Chapter 16

  Muddying the Waters - Max

  As they marched out onto the sands, away from the river, the grasses, and everything that Max knew of the savannas, Max reminded himself to be silent. His one hope right now was that they would think he was nothing more than a non-talking elephant. Occasionally, as they walked, Max would turn his head toward the sky to see if there was any sign of the Osprey flying around, but Max saw nothing.

  Max wondered if Jezreel was able to follow, but soon grew more concerned with his friend, Link. Link, like most talking animals, was able to walk without too much trouble, but his natural element was water. And Max wondered how much longer the otter would be able to handle walking in the sands.

  Not only was Link being forced to march, but he was tied up with a lead rope being held by a gorilla who seemed none the happier for having to hold it. Occasionally, the gorilla would pull the rope, causing Link to stumble. It didn't take long for Link to begin not just stumbling because of his captor's torment, but stumbling because he was exhausted. Max wondered what he could do, but there was nothing. Nothing that wouldn't give him away. And so he watched his friend struggle until finally Link fell.

  The gorilla called Storm walked up and grabbed the back of his neck, yanked him up, and screamed at him to, "Get moving."

  The violent tone gave Max enough of an excuse to pull his head, which caused Bond to say calmly, "Keep it down. We don't want to spook our friend." And with that, Bond paused the walk and again rubbed that ointment on Max's trunk.

  The smell of the ointment now did not affect Max since he understood what it was meant to do. The effect caused a different reaction, now, making him angry, but Max knew the importance of being quiet.

  The pause in the march meant that Link was able to get his feet back under him. However. It only lasted for a few more minutes.

  When Link fell again, Stom yelled, “Conquest, we can't have him slowing us down. Let’s just kill him!"

  The look that Storm got from Conquest was sharp enough that Max almost smiled. The suggestion from the cruel guerrilla was not being met well by their commander, which pleased Max, though he didn't understand why it was important for Conquest to keep Link alive.

  "Well, what are we going to do?" Another of the gorillas hollered.

  Max had an idea. He had to be subtle, but he gently turned his head, causing the rope that Bond had on him to pull a little bit.

  Bond looked back at the elephant and then looked at the otter and said, "How about tying him on top of the elephant?”

  “Do it." Conquest said, "We can't afford to waste any time."

  Storm started to walk toward Link, but it was Bond who held up his hand. "No, I'll take care of it."

  Bond reached over, gave Max’s guide rope to another gorilla. Bond reached over and grabbed Link and whispered, "Don't fight if you want to live." Most of the gorillas didn’t hear Bond, but Link did, as did Max.

  Max couldn't see what was happening, but he assumed that Bond was going to jump up on his back. Max knew that a typical elephant would respond badly to someone jumping on them, so he needed to respond appropriately without actually throwing them off. As Max expected, Bond jumped onto his side, used his ear and the rope around Max’s neck to climb up behind Max’s head.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Max pulled his head to the side away from the commotion, but didn't move.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's okay.” Bond reassured, “It's okay, just giving you a friend. Everything's going to be okay."

  Max settled down and did exactly what the gorilla wanted. What brought Max pleasure was carrying Link was exactly what he wanted to do.

  Bond tied the ropes around Link to the rope that was on Max’s neck. Once it was done, Link said, "Thank you."

  Bond grunted, "Don't thank me. I haven't done anything."

  And then Bond moved forward and took Max’s guide rope from the other gorilla, and they began marching again.

  The desert was hot, but not as bad as Max feared. When the sun began going down, he noticed how thirsty he was. Max was glad when he began to smell water.

  They came to the top of a mound of sand, and coming up from the sands in front of them was what looked like the top of a mountain sticking thirty feet into the sky. There was an opening between two peaks, and Max could smell the water coming from between.

  The opening between the peaks was just wide enough for an elephant to go through. Max could see signs that there were a multitude of elephants who had walked this path. When they got through, it opened up, and there was enough room for everyone to spread out a little bit, but only a little. Max could see there was a pond that took up most of the area. The vegetation around the edge was proof that the pond had not long before been several feet deep, but now just a few inches of water remained.

  It was clear to Max and Link that a large herd of elephants had come through here. They had satiated their thirst, and now this was all that was left.

  Bond tried to hold back Max, but Max figured now was as good a time as any to exercise some freedom. He acted like any other elephant who needed water and forced his way forward. Max pushed past all the other gorillas toward the water. He heard complaints and shouts.

  Conquest and Storm, in unison, yelling, "Bond, stop that thing!"

  Max would not be deterred. He got there and took in several large drinks.

  Not certain that Link would get water right away, if any, considering how much was left, Max decided he would make sure his friend got some. Max took in as much as his trunk could hold, then sent a mighty deluge onto his back right at Link. It wasn't the best option, Max knew, but he managed to do it one more time before the gorillas got control.

  Bond was there, rubbing the ointment back into his trunk and telling him, "It's okay, come on back, come on back." And Max allowed himself to be drawn away from the water. But before he took a few steps, Max purposely stomped into the pond, causing the water to be full of sediment.

  “Look what the stupid creature did. The water’s muddy now.” Complained one of the gorillas.

  Max tried not to smile. Drink that, He thought.

  Seeing what had happened, Link laughed. He knew Max had done it on purpose, which caused him to laugh all the harder.

  The gorillas were complaining. But Storm had a different plan. He grabbed a large rock and prepared to hurl it at Link.

  Conquest stopped him. Conquest seemed to pop up right beside the angry gorilla. He moved quickly and allowed his momentum to knock Storm to the ground

  "We've had enough trouble with that elephant.” Conquest hissed. “Don't throw anything towards him. I want every slave we can get. Don't start any trouble. Besides," Conquest pointed at the confined surroundings, “an irritated elephant in here could get someone killed, and getting someone killed would be the last mistake you made.”

  Storm scampered back away, letting go of the rock. The gorillas moved around the pond and began drinking. And to Max's satisfaction, he heard them complaining that the water tasted like dirt. Once all the gorillas had gotten something to drink, Bond came and released the otter from Max's back. He jumped off of Max’s back with him and took him over so that he too could get a little bit to drink.

  There wasn't much left, and Link kept quiet as both he and Max could tell that everyone was tense. The tension was more noticeable because everyone kept quiet, not just the captives.

  The gorillas spread out in all directions, some even walking back out of the ravine. Max lifted his head up and looked into the sky. He took only for a moment, as elephants staring at the sky would be unusual. Once again if Jezreel was flying around, but there was nothing. No sign of the Osprey anywhere in the sky. There was no sign of her. Max didn’t see any birds in the sky.

  Max meditated on what he should do. Silence was still the best choice. These gorillas were going to take him to where the herd was. They were going to take him exactly where he wanted to go. He just hoped that he would survive once he got there.