Chapter 10: Discovering the Courage Within



The torrents of rain pelted the ground like marbles, but Courage didn't take any notice. He was lying in the middle of the kitchen, or what was left of it, with the rain hammering into his back. Sadness filled his entire body the way tears filled his eyes. He couldn't believe that Eustace and Muriel were gone. Taken by that...thing. The Hendersons were also gone. And Sandy...Courage couldn't bear the thought of leaving her so soon. He was alone. All alone.



Courage felt utterly defeated. He felt like he could just crawl into a hole and die. (Hi, Chris!)



Suddenly, Courage heard a faint sound through the rain! It sounded like someone knocking on a piece of wood. Courage slowly sat up, his vision blurry. Whether it was from the rain or his tears, he didn't know. Courage wiped his eyes and tried to determine where the sound was coming from. The frantic knocks appeared to be coming from a cupboard that was blocked by a two-by-four. Courage got to his feet, and limped over to the piece of wood. Courage struggled to move the board, and it eventually gave way.



Out popped Kevin. He had dashed into the cupboard when the second story gave way. He was leaning against the cupboard doors at that moment, so he collapsed onto the counter and then rolled into a puddle on the floor. He appeared stunned, but was unharmed.

Courage was relieved. At least someone was left behind with him. "Kevin!" shouted Courage.

"Courage! You're all right!" answered Kevin, as the dog threw his arms around him. "I thought I would be all alone."

Courage did not want to say it, but it slipped out anyway. "We are."



Kevin stopped hugging him and looked Courage in the eye. The rain was beginning to lighten. "Wh..what?"

"We're alone," said Courage, sadly. "Everyone else was...sucked in by that sand thing."



Kevin was shocked. He slowly stood up, the rain matting his hair. He began shaking his head and walking around the kitchen, tripping over debris. A bolt of lightning revealed a look of complete sorrow on Kevin's face; a look he wouldn't dare reveal in public. He managed to walk back to the counter, rest his elbows on it, and place his forehead in his hands. He tried to come up with an idea, any idea at all, but none came to mind. Courage overheard Kevin mumbling about losing Sandy.

It was at this point that Courage figured out that, along with their separate families, both he and Kevin were weeping over Sandy. It was as if Sandy was a link between Kevin's family and Courage's family. Of course, Kevin and Courage had slightly different feelings for Sandy, but both of them felt a great deal of devotion toward her.

As soon as this realization passed, something else started happening to Courage. His depression was beginning to dissipate, and a new, stronger feeling was beginning to take its place...



Finally, Kevin stood up straight. The rain was coming down in a drizzle now. He started to walk toward the door, talking to himself. "We...we need to get help. There's probably a police station or hospital or...or something around here. We need to call some investigators out here...or the army, or navy, or something. ANYONE! We need to get help! We-..."



"No," said a voice behind him.



Kevin froze. He turned around to where Courage was standing, his back towards Kevin. "What did you say?" asked Kevin with amazement.



There was no rain falling now. One final drop of rain fell from the clouds and landed directly on Courage's head. It dripped down his forehead between his dark, stern eyes, around one side of his nose, and rested between his lips. Courage's tongue lapped the drop into his mouth and gritted his teeth in deep determination. His paws were clenched into fists. All the sadness in Courage's body was replaced with a red-hot feeling of anger. With his eyes looking far off into the distance, Courage answered Kevin's question.



"All my life I've wanted to be loved, cared for, and treated with respect. My owners have done that and much more for me. Only recently have I discovered that there are different ways to care for others, even those of my own species. And now...now someone has taken it all away from me. I will not stand for this. I will not rest until whoever is responsible for doing this to me is done away with. Completely...and permanently."



Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this the same dog that ran off screaming from Eustace's mask? Kevin scratched his head with astonishment.



Courage turned around and faced Kevin. "So we are going...to go after that thing...and we...are going to get our families back."

When Courage finished, he was just as surprised as Kevin. He had never been so outspoken before about something like this in his life.

Kevin knew that too, because he immediately blurted out, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Courage?" before cracking a smile.

Courage began chuckling softly. The wave of anger had passed.



******



Courage and Kevin walked out to the giant hole. The hole was about sixty feet across and deep enough so that the bottom was not visible. They realized that they needed some supplies, so Courage and Kevin spent the next hour gathering some items scattered around the house. They were fortunate enough to discover a flashlight and a clothesline among the debris. The clothesline could be used to climb down the hole.

Courage went to explore the recently-moved upper story of the house. He checked the attic to search for more equipment and came across his computer. To Courage's dismay, the electrical cables had been cut and the computer was not operational. Courage didn't find any useful items anywhere else, so he traveled back to the kitchen.

Kevin was eating an apple, and offered Courage some food. "I have a feeling your gonna need it," said Kevin with his mouth full. Eagerly, Courage gobbled down the food he was offered. When he was finished, Kevin showed Courage his sunglasses. "I found them near the henhouse. Guess they won't be of much use down below." With that, Kevin placed the sunglasses onto the counter.



Then, Kevin grabbed the flashlight and the clothesline and looked at Courage.

"Let's go," said Kevin. Courage nodded. "Right."



When they arrived at the hole for the second time, Kevin shined the flashlight down into the hole. They could see the bottom of the hole about 100 feet down. Suddenly, they were faced with a problem. What were they going to tie the clothesline to, in order to climb down into the hole? Courage looked around and caught sight of the water pump about ten feet from the outer lip of the hole. Somehow, it was not uprooted from the ground by the sand vortex.

Courage remembered when he witnessed Kevin using the pump to shower Sandy on that first day. He pushed the pleasant thought out of his mind, reminding himself that there more important things to be thinking about. "Over there," said Courage, pointing to the pump.



In a flash, Kevin tied the clothesline securely around the water pump. Courage tossed the clothesline into the hole. Fortunately, the line was able to touch the cave floor. Kevin walked up and announced that he was going first. Courage agreed and asked what time it was.

Kevin looked at his watch. It read 1:15 A.M.

"No sleep for us, I guess," said Courage.

Kevin just rolled his eyes. The two friends began to descend into the vertical tunnel to find their families.



(Whew. This story is hard work. I think I'll take a little break for now. I'll get back on it when I have time.)



Next chapter... Chapter 11: Bankruptcy.......just kidding...... "The Tunnel of Nowhere"