And it’s our job to figure out how and when.
Like usual, we hit Hal’s diner across the street to fuel up after working out. On the way out, movement between a couple of parked cars sets off alarm bells in my head. I can see the slight shift in Zero and Beast that means they saw it, too. I prepare to draw.
The shadow moves, dashing right in front of us in the form of a stocky, chocolate brown dog with white markings.
Beast laughs. “Shit, I thought we were about to get jumped.”
The dog takes one frightened look at us, and veers towards the road. Zero sprints to cut it off before it ends up in traffic. It comes to a skidding stop, panting in the middle of the parking lot with its tail between its legs and a front paw held awkwardly off the ground. We surround the dog, who stays frozen in place until the sound of a car honking at the intersection sends it dashing under a truck.
I approach real slow with my hands out. “Hey, buddy. It’s okay. We’re not gonna hurt you.”
A stressed growl comes from behind the back tire in warning.
"Rough day, huh?" I keep my voice light and crouch down onto my heels. “Been there, trust me. Where’s your people? Are they out looking for you?” I ask, not looking for an answer but relying on my tone to carry my intent. "What's going on with your leg, huh? You gonna let me take a look?" I pat the ground in front of me.
It takes a few minutes of coaxing, but eventually the white streaked end of a brown muzzle pokes out. Amber eyes look up at me as it inches forward with a whine, keeping its belly low to the ground.
“That’s right, come here, baby,” I croon.
Fuck. The poor thing’s been through it. Not just the paw, which is swollen and speckled with dried blood, but there’s blood matting the fur under its chin, and its left ear looks like someone bigger and meaner got a hold of it long enough ago that it’s healed into a ragged mess. It’s not huge, but whatever soup-pot of breeds this dog popped out of gave it a blunt face and a stocky, muscular body that looks like it could do some damage with the right incentive. Fortunately for us, it looks more scared than mean.
"Try this," Beast whispers from behind me, tapping me on the shoulder with the extra burger he picked up on the way out.
I pull off the paper wrapping and take out the patty. “Thanks.”
The dog’s head perks up as I rip off a chunk and toss it on the ground. It’s gone faster than I can blink. I leave the second pieceslightly closer, and it’s gone just as quickly. The dog’s out from under the truck and still crouching low but not scraping the ground anymore. From up close I’m pretty sure it’s a female.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I say softly. She's shivering but doesn't run away. Her eyes are locked on the rest of the patty in my hand like she hasn't eaten in days. I tear up the rest, and do the same to the bun, scraping off the extras in case there’s onion or something hiding in there. "Here. All yours."
Apparently that’s enough for her to decide we’re trustworthy, at least for now. She scarfs down the food so fast I’m worried she’s going to end up eating gravel or who the fuck knows what else from the ground. When she’s done, she heads straight to my hands, hoping for more and licking at what’s left of the flavor.
“Hope you aren’t attached to those fingers,” Zero says with a snort.
“Nah, she’s a gentle baby, aren’t you?”
“Think she’s a stray? Or is someone missing her?” Beast asks.
I consider it. “Too friendly to be a stray, and see here?” My fingers trace what looks like the mark left by a collar that must’ve started biting into her neck before it was removed. “Someone was taking care of her at some point.”
“I’ll go check inside,” Zero offers.
As he heads back into the diner, she inches closer until her muzzle is resting on my knee. Each of her paws are tipped in white. Ignoring the fact that she needs a good bath, or three, I give her head a cautious rub, paying close attention to her body language. Her tail pats the ground. Poor girl, who knows howlong she’s been on her own, or what kind of situation she was in before that.
“What do we do if nobody knows whose dog she is? Should we bring her back with us?” Beast asks.
“On our bikes? Too far, even if she doesn’t freak out and throw herself into traffic, plus someone needs to look at her paw. She’s putting enough pressure on it that I doubt it’s broken, but it’s obviously hurting.” I run a hand down her front leg and she lets out a little yelp when I get close.
Zero jogs back out, phone in hand. "No luck, but they said there’s a rescue a few blocks over that might still be open. They’ll either know what to do or where to point us if they can’t take her. She might be chipped, and if she’s got someone looking for her, it’s better that she’s somewhere they can check."
I nod. "You got a name, girl?" The second I stop rubbing her ears, she shoves her head into my palm. With a chuckle, I get back to it. "How about Junkyard? You look like maybe someone was using you as a guard dog, and you remind me of the old mutt we had at my Dad’s scrap lot."
She doesn't seem to care as long as I keep petting her.
Amazingly enough, she doesn’t complain when I scoop her up, and aside from some whining and a little wiggling, she lets me settle her into my jacket. I can’t close it, but having the bottom zipped is enough to partly hold her in place. She nearly jumps out of my arms when I start my bike, but holding her close and staying calm gets her settling down again. "Alright, let’s take it slow and I’ll stick curbside in case she makes a run for it."
Zero leads the way as we roll barely above walking speed down the road. Some asshole honks as passes us and Beast gives himthe finger, but a few minutes later we pull into a small parking lot.
Squeezed into the shadow of a delivery depot, the rescue is a blocky, mint green building that’s covered in blobs of slightly lighter and darker paint from endless graffiti cover-ups. It’s not much to look at, but there’s a fenced in yard in the back, stuffed animals hanging in the windows, and a cartoon dog painted on the front door. Over it, a sign reads Detch Canine Rescue in big block letters lit up from below by a solitary flickering light.
