Chapter 20

  The Oasis - Max

  The day dragged on, and by late afternoon, Max was quite done with this adventure. To Max, it seemed that the desert went on and on, even if he could see the cliffs marking its eastern edge. Max was parched, and there was no sign they would be stopping for water. The day had just been marching; no stop to get anything extra to drink; no stopping to rest, they just pushed on.

  Link finally spoke up. "Are we going to get any water soon?"

  "Just be quiet." Bond muttered. "We'll get some tonight. And whether you get any or not will depend on whether you keep quiet."

  Storm muttered from the distance.

  "Don't waste your breath," Conquest yelled from the front. "Move it."

  And it seemed to Max that the gorilla picked up his pace again, though Max was grateful when, after a few minutes, he slowed down again. Max noticed the pattern. Someone talked, he’d yell, march harder, then slowly go back to regular pace. If this was Conquest training method, it seemed to work with most.

  When it was closer to nightfall, and the sun was far in the west, Max saw ahead of him trees and what looked like water. Sure enough, when they got to the top of a higher dune, Max could see off in the distance a small oasis.

  Part of Max wanted to pick up speed, but he was tired and thirsty, so Max was glad Conquest didn’t pick up speed. The normally quiet group began murmuring, and Max could hear the repeated words, “Finally, water."

  The promise of water was there, but the day had taken its toll on everyone. After the initial murmurs, no one, not even Link, said anything.

  As they got to the oasis, Max wasn't restrained from going forward, but then Max could see there was plenty of water. They all gathered around the large pond at different places and drank.

  Max was amazed at this place. In the center of the desert, there was an oasis and water that was both fresh and in abundance. An abundance of trees surrounded the oasis, able to survive the heat and the wind due to the life-giving substance that was here in abundance.

  Not far from the water was a place where stones were set in a circle, and the remnants of a fire lay inside. The gorillas began gathering wood and, in no great surprise to Max, they started a fire. They settled around the fire, leaving Max and Link off to the distance just a little ways off as night fully enveloped them.

  Link started to say something, again insulting their captors. But this time, there was a sharp reply. "If you don't be quiet, you won't be able to say anything." This time, this didn't come from Bond or Storm. This order came directly from the mouth of Conquest. Though neither Max nor Link could see the gorilla, they could tell from the tone that silence would be wise that night.

  The gorillas may have been warm next to their fire, but Max could feel the chill coming in around him. He guessed that Link tied to him would get a little warmth from him, but Link couldn't share the favor. The small otter, at least small compared to Max, wouldn't bring the body heat needed. So, Max grabbed some of the grasses around him, eating them, and tried to make himself more comfortable. So, each in their own thoughts, the pair closed their eyes and settled in for a long night. Finally, Max went to sleep.

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  Max looked around. Once again, the white stick was stuck in the ground, with just over two feet of it sticking out of the ground. Max recognized the ground. The ground was from the final part of the dream he had had the night before. Though here the bones were broken and ground into powder as if they had been trampled on repeatedly. Max didn't know the anatomy of animals; he knew enough to know that it wasn't just elephant bones, but bones of all kinds of animals. He recognized the bones of birds, otters, and other animals everywhere.

  Max took a step forward to grab the stick. Once again, there was a need, a compulsion, to take the stick. The ground beneath him crunched as he stepped forward. Max winced at the sound but grabbed the stick and pulled it from the ground. Link stood before him. He looked a little bit more ragged, tired, and disheveled, the otter looked. Max was pretty sure he had blood running down his side, but the otter stood there, holding out his hands, to catch the stick. Max reached back with his trunk, holding the stick high, and then threw it. Link grabbed it, shoved it into the ground like he'd won a prize, and then everything changed. They were in an open field again, this time surrounded by animals of all types, noisy, busy doing Max wasn't sure what, but before him stood the stick. He looked up and spotted that Link was a little further away than before, but Max knew what he needed to do. He reached out, took the stick, and threw it. Link grabbed it, stuck it in the ground, like he was planting a flag, raised his paws, and yelled, "Victory!"

  It doesn’t look like you won, Max thought. Link looked ragged. He looked tired, but he stepped forward and pulled the stick back out of the ground, then Link threw it back. Again, as the night before, Max was able to catch it and returned it to Link as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The scene repeated itself again and again and again.

  Finally, Max heard something and then felt something, as the world around him changed. He opened his eyes and realized morning had come. This time, he was not the first one awake. Bond was pushing on his trunk, saying, "Come on, come on, we need to get going. Come on."

  Max almost said, "go away," but realized he could not, should not speak. Max shivered from the cold. But the sun coming down was quickly warming him. He knew if he started moving, the cool of the night would pass.

  So Max got up, grabbed some of the abundant grass around him, and began eating. Bond let him stand there for a few minutes before the voice of Conquest came across the oasis.

  "He's eaten enough. Come on, let's move."

  Bond led Max over to the pond. It was only then that he saw that Link had been freed to swim and presumably catch something to eat in the water. On all sides of the oasis stood the gorillas, some holding their bone daggers, others just standing there with sticks as if the otter was going to run off into the desert to escape. Max knew better. Link wasn't planning to escape. He was planning to let them carry him all the way to the place where they had been hiding. Max took several large drinks before Bond indicated they were going to move.

  Bond yelled at the otter, "Come on, I need to get you tied back up.”

  “You don't want us to have to come after you," Ash said, shaking the stick that he was holding like a club.

  Link swam over to Bond, but as he started getting out of the water, he looked back at Ash and said, "Like you could have caught me in the water."

  Ash nodded, then said, "Like you could have gotten away if you got out."

  Link walked out of the water and put his paws forward so that Bond could begin to tie him up. But took a second to look over his shoulder at the gorilla and said, "You're right, I'm coming along as your guest."

  There was a muttered curse, but no one needed to look to know who it was that grumbled the curse. Clearly, it was Storm. Everyone, to Max’s surprise, ignored the gorilla.

  In another minute, Link was tied on top of Max, and they were walking out of the oasis.