The Endless Lake

by Erin Hunter

  Fang. The young Fierce Dog growled as he blocked Lucky’s path. “More of your pathetic tricks? You don’t change, City Dog!” He snapped at Lucky’s flank. Lucky sprang back, thinking fast. He’s more vulnerable without the other two, but he’s strong and the others will soon catch up. We have to get out of here.

  Lucky pounced at Fang, thrusting him backward with all his strength. The pup tumbled on a heap of damp river grass. As Fang scrambled to his paws, Lucky made a break for it, joining his Packmates at the end of the street.

  “Hurry!” he barked, leading Storm, Martha, Bella, and Moon down a side street.

  Fang charged after them, barking a call that was answered by others.

  “They’re coming for us!” howled Moon, crazed with terror. The Wild Dogs slid and stumbled along the sandy streets, dodging to avoid mounds of river grass and fallen debris.

  We need a plan, thought Lucky. Somewhere to hide. And I think I know just the place.

  But first they had to shake off Fang. “Head for the wooden platform over the Endless Lake,” he urged the others.

  They bounded toward the edges of the town, ducking under the arch with the blinking lights onto the platform that jutted over the Endless Lake. Martha led the way over the wooden boards, passing the first set of small houses. The great dog set down a forepaw and the air split with the sound of cracking wood. She sprang backward in a midair leap, yanking her paw away just as a plank of the platform collapsed and plummeted into the Endless Lake. It crashed onto the water in a fountain of white froth.

  There was a gaping hole where the plank had been. Lucky looked around desperately. There’s nowhere to run!

  Fang reached the arch, his jaws gnashing and his stout body braced. Storm turned to face him, barking. “What do you want with us?”

  “You know what you have to do!” Fang replied. “You have to come back to the Pack with me. See sense—you don’t belong with these mongrels!”

  Lucky watched the young littermates, his head pulsing with tension. Fang was outnumbered, but would not be for long. The frenzied barks of the Fierce Dog Pack were cutting through the air. They weren’t far away—how long would it take them to arrive?

  “Come on, sister, what are you waiting for?” Fang pushed his chest out and bared his teeth, but Lucky realized that, despite everything, he would not hurt Storm. A pleading note entered Fang’s voice. “It’s better if you come of your own will. Blade won’t forgive you if you struggle.”

  Storm locked eyes with him. “And I won’t forgive you if you lay a claw on my Packmates. If any dog touches Martha, Lucky, or the others I will personally see to it that the fur is ripped from their faces and their eyes become food for the waterbirds. They will not be buried or accepted by the Earth-Dog; they will be left to rot. Mark my words, Fang: I will fight until there isn’t a Fierce Dog left standing—even if that includes me.”

  Lucky shivered. Storm’s words echoed with her brave resolve, yet the violent threat made his hairs stand on end. He had no doubt that she meant it.

  Fang’s jaw worked, but he didn’t speak. He threw a look over his shoulder, then turned back to his litter-sister. The angry barks of his Packmates were close now and Lucky heard Blade’s voice rising over them.

  “Find the pup,” she howled. “Bring her to me—and the pelt of the yellow dog!”

  Lucky swallowed a whine, wishing that Fang would hurry and come to a decision.

  At last the young Fierce Dog snapped out of his thoughts. He addressed his litter-sister, ignoring the others. “Hide!” he snarled. “I’ll put them off. But I hope you realize it’s because I haven’t given up on you. You belong with your real family.”

  Storm dipped her head, her expression softer. “Thank you.”

  The Fierce Dogs were almost at the edge of the town. “This way!” barked Lucky. Backing up a few paces and refusing to think of the deep drop beneath, he leaped off the broken board at a running jump. Moon and Bella glided over without difficulty and Martha followed, thumping down on the board at the far side of the gap. Storm had shorter legs than the others, but she threw herself over without hesitation. Her hind legs hit the edge of the next wooden board, wobbling over the drop for a moment, but she quickly recovered her balance and followed her friends along the platform. Lucky silently thanked the Spirit Dogs that none of the smaller Pack members had joined them. He doubted that Sunshine or Whine would have made it across.

  Lucky hurried in front of the small buildings that lined the wooden platform. “In here!” he barked, pouncing onto the ledge of the building full of hoops and balls. Moon, Bella, and Storm followed him onto the ledge and sprang inside. Martha was less graceful, hooking a rear paw onto the ledge and lifting herself over. She tumbled onto a mound of soft toys with a thump. The dogs shuffled down until they were buried beneath toys. Lucky held his breath, ears pricked.

  “Where are the half breeds?” Blade’s voice was louder now—she must have reached the arch at the entrance to the wooden platform.

  “Not here,” Fang barked back. “I saw them running across the sand toward the river.”

  Blade’s voice boomed. “Toward the river! Idiot pup, why didn’t you catch them?”

  Fang gave a sharp yelp. Lucky winced—Blade must have nipped him hard.

  “I’m sorry, Blade!” whined the young Fierce Dog.

  “You’re sorry?” snarled Blade.

  A series of barks rose over the air. The whole Pack must have been there. Lucky tried not to imagine the Fierce Dogs surrounding Fang and bearing down on him. He told himself the young dog had chosen his own fate, but he couldn’t help feeling a pang of pity.

  “They were too far away,” whimpered Fang. “I won’t let them escape again.”

  “You’d better not!” growled another voice. Lucky recognized it as the brown Fierce Dog Mace, Blade’s Beta.

  Huddled next to Lucky, Storm made the smallest of whines. “Fang will be okay,” Lucky whispered, though he didn’t really know if this was true.

  “Come on,” snarled Blade. “He’s not even worth it. We should have left the useless pup to rot with the half breeds. He can forget about eating tonight; let a bit of hunger teach him some fighting spirit!” The Fierce Dogs barked their agreement, their voices fading as they leaped off the platform and retreated into the town.

  Lucky sighed with relief. They had escaped Blade this time. But there would be a price—he knew the Fierce Dogs would see to that.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Lucky and his companions kept perfectly still as the barks of the Fierce Dogs faded on the salty air, until all they could hear was the roar of the Endless Lake as it churned beneath them restlessly.

  Bella raised her head above a fluffy toy shaped like a rabbit. “That was close,” she panted. “At least we learned something useful.”

  “More than one thing,” Lucky agreed. “Now we know where the Fierce Dogs have made their camp and where they patrol.” He looked at Storm, who had risen to her paws and was shaking her sleek brown coat. “We also know that Fang’s loyalty is to his litter-sister, not to Blade. Maybe there’s still hope for him.”

  Storm cocked her head, panting, her tail giving a wag.

  Moon scratched her neck with a hind leg and straightened up. “We should never have come here!”

  Lucky sighed. “Well, let’s get as far away from the Fierce Dogs as possible. We need to retrace the Wild Pack’s scent.” The others agreed, following Moon as she pounced on the ledge and down onto the wooden floor.

  Storm gazed up at the sky with a frown.

  Lucky licked her ears. “What’s wrong?”

  She turned to him. “It’s already getting dark. Wasn’t it only a short while ago that the Sun-Dog was at the top of the sky? Why do you think he’s in such a hurry today?”

  Her comments surprised him. Doesn’t she know about seasons? He had to remind himself that despite her courage and resilience, which were qualities of a more experienced dog, Storm was still very young. She had
never lived through the changes of weather, so she didn’t know that the days grew shorter.

  “When the air gets cold, the Sun-Dog doesn’t like to be out for very long,” he explained. “He prefers to rest and stay warm, so he spends less time in the sky. That time is known as Ice Wind. When the air grows warmer and plants spring into bloom, he is happier. We call that Tree Flower. After Tree Flower, the Sun-Dog stays out much longer; the days are hot and seem to last forever—that’s Long Light.”

  Storm was wide-eyed. “What comes after Long Light?”

  Lucky licked her nose. “After Long Light it’s Red Leaf. Then the trees lose their fur and the days grow short and cold, and it’s Ice Wind again.”

  They looped around the edge of the town onto the sand hills, ducking beneath the wind until they could trace the Wild Pack’s scent once more.

  “We should stick to the sand,” said Moon. “It’s tough going, but the Fierce Dogs are unlikely to follow us here, and at least we have the Pack’s scent.”

  No dog argued. They scaled the hills, scrabbling at bursts of long grass to stop themselves from sliding down. Lucky threw a look over his shoulder. The town lay below them to one side, the river to the other, and straight behind them the wooden platform hung over the Endless Lake.

  Lucky located the scent of the Wild Pack. He could clearly distinguish the dogs now. Alpha, Spring, Sweet . . . A tremor of excitement ran along his back. It’s so slow over this terrain, and it’s growing dark. There must be an easier way. He forged ahead, his eyes scanning the stretches of sand. They rested on an outcrop of white boulders. He bounded toward them, tail lashing. A shaft of rock rose from the boulders like a bridge over the sand.

  “Up here!” he barked. It was easier to get a proper footing on the rock, but it veered so sharply that his paws ached as he climbed. The dogs clambered up one after another, panting heavily. Lucky watched Storm for signs of strain. The pup had to take running bounds up the incline to keep pace with the others. Her jaw was clenched with concentration, but she didn’t complain.

  Lucky and Bella were the first to reach the top of the rockshaft. Moon and Martha followed, with Storm bringing up the rear. The dogs gazed back over the town, catching their breath. It seemed quite small now—nothing like the city that Lucky, Bella, and Martha had once known.

  Lucky squinted at the distant street. “It’s so dark down there.”

  “Because the Sun-Dog is going to sleep,” said Storm.

  “Yes, but it wasn’t like that in the city,” said Bella. “Not before the Big Growl.”

  The little Fierce Dog tilted her head, looking from Bella to the town beneath them. “The Sun-Dog didn’t sleep in the city?”

  Bella licked a forepaw. “He did, but there was always light. The longpaws set little fires.”

  Moon’s fangs were visible as she looked around. “Dangerous creatures.”

  Martha sounded defensive. “The fires were quite safe. Not really fires, just balls of light that gave off no heat.”

  “But why?” asked Storm.

  Bella’s ears twitched. “I guess they don’t like the dark.”

  Lucky was still listening, but he had noticed that the rockshaft swerved up so it overhung the Endless Lake. It’s a cliff. . . .

  He trod the narrow path to the top and caught his breath. The Sun-Dog was sinking into the water, his amber tail touching the surface so the giant ripples were silvery. Lucky scanned the shimmering water. Its near bank ran from the flat, sandy riverbank to wind around the town and continue its journey as far as the eye could see. As for its far bank . . .

  Bella had joined him at the top of the rockshaft. “That’s impossible.” The others had heard her and were climbing up behind them, taking in the same strange sight.

  Lucky nodded slowly. The silvery-tipped water rolled endlessly to the edges of his vision, where the Sun-Dog dipped beneath the sky.

  There is no far bank.

  “It really is endless,” sighed Storm.

  Martha joined them, panting heavily. “And it’s moved.”

  “Moved?” Bella frowned.

  “When we were down on the bank, the water came up to the edges of the town and under the wooden platform. Look at it now.”

  Lucky squinted. The water-dog was right! The waves had retreated along the bank, leaving many dog-lengths of dark, damp sand.

  Moon shivered and looked at the town. “At least we’re clear of the Fierce Dogs. We need to track around to the waterfront again. I can smell our Pack. It’s as I guessed—they must have followed along the same path by the river, swerved away from the lake over the sand hills when they saw the town, and headed down to the water again once they were clear of it.”

  Lucky watched her, impressed. He sniffed the air. The Wild Pack’s scent was below them, drifting from the waterfront beyond the longpaw settlement.

  The dogs started the careful descent along mounds of rock and sand, looping around the town. When Lucky looked back he could just see the jagged outline of its broken buildings. The Fierce Dogs were safely behind them, hidden among that dark jumble of streets.

  Lucky and Bella had a new spring in their steps as the Wild Pack’s scent grew stronger. Moon’s tail was wagging as she slid down the slippery sand hills. “I can smell Beetle and Thorn!” she barked. “This way!”

  The others hurried after her, zigzagging toward the bank of the Endless Lake. Lucky paused, watching as Martha and Storm hurried past him. The light had faded fast. The Sun-Dog’s amber pelt had merged into the water so that only his silvery whiskers still played on the surface. The Endless Lake was farther away now, as Martha had pointed out, but it still roared and hissed as it lashed the sloping bank. The water never slept.

  Lucky wished he could be as strong as the waves. His paws ached with fatigue and his eyelids were heavy. How would Storm be feeling? “It’s practically no-sun,” he barked over the churning water. “We won’t catch up with them tonight.”

  “We will,” Moon barked back. She ran toward the craggy rocks, her tail thrashing. “Just a little farther!” She hurried around them, nose to the ground, the others close behind her.

  With a last great bound the dogs emerged around the rocks onto the deep, sandy bank. The water was scarcely visible against the horizon. The Moon-Dog watched from high in the sky, almost full, but her light was faint on the sand.

  “Lucky’s right,” barked Bella. “We should find some shelter where we can rest until sun-up. We’ll catch up with them then.” She padded along the damp sand, where another white shaft of rock jutted out. “It looks like there’s a cave here. It’ll be drier and warmer in there.”

  Moon looked across the sand, her tail drooping. “I guess it’s too dark to keep going in this unfamiliar place. We can start again at first light.” She padded toward the cave after Bella.

  Martha and Lucky followed, but Storm paused, her dark eyes shining. “Are you sure we should go in there?” she whined. “There could be anything inside that cave. Maybe we’re safer out on the sand? We could try to find some shelter beneath those bushes.”

  Bella turned on her impatiently. “Stop being such a pup! We’re all cold and tired; we could freeze out here. Haven’t you learned anything about surviving in the wild?”

  “Leave her alone!” growled Martha, whose dark outline in the fading light looked more like a moving boulder than a dog. “Storm has a point! We don’t know what’s in there; it could be dangerous. Don’t giantfurs live in caves?”

  Lucky’s breath tightened as he remembered the terrifying beast he had encountered while tracking the Fierce Dog pups with Alpha through the forest. Did giantfurs really live in caves? He frowned, approaching the yawning gap of the rock mouth. He couldn’t picture a giantfur living here, so far from the woods.

  Storm pressed against Martha’s flank, shivering against the wind. Lucky stepped around them and took a tentative sniff inside the cave. It didn’t look much bigger than one of those buildings on the wooden platform near the town.
The ground was grainy against his paws. Great, more sand. . . . He’d hoped for something warmer, some driftwood or foliage.

  He walked a slow circle around the cave. One side was raised on higher ground that backed against some rocks and dips. Lucky nosed at these, finding bits of damp debris that smelled of the Endless Lake. His snout tingled with the odor of salt and river grass.

  Lucky withdrew from the cave. The other dogs were gathered at the entrance, bickering.

  “What do you know about giantfurs?” Bella was saying. “You were a Leashed Dog. There aren’t any giantfurs in the city.”

  “You were a Leashed Dog too,” Martha pointed out. “So you’re no expert either. Storm actually saw a giantfur.”

  “So what? That doesn’t mean she knows everything there is to know about them!” Bella tapped her paw on the sand. “There’s nothing in the cave.”

  “It’s safe,” Lucky confirmed, hoping this would bring an end to the argument. “It isn’t ideal, but at least it’s empty, dry, and sheltered from the wind.”

  “Told you!” snapped Bella, turning sharply and marching into the cave. The others followed in silence, each claiming a separate corner except for Martha and Storm, who stuck together.

  Lucky eased himself up onto the raised part of the cave, which was farthest from the entrance. He lowered his head to the ground. He knew that they were a good distance from the shore of the Endless Lake, but its ceaseless roar disturbed him. He covered his ears with his paws, trying to block out the sound. It drowned out the snuffles and snores of the other dogs. Too late Lucky remembered the Great Howl. Maybe it would have made them feel less alone. . . .

  As he shut his eyes, Lucky felt Bella settle down alongside him and he began to relax. A little later, Moon approached and snuggled up against Lucky’s other side. Martha and Storm crept closer until the dogs were all together. Lucky felt the warmth and comfort of their bodies. He remembered his first night after the Big Growl, when he’d huddled against Sweet beneath a bush and awoken to a world that had changed forever.

  The wind whipped Lucky’s fur and he shivered, crouching low to the ground. The Moon-Dog had vanished, leaving only a scattering of stars to cast their shallow light. He squinted into the darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he realized he was perching on a blade of black rock, a tiny stone island surrounded by water. He took a tentative step over the rock and faltered. The water wasn’t moving—it was frozen to ice. As Lucky lowered his head, he could see white patterns across its surface like spiders’ webs. Ahead, the sky of no-sun was as thick and dark as a storm cloud, yet craning his head Lucky could just make out a circle of amber light. Was it the Sun-Dog rising, or something else?