Press. Release. Wait.

More Treats

"What do you mean hello? Who else did you think would be calling you?"

"I just... I just wasn't sure it was you..." I explained.

"Where did you go? Where the hell are you?"

I didn't really want to answer. I was sure that he would accuse me of being completely blind or having a concussion or something like that.

"Sorry," I said as I shrunk in my seat, "I was busy." I looked down at the small dog lyng on the ground and smiled a little bit. At least I had some real companionship right now. Well... as real as I could manage right now.

I looked down at the small lettering next to the brake. I knew what it said. I just wanted to confim it to myself. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"I got scared," he admitted,"I was afraid you wouldn't come back."

"...Sorry." I said again.

"I went looking for you."

"I can see that."

"I want to find you. I want to see you."

"I do too." I wasn't sure if I was lying or not. I did want to see him. I really did. I just didn't want deal with him again. Maybe if we actually met he would see that I'm not crazy and I hadn't suffered sever head trauma and could find my away from one place to another.

"Okay," he said. "It's okay. We're here now. We just need to... calm down a bit and figure out what we're doing. Are there any identifying marks? Like a car number or anything?"

I gulped down what little spit I had left and looked down again.

The tiny etched in numbers looked back at me. Stared at me. So obvious and real that I would be an idiot to deny them.

"Yeah," I whispered into the phone.

...

"Okay... so... what are they? What does it say?" he interrogated.

"It says 6..." I whispered even softer than before.

"What?"

"6. It says car 6."

...

"No."

"What do you mean no? You think I can't read?"

"I don't know what I mean no. That's just not really possible."

"Because you're in car 6..."

There was a long silence. I could tell Adam was looking at the number of the car in the same why I had been before. Staring through it. Knowing that he wasn't making a mistake.

"Can you make some noise?" he asked.

"Adam..."

"Please."

I stopped. And then kicked the metal interior of the car as hard as I could. Mostly out of anger. But some part of me was thinking that Adam might be able to hear me.

I kicked it again.

And then again.

I felt pain in my foot but kicked it again.

"Okay! Okay!" Adam shouted into the phone. "I get the point. I can't hear you."

"Good," I stated with contempt.

"So... what should we do, Cheyenne? How do we find each other?"

"What do you see?"

"I see a number that says fucking car 6 on it!"

"I understand that," I answered calmly, "as do I. What do you see?"

I heard Adam groan from the other line.

"Okay... I see an empty car. It's dark. Really dark."

His voice started to fade as he traveled away from the speaker.

I could still hear his voice and the sound of his exploratory footsteps just barely reaching in tot he speaker.

Tiny crunches of rocks and dirt beneath his feet. The sound slowly droned on, getting quieter and quieter until I heard nothing but static through the phone.

"Adam? Adam?"

I took a few deep breaths. The tiny dog was awake now. And looking at me.

"It's okay," I looked at the dog when I said that but I was really comforting myself.

The dog got up and paced towards me, looking at me with those same eyes as it always did. It pawed at my leg. I couldn't help but crack a tiny smile as I looked down at the dog.

I patted my lap, urging the dog to come up. It pawed at the ground for a few seconds, almost nervous about coming up onto my lap.

I brought my hand down and stroked it down the length of its body.

"It's okay," I said again.

I grabbed the dog's tiny body. It didn't flinch at all but simply stared up at me as I brought it to my lap.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." I repeated the mantra to myself as I continued to pet the dog.

I felt its collar beneath my fingers. I grabbed it and brought the flashlight close to its tags.

"What's your name, buddy?"

The dog seemed to be up to date on its vaccines.

That... was about it.

Well at least I knew that.

I guess you will continue to be dog.

"Adam?" I said again the phone. I was far less panicked this time. I felt the dog's soft fur beneath my fingers.

There was no answer.

I looked down to the dog.

"I'm sure he's fine. You remember he couldn't hear me even when I shouted. Do you remember that, dog?"

My stomach suddenly dropped when I thought that maybe he had heard me when I shouted at him before. Maybe he just didn't say anything. I would never forgive myself if I actually told him that.

I could hear something coming through the phone.

I thought I was imagining it at first but I could definitely hear a few crunches on the other end.

"Adam?" I almost screamed into the phone.

"Hey," he said in the muted way that told me he was still far away form the speaker.

The crunching got louder and louder, peppering itself into the silent static of the phone.

"I found some stuff," he said, "maybe you can use it to find me."

"Okay."

"I think this is where the tunnel collapsed. The other end of the car is totally destroyed."

My eyes opened wide, instinctively I shone the light through to the other end of the car. I could see the giant pile of rocks, dirt and concrete that had fallen.

"Okay..." Was all I said.

"I also found this." I could hear a rustling and a jingle from the other end.

"What is it?"

"It's a purse."

Okay. Don't freak out. There's probably more than a few purses around here.

"Wh-what's in it?"

"Not much."

"What?"

"Ummm... looks like a bottle, some make-up and... some dog treats."

Fuck.