SUDDENLY, AS HE stared forlornly out the little barred window, Dantam noticed
an object in the distance growing slowly larger. He squinted at the blue streak
that was speeding toward the van until finally it was close enough that he recognised
it. It was the Eyrie from the alley, his powerful claws pounding against the
pavement as he ran after the van. The green Zafara was riding astride his neck,
straining forward as she clung to his short ears like reins and urged him on.
Dantam didn't know what to say or do as the Eyrie gained on the van until he
was close enough that Dantam could hear and feel his hot, panting breaths. Then
the Eyrie paused for only a second, went into a crouch, and made a mighty leap
up onto the top of the van. The back of the vehicle bounced with the Eyrie's
sudden weight, and it screeched to a halt.
Dantam watched, still speechless,
as the Eyrie's tail fell down over the back door of the van and the Zafara came
sliding down it as though it were a rope. She winked and smiled at Dantam's
gaping expression. "Don't worry pal, we'll have you out of there in a jiffy."
She pulled a little sliver of wire from behind her ear and began working at
picking the van's lock, tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth and eyes
narrowed in concentration. In a matter of seconds, Dantam heard her satisfied
"Ah," in tandem with a clicking noise, and the doors swung open.
The Eyrie jumped down from
the top of the van and the Zafara climbed back to her spot on the back of his
neck. They turned to look back at Dantam, and the Eyrie shouted, "Hop on!" Realising
he didn't have time to argue, Dantam leaped onto the Eyrie's back behind the
Zafara, and the Eyrie took off running down the street as he threw over his
shoulder, "And hold on!" Dantam clung to the Eyrie's back as they sped away.
He looked back to see Dr. Death
shouting after them and shaking his fist in the air. After a minute, the doctor
climbed back into the driver's seat and Dantam saw the van swing around to come
chasing after them. "He's coming after us!" Dantam shouted at the Eyrie, "Fly
away!"
"I can't fly," the Eyrie shouted
back without turning his head to look at Dantam.
"What?!" Dantam cried, but
no answer was forthcoming, and he decided to just hold on for dear life and
try to ignore the sound of the van's engine getting closer and closer.
As they approached the alley
where they had first met up, Dantam saw the yellow Kacheek, obviously sulking
with his arms crossed over his chest and a sneer on his face, and the Kougress
and Lupe standing silently at the ready beside him. As they ran by, the Eyrie
yelled, "Pound truck's on the way! I suggest you move it!" Without a word, the
Kougress grabbed the still-fuming Kacheek in her mouth by the scruff of his
neck and she and the Lupe went running after the Eyrie
The van continued to gain ground
until it was right on their heels, and Dantam could tell that the Eyrie was
beginning to tire. He looked back at Dr. Death, who was now so close that he
could make out the determined look on his face. Then the Gelert turned and looked
at the pets who had saved him, and he felt a sense of guilt wash over him. He
couldn't let them get taken to the pound because of him, not after the way that
he had treated them before. He was just about to tell the Eyrie to stop and
let him off so that he could stay and they could escape when the Eyrie turned
a corner suddenly and the words caught in Dantam's throat as he struggled to
keep from falling off. At a nod of the Eyrie's head, the Lupe, Kougra, and Kacheek
dove into some nearby bushes and the Eyrie, Zafara, and Dantam quickly followed
before the van could turn the sharp corner after them.
All six of the pets crouched
in the bushes, trying to keep their panting breaths and pounding hearts quiet,
and watched as the van drove by. Dantam was about to step out of their hiding
spot after the van had passed, but the Eyrie restrained him with a giant paw
against his chest. They remained under cover as the van drove back and forth
a few more times, searching for them. Finally, after the street had remained
quiet for a few minutes, the Eyrie stood and nodded to the other pets, saying,
"Let's go." They filed out quietly onto the street and headed west after the
Eyrie's lead.
Now that his heart had a chance
to stop thumping in his chest as they walked through the dimming streets of
Neopia, Dantam looked over at the Eyrie. He was monstrous and muscular, just
like most of the Eyries that Dantam had met in his lifetime, but as he looked
closer, he noticed a difference. The wings that were folded against the Eyrie's
body were tattered and torn, and Dantam suddenly understood why he had said
that he could not fly. Wondering what had happened, he looked up into the Eyrie's
face to find him gazing back at him. Dantam looked away quickly, sorry to be
caught staring, but neither of them said anything.
The young Lupe on his other
side wagged his stump of a tail and gave a friendly smile, his tongue lolling
out of his mouth. "What's your name?"
"Er, Dantam," he replied.
"I'm Brenner," the Lupe said
happily.
The Eyrie cleared his throat
and spoke up, "And I'm Feruli, and this is Silviana." He indicated with a nod
of his head the emerald-coloured Zafara who reclined on his back. She looked
up and winked cheekily at Dantam.
"Nice to meet you," Dantam
said, smiling a little at being spoken to in friendly tones after being alternately
scoffed at and yelled at for days. Just then, his stomach growled loudly.
"Sounds like our new friend's
hungry, Feruli," Silviana said, "And so am I, so let's get a move on, eh slowpoke?"
"Why don't you get off my
back and walk for yourself if you're so hungry, you lazy overgrown rodent?"
Feruli growled back playfully.
"Aw, Feruli, you know you
wouldn't have me any other way," she shot back.
"Hmph!" was the only reply
that the Eyrie gave, but Dantam could tell from the affectionate smile he tried
to hide that what she had said was true.
Feruli turned back to Dantam
after a moment. "You do look--and sound--hungry."
Dantam nodded. "Yes, I guess
I am... that food you had back in the alley..."
Feruli shook his head. "We
had to leave it behind when..." He didn't finish his sentence, but Dantam got
the idea. After the way he'd treated them, these Neopets had saved him, and
now they had no food because of him. He hung his head guiltily.
The surly Kacheek, who was
walking ahead of the rest of them, tossed over his shoulder, "What'll Allegra
think when we show up without any food, *and* with an extra mouth to feed?"
Feruli glared at him and the
Kacheek turned away again. "I'm sure she'll be happy to meet him," Feruli said.
He looked at Dantam and continued. "There will be plenty of food for all of
us once we get home," he assured the Gelert. "And don't worry about Rorro. He's
always in a bad mood--"
"Ever since his old owner
gave him a transmogrification potion," Silviana added. "And abandoned him when
he turned into a mutant."
Feruli nodded. "We managed
to find a yellow paint brush for him so he'd be normal again, but he's always
been bitter about it. Toragi's the only one he really seems to get along with."
Dantam's eyes followed Feruli's
nod to the sleek Kougress who trailed silently behind Rorro. Her fur glistened
like rubies under the street lamps as she moved. "She's beautiful," Dantam said.
"Why doesn't she have an owner?"
"She used to be a Cybunny,"
Feruli replied. "Her old owner started taking her to the lab ray, and when it
turned her into a Kougra"
"She abandoned me," Toragi
spoke up, letting them know that she had been listening to their conversation.
She shrugged, but Dantam heard a hint of pain in her voice. "Personally, I like
being a Kougra much better. But humans can be funny that way."
"Humans!" Rorro snarled suddenly,
his yellow fur standing on end. "All that matters to them is how you look or
what you can do for them. They never really care about you. I guess you know
that now, eh pampered poochy?" Dantam just stayed quiet.
To be continued... | 
