Goodbye (Rooster x Max)

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7 AM

Max slowly opened his eyes, waking up from his deep sleep. He could tell that it was just starting to get morning, but he couldn't tell what time it was. It was very dim out. He groggily got up from his seat, stretched and yawned.

He just noticed Rooster was nowhere to be seen. "Rooster?"

The rain had stopped, and was now dripping off the car hood and the trees.

The sky was very cloudy. Dark grey clouds scattered throughout, leaving no room to see the actual sky. The sun had yet to be out, as it was just beginning it's rise behind all the clouds, and this gave the whole farm a dark blue-ish, dark grey hue.

Max hopped out of the car, and landed in the wet grass. As he went looking for Rooster, his mind was racing. This time though, it was with happy thoughts. "Last night was incredible! He showed me so much stuff. Him showing me the fireflies was so beautiful. When he brought me inside his car, I felt so special and safe. He's so amazing..!"

Max decided to walk over to the house to look for Rooster. He couldn't wait for a whole day of working by his side again. He knew so much about Rooster and wanted to know more.

Max was in front of the house, when suddenly the door opened. It was Katie, and she was holding her kid, who was sleeping.

Max looked at her confused.

Katie walked to the car, unlocked it, put the kid in the car, and walked back inside the house.

Max was still confused. "Umm.."

Then Duke came walking out of the barn. "Oh, hey Max." Duke was clearly tired. He yawned and walked inside the car. Then he sat down and closed his eyes. He fell asleep no more than four seconds later.

"Wait Duke, have you seen Rooster?" Max tried talking louder "Duke?"

Max sighed. "Where could he be.."

Max ran away from the car towards the forest.

Max was at the edge of the forest. He looked up at the tall trees. They made him feel small and terrified. He thought Rooster could be in there, but he was too afraid to go in.

He was reminded of the words Rooster had said.

"Max, you can do this. Your size says nothing about who you are, or what you're capable of."

"Max, a little dog like you enduring all those jobs you did today was incredible."

Max took a deep breath, and walked in. He felt nervous at first, but him being worried for Rooster quickly took over.

He walked deeper in the woods. "Rooster? Rooster!"

He waited for a few seconds to listen for the sounds of his steps. There was nothing.

Max walked even further, eventually reaching the spot where the two watched the fireflies just hours ago.

He shoved himself through the bush. He tumbled forward and was dazed for a few seconds. He raised his face off the ground and looked up.

Nothing but the amazing memories from the night before.

He didn't have time to revisit those memories. Max ran out of the meadow, then back out of the woods.

Max came back to the farm. He realized he hadn't checked the barn yet. Maybe he could be in there. Max walked down the hills, looking left and right constantly to check for Rooster.

Max remained very quiet. His anxiety had risen to levels they'd never reached before. He was containing it much better than usual. He wanted to remain calm so he could find Rooster quickly.