never seemed to change. At times I feared I was going in circles. All at once the ground began to rise sharply and I found myself climbing uphill. After ascending this steep hill a great distance, I finally felt that I couldn’t walk any further. But as I glanced around me it appeared that I didn’t have to continue because my trek came to an end at the edge of a cliff. As I looked out over the cliff I could barely believe my eyes. Actually I wasn’t sure what it was I was looking at. “Is this the ocean?” I thought. I looked out at a vast valley that descended for miles. There was movement along the bottom of the valley that had the appearance of colorful rushing waves sweeping and breaking. It was beautiful. I squinted my eyes to get a better look. It couldn’t be water because the waves were rushing in opposite directions and colliding in the middle of the valley. It was as if two massive rivers were running into each other. “Where am I?” I wondered. The sun began to go down and I realized that I needed to find shelter before nightfall. I looked back at the path I had traveled on. There was no shelter there and aside from some brainwashed inhabitants the land was desolate. My eyes followed along the edge of the cliff to my right and I saw the top of some trees. It looked promising so I decided to head in that direction. After staring at the strange waves that swept across the valley for a while, I noticed that I had regained a little more energy for the trek. As I entered the woods I perceived a great difference between this forest and the one I had been held prisoner in. The birds sang a little bit more cheerfully and the wild animals seemed to run about freely without a care in the world. A raccoon walked up to me smiling and waving his hands like he wanted to get my attention. He appeared to want to ask me something. He said, “Esucxe em dneirf. Od uoy wonk woh I nac teg ot eht tnorf enil?” I just looked at him and said, “I’m sorry I don’t understand.” He didn’t seem to be deterred by this. He just raised his voice a little and began speaking slower and gesturing, “Od uoy wonk woh I nac teg ot eht tnorf enil?” I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. He gave a deep sigh in frustration and walked past me. It was starting to get dark. The inhabitants of this land seemed to be friendly but I really needed to find someone that I could understand before nightfall. I continued walking. Then I came to a stop as I saw at a distance a large Rottweiler dog walking across my path. I crouched down and remained perfectly still. He looked in my direction and stood erect sniffing the air. He then lowered his nose and continued on his way. “That was a close one,” I thought. “He didn’t see me.” “Pssst…” came a sound from the inside of a large hollowed out log. "Hey you. Get over here before that scoundrel comes back." I cautiously walked toward the sound of the voice. "I saw what you did earlier when you crossed into Fostoria. You must be some kind of daredevil or something to have tried that stunt. It almost worked too. It would have served him right. Justice for always chasing after us poor defenseless creatures.” He paused then looked at me inquisitively. “How did you devise such a plan? The timing would have needed to be perfect. And the courage… Oh the bravery needed to put such a plan into effect was astounding. I'm Rizzo by the way. What's your name?” said the cat with his paw pushed out ready for a greeting. “I'm Christopher.” “Well Christopher I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I haven't seen you around here before, are you just passing through with your gang?” I looked at Rizzo with a puzzled expression. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. “Err um… That is… I imagine you must have your own gang a natural born leader as yourself.” I shook my head. “Well then, I hope you'll consider a position that is now available in our gang. We happen