“We’ve got a big problem. The Silva Stalker killed the Magôlibo and has taken its heart out!” Tobias hurriedly started explaining as they met Ulrika and The Secretary upon Vulture-One landing, thinking she might have been there about this incident.

The quick flight back had consisted of the team working this problem out and how to solve it.

“Look, the beaver elder I spoke to said ‘the heart of The Life is slowing, and when it stops, the forest and all life will be gone.’” Tobias explained in the cockpit. “Which has got to mean, that the heart hasn’t completely stopped yet, right? If it had, then the whole forest would be dead straight away wouldn’t it? Rather than gradually spreading.”

“Ok, good theory,” agreed Grizzly George. “So the Silva Stalker is preserving the heart? Is that what that means?”

“Perhaps, yes. I don’t know. But if something dies, it all goes. What we have is a gradual dying.”

Tobias stopped updating his superiors of this conversation the group had had when he sensed their demeanour. Something told him they weren’t here for the crisis in the forests.

“Ok, well I need a quick word with you Tobias first before we discuss what’s going on in the woodlands.”

“It can’t really wait though, Ma’am,” the boy responded. “The longer we’re here talking and not planning and doing, the forests will die. All life within it will die. The ecosystem will collapse.”

“It’s a quick word, and I’m not debating it with you. Come,” she bluntly instructed.

Tobias looked at George and then at Ulrika. He was in big trouble if Madam Secretary had made the journey out.

The Secretary walked off towards the war-room down the corridor that was in The Lodge. It was used mostly by Ulrika and was where the Warriors would meet to discuss tactics before going out. It had a bank of screens on one wall and a table in the middle which displayed an interactive map of the USA.

“Why do you think I’m here, Tobias?”

“Because Ulrika told you about me.”

“About you being extremely rude and your lack of commitment to your school work, do you think?”

“Mhhm.”

“Use words, Tobias.”

“Yes. Ma’am.”

“Then what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Well I’m sorry Ma’am but she’s on my case all the time. This morning we came back exhausted from a fight with Moth Man and saving those missing campers and the hotel fire survivors, and she’s straight away riding my back about some assignment.”

She looked at him sternly. “Let me remind you of the terms of this arrangement, Tobias, because you seem to be forgetting. You are a thirteen year old boy. You are not old enough to make your own decisions. I make those decisions for you, and Ulrika does too. You came to us from the foster care system and we provide you with a home, an education and an opportunity to do some good with your family here in the Woodland Warriors. But you can’t pick and choose what bits you do.

Your school work has been slipping and that is where your priority should be. You’re a child. It’s what children do. And if I feel I need to, I will take away your Woodland Warrior responsibilities if you are not keeping up with your school work or if your attitude is not up to par. I’m not obliged to have you go out. We can fill your spot.”

Tobias stood staring at the floor with his hands in his pockets. He was itching to get back out, but knew how serious she was being and didn’t want to risk making things worse.

“Your behaviour has massively improved since we took you in three years ago. You’ve shown great promise and you do great work with the Warriors. So don’t spoil it. If I don’t see an improvement in your school work then the arrangement will end.”

He looked up at her with sad, wide eyes. That would be the worst thing to happen to him.

“I know the death of the Red Cardinal hit you all hard but it’s Ulrika’s job now to look after you. She loves you and wants the best for you, so if it’s an assignment she wants from you then suck it up and do it. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Right, so this Magôlibo situation. Is this the one?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. The Silva Stalker has the heart somewhere and I think the only reason the forests haven’t completely died yet is because he’s keeping it going somehow.”

“How do you know it's him? Do you know where you can find him?”

“This is only him. We've had run ins before and he's the only one insane enough to do it. This is definitely him. And yes, his Camp is in Yellowstone. It’s well defended and it’ll be a tough assault. With enough back up we can get through. We’ll need to-” Tobias stopped short as The Secretary’s phone started ringing.

“…Terri, Terri. Calm down. Say that again…. Oh my God, what? Ok. Ok, ok, I’ll be there as quick as I can.” She hung up the phone and looked at Tobias. “I have to go. Can you deal with this?”

“Of course we can. It’s what we Warriors do best.”

***

Even Yellowstone was not immune to the spread of death creeping through the woodlands, along the rivers and over the mountains. Large areas were dotted about and they managed to find a decent place to land in between two large patches not too far from The Silva Stalker’s Camp.

The Camp was in a cave, in the heart of the National Park, through some dense woodland and almost impossible to find and get to normally. But the Woodland Warriors were not normal.

That, and because Tobias and George had been there before a few years ago, which had resulted in him being imprisoned, so they had a good idea how to get there.

This time they weren’t doing it alone.

The animals of the forest were scared. Some were fleeing. But they also wanted to help. The four Woodland Warrior members stood in the middle of a large group of angry wolves, cougars, coyotes, Canadian Lynx, bobcats, squirrels, crows, ravens, ospreys, peregrine falcons and a selection of black and grizzly bears that they had rallied together. And now they were outlining the plan.

The Silva Stalker was a serious threat. A trained, experienced hunter and tracker as well as an expert marksman with excellent proficiency using rifles and crossbows. In addition, his Camp was heavily booby trapped and well defended. Besides the nets, foothold traps, pits and snares scattered in the approach to the Camp, Stalker had motion activated sentry guns on the ground and in trees.

It was also guarded by his pack of Kuvaszor Bulls, an exotic and deadly mix of the American Pit Bull Terrier and Kuvasz breeds which were reared as fierce defensive dogs.

The odds were against the Warriors and their army of volunteers this time round, and their plan was going to have casualties. But this was there for the greater good.

“Everyone ready?” asked Boy Beaver, after they had gone through it all. There was a cacophony of noise to acknowledge. “Then we’ll start the trek now.”

It was to be a synchronised charge, each division of the woodland army having different roles that allowed the others to do their jobs safely.

Nova took off with the other birds, filling the sky. Their goal was to provide a distraction for the motion sensor sentries so that the bears and dogs, led by Grizzly George, could take them out.

Bao, the big cats and the squirrels went high, up into the trees and taking out the traps and the sentry guns planted in the branches. The squirrels were handy at getting higher up and gnawing through the wires in the mechanical gear running the sentries.

Boy Beaver led the dogs to push up behind the bears and onto the Camp. He had with him his own crossbow, firing off shots into traps he spotted, falsely activating them so that the wolves and wild dogs had a clear path. Any he missed, the wolves took out carefully. They had to be careful as it was their goal to go up against the guard dogs The Stalker had, being lined up as his last defence.

The woodland was alive with a headache of a noise, as shots from sentry rifles went off, birds squawked, bears roared and wolves howled and growled.

The bears pounded and tore at the mechanical guns rendering them useless.

Each animal fighting for the survival of the lands they lived within, and for the animals all over America who were losing their own fights against the spread of death.

The Warriors pushed and pushed on, and they made great gains up wooded mountain path to The Camp. It was Boy Beaver and his troop who were able to get up further as per the plan, and the waterfall marking the entrance to The Camp loomed over them.

“I’m going in, cover me!” yelled Boy Beaver, running up the path, the wolves and dogs tearing each other apart behind him.

B-B ran through the waterfall. Inside, the Camp was the size of a football pitch and walled by a natural curve set in a mountain side. Light shone down through the open roof which was a hundred metres high.

In the space in front of Boy Beaver, were a few buildings made from wood and stone. One such structure was a wooden guard tower right in the middle, and that had a clear line of sight for the entrance.

And that’s where The Stalker was stood.

Rifle aimed.

Boy Beaver quickly checked above his head for any final attempt to trap anyone who had made it this far.

“Why don’t you put that down?” Beaver yelled up at him.

“Not a step further. You may have got through my traps and dogs, but you won’t get what you came for.”

“You need to stop this, the forests across America are dying. The Magôlibo was off limits. You can’t get away with it.”

“If I put you down now, I will have.”

“Well, it’s not me you should be worried about right now,” Boy Beaver responded.

His confidence threw Silva Stalker off for a moment. And then the sky went grey which completely turned his attention from the thirteen year old boy animal. It wasn’t the arrival of rain that caused the sky to go a dark grey, but hundreds of birds flying straight down through the hole in the roof, and amongst them, a regular sized Nova leading the charge.

Boy Beaver took his chance and ran for the wooden structure, leaping from support to support, gnawing through the wooden posts.

The tower jolted as it came away from the strength of the ground and started to lean forward. The Stalker had no choice but to jump from it, and land on the floor by Boy Beaver’s feet. Within seconds he was up and had unsheathed a hunting knife, holding it out at the boy.

Boy Beaver ran at him and took him on in a close quarter fight as the birds rained down, swooping and diving, bombing and rushing around the two, almost in like a murmuration.

During his down time, as part of his training and for the benefit of improving his behaviour, Tobias Torres has started learning Capoeira, Krav Magra and bits of Muay Thai which certainly came in handy as he danced and dodged from the knife that was being thrust at him.

The birds, while providing the perfect distraction by flying extremely close to the fighting pair, were also looking through the buildings for the illustrious prize. The Magôlibo heart.

Being a fairly smallish, skinny thirteen year old, Boy Beaver was missing all the attacks The Stalker was throwing his way, whilst also getting a few of his own off too. He just had to bide enough time for the swarm to find the heart, waiting for the screeching to start.

Grizzly George and Bao jumped through the waterfall into The Camp, followed by a few other bears and the uninjured wolves. In front of them the epic sight of boy versus man, encased in a swirling dome of birds of all sizes.

“God I hope the bird division find the heart s-” George started, but an almighty racket of bird screeching stopped him from continuing. The bear and the tiger watched on, hoping beaver could finish the job.

The screeching started, just as Boy Beaver had hoped. There was only so much dancing around The Stalker he could do. As planned, the birds scattered, flying off away from the duelling fighters.

Seeking his opportunity, and fulfilling the next part of the plan, Boy Beaver jumped into the air, twisting round almost 180 degrees, slamming his tail right across The Silva Stalker’s face. The momentum of the slam jerked the hunter’s body sharply, sending him to the crowd.

George and Bao ran over, whilst Nova flew in. The Silva Stalker lay pinned to the ground, face down in the dirt, with George pushing down on him with a front paw. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Nova, in human spirit form, Bao and Boy Beaver were stood looking at the machine preserving the heart that some of the larger birds had brought out into the open. It lay in the ice and beat limply in time with the pump.

“What do we do with it?” Nova asked after a few moments of shared, impressed silence.

“I don’t know,” Beaver admitted. He turned back and called out to George, “What do you think?”

“Well we need to keep it going, to keep the forest alive,” he said.

“But it’s already dying, and the heart won’t carry on indefinitely, Boy Beaver argued.

“What were you going to do with it?” George asked The Stalker.

“Like I’m going to tell you!” he snarled through a mouthful of cave floor.

“I’ll try again,” warned George. The Stalker started yelling in pain as George protracted the claws in his paw, pushing down on his back. “What were you going to do with the heart?”

“I was going to take on the life source for myself. My plan is to take over as The Life of the forest,” he spat through gritted teeth and intense pain.

“Just by keeping it in this container?” Nova asked.

“Not… quiiiiarrrrrrghtttte,” he wailed as George applied more pressure.

“Then how? What was your endgame, Stalker?” demanded Boy Beaver, crouching down to get close to his face.

“I had to consume it.”

“Ewww! What?! That’s gross!” cried out the boy, twisting his face through genuine disgust at the idea.

In order for the Life to be restored, the energy from the heart has to be consumed.

“But why has he not done it already then?” questioned Nova.

For the mystic powers to transfer, the energy from the heart has to be consumed by someone strong, able and worthy. He can’t contain the power. This man is a only a man. The Magôlibo was unique and special. A divine creature.

“So then we find another caribou?” Boy Beaver suggested.

No. It’s not that simple. The regular caribou has not the worth to continue The Life on. It has to be someone with supreme strength.

The three looked at each other, thinking through what Bao was telling them.

“How are we going to find an animal capable of that? The Magôlibo has existed for decades. You’ve really screwed things up here, Stalker!” fumed Boy Beaver.

“It has to be you Bao, doesn’t it?” Grizzly George asked softly, having worked it out.

Yes, I think so.

“But you said earlier that you did not have a connection to the forest. How are you the one to revive it?” Nova argued.

The forest is already dying, it continues to die as we speak. I am not connected to the forest so therefore I am not dying with it. I am a fresh vessel that can absorb the energy and take on The Life.

“So what, you’re just going to gobble it up?” Boy Beaver asked, taking another look at the beating heart.

Unless you know of another way to eat something? Bao replied, with a slight mocking tone.

“We’ve only got one chance at this. I hope you’re right,” wished Nova.

“No!! Just no!!! I’ve not gone through all of this to let you have it!” spat The Stalker in a last ditched attempt to not lose.

“You’re pinned to the floor by a grizzly bear. I don’t think there is a way of this working out for you.”

“You ready?” George asked.

Bao padded over to the box and gave it a sniff. There was no denying that this warm beating muscle didn’t smell good. But there was a lot of pressure on her now. The Magôlibo was born as The Life as a one of a kind. Nothing had ever become it before.

The three Warriors looked at Bao encouragingly. No one knew what was going to happen, but also time was ticking and something had to be done quickly.

The tiger took the whole heart into her mouth at once and began chomping and squeezing it with her back teeth.

The group watched and waited as she persisted through some tough chewing, waiting for something to happen. To signify that it was working. That Bao was taking over as The Life.

Bao gulped down the last of the muscle and looked at the group.

Nothing.

Suddenly, the green in her eyes started to get brighter, until they shone out of her like flood lights. Her mouth was forced open by a pink and gold swirling, smoky plume of energy that billowed out in vast amounts, snaking and trailing out and up through the hole in the top of the cave roof. The whirling stream seemed to go on forever, whilst Bao remained still, suspended in the moment.

“Nova, can you head up and give us an aerial view of Yellowstone?” Boy Beaver quietly asked while they waited.

He nodded and morphed into crow form as he leapt, following the stream of energy and flying up through the hole in the caved Camp roof.

“Warriors, it’s working! The black is shrinking all over. It’s going!” Nova exclaimed.

“Excellent news!” cheered Boy Beaver. “We did it!”

The Stalker buried his face in the ground, seething with rage. “Just you wait. I hunted the last Life. Don’t think that I won’t be able to hunt the cat too.”

“Not from prison you won’t. Grizzles, let’s get him out of here. See if there are any wolves still waiting out there who can help escort you,” instructed Boy Beaver.

“We’ll be in Vulture-One waiting for you.”

Boy Beaver crouched down, and waited for whatever process was happening to Bao to finish. After a few minutes, the energy smoke stopped rising up and started to curl itself around Bao, wrapping around her belly and her legs, completely covering her up.

Oh God, should I do something? Tobias thought to himself, standing up from his crouch. He didn’t know what, or if this was meant to happen.

No, boy. I’m fine. Bao communicated back, having heard his thoughts. Sensed his panic.

The energy around her was bright and dazzling, constantly moving and shimmering. So much so, Tobias put a hand up to shield his eyes. And then it stopped. It just disappeared.

“Bao!” he cried out. “You’re… you’re different! You’ve changed.”

I feel different.

“You have white stripes now. And.. And are you bigger? We’re going to need a bigger bed for you.”

Tobias wasn’t exaggerating. Bao had grown. Before she was 120 cm tall and three metres long, but now she now stood tall at two metres high and four metres long, with white stripes instead of her black ones. She looked magnificent.

“How are you feeling?”

I feel aware. Conscious of the plants that grow, of the animals that live, the rivers that flow and the mountains that stand. I feel the beat of The Life through me. Tobias, I am The Life now.

Nova came flying back in and perched on Tobias’ shoulder.

“There she is, Nova. She did it. She is The Life now.”

Grizzly George came back up through the waterfall and joined the group, marvelling at the transformation that the feline Warrior had gone through.

“It’s just like it was, out there guys. There’s no black. We saved the forests. Ulrika says it’s back to normal all over America,” said the bear. “Let’s get you back, Bao. Give you some time to recover and relax maybe?”

No. Sadly I cannot return with you. For now I need to be out there, and regulate these new sensations and feelings. I need to find the equilibrium of the forest and help support its own recovery.

“So you’re not coming back with us? Bao, you’re a Warrior!” Tobias cried.

And I always will be. But for now, my work is out there. Bao sidled up to Tobias and rubbed her head against him. He wrapped his arms around her and clung on, devastated at losing her. It won’t be forever. I will be back.

Tobias let go and sought comfort in Grizzly George. “It’ll be fine, kiddo. She’ll be fine and we’ll be fine. She has to do this.” Tobias wiped his teary eyes. “Don’t get snot on my fur, please!” The kid laughed and playfully punched the bear.

“Can we take you anywhere, Bao?” Nova asked.

No thank you, Nova. I can make my own way. Be safe Warriors, and see you out there soon. And with that, in a blink of an eye, Bao disappeared, off to be at one with the forests.

“Let’s go then you two,” George recommended. “We’ve got Silva Stalker to drop off.”

“Where is he? He better not have escaped, Grizzles,” Tobias warned, releasing his custom Stars and Stripes armour vest from its hold around his torso and breathing in the good air to his unbound lungs.

“Oh don’t worry about him. He’s literally being guarded by the bears, wolves, the birds, the big cats… He’s not going anywhere fast.”

The Woodland Warriors will return in Heroes of The Collective Volume 2.