And a creature lets out a scratchy shout.
My heart stutters.
The shout gets cut off.
And I start to run.
“Buddy!”
The coffee falls from my hands.
I run faster.
It can’t be.
Raindrops crash against my face, mixing with my tears and blurring my vision.
“Buddy!” I try to yell, but my voice cracks.
My tennis shoes slap against the wet gravel as my clothes are soaked through.
It can’t be.
I round the turn in the driveway.
I can’t breathe.
I keep running, but I can’t breathe.
He’s there.
Lying in the road.
“No.” I gasp for breath. “Buddy, no.”
I stumble to a stop beside him.
Red fur is matted from the rain.
He looks so small.
“Buddy,” I sob.
I drop to my knees.
There’s blood on his temple.
And his leg…
It’s the leg that had the ribbon wrapped around it when we first met…
It’s broken.
I can see that it’s broken.
I swallow against the bile rising in my throat.
I reach for him, pausing my trembling hands inches from his fragile body.
