“No way, Jack,” said Ben. “Your arm is going to slow you down.”
“I don’t even need this thing,” Jack held up his sling. “It comes off the day after tomorrow anyway.” Jack removed the sling and threw it next to his pack.
“Here,” said Ben as he handed a walkie-talkie to Jack. “Make sure the volume is low and we’ll call you if those guys head towards the car.”
“Cool,” said Jack as he crept off.
“Turn the volume down on that one too,” Stephen advised Ben.
Ben adjusted the handset and then pushed the button: “Jack?”
A voice came back from the device: “Yeah?” asked Jack.
“Just checking,” said Ben.
Back in the pit, Smoker moved closer to the injured cat and took aim again. His next shot dropped the cat to the ground. Bag Man hailed Smoker and held up a small rock. Smoker nodded and held the gun at the ready. After a pause, Bag Man tossed a rock into the air. Tracking the rock with his gun, Smoker loosed a shot when the rock reached eye level. The rock dropped unharmed. The pair repeated this game until the gun was empty again.
Smoker and Bag Man sat down — using a large rock as a bench — to reload.
“How long do you think it will take him to get there?” Stephen asked Ben.
“He’ll let us know when he’s there,” answered Ben. “I just hope those guys stay put.”
Smoker produced two more cigarettes and handed one to the Bag Man. He lit his own and then handed his lighter to his friend. Half-way through his smoke, Bag Man strode over to the dead cat. He rolled it over with the toe of his boot and then knelt to remove the harness from the body. He held it up and yelled something back to Smoker. Stephen and Ben heard Smoker laugh. Bag Man returned to his paper bag and opened it carefully. He pulled something out and dropped the harness back in. Bag Man then walked back to Smoker. They talked for several minutes.
“Hey,” said Jack through the walkie-talkie.
“What’s up? Any dogs or cats?” Ben pushed the button and asked.
“I’m still pretty far away from the car,” crackled Jack. “I think there’s someone guarding the car.”
“Really?” asked Ben.
“Hey,” said Jack, “I’ve got an idea.”
“Yeah?” asked Ben.
“Listen — wait exactly five minutes and don’t make a sound,” said Jack. “Then yell to the guy while I sneak around the other side.”
“Okay, I get it,” said Ben.
“Okay, I’m turning the volume up after you say okay. Then you give me exactly five minutes.”
“Okay, five minutes starting now,” said Ben.
Stephen and Ben both alternated between looking at Ben’s watch and the guys in the pit.
“Hey, what if they leave?” asked Stephen. “How are we going to tell Jack without accidentally calling the guard?”
“I didn’t think of that,” said Ben. “But I think he’ll have time. It takes more than five minutes to get back to the car from down there.”
At the parking area, Jack walked a wide circle around the the guy at the car. He left his walkie-talkie in a thick bush just out of the guard’s view. Jack crept across the road and dashed into the brush on the other side. When he started to creep towards the car from the opposite side, he heard Ben’s far-off voice. Jack thought it obvious that the voice was coming from a radio — something artificial about the sound — but he hoped the effect would be the same.
The man leaning on the car stood up when he heard Ben's voice. Jack saw him take a half a step away from the car. When the man rose, a dog started barking from within the car.
“Shut up,” commanded the man.
The dog continued barking until the man slapped the car window. Moving a little closer, Jack saw the dog appear in the window on his side. Jack froze. He hoped the dog would stay quiet. Ben continued to call through the walkie-talkie, but Jack couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying. The man took one more glance back at the car and then headed off towards the scratchy voice of Ben.
Bracing his nerve, Jack rushed through the thick woods and reached the car as the man disappeared on the far side of the road. The dog watched Jack open the rear passenger door. Jack thought he recognized the yellow labrador retriever. The dog wore a black collar and panted and wagged as he pushed his way out of the car. Jack paused to think; he gently brought the door back to the frame without pressing it fully shut.
He glanced in the direction he had last seen the man, and then Jack ran back into the woods on the far side of the road. He wanted to move quietly, but focused more on getting quickly out of sight. The dog bounded alongside Jack. The bushes became thicker and harder to navigate while the ground squished under their feet. Jack stopped to consider the best way to make it through this marsh.
“Jesus, fuck,” Jack heard a voice far behind yell. He stood perfectly still and heard a car door slam. Moving to his left, he tried to skirt the wet area as the dog plowed through the mud. He shushed at the dog to no avail. When he reached a dry spot, Jack started to run. He figured he was moving approximately parallel to the road.
Ben lifted his finger from the “Send” button and looked at Stephen.
“Do you think that’s enough?” Ben asked. Stephen was poking his head over the lip of the pit, watching Smoker and Bag Man.
“I guess so,” Stephen replied. “There’s really know way to know, unless the guy answers back.”
“Let’s wait a minute and see if anyone picks up,” said Ben.
They both turned their attention to the guys with the gun. Bag Man was arranging the dead body of the cat. A second later, he trotted away and joined Smoker again. They watched intently until a small explosion lifted the dead cat from the ground. They laughed and ran over to see the damage.
“Those guys are like movie-evil,” said Stephen. “It’s like a gag — I mean who would be that sick?”
“Look!” said Ben.
Down in the pit, Smoker and Bag Man broke off their game with the fireworks and dead cat and made their way towards an approaching man. They met up at the spot the boys had dubbed The Salt Flats, and had a lively conversation. The older guy was gesturing and pointing back towards the parking area. Smoker nodded and tucked his gun back in his waistband. The three then stalked off in the direction of the car.
“Do you think that was the guard?” asked Stephen.
“Must be, but why would they even have a guard?” asked Ben.
“We should get ready, in case we have to make a quick getaway,” said Stephen.
Ben and Stephen worked quickly to pack up their supplies and don their backpacks. Ben carried the walkie- talkie, and Stephen carried Jack’s pack. The two headed down the hill.
“You know, we’re just as likely to miss him if we move — maybe we should stay put,” said Ben.
Footsteps coming up the hill made them stop. They were joined by the exuberant yellow labrador whose muddy tail slapped at their legs. Following close behind, Jack met up with them next.
“They had this dog in their car,” said Jack. “We should get out of here.”
“Are we taking this dog with us?” asked Ben. “Your mom will shit.”
“We’ll figure that out after we get away from here,” said Jack.
“Yeah, let’s get gone,” agreed Stephen.
The boys consulted briefly on direction and then jogged off into the woods.
Back at the tent, Jack examined the collar on the dog.
“He’s got a rabies tag, and a state registration,” said Jack. “No address or anything. I thought I'd seen him before, but now I'm not sure.”
“There must be someone we could call,” said Ben. “We’ll just say he wandered up to the house.”
“What if he belongs to one of those guys though?” asked Stephen.
“Jesus, would someone do that to their own dog? Nobody would do that,” said Ben.
“You never know,” said Jack. “Maybe we should think about it.”
