I turned my attention back to the quiet street. The dog had made its way toward us. Now that it was closer I could tell that it appeared to be some kind of lab, shepherd mix. Its coat was matted, its ears hung lopsidedly. It looked completely lost and lonely. I wanted to call it to us, wanted to pet it and offer it some comfort and love, but I was afraid that its attention to us might be noticed by something else. Something far more sinister.
Unfortunately, the dog spotted us. Its head lifted, its limpid brown eyes focused upon me, one of its dangly ears rose as it lifted its nose. My heart thumped, I wanted the dog to come to us, and I desperately wanted it to leave. Please, I silently prayed, though I didn’t know if I was praying for it to stay or for it to go.
And then, drawn by the potential of food, comfort, and companionship the animal began to slowly approach. Its head was low; its ears drooped as it approached cautiously. I didn’t want to think what the animal had endured that made it so shy and hesitant. I knelt as it crept slowly through the door, my hand stretched out as it moved nervously closer. It sniffed at me, but still did not touch me as it stopped a few feet away, its nose stretched forward.
“Careful Bethany,” Jenna said softly.
Its wet nose bumped against my hand, for a moment it looked slightly stunned, and then it was pressing closer to me. My hand dug through its fur, brushing over its collar. Its tags clinked softly as I wrapped my arms around its thin frame and hugged it to me. I could feel the sharp edge of its bones through its thick fur. My heart ached for the poor thing but it was one of the most wonderful things I had felt in a long time. In this small, emaciated creature I felt a kindred wounded and forsaken soul. I clung to it for a long moment, its scent was pungent but I did not pull away from the pitiful animal. I pulled away from the dog and tugged its tags toward me.
The dog’s ears cocked as I whispered his name. “Barney.” Then his tongue licked over my face and he buried himself against me. For some strange reason tears welled up in my eyes as I buried my face in his neck. Barney had lost people that loved and cared for him also, he had been completely alone, until now.
I pulled back from him as Lloyd and Bret emerged from the kitchen. Lloyd’s bright blue eyes narrowed on Barney and I, he frowned intently as he eyed the dog. Bret offered a half smile, but his eyes looked troubled as he glanced toward the doorway. “We found some stale bread, not the best but better than nothing.”
I held out my hand for a piece of bread. Lloyd stared at me before eyeing Barney again. I thought he was going to protest, thought the soldier in him was going to come rearing back to life, but he didn’t offer any complaint. He simply broke off a piece of bread and handed it to me. I offered him a small smile as I took the hard bread and offered it to Barney. He sniffed it cautiously for a moment before taking it with surprising gentleness, considering his obvious lack of food, from my hand.
“Take his collar off,” Lloyd said briskly. I nodded as I slipped the jingling collar from Barney’s thin neck. The dog’s soft brown eyes followed me as I dropped it on the counter. “We need to get moving if we’re going to make it through this town.”
CHAPTER 5
We slipped swiftly down the street, darting through buildings, hiding within the shadows. Lloyd and Bret searched another restaurant but came up with only more stale bread and frozen hamburger patties. After that crappy gathering, it was determined to just skip the restaurants that had been picked over already in an attempt to make it down the street faster.
Lloyd took the lead; he maintained a conversation with gestures alone as we moved steadily forward. Barney stayed close by my side, his head raised, his ears perked as he listened for danger. It made no sense but I felt oddly safer with him next to me, there wasn’t much Barney could do, but I knew he would sense any danger long before we did.
Lloyd stopped as he reached the end of the street. He held his hand to halt us as he poked his head around the corner of the last building. He nodded briskly toward us. I took a deep breath before plunging into the open behind Lloyd. It was only thirty feet until we hit the woods again, but it seemed more like thirty miles as we were exposed, open, and even more vulnerable than we had been throughout the whole trip down the street. My heart hammered, my lungs burned as I pushed my legs to their very limits of speed and endurance. I’d never run so fast in my life but I was afraid that it wasn’t going to be fast enough, that I was going to be spotted long before I reached the shelter of the woods.
Lloyd plummeted into the woods, disappearing from sight as he dropped down an embankment. I followed swiftly behind him, not caring where he had disappeared to, what might be waiting for me. I only cared that I was no longer on the street. The drop was further than I had expected. The ground fell out from underneath me, my arms pin-wheeled as I fell a good eight feet through the air. Lloyd was already rolling out of my way and climbing swiftly to his feet.
An involuntary grunt escaped me as I landed hard. My ankles ached but I was falling, rolling as I tumbled swiftly over. Lloyd grabbed hold of me, helping me to my feet as he pulled me out of the way in time for Jenna, and then Bret. Barney simply trotted down the side of the embankment, his tongue lolling as his eyes seemed to laugh at us.
“Let’s go,” Lloyd ordered briskly.
“How much further is it?” Jenna asked quietly.
Lloyd pulled out the GPS as he began to jog slowly through the woods. He frowned as he raised it high, studying it carefully for a moment. I held my breath, hoping like hell the damn thing finally worked. Lloyd’s shoulders slumped with relief. “Two point eight miles. We can be there in about half an hour if we hurry.”
I was exhausted but the possibility of finally reaching one of our destinations was far too tempting to slow me down. We moved swiftly through the woods, Barney stayed close by my side, his tongue lolling as he panted slightly. There was a bright step in the dog’s gait that hadn’t been there when he had been wandering the street. Apparently a simple piece of bread and a little affection were all that he needed to be happy again. I was heartened by his presence and took strength in his determination and suddenly joyful attitude.
I turned my attention from Barney to find Lloyd watching me. “Hope he doesn’t bark,” Lloyd muttered.
I shot him an angry look but didn’t respond. I hadn’t thought of that, but I wasn’t going to respond to Lloyd. Following the GPS we came across a small back road lined with trees and white picket fences. For a moment I felt as if we were on the edge of a stage, as if we were looking at the scenery from some play. It was so still, so calm and peaceful that it robbed me of my breath. Where many other roads had destruction littering them, this one did not.