Home Before Dinner

Chapter 14

11:55 am

"Maxie, do you hear something?" Gidget asked, lifting her head. His ears perked, Max listened quietly. He could hear a vehicle, a big one by the sound of it, coming closer. Actually, it sounded like it was behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, the terrier's heart dropped when he saw an animal control van. Noticing it as well, Gidget yelped, "What do we do?!"

Get out of sight, quickly! a voice whispered inside Max's head. His consciousness perhaps? Why in the world did it sound like Rooster?! Shaking his head, Max declared, "Quick, hide! We gotta hide!" Conveniently, there was an alley right beside the couple. The two small dogs jumped to the side and ducked behind some trash cans in the nick of time. Peeking his head out, Max watched the van roll by.

"That was close," Gidget murmured, stepping out once the coast was clear. Following suit, Max mumbled, "Yeah, yeah it was." He sat down, biting his lip as he thought. With animal control now in play and the fact they were being hunted by a bunch of strays, they were in serious trouble.

"What are we going to do Max?" Gidget asked, snapping the Jack Russell terrier out of his thoughts. Thinking for a moment, Max heard his inner Rooster voice speak again, Keep moving, just keep moving. Gulping nervously, Max shuffled his paws as he stuttered, "We... we should keep moving. Hopefully we can find something or someone that will help us."

"Okay, smart idea," Gidget replied, nodding her head in agreement. Taking a step forward, Max nuzzled his girlfriend reassuringly as he declared, "Don't worry, we're going to get home. I promise."