by Allen Zadoff
“They’re not going to stop, are they?”
The doctor reaches for the door, then hesitates, lowering her voice.
“Maybe the children should stay here.”
“I understand there’s some danger. But Maelstrom is after me, not them.”
“It’s not Maelstrom I’m worried about.”
She turns away from the door. Maddie trots over to her side, and the doctor strokes her behind the ears.
“You’re not a pet, Wild. You’re a weaponized animal, bred for intelligence, bred for strength and violence.”
“I would never hurt those kids.”
She takes a deep breath and kneels down, meeting my gaze.
“You might not be able to help yourself,” she says.
An explosion shakes the house, setting off a piercing siren.
“It’s the perimeter alarm!” Dr. Pao shouts.
She flings open the doors, and I see Chance and Junebug running toward us, unharmed.
“They’re breaking through the wall!” Dr. Pao says.
She’s looking at a video monitor on the desk, and I can see a large group of uniformed soldiers entering the compound, black zapper weapons held at their sides as they spread throughout the grounds.
Junebug grabs her earpiece from Dr. Pao and puts it in.
“What’s happening out there?” she asks.
“It’s Maelstrom,” I say. “They found us.”
“They must have been watching the house,” Dr. Pao shouts. “We have to get you out of here!”
WE RUN THROUGH THE YARD, USING THE TREES AS COVER.
Another explosion knocks us to the ground, and the rear wall of the compound shatters in front of us.
I call to Chance, but he doesn’t respond. He’s dazed, rubbing at his ears where the pressure wave hit him. I grab the back of his shirt and pull him behind a thick tree trunk. A blue armored vehicle smashes through the bricks and advances into the yard, crushing flowers beneath its tracks. Maelstrom soldiers dressed as Animal Control officers stream into the opening in the broken wall behind it. There are dozens of them, their faces set hard, zapper weapons drawn and at the ready.
Junebug is a few feet away with Dr. Pao and her dog Maddie, the three of them crouched behind thick hedges. I raise my paw in warning, signaling them to keep quiet.
The Maelstrom soldiers stop just inside the ruined wall line, waiting for orders. All at once they extend their batons and the high-pitched tones pierce the air. I howl as the zappers discharge simultaneously. A wall of electricity floods the compound, beams crisscrossing, smashing whatever they touch. The tree shatters high above us, thick limbs falling to the ground and barely missing us. The smell of boiled chlorophyll and burnt wood fills the air. I glance over and see that Junebug and Dr. Pao are shaken but unharmed.
I look back at the Maelstrom soldiers, now advancing through the burned landscape. Whatever their orders were previously, the mission has changed. They are storming the yard like a military formation in a full-frontal assault.
“Come with me!” Dr. Pao shouts, and she motions for us to follow as she and Maddie disappear behind a bank of trees, racing toward the thicket of bushes that leads to the barn behind the house.
I get Junebug and Chance moving, and we follow the doctor into the maze, weaving around corners and ducking under bushes. I hear the Maelstrom soldiers cursing behind us, temporarily confused by the maze-like vegetation.
I think we’re home free, when a soldier pops out of the bushes up ahead, directly in front of Chance and Junebug. They stop dead in their tracks, shocked at his sudden appearance.
He looks just as surprised to see two kids in front of him, and he stares at Junebug.
“What the—What are you doing—”
Does the soldier know her?
Junebug rears back and kicks him hard in the groin, cutting off his sentence and doubling him over with a grunt of pain.
I leap forward and slam into him, knocking him into a nearby tree, where he passes out.
Chance is stunned, looking from Junebug to me and back.
“You nailed that dude,” Chance says, awestruck.
I want to ask Junebug about what just happened, but I hear the high-pitched whine of the zappers recharging behind us.
“Get down!” I scream, and we dive for the ground as the electrical beams surge over our heads, cutting through the bushes, clearing the way.
Dr. Pao jumps up and races to the barn, flinging open the door.
“Defend!!!” she shouts, and the labradoodles surge out of the barn, howling loudly as they stream into the yard, intent on protecting their mother.
Dr. Pao whirls around. “You have to get out of here. Keep the children safe.”
Without an earpiece she can no longer understand my words, but I cock my head, communicating that she should come with us.
“I’m staying to defend my home,” she says. “I’ve been waiting to get some payback against these weasels for a long time.”
I howl, urging her to be safe, and she nods her understanding.
“There’s a tunnel behind the barn,” she says. “You’ll find the entrance behind the large boulder. That’s your way out.”
I call to Chance and Junebug, telling them where to meet me.
In the yard, the labradoodles have made contact with the Maelstrom soldiers. I see dozens of fights occurring at the same time, men and dogs in close combat. The doodles may be cute, but they’re agile, and they know how to fight. They use their communication skills to coordinate so two or three doodles pounce on one soldier, incapacitating him before moving on to the next.
They’re putting up a good defense, but they’re outnumbered, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re defeated.
“One last thing,” Dr. Pao says. “Don’t let them take you back to their base, Wild. Do whatever you have to, but don’t go back.”
“What’s back there?” I ask, but the doctor can’t understand me, and there’s no time for more questions.
She runs into the burning yard behind me, as I head for the back of the barn to find Chance and Junebug.
I dive behind the boulder and find Junebug crouching in fear.
“I lost Chance!” she says. “He went to find you.”
She points back toward where I just came from.
I stare at her, wondering if I can trust her after what I thought I saw between her and the soldier.
“What should we do?” Junebug asks frantically.
Her face is etched with worry. I’ve trusted her this far, and she hasn’t let us down.
“I’ll find Chance,” I say. “You get to the car.”
She hesitates, not wanting to separate, but I urge her toward the exit tunnel Dr. Pao told me about.
“Promise you’ll protect him,” she says.
I lick her face once to reassure her, and she smiles weakly and dives into the tunnel.
Then I turn my full attention to finding Chance.
I race back around the barn, trying to locate Chance’s scent, but my nose is overwhelmed by the smoke in the air and the smell of multiple dogs and men.
I catch the barest hint of his scent nearby, and I follow as the trail gets stronger. His normal scent is mixed with sweat and fear, and I speed up, desperate to find him.
I turn the corner lightning fast and hear Chance shout.
“Watch out, Wild!”
A Maelstrom soldier has an arm around Chance’s throat, holding him tight. He also has a fully charged zapper with sparks flying from the tip.
It takes only a split second to understand what I’m seeing.
This soldier knew I’d come for Chance, and he waited for me. The moment I appear, the zapper is already rising in his hand, aimed at me, his finger on its trigger.
I see Chance looking at the weapon, struggling, terror in his eyes.
There’s no time.
In the space of a breath, the soldier presses the trigger and a beam of electricity arcs from the
zapper toward me, sizzling through the air on its lethal course.
As fast as I am, there’s no way I can avoid it.
“NOOO!” Chance shouts. He’s already in motion as the shot goes off, twisting in the soldier’s grip, something glinting in his hand.
It’s his cell phone. The only link to his mother.
Chance swings his clenched fist, smashing the phone into the side of the soldier’s head. I hear the crunch of the screen breaking and a grunt of pain.
The zapper beam arcs up and away, missing me by a centimeter, singeing the fur on my head and blasting through the tree behind me.
The soldier winces, blood running from a cut near his eye. He loosens his grip around Chance’s throat.
This is my opportunity.
I leap into the air, covering the distance between us in a second. I crash into the soldier at full force, knocking him back into a tree where he drops the zapper and crumples, unconscious.
I loom over him, anger like fire in my chest. I want to tear this soldier apart for hurting Chance, rip open his uniform, and—
“Wild!”
Chance calls my name. He’s bent over, gasping for breath, hands on his knees. I growl at the soldier one last time, longing for the taste of his blood on my tongue.
Chance’s cries bring me back to my senses. I whip around, tail flying, as I forget about the soldier and run to Chance, frantically licking his face to be sure he’s okay.
“That tickles,” he says, and he laughs and pushes me back.
“You saved my life,” I tell him.
“Not really.”
“You were incredible, Chance.”
He blushes, his cheeks glowing red. But his expression quickly turns to dismay as he looks down at his cell phone. It’s strewn across the ground nearby, screen smashed, case dangling open.
He scoops up the phone in two hands and stares at it for a second.
“Oh well,” he says, and he puts the pieces into the backpack on his shoulder.
“You destroyed your phone,” I say.
“You’re my best friend, Wild. I’d do anything for you.”
I see the way he looks at me with love in his eyes, and warmth spreads across my chest and up my back.
“I’d do anything for you, too,” I say, the words spilling out, surprising me.
“I’ll find some other way to call my mom,” he says.
We’re interrupted by the sound of a car horn blaring outside the rear walls of the compound. I hear the powerful BMW engine revving and feel relieved, knowing I was right to trust her.
“Junebug’s here,” I say. “We have to go.”
“Let’s motivate!” Chance says, and he takes off running toward the barn. I turn back to the soldier passed out on the ground. I sniff at his pocket and smell something made of leather.
I tear it open and pull out a black wallet. Inside is an identification badge of some kind.
ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
AGOURA DIVISION
More soldiers come around the corner, grabbing for their weapons.
I kick the wallet under a bush and race behind the barn where Chance is waiting. I push him through the tunnel and follow close behind. A second later we emerge outside the compound walls and leap into the BMW. Junebug guns the engine, speeding us away from danger.
JUNEBUG DRIVES FAST THROUGH THE WEST VALLEY.
Chance flips open the laptop and pulls up a map. I look at it over his shoulder.
“I need some directions fast,” Junebug says. “I’m kind of lost up here. The Valley’s not my thing.”
“It’s not anyone’s thing,” Chance says.
Junebug looks scared for the first time, shaken up by the attack at Dr. Pao’s house.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her, and I throw my paws up on the back of her seat and stick my head into the front, flapping my ears around to distract her.
She tries a weak smile, but it’s quickly replaced by a frown. “We almost died back there,” she says. “They found us even though we got rid of the chip. How did they do it?”
“The doctor thought they were watching the house, maybe assuming I’d go there to talk with her.”
“But they saw us. They know who we are now,” Junebug says.
“They’ve always known who we were,” Chance says. “They came to the group home.”
“They knew who you were,” Junebug says. “Not me.”
“Why are you so freaked out?” Chance asks. “You had plenty of chances to go, but you kept helping us.”
Junebug stares at the road ahead.
“It’s a little scarier now,” she whispers. “I don’t know what they want from us.”
“It’s not us,” I say. “It’s me. They want me dead.”
“What?” Chance’s face goes slack.
Junebug hits the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road.
She spins around in the front seat. “How do you know what they want?”
“It was obvious from the way they stormed the doctor’s house, wasn’t it? Besides, I heard them say it a few days ago at Chance’s group home.”
“But it doesn’t make sense to kill you,” Junebug says.
“Make sense to who?” I ask.
Her eyes dart around as she tries to come up with an answer. I can see that she knows more than she’s saying, but I’m not sure what she’s hiding.
“I thought they were trying to capture you,” Chance says, distraught.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“That’s why that cop wasn’t taking us to the station,” Junebug says. “And why those soldiers were firing their zappers all over the yard.”
“That’s why,” I say. “Dr. Pao thinks I’m a Maelstrom dog.”
“What does that mean?” Chance asks.
“It means they created me,” I say.
“Wild has their secrets inside of her,” Junebug says. “And she’s proof they exist.”
“They don’t want anyone to know they exist?” Chance asks.
“Why else would they be disguised as Animal Control officers?” Junebug asks. “And where do they get all that advanced tech they’re using?”
“You said they were military,” Chance says.
“The military can’t operate on US soil,” Junebug says.
“How do you know that?”
“I told you, my father’s a doomsday prepper.” Junebug opens a search window on her laptop. “It’s called the Posse Comitatus Act. It’s a federal ruling that says military troops can’t enforce domestic law.”
“So Maelstrom is some kind of secret organization,” I say.
“And the secret is out and walking around Los Angeles,” Junebug says, pointing to me.
It gets quiet in the car, each of us contemplating the danger we’re in.
Chance shivers in the seat next to me. “How do we get you away from them, Wild?”
“Maybe we don’t,” I say. “Maybe it’s time to go our separate ways.”
“Absolutely not,” Junebug says.
I look up, surprised.
“She’s right. We’re in this together,” Chance says.
I look at Junebug, her jaw set tight. Chance’s fists are clenched, and he sits rigid in his seat.
Both of them are determined to fight back.
“All right, then,” I say. “We’re in it together.” The kids start to cheer. “But only for a short time.”
“What?” Chance says.
“We stay together and we stay safe, but only until I get Chance back to his mom, and Junebug back to her father.”
Junebug grumbles.
“Deal?” I ask.
Chance inhales sharply. “What will you do after?”
I put a paw gently on his arm. “That’s not for you to worry about. Now, do we have a deal?”
“Deal,” Chance says grudgingly.
“For me, too,” Junebug says.
&
nbsp; I look over the seat at the map on Junebug’s screen.
“Head up the road about half a mile and take a left,” I say. “I have an idea where we can go.”
WE DRIVE INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
Hidden Hills is on the edge of the mountains of Malibu Creek State Park. We stop halfway up the mountain road and ditch the car, pushing it into the forest and covering the tracks so it won’t be seen from the road. I have the children transfer as much food and equipment as they can carry into the backpacks Ruben loaned us.
“We’re really close to Dr. Pao’s house,” Junebug says.
“That’s the point. They’ll expect us to run, so we hide nearby in the mountains.”
“You’re a smart dog,” Junebug says.
“Evidently one of the smartest,” I say with a laugh.
“But it’s scary up here,” Chance says. “What if we have to escape fast?”
“Look around,” I say. “There’s only one road in and out. If they try anything, we’ll see them coming from far away.”
“I guess,” Chance says.
“Hey, we just survived a military attack. Why not do some mountain climbing, too?” Junebug says.
Chance laughs nervously. “Fine, you guys. Whatever. Let’s do it.”
We begin our hike up the mountain. There’s a double peak across the canyon like a sideways letter K. I use the landmark to navigate, keeping us moving northwest.
“What do you think happened to Dr. Pao?” Chance asks.
“I don’t know exactly. I’m glad she had her dogs to protect her.”
“But the soldiers had weapons.”
Junebug glances back at me. I can see she’s thinking the same thing.
“I’m sure she’s all right,” I say, even though I can’t be certain. I’m worried about her labradoodles, too. They were cute, and they were like a family. It seems that every time I get near anybody, they end up being hurt.
I look up ahead where Junebug is struggling to walk over a loose patch of dirt. Chance reaches out to give her a hand, and they steady each other, finding their way across the rocky ground.
We’re becoming like a family, too. What’s going to happen to us?
