The Chemist

The freed dogs were immediately silent. The first pair was a matched set of standard German shepherds. The two dogs raced out the barn door, heading north. Before they were out of sight, three Rottweilers sprinted past her toward the south. A lone Doberman followed, then a quartet of German shepherds, each group heading in a different direction. The dogs started flooding out of the building so quickly that she lost count entirely. Easily more than thirty animals, though some of them were still very young. Part of her wanted to cheer, Tear ’em up, boys! while the other part wanted to tell them, Be careful! She saw Lola’s pups run past, and her eyes teared again.

In the dark night, someone shouted in panic. Gunfire, then screaming. A tight, mirthless smile stretched her lips.

But it wasn’t entirely good news. She heard shots from another direction. Definitely multiple attackers.

“Gun?” she whispered to Daniel. He nodded and pulled it out from the waist of his jeans. He offered it to her. She shook her head. She’d just wanted to know he hadn’t dropped it. She was dripping sweat inside the thick fur. She pushed back the hood and wiped her forearm across her forehead.

“What now?” he murmured. “Are we supposed to wait here?”

She was just about to say that as an escape, this didn’t quite answer, when Einstein was back, tugging Daniel down again. She got on her hands and knees and followed as Einstein led them out the door they’d come in. Khan was still there, bringing up the rear again. This time Einstein led them due north, though she didn’t know of any additional structure that way. It was probably going to be a long crawl, she realized, and her hands were already deeply scratched from the dry stalks of grass. She tried to protect her palms with the cuffs of the coat’s sleeves, but that part wasn’t lined, so it only helped a little. At least there were too many furry shapes in the night for a shooter to bother with four that weren’t attacking. She looked back toward the house in the distance. She didn’t see any new lights on. They hadn’t started clearing the house yet. The dog sounds continued, faraway growling, the baying of Lola’s pups, and random staccato barks.

She lost track of time, only aware of the amount of sweat she was producing, the rasping sound of her panting, the fact that they’d been going slightly uphill the whole way and now Daniel was slowing some, and that her palms were being pierced again and again, despite the coat. But she didn’t think they’d gone very far when Daniel gasped quietly and stopped. She crawled up beside him.

It was the fence. They’d reached the northern boundary of the ranch. She looked for Einstein, wondering what they were supposed to do next, and then she realized that Einstein was already on the other side. He looked at her, then pointed his nose down to the bottom edge of the fence. She felt her way along the place he indicated and found that the earth dropped away from the line of chain link; what she’d thought was a shadow was actually a narrow gorge of dark rock. The space was easily big enough for her to slip through. She felt Daniel grab her ankle, using her for guidance. After they were both through, she turned to watch Khan struggle his way into the gorge. She winced, knowing the bottom edge of the chain link must be gouging into his skin. He didn’t make any audible complaint.

They came out on top of a shallow, rocky ravine. It had been invisible from the house, hidden in the lee of the slight rise of land; she’d never guessed that there was any end to the flat plains stretching north toward Oklahoma. Einstein was already scrambling down the rocks. It looked like he might be on a faint, narrow path. Khan nudged her from behind.

“Let’s go,” she whispered.

She lifted herself into a low crouch and, when Einstein didn’t object, started carefully down the slope. She could feel Daniel following closely. There did appear to be a path, though it could have been a game trail, too. There was a new sound in the darkness, a gentle whooshing that it took her a few seconds to place. She hadn’t realized the river came so close to the house.

It was only about fifteen feet to the bottom of the ravine, and when they reached it, Alex felt it was safe to straighten up. The water coursed quietly past them in the dark. She thought she could make out the far side; the river was much narrower here than it was by the barn. Einstein was yanking at something under a ledge, a place where the water had cut away the bank, leaving an overhanging shelf of stone. She went to help and was thrilled to see that it was a small rowboat. She thought she understood the protocol now.

“I will never say another bad word about your brother,” she muttered rashly as she helped tow the boat from its hiding place. If Kevin was still alive – and if she and Daniel lived through the night – she would no doubt break that promise, but for now she was filled with gratitude.

Daniel caught the other side of the boat and pushed. They had it in the water in seconds, the eddies swirling around their calves. Her coat trailed so much lower to the ground than his that the bottom edge was already in the river. The fur soaked up the water, getting heavier with each step. The current ran faster than the smooth surface implied, and they had their hands full hanging on to the boat while the dogs jumped in. Khan’s weight lowered the stern of the boat dangerously close to the rippling water, so they both piled into the prow next to Einstein; first Alex while Daniel held the boat, and then he leaped in next to her. The boat took off like an arrow shot from a bow.

She threw off the hot, heavy coat. She’d never be able to swim in it, if that became necessary. Daniel followed suit quickly, whether because he’d thought of the same danger or just because he trusted her to do the right thing.