by Andrew Kole
“Are you saying we should go back for Lady Maya? A dog who didn’t have the good sense to stay with us? A dog who only had the rest of us out here so she could rub our noses in the fact she beat us at Westminster?” asked Major.
Piper didn’t like the idea of going back for Lady Maya. But she also didn’t like the idea of letting Major dictate to everyone.
Major stared daggers at Bohdi. “We need to keep going.” “We can’t just leave her!” said Winnie.
Bohdi looked each of the dogs in the eye, stopping when he reached Major.
“She’s not our problem,” said Major. “She made her own choice.”
“So, that’s how you are, Major? Just like a human. It’s not convenient for you anymore, so you just write her off ?” Bohdi was disgusted. He’d seen plenty of that kind of thing in his short life. But he was also starting to realize that not every human, or dog, was like that. Amos and Taylor didn’t seem to be. And maybe he didn’t want to be either.
“Am I in charge?” Bohdi asked.
“Yes,” said all the dogs in unison, except of course, for Major.
“Then we’re going to find Lady Maya.” proclaimed Bohdi.
Major was not happy about this, but he could see the other dogs were with Bohdi, and while he wasn’t a team player, he was also not interested in wandering these strange woods by himself.
“Aldo can follow her trail,” Bohdi said.
At Bohdi’s words, Aldo straightened his shoulders with pride.
“With that nose of his, he’ll find Lady Maya in no time,” added Piper.
Chapter 13
Trouble on the Mountain
Taylor and Spencer raced along the riverbank toward the roaring sound they’d heard a quarter mile away. Even without speaking, they knew that sound meant trouble. Their fear for the dogs drove them forward, faster than was wise. They picked their way between the mossy rocks and slick fallen trees until they reached the edge of the waterfall and looked down.
Thirty feet below them, the wreckage of the plane was smashed to bits on the rocks. Horrified, Spence quickly began to climb, and slid down the slippery rocks next to the thundering falls.
“Spencer! Wait!” called out Taylor. She knew the first rule of rescue was never to put yourself in unnecessary danger. How can you help others if you get hurt yourself ? Taylor wanted to take a minute to assess the topography to find a safe route down.
But Spencer either didn’t listen to her or didn’t hear her over the roar of the water and the roar of the thoughts in his head. Spencer was overwhelmed with guilt over the dogs. He had to get to them! He had to save them!
But in his hurry, Spencer was far from careful. His impractical loafers with their leather soles slipped on the damp rocks. For a moment, he teetered over the abyss below. He almost caught his balance. Almost. But he couldn’t recover, couldn’t get his weight securely back over his feet, and he fell through the misty air.
“Spencer!” Taylor screamed.
Miraculously, Spencer missed the rocks dotting the waterfall’s pool and splashed into the churning, icy water. Taylor knew she only had minutes to get him out of there before either the undertow kept him down for good or the near-freezing water temperature caused hypothermia and his muscles lost the ability to get him to the surface.
As quickly as she could, while still being careful, Taylor slithered down the rocks to the edge of the waterfall. Spencer’s head popped to the surface. He managed a big gasp of air, but it was only a moment before the powerful surge of the churning water sucked him back under again.
Taylor quickly yanked a thin rope out of the garment bag and secured it to a small boulder. She stripped off her extra layers, kicked off her work boots, wrapped the rope around her hand, and jumped into the water. The shock of the cold pushed all the air out of her lungs. Taylor found herself panting, fighting shivers as she swam toward the center of the pool, desperately searching for any sign of Spencer.
“Come on! Where are you?” Taylor muttered to herself. And then, as if he’d heard her, Spencer bobbed to the surface again, only ten feet away from her. He greedily sucked in air before his water- logged clothes dragged him back down.
Taylor fought her own mental and physical fog, brought on by the cold. Adrenaline coursed through her as she swam to the spot where she saw Spencer go down. She then took a big breath and dove under the water to find him.
Murky with silt, the swirling water made it hard for Taylor to see more than a few inches in front of her face so she reached out, flailing, desperate to find Spencer, her lungs burning from holding her breath. Taylor was just about to go up for air when her fingers brushed fabric. She fumbled around a little more and then found Spencer’s arm. She gripped it firmly.
Taylor yanked on the rope and kicked out strongly toward the grey, glowing surface of the water. Seconds later, Taylor and Spencer shot to the surface! Spencer coughed up water as Taylor used the rope to haul them to shore. She pulled Spencer, exhausted and freezing up onto the rocks where they both fell to the ground, exhausted and nearly blue from cold.
“Lady Maya’s dead. She’s dead and it’s all my fault!” Spencer groaned.
“Spencer! Listen to me,” Taylor said, as she forcefully grabbed him by his shoulders to get his attention. “The crates were open. They were open!”
Spencer took in what Taylor said, and sat up. He looked over at the crates on the shore and bobbing in the water. They were indeed open. He took a deep breath.
“You think they got out?” Spencer asked. “Yes. I think they got out,” Taylor said.
Spencer collapsed with relief.
“We’ve got to get dry,” Taylor said as she pulled Spencer to his feet. “Strip.”
Taylor began to peel off her wet shirt.
“You want me to get naked... in front of you?” he asked.
“It beats dying of hypothermia,” she said, tossing him a dry suit jacket and pants. “Put those on.” Spencer hesitated. “I won’t look.” “Aren’t I the one, who is supposed to say that?” Spencer asked.
“Sure. You shouldn’t look either,” she said.
“I won’t,” Spencer promised. And he meant it. The teens stripped and dressed in the few dry clothes they had left. But the clothes they had weren’t enough. The chill mountain air cut right through the suit jackets and dress pants to their damp skin.
“We need to build a fire or we’re going to freeze to death,” Taylor said as she walked toward the trees. Spencer shivered as he followed her – in bare feet, his fancy loafers now somewhere at the bottom of the river.
Lady Maya stopped and raised her head into the wind and took a deep sniff for what seemed to her like the thousandth time, hoping to catch a scent of Spencer, her person. But she had very little experience with being that kind of dog and had no idea if she was going about it the right way or not. Without a scent to give her a clear direction, Lady Maya decided to continue to go up the mountain. She knew their part of the plane slid down the mountain, away from Spencer, so it seemed logical to her that he would be up the mountain. A gust of wind ruffled Lady Maya’s fur and she shivered. The deer path Lady Maya was following up the mountain grew narrower as it ran between large steep rocks. The dark rock outcroppings towered over her, blotting out what little light filtered
through the thick, grey clouds.
Lady Maya rounded a corner and came face to face with a huge mountain goat, over two hundred and fifty pounds, with big, curled horns blocking the narrow path.
“Excuse me, I need to get through,” Lady Maya said. The mountain goat just stared at her.
“Please, I have to find my person
.” Lady Maya continued, getting frustrated. “I don’t have time to go around... Let me through.”
Lady Maya didn’t mean to be rude, but she was anxious and the mountain goat must have interpreted her bark as aggressive. Or he was just a real jerk. Whatever the reason, the mountain goat lowered his massive horns and charged straight at Lady Maya.
With nowhere to run she backed up as quickly as she could, but the mountain goat was far more capable of traversing the rocky terrain than Lady Maya and he caught her, smashing his horns into her jaw. Lady Maya fell down, landing hard on her side. At least the mountain goat didn’t step on her with his sharp cloven hooves.
The big goat seemed to defy gravity as he charged up the side of the nearly vertical rocks. At the top of the ridge, he paused, all four hooves perched on a rock barely the size of a teacup, and looked back. He gave a bleat which seemed to say: ‘This is my mountain and don’t you forget it’ before disappearing.
“Ow,” Lady Maya said as she hauled herself to her paws. She was a little shaky from the collision, but mostly okay. She gently brushed her bruised face. Then a canine tooth fell out onto the ground. Lady Maya stared at it in horror.
Aldo led Bohdi and the Westminster dogs along the same deer track that Lady Maya had been following. Aldo sniffed the air. “Lady Maya’s close! I san smell her!” He picked up the pace, hustling through the rocks.
But as the trail grew steeper, Duke had trouble keeping up. “Slow down!” he wheezed. “Not all of us are built for mountain climbing!” “Let me help,” said Sandor. The Puli set his head against Duke’s rump and pushed. “Can’t see where we’re going anyway. Just tell me if we’re
going to run into anything.”
Piper had dried out. Her coat looked awful and she was filthy as she made a series of impressive leaps, considering her small stature, from one rock to another.
“Some of us with little legs are managing by ourselves, Duke,” Piper said with pride.
“Well, some of you don’t have my sinus problems,” Duke replied, then tossed a smile to Sandor. “Thanks for the help, buddy.”
“Happy to be of assistance,” said Sandor graciously.
Major couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. They weren’t friends, they were competitors. If a dog fell behind, leave that dog behind, that was his attitude. As long as that dog wasn’t him.
The group rounded a corner and saw Lady Maya, staring at something on the ground. Winnie barked excitedly, “Lady Maya!”
Lady Maya whirled around, shocked to see them. She moved to step on her lost tooth and kept her lips closed over her teeth when she spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“We couldn’t let you be out here on your own,” said Bohdi.
In her heart, Lady Maya knew her new friend wouldn’t let her down.
“We need to stick together,” insisted Winnie. Lady Maya looked at Major.
“Not all of us agree with that principle,” said Major. “But it was the will of the majority and so, here we are.”
“Can we go home now?” asked Duke.
“I still haven’t found Spencer,” lamented Lady Maya. “I can’t leave without him.”
Talking about Spencer made Lady Maya forget to keep her lips closed. Which meant the dogs could see the gap where her canine tooth was knocked out. Piper, Duke, Winnie and Aldo gasped. They looked like someone has just died a horrible death.
“Poor Lady Maya.” Duke said sadly.
“What is it? I can’t see! What’s going on?” Sandor asked as he shook the hair out of his eyes. And then he did see. “Oh. Oh no.”
Bohdi looked at their more than horrified faces. He didn’t understand. “It’s just a tooth,” Bohdi said. “No big deal.”
“The little mutt doesn’t get it,” said Major. “A show dog must be a perfect specimen of their breed. There’s no such thing as a perfect dog with a missing tooth,” Major was unable to conceal the smug satisfaction he felt that his number one competitor had been taken out of the game.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” Bohdi said.
Lady Maya was too sad to respond. She just turned around and slowly started up the path. Bohdi looked at the other dogs and then followed Lady Maya.
“Where are you going, mutt?” Major asked, reverting to his old self. “I going with Lady Maya to find Spencer and Taylor,” said Bohdi Without another word, Piper, Duke, Sandor, Winnie and Aldo
followed.
Major held his ground for a few seconds, then decided to join the other dogs, falling in at the end of the line.
Chapter 14
A New Understanding
It was late in the afternoon as Amos carefully free climbed up the small cliff while Shuttleworth waited below with Indy and their packs.
Shuttleworth found himself with time to think as he watched Amos work his way up the rock face.
At last, he broke the silence. “If Spencer’s spoiled, it’s my fault,” Shuttleworth said loudly enough for Amos to hear him. “The truth is, I don’t spend enough time with him. Even before his mother and I divorced, my priority was my business. Not my son. I should have spent a lot more time with him.” Shuttleworth paused and thought to himself for a long moment. “I guess that’s just an excuse for not being a very good parent”
Amos listened, but didn’t say anything. He knew it was often easiest to get people to talk when you’re not making eye contact, like in the dark, or sitting together in a car. He knew Shuttleworth had some things he needed to get off his chest, so Amos just focused on finding his finger and toe holds and let Shuttleworth talk it out.
“I can’t remember the last time I told him that I loved him,” Shuttleworth added.
Amos reached the top of the climb, and set up a pulley system to haul up the backpacks, Shuttleworth and Indy. “You still have time to fix it.” Amos said reassuringly.
“Do you really think your granddaughter can take care of Spencer?”
A big smile quickly came to Amos’ face. “Trust me, when it comes to surviving in the mountains, Taylor’s more than up to the task.”
As Amos was about to lower a line so Shuttleworth could hook Amos’ backpack on it, he heard a low growl. He turned his head toward the sound and saw a mountain lion walk out of the woods. It was thirty feet away, headed toward him. Amos stood very still, not wanting to incite his newest adversary to do anything drastic. Following the edge of the ridge the mountain lion continued on a slow, deliberate pace toward Amos.
“Shuttleworth... Do you see the mountain lion?” asked Amos. “It’s hard to miss,” Shuttleworth said.
“Can you shoot a gun?” Amos asked.
“Why?” Shuttleworth wasn’t sure why Amos was asking him that.
“Can you shoot a gun or not?” Amos asked again. He wasn’t panicking yet, but Shuttleworth was frustrating him pretty good.
“Yes. I can shoot, but I don’t have a gun.”
“I do,” Amos said. “I have a flare pistol in my pack.”
Shuttleworth zipped opened Amos’ backpack. He rummaged around and found the flare pistol and a box of shells. “Got it.”
“Try not to hit me,” said Amos, almost chuckling as he spoke.
The mountain lion was getting closer. And Amos realized that his only hope lay with a city slicker who said he could shoot. But he also knew Shuttleworth was an arrogant braggart so he wasn’t convinced Shuttleworth could hit the side of a barn, let alone a moving target.
BANG! The flare missed the mountain lion by a yard, hitting a tree and exploding.
“I thought you said you could shoot?” Amos said, as
calmly as possible.
“Skeet... I shoot skeet. At the country club. Not mountain lions, in the wilderness.” Shuttleworth explained as he loaded another shell into the chamber.
BANG! This time the flare hit the ledge under the mountain lion, causing sparks to fly everywhere. Startled and angry, the lion continued toward his prey, Amos.
Shuttleworth took another shell out. Loaded it. Aimed. And fired again. BANG!
This time the flare found its mark, hitting the mountain lion square in the middle of his left flank, burning into his skin. The mountain lion cried out, then growled louder, shifting his focus from Amos to Shuttleworth. The predator leaned over the edge of the ridge, looking down at Shuttleworth, who would be helpless if the cat decided to take the leap.
Suddenly, Indy stepped in front of Shuttleworth. He barked powerfully at the mountain lion, telling it that if it wanted a fight, he’d give him one. The big cat stepped back, took one last look at Amos and decided he’d had enough. The lion then turned and walked back into the woods.
“Are you okay?” asked Shuttleworth. “I am now,” said Amos.
“You know I saved your life,” Shuttleworth said, trying to hold back a smile.
“Send the backpacks up,” Amos said, ignoring what Shuttleworth just said.
Shuttleworth attached Amos’ backpack and watched as he pulled it up.
Behind him, Indy gave a warning growl.
“Now what?” Shuttleworth said out loud to himself as he turned around to see what Indy was upset about. A skunk was nosing around his gear. “Hey! Get away from there.”
Amos looked down and saw the skunk. And Shuttleworth was heading toward it. He softly called out, “Don’t move.” But Shuttleworth didn’t take Amos’ advice and kept moving toward the skunk. “You’re gonna get sprayed!” Amos warned, a little too late. Shuttleworth had already lunged toward the skunk. Naturally, the skunk saw this giant man heading toward him and assumed Shuttleworth was a threat.
