"Beautiful morning lads, how did the night treat ya?" The small man asked them as he opened the windows to allow the morning spells have their way inside the room.
They were however, knocked out, it took them a few moments to open their eyes, surprised that it was morning already and they haven't woken up.
They had slept in a shelter behind the small man's structure. Skryl was the one who drank more palm wine, and actually got drunk, but the returns of the morning were heavier.
Luckily Cassey and Allen didn't take much, but the returns of the palm wine in the morning didn't spare any of them.
"Oh my I have never been this weak in the morning before!, Is like I got in a fight and they broke my bones. Or did I really?" As he said the last words, he opened his eyes, like he really fought, stood up, only to stagger all the way away from his bed, and dump on the bare floor, snoring.
"This is the most laziest morning! What time is it Sir?" Cassey managed to ask the Small Man.
"Nine 'AM. And I fear so, you should start getting ready for your race. Is just three hours away." He said, leaving the room.
Cassey and Allen sprung up, and in unison , yelled!
"Nine' AM,!?"
They looked at each other and squeezed themselves hastily through and out the door.
They exhaled when they felt the sun.
"Mmmhmm… that's more like it" Cassey expressed satisfaction.
"Wait…"
"Huh?"
"Did we just stepped on Skryl's back?" Allen asked, both their eyes and mouths wide open, with a tint of fear - that they might have broken his back bone.
They slowly turned around to see him still lying faced down and snoring. Atleast, he was still alive. They were relived.
"Did we?" Cassey whispered to Allen
"There's only one way to find out… let's help him up" Allen whispered back.
They went ahead to lift him up, as he started speaking gibberish. They shrugged and dragged him outside, each supporting the lift with his upper arm and shoulder.
They dropped him in front of the shelter, looking at him.
"Poor Skryl. Look at him" Allen commented.
"Water…" Cassey went out to get water. He got back later with two full buckets of water.
"Are you kidding me??! Are you going to wash a cow?"
"Uh no, take one" Cassey gave him one bucket to hold, as he held the other.
"Now. On the count of three… let's pour it all on him" Cassey instructed.
"Wait, what… why three? It usually starts with five" Allen added.
Cassey gave him a look as if to say "dammit! Seriously?!"
"My ears, and my brain can't stand his gibberish for that long. Now. Infact now"
Cassey poured his own water before Allen could get to it on Skryl, who waked up and jolted back to reality by force.
"Whaa- what! Why's there water on my body!?" Skryl yelled.
Allen poured his own too. Skryl sprung up on his feet by force.
"Darn! Allen!!!!" Skryl yelled seemingly angry,
"Ouch, my back is broken!" Skryl expressed pain. Cassey and Allen looked at each other with a guilt-on face. Cassey immediately phased out, waking over to the front.
"Umm I don't know… it must have been , um no. Yes, you stood up by force, so it is obviously what caused it." Allen cleared his throat, and quickly joined Cassey, with a heavy exhale.
Cassey went to look for the Small Man. He searched all around the yard but didn't see him until he looked over the gate.
"Oh there you are" he opened the wooden gate to meet him.
"What are you doing sir?" He asked the Small Man.
"What does it look like am doing?" Asked the Small Man rhetorically.
Cassey looked around the field, it was a really long and wide field. There were white rectangular marks all around the field, with a much distance from each other.
He also noticed wooden boards marked with red paint, which showed the distance covered at each point of consideration.
He thought it was cool and too much until he saw strong and sharp nails lined up along the racing track, also giving each line of nails enough distance from each other.
"You are setting the field up for the race" Cassey replied, bewildered by what he had just seen.
"Good. You have answered your question"
"But why the nails, isn't that a bit too much?" Cassey asked deeply concerned
"Too much? Don't be afraid yet" the Small Man replied with a short laugh.
"What?! Yet!? Oh my" Cassey placed his hands on his head.
"Now I am really afraid. So, this is why the boys won't go, nor release their dogs"
"Oh boy life's harder than you can ever imagine. Imagine, you see the word there? Life is easy really, it all depends on how you want to see it, and how you want to live it. Now ask yourself, do you want to win or lose? Do you want to get trapped before the finish line? Do you want to fall?"
"I want to win" Cassey said, stretching his words and in deep thought.
The Small Man gave him a soft path and went ahead with his thing. Cassey was still standing there.
He stopped and looked back like he forgot something.
"Hey you had better start getting familiar with your dog"
"Oh yes, she's familiar with me now."
"You can do more" the Small Man added.
"Right" said Cassey'. And as he motioned to walk inside, the Small Man called him back.
"Oh! Where are your friends? Get them over to the back of the animals shelter please"
"Okay, on it"
Cassey went to call Allen and Skryl, and they followed him to the back of the animals shelter.
There were dozens of big dirty bags, that looked like it had been stuffed with animal dump.
"Don't tell me that's what I am thinking…" said Cassey, going closer to take a better look. He poked one of the bags with his finger carefully.
"Wait what's in here?" He asked the Small Man who was assembling wheel barrows and a four-wheeled load truck.
"These? These are muds" The Small Man replied. Asking him to give him a hand to lift up one bag and place it on a wheel barrow.
"Doooh! Darn! Why is it so heavy?"
"Because is mud" replied the Small Man.
He looked at Allen and Skryl
"Hey you two , don't just stand there, take a wheelbarrow , take a truck whatever you can take, let's get this bags outta the field"
Skryl went ahead to lift a bag, but it was too heavy for him.
"Oh boy, Allen give me a hand"
Allen helped him, and they helped each other place the bags on their carriers.
"Aha! All stacked up, now let's move 'em out, it shouldn't be too heavy while is on lifts"
"But um what are you going to do with all these muds?" Cassey inquired.
"I will show you once we get it to where it needs to be. Now boys, let's go, straight to the field".
They started pushing the wheel barrows and truck, but it was very heavy, they had to rest a while with each push, only them.
Not the Small Man, it was just so easy for him. And that was how Cassey, Allen and Skryl kept on pushing until they reached the field.
The Small Man with their help poured it out on slightly digged grounds and poured water, just enough to make it a "trouble" which was all part of the race.
"So! Are you going to let us in with the rules or there ain't no rules?" Cassey asked, washing his hands.
"Mmm. Just a few this and that. You see the middle? The dogs race two times around the track while attacking each other.
The first four to complete going 'round the tracks two times and still standing, get to fight each other and the one who survive's the fight, is the winner. As simple as that"
"Hmm. Pretty bloody" Allen added.
"They are bloody dogs anyway" The Small Man protested.