Jenn McKinlay - Due Or Die

She felt a burst of panic at the thought of Heathcliff out there in the cold. He was just a puppy. He couldn’t handle being out there indefinitely. He would freeze to death! Lindsey couldn’t bear it. Why had she brought him? What had she been thinking?

He continued to whimper and scratch against the door.

It was heartbreaking. Lindsey laid her hand flat against the metal, wishing she could reach through and pick up her boy.

“We have to scare him away,” Carrie said. “For his own good.”

Lindsey nodded, knowing she was right but not sure if she could do it. She didn’t know the puppy’s life story, but she suspected it wasn’t one full of love and affection.

She felt sick to her stomach as she put on her tough voice. “Heathcliff, go home!”

The scratching stopped but the whimpering continued. Lindsey turned to face the other two women.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

“You have to,” Beth said with a bolstering arm about her shoulders. “He might stay out there all night unless you scare him away. It’s bad enough we might freeze to death, but he’s out there . He stands a good chance of being found.”

“It’s the right thing,” Carrie whispered.

“Heathcliff, go!” Lindsey yelled. “Go home, now. Get!”

The whimpering stopped and all was silent. Lindsey held her breath. The lump in her throat burned like a hot coal, but she knew if she cried, Heathcliff would never leave, and she just couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.

She stared at her watch; after five minutes, there was still no sound from outside. She hoped he had run away even as it broke her heart to send him.

Beth opened her arms and pulled Lindsey close. She held her tight, and Lindsey choked back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. After a moment, she reached out and pulled Carrie into the huddle as well.

The three of them stayed like that for a long time, not speaking. Finally, when the beam started to dim again, Beth shut off the flashlight.

“He’ll be all right,” Beth said.

Lindsey nodded, but then realizing that Beth couldn’t see her in the dark, she said, “I hope so.”

“How are you two feeling?” Carrie asked. “Do you have any numbness?”

“No,” Lindsey said.

“My feet hurt,” Beth said. “I think they are on their way to numb.”

“That’s not good,” Carrie said. “Hypothermia is a sneaky bugger. We’re dry and out of the wind, at least, but if either of you start to feel numb or tired, let me know.”

“Okay,” Lindsey and Beth agreed.

“Let’s stay huddled up,” Carrie said. “It’ll help to combine our heat. Also, be sure to listen to each other speak; slurred speech is another indicator that hypothermia has set in.”

“So we need to keep talking?” Beth asked.

“Yes,” Carrie said.

They were all silent.

“I have nothing to say,” Lindsey said. “Probably I would but now I feel pressured.”

Carrie chuckled. “Isn’t that always the way?”

They were silent again.

“I can teach you some of my story time finger plays,” Beth offered. “How about Ten Fat Sausages ?”

“That’s going to make me hungry,” Lindsey said.

“Yeah, maybe one without food,” Carrie agreed.

“So, One Potato, Two Potato and Five Fat Peas are out,” Beth said. “Okay, let’s try Here Is a Beehive . Now make a fist but put your thumb inside.”

It was dark, so she could have faked it, but Lindsey did as she was told, hoping it would take her mind off Heathcliff and the cold at least for a moment.

“Now repeat after me,” Beth said. “Here is a beehive, but where are the bees?”

Lindsey and Carrie dutifully repeated the words.

“Hiding away where nobody sees,” Beth continued and they repeated.

“Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive,” Beth said. “Now as you count, release a finger until only your thumb is left.”

“One, two, three, four, five…buzzzzz!”

Lindsey felt a thumb jab her in the cheek. “Hey, quit that.”

“Sorry,” Beth said, but Lindsey could hear her laughing. “I usually wear a little bee puppet on my thumb and it always flies into the kids and tickles them.”

“Uh-huh.” Lindsey grunted. She wasn’t positive, but she thought she could hear Carrie laughing, too.

“Come on, let’s do it again,” Beth said.

So they did. Five more times to be exact. Then Beth got them moving a bit more with Ten Puppies in the Bed and Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree .

Lindsey had a feeling that Beth had enough finger plays, poems and rhymes in her repertoire to keep them going all night. And she would have bet dollars to donuts that Beth hadn’t considered this a life-saving skill back in library school.

Donuts. Why had she thought of donuts? Her stomach grumbled and she had to shake her head to clear it of the image of a ginormous raspberry jelly covered in powdered sugar. She felt a little drool pool in the corner of her mouth and wiped it away with her glove.

“How is everyone doing?” Carrie asked as they took a break. “Any numbness, nausea or disorientation?”

“I’m okay on the first two,” Lindsey said, “But given that it’s pitch-black in here, my internal compass is a bit wonky.”

“Good point,” Carrie said. “We’ll let that one go unless you start to fall over.”

“So, who wants to learn Five Enormous Dinosaurs ?” Beth asked. “We get to roar,” she added as if this was a huge selling point.

“I love you, Beth,” Lindsey said with a chuckle. She told herself she wasn’t saying it because this night in the shed might turn out really badly, but rather because it occurred to her that she didn’t say it enough to her loved ones.

“I love you, too,” Beth said. She took a deep breath and began the chant with Lindsey and Carrie repeating her.

They performed it three times, and Lindsey figured if they ever got out of here, she would be officially certified to perform story times.

“Well, what next?” Beth asked as they paused to catch their breath.

“We could-” Carrie began but Lindsey hushed her.

“Shh, I hear something,” she said.

There it was, the distinct sound of a man’s voice and a dog’s bark.

“There’s someone out there!” Beth cried.

As one, they bolted for the door and began to bang on it with their fists. “Help!”

“We’re in here!”

“Let us out! Please!”

There was no answer.

BRIAR CREEK

PUBLIC LIBRARY

“Are we suffering from group delirium?” Beth asked Carrie. “I could have sworn I heard something.”

The screech of metal sounded and they all jumped back from the door. A terrific bang sounded and the door popped open.

Backlit by the security lights of the storage facility, Sully stood in the doorway, holding a crowbar with Heathcliff at his side.

Heathcliff bolted for Lindsey and wrapped his paws about her leg as if he’d never let her go. She bent down and hefted him into her arms, letting him lick her face while she buried hers in his fur.

“Oh, buddy, you came back,” she said. “And you brought help.”

As if he understood, Heathcliff barked and licked and wiggled closer against her. Lindsey was afraid she might cry. She had been so worried about him and now he was here and he was okay.

Carrie and Beth hurried out of the shed, leaving Lindsey to follow with Heathcliff.

“How did you find us?” Lindsey asked Sully.

“Heathcliff,” he said. “I was driving home from the pier and I saw him on the side of the road. I stopped to pick him up, but he wouldn’t get in the truck. He kept barking and dashing down the road, so I followed him.”