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“Allô! Tri! Réveillez-vous!” Tri stirred and opened one eye drowsily. It was still dark out. Who would wake him at an hour like this? After the days they’d had here? Every muscle in Tri’s body ached, and just moving his head felt like a tremendous effort. He blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. The dark, blurred form in front of him slowly became apparent. It was Sprint. Of course. It was a foggy morning. The hills were held in shrouds of mist and it was barely light. The faint glow on the Eastern horizon was the only hint of morning, but there was already frenetic activity in Soinnet. Under the cover of darkness, the soldiers had been preparing a strike for days now, and this seemed to be the day when it was all supposed to happen. Tri knew what the tense atmosphere meant by now and knew it well - the fear, the shaking hands, the hope, courage, and the sweat trickling from underneath the soldiers’ steel helmets. There was a battle about to begin. The cool breeze swept through the broken buildings of the village and Tri rolled onto his back where he lay in the shade. For a fleeting moment between sleep and wakefulness, he felt like he was back on the Iron Hill, enjoying a break from the day’s chores. It was almost as if he could see the colourful flowers nodding in the wind and feel the cool grass… And it was as if he heard the master’s footsteps on the gravel. He rolled over and lifted his head to respond to his master’s approach, but the boots on the gravel were a soldier’s, and this was Soinnet, not the Iron Hill. Tri grimaced as if in pain. The cool light of dawn was slowly creeping over the hills, clear skies promising a beautiful, warm summer’s day. In normal circumstances, perhaps the inhabitants of Soinnet would be getting out of their beds, starting the day’s chores, baking bread, tending to animals, opening shops. But The Great War had put a stop to all that. The village was barely more than a pile of rubble, like so many other small hamlets on the Western front, and no one lived here now but the soldiers, officers and nurses who had set up their temporary headquarters in it. Tri tripped. With an ungraceful wobble he managed to stop himself from planting his face on the ground, but he still heard giggles from a couple of horses who were walking behind him. Tri huffed at them and glared, but they paid no mind. Having recovered his posture, Tri returned his attention to the road, so that he wouldn’t stumble over more rocks now that he barely had the strength to lift his paws any more. A few days had passed since the assignment. Aaron Fredericks had let Tri rest, sensing that the newcomer needed some time to process his first real mission, and instead focused on Ginger, who was his only active messenger at this time. Nell had also been kennel-bound due to her injured leg, but she was mending and would probably be able to run this afternoon’s mission alongside both Tri and Ginger. It was a relief to have three dogs back in the field. As much as Fredericks knew and trusted Ginger’s skill, giving the fighting division only one shot at sending vital communication was less than ideal. With three copies, chances were much greater that at least one would arrive safely, should the worst happen to any of the dogs while they were working. BOOM. Tri woke with a start. The cannons were at it again... He was used to the sound, but this was different. He shivered. It was damp and cold out today, and not even the straw bedding could keep him dry. Tri got up on unsteady paws, carefully stepped out of the kennel and looked around. His gaze darted from one end of the site to the other, and his breath was short and shallow. For some reason, it felt like something might jump on him at any moment. When he heard a rustle behind him he jumped and almost tripped on his own chain, but the source of the sound was only Ginger, stirring in his kennel. Tri sighed and slumped onto his tail. His sleep had been restless, filled with dreams of unpleasant things. They were getting close to their final destination, Tri could feel it. For three days now they had been walking along this long, straight road. But there had been a different look about the humans this morning. They were on edge and seemed to look over their shoulders constantly. As a result, Tri too kept his ears pricked and sniffed about, not sure for what, but perhaps a scent in the wind would reveal a clue. Aaron Fredericks was always walking calmly beside him in any case, which provided some comfort. The other soldiers in this group were very kind and always made a great fuss of Tri the dog. Sometimes Aaron Fredericks even had to shoo them away, to stop them from distracting his dog too much. Buut someone would always have a treat in handy, and Tri wasn’t about to turn down something like that, even if he knew Aaron Fredericks didn’t approve. Another day, another bruising. Tri slumped down inside his crate and exhaled loudly. Finally. He had taken to sleeping inside his kennel now; it had become his safe place, his new home. No matter how tough and ruthless the day had been, the crate was always there at the end of it. “So, these are the new recruits?” A tall, mustachioed man was standing in front of the motley crew of canines lined up on the courtyard. The two young soldiers trying to keep the dogs in line nodded. “Yes, Lieutenant Colonel, they are.” |
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