BLUE WOKE UP, STARTLED. She was back in her old den, slightly damp from melted snow. Everything ached. She immediately looked around for Max, but only found a tablet tucked in with her. She instantly knew what it was—she had watched humans for years, playing with them and swiping at them. Humans loved these things.
So when she saw the sign of a gear with a dog in it, she swiped at it. A video began to play. The first thing that flashed on the screen—that she found she could read—was RAD: Robotic Association of Dogs.
She heard his voice. “Hello, Blue.”
The screen was black except for one bright, red sphere in the middle of the screen. She shivered.
“Blue, I’m your new best friend.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m Robo, leader of RAD. Before I get to the point, I simply must apologize for the way my lieutenant, Sabu, treated you. It was planned to be a much less…traumatic affair. You did put on quite the fight, though, against a Doberman. I’m slightly impressed. So, no hard feelings, okay?”
Robo’s deep voice continued. “You might have noticed by now that you’ve been given a very special…gift. I’m sure you have noticed that you’re smarter, stronger, and faster. That’s good news for both of us.”
Robo paused, the eye’s clicking pupil focusing and refocusing.
“I have a proposition for you. You can help me get something I want, and I’ll return something you want. First, what I want.”
The screen lit up with a video of a scientist holding up a strange, glowing blue orb. Blue watched him use the orb in a series of tests of greater and greater destructive power.
This orb was like nothing she had ever seen.
“And now, something you want.”
Another video flashed on the screen—tiny Max whimpering in a cage. “Blue, BLUE! HELP ME!” he howled.
Robo’s voice was now menacing. “Choose carefully.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be sending two…um…escorts to pick you up soon. Don’t waste this opportunity. You won’t get another one.”
The message ended.
Blue sat there frozen, overwhelmed, and confused.
She paced the alley. How did she get back home? Most importantly, why should she go with these dogs?
She almost chose not to. Nothing good had happened since she’d taken in those puppies: nothing but struggle and death. They had made her an easy target. They had made her vulnerable.
She crossed her paws in front of her, and noticed the hoop caught on her claw.
Did Buddy betray her? She had to know. Surely he wouldn’t do that to her, do that to Max. Poor Max. He’d already lost his mother and his sister. She remembered how he had whined at night from his terrible memories, and she had placed her paw over him to comfort him. She remembered how the only true happiness she had had in recent weeks was playing with that silly puppy. He had been overjoyed in the alley with tin cans and old hot dogs. Overjoyed in the snow, even as it made him shiver and shake. Overjoyed everywhere, just as long as he was with her.
Blue hung her head. She hated feeling this way—hated having someone rely on her. She would rather not trust anyone, and have no one trust her. It was easier. Right now, Blue just wanted to leave; leave the alley and all the bad memories behind.
But again, she decided not to do what she wanted to do. She would meet this Robo, and rescue Max.
As the sun rose high in the sky, two dogs showed up in Blue’s alley.
“My name is Splat,” said the Australian Shepherd. “You know why we’re here.”
The other dog was a skinny, gray dog with short, floppy ears and a crooked snout. She seemed to be a mixed breed of many bloodlines, but mostly Greyhound. Blue didn’t trust either of them; it was instinct.
The skinny dog noticed Blue staring.
“My name is Unknown,” she said quickly. “Take this bag; we’ve got work to do.”
Feeling hopeless, Blue padded after them. As they twisted and turned through the streets, the city became shabbier and more dangerous.
“So, who’s this Robo?” Blue asked to Unknown’s visible irritation. The Grayhound only responded: “He’s a great leader.”
Finally, they stopped in front of a rusted metal door.
“We’re here,” said Splat.
He reared up on his back legs and easily pushed the door inward. Inside, they were in a lab similar to the one where Blue had been collared. The three also spotted a worker in a white lab coat, his back to them. Splat lunged at the man and knocked him unconscious.
“Get a move on,” Unknown said, as she jabbed Blue. Blue snarled at her.
The three finally stopped in front of a large vault door unlike anything Blue had seen. Unknown sighed, annoyed. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and limped down the hall. She returned with a keycard that had been on the worker.
“Robo said you’d know what to do.” Splat pushed the keycard to Blue. To her surprise, Blue realized she did. She had seen the scientists use this before. Slowly, she swiped it through the scanner with her mouth. Nothing. She leaned forward to see what was wrong, and realized the security camera was scanning her eye. A “retinal scan”—as precise and unique as a human’s fingerprint. She must have been scanned and registered while captured—just like the scientists who worked there.
The three jumped back as they heard locks and bolts pull back as the vault opened. Splat, Unknown, and Blue stepped into the massive steel room, completely empty except for one clear case with a strange, blue, glowing orb inside.
It almost looks like blue fire, Blue thought, the same color as my eyes. Unknown pushed her toward the case.
“Open the bag, cat,” Unknown muttered to Blue.
Unknown then shoved the case and the orb into the bag and put the bag over her shoulder.
“Let’s go,” she growled, breaking into a run.
Hearing the pounding of humans’ feet toward the vault, the three ran out, dodging examining tables and equipment. They finally climbed out some low, broken windows that disguised the building to look like just one more abandoned building. Once near the street, Splat and Unknown moved unseen into the bushes. Blue, not knowing a better option, began to do the same, until she noticed they were approaching a main road out of the city.
Her head suddenly started pounding. Blue’s eyes rolled back, and she started to seize.
There was only the glow of one huge monitor that filled a wall. A grotesque Great Dane with metal body parts was in the center of the room, placing a flaming orb into its titanium case. “They will pay for what they did to me. What they have done to us. They will all DIE.” He shut the case, walked over to a holographic display, and slowly typed a long code with his paw. Suddenly, dozens of monitors came to life with live feeds from all over the world showing explosions, buildings, trees, and people burned to ash. Blue watched it all in terror, her heart pounding.
Blue opened her eyes. She was still on the street. The other two dogs were calling her to hurry, to get into the bushes. In the street, Blue saw cars screeching to a halt, heard sirens, and smelled burned rubber—an accident right in the main intersection. She didn’t want to hide in bushes; there were much better options.
Glancing around, she saw a high dumpster—perfect! She positioned herself and waited.
Within seconds, a dozen police cars had arrived. Panicked by the sudden influx of humans near the bushes, Unknown and Splat tried to bury the orb and run—with a plan to circle back around. But Blue watched their every move. Just as she had experienced in the past, Unknown and Splat were quickly collared by two police officers, so the others could concentrate on the wreck without stray dogs in the way.
Blue saw her chance to retrieve the bag. Quickly, she jumped down, dug it out and slung it over her shoulder. Then, running along the sidewalks, and then later, the grass and gravel lane along the highway—she headed out of Atlanta, determined to find where Max might have been taken. Eventually, she was far from the city and into the heart of the rural South.
There was suddenly no humans or dogs in sight—and no scent. She was lost.
After hours on the road, she retreated into some piles of pine straw, dug a bed, and lay down in a tight circle. Sleep did not come easily.