Fool's Gold

~ Seven ~

Madison Street... Oxford Street... Midnight Boulevard... she ran past each street, the dog pulling her along. Redwood Avenue... Johnson Avenue!

Tugging on the leash, Lily brought her dog to a halt and pivoted on her heel before darting a little ways down the street to the park. She gulped as she got closer; she could see two figures talking to each other, one tall and one short. It didn't take much to figure out who they were.

"Okay... Goldilocks, slow down, heel," she ordered quietly, slowing her run to a quiet walk. The dog obeyed, allowing her owner to creep behind a vine-covered fence within earshot of the pair but out of their line of vision.

"Is Lily going to be here?" she heard Kendra ask. The dog's ears perked up at the sound of a new voice, and Lily shot her a warning glance and put a finger to her lips.

"I sure hope so, Kenny," a gruff voice replied. Lily realized this must be the creepy man talking and she shuddered. Kendra could see the man, so she knew he was old and scary-looking... why did she still stand there?

"Yeah, me too. So who are you, anyway?"

"Well, can't say too much just yet... but you can call me R."

"Heh, okay then, R. I guess I'll have to wait to know more." A length of silence passed before Kendra spoke again. "I don't think Lily is coming."

"That's a shame..." the man murmured, glancing over his shoulder. "I was really looking forward to having her around. I suppose we'll just have to leave her behind and have fun on our own."

"I-I guess so," Kendra said, unsure. "It's not really fair to exclude people though."

"Her fault for being late. Come on, let's go for a walk." He held out his hand, but Kendra ignored it.

"Can't we wait a bit?" she asked.

"Not really. I don't have much time for this. Come on now," he insisted, and Kendra reluctantly took his hand.

"Okay. Where are we going?" They walked hand in hand, the man leading the way.

"You'll see," he said, and then they were out of Lily's range of sight and hearing.

Carefully, Lily peeked out from behind her hiding spot to make sure they wouldn't see her before quietly creeping ahead to trail them, dashing from one hiding place to another. She darted from car to tree to trash can for a few blocks before they came to a place where Lily could find no hiding spot—an empty parking lot. She managed to slink along the edge though, blending somewhat into the trees.

A furry body brushed past Lily, and with a start, she realized the stupid dog had followed her. She'd forgotten to tie her with the leash back at the park.

"Goldilocks! No!" Lily hissed, giving the golden dog a shove away from her. "Go home!"

Goldilocks stumbled backwards, then barked in protest. In that moment, everything seemed to slow down. As two heads snapped over to look at the dog, Lily dove onto the ground, flattening herself among the sticks and leaves, trying her best to keep her panicked breaths shallow and quiet.

There was a long, tense silence, where Lily's blood roared in her ears and her breaths seemed magnified. She was going to be caught.