Loudcage!

It was no ordinary loudcage, though; it was one of those monstrous ones he would occasionally see in the city. They smelled different from the little loudcages—stronger and more threatening. Lucky had seen them chew up entire roads, spitting out black chunks of earth and flattening them beneath terrible crushing feet that rolled across the earth.

“Stop, Dart—I know what that is!”

Dart threw him a doubtful look, then slunk across to Lucky. “What?” she muttered.

“It’s a loudcage scent, but that’s a big one—”

Dart flinched away, a spark of terror in her eyes. “Loudcages? Well, they have nothing to do with us. Let’s go on with the patrol—avoid the thing—”

“They won’t threaten us, not those ones with the great teeth,” Lucky told her. “They are too big to bother with us. We should go and see what they are up to.”

“No,” Dart growled. “Why should we care that loudcages are nearby?”

“Because they can crush a dog,” Lucky told them. “Not even the fastest dog can outrun a loudcage.”

“Maybe Beta could,” said Twitch, who had come to stand with them. “She’s very fast.”

“Not even her,” Lucky whined. “We must be careful now.”

“I’ve never seen a loudcage,” Twitch said, his flanks heaving as he shivered. “I’ve never even heard of such a thing as a giant one.”

“Of course not,” snapped Dart, who seemed very much on edge. “You and Spring were born in the wild. I lived in the city when I was a pup, and I’ve seen the terrible things a loudcage can do. One of my littermates . . .” She shuddered.

Maybe Dart was right, thought Lucky. Maybe they should avoid the giant loudcage. But what was it doing out here in the wild? Were the longpaws building a new city to replace their destroyed one? If that was so, it was surely better for the dogs to know about it, so that they could move on in plenty of time.

“Just a quick look,” Lucky promised. “I’m sure Alpha would want us to investigate.”

That was enough to persuade the other two. Hesitantly they followed Lucky as he tracked the scent—which was not difficult when the smell of loudcage drink was so thick and overwhelming. Lucky felt quite sick with it by the time they crested a rise and saw a marshy plain stretching out below.

There it was: a colossal yellow loudcage, resting from its brutal churning of the ground. The tracks of its rolling paws were everywhere, mounds of muddy earth strewn around them. There was another beast with it, a long-snouted metal thing that was driven half into the earth as if hunting for the Earth-Dog herself. Lucky shuddered at the sight.

There were longpaws there, of course, wearing that strange shiny, yellow fur Lucky had seen before on the ones beside the poisoned river.

“Keep back,” he growled to Twitch and Dart, but it was hardly necessary. They were already cowering against the fringe of trees. “Those longpaws aren’t friendly. You were right, Dart—whatever they’re doing, it is not good for us.”