Chapter 27

  Death March

  Max could smell the forest, and he knew that when they walked out of this circular ramp, they would be in the Upper Plains. Max could hardly believe it. There was a way to the Upper Plains besides the Bridge of Hope. He knew that for him, there was no way for him to get across the Three Rivers and to his family, but he it felt like it would be like getting home.

  As they walked out of what looked like nothing more than a large cave, Max saw a lush forest. The trees from his childhood surrounded him, and the scent of moisture filled the air. They were on the Upper Plains. Max was correct; it felt like he had returned home. Yes, the part of the Forest of Animals he was from had fewer trees, but the trees were the same. High trees grew high here, at least four to five times taller than him. The grass was green and thick and filled the open areas between the trees. But what wasn't the same was the wide pathway with the grass beaten down that led off into the forest. Max could see by the tracks that the grass had been crushed down by the feet and bodies of a large number of elephants. Max didn't have much time to examine the environment more because Bond was in front of him, pulling the guiderope.

  "Come on, come on," Bond said in that nice tone that Max actually found irritating as it was supposed to be used to pacify elephants who were under the influence of whatever was in the onintment the gorillas used.

  Max knew that Bond was better than some of the other gorillas. He had shown some kindness to Link and to himself. And though he was the one who was putting the ointment on him, Max had a feeling that it had been something he hadn't volunteered to do, but he had no way of knowing for sure. There was just something about the way that Bond applied it. Max was convinced that he didn't have to apply it as gently as he did. And yes, he understood that Bond was using gentle-sounding words to keep him calm, but no, Max thought there was something redeeming in this person.

  As they were in the Upper Plains, Max assumed that the guerrillas would relax. They were out away from the sandstorms and back in an environment that was more like the home they had grown up in. As Max eyed the guerrillas when he could, he could see that the guerrillas didn't look relaxed. They seemed more stressed than before, like they were close to a predator and the slightest misstep would bring it down on them. He watched, but the group stayed silent. They kept up a strong pace.

  Before long, Max saw a large black bird in the air, then two, and then three, and then more.

  Link whistle from behind his neck. "Oh my, Carian eaters,"

  Max had heard the term. He'd seen enough vultures and birds like them that ate the carcasses of those who had died. As far as Max knew, it was one of the species that had never been among the speaking animals. Max didn't know why and wondered if it had to do with the fact that they ate the dead.

  Max couldn't ask and had to keep the thoughts to himself. He was sure that Link might have said more, but Link had already spoken a little too much today. He guessed that Link was being careful, as Conquest or one of the other gorillas might attack the otter. There was clearly some reason that Conquest wanted Them alive, and from what little Conquest said, he believed there might be someone else leading the goriallas. Whoever Conquest was answering to was the one who wanted to speak with someone like Link. But Max wasn't sure.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Max could see, even without looking up and around, that the number of birds was getting high. Not only were there what looked like hundreds of vultures in the sky, but they seemed to be in the trees everywhere. Max could hear them and their noises. The guerrillas who had originally been spread out were moved closer together, seemingly unwilling to wander away as the vultures looked down at them from everywhere.

  To Max, the birds seemed to be saying, "Oh, you're next."

  Max didn't know, but it made him feel no better either. For the first time since he had been captured, Max was glad that the gorillas were walking close to him.

  Max wondered what would draw so many of these birds when he began to smell it, death and decay. Something large had died, up ahead. It wasn't long before he could see it. A little off the edge of the path, that was at least three elephants wide, lay a dead elephant.

  Max may not have known who it was if he hadn't looked closely. He wasn't sure if his interest in the elephant would be considered unusual by Bongd or the others, but didn't care. Max wanted to know if this was a member of his herd. Max saw one of the trunks sticking up. It was broken, and when the vulture that was sitting on it jumped off, Max could see a familiar pattern. He only knew of one elephant whose tusk was broken like that, the one he had called Methuselah.

  Max guessed that Methuselah's old age and the brutality of the gorillas had cost the elephant his life. The march across the desert and up to here had proved possibly too much for the old elephant. Max thought he saw marks on the side of Methuselah where the old bull was beaten, and couldn't imagine why they would have beaten him. The old bull was stubborn, and perhaps the ointment didn't work on him as well as the others. Max didn't know, but he was angry. Methusaelah wasn't a friend to Max, but he was part of the herd that had adopted him and could have lived a couple more seasons had not the gorillas kidnapped him.

  When Max got the anger under control, he found he wanted to cry, but held it in. Though the old elephant had never shown him any specific kindness, he had also never shown him any ill will. He had treated Max as he had treated every other young elephant in the herd. And for that, Max could appreciate the old elephant and now feel sorrow at its passing. He told himself that Methuselah was an old elephant. He probably would have died soon, anyway, but Max knew it was a lie. It wasn't Methuselah's time to die.

  Besides the sorrow, the smell of decay was overpowering. The guerrillas started moving faster, and Max didn't hold back. He had known that if the herd had been able, they would have pulled the old elephant further off the path and into the high grasses, but clearly they had not been allowed to do so. This spoke again of the power of the ointment that the gorillas were using. If this onietment could cause them not to react as they normally would, it had to be powerful. It concerned Max and made him wonder, again, what else these guerrillas had and what they could force the herd to do on their behalf? It was scary.

  Max once saw a group of charging elephants; it could be something deadly. Max considered whether this was why they wanted the elephants. A wall of charging death to take on the forces of the Forest. Max dismissed that idea, because though the talking elephants of the Upper Plains, his relatives, were not as big as most of the herd, they might be able to break up any group of charging elephants, but there would be major injuries on both sides. Max was still confused. What was the reason for taking the elephants? What plan needed elephants if their major attack could be broken?

  Max knew that the only way to find the answer was to follow the path they were on. He needed to go to the place that Conquest wanted them to go. Seeing, again, that there were no other good options, he kept walking.

  When that day came to an end, Max was thankful that there was a source of water around. The stream meant that he could get a drink, and Link was allowed to splash around and get some of his own food. But very little, very little was said by anyone.

  The night brought dreams of playing catch with Link, and to his surprise, he saw Bond watching them. However, when morning dawned, they were up and moving in silence as if they were going to sit beside a dying friend. As they marched through the second day, the path seemed to get narrower, and the mood of the gorillas seemed to get more and more serious.

  When the day ended, Bond led them over to get a drink at a stream, then tied Max and Link to a tree. As the sun began to set, Max saw Conquest head out into the forest by himself.