Chapter 12

Do you smell that?

Smells like Mendy's vegetable soup.

You didn't like my vegetable soup?

Not that I didn't like it... Just that I had to wash it down with dish soap.

Jake had sensed it, too. It doesn't smell like anything you'd expect to find in the mountains.

I agree, Jake, Menderash said. I don't recognize this smell as anything from this planet I've encountered before.

Seems like our Kelbrid friends are in town after all, I commented.

But we didn't see anythin', Santorelli noted.

Jake was willing to stick to the plan. We need to find where the smell is coming from. Maybe we'll find what we're looking for if we can locate that. Just be careful; If they've been watching us, they've just seen us morph. Stick together.

He took the lead as our small wolf pack set off back into the wilderness. The single-file line zipped between tree trunks and leaped over rocks, our noses on constant alert for more whiffs of the very alien smell that seemed to cover the area. We started out moving west into what had been Menderash's area. He'd spotted two or three suspicious zones, including a patch of three downed trees and a random scattering of trash. It was as good a place to start as any.

But the scent diminished. We reached the trash, but it was just a mess of empty bottles and snack wrappers. There was even a broken camping stove. It wasn't anything alien; just a group of campers out to get drunk and tell horror stories over a campfire.

So Jake decided to follow our path back to where we'd started, where the scent was strongest. We increased our pace, knowing that time was ticking down. We had four hours, but Menderash notified us that we'd spent almost two of those. To make things more complicated, Tobias informed us of hikers in the area. Jake was growing quieter.

You mentioned a dead tree? he asked me, looking pensively from his rock to the southern field of trees.

Yeah, think we should check it out?

He jumped down from the rock and jogged south. Yep.

With a clear destination in mind and with a downhill gradient, we came close to a full sprint. I didn't expect anything. At first, the scent seemed to disappear again. But then it came back strong. Really strong.

The trees became big and close around us, and there was very little light where we were going. Tobias lost sight of us. We are getting close, Jake, Menderash said. The scent is stronger now.

See anything, Tobias? Jake called up.

Nothing alien. You're about to hit that tree, though.

Maybe he hadn't lost us after all. As we turned a tight corner, a disruption of the darkness became apparent up ahead where the canopy had been lost. A dead tree stood central, dark and dry, but bathing in the small amount of light it was afforded. We moved over to it and, in turn, lifted our noses to peer at the tip where the sunshine was strongest. Dead leaves were still falling, turning from the sharp, upturned branch and scattering on the ground at our feet.

I don't see anything, Santorelli grumbled. It's just a dead tree.

Jake jogged around the entire tree, head moving side-to-side for any anomaly. Nothing. But we've made progress. The smell is stronger. Tobias, we'll keep going in this direction.

Jake located a clear route through, and we were on our way again, noses high in the air and paws pounding the dirt.

Wait… Santorelli blurted about ten seconds into our transit.

I inhaled deeply through my powerful nostrils. It had changed. It's going away.

Jake skidded to a halt, and I almost crashed into him but for a bound to the side. He raised his snout and concluded, We're moving away from it.

Back to the tree? I suggested.

Back to the tree.

We arrived back at the dead tree, feeling ever closer to what we sought and yet still so far away. Jake decided to go east and then to go west. Both times, the scent faded, and we returned to the dead tree.

It's here, Jake muttered. This is where the smell is coming from.

Maybe it's the tree itself, Menderash posited.

Santorelli wandered to the lifeless trunk and sniffed at the hard surface. He looked to Jake. Smell ain't stronger, boss. He looked back and continued sniffing various parts of the tree, checking a second, then a third time.

So it's not the tree… Jake said. Tobias?

Don't ask me, he replied. I can't even see what you do, let alone smell.

Jake went silent again, leaving the rest of us to wander around the tree in a last attempt to find any clues. I maintained the effort to locate the scent, and it really was strong around the tree. It wasn't the tree itself, though, and it wasn't above. Nor was it coming from any sideways direction.

I lowered my head and put my nose to the ground, frantically sniffing through the dead leaves that the tree had allowed to drop. The scent was still strong but inconsistent as I shuffled through. Guys, check out the ground.

All noses dropped, and suddenly, we felt like we were onto something.

This is weird! Santorelli mused. The scent is strong in some places.

We waited for Jake to voice the new overriding opinion, and he delivered quickly. They're here. Under this tree. It's not an entrance…

Okay, I sighed. So what now? Do we dig?

Don't think we have another option. Tobias, you can come down to the dead tree. We're going to go under it.

Any particular form? Menderash asked.

Jake didn't know. I didn't, either. We would be digging entirely into the unknown. Maybe the smell was something burning, and we would dig ourselves straight into a fiery, painful death. Maybe there was an army of Kelbrids armed to the teeth, just waiting for one of us to poke our head through.

Stay as we are, he decided. Do some shallow digging first to see if anything becomes clearer.

Four wolves started digging like dogs rummaging through the backyard for a bone they had buried. Up came the dead leaves first and then the loose, dry topsoil. Soon, it became damp and fiercely compressed. I moved a few feet and started again.

This ground seems pretty loose, I heard Santorelli comment. He'd dug up far more than the rest of us. Somehow. Haven't found anythin' though.

Smell any different? Jake asked.

No.

I was dipping my head again, ready to pound my paws into the litter and dig a new hole, but a mighty rumble caused me to jump and steady myself. I looked back up to the motionless Santorelli.

And then he was gone!

The ground crumbled and fell beneath him, creating a hole a couple of meters in diameter. It swallowed Santorelli and about a ton of dirt and litter with him.

Found a hole, boss!