Andy felt like a stranger as Gabriel led him into the shelter reception area. He had known rejection before, but this was different. The power of rejection came from the importance of the person delivering it and the unexpectedness of the act. Andy’s dismissal from the shelter had been a complete surprise from one of the few people he trusted. Sam’s words had left Andy reeling; returning to the shelter now rubbed that wound raw. He shifted from one foot to the other with the nervous distraction of a drug addict on a low.
“Try to calm down,” Gabriel said. “We’ll figure this out.”
Andy wanted to believe the priest’s words, but his history left him with little reason for optimism. “Trying,” he said.
Luke spotted them. “Hey, Andy. I’m sorry, but you know you can’t be here.”
“I know,” Andy said. “But it’s important.”
Gabriel stepped forward. “Can you tell Samantha that we need to speak with her?”
Greg joined them. “Sam’s not here.”
“When is she due back?”
“We don’t know,” Greg answered.
“Did she leave someone in charge?” Gabriel asked.
“Lucky me.” Greg pointed to himself. “What’s up?”
Gabriel ran his hands through his hair and then blew out a chestful of air. “We have a problem.”
“Can’t really take on one more problem, Father,” Greg said. “Can we deal with this later?”
Gabriel shook his head. “I’m afraid—”
Andy broke in. “They’re going to kill the park strays. All of them.”
“Start at the beginning,” Gabriel suggested.
Andy told them about the strays and the plan to kill them all. He left out the part about the cave and the one-eared dog, though; he knew his story was a hard enough sell as it was.
“You’re talking about the park pack? Come on now, Andy,” Greg said. “You know that’s just an urban myth.”
“It’s not. I’ve seen them,” Andy answered. “Often.”
“Maybe you saw a few dogs off-leash traveling together…,” Greg offered.
“No!” Andy shot back. “I know what I saw. There are at least ten and they’re not just off-leash. They have structure. They’re a pack. They have an alpha.”
“OK, let’s say that’s right,” Greg said in an obvious effort to placate the boy. “Let’s pretend there is a park pack and that they may get destroyed in this campaign. What do you want me to do about it? No one’s asking my opinion about right versus wrong these days.”
“I want you to help save them.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Greg said with a sweep of his arm, “we’re pretty tied up here with our own mess.”
“I know, but—”
“Even if we were able to catch them—”
“We can. They’ll come to me—”
“We can’t bring them here because we’d need to cross the perimeter. I’m pretty sure the Guard would take an interest in a priest and a kid walking a pack of strays that you say they are actually trying to kill into the quarantine zone, don’t you?”
“I can figure out a way,” Andy said.
“And what if they’re sick? Isn’t that the reason you say the Guard has orders to kill them in the first place?”
“They’re not sick. These dogs have eaten out of my hands and they are fine. So am I.”
“Then why does the Guard have orders to kill them?”
“You know why! The Guard has orders to kill them just because people are scared and there’s no one to speak for them… except me. They’re only strays, so who cares? Strays just like—”
“You’ll bring the Guard right through our door, Andy. We can’t have that and I can’t take the risk, not while I’m protecting all of the dogs here.”
“But there must be some way,” Gabriel insisted.
“We can’t,” Greg snapped. “I’m responsible for the shelter right now. I’m sorry.”
“I did this!” Andy shouted. “These dogs are going to die because I messed with those traps. I need your help. Dr. Sam would never let these dogs be murdered.”
“You don’t know that,” Greg pushed back. “Not with so much at stake.”
“Yeah, I do,” Andy said.
“Can I speak to you in private?” Gabriel asked Greg. Greg rolled his eyes, but followed the priest to the back.