CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
MALCOLM, CAN YOU CLIMB BACK UP and see if that hedge tree is anywhere in sight?”
The raccoon scrambled up an evergreen. “There, Jonah! Over there!” He pointed a claw to the south, then leaped and landed on the grass beside his friend. “C’mon!”
“ALRIGHT, ONCE BENJAMIN GETS BACK, let’s crown King Mac and get going,” Clementine grumbled.
“I agree. My friends have been waiting too long. I hope they’re all still there,” Felix moaned.
The old badger waddled forward. “We should wait until the others are here to see the coronation.” Some of the animals nodded.
“That would be quite the welcoming ceremony, wouldn’t it?” Mac said.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Let’s wait for the others. It will be one of the greatest changing of crowns this kingdom has ever witnessed!” the badger urged.
“Do YOU SEE IT anywhere?” Jonah panted.
“No. How big is this hole supposed to be?” Malcolm muttered, prowling through the tall, yellow-green grass. Then “Aaaaagh!” and the pair disappeared beneath the pasture. Falling helplessly, legs kicking in surprise, they soon landed in a cold, blue spring. Splash!
Every head in the kingdom swiveled toward the pool. Malcolm was the first out of the water. The soaked raccoon shook the drops from his fur, causing those nearest to turn their faces from the spray.
The already perturbed Clementine’s eyes were ablaze when he saw him. “…You!”
Malcolm was delightfully surprised to see the pot-bellied pig he’d traveled with a month ago and waved a small hand in greeting. “Oh! Hi, Clementine!”
“You…traitor!!” the furious pig shook on his spot.
“A what?! What do you—”
“This raccoon is a traitor to the kingdom! Seize him!”
Zeus began growling angrily, followed by Mac and all the other animals. It was Malcolm’s turn to shake. Then something else popped up out of the water. Jonah took a huge breath and dogpaddled to the side, where he pulled himself out with a grunt. Everyone gasped. Here was another pug with one little black foot!
“Ahh, now that was refreshing!” Jonah shook what fur he had left on his body and looked up—and saw someone he wasn’t expecting to ever see again, staring right back.
“It’s you!” Mac’s mouth hung wide open.
“Well hello, little brother!”
“I’m Mac, and you’re my little brother.”
“Well, I’m Jonah and I believe I’m your big brother!” Jonah walked up to Mac and looked him over. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a couple days now.” He cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Ahem. Your king has arrived!”
“Yeah, and you’re staring right at him,” Mac barked defiantly.
“Nope. There’s no way were you born before me. I was Dad’s favorite!” Jonah smiled smugly.
“Favorite?! We only saw him a couple of times!”
“What’s going on?” Benjamin walked through the crowd and stopped, gasping like the others. “You?!” He stared at Jonah, who only slightly resembled the dog he’d taken the collar from on Mrs. Crane’s porch.
“Oh, hello. Remember me?” Jonah smiled with guilty pleasure.
“I-I didn’t know you were a…pug.”
“Yap. In fact, I’m not only a pug, but I’m the king of this kingdom.”
Benjamin saw a raccoon approach. “Malcolm?!”
“Hello, King Benjamin.” He bowed.
Clementine moved toward him with menace. “Don’t you dare act like you’re loyal to him when you and your brother betrayed us!”
Benjamin couldn’t think. He knelt to get a better look at the two pugs. “Mac, what’s going on?”
“Well, it seems my brother has made an ungracious entry back into my life.”
“Your brother?” Benjamin looked at Jonah’s black foot. “Pugsly had pups other than you?”
“Of course he did,” Jonah said confidently. “And I’m the oldest, which makes me the rightful heir.”
“No, Jonah. I specifically remember being born before you.” Mac’s eyes darted around the room at the hundreds of staring eyes.
“What?! How in the world can you claim to remember a thing like that?”
Clementine sighed. “Oh, boy! This is all we need. First Roscoe, and now this.”
“What happened to Roscoe?” Benjamin asked.
Clementine nodded his head solemnly. “His dad died—”
“Oh, gosh! That’s horrible.”
“—and while he was at the farm some llama told him his dad wanted him to go find those wild goats. You remember them, right? He’s acting like it’s his destiny or something.”
“You mean Zebulon and his clan?” Benjamin was concerned.
“Yeah…them. And now he’s gone.”
The fox interrupted. “Look, I don’t want to ruin a sad moment, but we need to go. We can’t wait any longer! That thing is out there, and my friends are in the middle of Persly’s Woods waiting on me—and you—to return!”
“That thing, huh?” Everyone turned to Malcolm. “And does anyone happen to know what that thing is?” He folded his hands coolly and stood on his hind legs.
Felix was as unsure as the rest of them. “N-no one has seen it, raccoon.”
“We’ve seen what it’s left behind!” Jonah spoke boldly.
“Hang on, Jonah. I need to clear my name first.” Malcolm walked to the middle of the gathering. “King Benjamin, I had no idea that my brother, Isaac, had been following us all that time. I guess you heard him calling out to the snakes that we were there?” Benjamin and Clementine both nodded. “I was on the roof of the barn when I heard Isaac shouting, then I climbed to the peak and saw four of the rattlers bite him.” He bowed his head in grief. “King Benjamin, I had to help him, even if he intended to turn you guys in. I jumped down and helped my brother escape into the woods, away from the snakes. We went as far as we could…then Isaac fell over and died. I couldn’t move. I stayed with him until morning, staying hidden from the snakes, and then buried him.”
“I’m…I’m sorry Malcolm.” Benjamin softly spoke.
“Me, too,” Clementine added.
“I haven’t gone back to the barn since. But I have one question. Is Farangis definitely dead?”
Benjamin smiled reassuringly. “Yes! Yes, he is!”
“Paco sacrificed himself to save us all,” Clementine said sadly.
Malcolm sighed. “I really liked that dog.” After a moment he looked at Jonah. “Well…early this morning I saw some rattlesnakes attacking Jonah. After I killed them, I spotted his black foot. I remembered you talking about King Pugsly’s black foot, so I knew he was one of his own.”
Mac interrupted. “We both are.”
“And this is where it gets scary for all of us.” Malcolm’s hands rubbed together nervously. “Jonah and I were walking through Persly’s Woods when an owl spoke to us from the treetops.”
“A really weird owl!” Jonah added.
“Did he speak in riddles?” Clementine asked.
“Oh yeah…” Malcolm answered.
“We met him as we entered Persly’s Woods on our way to find Farangis,” Benjamin said.
“Forrest of the forest?!” the old badger said in excitement. “You met Forrest of the forest?”
“Yeah…” Jonah was unimpressed.
“Ohhhh! They say he is one of the wisest creatures in all the land!”
Jonah and Malcolm snickered as they exchanged glances.
“Well, he pointed out that we were standing on something that wasn’t the ground.…” Malcolm coughed. “…it was a snake skin!”
The audience gasped.
“Could it have been Farangis’s?” Benjamin turned to Clementine.
“I wouldn’t think so, but who else’s could it have been?” the pig replied.
“It was so long it looked like it had no beginning or end!” Malcolm’s eyes widened in horror.
Bloop! Bloop! Squeak, since he was closest to the pool in front of the throne, was the only one to hear the bubbly sound. He looked down. A creature with small yellow eyes stared back at him from deep under the water, then disappeared. Trying to keep calm, he scampered up to Benjamin to get his attention.
“So there is another snake then?” Clementine asked in the hushed hall.
Squeak tapped his little paws on Benjamin’s shoe. “Ahem. Excuse me, Sire?”
“I never would’ve thought Farangis was that big,” Malcolm said.
“King Benjamin, I need to talk to you!” Squeak squeaked louder, tugging at Benjamin’s jeans with all his might, which was very little.
“Well, Farangis was huge but…he’s been dead nearly a month,” Benjamin said.
“HEY!” Squeak shouted as loudly as he could, and everyone close enough to hear looked down.
Benjamin knelt to hear the troubled mouse. “Yes, Squeak?”
The mouse put his finger to his mouth to tell them to keep quiet, then pointed at the pool. Then he whispered, loud enough for them to hear, “We are being watched!”