The light drizzle was the aftermath of a deeper, raging storm. Drops dripped off Maelstrom's rain-beaded skin as he crouched in the shrubbery. His lights were low and his senses alert. Further out, in the misty field, grazed the flock. ~Leave, now, before you get yourself caught and killed in this scheme!~the urge to run was high. But Maelstrom could not bear anymore to put this off. The scents of ewes in season and rams in rut reached his sensitive nose. The natural rhythms of the year that his kind responded to were partly eclipsed by the unnatural events that were transpiring here. He crept in nearer, knowing speed wasn't his forte; like many denryuu of his line, size and strength was in spades, but they were all a bit lacking in speed. Maelstrom had put on a lot of size since he had been apart from his father and he would have to rely on his physical prowess to make this a success. Far out there he saw Freckle's submissive lights flickering for mercy as the larger rams in charge of him took advantage of him. Maelstrom would not leave without that one. Not after the role he had played in his capture. He recognised the middle-aged ewe nearest him as one who would willingly come with him, if only she could. Maelstrom waited till her grazing head turned towards him and then he flicked three light-blinks to her. ~ Gwan-wan was feeding her way out towards the edge of the flock like she often did. Her lamb, Chamilla, grazed alongside her. Gwan had seen the light out there signalling to her and she dared to flick back a response. A ram moved towards her, buzzing from his lights. It was a warning not to get too far away. Gwan turned tail and pretended to graze her way back. Maelstrom also knew who that ram was. He could take him easily. He waited until the ram had placed himself between him and Gwan. His legs gave a burst of energy and he nearly stumbled on rushing out. Lights were low and the energy was high as Maelstrom flung himself towards the other ram. "Run Gwan!" Gwan scooped up her eweling lamb and ran headlong for the bushes. Maelstrom knocked the other ram off his feet and the two of them struggled on the ground. The other ram twisted and bucked. He sank his teeth into Maelstrom's flipper. Maelstrom bleated. OVer the fight he saw Gwan's lights flashing from the brush. Yiza and Forestweaver were up and running, following the lead of Gwan. More sheep fell in as the guards realised what was upon them. Maelstrom's head landed square in the other ram's chest. Ribs cracked. He dropped the rival to the ground and ran deeper into the flock. "Get him! Kill him!" cried the injured ram as Maelstrom ran at the guards who had been harassing Freckle. He knew these two would not run. They had been trusted with keeping Freckle in the flock and if they failed, Moonbeam would punish them. As Maelstrom collided with the first guard, the second one jumped his back. Maelstrom bucked and bleated. He jerked his head. His legs kicked. ~ Gwan raced around the bushes, trying to put them between her and the guard chasing her. Far back behind her, they were gaining on her. A ram and a ewe grabbed hold of Yiza, who cried out as she was brought down. Gwan heard her but she kept on running. ~ "That the best you can do! Freckle run!" Maelstrom faced his two assailants. Battle lust was running hard through him, fall's instincts pumped through his blood. He lanced a spark at the nearest ram, who took it full-force into his head jewel. Maelstrom saw an opening and dashed through, but he was not fast enough. Someone was grabbing at his middle. "No you don't!" Freckle grabbed hold of the much larger ram guard from behind. The guard loosed his tenuous hold on Maelstrom, who turned around and gave him a slam with his balled tail. The guard fell and Maelstrom whirled on the second one. More sheep were coming towards them now. Maelstrom turned tail on the guard and ran. Freckle was at his heels, running with him. Maelstrom hardly felt his injuries as he poured on all the speed he had, pounding his feet towards the bushes where Gwan and Forestweaver had gone. Other sheep were running too, but he did not know whom. He did not care. ~ "He heads off for who knows where and leaves us with no one to guard!" Nova was in a rage. The eyomah did not even try to chase after the mostly younger breakouts. "Good luck to you idiots! I hope the enemies eat you slowly!" She turned to three other ewes. "You three--after them too. We can't afford to lose Freckle." The three ewes left in the direction of the escapees and Nova moved over to the clump of ramlings who were now strung out over the field, some wanting to run after the breakouts, but not sure if they should do so seeing as they had been given no orders to. Äfter them! There aren't that many of them and Maelstrom's probably injured." "With all of them gone we're down too many guards," said Cliffstorm. "Ardod, Longspark and Berry get back here!" Two rams turned back around and came running back. Cliffstorm looked them over. With most of the well trained and more grown rams gone on the missions, they were left with mostly ewes and ramlings to do their work. Cliffstorm would simply have to work with what he had. "Where's Berry?" Ï don't know, sir." Longspark flickered his lights in a illumination of a shrug, and Ardod did the same. Ï think he's still going after them. Maybe he didn't hear you." "He heard me. If he returns with any of the escapes, all the better." Cliffstorm gave up. He sauntered over to where Yiza was being held by a ewe and a ram. A second ewe was holding her lamb. Cliffstorm gave the sobbing ewe a slap on the face. "You'll get worse from Moonbeam when he comes back! As for your mama, she and the other escapes have got a special reward coming to them when they are recovered! You don't want to know what Moonbeam will do to them. Or perhaps you remember when he strung that ramling up and bit his balls off?" ~ "Wait...wait for me..." came a more distant bleat through the dark. Maelstrom dared to slow down. His breath was heavy through his neck; he had slowed down much already. "Forest?" He recognised the lights and face of the older ewe who came trotting, exhausted, into view. Forestweaver was gasping for breath. Her own lamb of this past spring raced alongside her, having seemingly less trouble than her mother in keeping up. "Maelstrom. I had to come."She paused to breathe some more. "Wherever we go it has to be far." Ït will be. Gwan? Freckle?" Maelstrom stopped while the others caught him up, one by one. "How many have we got?" Öne more than you were expecting you scum traitor!" A guard ran at Maelstrom. As Maelstrom met heads with the challenger he saw more pursuers coming. He leaned in thickly using his weight to bear down on the opponent and overcome him. He grabbed him by the neck and squeezed as the other ram bit and pawed at his arms. Forestweaver and Gwan were on him, followed by Freckle. The ram barely got away; he backed out of their reach. "Come on."Maelstrom knew they needed some kind of way to escape more quickly than their adversaries or somehow lose them quickly. "Come on I know a way we can lose them." "Wait!" Berry was running after the group. Ï'm coming with you." Maelstrom didn't have time to argue. He did not trust him, but he knew Berry might have his reasons for deserting. He was not of Moonbeam's blood and on top of that had been picked on for his smaller size. Ïf you turn on us and inform them I will hunt you down myself and kill you," he said to Berry, and turned to go. The ewes were collecting their lambs and making sure all was well with them. Darya had joined up too. It looked like five ewes were here... and two more rams. Maelstrom saw a familiar grey ram with indigo lights trotting out-of-breath to meet them. Behind him came another familiar set of lights...Flickle's. "There's a hundred of them," breathed Thundergrey, gesturing behind him with his flipper. "We've got to get out and fast!" "Follow me." Maelstrom would have liked to say he had this planned out, but he was running towards a place where only fables had taken him before. He knew it was there from what Peem had said, but exactly where? He loped east in the fading night. ~ His wounds caught up to him. And they were being followed. Maelstrom could see the lights off behind them in the distance. He kept his own lights low, but then it was hard to see in the bushes and grass. Anything could be lurking out here, looking for an easy meal in a bunch of exhausted sheep who did not know the lay of the land. They had run beyond any place Moonbeam had taken them or let them wander. Out here it was all strangeness. The pains twitching in his flipper, where he had been bitten, and in his side, where he had been kicked, kept bothering him and made his tail lash in annoyance. He found himself wanting to lash out at an enemy even as he ran from them. Rut-lust did that to him, he knew, as it did that to most any ram, but he couldn't help it. "We're not heading straight east are we?"said Gwan. "Those lands are haunted." Ï would rather face the dead out there than the living behind us," said Maelstrom. "Moonbeam owns the lands out west." Ï know, but couldn't we head north, or..." Ï'm going east. That's the only direction that might give those shits some hesitation in following us. I can only kill so many of them myself." "You have me too," said Thundergrey. "We see ghosts or anything, and we run!" said Phead. Ät least I will." "Our eyomah has these horrible stories about out there. The *bandos* flock haunts those woods somewhere out east,"said Darya. "Would you rather we chanced it going north or south?" Maelstrom's tail lashed and he kept on with his brisk walk east. "Moonbeam's cronies won't have any hesitation chasing us up there. They'll run us down in no time." "Maybe," said Darya. She didn't say anything more. Anything, even ghosts, was better than being caught by Moonbeam's flock now. She had seen what they did to Freckle and to anyone else who caused trouble. "We're in more danger from strange rams or especially enemies, anyway." Maelstrom did not want to hear all of the flock's doubts now. It was the last thing they needed. If they had been this scared of the unknown, they could have stayed at Moonbeam's. Öut here our lives are not assured. I'll do my best to take care of any threats to us but there's no guarantee. I want to bring us all out east to where we all can settle down. And live a normal life." Whatever normal really was. "Moonbeam's not going to give up this easily, or at least his flock," said Thundergrey. "Don't you think I know that...that's why I'm going east." Maelstrom stopped to nip a few healing berries off a branch. He would rather not have bleeding, annoying wounds all over him. Didn't they think he was scared, too, of the ghosts? Maybe he was more scared than any of them were. He had no doubts in his mind that they would encounter them...that was just how his luck had always been. But the dead were all around them, anyway... this would just be a place where they had more power. Ï'll give my deepest respects to the dead when we reach their land." Ï heard it doesn't even exist anyway," said Berry. Ït's all superstitious nonsense." Maelstrom tossed his head. His lights buzzed. "Moonbeam must've told you that. He doesn't believe in much of anything." "My mama did," said Berry. Ït's supposed to be really far off anyway, we can probably find somewhere else to settle down first if it does exist." "When something dangerous is rumoured, I treat it as if it exists. I've seen too much shit not to. But for all that you've heard of the *bandos* out east, has anyone heard of the rich green lands just beyond it? That's where I'm heading." Morning had come and the pursuit was far behind, but Maelstrom and his small flock were tired. Getting free was easy, it was staying free that was hard.