Searching

by Kelli Kimble

◆◆◆

  In the morning, Tennie and Bo were back at their spot near the fire. She glanced over when I came out.

  “Good morning,” I said. “Don’t worry; he’s still asleep. How’s the dog doing?” I gestured towards Bo.

  “Great,” she said. “Not that you really care.”

  “Look, Tennie. I think I owe you an apology,” I said. “I knew it wasn’t safe to keep the dog, and I didn’t want you to risk getting hurt. But, maybe instead of doing what I believed was best, I let you get away with keeping him because it was convenient. For me.”

  Tennie smiled. “No, Silver. Maybe Leif believes that of you. I don’t. You let me do it because you want me to be happy.”

  “Either way, I shouldn’t have let you keep him. What are we going to do when it can get up and walk around? It could turn on us at any time.”

  “’It’ has a name. Bo. I’d appreciate it if you remembered that,” she said, “and he can already walk around. We walked to the spring this morning, so he could get a drink of water right from the source.” Bo seemed to know that she was talking about him. As she said it, his tail thumped against the ground.

  I moved to stand next to her. His tail stopped and hovered over the ground, at attention. “I wouldn’t let Leif know that just yet,” I said.

  She shook her head. “I don’t understand his attitude,” she said.

  “He’s worried for you. He doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

  The tent flap opened, and Leif stepped out. He stretched first one arm, and then the other, over his head—while he looked everywhere but at us.

  I exchanged a glance with Tennie, then set about getting ready for another long day of digging.

  ◆◆◆

  At bedtime, Tennie didn’t say anything about the tent. She set up her sleeping bag next to the fire, just as she had the night before. Leif hadn’t spoken all day, and he went into the tent without breaking his silence. I said goodnight to Tennie and turned to go into the tent.

  “Aren’t you going to say goodnight to Bo?” she asked.

  I looked down at the dog, who was sitting next to the fire, looking up at me, his head cocked to one side. “Uh, okay. Goodnight, Bo,” I said.

  “No, I meant you need to give him a pet. He likes his fur stroked.”

  I took a step towards him. He watched me with wary eyes but didn’t growl or make any aggressive movements. I tentatively reached out a hand to touch his head.

  “He likes it when you scratch between his ears, too.”

  I glanced back towards the tent. Leif had to be hearing this, and I’m sure it wasn’t doing anything to mend fences between us.

  “It’s okay. Just pat him, right here.” She took my hand, and while she soothed Bo, she touched my palm to the top of his head. “Tell him he’s good,” she said.

  “Good dog,” I repeated obediently. Bo looked up at me. I could feel the vibrations of his tense body. He was ready to rip my hand off if needed.

  She lifted my hand away. “See? That wasn’t so bad. You’ve just got to build some trust with him, is all.”

  I nodded. “Goodnight, then,” I said and retreated to the tent. I didn’t look at Leif. Though he was already in his sleeping bag and facing away from me, I didn’t want to hear his thoughts about how stupid I’d been to say goodnight to a dog. I got into my sleeping bag and, for once, fell asleep blessedly fast.

  ◆◆◆

  I woke some time later to a rustling. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Something was wrong.

  I felt around in the dark for the crossbow. Leif woke when I tripped over his foot. “Watch it,” he said.

  “Wake up. Something’s wrong,” I said. I finally located the crossbow and unzipped the tent. Looking out, I saw the lump on the ground that was Tennie, in her sleeping bag. But, in the failing light of the fire, I could see Bo was standing up. His teeth were bared, and a low growl emanated from him. I looked around but could see nothing for him to growl at—except me.

  Leif pushed past me and out the tent. “That dog is going to attack her,” he said. He grabbed the crossbow from me and lifted it, when I saw something just beyond the light of the fire.

  Eyes. Green ones.

  “Leif, wait,” I said. I pointed towards the eyes.

  “Oh, no,” he breathed, “Tennie, wake up. You’ve got to get into the tent, Tennie.”

  There was a sharp bark, and without even thinking, I rushed from the tent to where Tennie was. I shook her awake. “Get up,” I said. She didn’t question me, and I helped her from the bag into a standing position.

  The fur on Bo’s back was standing up, and he barked once—a sharp, piercing sound. There were answering barks all around us. Tennie looked at me, her eyes wide.

  A dog darted towards us, and Bo immediately intervened. He snarled as he tore into the dog coming at us, his teeth flashing in the light. The sound was like nothing I’d ever heard before. I felt it in the pit of my stomach, and a surge of adrenaline shot through me. I looked around for a weapon. I spotted a shovel, and I picked it up.

  Bo and the other dog were rolling around on the ground, as each tried to get the other in a compromising position. For a brief moment, they broke apart. Before I could stop and question the sanity of what I was doing, I stepped forward and whacked the other dog in the head with the wide side of the shovel.

  It yelped and backed away from me. Seeing an opening, Bo rushed in and clamped a hard bite on the foreleg of the intruding dog. It yelped again, and after it shook off Bo, it retreated out of sight and into the woods.

  Then, there was another dog, and another. Bo ran into the jaws of each onrushing dog, and I stepped in and made contact whenever I could. Then, Leif was beside me, and he was shooting at the attacking dogs, as well. We stood in a triangle around Tennie, collectively protecting her.

  Dog after dog rushed in to fight. I lost track of how many there were. Bo was relentless. I could see now why we should have been afraid of keeping him around. But, I could see the benefit of gaining his trust, too.

  After what seemed like an eternity, no more dogs came from the darkness. In the distance, I heard a howling, and it was answered by many voices. But, they were fading and moving away from where we were.

  The dawn was just beginning, and I turned to face Tennie. Her face was streaked with already-dried tears. I folded her into my arms and patted her back. “It’s all right,” I said. “They’re gone.”

  She broke away from me and knelt down to Bo. “He saved me. He saved us.” She ran a hand over his head, and her hand came away bloody. “We’ve got to take care of him,” she said. Bo fell to the ground, exhausted, hurt, and thirsty.

  Leif dropped the crossbow. It clattered to the ground. He stooped over Bo and gathered him up into his arms. “Silver, get the tent flap for me?” he asked.

  Then, he took Bo into the tent.

  Chapter 6

  We doctored up Bo together. He had multiple cuts, and part of one ear was missing. But, for the most part, his injuries were minor, compared to the arrow wound. After he was bandaged, and he seemed to have his fill of water, we arranged our sleeping bags around him: Tennie and me on either side of him, and Leif with his bag above Bo’s head. We took turns stroking his fur and murmuring soothing words. He panted heavily, as he had the other day, though not as fast.

  Eventually, we came to an end of our energy and adrenaline.

  “Does anybody else mind if we don’t dig today?” I asked. “I think maybe we should stay here with Bo and get some rest ourselves.”

  Tennie laughed. “I don’t know who you thought was in the mood to dig, but I’m pretty sure we’re all fine with skipping it today.” She was scratching between Bo’s ears, being mindful of the injured one.

  Leif put a hand over hers and stilled it. “I’m sorry, Tennie. Silver, too. I’ve said some petty things and questioned your motives in the past few days. Now, I see I was wrong. I apologize.”

  “You weren’t wrong about Bo,” Tennie sai
d. “It wasn’t unreasonable to want him gone. He could have been dangerous. He still could be.” She sniffled and pulled her hand from Leif’s to swipe at her nose. “But, I couldn’t deliberately hurt him. He showed us no hostility—at least, not until we shot him.”

  “He saved us tonight,” I said. “So, I’m glad you stuck to your opinion. Without him, I’m pretty sure we’d all be dead or up a tree right now.”

  “He’s a good boy, isn’t he?” Tennie said to Bo in the high-pitched voice she reserved for him. Bo’s tail thumped a few times before stilling.

  “I think we should be quiet for a while, so he can get some rest. It wouldn’t hurt for all of us to get some rest.”

  We settled into our sleeping bags. I turned so that I was facing Bo, and I contemplated him. He’d protected us, yes, and that was good. But, had those dogs come only because he was here? It was impossible to tell. I drifted off to sleep while listening to his steady panting.

  ◆◆◆

  We dug for two more days without finding anything, and even though each day of finding nothing caused me to redouble my efforts, on the third day, it was time to return to the colony for food and a visit, as we’d promised. We ate breakfast and emptied our packs. Each of us carried a canteen and—with the exception of a first-aid kit, and my tablet in my pack—we shouldered them empty to fill up at the colony.

  We left camp altogether; Bo stuck by Tennie’s side, as usual. We made good time, and I was happy to see that Bo was able to make the trip without any assistance from us. He found drinking sources along the way—puddles and dew—and he never wandered off. It made my chest swell with emotion to think of how he was getting better.

  It was still early morning when we arrived at the colony door, but Fiona was standing outside, waiting for us. “Silver! Tennie! Leif!” she called as she held open her arms.

  We rushed to her, each of us being enveloped in a huge embrace. I’d missed this type of contact. It wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing with Tennie or Leif, though they were my best friends.

  When she’d hugged each of us thoroughly, she stood back to look at us. Bo barked once. It was a quick bark—a sound we’d come to realize was his way of communicating that he wanted acknowledgement.

  Fiona flinched and stepped back. “Look out—a dog,” she said. She began to walk backwards towards the door, her arm reaching out behind her, feeling for the wall.

  “Wait, Fiona. This is Bo. There’s nothing to be afraid of; he’s just saying hi,” said Tennie. She put a hand on Bo’s head, and he leaned into her legs.

  Fiona looked at Bo, then back at Tennie, then at me. “Where did you get a dog? Wait, never mind. Obviously, from outside. The better question is: Are you out of your ever-loving minds? That’s a wild animal!”

  “He’s quite tame,” said Tennie. “He’ll let you pet him.”

  “I don’t want to pet him,” said Fiona. “He isn’t meant to be petted, or to be a pet. What on Earth are you three thinking?”

  We exchanged glances. I didn’t know if admitting that we’d had conflict over this was a good idea.

  “He saved us from an entire pack of dogs,” said Leif. “We feel protected when he’s around.”

  “If a pack of dogs came, it’s probably because he was part of their pack,” she said. “He attracted them to you.”

  “But, we found him by himself, and he stayed with us, even though we shot him.”

  “You shot him, and then took care of him? This just gets worse and worse. Believe me; you three don’t want me questioning your judgment. I can’t support you being outside if you’re going to be reckless.”

  “We weren’t reckless,” I said. “We were just trying to be humane. Aren’t you always talking about how precious life is?”

  “Human life,” she said.

  “His life isn’t any more or less precious than mine or yours,” said Tennie.

  “If that’s true, then you didn’t try to defend yourselves from this pack of his. Right?”

  I sighed. “Of course, we defended ourselves when we were attacked.”

  “Then, you don’t really believe that the dog’s life is special.”

  “You’ve got this all wrong,” said Leif. “Just try and pet him. See how gentle he is?” Leif demonstrated how to scratch his ear.

  “He’s gentle right now, sure,” she said. “But, you never know when a dog is going to be vicious. I was chased by dogs that I’d played with as a girl. They weren’t chasing me so that I’d pet them.”

  “We don’t want to fight,” said Tennie. “We just want to come in, catch up with you and the others, and get our supplies for the week. Can’t we do that without fighting?”

  “We can do that without fighting. But, the dog stays out here.”

  Tennie looked down at Bo. I could see that she was weighing what to do. What if we left Bo outside, and he ran off? Would he come back to us? Or worse, would he return to his pack?

  “I’ll stay outside with Bo,” I said. “You go in for a chat.”

  Relief danced across Tennie’s face. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Of course. I’ll keep Bo company right here, and you two go and say hello.”

  Fiona’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t move to stop me. She turned and went down the hall to the door, with Leif and Tennie following her.

  I sat down on the ground, and Bo curled up beside me. I took out my tablet and read more about archeological digs that had discovered dinosaur bones. It was fascinating stuff, and it made me wonder where the remains of all of the pre-winter humans were. I knew that various cultures had different burial and funeral rites. Surely, some of the places where humans had been buried still existed.

  The door slammed open.

  “Take your supplies and go!” yelled Fiona. “I don’t want to see you back here! Not until you can apologize!”

  Tennie and Leif rushed out the door, their packs bulging, and each of them carrying a sack of something in each hand. The colony door slammed shut. Then, there was the distinct sound of a bolt sliding into place.

  “What happened?” I asked, standing up.

  Tennie was crying, and Bo immediately went to her and nudged her knee with his nose. That only made her cry harder. “She questioned everything we’ve done: Our camp setup, the dig, Bo, everything. She said we aren’t using our heads, and then Maestro dug in, too. When I tried to defend what we’re doing, what we’re trying to achieve, she just blew up. She’s totally irrational.” Tennie set down her bags and sniveled into her shirtsleeve. “She was so angry, and Maestro was cruel. She egged him on, encouraged him to be mean.” She inhaled a ragged breath. “She said she understood before, but I don’t think she does. I think when we come back, she’s either not going to let us in, or she’ll never let us out again.”

  I looked at Leif. He nodded his agreement. “So, what do we do?” I asked.

  “What is there to do?” Tennie countered. “We go back and get digging, I guess. Until we can prove what we set out to prove, they’re just going to be unbearable.”

  “You really still want to do this?” I asked. “I’d understand if you want to stay. I asked you to help me prove that the pre-history is true. I didn’t ask you to cut yourselves off from the only life we know.”

  Tennie rushed at me and buried her face in my shoulder, while she cried even harder. I put my arms around her and tentatively patted. Over her shoulder, I looked at Leif, my eyes wide.

  He shrugged. “I can’t speak for Tennie, but I’m still in. It isn’t fair how they’re treating you, and I don’t like that being supportive of you has somehow made me a bad guy, too. I’m ready to dig up an entire building if I have to.”

  “Me, too,” Tennie snuffled into my shirt. I wondered how much snot she was getting on my cleanest shirt.

  “Okay, if that’s how you feel,” I said. “I have to say that I’m beginning to have doubts. So, I could easily see—”

  Leif cut me off. “I’ll have none of that. You have a
solid theory, and we’re doing solid work to confirm it. Let’s get back to it.”

  Tennie disconnected herself, and I pushed her hair away from her face, where it was stuck in wet tears.

  “Thank you both,” I said. My voice cracked a bit, and I swallowed, trying to contain it. “I’m really glad to have you guys,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  ◆◆◆

  At camp, we regrouped. We spread out all the supplies and calculated how long it would all last. The longest we could go with what they’d brought was eight weeks. Realistically, it would be just a little over six.

  “So, that’s it,” I said. “We have to find it in six weeks. If we don’t, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “We can do it, Silver,” said Tennie, “and we’ll go back and show them, and then they’ll be the idiots. They’ll be the ones who have to explain.”

  “We’ve already dug six feet on the center squares without finding anything,” said Leif. “It can’t be much further.”

  “Then, let’s get back to it,” said Tennie.

  ◆◆◆

  We spent day after day, digging out dirt, rocks, clay, and even trees. When we reached 10 feet, we expanded out five feet—instead of the original 10—and began another round of digging. Digging from the side didn’t take quite as long, and after eight days, we were back to digging down in the center square.

  As the days ticked by, and we came close to the deadline, we abandoned the strategy and instead tried to dig straight down as far as we could at the center point. We were all tired, sore, and irritable. But, we kept going—until the day our supplies finally ran out.

  I broke down at lunch, when we’d eaten the last of it. “I’m sorry, both of you. I’m sorry to have dragged you out here. I’m sorry we didn’t find anything. I’m sorry that Fiona is angry with us. But, we’re not going to find it. We’ve already dug a good 10 feet below the original surface level. It’s not there.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” said Tennie. She put an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “This isn’t the end.”