by Ho, Jo
Since our family had grown in the last six months from three to six, transport had become a bit of a problem for us — it wasn’t like we could just hitch a ride in the back of Sam’s truck (though Gid thought that sounded like fun, and so did Bandit). One of the first things Sully did after Sam moved in was to buy a minivan. No, it wasn’t glamorous, but it sure was comfortable. If I’d had one of these when I was on the streets, you would not have heard me complaining.
The greens of Montpelier soon morphed into the grays of the highway as we shot towards Connecticut. I was so excited at the prospect of a road trip that I had hardly slept last night so I was paying for that this morning. We’d barely been on the road an hour when the rocking motion lulled me to sleep. When I woke up later, it was to find us passing through New Hampshire. Having read about the place before, I decided some showing off was in order (I had a vain hope that if Sam could see how much knowledge I had up in my head already, she’d drop this whole going-to-school thing).
“Hey, did you guys know that the very first free library was funded right here, in New Hampshire? In a place called Peterborough in 1833. And, the first potato planted in America was also planted in this state.”
Sully nodded absently while Sam actually listened to me. “I didn’t know either of those things,” she said, impressed. Buoyed by this, I continued.
“They also don’t have to wear seat belts here, so we could legally remove ours and it wouldn’t be a problem, just while we’re in this state…”
“Absolutely not,” Sam replied quickly. “Law or not, some things are better left to common sense, Chase.”
“I was just saying we could, not that we should.” But she didn’t seem the least bit amused by this. I looked at Gideon hoping for some backup but he had earbuds in and was listening to a loud, emo track by the sounds of it, and Zeb was dozing in his chair, out for the count.
Of course, Bandit was captivated by my random facts. He pressed a paw onto my foot to let me know he wanted me to continue. He loved trivia almost as much as I did. “Let me think, what else do I know about New Hampshire… It holds the first presidential primary election as part of the process to choose a new president every four years.”
“Who is a president?”
“Not a, the president. He or she, though it’s always been a he so far, is the most powerful person in America. He lives in a famous building called The White House and gets to make laws and stuff.”
I could have been a little more eloquent with my explanation but it probably wouldn’t have mattered, Bandit couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the fact.
“He controls everything?”
“Yeah.”
“Like how much food we eat? And when we eat it?”
“Well, no.”
“Does he say when you have to sleep?”
“No, he doesn’t do that either.”
“What about playtime? Does he say how much you get to play?”
“Er… no.”
“Then he isn’t in charge. Sully is.”
I had to hand it to him, you couldn’t fault his logic.
We drove through a drive-in burger joint for lunch. Although there was a banner advertising it as the “Best Burger In Town”, it wasn’t a patch on the ones Gideon makes so either someone was lying or they didn’t have very high standards in this place.
We drove for a few more hours. Zeb continued to snooze while Gideon went through the entire music collection on his phone. Bandit and I entertained ourselves playing I Spy which he proved to be pretty ingenious at, noticing things the average person wouldn't. When we’d finally exhausted all the possibilities I pointed at his iPad.
“Wanna watch something?”
“Stranger Things! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”
“We just finished it the other day? Don’t you want to try something else?”
“Please, Chase. Stranger Things!”
“OK, OK, but one day you’ll have to tell me why you like it so much. I mean, it’s a great show and all, but what exactly’s your deal with it?”
“Eleven and I are peas in a pod.”
I heard the words as his Speak, Spell and Read app voice spoke them, but I wasn’t quite sure what he meant. He must have sensed my confusion as he went on to explain.
“I was made in a lab. Bad men wanted me to do things. Then I ran away. Mike saved Eleven, you saved me. And now we are a family.”
I felt my heart melt. He leaned into me and I wrapped my arms around him, resting my chin on his head. “Yeah, we are.”
Usually, this would be all the comfort he needed but today, Bandit had something else on his mind. His little body was still tensed. He shifted his weight on his paws, battling with whatever was going on inside him.
“What is it, boy?”
“I do not want to go back. I do not like the cage.”
He turned his head to stare at me with those brilliant green eyes of his. I could almost feel the intensity of his words in them.
“We stay together Chase. We always stay together.”
A lump formed in my throat and I found myself unable to answer him with words right away so I just nodded as I hugged him harder. We’d been separated once before and that almost killed us both. I was determined that no one would ever get between us again.
“I promise, boy. You’ll never spend another day in a cage again.”
I had no idea just how badly I would be breaking my promise.
7
The Scientist
The Scientist neared his target with the ease of one who was practiced in such maneuvers though this couldn’t be further from the truth. Like the dog, he had spent most of his life in a lab, but unlike the dog, he had been on the other side of the glass. Where the dog had been the specimen, The Scientist would have been the one to study him had he been privy to Forbes’ experiments at the time. Thinking this, a surge of red-hot rage coursed through him. Once again, he lamented his partner’s selfish quest. Science should be available to all, not only the select few.
The front door was in his sights. He crossed the few remaining yards and let himself in with the key he had swiped from the dumb mechanic. Why anyone would trust him with their keys was beyond him. He had kept them in a cabinet with a coded label that even a child could have deciphered.
There was no concern that he would be seen — the family were gone for a few days, on a trip back East. The Scientist knew all about it actually… people around here really loved to talk. Sullivan was getting remarried and wanted to go to his previous home to bury his past. Of course, no one else knew what had gone on there, how Forbes’ men had almost burned the clinic down. They didn’t know about the dog or the science he carried within. No, despite all the talking, they knew only the surface story.
Which suited him just fine.
He entered the ranch, closing the door behind him. It looked much as expected. A mediocre home for a mediocre family. He felt a burst of anger that these people were the only thing stopping him from his scientific breakthrough. He missed his work, wanted nothing more than to get back to his lab where he could immerse himself in his experiment but… his pet project was not finished yet. There was one last thing he needed, and the key lay within the dog. Having seen what was left of Forbes’ personal army, however, The Scientist knew he had to be patient, but what he lacked in physicality, he more than made up for in intellect.
When he was a child, he was an avid chess player. It was one of the few things that had brought joy to his life. He was made the captain of the chess team within a month of joining it, angering the other members and their parents, but despite their vocal complaints there was something about his brain, about the way it was always thinking several steps ahead, that meant he was unbeatable at the game. His opponents learned to fear him as would this family, though by the time they would learn of his plan, it would be far too late for any of them.
He was in the girl’s room now. Her disgusting clothes were everywhere. Empty food and d
rink cartons littered the table and floor. It was as if a pig lived here. Though The Scientist wasn’t particularly clean himself, even he was taken aback by the mess. Beside the bed, there was a basket for the dog. His hairs covered the cushion, and there were dog toys lying beside it. The Scientist stared at a battered soft toy of a rabbit with half its ear hanging loose. These people were ridiculous to treat him like a child.
He climbed onto the girl’s bed and found a perfect place on the book shelves to hide his camera. He angled it away from the bed — he wasn’t a creep, after all; he had no interest or intention on spying on the girl that way — no, he was only interested in the dog. The camera was a slight thing, so small you really had to be searching for it to find it and looking at the state of the room, the girl would not notice it even if it were staring her right in the face.
Satisfied with the placement, he moved into the other rooms, hiding cameras in discreet places until the ranch was full of them. When that was done, he took out a spray bottle filled with a solution that he had created to mask his own scent. Given that dogs have such an acute sense of smell, it wouldn’t do for Alpha to learn of his presence before he wanted him to. The Scientist went through the house, spraying every room until the solution was used up.
Satisfied with his mission, he smiled to himself.
The second move was completed.
Check.
8
Sully
The drive East went by all too soon.
Sure, I had joked with the kids on the journey here, but my heart wasn’t in it, my mind on other things. Well, one in particular. My deceased wife, Emma.
Just before Chase had appeared on my doorstep, Bandit near death on that shopping cart, his blood all over her, I had felt as if my world had ended. It was a slog just to get through the day, and let’s face it, I hadn’t been doing a great job of that as my buddy Mark — who I had flung a lasagna at — would testify. But opening that door to her had opened up a new life for me, one where I found myself in the unlikely position of being in love again.
I glanced at Sam. Her spiral red curls were being blown by the wind. This was not a woman who fussed over having immaculate hair. She wore it loose and natural and it framed her beautiful face perfectly. An annoyingly upbeat song was playing on the radio and as usual, she sang along with it heartily. The woman was full of life. In the time I had been with her, I had never seen her broken or down. Her sunny personality was what had attracted me to her. It had been the same with Emma until those dark days that had drained any life she’d had left.
I hadn’t meant to start a relationship with Sam — as far as I was concerned I wasn’t in that place at all, hell, I couldn’t even sleep in bed on my own until I tired my body out with my late night runs — but we had hit it off from the moment we met. We just… fit. And the kids loved her, even Zeb. It wasn’t easy to leave Emma behind, but I knew it was time. Life had moved on, and she would want me to be happy, but before I could make the final step, there was something I needed to do.
So here we were.
As we turned a corner into my old neighborhood of Ellington, familiar sights came into view. I saw the giant Oak that was so strictly protected from harm that Old Mr. Felner’s house had had to be built around it. The car passed by a playground where a group of young preschoolers were up to mischief as their parents watched on, chatting over cups of coffee. A slight pressure built up in my chest as a memory of Emma and me flashed up in my mind.
We used to sit on the swings, chatting about how many kids we were going to have. The number changed on a weekly basis, and the only thing we ever agreed on was that we wanted more than two. I mentally shoved the image away as I always did when Emma’s face flashed up in my mind, unable to handle the conflicting emotions. Mentally, I knew I was ready for this next step though I guess my heart was still confused, having loved only one woman for all those years to suddenly have it replaced with another.
We rounded another corner and suddenly I saw it. The site where my clinic stood before Forbes’ mercenaries had set fire to it.
I was relieved to see that much of the ground floor — which still housed a veterinary clinic — remained. Upstairs, however, that was a different matter. My eyes grew wide as I took in how much it had changed. When I lived there, when I had called it home, upstairs was a simple apartment of four rooms but it had now expanded across one side of the building and the exterior was painted a pale green. No hint of damage from the blaze remained, the entire place had been redecorated. It looked… nice, but it wasn’t the home I remembered.
As I slowed the car, the noise died down as the others realized we had arrived at our destination. Seeing the changes, Chase looked as astonished as I. “Wow. They fixed it up a bunch, huh?”
“Well, last time you saw it, it was burning to the ground,” I said, wryly, though my heart had started pounding inside my chest. I hoped Sam couldn’t hear it. She was staring at the clinic, assessing it with her cool, calm eyes. She didn’t say anything but turned to give me an encouraging smile.
“Looks nice. They did a good job,” Zeb said. “Nice shingles.”
I knew Zeb wasn’t interested in buildings, shingles or otherwise so this last was said for my benefit. The old man was trying to help the turmoil he knew I was going through. I killed the engine and in the silence that suddenly surrounded us, we piled out of the car when a woman in her sixties, came hurrying out of the building. As usual, she wore one of the floral dresses that apparently formed the sole contents of her wardrobe.
“Sully?! Oh My God, it’s really you?!”
Hearing that familiar voice and all she had meant to Emma and I, I suddenly found myself bounding the few yards to her. Grabbing her in a bear hug, I lifted her clear off her feet. She squealed in delight though I noticed she seemed much frailer now. Had she always been this thin? I couldn’t remember.
Moments later, we followed Florence inside.
9
Sully
Inside, the clinic looked much the same as it always had.
The same chairs sat in the waiting area, Florence stood behind the same counter where she greeted all new patients and filed their details into the computer. Fact was, there was only one discernible difference to my eyes, and I moved towards the giant pinboard now.
Where once the photographs and postcards littering the board were addressed to me, these now thanked Matt and Izzy, the two vets who had taken over from me. Judging by how many there were, they were doing a better job than I had ever done too. There was a lump in my throat. Since the night when I was forced to flee my own clinic, I hadn’t had the luxury of giving this place and my work much thought. Now I found myself missing that simple life and the joy of saving a family’s beloved pet.
As if she could sense what I was feeling, Florence’s voice came from behind my shoulders. “They’re great, but they are not you.”
I turned to find her behind me. Tears misted up in her eyes that she didn’t bother to hide. “I’m so happy to see you again.” She turned to the others, who had followed her into the room. “And it’s wonderful to finally meet all of you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Chase gave her a shy smile as Sam went to introduce herself.
“Hi Florence, I’m Sam.”
Unwittingly, I held my breath. In the absence of our own family, Florence had been like a mom to Emma and me, so I found myself nervous of what she would think of Sam. Would she think I was betraying Emma’s memory, that I was replacing her too soon? But I shouldn’t have worried. Florence gave her a warm smile and cupped her face in her hands.
“So you’re the one who has stolen my Sully’s heart. I can certainly see why.”
Sam smiled and some of the tension left her shoulders. I hadn’t noticed until now, but she must have been feeling some of the pressure herself. After Forbes’ men had attacked the clinic, I had fabricated a story about Chase getting into trouble with a gang while she was living on the streets. They attacked Bandit a
nd when Chase came to me for help, she unwittingly lead them to us. When I refused to pay them off, they attacked us and set fire to the clinic as a lesson. I’d explained to Florence that I was going to help Chase and wouldn’t be back for a while and that a change of scenery would do me good. She’d bought that part of the story more, but she’d never asked any questions of me. That was the thing about Florence, even if she knew you weren’t telling her the truth, she respected your wishes.
Almost unconsciously, I moved outside the waiting room, to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the private quarters above. The chatter behind me faded as I took in the walls — no longer that sunshine yellow Em had painted them, now replaced with a pale blue. Through the pounding that sounded in my heart, I vaguely heard Florence invite the others to the kitchen for coffee. I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t just being a good host — she was giving me time. Before she joined them, however, she came up to me.
“Matt and Izzy knew you’d want to see your old home so they told me to tell you it’s fine. Go ahead.” She shot me a supportive smile before disappearing to the kitchen.
I took the stairs slowly, one at a time.
When I reached the top, what I saw before me was nothing like the home I remembered. Instead of the small kitchen/lounge, I expected to see, I found myself in a large living area. Couches lined a whole wall in front of a flat-screen TV. There was a games console, a Playstation. Its controllers sat neatly beside a tower of video games. It seemed that outside of saving animals, the vets here liked to save the world too, judging by the titles of the games. I recognized a few of the names, having heard Chase and Gideon talk about them (they’d been bugging me about getting a console for a while now but I had resisted — call me old fashioned but I’d had enough of Chase shooting guns, real or otherwise).