Chapter 24.

  Going ahead, leaving behind - Link

  Link looked around, taking in the new day. He saw that Max was awake and that the guerrillas were just starting to stir. Link was relieved that the sound of the storm had passed. The noise had been like nothing he had ever heard before, making it impossible to hear anything but the storm. Now, Link wondered what it was going to look like outside, and how much of it might have changed with the passing of the storm. He remembered that, though he noticed the chasm and the river, he really had not looked closely at what it was like. Link watched, and sure enough, as he expected, as soon as Conquest began to move around, he stood up and growled out. "Let's get ready to move out."

  Bond was already over by Max and was wiping the ointment again on his trunk. This time, Link watched closely and didn't see any shudder in Max whatsoever. So he assumed that Max must be getting used to it. At least, he hoped that was the case, and not that his friend was giving in to the effects of whatever it was. That was a new thought for Link. He'd never thought that continued exposure might eventually cause Max to become like the elephants that had been led away using the same method. He was concerned because if Max wasn't in control, he might show that he was more than he appeared. Link was sure that Conquest would order that Max be killed, as a talking elephant would be impossible to control completely, and just Max's size made him a threat.

  Link watched Max closely to see if there was any indication that Max was being affected by the ointment. For a moment, there was nothing—just the sound of the gorillas moving around, grumbling. There was a soft moan coming from Storm, who lay not 10 feet from where Link stood. Finally, as Link watched, Max turned his head just a little, and their eyes met. It was enough. Link exhaled, not knowing that he had been holding his breath. He could see it in his eyes. Max was still Max. He was doing better and controlling his reaction to the ointment.

  It was then that Link heard the voice of the gorilla called Ash say, "So are, who's going to be carrying Storm?"

  Bond volunteered the idea, "I can tie him on top of the elephant here."

  The next words shocked Link.

  "Leave him," Conquest yelled out,

  Leaving Storm was nothing but a death sentence. Link couldn't believe even the gorillas would do that to one of their own.

  Though he had promised himself he was going to try to stay more silent, Link couldn't keep himself from expressing his outrage. Storm certainly was not a friend to him or Max. Link was convinced that if Storm had his way, he might have killed them both, but that was no excuse for him to remain silent.

  Link protested, "What are you doing? How can you leave a comrade behind?"

  It was then that Conquest walked over, grabbed Link by the ropes surrounding him, and lifted him into the air. When they were eye to eye, he said, "We're going to leave him. Now, you be quiet," then he threw Link toward Max.

  Link's legs and arms were bound, but he did his best to curl up. The impact knocked the breath from him. And he found himself rolling up against Max's leg.

  It was Bond who lifted the otter from the ground and whispered, "Trust me. It would be better for him to die here than go back to camp. Now, be quiet before you make Conquest really angry."

  Link held his tongue, not saying what came to his mind, but just stared at Bond. Link couldn't comprehend how leaving a person to die could be better than trying to save them. Link would get the chance to think about it because in the next moments, he was tied up on top of Max. Link also realized that his outburst meant that his captors were not going to let him get a drink of water.

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  Bond led Link Max over to get a drink. Link watched as all the other gorillas were getting a drink or throwing water across their face. The few gorillas that had water skins filled them. Link hadn't noticed they had waterskins and wondered how many other things he missed. So to keep his mind off his thirst, Link studied the world around him.

  Like Conquest, most of the gorillas had a leather strap or two diagonally across their torsos. Attached to them were knives, waterskins, or small bags, which Link assumed contained the flint that they used to start their fires. Some of them, he now noticed, had small sacks that contained something Link could only guess at.

  Link was convinced, Bond wasn't going to allow him to drink, but as the guerrillas gathered their things together and Conquest was ordering them where they should lay Storm, Bond jumped back on Max and quickly released the otter.

  "Get a drink quickly, get back up here."

  Link didn't waste any time. He jumped forward and slid down Max's trunk and stuck his head into the water, taking a long drink and covering himself as much as he could in the water. As he slid down Max's trunk, he got some of the substance that was on Max's trunk on his fur. Seeing that the guerrillas were preparing to walk out of the cavern, he knew he didn't have time to wash it off. So quickly, climbed back up and jumped up Max's trunk and head and allowed Bond to retie him, tie him back up.

  "You're lucky," Bond whispered, "that our ointment works as well as it does. If you had tried that on any other elephant. He'd have smashed you against the wall."

  Link nodded. "Yes, but I'm used to being around talking elephants."

  "Taking a chance like that around here will get you killed."

  Link was surprised at Bond's words. They held a hint of compassion and concern, but Link held his tongue. Bond slipped off the elephant and began leading him out of the opening and into the open air. Once again, Link was glad that since he couldn't swim, he was at least riding. He suspected they had a long walk, and riding was going to be far better than walking, at least for him.

  He looked back again at the cave and wondered, "Where does that door go? And where are the dwarfs?"

  The dwarfs had disappeared some hundred years before, and no one had seen any sign of them. The openings into their kingdoms in the Forest of Animals had been closed up, both from within and without, after a conflict. The conflict had something to do with a disagreement between birds and dwarfs. Link thought he had heard the story, but he couldn't remember it. Now wasn't the time to worry about lost dwarves. Link shook his head, one problem at a time. For now, he had to be concerned about where they were going and how he was eventually going to find a way to free both himself and a friend he thought was dead. Link reminded himself that he was being taken to exactly where he needed to go. It'll work out. All the same, he wondered if perhaps, someday, he might come back and open that door.

  Link might have thought some more about that, but as they had come out fully into the chasm, the sights chased those thoughts away. The ground was covered with sand, but not as much as Link expected there would be. The river had a grayish-brown look that Link assumed was because of all the sediment and sand that had been stirred up. What caught his attention were the canyon walls. The walls of the cliff on either side glistened. He could see on the walls precious stones and layers of sediment changing from one color to another. Some of the layers glistened with gold, some green, some white, some darker colors, and some black. Even the black sparkled as the sun danced across it.

  Link saw the way they were going, and as he had seen before, there was a pathway along the side of the river. This path Link could see was not a natural path. This had been cut out of the stone of the canyon walls. This, like the cave they had been in, was clearly the work of the dwarves. Now Link was wondering if the guerrillas found allies in the dwarves. Was it a dwarven kingdom, and were they going to? Or someplace the dwarves had made?

  Link was both excited and terrified. A kingdom of dwarves set against the forest of animals, along with the guerrillas. An alliance like that was something no one in the Forest of Animals would imagine. His family, his people, would never expect it. If the old forgotten doorways in the forest were opened, they would be unprepared. Link imagined dwarves and gorillas riding elephants breaking out, all attacking, and it caused him to shiver. It could be a slaughter, since there would be no time to prepare. Visions of dead animals filled Link's mind, followed by the image of Conquest holding a bloody knife high in the Hall of Assembly, the bodies of the representatives lying at his feet. Fear began to overtake him, and Link whispered, "Creator, help us."

  A moment later, a wave of serenity came over Link. He corrected his thinking and said aloud, "You've got no more proof that there is an army of dwarves any more than you have that there's a dragon up ahead."

  "What did you say?" Bond demanded.

  Link considered saying nothing, but instead said, "I was just talking to myself."

  "Well, quit."

  As if to emphasize the point, from further up ahead, the voice of Conquest echoed down the canyon, "Keep him quiet, or I'll keep him quiet." And as Link had seen Conquest do in the past, he sped up.