CHAPTER 9
I'M YOUR ONLY CHANCE
Shira looked to see that the bush behind her was rustling. She looked and snarled at whoever was over there. She was surprised to see who it was. Lucille and Bailey. They were looking at Shira with looks of hunger and impatience. Bailey was going out of her mind as usual as she ran up to Shira, Who was giving the crazy saber a look of bewilderment.
"What are you two doing here?" Shira asked.
"What do you think?" Bailey said, "We were sent here by Sierra. She wanted us to make sure that you weren't doing anything harsh or rash."
"What?"
"She's trying to tell you that Sierra is getting tired of waiting and that she wants the kid by tomorrow morning," Lucille said.
"Well, you guys better just go ahead and tell Sierra not to prepare for breakfast in the morning," Shira said, "I'm not putting that kid on some platter and serve you. If you want good, go find it for yourselves."
"We had a deal!" Bailey exclaimed.
"You can't turn your back on something that Sierra told you to do," Lucille said.
"Them go back and being her this message," Shira said, "The deal is off."
"I'm not believing anything you say."
"Them read my lips! Forget it!" Shira turned her back as she walked away.
Lucille pounced on Shira, growling at her. "If you don't get what Sierra wants, you will pay dearly."
"I don't have to do what you tell me to do anymore. I've decided to leave the pack after tonight. It's for the best."
"You don't have a choice but to do what the pack tells you to do. I'm afraid you have to bring that kid to us."
"Never."
Lucille looked at Shira with a weird look. "Well, it looks like you won't listen to me. I guess I'll just have to reason with you. Bailey!"
"What can I do for you?" Bailey asked.
"I want you to do whatever you want to Shira. She won't do what she's told, she can be destroyed."
"I'll do whatever you want."
Bailey was cackling like crazy as she moved closer to Shira. She drew her claws out and was about to strike at Shira before the striped female saber cried, "Wait!" Bailey put her claws down as she turned it over to Lucille. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll do whatever you want me to do. It's not like I have any other choice."
Lucille removed herself from off atop of Shira. "You promise?"
Shira sighed. "I promise."
"This better not be some kind of trick. If it is, I'll kill you myself."
"It's not. I'm not planning on tricking anybody."
"I hope not. I'll tell Sierra to have everyone to surround Half Peak. She may have already made a plan, but I'll tell her to keep her eyes on you."
"Oh, I really wanted to strike my claws at her," Bailey said.
"I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning with the kid and the mammoth," Shira said, "You can do whatever you want with the hippie sloth."
"Good girl," Lucille said, "We'll see you in the morning."
As Bailey and Lucille ran off, Shira walked back over to the edge of the cliff and looked up at the stars. "Mama, am I really doing the right thing? Should I just leave the pack and help the other two mammals take the kid back to her human tribe? I don't know what to do anymore. It would be been a lot better if I had just stayed with Daddy and the others." Shira sighed sadly as she walked back inside the cave where Ellie, Brooke and Cheril were sleeping in.
Ellie had Cheril wrapped up in her trunk and Brooke was sleeping sitting criss-crossed in front of the fire that she made. Shira sighed as she sadly looked at the small herd sleeping in front of her. She walked over to the small little isolated corner in the back of the cave and slept there. That's when a dream appeared inside her subconscious.
Shira was in a snowstorm that was filled with strong winds and snow blowing through the air. Shira couldn't see a thing. The wind caused her eyes to water up and she wasn't able to see a figure walking up towards her. Shira almost backed up in fear, but she stood her grounds and growled at the stranger.
"Who are you?" Shira asked angrily.
"You may not be able to see me, but I know you can recognize the sound of my voice," the figure said.
Shira gasped as she knew exactly who was speaking to her. "Mama?"
"Yes, dear, it's me. I know what you're thinking. I am gone, but you're only dreaming. I've come to help you with what you should do."
"I've been told what to do long enough, Mama. I'm not going back with the pack, but if I join the herd, I'll be killed. I should've never left Daddy and the others."
"I know what you're thinking. You regret ever joining Sierra's pack. We all regret things, but sometimes we have to fight for what's right."
"I don't know what else to do. It's not gonna be easy trying to get out of the pack. It won't even be easy to get this kid out of the mess she's in. I wish it was easy, though."
"Shira, sometimes doing the right thing is never easy. I have faith that you can do this."
"I've never been good debating with myself. What do you think I should do?"
"Sweetie, I can't make that decision for you. Only you can. What do you think you should do? That's the question. All you have to do is answer it."
Shira saw that her world was becoming dark. "Wait! Wait!"
"Mama!" Shira shouted, jolting herself awake. She looked to see that everyone was not inside the cave. Shira sighed in relief. "It was only a dream. That's all it was. Only a dream."
Shira got up and walked outside to see Brooke, Ellie and Cheril over by the river. Brooke was making sure that the little girl was all nice and clean. "Goodness gracious, Cheril darling. Let's get all this dirt off of you. What's your father going to think when you go back to him covered in filth?"
Ellie looked to see Shira walking towards them. "Morning, Shira. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, I slept great," Shira said, "Are you ready to go?"
"Just a moment," Brooke said, "I'm almost finished. Let's clean a spot off here and a spot off there. Oh, you clean up nicely. What do you, Shira? So you think she looks a lot like me?"
Shira sighed. "I really don't think this is a good idea. Maybe we shouldn't do this."
"What are you talking about? We're doing the right thing, aren't we?"
"Yeah, but if we save her, she'll grow up to be a hunter. Do you know what she'll hunt?"
"I don't think that will ever happen. Besides, human females don't hunt. Maybe since we saved her, she'll tell her human tribe to spare our lives."
"Yeah, or maybe we can keep her. Then she'll grow fur and a long skinny neck and call you Mama." Shira started walking away.
"What is your problem?"
"Nothing. Let's go. I'm freezing my tail off."
Brooke walked up to Ellie. "Ellie dear, I have this strange feeling that there's something wrong with Shira."
"Well, we can deal with it later," Ellie said, "Come on. Let's get going."
The trio and Cheril started making their way towards Half Peak. Shira dropped where she was as she looked up. She saw Lucille and Bailey making their way to the den. She looked to see Sierra giving her a glare as she walked off with the others. Shira knew she had no choice. She had to tell them what was really going on.
"Shira, are you frozen back there or something?" Ellie asked.
Shira ran up to them. "Girls, Wait! Stop!"
"Shira, what is it?"
"Get down and follow me. I'm really, really sorry, but there's an ambush waiting for you at Half Peak."
"What?" Brooke asked.
"What do you mean ambush?" Ellie asked sternly.
"It was my job," Shira said, "I was supposed to get Cheril, but-"
"You brought us home for dinner."
"That's it," Brooke said, "You're out of the herd."
"Listen, I'm sorry," Shira apologize.
"No, you're not," Ellie said, pushing Shira up against a rock wall.
"Listen, I don't want to have to go back to them, either. Let me help you, please. You have to trust me."
"Trust you? Why in the world should we trust you."
Shira hesitated, but then her eyes welled up with tears. "Because I'm your only chance."
Ellie's eyes widened. She knew what Shira said was right, but would she really believe such a thing. Ellie sighed, knowing that there was no other choice. She put Shira down as she had a determined look on her face. "Okay, what's the plan?"
WOW! AMAZING. I JUST THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD PART OF THE MOVIE, TOO.
WELL, THERE'S NOT MUCH TO SAY TODAY. SEE YOU GUYS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.
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