CHAPTER 8

THE LAST STRAW

The group continued traveling down the path. They were starting to get closer to the boat. Brooke was in the back humming the song the vultures sang since it was stuck in her head.

Shira started to get agitated. "Brooke!"

"I'm sorry," Brooke said, "It's just so catchy."

Ellie gasped as she was looking ahead. "Look, there's the boat."

"We made it!" Manny cheered.

"We're gonna be okay." Ellie hugged Manny with her trunk. When she realized what she was doing, she let go. "Sorry. It was a moment to hug someone."

"That's okay. Excitement can get to the best of us."

"We showed those vultures who's boss," Brooke said, walking up front, "Come on. Let's go." When Brooke took the first step, she was thrown back by a geyser filled with steaming hot water. She started laughing. "It's only a little bit of hot water and steam. How bad can it be?" They looked to see a dodo bird passing by and was shot up in the air by the geyser. The next thing they knew was that he ended up becoming a cooked bird. "Oh, dear."

"Okay, come on," Shira said.

"Shira, get back," Ellie said, "It's a minefield out there."

"There's only one way to get to the other side. We have to go straight through."

"Straight through?" Diego asked, "Excuse me, but I think we all would like to keep the fur on our bodies. Let's just head back and go around."

"There's no time," Shira said, "The dam will burst before we make it. We'll drown."

"If we go through this, we'll get blown to bits."

"We go forward."

"We go back."

"Forward."

"Back."

"Forward!"

"Back!"

"Can I say something?" Ellie asked.

"No!" both sabers shouted.

"You are one of the most stubborn and hard-headed sabers I've ever met," Shira said.

"Oh, please," Diego said, "If there's somebody more stubborn and hard-headed around here, it has to be you."

"You're nothing but an idiot with a brain the size of an acorn."

"You're nothing but a stupid saber who's breath always smells like this."

"Says the saber who thought he was a possum."

"Says the saber who's family was killed by a band of pirates, became their prisoner, faked her own death and then went off to join a pack."

Shira gasped. "I thought I could trust you to keep that a secret."

"Well, that's what happens when you make me mad. That proves that I am a true saber."

"Think that all you want. I don't care. Enjoy the flood. I'll just go my own way. I need some alone time right now, anyway." Shira started walking away from the group.

"Shira, wait!" Ellie called out.

"Let me go and talk to her, Ellie," Brooke said, "I promise we'll meet you over at the boat. You stay here with the others." Brooke followed Shira into the woods. "Hold on, Shira. I'm coming with you."

Diego looked at the dam to see that the ice started to crack. He looked at the others. "You know, now that I think about it, maybe it's best if we take the shortcut."

"I don't know," Crash said, "Drowning sounds like a much better way to go."

"Blown to bits sounds so sudden," Eddie said. He gasped when he saw Diego going through the field of geysers. "He's gonna get himself killed."

"Diego, wait!" Ellie shouted.

"Diego!" Manny called out.

Meanwhile, Shira was walking through the woods. She found a place to stop so she could cry in peace. She kept thinking of all the things that others had told her. When she started to believe that she was the only saber, she finally met up with Diego, who didn't even know he was one until she was able to convince him of who he truly was on the outside. She had to mess it up by being the type of mammal that she was and saying the things that she shouldn't have said. Lying to her friends and possibly the only saber that she'll ever come to know. It was true that she left her father, but she went back and saw that her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins were all killed by the pirates. It was horrifying to think of whether or not her brother was still alive or not.

Shira was taken out of her thoughts when she saw Brooke heading her way. She dried away the tears and looked at the female sloth. "Why did you follow me out here? I said I wanted some time alone."

"Shira, at times like this, you don't need to be alone," Brooke said, "I told you that of you needed someone to talk to, I'm always available." The ground started shaking. Brooke gasped. "We'll talk more when we get to the boat. Come on." The two females started making their way towards the boat.

Back over at the mountain that holds the boat, the group of mammals were running around all over the place looking for Brooke and Shira.

"Excuse me, have you seen a saber and a sloth?" Ellie asked.

"No, I haven't," the gazelle told her.

"Have you seen a saber?" Crash asked.

"And a sloth?" Eddie asked.

"Nope," a beaver said.

"She's a female sloth and she has curly hair and blue eyes," Manny explained to a red ostrich.

"Hey, buddy, have you seen a saber?" Diego asked.

"Sure have," the anteater said, "Medium-sized."

"Where?"

"I'm looking at him."

Diego rolled his eyes. "Not me. I'm talking about a female saber. Her fur is silver snow white with black stripes, she had blue eyes and she wears earrings on her left ear."

"Poor guy. He doesn't even realize that he's a saber."

Diego sighed. "Listen, buddy. I lost my mother as a cub. I met this female possum who had two sons of her own and she gave me a home. Throughout most of my life, I thought of myself as a possum before I met another saber. She was the reason I was able to figure out that I am truly a saber. I should've thank her for that, but...I was being a jerk to her."

Ellie ran over to Diego. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Maybe they're already on board," Manny said.

"Let's check to make sure. Come on." The group made their way up the cliff towards the entrance of the boat.

Shira and Brooke were getting closer to the boat as the female sloth pointed towards it. "There it is!" They were making their way towards it as the traveled through a tunnel. Brooke made it through, but the ground started shaking again and caused some rocks to block the entrance of the cave, trapping Shira inside. The other side blocked the other entrance, having no way for the female saber to escape. Brooke gasped. "Oh, no. Shira!"

Shira knew it wouldn't be too long before the flood happened. She needed help getting out of the cave. Brooke was the only person who knew Shira was trapped and needed to rely on her to get the others. "Brooke, I need you to go and get the others."

"What about the flood?"

"It's gonna happen whether we're on the boat or not. Now go get the others."

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

"I'm not asking. If you don't go now, I'll bust down all these rocks and then rip your head off."

"The first option to find help sounds better. I'll be right back." Brooke ran off to find the others. The only thing Shira could do now was wait.

Brooke started making her way up the trail that led to the boat. She looked to see the others helping mammals aboard. She ran as fast as she could, bumping into a few mammals along the way.

"Hey, watch it!" somebody in the crowd shouted.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have an emergency," Brooke said.

"Is it more important than trying to stay alive?"

"Brooke, there you are," Manny said.

"We didn't see you and Shira on the boat and we started to worry," Ellie said, "What happened?"

"Shira's trapped in a cave," Brooke said.

"Oh, no," Diego said, sprinting off through the crowd.

The rest of the group followed Diego. They had a friend to save.

HERE YOU ARE. CHAPTER 8. I HAVE STRUCK AGAIN. IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK WHERE I'M LIVING AT. HOORAY! IN A COUPLE OF DAYS, CHRISTMAS WILL BE HERE. AWESOME!

WELL, I'M GONNA GO AND GET INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. I'LL HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER AND THE EPILOGUE FOR YOU GUYS SOON.

WELL, PEACE OUT FOR NOW.

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