Apparently, he decided to go on an adventure in the woods.
The woods mean dirt and twigs and leaves.So many random things I’ll have to scrub him clean of if he gets wet on his jaunt.There’s still time, a slim chance I can find him before the downpour.
Problem is, the forest stretches out in all directions, and I’m not sure what way he went.
I circle around to the backyard again, calling his name as I go, just in case.As I scan the line of trees, I notice a break in the branches.Not a trail exactly, but the grass seems to have been flattened, as if it was stepped on.
While I waffle between trying the not-trail or staying at the cabin, another crack of thunder sounds out like a warning.Or the start of a countdown timer.
“Fifteen minutes.Straight in and straight out,” I mutter to myself.
If I don’t find him, then I’ll just pile an arsenal of towels by the back door.
The scent of pine and damp air surrounds me the moment I step into the forest.I focus on my annoyance because the minute I let it go, worry will set in.Bruce might seem like an unbreakable mammoth, but he’s not immortal.
What if he got lost?
What if he hurt himself?
No.Stop it.He’s just being an ass.
As I push through the undergrowth and duck under low-hanging branches, the not-trail becomes a no-way-in-hell- anyone-could-call-this-a-trail.
“Bruce!”
The air takes on a humid, sticky texture, and the sky grows ominously dark above the canopy.
Rain is coming, and I don’t think it’s going to be a little sprinkle.
“Bruce!”
A root trips me up, and I stumble, barely catching myself before I face-plant.A snarl of frustration seeps from my chest.
“If you don’t show up in the next five seconds, then you do not get to lick my ice cream bowl tonight.Do you hear me?No dessert!”
The woods are silent, all the chirping birds and chattering squirrels having gone to ground in anticipation of the coming storm.They’re probably watching me from their nice, warm nests, laughing at the silly human wandering aimlessly through the trees.
“You have five seconds, Bruce!Five!”The thick air muffles my shout.
No dog.
“Four!”I call out, a growl in my voice.
No dog.
“Three!”More growling.
Only, this time, it’s not mine.
Immediately, my frustration vanishes, no room for it left in my body.Every inch of me has gone still, frozen in place by wary fear.
The forest is quiet.
I thought … I was sure …
But maybe it was thunder.
Or maybe it was …
