Whitby! Last seen howling, abandoned, on a highway in this very city! Huggable hound! Sweet puppy of my heart!
That big, goofy, dummy of a dog blundering out of the bushes, ready to snatch the tasty ribs of the butchered something.
Brain screeches: Heâll get shot!
Heart acts. Big, goofy dummy of a girl races out.
âWhitby! Whitby! Whiââ
THUNK!
⢠⢠â¢
Silent bullet bites earth.
Big, goofy dummy of a dogâhe stops; he doesnât quite get it, but he doesnât like it.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
Big, goofy dummy of a dog sees girl running at him. Big, goofy dog snarls.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
It hurts, the confusion in his brain. Girl stops. Dog snarls; humans bad.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
Big, goofy dog remembers that is him. Smells girl he likes. Forgets his pack-food-guns-scary, forgets all that stuff: GIRL-I-LIKE!
âRuby!â someone shouts.
Girl looks up at balcony. King Xarâs Court gazing down. Who shouted?
Saskia! Saskiaâpointingâ
Big, goofy dog launches himself, lickily, at girl.
At last second, girl realizes she HAS TO STOP HIM. Puddle drinker. Lick of death.
âNO!â she roars.
âNO!â with more power and force than she has ever spoken to another creature in all her life.
Big, goofy dog hesitates. GIRL-I-LIKE?
âNO!â she screams. She has to scream it. It is killing her to scream at him; all she wants to do is hug him, butâ
â NO ! â She has to make him stop.
Big, goofy dog sinks down. He isnât sure what he has done wrong, but he is so very pleased to see Girl-I-Like, he will do anything.
See how pleased? He is lying down, but his tail is sweeping around, mad with joy! Oh pet me, pet me, pet me, I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you lots! See how good I am?! Hey, Girl-I-Like, hey girl, hey girl â
âSTAY! Good boy! STAY!â
âRuby!â
Other-Girl saying that. Girl-I-Like looks round.
Other-Girl running at Girl-I-Like. Dog called Whitby doesnât like it. Thinks Girl-I-Like is being attacked. Other-Girl flings her arms around Girl-I-Like. Whitby chargesâ
â NO ! â Girl-I-Like screams.
He crouches. He cringes. He does So-Sorry Good Dog.
He is a good dog. He didnât know.
He didnât know.
It is too late. The Other-Girlâ¦she backed off so farâ¦she stood on the edge of the lily pond. She lost her balance.
But Saskia was a gymnast; Saskia gets her balance back.
Only her toe had dipped into that cool, dark water.
THUNK!
Iâd never heard a dog scream like that. My heart screamed for him. He never, ever would have meant this to happen. I screamed back at him. â GO! GO ON! GO ! â
I never, ever, for as long as I live, want to scream like that at another living creature. I never ever want to do that again.
Whitby, shot, yelpingâwith no thought now but HURTS âis already going. Dumb dog makes smart decision: Girl-I-Like or Pain and Fear. He is already limping as fast as he can away from this terrible place.
Saskia is going nowhere.
She had sat down; the tiny patch of damp on her left Converse spreading.
â!â she cried, clutching her leg. âCUT IT OFF!â
I just stood there. Weird, awful, half-forgotten memories of stuff I thought sheâd tried to say last night banged around my head. I just⦠You canât do that, can you? You canât just say, âOh, OK then,â and chop a personâs foot off, can you?
Everyone piled outside, watching Saskia pleading with me, forâit felt like hours. It wasnât even minutes. She crawled at me and grabbed my leg. âCUT IT OFF! YOU HAVE TO CUT MY FOOT OFF. ITâS THE ONLY WAY. IâVE SEEN IT! I TOLD YOU! THATâS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. DO IT. CUT IT OFF! ITâS THE ONLY WAY! CUT ITââ
Her scream was louder than the sound the ax made. It took another blow for Xar to chop Saskiaâs
That big, goofy, dummy of a dog blundering out of the bushes, ready to snatch the tasty ribs of the butchered something.
Brain screeches: Heâll get shot!
Heart acts. Big, goofy dummy of a girl races out.
âWhitby! Whitby! Whiââ
THUNK!
⢠⢠â¢
Silent bullet bites earth.
Big, goofy dummy of a dogâhe stops; he doesnât quite get it, but he doesnât like it.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
Big, goofy dummy of a dog sees girl running at him. Big, goofy dog snarls.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
It hurts, the confusion in his brain. Girl stops. Dog snarls; humans bad.
âWhitby!â cries girl.
Big, goofy dog remembers that is him. Smells girl he likes. Forgets his pack-food-guns-scary, forgets all that stuff: GIRL-I-LIKE!
âRuby!â someone shouts.
Girl looks up at balcony. King Xarâs Court gazing down. Who shouted?
Saskia! Saskiaâpointingâ
Big, goofy dog launches himself, lickily, at girl.
At last second, girl realizes she HAS TO STOP HIM. Puddle drinker. Lick of death.
âNO!â she roars.
âNO!â with more power and force than she has ever spoken to another creature in all her life.
Big, goofy dog hesitates. GIRL-I-LIKE?
âNO!â she screams. She has to scream it. It is killing her to scream at him; all she wants to do is hug him, butâ
â NO ! â She has to make him stop.
Big, goofy dog sinks down. He isnât sure what he has done wrong, but he is so very pleased to see Girl-I-Like, he will do anything.
See how pleased? He is lying down, but his tail is sweeping around, mad with joy! Oh pet me, pet me, pet me, I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you lots! See how good I am?! Hey, Girl-I-Like, hey girl, hey girl â
âSTAY! Good boy! STAY!â
âRuby!â
Other-Girl saying that. Girl-I-Like looks round.
Other-Girl running at Girl-I-Like. Dog called Whitby doesnât like it. Thinks Girl-I-Like is being attacked. Other-Girl flings her arms around Girl-I-Like. Whitby chargesâ
â NO ! â Girl-I-Like screams.
He crouches. He cringes. He does So-Sorry Good Dog.
He is a good dog. He didnât know.
He didnât know.
It is too late. The Other-Girlâ¦she backed off so farâ¦she stood on the edge of the lily pond. She lost her balance.
But Saskia was a gymnast; Saskia gets her balance back.
Only her toe had dipped into that cool, dark water.
THUNK!
Iâd never heard a dog scream like that. My heart screamed for him. He never, ever would have meant this to happen. I screamed back at him. â GO! GO ON! GO ! â
I never, ever, for as long as I live, want to scream like that at another living creature. I never ever want to do that again.
Whitby, shot, yelpingâwith no thought now but HURTS âis already going. Dumb dog makes smart decision: Girl-I-Like or Pain and Fear. He is already limping as fast as he can away from this terrible place.
Saskia is going nowhere.
She had sat down; the tiny patch of damp on her left Converse spreading.
â!â she cried, clutching her leg. âCUT IT OFF!â
I just stood there. Weird, awful, half-forgotten memories of stuff I thought sheâd tried to say last night banged around my head. I just⦠You canât do that, can you? You canât just say, âOh, OK then,â and chop a personâs foot off, can you?
Everyone piled outside, watching Saskia pleading with me, forâit felt like hours. It wasnât even minutes. She crawled at me and grabbed my leg. âCUT IT OFF! YOU HAVE TO CUT MY FOOT OFF. ITâS THE ONLY WAY. IâVE SEEN IT! I TOLD YOU! THATâS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. DO IT. CUT IT OFF! ITâS THE ONLY WAY! CUT ITââ
Her scream was louder than the sound the ax made. It took another blow for Xar to chop Saskiaâs
Similar Books
