*****
Left Paw shot out of the sparse vegetation and skidded to a halt in front of the human trio. “I found the boy,” he reported.
“Where is he?” Grandpa asked anxiously.
“A quarter of the way up the mountain and west of our position.”
“That’s close,” Sarah said.
“He’s still closer to Thana than we are,” Tyler pointed out, “and the weather is beginning to slow our progress. I don’t see how we’re going to cut him off at this point.”
Sarah gave him an exasperated look. “We should still try,” she insisted. “We’re at the base of the mountain. If we can find a stable route up, we might be able to catch him.”
“I doubt we’ll find an easy way up,” Grandpa told her. “These mountains weren’t formed naturally. They were designed to be inhospitable.”
Sarah looked at Left Paw. “What if Galen went ahead,” she suggested. Galen? Tyler was momentarily distracted by the name. Who was Galen? “He could corner Benji somehow, stop him until we can get there.”
Grandpa was confused by the name, too, apparently, but Sarah was addressing Left Paw when she said it. She must mean the wolf. Grandpa looked between them suspiciously, but didn’t comment on the use of the name. He shook his head at both of them. “That might cause more harm than good,” he said. “The mountain is steeper than it looks and Benji doesn’t know Left Paw.” The old man put emphasis on the name. Tyler rolled his eyes. Adults seriously picked the worst times to nitpick over stuff. “Benji will probably try to run from the wolf and could get himself injured or killed.”
“So we keep going,” Sarah stated. Grandpa nodded in agreement.
“It’s our best option,” Tyler agreed, more just to get a say in than because he actually agreed. In his current mood, he wasn’t sure he wanted to save his little brother at all. Maybe the kid needed something bad to happen so he could learn his lesson.
“We might at least be able to intersect his path at the same time he reaches Thana,” Grandpa said hopefully. They continued hiking after Grandpa told Left Paw to keep tabs on Benji without alerting the boy to his presence.
The climb up was steep, just as Grandpa described. It took most of Tyler’s concentration to find solid foot and handholds. With a bit more tilt, they’d have needed climbing gear and rope. As it was, they were each leaning forward, scaling the mountainside in hunched positions to keep their balance.
Sarah slipped once, and Tyler watched curiously as Left Paw suddenly appeared behind her. She steadied herself on his furry shoulder before continuing upwards. Her face was a mask of worry and concentration. It made Tyler feel ashamed.
Here he was, out in the muck with his sister who was trying to save their little brother, and all he could do was resent them both. He didn’t want to be here, but he was their big brother. He was supposed to watch out for them. He wasn’t doing a good job of it lately and indulging his childish mood wasn’t helping. Tyler was glad Sarah couldn’t read his thoughts or feelings. Thankfully, her ability to do that only worked with centaurs.
An hour or so into their climb, Grandpa called for a break. They snacked on peanuts and almonds and downed much needed water. Left Paw informed them Benji wasn’t making great progress, either, but he was doing better than they were. His part of the mountain was more level than the section they were climbing. It was looking less likely they would make it to Benji before he did something stupid.