“That’s it. Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you,” Anna said, sticking her hand through the gate.
“Are you some sort of dog whisperer too?” My nerves tightened as Anna reached out to the animal. “You do realize that if it attacks and mauls your arm, you’re pretty much screwed, right? We’re God knows how far away from a hospital or any place for that matter.”
“Calm down and be quiet for a minute, okay?” Anna replied in a curt manner. “You’re not helping anything.”
“Whatever.” I kept my guard up, watching the dog approach her hand.
A loud crackle of lightning thrashed the dreary sky over the barn. The dog flinched and paused. It lowered to the ground and waited.
“I know it’s scary, but you’re all right.” Anna kept her arm through the gate, showing no signs of fear or stress of what the dog could do to her limb.
It inched closer.
“Can you see what it is?” I asked, trying to guess the dog’s breed through the shadows.
“Looks like it could be a German shepherd, maybe,” Anna answered. “It’s got a dark coat, so I can’t be sure.”
I spotted a bit more of the animal as it stood just beyond the gate and off to the side of Anna’s arm. It looked at her, then over to me through the diagonal slats. From what I could see, it did look like a German shepherd.
It turned toward her arm, then sniffed at her. Anna reached for the dog, touching the side of its body. It flinched, then growled. Anna pulled her hand back slowly.
“It’s okay.” She reached for the dog’s head, rubbing the side of its face. The growling subsided. Her fingers worked up to the crown, between its ears.
The dog calmed, allowing her to pet its head.
“There. See. We’re not so bad.” Anna continued rubbing the dog’s head a moment longer. She pulled her arm back through the opening, stood, then patted her thigh. “Come on. Why don’t you come here so we can get a better look at you?”
I took another step back, distancing myself from the dog. Getting attacked wasn’t high on my to do list.
The dog hesitated, nearing the small opening toward the bottom corner of the gate. It poked its maw through, then paused.
“I imagine if it wants to come out, it will when its good and ready,” I said, pointing at the dog’s head. “It could have rabies or something and that’s why it’s being like that.”
Anna patted her leg while glancing over at me. “If it had rabies, it wouldn’t have allowed me to pet it or come near me without attacking.”
“True, but still,” I shot back, watching the dog’s every move. “Just watch yourself, all right.”
It crawled through the opening, slow and low. The folded back ears on its head lifted. It looked at Anna, then over to me.
Anna kneeled beside the German shepherd and placed her palm on its head. She rubbed from the crown of its head and down the spine. The dog remained on high alert, standing rigid next to her. It’s long and bushy tail curved then raised.
“Seems like you’ve got the magic touch, there.” I watched Anna stroke the dog’s coat. She peered under its belly. I took a single step forward. The dog growled, baring its fangs, then snapped at me. “Okay. Sorry.”
Anna ran her fingers through the dog’s silver-tinted fur. “Another fan of yours, it seems. Is there anyone that doesn’t want to kill you by chance, human or not?”
“Doesn’t seem that way. Jury’s still out on you, though.” I kept my distance from the agitated canine, watching Anna check around its neck.
“No tags on this girl.” Anna rubbed the sides of the dog’s head. “Again, for the record, if I wanted you dead or otherwise injured, it would’ve happened by now, so you can relax. I’m on your side.”
We’ll see.
The dog eased up, relaxing its tail and lowering it to the ground.
“There could be a house or something close by that she came from,” I said, looking through the front entrance of the barn, then toward the rear of the building. “Might be worth looking into. I planned on staying in here to ride out this storm, but if there’s a house close by, then that will be better. Plus, they may have a vehicle or something.”
Anna stood and faced me. She pointed at the road. “You know, that’s a big if, right? There’s no telling how far we’d need to walk before running into something. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try, but we need to take a moment, warm up if we can, and think this through instead of just racing out there in falling ash. That wouldn’t be smart.”
I sighed. “I know that. I’m not saying that at all. There could just be a home, cabin, anything out there that perhaps we can get some answers or something.”
The dog stayed at Anna’s side, looking at me with her ears on end. I couldn’t tell if the elevated voices put the canine on edge or what.
Anna pressed her palms together. “Listen. We’ll head out here in a bit. Taking a few minutes to gather our thoughts and strategize isn’t the worst thing to do right now.”
“All right. You’re right,” I said, lifting my hands in the air. “I just need to get back to my family. My wife and son need me.”
“They need you alive. Not dead,” Anna shot back, shrugging her shoulders.
Good point.
I skimmed over the ground inside the barn, searching for wood or anything else we could use, but found nothing.
The wind changed course, blowing through the large-crumbling doors
