BLUE’S STOMACH RUMBLED, and she stared down at it, annoyed. Why do you always complain?
She had been walking for days in terrain she didn’t recognize without any sign of Splat, Unknown, or Max.
Now in a large meadow, Blue’s head barely peered over the tall grass. “I guess I need to hunt or something,” she muttered to herself. She thought about the hunting shows she had seen through store windows—there were lots of gun shops in her part of town. Men in furry hats were always sprinting through fields with their dogs barking, causing ducks to fly out of the grass or off the lake. The dogs on those shows, usually labs like Max, were always walking around with dead ducks in their mouth.
Yum. Duck.
Blue started jumping around the meadow, breaking sticks, stirring leaves, and splashing in a nearby creek. This will definitely help me find ducks, which will then fly into my mouth, like salmon to bears, she thought. Hours later, she began to realize that this technique was not working. She sat down, hot, tired, and, of course, still hungry.
I don’t get it, what am I doing wrong?
After a full day without eating, instinct finally took over. She stayed low to ground, her tail flat, her padded feet helping her move silently through the brush. She narrowed her eyes, finally spotting a large raccoon. It twitched its head at Blue, and she felt anger crawl up her spine. The raccoon almost seemed like it was taunting her. Keep your head low, don’t be intimated, she thought. Slowly Blue sunk into the tall grass, and slunk past a rotting tree. The raccoon still sat there, ruffling its fur with its tiny hands, and glaring at her. Blue prepared to pounce, when a growl echoed through the field, and a flash of gray flew past her. Something had tackled the raccoon.
Blue took a step back into the tall grass in surprise.
“You stupid spy!” the coyote snarled at the raccoon, tearing it apart and flinging clumps of fur into the air. When Blue looked closer, the racoon didn’t appear to be an animal at all, but a machine. Sparks flew around it as the coyote ripped off its paws, and bolts fell to to the ground.
Blue slowly started to back away, snapping a large stick in the process. The coyote lifted his head, staring in her direction. Oh, come on, Blue thought, frustrated. She turned and starting running full speed.
The coyote chased after her, but Blue had distance on her side. She ran blindly with her head down until she noticed too late that she was going to run straight into a tree. Blue tried to stop, but instead, she slid in muck around the tree. She hit it straight on with such force, a dangling, large branch fell on her, trapping her in the water and mud.
Blue, in pain, tried to keep quiet as she heard the coyote moving toward her. Finally, the coyote spoke from somewhere closeby, “Sure, I can spot the raccoon that’s a camera, but not a dog. Gotta work on that.”
Right then, he noticed the broken branch with Blue sinking beneath it.
“Wow, I almost thought you got away,” he said in an almost friendly tone—until he saw her bag. Suddenly, he turned around and walked back into the tall grass.
“You’re not going to leave me here, are you? Are you such a coward that you won’t fight me like a real coyote?” Blue howled after him, hoping to lure him back to get the branch off of her.
The coyote chuckled softly. “I’ll be back, Fuzzy Wuzzy.”
Blue strained her ears. He was still talking.
“Yes, we have a Code Six here. She appears to be a straggler,” the coyote said. “Yes. It’s serious. Could you please stop singing? You’re out of tune anyway.” He paused. “Yes, well, she has the mark and was close to one of the cameras. No. No, I’m not. I’m not touching her. She might activate some laser or something—who knows?”
Blue narrowed her eyes. Apparently she had found an insane coyote who was hearing voices, and was certainly not going to help her with the branch.
“Fine, fine, I’ll keep her here. Just get here quick.”
The coyote walked back toward Blue. She stopped trying to lift the branch, and decided to try to charm him.
“Hey, there,” she awkwardly tried to smile.
The coyote looked perplexed. She looked weird.
“We got off on the wrong paw,” Blue said, giving up on the whole charm thing. “I’m a scout for my pack, and they’re on their way. That’s, um…” she didn’t know what the normal number for a pack was, “like twenty-five dogs who are going to come rescue me.”
The coyote took a step back.
“So you better help me get this branch off before that happens, so I can put in a good word for you,” she said.
“Nope.”
“What?”
“Nope. You’re staying put, Fuzzy Wuzzy. I’ve got a Code Six on you.”
Blue rolled her eyes.
The coyote sat down, staring at Blue. She felt uncomfortable in the silence, and tried to start a conversation. “So, what’s your story?”
The coyote turned his head. “I’m not talking to you, Fuzzy Wuzzy. RAD members will exploit any kind of weakness.”
Blue looked to the ground. Where did she hear RAD before?
“Come on. It seems, being in the position I’m in, it really won’t matter.”
The coyote sighed. He was bored. It was hot. The only sound in the meadow was the buzz of cicadas.
“Okay. My name is Rex and I w—”
Suddenly, a huge flash of brown fur leaped in front of Rex.
“Naaaaw!” the brown dog howled, whacking Rex with a long brown paw. “You hush right now. You flat out talk too much. I’m fixin’ to just wrap that mouth with duct tape.”
The newcomer was a massive Bloodhound with long ears, a long snout, and a strong southern accent. He sat down in front of her, next to Rex. Both of them watched her struggle under the branch.
“On the other hand, she must not be too smart, huh?” the
Bloodhound said to Rex.
Rex replied, “Yep, any dog so dumb to run smack into a tree—well, the porch light’s on, but nobody’s home.”
“She’s so dumb, that if she threw herself on the ground, she’d miss,” the Bloodhound cracked.
They both broke into loud laughter. Blue was furious.
The Bloodhound became serious, and stepped closer to Blue. “So, what do we really have here,” he sniffed at her and the bag.
Blue snarled, “Get this branch off of me!”
The Bloodhound turned to Rex. “I do believe she’s throwing a hissy fit.”
Rex was preoccupied, talking again to himself. “I told you this is a Code Six—we have a straggler. She might have something to do with these dang animal cams. She was right next to one.”
The Bloodhound turned back to Blue.
“Okay, let’s get down to business. Tell us about these animal cams. And tell us more about you, Fuzzy Wuzzy.”
She lost her temper. “My name is BLUE, you CAT!”
“She is madder than a wet hen,” the Bloodhound said, amused. “She sure ain’t no robot. In fact, she’s kind of cute when she’s mad.” He went over to her, and licked her nose. “You so cute, Fuzzy Wuzzy.”
Blue kept straining against the branch. Where are my powers? she thought in frustration.
“So what’s the deal with the animal cams, city girl?” the
Bloodhound asked.
Blue looked at him.
“You are so barking up the wrong tree,” she snarled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just a lost dog who’s looking for a puppy.”
“You lie like a rug,” the Bloodhound said, his good nature disappearing. “Do you think we didn’t notice your bag marked with RAD?”
RAD. Uh-oh. Blue had completely forgotten that the bag holding the orb had the initials on it, along with the stamp of a gear and a dog. This could be bad.
“I was forced to steal this,” she said, earnestly. “By a strange dog—Robotic, Robot, Robo—it was Robo!”
Rex snickered. “The mighty Robo. I prefer to call him Lego—all those different parts.”
The Bloodhound silenced him. He then walked back to Blue, sniffing at the bag.
“Let’s start over. My name is Copper, and I’m going to take a leap of faith with you and tell you the truth. I’m a general in the Secret Association of Dogs, or SAD.”
Blue looked at him.
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “SAD? That’s like the worst name ever.”
Copper laughed deeply. “Yep, missy, it really is. It doesn’t make for a great dog tag either.” His voice wandered. “But if you have the orb, things could be a lot different for SAD.”
Blue pulled the bag closer. “No way. Why would I give it to you?”
“Well, you’re probably still hankering to get free to start. But, I’m sure a smart girl like you has got this all figured out. You know, with your twenty-five-dog pack and all.” Copper turned away. “C’mon Rex, we’ll just wait for her to die and then we’ll get the bag.”
Rex looked at her one last time. “There’s a tree stump in Louisiana with a higher IQ.”
Copper started talking to himself now. “Message AlphaGem, we have located the orb. Repeat. We have located the orb.”
They walked into the high grass and lay down for an afternoon nap.
Blue knew this was her only chance. Her back legs were bruised, and she was sore from the branch, but she had to get it off of her and get free.
All I have to do is tap into that strength, she thought. I stopped a car, for Dog’s sake. Surely I can lift a branch.
She closed her eyes and focused on the branch. “Power up!” she yelled.
Nothing happened. She could hear laughing in the meadow. Angry, she did it again. “Power UP!”
Nothing. She could barely breathe now with the full weight of the branch on her chest.
“Are you done, Fuzzy Wuzzy?” Copper asked, re-emerging from the grass. “It’s pretty clear you’re not a robot, so I don’t know why you think you’ve got some ‘on’ switch, like that no-good raccoon.”
Blue stayed silent.
“So lemme get this straight. You say you’re looking for a puppy. You say that Robo forced you to steal the orb. You say you’re one of the good guys,” he said. “Yet, you’re so nasty you could make a preacher cuss. And even though you’re going to die under that branch within a few days, you’re clinging on to that bag and that orb you don’t even really care about. Tell me, Blue, what’s your story?”
Blue panted in the noonday sun. She was lost. She had an orb that everyone wanted, but she didn’t even know what it did. Copper certainly didn’t seem as bad as Robo, and Rex—well, Rex was just annoying. However, they clearly either knew where Robo was, or at least how to track him down, which means she might be able to find Max again.
She too was going to have to take a leap of faith and trust Copper.
Squinting her eyes, she finally looked Copper in the eye.
“Okay, Floppy Bunny, you win,” she said. “Help get this branch off of me, and help me find my puppy, and we’ll talk about this orb. Deal?”
He laughed. “Floppy Bunny? That’s my new nickname? Sure, Blue, we got a deal.”
Copper and Rex lifted the branch and dragged her out of the muck. Blue thought she might make a break for it, but her legs immediately collapsed under her, and she found she could only limp slowly.
“Floppy Bunny,” Rex snorted at Copper. “I think she’s got you pinned.”
“You hush, Rex,” Copper said with a chuckle, and he began to sing a country song under his breath.