Our beginning

Finding Brian

This wasn't how today was suppose to happen at all... I'm so glad that I talked Mark into doing all of the training we did, it sure has been worth it all today because I don't think I could have pulled any of this off if I hadn't worked so hard the last few years.

With Cheyanne and Maverick safe in the car with Luke I could concentrate on what needed to be done in here fully. Find my son and get out of here, no matter what or who is in here....

The sun was starting to set outside and in normal response it was getting darker in the library which would make this a bit easier for me. I had always been really good at night hunting, I knelt down on one knee, to take my back pack off and pulled my night gear out. When I got my night vision set up and turned it on I couldn't believe what I was looking at.

The whole room was perfectly in order and nothing seemed bothered or destroyed here. Why was the entrance area perfectly set up still but the rest of this beautiful library destroyed and what kind of horror was Brian experiencing while I was trying to figure this out? I got my arm sling hooked on properly and loaded an arrow just incase. It was go time, where had I heard Brian echo from first? As I tightened Kena's rope a bit she glanced up at me, she would be depending on me not to let her run into anything or step on anything since she couldn't see but I would be depending on her sense of smell and emotional connection to Brian. We had always been a team and this was nothing new to us... Well... the situation was... but we had trained for this and I knew we were ready.

After thinking a moment, I felt like the first echo had come from behind us so the hallway we had come out of was where we headed. It seemed a whole lot quieter now than it had just a moment ago. We had just been in here but the atmosphere was completely different now, I wonder why....

As we approached the doors that led to the next room, I heard something sniffing at the door and I thought I heard what sounded like a rock being tossed across the room, then the same staggered dragging type sound that had been following us in the same room earlier. There are animals trapped in this place, I'm sure of it. We have to set them free without endangering them.

Kena sniffed the bottom of the door, looked up at me, whimpered and then scratched at the door. "It's safe?" I asked her.... she nudged my leg and I shrugged my shoulders to myself, "If I die today, I blame you and Brian." I laughed at the head movement she made at me, she did the doggy head tilt of huh thing, "Just saying...."

The sound of a rock being thrown happened again and again, it was playing fetch with itself and rather entertained by it. With my night vision, I found a nice pile of rather pretty rocks to the right of the door and thought it would be fun to find out what was playing with them so I picked one up. The sound had stopped when we entered the room so I figured the animal was afraid of us. I tossed the rock far enough that it wasn't very close to us but close enough that I could see if something approached it. Then we waited.... Since Kena had wanted to come in here I was guessing it was something she wanted to be friends with.

We stood there for what felt like forever before I heard the sound that I had been hearing earlier again. We both watched the spot where the rock I had thrown had landed in anticipation but though we heard movement it never went to fetch the rock I had chosen. I glanced around just in time to see a long furry tail that was rather large, this animal had to be at least as big as Kena and she was a pitbull that was a bit over a hundred pounds. What on earth was this animal and how did it and a very large male lion get in a library with a deer or whateverthe lion was eating?

At that moment, I heard a whooshing sound, "Ouch, what the f**k!? That hurt...." clack, I looked down to see a rock at my feet. "How rude...." I glanced around and saw Kena start dancing and wagging her tail with a big smile on her face so I followed her gaze. I should have known... someone trapped the local zoo in here... big, long, brown, furry, slick tail on something that collects pretty rocks and my dog wants to play with it. It was a huge Giant River Otter that looked like it wanted to play with Kena. "That hurt... don't throw rocks.... it's rude and mean... you hurt me...." it looked sad when I shook my finger and scolded it but I could feel warm blood leaking from the spot it's rock had hit my forehead. I sat on the floor and started looking through the pack I had on my waist trying to find a bandage or scarf, I didn't know what else was in here and didn't want the blood attracting a meat eater when I hadn't found Brian yet. I found a large bandage and some wipes I had made for disinfecting, then got to fixing myself up.

I had been so busy that I hadn't noticed the otter come sit next to me and watch what I was doing. Kena sat next to it politely and watched it as it admired me. When I was finished, I looked over where it had been and didn't see it so I started putting everything away without searching further. As I got ready to zip the pack shut a furry hand reached over with a fire opal in it trying to shove it in my pack, I laughed and turned to look at the creature. It was even bigger close up but a very beautiful animal and seemed extremely friendly. I wasn't sure how to tell if an otter was male or female but I noticed a harness as I examined it sitting next to me so I accepted its gift and zipped my pack. "May I?" I motioned towards the shiny tag on its harness. Surprisingly, it nodded so I reached over and took a look.

Lola Otter

Brownsville, Texas Zoo

"Well, I can't just leave you here with a lion so do you want to come with us?" As I wondered why I was talking to a giant otter she responded with a nod and then ran off. A few moments later she came back with a bag of rocks that she was trying to put on her back so I helped and then she offered me a very pretty pink silk leash which sealed the deal, she wants to come with us. "Ok, let's go." I hooked her leash to her harness and then attached the other end to Kena's around where my pack was.

I wasn't sure where to go next so we walked to the other side of the room and I put my hands together, in the shape of a sea shell. Kena sat and looked at me with a smile, already knowing what I was doing as I licked the creases of my hand and then put a slite hole up to my lips. As I blew into the hollow area of my hand the hoot of an owl slipped through and then echoed off the walls. Lola looked at me in admiration and I smiled at her, I think we're going to get along perfectly with this new addition to our family. I was listening for where the sound went and deciding where to go next but also hoping that Brian was somewhere that he would hear me and make a response of some sort. He knew my call sign, just like everyone in our household did, I used it for hunting so the animals wouldn't be scared off but those with me knew where I was. Going further into the room was pointless because all I would do was end up where I had found the lion and then Maverick and Cheyanne, which the boys hadn't made it that far but I knew they had come into this room with me. As I listened to the echo, I noticed it traveled up and started looking for a staircase.

It didn't take long to find. As I started walking up the stairs, I heard Brian's roar and sped my pace up. He wasn't far from us if my ears weren't deceiving me and I wanted to get to him before an animal that might want to harm him.

When we reached the first landing I wasn't sure where to go anymore because there were two stairways to choose from but Lola knew what I needed. She made a chirping sound and tugged at the leash, telling me to follow her up the stairs to my left. I was very relieved because I didn't want to make more noise and attract any unwanted visitors. From there, I decided to let Lola and Kena take the lead. They would be able to know if danger was ahead and they seemed to know where my son was. The moment we got to the top of the stairs, they both stopped dead in their tracks though and when I looked up I knew why immediately.

The male lion wasn't the only one here, probably around 10 paces in front of us there was a lioness sniffing under a door and scratching at the cracks of the doorway. I was sure my son was in there but as I tugged my two companions leads to attract them to a corner I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and he was right there leading me the opposite way from where I planned to go.

He lead us to a small room and shut the cubby door, "I'm so glad I saw you... the way you were getting ready to go has a huge male lion in it but we can't leave yet. I heard a woman crying in that room, I should have made sure we were all still together but before I noticed anyone was gone I was alone. Did you find anyone?"

"We found the lion before we realized you and Luke were missing but then Maverick found Kena and helped us find Cheyanne, Luke is at the car with them. I came back in after Luke said you were still in here and hearing you scream. How are we going to get in that room?"

"Do you have anymore of that fish on you? We could bait them away from the door and then try to get whoever is in there out as fast as they'll move."

"Sounds like a good plan to me but these two aren't going to be alright with going near those big cats." I laughed, "you'll have to bait them while we see if they'll come out."

"Wait.... two?"

"I'll explain later but this is Lola, she's an otter. She kind of baited me into being her friend and agreed to come home with us. Kena really likes her so I'm sure she'll share her seat in the car." I took my back pack off and reached into the front pocket to get the leftover fish I had saved for Kena or an emergency situation. When both Lola and Kena gave me those adorable googly eyes I opened a different pocket and got a handful of liver bites out for each of them. "I'll feed you both when you get out of here, deal?"

"Nice to meet you Lola, welcome to the family. Mom is going to spoil you rotten and we're never going to hear the end of Johnie's mouth when we get home, he's always wanted a giant otter." he glanced at my face, " What happened to your head?"

"Lola happened...." I glared and smirked a bit then giggled when she offered me another rock. "it's alright, I'm not mad." I laughed. "Let's get this done and I'll answer all of your questions."

I handed him the fish and a few other goodies to keep them busy. As soon as those cats smelled it they were all heading our direction, "Lock them in the hallway... Open the door, throw it all in and stand between the wall and the door until they're all in there then shut it. There has to be another way out." with that, he ran to the banister and slid down it with so many lions behind him I lost count.

Kena and Lola went towards the door the moment they saw the last lion dissappear down the staircase. "Is anyone in there?" I asked. "I'm not staying out here for long so if you want my help come out. My son's risking his life to save you so I hope you're smart enough to take the help you're being offered." I heard the door slam shut down the stairs and then Brian running back up to us.

He knocked on the door when he got next to us, "Hey there! I heard you crying earlier and wanted to help you, my Mom found me and volunteered to help too. Could you open the door so we can all get out of here, please?" he knocked again and Kena sniffed the doorway, "I've got to get out to my son and his Mom so if you aren't going to accept our help I at least want you to know that the lions are locked in the hallway, we'll be leaving now. I'm sorry for bothering you, I hope you get out safely."

"The lions are really gone?" a soft female voice asked, "What's sniffing the door?" she asked.

"That's Kena, my dog, she's friendly. The lions scare her too." I responded. We heard the sound of a dead bolt unlocking and then saw the door nob turn and as the door opened there stood 5 children. I'm guessing the little girl that walked out first was the one that had spoke, she walked straight out to me and wrapped her arms around my waist crying into my stomach. "Oh, sweetheart don't cry.... We've got to get out of here, you're going to be alright now." I knelt down and hugged her as tight as I could then moved her so I could look in her eyes. "Do you know where another exit is? I had my son lock the lions in the hallway that leads to the only exit I know of, we aren't from around here."

"Yes, follow me." she said through sniffles. Kena walked up to her and gave her a bit of a nudge to show she was there, which made the little girl giggle and start walking a bit faster. There were three boys and one other girl, they all looked like they had been there for a while. She lead us down a set of stairs on the other side from where the lions had been and then through a room with shelves filled with old leather books. When we got to the other side of the room I could see the door she was leading us to and feel the auras around me change from fear to glee.