A Hero Appears!

Kind Strangers

All the way Grace was thinking about Gus's sacrifice and how much he had suffer when Aldebaran questioned him about Dexter and company location.

"Finally, there's the old mill" Dexter said with a tired voice

"We can rest there and make it our new home while we find out what's the next step"

They were careful inside the old mill, it was covered with dust, there were some broken windows and the door was missing but still it was a good place where they could take a good sleep after walking almost all night. Louis started to drink from Grace's udders while she was almost asleep, Rose lay down next to her and washed her head.

"You have some dirt on your head, sweetie"

"Thanks" Grace said

"Dear, it seems you hurt your head" Rose said when she found out a bump on her head

"Yes, it hurts a bit, I can handle the pain"

"There's no need to act, sweetie; we're far from that horrible place"

Rose washed Grace's head again while she was nursing Louis, they stayed awake some minutes and then fell asleep, except Dexter who was standing next to the mill's door, and he wanted to make sure there wasn't any danger. Everything seemed to be ok until some voices started to talk each other on the wooden beams

"Look Sweetums, it seems we have visitors"

"You're right, Poots, we have some visitors"

Dexter looked up, scared when suddenly two small shadows came down and stood on another wooden beam where he could see them.

"It has been a long time since we had visitors"

Sweetums and Poots were barn owls who lived there since last winter and made it their new home.

"Would you please tell me your name?"

"I'm, um; Dexter"

"Well, hello there Dexter, what brings you to our home?"

He didn't was a bit nervous and didn't wanted to say that they escaped from the O'Hara farm, knowing that Aldebaran had spies outside the farm and Salali was the proof.

"We're just on a trip"

"Look Poots, she has the O'Hara's farm mark"

"That's interesting, from what we've heard about the O'Hara farm, I have the feeling you're fugitives" Poots said while he stared at Dexter with his huge, black eyes. Dexter passed next to him to wake Grace and Rose; when Sweetums noticed Dexter's reaction, she smiled at him and then stared at Poots.

"Don't listen to that silly owl, we're friendly; we only heard that there are bad things happening at the O'Hara farm and if you want, you can rest here" after a minute of silence, Sweetums's face changed to serious.

"It's a shame what happened to Gus, he was a friend of us"

"How you know him"

"That's a story for another day, right now you should sleep too; you look tired and sad; you can trust us; we would never hurt someone who was brave enough to escape from that horrible farm"

"There's a spot you can use as a bed"

Both owls seemed nice, so, Dexter lay down on a warm spot near Grace and Rose. During his sleep, he dreamed with Gus and the horrible way he was executed. The next morning, Rose found an incredibly amount of cranberries on the floor.

"Um, Dexter? Sara?"

Her voice wake them up, thinking that Aldebaran found them but then felt relaxed knowing that they were still on the old mill.

"This food…"

"We brought you some food because I guessed you might be hungry" Sweetums flew down and stood next to the cranberries.

Both cows and Louis were nervous because they didn't knew someone lived there or if she worked for Aldebaran until Dexter spoke

"It's ok, they're friendly and it seems they know we escaped from the O'Hara farm"

"That's right, if you want to continue your travel, you need some food on your bellies"

"What do you mean?"

Grace asked while Louis walked under her stomach and started to drink from her udders.

"My mate, Poots; he was hunting this morning and when he was about to catch a juicy mouse, came home and told me that some humans with two huge, scary dogs were near this mill; I'm sorry but you must leave this place, I just put some eggs and must take care of my new family"

"I guess we've to run again…" Rose said with her head down

"Poots, honey; is that tribe still hiding there?"

"Oh, right, the tribe! Sweetums, you're a genius!" everyone noticed when Sweetums blushed

"Aww, Poots, you're always charming!"

"Ahem, you were saying something about a tribe?" Dexter interrupted

"Oh, sorry; yeah, there's a tribe far from hear; they might help you"

They stared each other, with doubts; thinking that they were too tired to travel again and it might be too hard for Louis because he was still tired for a long trip. While they were thinking about it, Grace washed Louis's thigh, where he had the O'Hara's branding mark.

"There's no other choice, we'll go outside and find that tribe"

"You'll be safe as long as you travel north" Sweetums added.

Dexter thank Sweetums and Poots by all their kindness and left the old mill with his friends behind. During their trip, Louis started to talk more than he used at the farm; maybe because there he felt like a slave and scared all the time.

"They seemed nice, I think Sweetums was cute with her white feathers" Louis said

"You're right, they're an adorable couple; but Poots is a bit crazy, don't you think, Dexter?"

"I agree, it's good to know that kindness still exist; I only thought only existed pain and suffering and I feel that from now everything will be ok"

"I only hope Gus can find us, I feel bad for leaving him behind"

Rose's words made Dexter feel a knot on his stomach, sooner or later he must tell her what happened to him.

Sweetums and Poots followed them until they were far from the mill.

"I can't believe we did this, they seem kind animals"

"I know, but he promised that our nest and eggs will be safe, we did what we had to protect our family; besides, they said they're not going to hurt them"

"I guess you're right… I truly hope you're right"

Both owls returned to their nest and told Max the way they walked and as part of his deal, he gave them back the five eggs he took when "convince" them to guide Dexter and company into a trap.

Well, this is how it ends this chapter, I hope you liked it because I did; it was good to know that they had a break from all they had suffer on their way to freedom. I took the names "Sweetums" and "Poots" from one of my favorite books: "The Guardians of Ga'Hoole". Sorry if it took me a long time to continue with the story, I've been writing a bit more for "Untamed Heart" but decided to wait until this one is almost finished.