Walter

SOMETHING FAMILIAR IN THE AIR

A romp in the park had given him plenty of time to run and find a nice scented patch of beautiful green grass to roll in.

"I'll never understand why you do that," said his owner, shaking his head as he watched him.

But he knew it was because it made him smell good. Whenever they were back home, if he ever wanted to smell the outside world, all he had to do was smell a nice spot on himself.

The world had so many smells to offer, sometimes it was distracting and he wanted to find them all. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to when they came out for their walks. His owner was not a young man, so they never stayed out for very long.

Today his owner was in a very good mood, they had never spent so much time outdoors. He didn't know why, but he was just glad that he was outside.

On their way home from the park they usually went down one way of the path, but for reasons that he didn't understand, he wanted to head the other way. His owner had put up a little resistance with his wanting to explore a different direction home, but eventually followed Codger's lead with mild enthusiasm.

The path itself was somewhat interesting as new scents enticed him as they made their way down and out of the park, but they didn't hold much sway over him. He was intent on going in this particular direction until whatever it was he was seeking, was found.

They made their way out of the park and onto a winding street lined with houses. The sun cascaded through the trees, casting various shadows between the moving branches. Birds chirped as they flew overhead and the odd little squirrel that crossed his path would dash up a tree at the sight of him.

Normally he would want to chase it, but for now it was safe in his disinterest. A bell ringing in the distance was heard, followed by the sounds of children.

When a low growling sounded behind them, he took notice of the truck as it passed and created a slight breeze that pushed past them.

Upon the breeze was a scent that was as strange as it was familiar, but he was unable to correlate it to anything.

Stopping, he watched the truck pull into an empty lot across the street. As it entered the lot, it turned to one side, stopped and proceeded to back up to within a foot of a plain fence. Its back end started to lift and deposited its load as it slowly inched forward.

When a small bundle tumbled out, he took interest in it. It rolled to one side before standing up and walked away from the truck as it continued to unload the stones.

Another breeze brought him scents of dirt, stones and the same smell that he'd encountered when they had been at the railway station. This little boy making his way up had been the scent that he'd caught earlier that day.

With curiosity, he watched as this small boy looked about himself. When the truck started to roll towards him, the boy started to run in an attempt to keep ahead of it.

The sounds of screaming children caught his attention. He looked down the street to see a school bus fast approaching. If both vehicles continued at their currents speeds, the small boy would end up jumping out into the street, to land in the bus' path.

The driver of the large truck would definitely see the oncoming school bus and stop, but the boy wouldn't because of the hedges lining one side of the lots entrance, the side the bus was coming from.

He watched as the inevitable events unfolded in front of him.

Instinct drove him as he bolted loose of his owner's grasp, the leash flailing wildly behind him. Crossing the street in a rush, seconds fell behind him with each step, time slowed to a stand still as he made his way, pushing past the visible future.

The sound of the truck's horn blaring, his owner yelling and the screeching cry of tires on pavement converged on him as he stopped and caught the boy's gaze in the last moments before the boy tripped into the street, rolling to a stop in front of him.

The sounds peeked as a large shadow cast itself over them.