Daughter of the Wolf

Chapter 13

The four animals gathered in the Alpha Tent. Duchess was a pale blue arctic fox, and Hopeful was a pink bunny who preferred to go by Hope.

Soon enough, Liza met them to brief them on their mission. "It looks like some of the explorers we sent out haven't come back. The phantoms have taken over an area east of Coral Canyons, and have found a way to wilt our chomper plants! The Alphas need your help to clean the river and revive the chomper plants. I will teleport you there. Good luck!" Liza banged her staff on the ground, and the group found themselves in a cover of trees.

Infinity wanted to rush in and help the Jammers, but Hope stopped her. "Wait," she said. "This may be a trap. We need to plug the pipes without getting caught!" The wolf nodded. Right after they exited the canopy of trees, Duchess gagged on the foul stench. The well was overflowing with sludge, and the chomper plants looked... dead. A different, strange black goop dripped down from their leaves. Phantoms were whirring around the well, but just past them lay tall grass.

Infinity pointed wordlessly at the grass and the others understood her meaningful look. They tiptoed out and without being seen, were able to make it to the tall grass. Here, they could get a view of the layout. A polluted river was behind them. Infinity grimaced at the sight of it. But then she gasped quietly. "Look, there's a bridge! And in the tall grass behind it..." her eyes narrowed, trying to get a better view. "A cork!"

Juniper smiled at her and turned to the others. "You wait here, I'll get it." Infinity pursed her lips but nodded. It a few minutes, he came back, panting. "I was seen, but not caught. They know we're here, so we need to be careful. Also, I found a black door back there, but it was locked." He was holding a cork. Duchess pumped her fist and plugged it into the pipe, a smile spreading on all of their faces.

Hope tapped Infinity's shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt, but there are more corks to find." Everyone nodded, and continued searching. Several minutes later, each one came back, holding a cork. They plugged in the pipes and grinned softly to each other, taking a second to smirk at the phantoms' baffled faces. "Now we revive the chomper plants," Hope reminded them.

They spent another ten minutes getting water from the well, resuscitating the chomper plants, and trapping the phantoms. "Hey!" Duchess waved at them from a chomper plant. "I found a key! I bet it unlocks the door Juniper found." The Jammers ran over to the door and tested the key. It fit perfectly, and the door swung open. They raced through, wondering what they would find.

Suddenly, a simian screech echoed through the quiet forest. "Help!" It said. The group looked at each other in alarm and ran to find cages filled with monkeys.

"The phantoms trapped us," one said, whimpering quietly.

"Yes, and they filled the forest with webs!" Another monkey jumped up and down in panic.

"Don't worry, we will get you all out," Juniper promised, looking angry. "These phantoms really will stop at nothing! Hurting children," he scoffed furiously.

Infinity put a paw on his shoulder reassuringly. "We need to find the keys," she said "Let's split up, and meet back here. There are four trapped monkeys, which means four keys." At this, the team went running off in different directions.

Infinity started to go on a pathway, and turned onto a side road made of cobblestone and pebbles. As she turned, she saw a fence of goop and sludge. A web! she thought in delight. She slipped a paw into her pack and pulled out her Silver Glove. Putting it on, Infinity scratched and hit the web a few times, happy to hear the final crunch as the web broke down.

She snuck through the two phantoms and dove into the tall grass when she saw them turning back. When her paw hit the bottom, she felt a metallic shape under it. The key, she realized, picking it up. Her victory, however, was short-lived. On her way out, she was stopped by a phantom. It screeched at her in Phantom, before moving a tentacle in a lightning-quick motion.