Storm Dog

by Jennifer Li Shotz

  “How could I not come?” his mom said. “I’m just sorry it’s under these circumstances.” She turned to Matt and waved him closer. “This is my son, Matt,” she said. “Matt, you don’t remember meeting them, but this is Ric and Sonia Dávila, some of my oldest and dearest friends.”

  “Matt!” Sonia exclaimed in a way that made Matt want to get back in the jeep and hide. “Look at you! The last time we saw you, you were just a chubby little baby!” She pulled him into a hug.

  Matt cringed at the attention—and the reminder of his chubby baby days—but tried not to let his squirminess show.

  “Hi,” Matt said. “It’s nice to see you again.”

  Colonel Dávila held out a hand to Matt. Matt bit his cheeks to hide his pain as Ric closed his hand in a knuckle-busting grip. “It is great to see you again. Your mom tells me you’re quite a brave young man.”

  Matt felt his cheeks turn red. “I don’t know . . .”

  “Modest too!” Ric let out a laugh that rattled Matt’s bones. “You’re just like your parents, that’s for sure.”

  Before Matt could reply, two kids appeared at Ric’s side. One was a very excited young boy, about five or six years old, who was bouncing on his toes. The other was a girl Matt’s age. Except for their age gap, the two kids were carbon copies of each other, with their wavy black hair and deep brown eyes. The girl stood calmly by her parents, and after a quick glance at Matt and his mom, she spotted Scout sitting at Matt’s knee. Her eyes lit up.

  “Matt,” Sonia said, “this is my daughter, Luisa, and my son, Emanuel.”

  “Nice to meet you, Emanuel,” Matt’s mom said. She dropped to her knees and held out her hand to the boy, who grabbed it and pumped it up and down.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said, his voice a higher-pitched—but equally loud—version of his dad’s.

  “I’ve heard you like to cook with your dad,” Matt’s mom said. Emanuel nodded vigorously. She stood up and held out a hand to Luisa. “Luisa,” she said, “I’ve heard so much about you, about how well you’re doing in school and how you want to be a veterinarian.”

  Luisa turned bright red, just like Matt had a second ago.

  “Welcome,” she said softly. She had a serious demeanor. Is she shy? Matt wondered. Her eyes flitted up to Matt’s face for a second, then she looked down at the ground.

  “Who’s that?” Emanuel asked, pointing at Scout.

  “That’s Scout,” Matt said. “Come here, buddy.” He led Scout over to Emanuel, who eyed the dog warily. “It’s okay. He’s really sweet. Just let him sniff your knuckles for a sec so he gets to know you.”

  Emanuel held out a clenched fist and turned his head away, as if he couldn’t bear to look. Scout sniffed his knuckles. Then his wrist. Then his elbow and all the way up to his armpit. Emanuel couldn’t take it—he burst out giggling and put both hands on Scout’s head.

  “He likes to be scratched right behind his ears.” Matt grinned. Emanuel gave it a try, and Scout let his tongue roll out of his mouth, happy at the attention. Luisa stepped over and knelt on the ground next to Scout.

  “Hi there,” Luisa said, her face brightening and her voice suddenly animated. She held out a hand and Scout licked it, then took a step closer and started sniffing at her hair. Luisa sat very still and let the dog check her out. After a moment, she ran a hand over his silky brown-and-white fur. With that, Scout seemed to make up his mind about her. He plopped down on the ground and laid his head on her lap.

  “Oh, sorry!” Matt blurted out, tugging Scout’s collar to get him off her lap.

  “It’s okay,” Luisa said without looking at Matt. “I don’t mind.”

  “He’s not usually this chill with new people,” Matt said. “He must really like you.”

  Luisa lowered her face to Scout’s. He sniffed at her and pressed the top of his head to her cheek. Matt could see that she was really comfortable with dogs—it made sense that she wanted to be a vet, if animals took to her that quickly.

  “He’s beautiful,” Luisa said. “Is he yours or is he a working dog?”

  “Both,” Matt said. “He’s kind of . . . different from the other National Guard dogs. He gets special privileges.”

  “You can say that again.” Matt’s mom laughed. “This dog has us all wrapped around his paw, and he knows it.”

  “From what I hear,” Sonia said, “he’s earned it.”

  Luisa looked up at Matt, her eyebrows raised. “How did he do that?” she asked.

  “Well . . .” Matt felt his cheeks go hot again. “I guess he kind of saved my life. A few times. And some other people’s too.”

  “Oh,” Luisa said in surprise. Before she could ask for details, her dad wrapped a firm arm around Matt’s shoulders.

  “Listen, Matt,” Ric said. “Our home is your home now, okay? You and Scout. No need to knock—you just come and go as you need.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “Your mom, Sonia, and I will be busy. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

  The group grew quiet as the real reason Matt and his mom had come to Puerto Rico settled back over them all. “But tomorrow morning, bright and early, Luisa’s going to show you around town,” Ric went on.

  “Oh, thanks,” Matt said, looking over at Luisa. She looked away, seeming uncomfortable. “But that sounds like a lot of trouble—”

  “Luisa’s happy to do it,” Sonia said.

  He wasn’t so sure about that.

  “In fact, she can start right now and take you next door to your quarters,” Ric said. “Luisa, do you mind?”

  Luisa shook her head.

  “Then come back for dinner,” Sonia said. “Ric made his famous arroz con pollo.”

  With a nod, Luisa led Matt and Scout to their quarters—a cozy apartment in the building next door to the colonel’s house. There were two bedrooms, a sparse living room, and a small kitchen.

  “Here you go,” Luisa said.

  Matt wasn’t sure what to make of her. She was nice enough, but she definitely seemed more comfortable with dogs than she did with humans.

  “It’s great,” Matt said.

  “What do you think, Scout?” Luisa said. Matt noticed that she smiled at the dog.

  Scout had begun a perimeter check, sniffing his way around the room, sizing up the furniture, and putting his front legs on the windowsill to look outside.

  “Seems like he likes it,” Luisa said with a little laugh.

  “I hope so.” Matt smiled. “I sure do.”

  4

  MATT WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING to a quiet house. For a split second he didn’t remember where he was. The light filtering in through the window was brighter. The curtains were whiter. The lumps in the mattress were bumpier. Out of habit, he dropped his left arm off the bed. The warm, furry creature with the wet nose and dog breath lying on the floor next to his bed was the only thing that was the same.

  Matt’s brain began to wake up along with his body, and he remembered.

  He and Scout were in Puerto Rico.

  Matt blinked a few times and sat up in bed. He’d tossed and turned throughout the night, woken by the unfamiliar sounds—the chirps and clicks and croaks from the island’s nocturnal creatures. Scout looked wide awake, like he’d lain by Matt’s side all night, protecting him. When the dog saw that Matt was awake, he dropped his head back down onto his paws with a sigh, his watch over.

  Matt looked around at the small room, which had just enough space for a twin bed and dresser. Outside the window, he heard two women speaking in the familiar cadence of the military—short, declarative sentences, followed by quick responses. It sounded like the conversations he heard every day back home, but these two soldiers were speaking Spanish.

  Matt checked his phone and saw that a text had come in from Dev overnight.

  See what you’re missing? Attached was a selfie of Dev in climbing gear. He was holding the phone at an angle above his head, and Matt could see that he was attached to a cliff, w
ith rocks dropping away beneath him.

  Nice! Matt wrote back.

  Matt and a slow-moving Scout wandered through the empty apartment. He was used to being in a new place, by himself, with nothing in particular to do—that’s what it meant when your family was in the military. His mom was long gone for work, but she had left a note taped to the bathroom mirror. Love you, honey. Go to Luisa’s for breakfast. See you tonight. —Mom

  Matt and Scout headed outside and to the Dávilas’ house next door.

  They stepped into the kitchen and saw Luisa—well, some of her. The top half of her body was inside the fridge, digging around for something in the way back. A covered pot bubbled on the stove, and an open backpack and huge canvas tote bag sat on the kitchen table. Luisa backed out of the fridge and turned around with her arms full of leftovers.

  “Oh—” she said, startled to see Matt and Scout. “I didn’t hear you come in!” She dropped everything on the table.

  “Sorry!” Matt held his hands out in front of him. “I just—” He eyed the bags. Luisa was clearly packing up to go somewhere. “I thought we were going to— Are you—”

  “I was just going—”

  “It’s okay, I was just—”

  “You can have breakfast—” She pointed at a box of cereal and a gallon of milk on the counter and then at a bag of kibble by the sink.

  Scout looked from Matt to Luisa, confused. He swiped at Luisa with one paw, trying to get her attention.

  “Good morning, buddy,” she said, crouching down and letting him sniff her face while she scratched his back. “Do you want breakfast?” Scout tipped his head to the side in response.

  It was amazing how well Scout responded to Luisa. Matt guessed it was her tone of voice, which was sweet but firm. It wasn’t baby talk, like lots of people used with dogs, but it wasn’t the way she spoke to people either. It was like she had a specific way of talking just to Scout. He recognized it as the way the vet or K-9 trainers back home addressed the animals—like they spoke on a dog frequency that only a few humans knew about.

  Luisa held Scout’s face with both hands and scratched him under the collar. He sat down, closed his eyes, and totally relaxed. She rubbed the top of his head, in the little dip between his eyebrows. He thumped his tail on the ground.

  “I know I’m supposed to show you around today,” Luisa finally said. “But I have to go. I’ll be back, though. Soon. Sort of.”

  “Um, okay,” Matt said, trying to mask his surprise. He dumped some kibble into a bowl for Scout, who wiggled away from Luisa and hurried over. He scarfed down the food, crunching loudly. Matt poured himself some cereal and milk.

  “Where are you going?” Matt asked, trying to sound more casual—and less curious—than he felt.

  “Nowhere,” Luisa said as a timer dinged. She turned off the stove and lifted the lid on the pot. The starchy scent of freshly cooked rice wafted over to Matt. Luisa picked up the pot and poured the rice into a big bowl, then fanned it for a second and said something to herself under her breath in Spanish. Matt didn’t hear her clearly—and his Spanish was only so-so anyway—but he got the impression that she wanted the rice to cool down faster. She was really acting like she had somewhere to be.

  For someone who was going nowhere, Luisa sure was in a hurry and gathering a lot of supplies.

  “Oh yeah, nowhere,” Matt said half jokingly. “I love that place.” Luisa turned around slowly, but before she could speak, Matt’s phone chirped. It was a text from his mom. Have fun with Luisa today! Cell service spotty so stay close to base. See you tonight.

  He held out the phone so Luisa could read it too. “Looks like our parents still think we’re hanging out.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I just really have to do this thing . . .” She trailed off.

  “You’re going somewhere your parents don’t know about,” Matt ventured. Luisa didn’t respond, which he took as an indication that he was right. “I’m not going to tell on you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Matt went on. “But I do need to get Scout outside so he can get some exercise . . .”

  Scout was a working dog—he didn’t do very well when he was stuck in the house all day. Since Matt’s mom didn’t want to take Scout out on a mission until she had assessed the situation on the island, it was up to Matt to keep him exercised and happy.

  Luisa pressed her lips together, as if she was weighing whether or not she could trust him. “I’d rather go alone.”

  “You’re going to carry all that stuff by yourself?”

  “I can get it,” she said.

  “Well, whether you tell me where you’re going or not, I know you’re doing something you’re not supposed to. So . . .” Matt shrugged. “You kind of have to trust me either way. I promise I’m a good helper.”

  She thought about that for a second. “Okay . . . Fine. But do you swear you won’t tell anyone?”

  Matt knew from experience that when you kept a secret, it usually didn’t end well. The last time he had been asked to keep a secret, Dev, Amaiya, and Curtis had ended up trapped on a mountain with a wildfire closing in on them . . . and Matt, his dad, and Scout had raced up the burning hillside to save them. Keeping secrets was not Matt’s most favorite thing to do.

  But he didn’t really have a choice right now. If he said no, then Luisa would just leave without him. And if something happened to her while she was off doing whatever it was, he’d feel terrible.

  But if he said yes, then he was just getting into the same jam he’d been in with his friends. What good would that do anyone?

  His mind ran in circles, but he tried to slow it down. There’s a solution, his dad always told him. Focus on the solution, not the problem.

  “I’ll keep your secret, but if you or anyone else is in trouble, the deal’s off. Got it?”

  “Got it.” Luisa stuck out her hand and they shook on it. She dropped a tub of rice and the leftovers into the tote bag and pointed at it. “You can carry this one.”

  “No problem. I can fit some stuff in my backpack too, if you want.”

  “Sure.” Luisa handed Matt the bag of kibble, a few cans of tuna, and a box of plastic trash bags. Matt filled his own pack, then hoisted the tote bag onto his shoulder. He clipped a leash to Scout’s harness, and they headed out the door.

  “So where are we going?”

  “It’s easier if I just show you.”

  5

  “HE SEEMS LIKE A REALLY GOOD DOG,” Luisa said as they walked across the base.

  “He is.”

  “Can I walk him?” Luisa asked.

  “Sure.” Matt handed her the leash. He watched as she stuck her hand through the loop, then wrapped the leash around her wrist and grabbed it a few inches farther down. She knew exactly how to hold it.

  Scout was busy trying to take stock of the entire base all at once, through his nose. His snout skimmed the ground, and his head swiveled back and forth, back and forth, as he led them down the sidewalk and around the closely set buildings. Every time a jeep drove past, one ear flicked toward the sound. He sniffed his way past the exchange, the administration building, the mess hall. Luisa and Matt walked along behind him.

  “Do you have a dog?” Matt asked. “I didn’t see one at your house, but you’re so good with him.”

  “Oh, I wish.” Luisa smiled for real, for the first time since Matt had met her. “I really like dogs,” she said with a shrug.

  They headed through the main gates, where the guards waved at her as she passed. Scout started to turn right, into the bushes on the side of the road.

  “Scout, this way. Come, boy,” Luisa corrected him in that perfect tone she had for him. Scout immediately spun around and headed left.

  “He really responds to you.”

  “Does he not usually listen to commands?”

  “No, he’s really well trained, but sometimes he just has . . . strong opinions.”

  “So you’re saying he’s stubborn?”

  Matt laughed.
“Yeah, I guess so.”

  They walked toward town. The road was mostly clear, but tall mounds of rubble rose on the shoulder. It looked like emergency crews had managed to clear a path but had no way to get rid of the debris yet. Ric had said at dinner that their area was in pretty good shape, but based on what Matt had seen on the way from the airport yesterday, he could only imagine how bad things were elsewhere.

  Luisa seemed to know what he was thinking. “It gets worse,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “You’ll see.”

  “Are you from the island?”

  She nodded, then shook her head.

  “Sort of. My parents grew up here. I was born here, but then we moved all over the place—you know how that goes.”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  “But then my dad got this job a few years ago, so we moved back for good.”

  “Is it a cool place to live?”

  “It’s amazing. I don’t know, it’s the only place that’s ever felt like home to me.”

  “I get that.” Matt thought about Silver Valley. The town in Nevada was the first place that had ever made him feel that way.

  “It’s not like the U.S.—we kind of do our own thing here. But it’s been . . .” She trailed off. “It’s been really hard. Since the storm. It’s like we’re all trying to get back to normal, but what does that even mean?”

  Matt waited for her to go on.

  “I know we’ll be okay,” she said firmly. “But I just don’t know when.”

  Scout stopped in his tracks, and his body shifted into alert mode. His head was high, his ears stood straight up and pointed forward, his tail curved above his back, and his muscles were flexed and ready to propel him into action. He stared at something off in the distance. Matt looked down the road.

  About forty feet ahead, three dogs clustered together in a small pack. They had frozen too, and they were looking right back at Scout.

  “Scout, stay,” Matt said. Scout whined but made no move to charge ahead.

  Luisa tightened the slack on Scout’s leash. “Scout’s found our first stop,” she said with a smile. Luisa opened her arms wide and called out to them. “¡Hola, chicos! ¡Chiquita, Guapo, Tio!” The dogs bounded toward her, their tongues dangling from their mouths. They were mid-size, smaller than Scout, with tall, wide, pointy ears that looked too big for their heads—heads that looked a little too big for their bodies. They weren’t like any breed Matt had seen before.