THE DOG HUNTERS (completed)

36 - AWAY

Tinto went off to get breakfast, like he normally did the next morning, and he never came back.

For the first couple of hours Lulubelle played it straight, stating these things had happened before, he even had them worked into the monthly schedule, so in fact we weren't getting slowed down or taken off course. There would still be a few dogs to potentially see. By lunchtime, I could tell by the look on his face, which had gone tight and flat, something was seriously wrong. I suggested going out and foraging for some food and other provisions, and was met with silence. By early evening, around the time we would have settled into a new location and started our evening routine, Lulubelle stood up and began pacing.

Part of me had always suspected he could, well, walk, but it was still a shock to see it in action. He stumbled around, in a way appropriate with someone who hadn't been regularly employing certain muscles. He was distracted, deeply perplexed.

"Fuck it," he finally said, "you wanna get a cheeseburger?"

I offered to push him in the stroller, and he accepted, and quickly directed us – once our camp was packed up – to a nearby greasy spoon situated amongst some mangy maple trees at the bottom of a gently inclining hill. Doug's Diner. It smelled right, and as soon as we got there Lulubelle once again popped out of the stroller,positioning it next to a window so it wouldn't be out of sight.

Doug's had Orange Bang, which sounded correct, and tasted like heaven. The burgers were just as good. We huddled in our booth like refugees, with Lulubelle keeping his eyes glued to the stroller on the other side of the smudged glass. I wanted to ask him what was next, but at the same time I felt this would only upset him even more, and he wouldn't tell me, as that was part of the game. I waited for him to say anything, and he didn't, just ate and kept peeping thestroller.

I finished my food and stared at my empty plate, which I would havelicked clean if I'd thought it wouldn't get us in trouble. No more food. No more hunt. I sighed.

"So how'd you guys meet?" If it was over, at least I could maybe get some answers, real answers about the whole deal with them and the Dog Hunt.

Lulubelle looked at me, and then he looked through me. He wasn't Lulubelle anymore. He was a dude, a college student, maybe, his expression was less animated, more thoughtful. I've never seen someone transform like that without apparently doing anything. He had a big suck of horchata through his straw and said, "He arrived at a time, where it made sense."

That seemed to be that.

I shrugged. "So you don't know anything about him?"

"Three stories was what I got." More horchata. "You know, the large bastard liked to keep it interesting."