Rane’s Mate(52)
The oldest of the group who seemed to be the leader spoke up very quietly. “What’s that with you? It is really big.”
She forced a smile. “What do you think it is?”
The little boy looked at Rane and took a hesitant step forward. “It looks like a really big dog. I haven’t seen a big dog in a long time because I’ve been down here a long time.”
Kirby knew that there were tears rolling down her face as she asked, “Would you like to come with me and get out of here?”
The boy looked behind himself at the other children, then he turned back and took a really good look at her. He seemed to concentrate as he asked, “Will you hurt us?”
Kirby forced another smile. “No. I’m here to save you.”
The boy looked back at the three other kids, nodded, and then turned back to Kirby. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Are they dogs that you brought?”
Kirby thought about the answer, because something didn’t feel right. Out of all the questions she thought he might ask that wasn’t one of them. Knowing she needed to tread carefully to gain the children’s trust, she said, “They are very special, and they would never hurt you.”
The boy took a small step forward. “You’re telling the truth. What are they?”
She frowned at the odd phrasing. “Well, they’re special. What would you do if I told you Rane here is a wolf?”
The little boy’s eyes widened, and one of the children gasped. The little boy who was speaking smiled. “Is he a friendly wolf?” The boy looked behind her. “You have lots of them.”
Kirby slowly turned to see red, gray, dark brown, white, and brown wolves. Della also stood with Eve and a few other people that she didn’t know. She turned back to the children. “All these people came to help save everyone down here and bring you all to the surface so you can see the sun and the water.”
The little boy went over to the three other children and picked up the youngest boy, who couldn’t have been more than three. He was a tiny thing. “Come on, she was telling the truth the whole time.”
Kirby mentally kicked herself. She should have realized that he was a truth detector. The four children slowly walked toward her. Her brother Logan took a step toward them, but she put her arm out to stop him and said, “They need to come by themselves, it would help build trust.”
The little boy turned to her and pointed to the oldest girl who she guessed to be around seven. “This is Renee.” He then moved down to the little girl holding Renee’s hand. “This here is Brat.”
Kirby gasped, looking at the boy as she said, “Did I just hear you right? What did you call her?”
“Brat, that’s what they called her, and she was too little to know her name when they brought her in here.”
Kirby shook her head as tears rolled down her checks. Della came in and got down to eye level with the little girl that they called Brat. Tears were rolling down Della’s cheeks as she said, “Hi, sweetheart. Would you like us to give you a new name?”
The little girl nodded hesitantly, and Della continued, “I think you look like a Miss Molly, so how about Molly?”
The little girl smiled, and Della said, “Hi, Molly. My name is Della, and Kirby here has introduced herself, but that man over there is Logan, and lastly, as you heard her say, that wolf is Rane. Come on, there are lots out there that are just like Rane to meet.”
Della held her hands out, and Renee and Molly hesitantly took them. They walked out of the room trailing Della. The little boy that Kirby had been talking to turned to her.
“Hi, Kirby. My name is Mick, and this here is Useless, well that’s what they called him, but I called him Blue, ’cause his eyes remind me of the sky, I remember that.”
Kirby smiled at Mick. “I like that, how about we stick with Blue? I like it a lot better than the other name.”
The boys nodded. “Are we really going outside?”
“Yes. There will be a lot of people, and more wolves. They’re all friendly, and they’re here to help. Are you ready to come out now?”
He nodded and they followed Della out of the tunnel slowly. As they reached the top, the boys gripped her hands tighter, and she could see tears rolling down Mick’s face. She turned to face him. “It’s okay to be scared. If you want I could lift you and Blue and carry you out.” She was exhausted but she knew she could muster the strength, especially if he needed the comfort. Mick looked her up and down, and Kirby straightened the best she could. “I’m a lot stronger than I look.”
He didn’t say anything just moved closer and stood in front of her and nodded. She picked Mick up, placing him on one hip, and then she picked up Blue, placing him on the other. “When we go outside the sun will be bright, so if you don’t want to hurt your eyes bury your face in my shoulder.”