt around her face and neck for any cuts or scrapes. She gasped, suddenly realizing what was missing. “My necklace!”

  The wolves looked up at her, their faces worried.

  “I was wearing the charms from the bracelet Everest gave me,” Stacy explained, staring down at her empty neck. “It must have slipped off when I was underwater.” Hot tears filled her eyes. Those charms had been the only thing she had from the human family she didn’t remember. Now they were gone, too.

  Everest pressed his muzzle against her hand and whined sympathetically. “Thanks, Everest,” Stacy said softly, twining her fingers in his thick white fur. Losing the necklace hurt, but it helped to know that her new family—her pack—was there for her.

  Noah strode decisively toward the rushing floodwaters. With a shock, Stacy suddenly realized what he was planning to do.

  “Noah!” she shouted. “No!” She ran toward him, but she was too late. Noah dove smoothly into the water, disappearing from sight.

  Stacy and Everest raced to the water’s edge. She began to count the seconds Noah was underwater. When she got to twenty, fear took over and she began to shake. Where is he? Stacy strained her eyes, trying to catch sight of white fur in the turbulent water. But there was nothing. Stacy bent her knees, preparing to dive into the water. It didn’t matter that the flood had almost swept her away; she couldn’t let Noah drown without trying to save him.

  A tug on her wrist pulled her backward. Everest was gripping her wrist gently between his teeth. She tried to pull away, but he clamped down more firmly, narrowing his eyes at her.

  “We have to help him!” Stacy said. Tears were running down her cheeks now, but she kept trying to reach the water. She didn’t know how she was going to save Noah—he was a much stronger swimmer than she was—but she had to try.

  Everest growled deep in his throat, and pulled her back, shaking his head. He wasn’t going to let her go after Noah herself. He wouldn’t risk losing Stacy, too.

  “It’s my fault,” Stacy sobbed. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Every second he was still down there mattered; didn’t Everest understand that? But Everest only looked stubborn, holding on to her arm tightly.

  Stacy looked back toward the water. He hasn’t come up at all. Stacy shuddered, picturing Noah at the bottom of the river. It’s been too long, she thought desperately. If Noah was still underwater, he would have died from lack of air. Maybe he was washed ashore down the river, she thought. But in her heart she knew too much time had passed. Noah must have drowned.

  Another minute went by and Tucker, Wink, and Page had gathered around Stacy and Everest. Tucker began to howl the saddest howl Stacy had ever heard. She fell to the ground and buried her head in Page’s fur, sobbing. Suddenly, Everest barked sharply. Stacy looked up. Noah was wading out of the water, his tail wagging. He was drenched, but not choking, not even breathing hard. Shaking water from his coat, Noah headed toward Stacy, the necklace hanging from his mouth.

  “Noah!” she gasped, as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Noah trotted toward her, looking incredibly pleased with himself. Stacy ran to Noah and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re okay,” she said, and pressed her face against his soaking-wet fur, hugging him tightly.

  Stacy hugged Noah for a long time. When she finally sat back to look at him, she asked, “Where did you find it? Was it down at the bottom?”

  Noah nodded. Stacy stared at him. It seemed crazy, but . . .

  “Were you just wandering around underwater looking for it?” Noah shrugged, then nodded again, looking sheepish.

  Stacy swallowed hard. It was impossible, wasn’t it? But then, Basil was incredibly, unnaturally fast. No animal could run as fast as Basil could. Did Noah have special abilities, too? “Noah,” she asked quietly, “can you breathe underwater?”

  Noah let his tongue loll out, his face smug, and nodded again. Stacy felt her eyes widen. “Wow,” she said. “Wow.”

  Two of the wolves in her pack, she suddenly thought, had special powers. How did this happen?

  She had always known the wolves in her pack were special. But, Stacy now realized, maybe she had never known exactly how special.

  Seventeen

  STACY WANTED TO spend more time thinking about Basil’s and Noah’s powers and what they might mean. But right now, they had a rescued animal with them, and they needed to help her.

  “How is she, Tucker?” she asked quietly. The small dog’s eyes were slightly glazed, and she was disturbingly skinny, bones sharply defined beneath her fur. Tucker nosed at the dog, who raised her head and yapped softly.

  She didn’t seem to have any serious injuries, but she looked hungry and exhausted. Stacy knelt and stroked her head, petting her floppy ears, and the dog gave a weak wag of her tail.

  “We should get her back to the mine and give her something to eat,” Stacy said. Tucker nodded. What the little dog needed most right now was food and shelter.

  Food. Stacy knew there was nothing at the mine except a few pieces of fruit. She had been worried about food before, but now it was much more urgent—the exhausted dog would need plenty of food if she was going to recover.

  Stacy stood up and looked around. In the distance, she could see the red-rock mesa where the mine was. She hoped the rest of the pack would be waiting there for them—she’d told them to head back to the mine if anything happened. Bending down, she picked up the dog and gently cradled her in her arms. “Don’t worry,” she told her. “We’ll take care of you.” The little dog looked up at her trustingly and then snuggled deeper into Stacy’s arms.

  Everest nudged Stacy, pressing his side against her legs, then looked at her expectantly. Cradling the dog carefully, she climbed onto Everest’s back and took hold of his thick fur with one hand, holding on to the dog with the other. Heading for the mesa, Everest began to run at a steady pace that Stacy knew he could keep up for hours. Tucker and Noah followed.

  The gentle rocking motion of Everest’s run made Stacy feel sleepy. She ached all over. Through blurry eyes, she saw shapes in the distance, near the train tracks that had brought them into the desert. A small gathering of buildings—a town, maybe?—and a scattering o
f tents and cabins, clearly a campground of some sort. Maybe that was where the little dog had come from.

  She would take her there when she was better, Stacy decided, tucking the little dog more closely to her. She already hated the idea of giving her up, but the dog might have a family that loved her. Stacy owed it to her to try to find them.

  Before that, though, Stacy and her pack would help the dog get strong again.

  As they began to climb the mesa toward their mine, an excited yelping came from above. Page, Wink, and Addison were making their way down the mountainside toward them, tails wagging and eyes wide with relief.

  “We’re okay!” Stacy said, hugging first Addison, and then Wink, as Page enthusiastically licked her face. It was clear how worried they had all been about her and the others—they must have seen them being washed away in the flash flood.

  Page finished greeting the other wolves and then walked back to Stacy, curiously eyeing the small dog in her arms. Stacy looked to Basil. “I need your help,” she told the yellow-eyed wolf. “I have to get to town as quickly as possible.”

  Basil nodded, and then followed Stacy as she carried the long-eared dog into the mine. Pulling her pajama shirt out of her satchel, Stacy made a soft nest for the little dog on the floor of the cave and tucked the hem of the shirt around her. “I’ll be back soon,” she said softly. “And I’ll bring you something to eat.” The dog blinked up at her with big sleepy brown eyes.

  Stacy turned to Tucker. “You’ll take care of her?” Tucker nodded, his face serious and determined, and lay down, curling his body protectively around the little dog. Satisfied that the dog would be safe, Stacy picked up her satchel and looked at Basil. “Ready?”

  Once they had climbed down the mesa and were on fairly flat ground, Basil moved so fast that the scenery around them was only a blur. After a few minutes, Stacy was so dizzy that she had to shut her eyes. “Stop far enough outside the town so that no one sees you,” she told Basil, gripping her thick fur.