TO THE MOUNTAINS
They were right all along that the vehicle was being driven by the third Chief while some of the familiar passengers were indeed the members of their own pack and they noticed that each of the passengers standing on the truck already had their shirt taken off except for their shorts in gusto show of their broad chest most likely in preparation for the ritual. The headlights of the vehicle instantly came off after the driver stopped its engines and pulled the windscreen down to see the two boys standing close to the car. It was William staring boldly at his son and his friend who was utterly tongue-tied while Sean was surprisingly speechless. Sean could see that his father was already covering his head with his bear fur and had painted his left eye red as part of his outfit for the ritual ceremony. He knew that things were about to get bad for him and couldn’t find the courage to speak. Everyone in the truck had seen that the third Chief’s son wasn’t ready yet for the ritual and were silent as ever even when they knew the repercussions of the situation before them. There were six boys at the back of the truck and all six peered at their two companions who were amongst those that were picked by the eldest Alpha to perform the ritual with them. The two boys could clearly see that the others were all wearing a similar necklace around their necks, one which would have been given to them at sundown if they had returned from the sea in time, as those chosen to partake in the ritual ceremony and they knew they had failed on their own part.
“Sean, aren’t you attending?”
One of the bigger boys amongst the six passengers spoke up breaking the silence that had fell upon them ever since they met the two boys standing without saying any word.
“Yes…we are”
Robin managed to speak.
“Your father is already at the mountain hideout”
Another older man sitting beside the third chief said when he heard Robin’s shrill voice from behind the first boy he could see through the window of the car from where he sat beside the driver.
“Where have you been?”
The question finally came from the third chief looking at his son.
“At the river”
“I thought I told you to come back home early”
“You did but….”
“What are those?”
“They…..are sacks containing some fishes”
“You have been fishing, haven’t you?”
Sean lowered his head in submission and nodded. Then the air became tensed for everyone watching them but the third chief shrugged after glaring at Sean and restarted the car engine.
“Take your shirt off”
“What?”
“You heard me, both of you take it off and hop in. We are running late”
“But what about the Maguri?”
“There’s no time to give them one. Besides, they will have to do the ceremony without it before they’ll get punished afterwards”
William replied taking a firm hold on the steering wheel. Sean reluctantly obeyed jumping into the truck behind Robin who entered first while the other passengers quickly gave way for them to enter.
“Wait, what about that sack?”
“Leave it”
Sean said holding Robin by the shoulder after Robin tried to jump down to get the sack they had unwittingly left behind before joining the others at the back. The driver soon started to drive the car when he noticed that the two boys were already at the back with the other teens and steered the pick-up truck towards the next neighborhood following back the same road the boys came. Sean sat down on an edge with the other boys facing his friend as the truck accelerated with more speed towards the border side of town. The truck eventually found its way to the narrow bush path that led towards the deepest part of the dense jungle which surrounded the south section of the city and where people living nearby hardly come by. No one suspected a thing as they ventured into the heart of the forest heading for the mountains. The forests was a bit darker and quiet with the shrill noises of night crawlers especially the hooting of the owl the boys kept hearing at every thin branches of the trees at every path the truck took inside the forest. The truck raced through the jungle picking up dirt as it went and took a left direction to the upper left summit of the mountain which was way darker than the forest beds below. The ride to mountain hideout was rather quite bumpy for the boys sitting at the back of the truck while being vulnerably exposed to the air since the path was filled with ridges that way rougher and unsteady like the ocean tidal waves which Sean and those privileged to have gone to sea, had experienced but they were remain unshaken by the continuous rising and falling of the truck as it drove its way through the forest under-beds as though it were a boat battling to steady itself on the rough waves and they clung tightly to the vehicle so that they won’t fall off from where they sat down.
After forty seven minutes of a bumpy ride up the mountain, the group finally arrived at the certain point near some cliffs where the third Chief could clearly notice the boundary mark indicating their territory. The headlights quickly picked out some human shadows coming out of the woods as they approached the border pass of the hideout while another jeep was already parked close to the some rocks on the left wing of the field.
“I see the others”
The man beside the driver said as soon as he saw some men coming out of their hiding place to welcome them. William quickly parked the truck aloof near a tall spruce and all the boys jumped down from truck including two lads. The headlights of the truck immediately went off after the driver shut down the truck’s engine and then, everyone else strolled to the front of the truck to meet the three watchmen, each carrying a flaming torchwood, heading to where the boys were half naked and barefooted with only their torso showing in the night while the Chief, the man who sat beside him and the watchmen were the only ones fully dressed for the night ceremony.
“Greetings Chief”
“You too Mandy”
“You guys are all prepared, huh?”
The third watchman said as he looked at the boys with a broad grin across his face
“Yes, we are”
The boys chorused smiling childishly.
“I’m sure they were ten betas personally chosen for this ritual. How come I see eight boys?
“You got to be kidding me, Mandy. Two already arrived with the second chief and are waiting inside”
“Did they? I wasn’t aware of it”
“Of course you didn’t know because you were lost in your singing as usual”
The third watchman said and Mandy was about to respond when William intruded.
“Get your acts together, will you?”
“Please Pardon our misgivings. How’re feeling boys?”
“It feels like we’ve already completed the initiation”
Jason was the one who responded.
“Jason, we are just a week away from a full moon and you are already getting excited for no reason”
Mandy, the leader of the watchmen remarked and slapped the lad on the scapular while giggling laughter rippled amongst the small crowd.
“Perhaps he really wants to become one of us that badly, ain’t that right?”
“Pretty sure”
“The pack really needs those willing and ready to fulfill its cause. It doesn’t tolerate any weaklings, so you all must prove yourself this night until the full moon arises”
William advised as his eyes trailed off the little boys in front and fell on Sean who avoided his gaze and lowered his head behind Robin.
“Yeah, that’s how we used to feel back in the day”
“Forget about the past. What of the others?”
“Chief Caleb has been expecting you”
“Everything’s ready for the ritual to start”
“The others are already waiting for the ritual to begin”
“I see. Let’s go in then. Come on, lads. We don’t want to keep everyone waiting”
“Follow me, I’ll lead you there. It’s kinda dark so watch your footstep so as not to kick a stone”
Mandy warned and joined the two watchmen to lead the arrivals past through the boundary mark. The men with flaming torches led the group further into the forest through a narrow path till they arrived at a shallow ravine and climbed down the rocky pathway which was sloppy but the men were already used to passing this route and quickly made it to the bottom especially the teens who trailed behind the adults with care without having trouble hitting their barefoot against a stone.