Savak: The Medallion - Part Seven

     Savak turned from the cage Murgoh was in to find both Lukas and Heysha had followed him down the catwalk to the cages. Self-conscious of the fact that he had wandered off without telling anyone, his ears drooped low and he backed into the cage.

     "Savak?" Murgoh said. "Is this a friend of yours?"

     Savak looked from the caged Murgoh to Lukas. Then he took a deep breath and began the introductions. "Lukas, Heysha," he said. "This is Murgoh, the leader of my pack. Murgoh, this is Lukas and Heysha. They helped me find you."

     "He's the leader of your pack, huh?" Lukas asked, padding over. He took a moment to take in his scent. "You seem awfully familiar. Have we met at some point?"

     "Murgoh? What's going on over there?"

     Savak looked up in surprise as his mother padded over from the other side of the cage. When she came to stand next to Murgoh, she looked up, and went stiff with shock.

     "Lukas?" she said, surprised.

     "Jessie!" Lukas exclaimed. "What are you…how…?"

     "What's going on?" asked Gerthen as he padded over from another part of the cage. Kosek soon followed, along with a few other Lupes.

     "Who are they?" Kosek asked. He didn't recognize Savak.

     "Who cares about that," one of the other Lupes said. "Can they get us out of here?"

     There was a chorus of questions from the rest of the Lupes. Though Savak paid little attention to them. He was too involved in watching Lukas and Jessie.

     "I haven't seen you in so long!" Jessie told Lukas. "What are you doing here?"

      "I was helping Savak, here, find his pack," Lukas said. "But why are you…" He paused as he looked from Savak to Jessie. "Oh, I see now. It's no wonder you smelled familiar before, Savak." He turned to Savak. "Jessie is your mother, isn't she?"

     "Yes, she is," Savak said. "But, how do you know her?"

     Lukas looked to Jessie again. "She used to live with Jason and me before he adopted Heysha."

     "Savak, is that you?" Jessie asked. "What happened to your fur?"

     "Ahem," Murgoh said, sitting up straight. Heysha looked at him for a second, then over at Savak.

     "Oh, I see," she said.

     Lukas gave Savak and Jessie odd looks before he changed the subject. "Alright, we need to get out of here. Where's the cage's door?"

     Silently, most of the Lupes looked back to the far end of the cage. The side that was completely in the open. Savak smirked at the irony. "Of course, it couldn't have been a simple job," he said. "Lukas, where are you going?"

     "I'm going to the front of the cage," Lukas whispered back as he skirted the wall of bars. "Heysha, keep an eye out for guards."

     "Be careful, Lukas," Jessie said.

     Savak wanted to tell Lukas not to go, but he was too far away for him to get his attention without attracting the wrong attention. So, instead, he watched as the Kougra rounded the cage, keeping as low to the floor as he possibly could. When he reached the cage door on the other side, he checked for guards quickly, and then rose up to try and pick the lock with his clawed glove.

     "Do you think that'll work?" Savak asked Murgoh. Murgoh shrugged.

     "I can't say for sure," he said. "I haven't been in Neopia Central since…" he hesitated nervously. "…Since I asked your mother to join our pack. And even then, devices like this could confuse me."

     "Why did Jessie leave?" Heysha asked, padding closer to the cage.

     "I, uh, wanted to know what it was like in the wild," Jessie cut in before Murgoh could explain. "And since Murgoh was offering…"

     Savak could not help feeling that they were holding something back. But before he could voice his suspicions, the lock on the cage clicked open, and he saw Lukas opening the door.

     "Come on," he whispered. "We need to go before we're spotted!"

     Silently, all the Lupes in the cage filed toward the door, passing through in ones and twos until they were all out. No one uttered a word, even as they gathered themselves among the scattered crates in a secluded part of the factory floor. While everyone was gathering, Savak found Murgoh again and pulled him aside.

     "How are we going to get all these Lupes out without alerting the guards?" Savak asked.

     "I imagine that the best way to get out of here undetected is to go back the way you came." Murgoh replied. "How did you get down here?"

     Savak pointed his nose to the catwalk. "We came that way. The catwalk crosses the entire factory. And there's an open vent on the other side. But the drop from the vent is very high. Lukas and I had to climb a pipe to get to it. I imagine Heysha came the same way."

     "She didn't travel with you?" Murgoh asked. Savak shook his head.

     "No, she followed us here," the white Lupe replied. "We didn't even realize it until…I found her in the factory."

     Murgoh nodded. "Well, trivial matters aside, I have spoken with a number of Lupes in that cage. Most are spry, and were rather active out on the plains. If you show them how, I'm sure they could climb down that pipe. But we must hurry. The guards check the cage regularly. Gather the pack."

     "Me?" Savak asked. "You want me to lead these Lupes? You must be joking! They're not even a real pack! And I haven't led anyone in my life!"

     "Well, you have to start sometime," Murgoh said bluntly. "You're the leader of our pack now. I hardly know which way to go in this place, and I doubt that they'll follow your friend over there, no offence to him."

     Savak opened his mouth to protest once again when Lukas padded over. "Savak, the Lupes are ready to go. What's going on?"

     "He was just pulling himself together," Murgoh explained. "Savak is going to lead the pack."

     "He is?" Lukas asked. He received no response as Murgoh walked back to the scattered crates. Shaking his head, Lukas turned to Savak. "Are you up to this?"

     "Of course not," Savak said. "But what choice do I have? Do you think a bunch of Lupes are going to listen to a Kougra they hardly know?" he added, seeing the truth in Murgoh's words.

     "You have a point," Lukas said as Savak went to join the pack.

     Savak padded silently over to the gathered Lupes. As he approached, many of the Lupes turned his direction. Savak's body tensed as all eyes fell upon him. The last time he'd been the center of attention, it was to give his input on whether or not to stay in the plains. Now he was going to lead some twenty-odd Lupes out of a potentially dangerous situation, and hopefully get out undetected. Sitting down, Savak began to explain how they were going to leave the factory. There was no need to call their attention to him; he already had it.

      "N-now that you're all out of the cage," he began, a little nervously. "We have to get you out of the factory." As quickly as he could, Savak described the course they would take, along the long catwalk high above them, to the open vent, and then to the pipe outside the building. "Once we're there, Lukas and Heysha will descend first to show the rest of you how to get down. Everyone, pay attention to the Lupe ahead of you so you don't mess up and fall. I will go last. Does everyone understand?" There was a little murmuring, and Lupes turning to each other. Eventually, Savak got a nod from every single one of them. "Good. Let's go." With that, Savak led the way to the ladder for the first leg of the journey.

     No one uttered a word as they crossed the factory. They only stopped a few times to duck as guards passed below them, unaware that what they were was guarding was escaping, lying hidden yards over their heads. When they approached the other side of the factory, Savak was starting to think that they were actually going to get away with it. They were going to get out of the factory, and no one would know until it was too late.

     Then a shrill sound echoed across the factory.

     "It's an alarm!" Lukas exclaimed. "They must have checked the cage!"

     At this moment, Savak's mind was running in a-hundred different directions. Many fears and misgivings about this escape suddenly surfaced. He was on the verge of panic!

     Then he spotted the open vent. It was several yards down the catwalk. Only a dash away. This reassured him quickly, and only on thing remained on his mind: Get the Lupes out of the factory.

     "Come on!" Savak yelled as he dashed to the vent. The Lupes followed close on his heels. Savak stopped when he reached the vent and turned around. "Lukas! Heysha!" he called. He watched as they emerged from the gathered crowd and jumped into the vent. Then Savak turned to the closest Lupe. "Alright," he said. "Everyone, into the vent, single file! Remember; watch the Lupe ahead of you so you can get down the pipe safely!"

     One by one, each of the Lupes jumped into the vent. Savak could head them as their paws rumbled along the inside of the metal tube. Once they were all in, Savak jumped into the vent himself. He glanced back briefly as he closed the vent. The various guards were running around the factory, doing a "systematic" and rather hasty search. It would take them a few minutes to realize that they were searching in all the wrong places. Savak allowed himself a smirk as he secured the vent and went to join the pack.

     When he reached them, only a few Lupes were left in the building. Apparently, they were learning quickly. Each took his turn smoothly, and with little hesitation, even though the pipe outside was barely within reach. The things you discover you can do in a desperate situation.

     When it was Savak's turn, he managed the mount the pipe quickly and descend to the factory yard without incident. Once his paws were on solid ground again, he found Lukas waiting at the bottom for him.

     "Everyone's down," he said. "No one had any trouble."

     "Good," Savak replied. "Come on, let's get out of…" He was cut short suddenly when his side was rammed into. Taken by surprise, it took him a moment to throw off his attacker. Once he regained his footing, Savak saw who attacked him. It was one of the Lupes he'd just rescued!

     "What…Why are you attacking?" he asked. He received no response as the Lupe jumped at him again. There was no barking, no snarl, no yelling. Only a low growl. His eyes were expressionless and unseeing. Quickly, Savak deflected the Lupes attack, and remembered the shadow Lupe, Kaylee. This Lupe was being controlled!

     "Savak!" Murgoh cried. Savak turned quickly and saw his former leader facing off with several Lupes. "Use the medallion!" he cried.

     "How?" Savak asked.

     "Just think about it!" Murgoh replied as he knocked a Lupe to the ground.

     Savak dodged another blow as he tried to figure out what Murgoh meant. Think about what? He ducked and weaved several times as he tried to think of what he was supposed to think about. He glanced around briefly as he did this. Half the pack was being controlled. Their minds were not their own. They had been subdued by the power of that Dark Faerie's medallion. He had to free their minds. That was it!

     Distracted by his sudden revelation, Savak took a swipe across his muzzle, and he fell to the ground.

To be continued...