that she was supreme leader, master of all, and even if she was wrong, dead wrong, I would cede to her.
Her hands relaxed just enough so I could breathe through my mouth. Still, I didn’t look at her. It wasn’t safe to do so yet. Gruffly, she lifted me up and attempted to scoot me toward the back door with her foot as she reached for the knob. But I was quicker than her.
I ran.
Past her legs and across the kitchen. I skidded into a turn as I headed toward the living room.
“Halo!” Lise screeched. “Get back here — now!”
A sliver of daylight flashed from around the edge of the screen door. Churning my gangly legs, I bounded across the room, my nails digging into the area rug for added traction, and dove for it. I slammed my nose between the metal frame and the door, the force of my weight propelling it open. I burst through, to the outside, and leapt from the top step onto the concrete of the sidewalk.
Four more strides and I was racing over the front lawn. Papery red and gold leaves crunched beneath my feet as I ran. Ran, and ran, and ran.
Lise’s voice behind me got further and further away, then faded to nothing.
chapter 6
T he sheep lifted their heads as I sped past, no doubt jealous that they were stuck behind a fence and I was not. A noisy cloud of blackbirds lifted from a stubbled field on the other side of the driveway. I didn’t stop to chase them, either. Ahead, the great woods loomed — dense and dark beneath a leaden sky.
Nose to the air, I searched for Hunter. But the wind had dissipated his scent, wherever he was. I smelled only damp earth and decaying leaves, bruised stems of grass, and wood still green and growing.
I slowed, looked behind me. The house was far away now. Lise had stopped following me, probably gone back inside. My heart thumped against my ribs. My lungs heaved for air. Every breath tasted of water. The rain was coming. A lot of it. My skin prickled. Soon, thunder rolled down from the sky, shaking the ground. I felt it in my bones. In every sinew and hair follicle. In every tooth and nerve.
The first drops of rain followed, cool and gentle at first, then colder and harder, more and more. The wind gained force to drive it across the land like a horizontal waterfall. Until it was hard to see at all.
Knives of rain stabbed at my face. I forced my eyes to stay open, but all I wanted to do was fold to the ground and wait for the storm to pass. I knew, though, that I’d never find Hunter if I did that.
Glancing around, I looked for shelter — for a barn in which to hide or a car beneath which to crawl. Nothing but a gray bleariness surrounded me. An unwelcoming, watery world. I saw no sign of Hunter. Couldn’t smell him. Couldn’t hear anything above the percussive roar of the rain as it hammered at every surface.
To my left, a slash of yellowish-brown moved amongst the woods at the edge of the field. I started that way, but upon coming closer, I could see it was only the leaves of a yet-fully leafed bush waving in the wind. My spirits plunged. The urgency that had gripped me only minutes ago was giving way to panic. The longer Hunter was gone, the harder it would be to find him.
Perhaps, I thought, I should return to Lise and get her to help. I turned back. Trotted awhile. Down a slope. Waded through a swale that had turned into a belly-deep stream. Over clods of upturned earth and channels deep with mud.
Where was the driveway? The sheep field? The house? I couldn’t see any of them. Didn’t know in which direction they lay. But if I went back now, Lise might not be there. Or if she was she would be angry at me for having bolted out the door, only to come back a drenched and dirty mess.
There was no alternative. I had to find Hunter.
And when I did, even if we didn’t know the way home, at least we would be lost together.
I forced myself onward, while rain fell hard and cold around me.
—o00o—
It was desperation that sent me into the woods. That or
Her hands relaxed just enough so I could breathe through my mouth. Still, I didn’t look at her. It wasn’t safe to do so yet. Gruffly, she lifted me up and attempted to scoot me toward the back door with her foot as she reached for the knob. But I was quicker than her.
I ran.
Past her legs and across the kitchen. I skidded into a turn as I headed toward the living room.
“Halo!” Lise screeched. “Get back here — now!”
A sliver of daylight flashed from around the edge of the screen door. Churning my gangly legs, I bounded across the room, my nails digging into the area rug for added traction, and dove for it. I slammed my nose between the metal frame and the door, the force of my weight propelling it open. I burst through, to the outside, and leapt from the top step onto the concrete of the sidewalk.
Four more strides and I was racing over the front lawn. Papery red and gold leaves crunched beneath my feet as I ran. Ran, and ran, and ran.
Lise’s voice behind me got further and further away, then faded to nothing.
chapter 6
T he sheep lifted their heads as I sped past, no doubt jealous that they were stuck behind a fence and I was not. A noisy cloud of blackbirds lifted from a stubbled field on the other side of the driveway. I didn’t stop to chase them, either. Ahead, the great woods loomed — dense and dark beneath a leaden sky.
Nose to the air, I searched for Hunter. But the wind had dissipated his scent, wherever he was. I smelled only damp earth and decaying leaves, bruised stems of grass, and wood still green and growing.
I slowed, looked behind me. The house was far away now. Lise had stopped following me, probably gone back inside. My heart thumped against my ribs. My lungs heaved for air. Every breath tasted of water. The rain was coming. A lot of it. My skin prickled. Soon, thunder rolled down from the sky, shaking the ground. I felt it in my bones. In every sinew and hair follicle. In every tooth and nerve.
The first drops of rain followed, cool and gentle at first, then colder and harder, more and more. The wind gained force to drive it across the land like a horizontal waterfall. Until it was hard to see at all.
Knives of rain stabbed at my face. I forced my eyes to stay open, but all I wanted to do was fold to the ground and wait for the storm to pass. I knew, though, that I’d never find Hunter if I did that.
Glancing around, I looked for shelter — for a barn in which to hide or a car beneath which to crawl. Nothing but a gray bleariness surrounded me. An unwelcoming, watery world. I saw no sign of Hunter. Couldn’t smell him. Couldn’t hear anything above the percussive roar of the rain as it hammered at every surface.
To my left, a slash of yellowish-brown moved amongst the woods at the edge of the field. I started that way, but upon coming closer, I could see it was only the leaves of a yet-fully leafed bush waving in the wind. My spirits plunged. The urgency that had gripped me only minutes ago was giving way to panic. The longer Hunter was gone, the harder it would be to find him.
Perhaps, I thought, I should return to Lise and get her to help. I turned back. Trotted awhile. Down a slope. Waded through a swale that had turned into a belly-deep stream. Over clods of upturned earth and channels deep with mud.
Where was the driveway? The sheep field? The house? I couldn’t see any of them. Didn’t know in which direction they lay. But if I went back now, Lise might not be there. Or if she was she would be angry at me for having bolted out the door, only to come back a drenched and dirty mess.
There was no alternative. I had to find Hunter.
And when I did, even if we didn’t know the way home, at least we would be lost together.
I forced myself onward, while rain fell hard and cold around me.
—o00o—
It was desperation that sent me into the woods. That or
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