Ridges of Doom

Chapter Two

The trees, a vast blur now, began to grow more and more scarce as we left the Chiltern Hills behind. I stared out of a clear wall in Truman's car, amazed at how fast we were traveling. Whenever I tried to focus on one object, it sped by so fast that soon I was left dizzy and disoriented. It was astounding, yet it didn't completely distract me from the millions of other emotions swimming around in my head.

I didn't exactly know what to feel. Fear, nervousness, anxiety, and even bits of excitement floated through my mind, and I couldn't focus on just one feeling. So, I turned away from the forms darting past outside and settled for staring at my back, as usual. Truman had said that I would see Mum and my siblings again, but how often? What exactly was London, and was it different from the Chiltern Hills? Would I be better off with Truman than my old master? I gave a small whimper at the many questions that surfaced. Confused. That's how I felt.

"Oy, Yama!" Truman reached across his seat and scratched my head. For a moment, I dropped all my mingling emotions and shut my eyes in contentment. "Don't be afraid, now. My flat's not so bad. Truth is, you probably don't know what it means, but John would've euthanized you had I not stepped in. All because you don't have a ridge. Can you believe that?"

Euthanized. I had heard my old master, who I supposed I could now call John, say that word multiple times, usually with a glance at me. Mum had told me it meant "killed". A shiver was sent down my ridgeless back as I realized what Truman meant. 

John wanted to kill me.

"Ah, don't worry," Truman said, lazily turning back to the wheel in front of him. "That's all behind us now."

He focused on his wheel again, leaving me with even more questions than I had previously. I decided that pondering them would only make things worse, however, so I turned to the clear wall to my left and continued watching the world fly past. The trees had started to lessen at this point, replaced by manmade structures that seemed infinitely tall, made of material with color varying from the lightest of browns to the darkest of them, some even the brown color of a Ridgeback. More humans began to appear, walking on sidewalks of brick and concrete. The road, which had been dirt previously, became paved, and I felt the car slow rapidly. Other vehicles appeared, and before I knew it I had entered the city of London.

"Almost there," came Truman's voice. It startled me as I realized just how long it had been since he last spoke. We had to have been in the car for well over an hour by now. London and the Chilterns seemed like two different worlds, so close and yet so far from each other. But those two, according to Mum, were only a single hair in the coat of Great Britain. She'd been all over the country for shows, renowned for her physical prowess. In time so would Rain and Max and Aranola. But not me.

We soon came to a halt in front of a building much larger than John's, one that looked to have several stories. Not quite as tall as the other houses in the city, but equally grand, made of reddish-brown bricks that looked old enough to have been there when London was founded. It sat between two other buildings of nearly twice its own stature, these a light tannish shade. Fences around both of them separated them from the house with red-brown bricks. Places like those could only be apartments, as Mum had told me, houses where multiple human families lived.

Truman picked me up and exited his car, beginning to walk toward the red-brown brick place. Another human, this one a female, looked at us from the apartment on the left with intrigue in her eyes.

"Well, if it isn't Truman Reedre, taking home another Ridgeback!" she called, peering over the fence that separated her from us. "From your brother back in the Chilterns, I reckon?"

"Aye, Marta," Truman replied. He turned me onto my back and showed it to the woman. "Ridgeless. John would've put him down!"

"Oy, that's just terrible!" The lady, Marta, crowed. "Now I may be an avid supporter of Crufts but I'm educated enough to know when a breeder's gone too far! What's the pup's name?"

"Ingonyama," said Truman proudly. "Means 'lion'."

Marta gave a sharp laugh. "Why, that's just like you, Truman. Good luck with him."

"Many thanks." Truman turned back to the reddish-brown building, which I supposed was his home, and Marta headed back inside her apartment with a final smile at me. She was an older woman, with some wrinkles spread across her face and hands, and graying hair still black in some areas. I decided I liked her. But what was Crufts?

I had little time to ponder, however, as in a matter of seconds we had reached the door. Truman reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of metal with several jingling objects on it, stuck it into the door and twisted it. The next second, the door had been opened, and my new home was revealed.

It was odd, being in a place that wasn't John's home, surrounded by my Ridgeback siblings, yet I found some inexplicable joy and gratitude toward whatever invisible ruler might be watching over me. I wasn't home, and would only be home around once a month, yet then and there I knew that this was indeed my home. I decided to stop being so philosophical, however, and actually take in the place.

The second Truman let me down I began to explore. His place had a musty, yet comforting scent about it, the kind you could take in while resting by a fireplace, perhaps. The entry hall was carpeted, with images of landscapes on each wall, either photographed or painted by humans. I entered the main room next, filled with a similar carpet to the entrance. A single chair sat in front of a radio and, speaking of fireplaces, a grand one made from bricks similar to the ones that made up the house's exterior. A red rug lay between the chair and fireplace, the walls lined with doors and a staircase leading to other rooms. I couldn't take in even the living room's sheer beauty at once, leaving me to frantically sniff at everything with unending curiousity.

Behind me, I could hear Truman chuckling to himself. "You like the place, aye?" he said quietly. "I suppose I should give you some time to explore it all."

He walked toward the staircase and began to climb to unseen heights and rooms. If I looked hard enough I could see him open a door at the top of the stairs and enter, leaving the door open in case I wanted to follow. I decided I would in time, but first I desired only to keep sniffing the main room. I liked Truman's place. I liked Truman.

Or perhaps he was Master to me now.

This would take some getting used to.