Eyeseffendee

21

"Hey! Sir!" Sego yelled to the elite guarding the entrance.

He turned around quickly, his jowls flopping in the light. "What?"

"I need to see the Shifter, I'm tired of this dog!" She yelled, referring to me.

"What was that?" The elite yelled, his voice echoing through the tube.

"I said—oh, never mind I'll just come down to you."

She gave me a wink, then slithered down the tube. Now all I had to do was sit and wait.

Nothing happened for a long time. It was quiet except for the flies buzzing around my ears, small talk from the elites guarding me, and the echoes of my scuffing feet.

I didn't know if this plan would work, but it was our only shot. If it didn't, there wouldn't be another chance to escape. The Shifter would kill me, and Sego would be locked up forever. I suppose the Guerro could start up a revolution of their own, but I wasn't sure. They weren't in great shape, and the last few days had worn them down to the bone. The Shifter would probably kill them anyways.

But I had to have hope. Hope was the only thing that could get us out of there alive.

I kicked around a rock to keep myself distracted. This lasted for a bit until I heard a sharp cry of pain from the camp, followed by an echo of barks and frightened yips.

"What's that?" The guard closest to me barked out.

The guard up front yelled something back, but I couldn't understand what he said. Something about the wendigo. Sego had let Snake out.

"Do they need help?" He asked, eager to do something besides sitting around.

The other guard told him to stay put and don't let me out. He sat down, sighing with frustration. He wouldn't be able to resist Sego's next trick.

I sat there patiently, waiting for another volley of barks. The guard near me stood up and whined. I couldn't see him well, but I could tell he was getting antsy.

A great roar came from a coyote down in the camp: "PRISION RIOT!"

The guard couldn't take it anymore. Before he bolted out of the cave, he turned around to yell at me. "Stay put! Or the Shifter's got your head!"

Eh, he wanted it anyways.

After the guard had stumbled out of the cave, barking with excitement, I slithered out as carefully and quietly as I could. There may be another guard down in the cave.

I quickly examined the area before stepping out. It looked clear besides the rotting pronghorn remains. I lightly stepped out of the tunnel and prodded to the mouth of the cave, the overcast light blinding me.

The somber deafness of the camp had been disturbed by Snake, now a ravaging beast. He hadn't quite transformed into a wendigo yet, but he was on his way. His body looked more lanky and bony than a normal coyote, and the skin on his face had tightened, as if it might rip at any moment. His movements were frantic and wild, attacking anything around him. The elites tried to contain him, but anyone who tried got bitten and scratched.

If that didn't cause enough distraction, Sego had started up a prison riot. All the coyotes who had been laying in the shade, waiting to go hunting, patrolling or just die, were now fighting. Their movements were slow and weak, but there was a lot more of them than elites.

I allowed myself a tiny smile. Everything was going according to the plan.

I scanned the chaos for either the Shifter or Sego. I spotted her sneaking away with Sarah, Negrita, Mountain and Verde. Good. They would come up with a battle strategy, and we could end this.