by Andrew Kole
Without another word, Duke rolled onto his back exposing a snap clasp that held the vest in place. Using his teeth, Bohdi unsnapped the vest. Duke got to his feet and Sandor helped pull the vest off.
“You know, this is my favorite vest,” Duke said, already missing it.
“I’ll buy you a new one... if we survive,” Piper said.
“Thanks,” Duke said, momentarily forgetting the trouble they were all in.
“We need to focus,” Sandor said, bringing the group back to face the reality of their dire situation.
Bohdi knew Sandor was right. They had to focus.
“Listen up. We’re going with Lady Maya’s plan. Big dogs help the little dogs. We’ll make it if we swim together,” Bohdi said as he moved next to Lady Maya. They stood shoulder to shoulder, their conviction reassured the other dogs who were still scared.
“Lead the way, Lady Maya,” Winnie said, proclaiming his confidence. Lady Maya nodded, then leaped out of the plane. The icy water knocked the wind out of her at first and she panted heavily, trying
to catch her breath.
Bohdi called to her, “Are you okay?”
Lady Maya replied, “I’m fine. It’s just a little... chilly.”
“Bet that’s the understatement of the day,” muttered Duke, shivering at the thought of getting in the frigid brown water.
Lady Maya backed up to the side of the fuselage and called to Piper, “Climb on!”
Piper held her breath, and carefully climbed onto Lady Maya’s back. Trembling with fear and cold, she lay down and grabbed onto Lady Maya’s collar with her teeth. Her lion-like mane groomed head looked like an ornament in the front of a ship.
“Okay,” Piper said. “I’m ready.”
“Everybody else! Get in the water!” Bohdi cried. “Follow Lady Maya!” “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” Winnie said.
“You can do it!” Bohdi encouraged.
Winnie tiptoed toward the hole in the fuselage. But when it was time to jump, she panicked and scrambled backward.
“I can’t! I can’t! I can’t!” cried Winnie.
Bohdi looked at Aldo for help. The big dog knew what he had to do. He set his shoulder against Winnie and shoved, tumbling her into the water.
Aldo called after her, “Sorry.”
Winnie quickly recovered and found her stroke. She swam strongly behind Piper and Lady Maya. Aldo then jumped in and started swimming. He rode pretty low, struggling to keep his head above the churning water. “I have dense bones,” he called out loudly.
“You can do it, big guy!” Bohdi called out to him.
Bohdi knew Aldo couldn’t carry any extra weight and Winnie was too nervous to be any help. It was going to be up to Sandor to help Duke. The Puli had come to the same conclusion. He looked at Duke, and tossed out his best version of an English accent, “Guess it’s you and me, old chap.”
“Oh, goodie,” Duke said sarcastically.
“Don’t’ worry I’m an excellent swimmer,” Sandor said trying to reassure Duke.
Without hesitation Sandor jumped into the water. His dreads were immediately plastered over his eyes making it nearly impossible for him to see much of anything. But Sandor was determined. He followed Bohdi and Duke’s instructions until he was close enough for Duke to grab a clump of dreadlocks in his mouth and join Sandor in the river. Together, they struck out for shore.
Bohdi took one last look around the plane. He was reluctant to leave their supplies, especially their food, but there was no choice. With a big sigh, Bohdi jumped into the freezing water and followed Sandor and Duke.
Duke was no lightweight. Dragging the extra pounds, Sandor had to work very hard to make any progress through the swift current. Bohdi quickly caught up to them, but there wasn’t really anything he could do to help. He whipped his head around to get a look at what was behind him and was horrified to see the fuselage swinging toward them!
“Look out!” Bohdi yelled to Sandor as he ducked out of the way of the oncoming metal, but Sandor couldn’t move that fast with Duke hanging on. The side of the plane struck the pair of dogs,
forcing Duke to lose his grip of Sandor’s coat, while sending Sandor underwater.
“Help!” Duke yelled as the swift current pulled him downstream.
On shore, Winnie focused on Duke who was thrashing in the water to stay afloat.
“Oh no! Duke’s heading toward the waterfall,” Winnie cried out.
“Waterfall?!?” Aldo yelped, as he quickly redoubled his effort to get to shore.
Suddenly Sandor popped up, his mouth full of water, barely able to gather himself.
“Help! Help!” said Duke, gurgling, thrashing, trying to keep his head above water.
Lady Maya knew she couldn’t go after Duke, not with Piper on her head. She yelled out to Major, already on shore, “Save Duke!”
Major heard her, but pretended he didn’t. He wasn’t going to risk his life for any of the dogs. He was safe and he intended to stay that way.
The fuselage of the plane shot over the edge of the waterfall.
“I’m going to die! I’m going to die!” Duke cried out, convinced he was going to meet the same fate when his collar suddenly hooked on a branch of an enormous downed tree that jutted into the river, stopping his progress toward the waterfall.
But Duke’s relief lasted only a few seconds because the turbu- lent water pounded at him, sucking him under! He struggled and spluttered, fighting to catch his breath. There was no way he would last very long being pushed under the water like that.
Bohdi made a quick decision to let the swift current send him downstream. He aimed for the tree Duke was caught on. Bohdi flung his front paws out of the water onto a branch, then struggled to haul himself up. He rushed over to where Duke was fighting for breath, crouched down, grabbed Duke’s collar and slid it off the branch, freeing him. Bohdi then pulled as hard as he could. Sandor
watched as Bohdi, with a huge effort, yanked the shivering Duke out of the river and safely onto the tree branch.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Duke panted.
Sandor, realizing his new friend was safe, continued toward shore.
Bohdi then helped the trembling Duke cross the rest of the slippery tree. At last, they made it to shore where the other dogs waited for them.
“Duke, you made it!” Winnie enthused.
“Barely,” Duke said, sniffling.
Bohdi looked at the Westminster dogs. Piper looked like a sponge, and Sandor resembled a wet mop. All remnants of their fancy grooming were long gone. Exhausted, they dripped miserably as they looked around and realized they were completely out of their element, and in big, big trouble.
“You saved Duke,” Lady Maya said to Bohdi with a smile.
“Someone had to,” Bohdi said nonchalantly, his eyes on Major. As far as Major was concerned, it wasn’t his job to save the other dogs. He was responsible for himself. That’s all.
Headache down to a dull roar, Spencer paced back and forth in the cramped cockpit.
“You should be resting,” said Taylor insistently. “You don’t have enough oxygen to pace.”
“I can’t sit around and do nothing,” Spencer protested. “Taking care of yourself is not doing nothing,” replied Taylor.
“If you fall into a coma, I’ll have to drag your butt down the mountain to save your life. Which I do not want to do. So, sit down. Now!”
“No!” said Spencer even more stubbornly. “I’m going to find my dog.”
“Search and rescue will be looki
ng for the plane. We have to stay put,” Taylor said.
“Maya’s a show dog. She has no idea how to take care of herself,” Spencer insisted. He grabbed a couple of water bottles, two bags of gourmet potato chips he found in the snack cabinet, and a flashlight and tossed them in the garment bag.
“You have no idea what you’re doing. These mountains are dangerous. People die out here all the time,” Taylor said.
“Bohdi’s out there, too,” reminding Taylor of what she already knew. “I’m going.” Spencer knew he was out of his element, but was not going to be deterred.
“Spencer, let’s be honest... the dogs probably didn’t make it,” Taylor said gently.
“Shut up!” Spencer yelled. “Don’t say that.” Maya was his best friend. His only friend. She couldn’t be dead. She just couldn’t be.
“I’m sorry, Spencer, I really am,” Taylor said.
“What have I done?” Spencer said, the reality of their situation finally sinking in. Spencer then slumped forward, head in his hands. “If I hadn’t taken the dogs... taken the plane…” He couldn’t finish the thought, but Taylor knew what he meant.
“It’s my fault, too. I know these mountains. I know how bad the weather can get up here and I didn’t try to stop you,” Taylor said. “But now we’re stuck. The best thing to do is wait here for help.”
“No. We don’t know for sure that the dogs are dead. They may be out there. Hurt. Alone. Scared. I have to at least look for them,” he said. With that, Spencer stood up, grabbed the garment bag and headed outside.
“Spencer! Don’t! This is not a good idea! Please…” Taylor called out to him as he marched through the blowing snow, growing smaller as he headed away.
But Taylor was not willing to let Spencer go alone. She knew his chance of surviving was far better if she went with him. Taylor grabbed her stuff and ran after him. “Wait up! You’re not going without me!”
Spencer whirled around at the sound of her voice and didn’t pay enough attention to where he puts his foot. His fancy loafers slid in the snow. He flailed, trying to recover his balance, but finally his butt hit the ground.
“Let me take that,” Taylor said, as she tried to take the garment bag from him.
“It’s okay. I’m fine,” he said as he stood back up.
“Okay. You win. You just worry about staying on your feet,” she said, reaching for the garment bag once again.
“Fine,” Spencer said, as he handed the bag over.
“And let’s walk a little slower,” said Taylor. “Not much oxygen up here, remember?”
Spencer nodded and slowed his pace. He knew it would definitely be easier to find Maya if he didn’t pass out. After a few minutes of walking in silence he said shyly, “Thanks for coming with me.”
Taylor wasn’t comfortable with the real gratitude in his voice so she decided to break the moment with a joke. “I can’t let you get all the credit for saving the dogs,” Taylor teased, before getting serious. “Besides, of the two of us, I’m the only one with any real search and rescue experience.”
Spencer threw a smile her way. He knew Taylor was right and that he needed her. Side by side they walked downhill, following the path carved by the tail section, not knowing what was to come, but determined to face it together.
Chapter 11
The Mountain Fights Back
Heavy rain blew sideways across the pothole-ridden fire road. Amos navigated the treacherous road as Shuttleworth tried to read a topographic map of the area.
“You have no idea what you’re reading, do you?” Amos asked. “No. Why don’t you let me drive and you can navigate,”
Shuttleworth said.
“Because I know where I’m going,” Amos said.
“Then why did you give me this map?” Shuttleworth asked.
“I needed to keep you quiet,” Amos said with a sarcastic smile. “You’re a jerk,” Shuttleworth said as he crumpled up the map.
Amos stopped the car, put it in park, and begrudgingly looked over at Shuttleworth. “Open it up. I’ll show you something.”
Shuttleworth unfolded the map and smoothed it out. Amos then pointed to a peak on it.
“The plane’s emergency transmitter is transmitting a distress signal from this area,” Amos said. “If these old fire roads are passable, we should be able to drive a good ways in.”
“Then what?” Shuttleworth asked.
“Then we’ll have to go on foot,” Amos said, as he put the Range Rover back into drive. “You up for a climb, city slicker?"
“I’ll be fine. What about you, old man?" Shuttleworth decided to play the age card.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Amos said, defiantly. “I've been hiking these mountains since before you could walk.”
“My point exactly,” Shuttleworth said.
Amos glared at him. “I’ve got twenty bucks that says you’ll be asking for a breather before we walk five miles.”
“Let’s make it a hundred.” Shuttleworth responded, not willing to give an inch.
“How ‘bout a thousand?" Amos asked. “I need to buy some food for the shelter.” He kept going before Shuttleworth could respond. “Good dog food. Not that junk you make.”
“Hopton... you are a piece of work,” Shuttleworth said. Amos smiled at that. “I sure am.”
The dogs laid down, wet, cold and miserable next to the muddy riverbank. “We can’t stay here,” Lady Maya announced.
“Where do you suggest we go, Lady Maya?” asked Major. “We are absolutely lost and completely ill-equipped for this terrain.”
“I say we go find my person. We find Spencer,” Lady Maya asserted.
“That’s crazy!” Bohdi said derisively.
“Really?... What do you think we should do?” asked Lady Maya.
“We should head downriver toward civilization,” Bohdi stated with authority.
“Your person isn’t downriver. Your person is up on that mountain,” said Lady Maya.
“Taylor’s not my person,” Bohdi said. “I just... I just stay with her.
That’s all.”
“Don’t you love her?” Lady Maya asked.
“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” insisted Bohdi. “It was just temporary. Just for the winter. Then I decided to stick around for the spring. But, I’m gonna move on real soon... Always move on before they do.”
Lady Maya shook her head in disbelief. Lady Maya had been loved and cared for her entire life. She had never been abandoned, so she had trouble understanding Bohdi’s point of view.
“Well, Spencer is my person. And I’m not leaving my person out here alone. I’m going to find him.” She turned to the other dogs and asked, “Who’s with me?”
The Westminster dogs didn’t know Bohdi. All they knew was that he was really different from them. And they weren’t comfortable with those differences. Sure, he had saved their lives once already, but they all decided to go with Lady Maya.
Bohdi watched the Westminster dogs follow Lady Maya up the mountain. A year ago, he wouldn’t have thought much about being left alone, but now he was used to company and being alone wasn’t as comfortable as it used to be. Bohdi shook off his desire to go after them. He was doing the right thing. He was sure about it. When they were completely out of sight he started following the river downstream.
The snow was growing thicker and wetter as Spencer and Taylor followed the debris trail down the mountain. The tail section had done a remarkable amount of damage as it slid downhill. Hunks of metal and
plastic littered the area. A line of broken trees showed the teens exactly which way the plane had traveled. The mountainside was a mess.
As they walked, Spencer waved his cell phone around, searching for a signal.
“You should save your battery,” Taylor said. “I’ve still got fifty percent,” Spencer insisted.
“It’s unlikely you’ll get a signal here. You should turn it off and only turn it on when we have a real shot at getting a signal,” she explained.
Spencer took Taylor’s advice and turned his phone off.
They continued to walk until they saw the left wing of the plane lodged in a heavily treed area, vividly reminding them of the crash. Spencer stopped, very upset as he looked at the wreckage.
“Let’s keep moving,” Taylor said.
The dangerous, steep and slippery rocks around the waterfall meant Bohdi couldn’t just walk along the riverbank. He had to detour, but tried not to go so far off course that he would lose track of the sound of the rushing water in the distance.
But it wasn’t long before the rain bucketed down, drenching Bohdi. That alone wouldn’t have been so bad, but the wind was also howling, blowing the rain sideways so it stung Bohdi’s face as he walked. Bohdi put his head down and soldiered on.
After the third time a gust of wind nearly lifted him off his paws, Bohdi realized he needed to find shelter. And fast. He peered through the curtain of rain, looking for an outcropping of rock or a hollow tree, anything to get out of the weather.
At last, he spotted a shadow in a rocky bank. He headed for it, hoping there would be a little space to wiggle into. But as he got closer, he was startled to discover that what he thought was just an indent in the rock was actually the entrance to a cave big enough that Bohdi couldn’t even see the ceiling in the dim interior. Relieved to be out of the weather, Bohdi flopped down on the floor of the cave with a sigh and quickly fell asleep.
