Together, the three dogs ran toward the bridge, where a green sign hung between the arches. It read FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT—1 MILE.
Reading human words—not something a dog could usually do.
But as Max, Rocky, and Gizmo had learned, that was just one of the many perks of Praxis.
Gertrude, the pig, had explained that the Praxis virus was dangerous to humans but harmless to animals. In fact, it was the first step in a process that, when completed, would make an animal as smart as a human. Back at the lab, Gertrude had put Max, Gizmo, and Rocky through the second step of the process, and ever since then Max had understood more of the world around him. He could see the change in his friends, too, by the way they spoke and acted. It was frightening but exciting—especially since Gertrude claimed that finishing the second step meant they could no longer infect humans.
If only the rest of the animals could be made safe, too. Then the humans could come home and everything could go back to normal.
But first things first—Max needed to find Madame’s pack leader.
The three dogs swiftly crossed the bridge. Far beneath their feet, the river splashed and roared into dangerous currents as it met the ocean.
Not exactly water they’d want to dive into.
It was late afternoon by the time they reached the town, and the setting sun cast long shadows. First they passed a small bait shop, its windows boarded up and a CLOSED sign dangling on a chain. A rusty truck sat on concrete blocks in its driveway.
But the farther they walked, the more modern the buildings became. On the right side of the road, opposite the beach, they passed shop after shop, all painted a pale summery blue with white scalloped shutters. One of the shops had jars of brightly colored candy in its window alongside rainbow-patterned kites and racks of postcards. Next to that was a restaurant. Its sign read JIM’S CRAB SHACK.
“Ohhh,” Rocky moaned. He plopped belly-down on the road.
“Are you okay?” Gizmo asked, licking Rocky’s fur.
“I’m fine,” Rocky said, “but I’m really hungry. We’ve been walking for ages.”
Max’s own stomach growled, and his legs were tired, too. He scanned the storefronts, but he didn’t see a grocery store.
But there was another building down the road on the sand. Squinting, Max read its sign. SUNNYSIDE RESORT AND SPA. A smaller sign read, LUNCHES AND DINNERS PROVIDED BY OUR RESIDENT CHEF. PETS WELCOME.
Rocky perked up as he read the signs. “ ‘Lunches and dinners’? ‘Pets welcome’? Sounds like my kind of place!”
“Let’s check it out!” Gizmo yipped.
With Max in the lead, the three dogs ran forward with renewed energy. They bounded up the weathered, wooden steps of the resort onto a wide porch. Stepping forward, Max nudged the glass front door with his head. It didn’t budge. Looking up, he read the word on the door: PUSH.
Which meant the door was locked.
“Come on,” Max said. “Let’s see if there’s a way in around the back.”
They followed the porch around the side of the building to where it stretched out into a wide-open area. Wooden beach chairs were arranged around an empty swimming pool that stank of chlorine and mildew. A few chairs were tilted on their sides, and one lay up against the railing. Umbrellas were lying torn and tattered on the ground.
At the back of the resort building, there were two sliding glass doors. One showed symbols Max equated with bathrooms. That door was wide open.
They had a way in!
Max was about to tell his friends the good news when he felt Rocky bump into his hind legs.
“I don’t mean to alarm you,” Rocky whispered. “But I don’t think we’re alone, big guy.”
The musk of animal fur met Max’s nose. He turned to see four small creatures on the opposite side of the pool. They huddled in the early evening shadows next to the porch railing: three cats and a tiny dog.
The largest of the cats—a fat orange tabby with a square of black fur beneath its nose—stepped forward into the light, its green eyes narrowed into slits.
“Hi!” Gizmo said with a wag of her tail. “Maybe you can help us. We’re looking for food and thought this place might have some.”
The orange cat didn’t have a chance to answer.
They heard a distant thwump thwump from the north.
As the sound grew louder, great gusts of wind rose up, carrying fallen leaves and stinging sand.
Blazing, man-made lights flooded through the resort windows.
And the big cat, its fur standing on end, cried out, “Don’t just stand there! Run!”
CHAPTER 2
LIGHTS IN THE SKY
For a moment, Max was frozen.
The thumping from the sky sent vibrations into his bones, until the entire world was quaking beneath him. The rushing wind spun into tornadoes of dirt and sand that blasted his fur and flew into his mouth and eyes. Searing lights flashed all around, blinding him.
The cats, the tiny dog, Rocky, and Gizmo shrieked and ran. They screamed warnings and cried in fear, but Max couldn’t understand a single word over the noise.
THWUMP THWUMP THWUMP.
Spitting grit from his mouth, Max ran blindly toward the back of the porch. His front legs banged against a lounge chair, and he hissed through his teeth. But he couldn’t let the sharp burst of pain stop him. He crouched against the porch railing with his belly to the sand-covered deck.
The source of the noise was right above him now, casting black shadows in the final rays of the setting sun. Max looked up just in time to see one of the tattered yellow umbrellas rise up toward the sky. It hung there for a moment, then flipped over and landed on the beach below.
Peering up with blurry eyes, Max saw two black man-made objects hovering above, so close they almost grazed the top of the resort building. Giant, spinning blades rose from their tops.
Helicopters.
The wind from the blades twisted and tangled Max’s yellow fur and blasted sand into his face, but he didn’t care anymore. Because if there were helicopters above—that meant there were humans, too. He could almost see their shadowy figures through the windows.
No longer frightened, Max jumped atop a lounge chair and barked as loudly as he could.
“Hey!” he shouted. “We’re down here! Please take us with you!”
But his barks were lost in the din of the whirring blades, and in seconds the two helicopters were soaring over the beach.
Still on the lounge chair, Max watched with despair as the twin helicopters flew away. Their floodlights swirled across the beach, illuminating cats, dogs, and other animals who were running to hide in the dunes. There were many more pets here than just the four they’d seen, but the helicopters did not stop.
The people inside them had to have seen the animals.
They just didn’t care.
Whimpering, Max watched the helicopters grow smaller, soaring over the ocean. The big ships were out there, brighter than ever in the approaching darkness, and that was where the helicopters were headed.
To all the other people. People who wanted nothing to do with the pets they’d left behind.
No, Max scolded himself. The humans had no choice—if they hadn’t left, they’d have gotten sick. His job was to find Madame Curie’s pack leader, and both Madame and Gertrude had insisted the woman would be found on land.
One by one, everyone who had been on the deck emerged from their hiding spots.
“What was that?” Rocky asked. “Were they UFOs? I saw them on TV once.” He gaped at Max. “Were you standing out in the open the whole time, big guy? Did you see the aliens?”
Shaking his head, Max stepped off the lounge chair. “It wasn’t aliens, Rocky; it was people in helicopters.”
“That’s strange,” Gizmo said. “I wonder what they were doing.”
Appearing out of nowhere, the fat orange cat leaped atop the railing above Max’s head.
“Does it matter what they’re doing?” the cat
grumbled. “As long as they leave us alone on the beach, no harm is done except some scary noises.” It licked a paw and ran it over its face, cleaning it of sand. “The name is Grendel, by the way.”
Max introduced himself and his friends, then asked, “Don’t you miss the humans?”
Someone snorted behind him, and Max turned to see the other cats and the tiny dog—a Chihuahua—sitting at the edge of the empty pool. Both cats were slender with white bellies, though one had black fur and the other, gray.
The gray-and-white cat—who Max guessed had snorted—rolled its eyes and said, “The people abandoned us to our fates; why should we care about them? We have all we’ll ever need here at the beach, thanks to that lady in the hat.”
Something about the way the cat and its companions looked seemed immediately familiar. A whiff of its musky fur met Max’s nostrils, and with it came a flash of memory.
It had been weeks, maybe even months, but he had met these animals before, way back at the start of their journey. They looked thinner now, but they were definitely them. All three had been residents of a house for cats—and one Chihuahua who thought he was a cat. Raoul, their leader, had let the dogs spend the night. These two cats—sisters—had been the kindest, sharing their food and water.
Just after Max and his friends had left the cat house, it was overrun by a pack of wolves—the same wolves who would later attack the riverboat. Their leader, Dolph, had been following Max and his friends on some irrational quest for vengeance. Raoul died protecting his charges, and the cats who had lived in the house had fled. Max never expected to see any of them again.
“Hey,” Max, his tail wagging, said to the cat sisters and the Chihuahua. “We know you, don’t we?”
“Oh!” Gizmo yipped. “Of course! It’s Panda, right?” she asked the black-and-white cat. “And you’re her sister, Possum?” she said, addressing the one with the gray fur.
The two cats glanced at each other. “Yes,” Possum mewed. “That’s who we are.”
“And little Buddha!” Gizmo yipped at the Chihuahua. “You’ve turned into a dashing feline, I must say.”
Buddha snapped his slender tail, catlike, but didn’t respond.
“You’re those dogs,” Panda said in her soft voice. “The ones we helped.”
“That’s us,” Rocky said.
Gizmo’s ears drooped. “We thought those bad wolves might have hurt you. I’m glad you’re safe.”
Possum let out a sharp laugh. “Luckily, if there’s anyone who knows how to scatter in every direction, it’s cats.”
“But how did you end up all the way down here?” Gizmo asked.
“Well…” Panda began.
Groaning, Rocky dramatically flopped onto his side and covered his snout with a paw. “It’s nice everyone’s safe and happy and all, but can we share stories later? I’m practically wasting away over here.”
Licking his lips, Max took a step forward. “If it’s okay with you, can we try to find some kibble?”
“Why are you asking us?” Buddha grunted.
“It’s a free beach,” Grendel drawled from the railing. “Do whatever you want.”
Max could only stare. So far, every group of animals they’d met had been protective of their food and homes. The last thing he was expecting was to be told to do as he pleased.
“Hey, nice!” Rocky said, rolling back onto his belly. “Finally, some laid-back animals.” Glancing up at Max, he added, “Must be the ocean air.”
Max looked at the beach. The ocean had turned a deep gray as the sun started to set. The waves crashed heavily before exploding into foam against the shore.
“Must be,” he agreed. To the cats, he said, “You’re telling me no one here listens to anybody? You just play on the beach all day?”
“Sure,” Grendel said. “We’ve got plenty of food—”
“Food,” Rocky moaned.
“—and places to sleep and play on the beach. It’s pretty nice.” The fat cat grimaced. “Well, except for the fleas.”
The other cats meowed in agreement.
Max looked between Grendel and Possum, confused. “It’s been months since all the people disappeared,” he said. “How is it you still have food? We didn’t see any grocery stores nearby.”
Grendel began to pace. “There’s a town not too far north of here, with a shopping mall and a pet store. We don’t bother going there much, though. The hat lady left us with enough food to last for ages.”
“Hat lady?” Max asked.
Rocky sighed. “Max, buddy, big guy—seriously, can we just eat already?”
Clearing her throat, Panda took a few cautious steps forward. “You can share some of our food tonight, if you like. There’s dog food out on the beach, but it’s so dark you might not be able to find it.”
“What?” Buddha yowled. He jumped in front of Panda. “That’s cat food! You can’t go giving it away to a bunch of dumb dogs!”
Panda swatted his backside with her paw. Startled, Buddha let out a distinctly doglike yip and hid behind Possum.
“Is that all right with you, Sister?” Panda asked, craning her head at her gray-and-white twin.
Possum slowly blinked her yellow eyes. “Why not?” she said.
“Ohhh, finally!” Rocky said with a wag of his spiky tail. “Kibble! Lead the way, ladies.”
“It’s not exactly the kibble you’re used to,” Possum said, a smirk playing at her feline lips.
Rocky tilted his head. “How’s that?”
“We’ve only got kitty chow,” she said. “Salmon-flavored.”
“Kitty chow?” Rocky grimaced.
Panda licked her lips. “The best kitty chow.”
Rocky said, “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to try new things. Take us to this”—he swallowed nervously—“kitty chow.”
Max had only ever eaten kibble meant for dogs. The kitty-chow bits were so small in comparison. But after going without food for a few days, he felt as if the kitty chow offered up by Panda, Possum, Buddha, and Grendel was the best thing he’d ever eaten.
The cats’ hideout was in the shade beneath the pool deck. One of their bags of kitty chow had already been wrenched open by their surprisingly strong jaws. They all ate, silent save for the crunching of food and the satisfied moans from Rocky.
After they’d eaten their fill, the seven animals cuddled together atop the warm sand. The briny ocean breeze rose up in gusts, colder now that it was night, and Max stared at the horizon, at the bobbing lights that told him humans were out there. He half considered diving into the dark waves and swimming for the boats, but he knew they were too far.
“This place is nice,” Rocky mumbled as he curled up against Max’s belly, his eyes half closed. “Looks like there will be plenty of friends to play with, tons of food, and no one trying to boss everyone around. Maybe we should stay here for a while.”
“A beach vacation,” Gizmo said with a wistful sigh.
Rocky licked her nose, and she curled up against him.
“We can’t stay long,” Max said softly. Images from his dream by the river came to him. “Tomorrow we have to continue on. We need to find our families, and Belle, and Madame’s pack leader, and the beacons.”
“Mmm,” Rocky said, his voice muffled in Gizmo’s fur.
But Max knew his small friend hadn’t really heard, and Gizmo was already asleep.
“You’re still on that journey, huh?”
“What’s that?” Max asked.
It was Possum who had spoken. “We met you not long after the people left,” she reminded him, licking her paws. “You said you were going to find your family. Seems like you’ve come a long way without much to show for it.”
Max tried not to bristle at her tone. “If that’s the case, why did you bother coming this far? Why not let the wolves take you, too?”
With a sigh, Possum glanced over at Buddha and Panda. “My sister is a fool for love,” she said. “All that gets her through this is thinking one d
ay she’ll have her human back again.” The gray-and-white cat swatted at the air and turned away from her sleeping twin. “Besides, we didn’t actually walk all the way here. That woman in the hat found us and drove us here in her truck.”
Max’s brow furrowed. “The hat woman Grendel was mentioning,” he said. Memories flashed in Max’s mind of a photo he’d seen at the laboratory. “Did she wear a lab coat, like a vet? Did she have white hair and a friendly smile?”
Possum’s whiskers twitched, her eyes glowing in the dim light.
“She wore pink and yellow and purple,” the cat said. “Her shirts had flowers on them. And she had a big straw hat.”
“Do you remember anything else?” Max asked. “Did she leave glowing orange beacons as she drove?”
“I can’t say I noticed,” Possum said. “All I know is that she brought my sister and Buddha and me here. She fed all the animals on the beach and the ones with numbers for names, who came from that pet store up the road, and then she left us.” She let out a bitter laugh. “If you ask me, that’s why everyone on this beach is so lazy. With all the food in the world here, why do anything but play and feast? I’m sure the food will run out eventually, but until then, let’s enjoy our lives as best we can.”
“Oh,” Max said. “Well, it was nice of the hat lady to feed you.”
Possum didn’t respond, resuming her grooming session.
Max rested his chin in the sand and turned his gaze to the ships. “I was there with Raoul before he died, you know,” he said.
Possum stopped swiping at her fur.
“He distracted those evil wolves so all the other cats could live,” Max went on. “He did it because he hoped that even if he couldn’t see his lady again, you still would have a chance to be with your families one day.”
Max met Possum’s eyes once more. “I am going to find the people. I’ve promised too many animals to give up now, and I won’t rest until I do. There’s a way to cure the virus that made all the humans leave. So don’t let your sister lose hope, all right? The people will come back for you soon.”
Silence. For a long moment, there was no sound but lapping waves and doggy snores and insects chirping in the trees.
The Long Road Page 2
