Lost and Hound Traditional Cache

He recognized the one by the bank, it was Bart. Bart was the one who tried to persuade him to join L.U.K.E. And it almost worked; it would have worked had Snow Belle not broken the hypnotic state and brought him to his senses.

The trackers had not located Buddy, at least not yet. But how had they gotten this close? No one knew where he was, except… Except Snow Belle! Had she betrayed him? Had she shared the message Buddy sent her to meet him here? The message had been encoded in a triple pound cipher Buddy had invented himself. He had only shared it with three agents, and one of them was dead.

Buddy slowly crawled out from beneath the table. He knew he had only once chance and he should take it while the gray mist of the morning was still keeping visibility at a premium. He had just about cleared the bench when his dog tags clicked against the rusty metal frame.

Bart whirled around quickly but Buddy was quicker. In a single swift motion he leapt through the air and landed on Bart. Teeth bared and voices growling the two fought. Rolling around through branches leaves and discarded scraps of paper. Soon Buddies coat was covered in sweat, his and Bart’s. As he thrashed about the ground it picked up a layer of grass and dust.

He didn’t think he could hold out much longer. But Bart began to settle down and accept the fact that Buddy had gotten them better of him.

‘You can still join us; L.U.K.E. can always use a cool hand like you’

‘You’re growling up the wrong tree Bart’ snarled Buddy.

The other agent was making his way up from the creek. Buddy knew he had to run or risk losing it all. So he darted toward the river in a blazing streak, knocking the agent back to the creek bed. He ran to the creek and followed it downstream, cold muddy water was splashing his face with every step. He wanted to climb the bank and run through the trees but he knew his best chance was to stay in the river. Here he would leave no tracks and his scent would be washed downstream.

After what felt like hours, he crawled out of the stream. He could not remember being this cold in his life. Blood was oozing from between his toes and it pained him to walk. He had not seen Bart and his companion in a while. Hopefully they were not able to find him. But he no longer recognized his surroundings. He was Lost!

He scratched out a second message and placed it where only a good cacher could find it. Lying down behind a large pile of rocks he took a much needed rest, and licked his wounds.

TO BE CONTINUED…