Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Next Level Obstacle Course (2)

Where is he?

Where is Lobo?

He doesn’t answer Minette.

Her eyes glimmering like Kaline’s and Vedette’s, she concentrates hard, as if she can make Lobo shoot out of the tunnel into the light with pure will alone.

[LOBO!]

Gussie, Demos, and I all scream his name through the link.

[LOBO! You crazy wolf.] Demos has dropped the chip on his shoulder, the competitiveness that blocked him from seeing the obvious. [There is no way this should be taking this long. ANSWER, will you?]

Gussie squawks in her mind and aloud. “LOBO! LOBO!”

[LOBO. Everyone is going crazy.] I’m equally intense, frantic, and on the edge of going in and getting him. [If you’re stuck or in trouble, let us help you!]

Finally, I hear it.

A faint whine through the link.

[Lobo?]

Demos’ head periscopes up, and he bares his teeth, his claws out, and his eyes locked and focused. His paws propel him in a heart-stopping ascent up the stairs, with me right behind him, and Gussie airborne, circling the tunnel in an aerial pass.

Vedette cheers. “Demos! Find him!”

Kaline exhorts me, too. “Blaze! Don’t come back without him.”

Mired in thoughts of Lobo and his fate, I nevertheless have the presence of mind to warn Kaline. [He’s hurt or in distress.]

[Then get him out of there!]

Demos and I smoke the floating platforms without a second thought. They aren’t even speed bumps in our path. We leapfrog together in sync, and reach the tunnel. Demos shoots headlong into the entrance, and I am a speeding bullet zipping after him. I am an arrow seeking its target. And I will not leave here without Lobo.

The tunnel is a blur, and everything contracts down to the space directly ahead of us as we speed through the conduit. Lobo has to be here. We have to be close.

My urgency is not just because Lobo is Damon. That adds some extra incentive, but it’s not the only reason. Lobo is family, anyway. In spire of, or maybe because of, our rocky beginning, Lobo has definitely grown on me. I won’t let him be trapped in a tunnel and possibly…

No.

I’m not even going to think about the grim possibilities.

Like an animal emergency siren, I roar, and Demos growls, our voices insistent, our exclamations demanding a response.

Finally, a pitiful whine followed by a “woof” echoes in the metal tunnel. It’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. And it’s close. Any second now…

A gray and black figure crawls, tortoiselike, along the tunnel. Panting and yelping in pain to gain even an inch.

Demos reaches him first and nudges his tail. [Get up.]

[Trying.] Lobo’s voice is pure grit, especially since he is in agony. [Help.]

We try, too.

[Lobo, how did this happen?] I ask.

Demos grunts. [How could you let this happen?]

Lobo woofs. [I landed too hard on one of those platforms.]

Gussie squawks. “Those platforms are too hard!”

I soothe Lobo’s ego, should it need soothing. [I can attest to that. I barely got across them.]

Demos pushes him. We trade places. I try pushing Lobo. In doing so, I notice his leg. He’s favoring it. If only I hadn’t used all the Healing Potions! System? This is for Lobo, not me.

[One Healing Potion delivered to your Arsenal. A reward for sportsmanship.]

I send the Healing Potion to Lobo. [Take it all, beast brother. Every drop.]

Demos growls. [Why didn’t I think of that?]

I observe Lobo for any signs of improvement. [Next time.]

[Next time, you’re going in first.]

Lobo staggers to his feet, healed.

I roar loudly in the tunnel, and Demos growls, trying to blast the message out. Of course, we also use telepathy, and alert Kaline and Vedette, sharing the excellent news.

Kaline’s joy could light up the entire tunnel. [Blaze! I love you even more for this! All of you.]

[It was nothing. Well, not nothing. But any self-respecting beast would do the same.]

I think of all the real-life wild creatures that cooperate and befriend each other, even across species. There are crocodiles and the birds that clean their teeth. There is a case of a lioness that raised an orphaned antelope. Koko the Gorilla and her kitten friend. A baby hippo and a tortoise. So many other unusual animal pairings.

Kaline is openly admiring. [Probably they would. But you’re the one that helped him. Now get out of here and come back.]

I prepare to get out of here. We should go back. Unless going forward is a good idea?

Lobo’s teeth flash in the darkness. [Now, let’s crack on!]

[Backwards.} I prepare to pivot in the cramped tunnel. There is enough room to turn around with a little space to spare. [We should get there as fast as possible.]

[No.] Lobo points facing forward. [I don’t care what time we get from Maartenwitz. It’s not about time or speed anymore. it’s about completing the course together.]

Demos snaps his jaws at Lobo, being careful not to bite him. [Did this tunnel shrink your brain? We need to get out of here. Back the way we came.]

Lobo plants his paws on the metal beneath him and refuses to budge, [NO. We finish this obstacle course together. Do you want the humans to fuss for the next week? Do you want them to stop our training?]

I have to admit, the idea is less than appealing. [Maybe it isn’t the worst idea to finish this for the humans’ sake. They would fuss, wouldn’t they?]

Demos utters an “uff.” [They worry too much. Lobo, you are a crazy beast, but I can’t stand the metallic taste of this air. Come on!]

Suddenly, it feels like a wind tunnel with all the flapping and breeze behind us, but it’s only Gussie joining us. She is her typical ebullient self. [Lobo! We will have words about your safety. But first, I agree with you. Let’s finish what we started.]

Demos and I growl. [Agreed.]

When we alert all our tamers, they don’t object.

[BLAZE. Just be careful.] Kaline is clearly trying to be supportive and not fuss too much. [Mother is worried. Watch out for Lobo.]

Vexed that she even thinks she has to remind me, I pump up my bravado. [I’m here, aren’t I? I used a spare Healing Potion, didn’t I?]

[Of course you did, but don’t get overconfident.]

Fussing humans! I must have been like that too in my previous life as one. [I’ll be careful. Now, let us get on, those rings are waiting, and the slide!]

Kaline musters up an upbeat tone. [The slide is after the rings…and after the Jaws. That’s a surprise to see how you can cope with the unexpected.]

I match her cheeriness. [We’ll find out, won’t we?]

After we pacify our humans and get as much instruction as they’re willing to give us at this juncture, we line up. Lobo. Demos. Me. Gussie.

Lobo leads the way, guiding us out of the tunnel and to another landing, from which we can jump onto the rings that stretch across a wide open space with a water tank underneath. A dozen rings. Like the rings that I used to swing on when I played on the playground.

These look farther apart than those playground rings, and I don’t have hands to grasp them. But they must be paw-friendly, right? Or at least not paw-resistant.

The air is still, no wind, and Gussie sits with her wings tucked into her sides. She’ll have a natural advantage here. But after the tunnel,

I nudge Lobo. [Lobo, are you steady enough to go first?]

Lobo bares his teeth. [WATCH ME.]

He backs up, then accelerates and vaults into the air, sailing toward the first ring. He is a silver and black arrow flying toward this glowing metallic circle. Hurray…his claws snag onto it. and he propels himself forward. The first ring lights up in red. Lobo shoots through the next rings, clearing each one and lighting it up with musical chimes gaily announcing his success. He lights up all twelve rings with various colors and musical tones, then leaps onto the next landing.

PHEW.

Our roars and growls and squawks cheer on his success. Wagging his tail, Lobo awaits us on the other side. His jaws snap closed as he receives some kind of glowing pill. His ecstatic “woof” proves that it’s something good.

It’s Demos’ turn to be an acrobat bear now, and he makes it through the rings. This bear defies gravity. He defies all laws of physics, because he makes it across these rings with his claws and nose and using his furry bulk to carry him forward. CHIME. CHIME. CHIME. Rings light up.

THUMP. He lands on the landing next to Lobo. Gussie squawks in glee and I roar my adulation.

Gussie nudges me with her hard bill. [Your turn, Blaze.]

Lobo and Demos egg me on. [Go on, Blaze.]

I just rescued Lobo. Time to be an acro-cat!

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