Rescued

Prologue: A Stranger's Kindness

Charlotte Gabriel Grayson

Memory: Age 14

I exhaled, watching my breath cloud in front of me while I shook out my numb fingers. They were so cold. I should have grabbed gloves. But I hoped that I wouldn't be out here this long. The sun had set two hours ago, not that it was providing much warmth against the bitter cold of a Midwest winter day.

I was frantic to find Gimmick, my beloved, geriatric dog that had somehow managed to escape from our fenced in yard. My idiot brother let him out late in the afternoon and somehow managed to forget about him for several hours. He was probably video chatting with his stupid girlfriend. They were first-year college students, separated because of holiday break. He was like obsesssed with her. So much so that he let Gimmick out and got wrapped up in whatever they did for hours on end.

I came home from school and was surprised that Gimmick wasn't there to meet me at the door the way he had been for nearly all my life. I was then agitated that Gannon left him out in the cold, especially since we knew the poor old guy had arthritis starting in his back hips. My agitation grew to sheer mortification when Gimmick was no where to be found in the backyard and the gate appeared to be unlatched.

I headed out into the cold completely unprepared, Gannon calling after me that he was old and couldn't have gotten that far. After an hour, I came home to regroup. Mom and Dad were just arriving home from work. They weren't even through the door and I was in their faces. They shared a concerned look and we all set to work.

Mom called local shelters, our vet, and the police and fire departments just in case. Gannon put together flyers and posted to local social media boards. Dad and I headed out to search the neighborhood, checking out places where we had frequented in hopes that his snout might lead him back.

"We should head back, Lotte. We're losing the light." My dad acknowledged.

"No! We can't just give up on him, Dad." I replied dramatically, my voice shrill and alarmist.

"We'll just regroup. See if your Mom and Gannon got any leads. Warm up and refuel." He wisely suggested.

"They would have called if they had leads." I grumbled and begrudgingly followed my dad.

But when we got back to the house, I couldn't just expect to sit around. "I'm going door to door. Maybe someone took him in."

"Take Gannon with you and don't go too far outside of the neighborhood. It's getting dark." My dad knew that arguing with me was futile these days.

"Gannon is the reason that Gimmick isn't home. I'll take my chances." I growled.

My dad sighed. "Is your phone on you and charged at least?"

"Uh huh." I had the phone on me, but I had no clue whether it was charged or not.

"Just be careful, Charlotte." He advised. "I'll call you when I'm headed back out. Hopefully he is home before then."

I ended up going door to door, hoping someone saw him or took him in. No such luck. I saw the same regretful pity overtake everyone's face as they shook their head.

I persisted, house by house but it had gotten dark and I was freezing. I was already three or four blocks from home. I knocked on the next door.