by Holly Webb
Except Molly was about to go! Not again. Max gave a mournful little howl.
“I know, I’m sorry. But I’ll be back this afternoon, and then we’ve got the whole weekend. And it’s half-term! I’d almost forgotten! Nine days of no school. We’ll spend loads of time outside, it’s going to be brilliant.” Molly kissed the top of his head, and followed Mum outside, leaving Max staring sadly at the door.
Molly’s mum was very busy that day. She kept shooing Max away when he tried to play. She did take him for a couple of little runs in the garden, but she wanted to go back in long before he did. By the middle of the afternoon, Max was missing Molly like anything. It was a hot, sleepy sort of day, even though it was only May, and being stuck in the house was making Max restless. Perhaps Molly’s mum was ready to play again? Hopefully he brought his squeaky bone to her for a game, but she said, “Not now, Max,” in a really firm voice, so he went and lay down in his basket, feeling bored. He rested his chin on the edge of the basket and sighed. Maybe he should just have a sleep, and see if Molly’s mum wanted to play later. His eyes were slowly closing when something fluttered past his nose. Max opened one eye to see a large butterfly swooping round his head. Surprised, he jumped up and barked furiously. What was it?
Mum dashed in, looking worried. Then she laughed. “Oh, Max, it’s all right, it’s only a butterfly. We’ll send him out, don’t panic. I suppose you’ve never seen one before.”
The butterfly was in no hurry to leave. Mum tried to waft it back towards the kitchen window where it had come in, but it fluttered off into the living room, and eventually settled on the curtains. Mum opened the window and after a couple of failed attempts, she scooped it out with a magazine.
“There,” she said, soothingly, putting the magazine back on the coffee table. “It’s gone now. Oh, look, it’s not long until Molly’s home. I must just go and finish that bit of work.” She went back to the computer in her office down the hall.
Max pricked up his ears when Mum mentioned Molly. Was she coming? He went and looked hopefully at the front door, but no Molly appeared. Disappointed, he wandered back into the living room and scrambled up on to the sofa so that he could look out of the window and wait for her.
Then he noticed that Mum had left the window open.
Max jumped up, and stuck his head out of the window, his nose quivering with excitement.
Now he could go and find Molly!
Molly dashed down the road from Amy’s house, calling a quick goodbye over her shoulder. She let herself in the front door, panting, and expecting Max to be there leaping around her feet like a mad thing. But the house was strangely quiet. He must be asleep.
Molly headed quietly into the kitchen, not wanting to wake him. He was so cute when he was asleep. Max’s basket was empty, and she looked round the kitchen, confused. Maybe he was sitting with Mum in her office?
Feeling a little anxious, Molly walked quickly back into the hallway and opened the office door.
Her mum looked up with a start. “Molly! I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come back. I’ve been desperately trying to get this finished before the holiday starts. Did you have a nice day?”
“Yes – but Mum, where’s Max?”
Mum looked down at Molly’s feet, as though she expected to see Max there. “Isn’t he in his basket? I thought he was having a sleep.”
“No, I can’t find him anywhere,” Molly said. “He always comes running when I get home from school.”
“He’s probably got himself shut in somewhere,” said Mum, but she didn’t sound as sure as Molly would have liked. She got up and together they went through every room in the house, calling. Every time they opened a door, Molly hoped she’d hear a little patter of paws, and wild yapping, but there was nothing.
No Max.
They went back through every room, more urgently this time, searching under all the beds in case he’d got himself stuck, opening the cupboards, Molly frantically calling.
Still nothing.
Back downstairs, Mum was starting to look really worried too. She stood in the living room trying to think back. “I took him in the garden after lunch, but he definitely came back in with me. Then I was working… Oh! Yes, of course, that butterfly surprised him. It flew in through the kitchen window,” she explained. “He didn’t know what it was. I let it out of the window in here…” She did a slow turn towards the window, and her hand went to her mouth in horror. It was still propped open. Quite wide enough for a determined little dog to get out through.
Chapter Three
Meanwhile, Max was trotting along the pavement, sniffing enthusiastically. He knew he could find Molly. He’d know her smell anywhere! He had wriggled out of the window quite easily, and fallen into the flower bed, but it didn’t matter. Molly was going to be so pleased to see him! Only – he had been expecting to find her by now.
Molly’s house was on the edge of the village, and though Max didn’t know it, he was going completely the wrong way, heading out of Tilford village and away from the school where Molly had been. He had taken a few turns that looked interesting, passing some more houses like Molly’s. Instinctively he’d avoided crossing any roads. The village was very quiet, but a few cars did come past, and he’d been scared. He shrank back against the fences and hedges as he heard them coming, great rushing roaring things that he sensed were dangerous. He kept well tucked in against the hedges, and no one saw him. Now he was heading along the road that led to Stambridge, a small town several miles away. It was so nice to be outside, and he trotted along happily for a while, covering a big distance for such a small dog. He would see Molly soon, he was sure.
Eventually he came across an interesting-looking sloping path leading off the tarred pavement. It was rough and stony, with sweet-smelling plants on either side. Max plunged down, eager to explore. The path led gently down to a beach, not the main beach where all the holidaymakers came, but a small rocky cove without much sand that was cut off at high tide. Max stopped short as he got his first sight of the sea. He had no idea what it was. The waves made a swooshing sound as they rushed in and out on the pebbles. He had a feeling that this wasn’t where he’d find Molly, but it looked so exciting he had to go and investigate.
He skittered down the rest of the path, scrabbling over the stones, and stood on the beach, sniffing the sharp, salty smell of the sea. He still didn’t understand it. It moved, and made a noise – was it alive? He went closer, ears pricked, ready to run if he needed to. With a sudden rush, a wave swept in and soaked his paws. Max yelped and jumped backwards. It was cold!
Max stood a little way back from the water and barked crossly at the sea. It didn’t seem to be listening, just sweeping in again and hissing at his feet. Max looked at it with his head on one side. Maybe it was playing a game. Perhaps it wanted him to chase it? He tried, dashing forward as the waves rolled back, then yapping excitedly as it chased him in turn. It was a brilliant game! And the sea didn’t get tired and say it needed to sit down for a bit, like Molly and her mum. Max played for ages.
Then a chilly wind blew up, ruffling the surface of the sea, and Max shivered. Suddenly he realized how hungry he was. In fact, he was starving. Molly would be home by now, and wondering where he was. Max whisked round and scrambled back up the path as quickly as he could. But when he got to the top, he looked around. Which way was home from here? He couldn’t remember which way he’d come – he hadn’t been thinking about having to go back.
Anxiously, Max sniffed the air, hoping to pick up a familiar smell to tell him which way to go. Nothing. No smell of home, or Molly. Max sat down at the top of the path, huddling close to the signpost that said To the Sea. No one was in sight, just empty road stretching out in both directions. Seagulls were crying, but that was the only sound. Max whined miserably. He was lost.
Suddenly a low buzzing sound rose in the distance, quickly getting louder and louder. Max looked around, and cowered back against the signpost as a car shot by, engine roarin
g, and vanished down the road. He had to move. He needed to find Molly, and get away from noisy monsters like that. Determinedly, he trotted a few steps down the road. He wasn’t sure if it was the right way, but he had to go somewhere.
The road seemed to go on an awfully long way. Max was starving – he was used to several small meals of his special puppy food a day, and it felt like he’d missed at least three of them.
As he plodded on, his paws started to hurt too, because he’d never walked so far before. And it was getting harder to see, the daylight slowly disappearing, leaving a strange half-dusk that made shapes loom up at him. All the trees seemed to be waving big, scary branches at him, and the seagulls’ cries suddenly sounded eerie.
Max stopped for a rest, hiding in between some clumps of grass at the side of the road. He’d gone a long way out of the village by now, and the road didn’t have pavements any more, just grassy banks on either side. Things were scurrying in the hedge behind him, and more and more Max wished he’d never left his warm, comfortable, safe house behind.
He stood up and pushed on, determined to find his way home. It suddenly seemed to have got a lot darker, and Max was so tired and confused that he started to wander along in the middle of the road, his legs shaking with weariness. But he refused to give up.
Another low buzzing noise started; this time he felt it in his paws before he heard it. A car! Max looked round, frightened and confused by the bright lights that were racing up behind him. He tried to get out of the way, but he didn’t know which way to go, and he wavered disastrously in its path. The driver didn’t even see him.
The car caught him with the edge of its front bumper, and Max was thrown clear, landing in the hedge. He lay unconscious in the long grass, his leg bleeding.
When Molly’s dad got home from work, the house was empty, but he could hear Molly’s voice calling from the garden.
“Max! Max, where are you?” Molly sounded upset and her dad dropped his bag in the hall and hurried out to see what was going on.
“Has Max got out?” he asked anxiously. “He didn’t wriggle under the fence, did he? I thought that gap was too small.”
Molly shook her head. Her eyes were full of tears, and she gave her dad a hug, burying her face in his coat. She didn’t want to be the one to tell him.
Molly’s mum came down the side path round the house. “Oh, James, you’re back!” She was feeling terribly guilty about accidentally letting Max out, and she kept telling Molly how sorry she was. “I left the front window open, and Max got out. We’ve been all down the street, but we can’t find him anywhere.”
Molly was trying hard to forgive her mum, because she knew she hadn’t meant to leave the window open, but it was difficult.
“There’s just no sign of him,” Mum said, sounding close to tears. “I’ve spoken to all the neighbours, and no one’s seen him. But they’ve promised to keep a lookout for him.”
“If only he’d had his collar on,” Molly said miserably. They’d bought Max a collar, but he hadn’t been wearing it. He hadn’t needed it on when he was only in the house and garden. They’d also been planning to take Max to the vet’s to get his next lot of booster vaccinations, and the vet was going to put a microchip in his neck. It would have meant that if he got lost, any vet could check the chip and would know who he belonged to. They’d even made an appointment for it to be done in a few weeks’ time. They were taking him to the vet’s close to where Mrs Hughes lived, the one she used for her dogs. It was half an hour’s drive away, but Mrs Hughes said they were really good. The thought made Molly’s eyes fill with tears. Who knew where Max would be by then?
That night, Molly went to bed worn out from searching up and down her street, and round the village, and cried herself to sleep. But a hundred miles away, another girl lay awake, too excited to close her eyes. In the corner of Jasmine’s bedroom was a small suitcase, already packed, just waiting for her to add her washbag the next morning. She knew she ought to go to sleep, as they were going to get up at six, and Dad wanted to be on the road by half-past, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about how exciting it was to be going on holiday. And to the seaside! It was only May, so it wouldn’t be hot enough for much sunbathing, but she could paddle, and build sandcastles, and eat loads and loads of ice cream! It was going to be fantastic.
Jasmine must have fallen asleep eventually, because next thing she knew, her mum was shaking her awake. For once she didn’t have to be told to get up quickly; she was downstairs five minutes later.
“I’m too excited for breakfast,” said Jasmine, when her mother offered toast.
“You need to eat something, it’s going to take us all morning to get there,” her dad pointed out. He was drinking a cup of coffee, and having another look at the map. “Right. So we come off the motorway, and then once we get to Stambridge, that’s the nearest town, we keep going along the cliff road, but we have to make sure we spot the sign for the cottage. The instructions from the holiday cottage people say if we get to Tilford, that’s a village about five miles further on, then we have to turn round because we’ve missed it! OK, I’m going to go and put these bags in the car.” He ruffled Jasmine’s hair as he went past. “Don’t worry, Jasmine, we’ll be on the beach this afternoon!”
Max was still lying huddled under the hedge, his leg throbbing with pain. He felt weak and dizzy, and he couldn’t stand up. He was so frightened. What was going to happen to him? Molly had no idea where he was – he didn’t even know where he was.
He still wasn’t really sure what had happened, either. He’d been wearily wandering along the road, then those enormous lights had swept over him, and something hit him. Then he didn’t remember any more. He wanted Molly. With a sad little snuffling noise, he laid his head down on his front paws. He couldn’t move – he’d tried and his leg wasn’t working. All he could do was wait, and hope. Maybe Molly would come looking for him. She wouldn’t give up on him, would she?
Chapter Four
Jasmine bounced excitedly around the holiday cottage, racing in and out of all the rooms, and getting under Mum and Dad’s feet.
“Can we go out and have a look around? Can we go and see the sea?” she kept asking.
“As soon as we’ve emptied the car, I promise,” her mum said, as she unpacked all the food they’d brought and stored it in the cupboards.
Jasmine sighed, and perched herself on the window sill to stare out. The little cottage was right on the cliff, with only a tiny patch of grass separating it from a huge drop to the sea. Mum and Dad had already made her promise faithfully to stay away from the edge. She had a beautiful view out to sea. The sun was sparkling on the water, and a couple of small boats were creeping past. The cottage was just outside a little town called Stambridge. If they walked one way they’d get to the town, which had lots of very interesting-looking shops that Jasmine had spotted on their way through, and if they went the other way they’d reach one of the many little paths down to the beach. Jasmine had been thinking that they should go and investigate the shops first, and maybe buy an ice cream, but the expanse of shining water was calling to her, and now she definitely wanted to find the path down the cliff.
At last her parents had finished the unpacking and they were ready to go and explore.
“Shall we go and get an ice cream?” her dad suggested. “I could do with something to cool me down after lugging all those bags around.”
“Oh, please can we go and look at the beach first?” Jasmine begged. “And can we go for a paddle? The sea looks so lovely out of the window, really blue, with little waves. Pleeeaase!”
“I don’t believe it. You’re turning down an ice cream?” Jasmine’s mum said, laughing.
Jasmine looked thoughtful. “Well, I’m not saying I don’t want one…”
Her dad grinned. “I’m sure we can do both. Let’s go and have a quick look at the sea, and then head into the town to explore.”
Eagerly they set off along the road. It had a real
holiday feel, not like the smooth pavements Jasmine was used to at home. This road had steep banks, and hedges, full of wild flowers, and every so often something scuttled into the undergrowth as they passed. Just along from the cottage, a little white-painted signpost pointing the other way said Stambridge 2 miles. Jasmine walked ahead, looking excitedly for a path down to the sea.
“Oh, look! Here it is!” she called back, waving to her parents to catch up.
All at once, there was a strange little scuffling noise in the grass on the bank, and Jasmine jumped back. “Ugh! I hope it isn’t a rat!” she said nervously to herself. But the scuffling was followed by a tiny whimpering sound. That definitely wasn’t a rat. It sounded more like a dog…
Max had heard Jasmine calling, and for one hopeful moment he had thought it was Molly come to find him. He quickly realized it wasn’t her, this girl didn’t smell right, but maybe she would help him anyway. He struggled to get up, but he couldn’t, his leg hurt so much, so he just called out to her. Please! Help me! he whimpered.
Jasmine crouched down cautiously to peer into the grass, and saw Max’s black eyes staring back at her, glazed and dull with pain. He thumped his tail wearily to show he was glad to see her.
“Oh, wow, aren’t you gorgeous? What are you doing here, puppy? Are you lost?” Then Jasmine saw his leg and gasped. She jumped up. “Mum! Dad! Come here, quick!”
Her parents had been dawdling along, enjoying the early summer sunshine. Jasmine’s anxious voice jerked them out of their daydream.
