plane. It had gray fur, blue eyes, and terrifying fangs. "Don't move," whispered Alfonso tensely. "There's a wolf in the plane."
"Oh, that's nothing to worry about," he said. He stepped out of the cockpit and into the main cabin. "Come here, Kõrgu!"
The wolf immediately leapt into Bilblox's outstretched arms from the middle of the cabin. It was an astounding jump. The wolf must have leapt fifteen feet. Only a man the size of Bilbloxâwho was roughly 350 pounds of solid muscleâcould have absorbed the wolf's momentum and not toppled over.
"What the..." began Alfonso.
"This is my seein' eye dog," explained Bilblox. "She's quite a jumper. That's why her name is Kõrgushüpe. It means 'high jump' in Estonian."
"That's no dog," protested Alfonso.
"Fair enough," said Bilblox. "Technically she's a Mongolian wolf, but I don't like to advertise that fact, because people tend to get scared by the word
wolf.
"
"I see," said Alfonso.
"She's perfectly friendly when she's not sinkin' her fangs into somethin'," said Bilblox. He let the wolf jump out of his hands back into the cabin, and then turned back to the cockpit. "We've got work to do," said Bilblox suddenly. "There are a number of things that we gotta do immediately. We gotta patch up some of the holes in this plane, find some blankets, and gather up some food. Maybe we'll even try to light a fire. I don't know what time-a day it is, but it feels like the sun is going down. We musta both blacked out for a while. Anyway, night'll be here before we know it, and I ain't gonna let us freeze to death."
"What about Great Wandering Day?" asked Alfonso.
"Don't matter," replied Bilblox. "The name of the game now is survival."
And that was that.
They immediately set to work converting the Twin Otter cabin into a shelter against the cold. First they unpacked their baggage and put on every last article of clothing that they had with them. Alfonso then searched the plane for supplies. In a storage area at the rear of the plane he found an emergency bin that included matches, a flare gun, a set of flares, a medical kit, a dozen or so blankets, two pots, a pair of binoculars, a flashlight, a compass, a container of powdered milk, and two dozen packages of freeze-dried chili. Alfonso dragged the entire bin into the main cabin of the plane. In the meantime, Bilblox had discovered Snej's rifle and three boxes of ammunition.
"It's an ol' thirty caliber, bolt-action Enfield," explained Bilblox. "It belonged to Snej. It was an antique that I bought for her in England on account of her heroism in several adventures. It's in perfect workin' order. I can't use it, but you may have to at some point. Let's hope not. Also, you might as well fire off the flare gun, just in case. I reckon we'll have to escape this jam ourselves, but you never know, maybe someone is watchin'."
Alfonso stepped outside and fired off two flares in rapid succession. He watched the flares cast a muted glow against the swirling snow. Perhaps someone would see them. After all, today was Great Wandering Day. But there were several serious problems. Somnos could be far awayâten or even fifty miles away. What's more, visibility was very bad. What were the chances that anyone would actually see these flares? Finally, it was evening now. The day was over. Most likely the gates had already closed shut and would stay shut for the next twelve years.
Alfonso and Bilblox spent the next hour stuffing cushions and other materials into the gaping holes in the Twin Otter's walls and ceiling. Visibility was nil but there was no doubt that it was getting colder and darker. They settled down to eat some rations, and then tried to rest.
Bilblox sank heavily to the floor of the plane. He suddenly looked very tired and haggard. He began to massage his forehead with his fingers as if he had a migraine.
"Are you all right?" asked Alfonso.
"I'm fine," muttered Bilblox.
"You have a headache?"
Bilblox nodded. Alfonso knew
"Oh, that's nothing to worry about," he said. He stepped out of the cockpit and into the main cabin. "Come here, Kõrgu!"
The wolf immediately leapt into Bilblox's outstretched arms from the middle of the cabin. It was an astounding jump. The wolf must have leapt fifteen feet. Only a man the size of Bilbloxâwho was roughly 350 pounds of solid muscleâcould have absorbed the wolf's momentum and not toppled over.
"What the..." began Alfonso.
"This is my seein' eye dog," explained Bilblox. "She's quite a jumper. That's why her name is Kõrgushüpe. It means 'high jump' in Estonian."
"That's no dog," protested Alfonso.
"Fair enough," said Bilblox. "Technically she's a Mongolian wolf, but I don't like to advertise that fact, because people tend to get scared by the word
wolf.
"
"I see," said Alfonso.
"She's perfectly friendly when she's not sinkin' her fangs into somethin'," said Bilblox. He let the wolf jump out of his hands back into the cabin, and then turned back to the cockpit. "We've got work to do," said Bilblox suddenly. "There are a number of things that we gotta do immediately. We gotta patch up some of the holes in this plane, find some blankets, and gather up some food. Maybe we'll even try to light a fire. I don't know what time-a day it is, but it feels like the sun is going down. We musta both blacked out for a while. Anyway, night'll be here before we know it, and I ain't gonna let us freeze to death."
"What about Great Wandering Day?" asked Alfonso.
"Don't matter," replied Bilblox. "The name of the game now is survival."
And that was that.
They immediately set to work converting the Twin Otter cabin into a shelter against the cold. First they unpacked their baggage and put on every last article of clothing that they had with them. Alfonso then searched the plane for supplies. In a storage area at the rear of the plane he found an emergency bin that included matches, a flare gun, a set of flares, a medical kit, a dozen or so blankets, two pots, a pair of binoculars, a flashlight, a compass, a container of powdered milk, and two dozen packages of freeze-dried chili. Alfonso dragged the entire bin into the main cabin of the plane. In the meantime, Bilblox had discovered Snej's rifle and three boxes of ammunition.
"It's an ol' thirty caliber, bolt-action Enfield," explained Bilblox. "It belonged to Snej. It was an antique that I bought for her in England on account of her heroism in several adventures. It's in perfect workin' order. I can't use it, but you may have to at some point. Let's hope not. Also, you might as well fire off the flare gun, just in case. I reckon we'll have to escape this jam ourselves, but you never know, maybe someone is watchin'."
Alfonso stepped outside and fired off two flares in rapid succession. He watched the flares cast a muted glow against the swirling snow. Perhaps someone would see them. After all, today was Great Wandering Day. But there were several serious problems. Somnos could be far awayâten or even fifty miles away. What's more, visibility was very bad. What were the chances that anyone would actually see these flares? Finally, it was evening now. The day was over. Most likely the gates had already closed shut and would stay shut for the next twelve years.
Alfonso and Bilblox spent the next hour stuffing cushions and other materials into the gaping holes in the Twin Otter's walls and ceiling. Visibility was nil but there was no doubt that it was getting colder and darker. They settled down to eat some rations, and then tried to rest.
Bilblox sank heavily to the floor of the plane. He suddenly looked very tired and haggard. He began to massage his forehead with his fingers as if he had a migraine.
"Are you all right?" asked Alfonso.
"I'm fine," muttered Bilblox.
"You have a headache?"
Bilblox nodded. Alfonso knew
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