“I think he was part of a circus or maybe his owner was a street artist. He’s very smart and well-trained.”
“Teaching him to attack could come in handy.” At least Ezra isn’t indifferent anymore.
“No need. Pretty sure someone will adopt him soon. He’s too amazing.” I smile, feeling a little down when I think about not seeing that little pink nose anymore. But Noodle needs a good home, and I’ll do my best to give him that.
“Oh, I need to check the back door.” I suddenly remember. “I saw the delivery van leaving when we arrived. Maybe they left an unattended package. Which is kind of odd.”
“Why?” he asks as we walk toward the back of the building.
“Well, I think they must have made a mistake, I mean, coming at this hour. They always deliver in the morning, and there’s always a volunteer at that time. Contrary to the evening.”
I open the door, but there’s nothing on the concrete floor. Weird. An eerie feeling starts to spread inside my chest.
“Footprints,” Ezra states, looking at the shoe marks on the soil. “It rained all afternoon, so these are fresh.”
He slides his phone out of his pocket and, grabbing my hand, he drags me back inside. “Dare, any movement at the pet shelter in the last hour?” he says into his phone. “Just check it.” He’s using his commanding tone, and I’m suddenly hit by fear. “Fuck! Call Rami and an ambulance.” He hangs up the phone and hauls me over his shoulder.
An ambulance?My stomach presses against the curve of his back, and the M&M’s we shared come back up.
“We need to get out of here,” he states.
“Why? What is it?”
“Dare saw someone burying something in the soil outside the shelter. We need to get out now!”
“The animals!” I scream as he reaches the waiting room.
“No time.” His tone is final, but I don’t care. I won’t leave them behind.
I hook my fingers around the doorframe, stopping his advance. “Then make time. I won’t go without them!”
“Damn it! Sully,” he snarls at me, but he’s already turning around, making me feel dizzy. Why am I still dangling down his body? He grabs the hamster cage and opens Noodle’s. The ferret climbs on my hanging body then moves to Ezra’s free shoulder I presume.
“The dogs! The Pooch Palace door,” I instruct him. He frees them from their cages, and as he hurries out of the building, I make encouraging sounds, hoping they are following us. I can’t see a damn thing. They fortunately do, I get a glimpse of them running ahead of us like they can feel there’s something wrong going on.
Ezra keeps moving until we reach his bike. He sits me on the front and mounts behind me, wrapping his body around mine. He drops the hamster cage on my lap, throws the helmets on the ground, starts the bike, and peels out at maximum speed away from the shelter.
The cold wind is slapping my face, and I can barely breathe when I hear a massive, deafening boom coming from behind. A wave of heat spreads, and then I’m being hit by an invisible, solid wall of air.The bike is forced forward, and for a moment, I feel like I’m flying in the air in the cradle of Ezra’s body, before being pulled down again. My head snaps forward and back as my ass hits the seat hard, the edges of the cage on my lap sink painfully into my legs. The motorbike swerves right and left, then it abruptly stops. If Ezra’s arm wasn’t around me, I’d have flown over the handlebars and onto the ground.
I’m paralyzed, there’s ringing in my ears, and all I can smell is smoke. Everything is blurry, eyes burning. Then a sensation ofbeing stabbed by pins and needles spreads all over my body, and I start shaking. Ezra’s hands cupping my face hurt. His lips are moving in slow motion as I feel my eyelids slide down and up again. I can’t hear his voice. The ringing is lessening, but everything else is mute. He has an angry expression on his face as he spins me on the seat. That’s when the world turns back on its axis, and as it does, I push Ezra away and let the M&M’s out of my body.
His voice sounds distant now, but his palm feels warm on my back even through all the fabric layers. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and straighten up. My legs give out, but Ezra catches me and sets me on his lap. I leave my head on his chest as I look at the debris covering the street around us. My eyes are caught by the half-broken piece of the shelter sign.
“Wh…” I swallow, feeling my throat burning after vomiting. The taste in my mouth is disgusting. “What happened?”
“A bomb exploded at the shelter.”
I push up and look back, and where Pet Manor used to be, now there’s rubble and fire. No! I feel my eyes watering as I think about what we lost. Ren! All our hard work. Thank gods we took the animals out.
I look around and find the hamster cage on the ground near the bike, but I can’t see the dogs anywhere; they must have run away. “Noodle!” I suddenly exclaim.
“He’s here.” Ezra lifts the lapel of his jacket, and a little pink nose comes out. He’s shaking and doesn’t seem to want to move, so I let him be after caressing his head.
I look up at Ezra again. “Are you okay?” My fingers move to his cheek, where a bleeding cut is marring his skin. I lift the cuff ofmy jacket with trembling fingers and press it against the wound, trying to stop the blood.
“I’m fine.” His voice sounds gruff. “Do you feel pain anywhere?”
Anger is showing on his face, but I know it’s not aimed at me. I shake my head. I am aching everywhere, especially my neck, but I’m sure it’s nothing serious.
