Finally they were ready to leave.

At dawn, a message had come, from a sparrow carrier, to say that the Spirits were 100 kilometers away from Claw Camp. Everyone in the pack was in danger. The ancient caves had been built decades ago and were easy to break, It’s walls were too shaky to withstand the attack. Its houses would be demolished after an attack from the Spirits.

So three young wolves, Scar, Sapphire and toddler Scratch, left their home sweet home. Their adventure to safety would take at least five days but they’d have to pass the Gloom Death forest and the Snow Storm Mountains until they arrived at the rock tunnels of the Secret Chambers. Even the Spirits couldn’t enter those extraordinary caves, carved near the Palace by wolves so long ago they had passed into old tales that only the Bards knew. When the wolves arrived at their destination, they’d be safe . Other wolves from their pack had chosen to go elsewhere but Scar’s father had given them an ancient map that showed the old pathways, hidden from prying eyes. Too sick to travel that far, Scar’s father went to Kill Hills and his wife came to.

Carefully, gripping the map, the tiny pack of courageous wolves walked over the wooden bridge that crossed the Connection River. Soon they were in the Gloom Death Forest, going towards what they wished to be safety. Wide bushes quavered, as they followed the ancient wolf paths. Cautiously, Scar took the lead. Tugging his fur, he struggled on as the howling wind swept crystalized snowflakes closer. Wherever Scar glanced, he thought of orange eyes of foxes, shadows of bandits and perhaps the metallic weapons of the Spirits.

Moving behind Scar, Sapphire held onto toddler Scratch’s paw. Exhausted, they tried to follow their older brother. Sapphire attempted to make it like an obstacle course for Scratch but soon his paw was poised. As the twinkling micro stars began to light up the sky, she made Scar stop so they could build a hut. Scar used sticks like bricks. Sapphire created a fire  and their temporary house warmed up in a flash.

That evening, they ate dried mangos, apple pies and brown bread with mozzarella cheese that their mother had packed. Scratch, who was fast asleep, snuggled in between his siblings. With  caution, Scar tugged some twigs and piled them across the front of the shelter, wishing that it would hide them from curious eyes.

Drifting into sleep, his brain spun with nightmares of the metallic clank of the Spirits, moving through the dark like a tide of anxiety. Would they ever reach the Secret Chambers?