Journey to Hope: The Journey Begins

Chapter 3

The clouds had vanished, making the sun visible. The air was warm and sticky, and the sun felt hot as it shined down on Bandit's pelt. The sun was at its highest point in the sky, which meant it was mid-sun.

The pack continued to walk in silence as the sand burned under Bandit's paws. The mongooses were still on the beach, even though they had left at sunrise.

At this rate we'll be lucky if we even leave this beach, Bandit thought to himself in frustration.

"Jasmine," Bandit said to catch her attention.

"Huh?" Jasmine answered.

"When are we going to leave this beach?"

"Bandit, there's grass up ahead. You didn't see that?"

"No."

And yet, there was. There was a small hill with grass to their right that led up to somewhere they couldn't see. Night instructed the pack to follow him up the hill, and as always, they followed his command.

The mongoose pack walked on. Much time had passed before Bandit's eyes, and the sun was halfway down in the sky. His paws were aching from the continuous walking, however they were no longer blistering in the scorching sand.

Bandit looked down at the ground as he walked, lost in many thoughts that raced through his mind. He thought about Jasmine and the unborn pups, the unfortunate loss of their old home, and other scrambled thinking he couldn't quite name.

"Halt," Night shouted. Bandit looked up to see a huge, solid, stone-like path with yellow markings was up not far ahead.

"What is that?" Bandit asked, his curiosity overpowering his sense of patience.

"This is a long-rock," Night said, with a serious tone to his voice, "They are strange stone paths home to thunder-monsters."

"What's a thunder-monster?" Bandit asked, being curious yet again.

"Thunder-monsters are huge, loud beasts owned by tall-standers that run across these paths dangerously quick," Night explained.

Suddenly, a thunder-monster sped by them, the loud roar coming from it hurting Bandit's ears. The strange smoke coming from it burned his eyes and stung in his throat, causing him to cough.

"Can we go around it?" Dawn asked.

"There is no way around it," Night said, "Long-rocks can go on for very long distances away. It would most likely take longer to travel to the end of it then to find a new home. We must cross it."

"Are you crazy?" Destiny shouted.

"Yeah, we'll get ourselves killed," an older mongoose named Olive agreed, wheezing loudly.

"Follow what I do," Night ordered, ignoring the pack's protests.

Night stood in front of the Long-rock. He listened, looked left and right a couple times, and dashed across.

Night looked back once he was across. "One at a time," he shouted.

One by one, the mongooses crossed the path. Listening, looking left and right, and dashing across.

Bandit was the last one to cross. He stood in front of the long-rock, listening carefully. He didn't hear any thunder-monsters. He looked left and right, and there was no sight of one either. Yet his belly fluttered with anxiety. He knew that these monsters were very swift in movement, and one could speed by without warning. Bandit was frozen in fear.

"C'mon, Bandit," Crystal shouted from the other side of the long-rock.

Without thinking, Bandit dashed onto the long-rock. Out of nowhere, a thunder-monster roared, heading straight towards him. Bandit found himself frozen and unable to move. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death. He could hear his pack calling for him, but he was certain it was too late.

Suddenly, the thunder-monster let out a loud squeal, coming to a quick stop right behind him. Bandit once again choked on the strange smoke that came from the monster.

He could hear a tall-stander barking at him, and he quickly ran across to the other side of the long-rock, right before the thunder-monster sped off.

"Bandit," Jasmine cried, running to his side, "You could've gotten killed!"

Bandit's heart was thumping so hard, he thought Jasmine might have been able to hear it. He tried to breathe deeply to calm down.

"Come on, pack," Night called, "Let's go."

Bandit was tired and still in shock, but he forced himself to continue to walk.