Little Miss Hellhound (nanowrimo2022)

Chapter 11

Again, it always seemed to surprise me at how well Mr and Mrs Bradley could move when something was on the line. We were hobbling down the street, getting stares from the tourists and camera crews alike. The locals knew the drill. And so did I. The scavenger hunt worked a bit differently than I thought. Instead of there being random things scattered all about the city to find it was more of a race between two or three different dogs to find one thing. If that thing was found, those who didn't could go find something else, but they'd have to go somewhere else and do it. There's only seven hours to find everything, with the key being the objects are coated in something only the dog would be able to find. Some kind of perfume or something. We didn't have to track it, we just had to find it after the people took us to the general location. Ours happened to be a golf course. It wasn't in use except for practice runs by the employees who were tending to the green. They didn't pay us any attention as I and Begal were unleashed onto a sandbar and sniffed around in it. I caught the scent of the perfume–smelled like pig ears, honestly–and pointed a direction through the smoggy air. Begal kept up well enough. We knew who was with us, and I didn't want to lose. It was Makeme. She wouldn't have as strong a nose as Begal or me, but she would have a nasty temper if she lost. So she wouldn't. We had to beat her to it. And I was honing in.

"Are you sure it's this way?" I said when Begal pulled me away from the scent I had.

"Trust me. I have a nose for this," she said.

"Then lead the way."

I didn't have much experience tracking. Just a day's worth to a whole lifetime. If Begal found it, I could retrieve it easily. By outrunning that poodle if I saw her. I don't know who else was in our group, but she was the only one I was concerned with. Begal took us across the green and into a less active part of the course. The camera operator got in our faces and everything, but did not put it in front of our noses. The people in the stands in the underground arena were watching on the big screen, and many more watched us fumble around the golf course in this dusty, hot morning. At least the sun wasnt beating down. That's why we had to move fast. Mr Bradley said he sunburns easily and Mrs Bradley said something about her doctor telling her to avoid the heat. Begal seemed to be getting closer and closer. The Bradleys said there were five objects to find on the golf course, but only three dogs searching it. They even had an app on their phones that told them the location of others so they wouldn't all converge in the same places. The trees and grass was a nice contrast to the stuffy air of the hotel lobby or the underground judgment room that was that arena. A good place to end for the last challenge.

"We're getting close," Begal said, nose to ground. "We really are!"

"I also smell that poodle," I said. "Faster."

We ran across a sand bar as Began begged to be off his leash. But they wouldn't let us. We only moved as fast as the Bradleys could walk. But we were converging close enough for me to catch a whiff of it too. Stronger than the poodle, who was converging on it with her much more spry owner.

"There!"

We still reached it first. I crawled into the bushes on Begal's behalf and pulled out one of the large golden bones smelling of pork. Mrs Bradley held it up to the light and ran its barcode through the app, registering it as a find before slipping it in her purse. There were four of them in that bush, but the rules stated we could only have one bone from each cache. The poodle tackled the bush and took one out before her handler snatched it away and put it in his backpack.

Tod? Mr Bradley said.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?

The two embraced, seemingly forgetting about the competition. In their defense, it was the last one for them as competitors. Mrs Bradly huffed and crossed her arms, but did not get between the two friends talking. Suddenly, Makeme reared her head into the air and howled twice in quick succession. Her handle tapped her muzzle twice and she returned to her pose... What the hell was that? Wait a minute... I can smell that stupid Call Back.