18
I didn't sleep well, which was a good and a bad thing. Bad because I felt exhausted, good because I was able to stir myself awake when the moon's bright glow had dimmed to a harsh murmur, and the stars were hidden by dark gray clouds.
As soon as I got up, remembering what Verde had scolded me about, I woke every one up before I did my stretches. Surprisingly, they weren't as grouchy as the day before. In fact, their eyes glimmered with excitement despite the heavy bags beneath them. I gathered everyone for a quick pow-wow before we left.
"Our first priority right now is to remain unnoticed. If we're caught or the Fuegos know we're here, any other plans we make will be ruined. Our goal is to find out exactly what the Fuego and the shifter are up to, and save the Piedra tribe." I said.
"It's wonderful to have goals, but how are we going to accomplish them? And what does saving your tribe entitle?" Mountain asked.
"Um . . ." I muttered, unsure of how to respond. I didn't have a plan, and I had no idea how we would save them. "I'm not sure how, but I think that once we get a closer look at the situation, we'll know what to do."
"That's leaving a lot in the air, Astor. What if they smell us? What if the Fuego catch us? What if they aren't there at all? What if that one coyote has turned into a wendigo? Being strong, fast and smart is only half the fight. The other half happens before anyone steps on the battlefield." Verde said.
I nodded, understanding but still unsure of what to do.
I took a shaky breath. "Okay. So I know that we'll need to free my tribe. If they can fight, we'll have another six coyotes on our side. Seven if Bat's up to it, but her pups are due any day now, so I wouldn't cont on it. Then we'll need to . . ." I paused, thinking of what would happen next. "defeat the shifter and the Fuegos. They'll have around fifteen coyotes, so we'll have equal numbers."
"Do we need to defeat them, or could we just drive them out?" Sky asked. "We're exhausted, and I assume your tribe isn't doing much better if they've been enslaved. Realistically, we won't be defeating anyone."
"I guess so. I think you're right, driving the Fuegos out will do the trick, at least for the mean time." I replied. "But the shifter needs to be defeated. He's an ambitious creature, and I doubt he'll stop spreading his evil plans at my tribe. I don't want anyone else to go through what I've gone through." I said.
Verde nodded. "Understood."
I allowed myself a tiny grin, feeling great relief at his approval.
"Okay, so we'll head to the Piedra camp. It's directly North from here." I pointed to where it was with my nose. "I still think it's a good idea to scout the hollow before we do anything, there's a perfect ledge where we can peer into the camp without being spotted."
"Just don't let Sego distract you." Sarah said wryly.
I blushed under my fur. I was very excited and very terrified to see her.
"Ha ha, shut up. So once we have a clear view of the situation, we'll find out where the Piedra members are being held. If they're doing work, I assume they'll be out hunting a feast for the Shifter. He can really eat."
"What if they're being held captive, trapped in an air pocket cave where we can't get to?" Mountain asked.
Oh yeah. We had like three of those in the hollow.
"Umm, could we sneak them out?" I asked.
"Definitely not. We'd need to walk right into the hollow with nowhere to hide in order to get them out. Even if we did manage to sneak in, the coyote guarding the cave would catch us." Sky said.
I closed my eyes and rolled them so Verde wouldn't see. Why was our hollow so good for keeping prisoners? "Ok. If that is the case, then we can jump down onto the guard. That's how our camp was attacked last time by the Fuego, when our previous leader was killed."
They were silent for a moment. I couldn't tell if they were mourning the loss of our leader, or contemplating whether or not this ironic scheme would work.
"I believe that could do the trick." Verde said. "Once your tribe is free, they'll need to act quickly. They'll be very disoriented and confused, which is why we need to direct them and have a cohesive plan of attack. I say we decide on formations once we have a better look at how the Fuego have arranged themselves."
I nodded in agreement. "Let's head over there. Roll in the sagebrush to help cover your scent. We're downwind from the camp, so that should help." I said.
We covered our pelts with the sweet, dusty aroma. The prickly bushes gave our rainy, muddy scent a thick veil of protection. I prayed that no one would smell us; we needed the element of surprise.
Once we smelled like the earth around us, we headed north to the Piedra camp. I was coming back home, but it wouldn't be the welcome I had imagined.
My whole pelt stood on edge. Every snapping twig, every scrape on the sandstone made me whip my head around, searching for a Fuego coyote or some other fiend. As we got to the camp, I warned the Guerro and Sarah to be extra quiet. They were sneaky, but Sarah wasn't as stealthy as the trained warriors.
As we neared the hollows edge, my paw pads became damp with sweat. It sounded like there were only five Fuego coyotes. I could hear their voices, but they were conglomerated by the trickling of the tiny river.
"I want to know what happened to the Piedra's leader. Is he dead? Did he disappearh?" I heard one say.
"Why do you care? Without the Shifter, we never would have gotten this much territory! And all those extra females. What's the pretty one's name? Lily or orchid or something?"
"Sego. And I don't know about it, I don't like the Shifter. He's planning something."
"He's planning total domination, with the Fuego as the supreme coyotes! We'll finally be the alpha tribe in this blasted, good for nothing desert."
"Perhaps. I used to believe that it would be beneficial for everyone if we worked together, all under the same Chief, But I'm not so sure. There's balance in smaller tribes, we aren't meant to be gathered into one territory. The desert can't handle such a large population of any creature."
"Look what the humans have done. They pile up in giant cities, taking all the water, land and sky they can get. They seem to be doing fabulously."
"We're not humans, we're coyotes."
Verde nudged me to get my attention. "What do we do?" he whispered. "There's only a few of them, and your tribe isn't here."
I didn't know what to do. Wait and listen? They had already revealed what the Shifter's ultimate goal of total kingship over the desert. They would probably give out some more information.
"Let's wait and listen for-" I stopped mid sentence as I noticed Sarah peeking over the cliff.
"Hey!" A Fuego coyote barked. "You up there!"
Someone had seen her big fluffy ears.
Sarah yipped in fear and tried to scuttle back, but in her panic she tumbled over the slick rock, pulling dust and pebbles down with her. She landed with a hard thump.
I pressed myself down so the Fuego wouldn't see me. I wouldn't be much help if I got captured, but I almost sprang up when a flurry of barks and screams came from below. Verde, Mirage, Sky and Mountain couldn't hold themselves down at the sound of Sarah's painful yips.
The four coyotes roared violently and jumped over the edge, adding their voices to the fight.
Rabbit whined, unsure of what to do. Without any more hesitation, I jumped over as well, tumbling as I landed to brace the shock of the fall.
I sprang up and jumped on the nearest coyote, a large gray male. He snapped at me instantly, biting my face and neck. I clawed at his ears and bit his muzzle, tasting sharp blood. He pulled away from my teeth, leaving a cut in his lip.
His dark yellow eyes filled with rage, and he jumped at my throat. I kicked at his legs and clawed his muzzle, twisting my head sideways, trying desperately to free myself from his suffocating teeth, but he held tighter, crushing my windpipe.
"Rat, you have Astor! The Shifter wants him ALIVE!" I heard another coyote yell, my eyeballs trying to bulge out of their sockets.
The gray coyote loosened his grip enough to bark out a what?, and enough for me to twist out of his grasp.
As soon as I could get out, I jumped away so he couldn't grab me again. My throat opened up, wheezing air hungrily. The gray coyote looked confused, but he was quickly overtaken by a quick flash from Verde.
I examined around me quickly. We outnumbered the Fuego patrol, but they were overpowering us easily. They were fresh and ready to fight while we were exhausted.
From the flurry of teeth, flesh and fur, I saw Sarah squirming under a brown coyote, her throat bloody and eyes wild. I ran to them and bit the coyote's shoulders. He let go of Sarah to turn to me, pink saliva flying from his barking mouth. Instead of grabbing my throat, he bit my pelt, pulling out a large chunk of caramel fur.
"Hey! Sarah!" I barked, but she didn't get up.
The brown coyote grabbed my paw and flipped me onto my back, leaving my belly exposed. I panicked and squirmed, trying to get away, but he wasn't interested in disemboweling me. He held me down by the throat, holding me tight enough to keep me from escaping.
The fierce barks of battle had died down to tired panting. I couldn't see much with my head pinned down, but I could tell the Fuego had defeated us.
A dark gray coyote stood over me, smiling.
"Thought you could take us on, hmm?"
I tried to spit on him, but it just dribbled onto my face.
The coyote chuckled. "Prick, hold him up where I can see him."
The brown coyote grabbed my scruff and held me just high enough so my front paws couldn't touch the ground. I scowled at the dark gray coyote, who I now realized was the pervert who thought Sego was pretty.
"The Shifter wants your head on a stick. You've caused him a lot of trouble."
"Not enough trouble." I gurgled, my throat constricted by the coyote's grip.
The gray coyote smirked. "Watch your temper, your head is on the line. Seems like you've found some friends."
I couldn't see most of them, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Mirage's skull being pushed into the ground and Mountain's legs bleeding. Sarah was still laying there, breathing faintly but not moving.
I didn't respond.
"Let's take them back. The Shifter will be ecstatic." The dark gray coyote said without enthusiasm, then he addressed me again. "Are you going to walk like a good boy, or do I need to drag this one by the tail to get you going?" He prodded Sarah with his paw.
"I'll walk." I spat out angrily. The brown coyote let go of my scruff, letting me drop to the ground.
The Fuego herded us out of the hollow, making sure we couldn't escape. Not that any of us could run.
I examined the wounds on everyone as we walked. They all looked horrible. Everyone was limping and wheezing heavily, but the Guerro were too prideful to show the amount of pain they were in.
I realized with a shock that we only had six of us. Rabbit had stayed hidden and out of the fight.
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