Chapter 7 - Rescue

Andres was miserable. He had never been more miserable in his entire 10-year life.

Andres was sitting blindfolded in a cell. His hands and feet were tied up, and he was leaning against a wall while sitting on a dirt floor. It was the middle of the night, or so he guessed. When you're blindfolded, pretty much everything looks like the middle of the night.

He was exhausted. His body craved sleep. But he just couldn't relax as he thought through the events of the past 12 hours or so.

After being caught by the man with the crooked jaw, Andres and Cable had been immediately tied up and thrown into the back of the cart that had supposedly been broken down. It took the man about 30 seconds to replace the wheel and begin driving away. The whole thing had been a trap, and they'd walked right into it. Andres fumed when he thought about the boy that had lured him out of the woods. If he ever saw that boy again, well...he'd get back at him!

The man with the crooked jaw had driven the cart down the road. It seemed like they were on the road for hours. And the worst part was, Andres was lying in the middle of a cart full of fruit, yet he could eat none of it. His hands were tied up, so he could only look at it. His stomach growled uncontrollably. It was so loud that the man with the crooked jaw actually heard it. He'd stopped the cart for a moment, jumped in the back, and held a fruit out to Andres' mouth. But when Andres tried to take a bit, the man with the crooked jaw just pulled it away and laughed.

Andres had hoped that they'd be led to a city, where they could perhaps cry for help. But they never came to a city, or even a small village. Instead, they came to some remote farmhouse located just off the road. As they pulled up, the man with the crooked jaw went up to Cable and said, "So tell me, boy...where is the ring?" To Andres' total astonishment, Cable had replied, "Mister, I really don't know what you're talking about." The man slapped Cable across the face with the back of his hand.

In that moment, in Andres' young mind, Cable was nothing short of a hero. He had the ring around his neck, yet he remembered that his job was to guard it--with his life, if necessary. And so he'd kept the secret. And despite getting slapped, he remained firm. What a brother!

At that point, the man with the crooked jaw took the boys' satchels. They then were led off and put into separate rooms. That's when things had gotten really miserable.

When Andres got to his tiny little cell, his hands were untied. A shiny red apple lay in the middle of the floor. Andres grabbed the apple and, without hesitation, sank his teeth into it. Yet while the outside was crisp and fresh, the inside was completely rotten. Andres grimaced and spit out his bite on the floor. The man with the crooked jaw laughed--a dreadful, evil laugh. He then tied Andres back up, blindfolded him, and threw him on the floor. He locked the door and walked away.

Andres hated being alone. It was perhaps his worst fear. He couldn't help crying a little bit, but he knew it wouldn't do him any good. No one would hear. No one cared.

After about an hour, the door to Andres' cell opened. The man with the crooked jaw came in and yanked off his blindfold. He stooped down to look in Andres' eyes. He asked, "Tell me, boy...WHERE IS THE RING?" When Andres heard the question, he was more proud than ever of Cable. Obviously, Cable still hadn't said anything about the ring. Well, Andres thought to himself, if Cable can keep a secret, then I can to. So Andres had replied, "Mister, I'm afraid I can't help you."

This earned him a slap across the face as well. It hurt tremendously--his nose started to bleed from the blow, and a ring on the man's finger had opened up a cut on Andres face. But Andres saw the man secretly shake his hand in pain. Andres knew that his head was just as hard as the man's hand! Some day, that dumb man would learn to stop striking Andres on the head! The man, still shaking his hand, replaced the blindfold and left the room.

Every hour or so after that point, the man had returned to ask the same question and administer the same slap. The only way Andres could keep track of time was by looking for any sunlight during the 30 seconds or so during which the blindfold was removed. Once night fell, the beatings seemed to subside for awhile. But Andres had remained fearful.

So here was Andres, alone in his cell in the black of night, reflecting on his utterly miserable condition. And then he heard footsteps approach again. He heard the man pull back the bolt and open the door. He felt the hands grasp his blindfold and yank it off. He prepared for the question he dreaded and for the painful slap that would inevitably follow. He couldn't bear to open his eyes.

But instead, he heard a voice...a familiar voice. It said, "Open your eyes, Andres. Take and eat." At first, Andres refused. Once he got into a habit of disobeying someone, it was hard for him to break it. But he again heard the same gentle voice. "Open your eyes, Andres. Take and eat."

When Andres opened his eyes, he saw a hooded man in front of him. He squinted to try and get a look at his face. But the light was not good enough; all he could see was the hooded man's eyes. However, that was enough. He recognized the eyes of the man that had befriended them the night before. As this realization slowly dawned on him, Andres took the apple. The bite filled him with a warmth and hope that surprised him, and encouraged him. Within 30 seconds, he devoured the rest of it.

Once the apple was finished and the core tossed on the ground, the man spoke again. "Andres, here is your satchel. I'm giving you Cable's as well. Take out the dagger, for you will need it. You must run, without delay, in the direction to which I will point you. If you do not turn to the right or to the left, you will come to a trail. I have created this trail for you, Andres--that is what I was doing yesterday, when you first saw me. Follow this trail, but keep your eyes open. Someone desperately needs your help. Now go! Your journey to the hermit has resumed, and this time you must not fail!"

"Is Cable okay?" Andres asked.

"Son, this is no time to ask questions. This is the time to act. Go!" ordered the hooded man. So Andres grabbed his dagger, threw the two satchels over his shoulder, and ran in the direction that the hooded man had designated. He figured that he was going so fast, he might have been able to beat Cable.

The trail was steep, much to Andres' disappointment. Why was nothing easy on this journey? But he pressed on, fearful that the man with the crooked jaw would discover his absence and chase him down. That fear lent wings to his feet. And as he climbed higher, the air grew clearer. He was excited to resume his quest. He just hoped that he'd run into Cable soon.

Though it was night, the nearly-full moon still cast a glow on the trail and illuminated Andres' path. Andres kept looking around for Cable. Occasionally, he'd call out Cable's name. After one such call, he heard a reply. "Help me!" cried out a boy's voice from the woods. "I'm surrounded by wolves! Help me!"

Andres immediately recognized the voice. It was the voice of the boy that had lured him out of the woods yesterday! Andres answered, "Serves you right!" and started to resume his trek. But the voice called out again. "Please, save me! Please!"

Andres then remembered the words of the hooded man. He'd said that someone would need his help. He had not said that it would be Cable. And if the hooded man had set him free, then the least he could do was to release someone else. If Andres had learned anything from the hooded man, it was that freeing people was important whether they deserved it or not.

So Andres left the trail and ventured into the woods. The cries picked up in intensity--"Help! Help!" And as Andres got closer, he started to hear the panting of the wolves. He came to a slight clearing, and as he looked, the moon cast its light on a boy, lashed to a tree and circled by three wolves. Andres fought off his first instinct to run. Instead, he held his dagger high in the air and charged at the wolves and cried out, "Away! Away! In the name of King Maximilian of Aberdeen, get away!" He wasn't sure exactly why he said that. What did a dead king have to do with anything? But he figured that a mighty task like chasing wolves called for special eloquence. And that was the best he could do.

To his surprise--and great relief--the wolves fled. Instead of using his dagger to stab wolves, he used it to set the boy free. And the strange adventure continued.