Linda Andrews - Extinction Level Event

“Look!” Falcon bumped Manny’s shoulder when he stepped forward. “They’re dropping something.”

White light blinked on and off, highlighting the small parachute and the package dangling from it.

“Let’s go see what it is!” Papa Rose scooped up a lantern as he raced passed.

Falcon chased over the rocks after him.

“Wait!”

Neither man slowed.

Manny handed his empty can to Rini. “I have to go after them. There’s something out there.”

She opened her mouth, but he turned away and jogged after the two men. The bluish glow of the lantern guided him, but still he stumbled over the ground. He fell and skinned his knees and palms more times than he could count. Branches scratched at him, tore his clothing as he plunged through the brush. He emerged on a dirt ramp leading out of the wash.

Falcon stood at the top in the glow of lantern light. “Come on, kid. We have to find that package.”

He puffed to the top, set his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.

Papa Rose adjusted the light of the lamp. “I arrived too late to see where it landed. We’re going to have to fan out to find it.”

“Turn it down to a glow.” Falcon stood on a fallen branch. “Maybe we can see the beacon.”

The light of the propane lantern faded to a crimson ring at the burner. Darkness pressed against him and erased Falcon. Manny sucked in a lungful of air. He would not call out. He would not.

A twig snapped to the right.

The hair rose on his neck. Could that be Falcon? The man usually moved so silently…

Another cracked on the left.

Papa Rose hadn’t moved.

Curses filled Manny’s head. He had chased after the men but had forgotten to warn them. “Coyotes,” he whispered.

Papa Rose turned up the lantern. Green eyes stared at them from the shrubs both along the bank and on the other side of the dirt road. A pack surrounded them. A very big pack.

“Hold still.” Falcon whispered back. “The light may drive them away.”

Leaves rustled. Then came the blink of a white light.

Manny raised his hand and pointed beyond Papa Rose. “The beacon. It’s moving.”

Branches parted and the brown and gray muzzle of an animal appeared. The beacon and package dangled from the strings in its mouth. Floppy brown ears twitched back and forth. The light caught the silver round tags on the animal’s red collar.

“It’s a dog.” Papa Rose slowly dropped to his knees. Setting the lantern on the ground, he held his hand palm up to the mutt. “Come here, boy.”

The dog paused to sniff the air and then sneezed. The package thumped to the ground. He retreated a step.

“Dogs.” Manny scanned the sets of green eyes in the bushes. “They’re all dogs.” Pets whose owners had died. “They’re not all dead.”

“Guess people didn’t eat them all.” Falcon crouched low before fishing something out of his pocket. It looked like a twisted piece of brown leather. “Here you go, boy.”

The dog sniffed again. He eyed the food but crept closer to Papa Rose’s outstretched hand. “That’s it a little closer.”

Manny watched a gray muzzle emerge from the weeds on his left. Then another. “You’re not going to eat him, are you?”

“Hell no.” The dog buried his nose in Papa Rose’s palm and stilled. His hind quarters trembled. Slowly, Papa Rose scratched over his jaw to the sweet spot behind the dog’s ear. The dog crouched and thumped one leg against the ground.

Manny waited for the Chihuahua to reach him before petting it. The shivering dog lay down against his leg.

A matted retriever lipped the treat from Falcon’s hand while allowing herself to be petted. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” The dog woofed softly. “We’ll keep them safe, kid. Because they’re going to protect us and the animals we brought.”

More dogs stepped out of the bushes. Some hung on the fringes. Others inched closer waiting for their turn to be scratched and petted. A momma cat emerged with a close-eyed kitten in her mouth. A German shepherd came next with another one. A gangly puppy stepped out next with yet another.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Papa Rose picked up a yellow kitten and tucked it inside his vest. “Cats, too.”

Falcon accepted the gray kitten from the German shepherd before patting the dog on the head. “They must have been raised together for them to still be together. This will brighten the faces of many of the kids. The colonel was a big proponent of animal therapy.”

Manny cradled a dachshund, felt the small dog lick his ear, just like Peewee used to do. “The niños will certainly be very happy.”

Shucking off his jacket, Falcon created a sling for the two kittens and the puppy. The momma cat sniffed it before climbing in and settling next to her offspring. “What’s in the package?”

Papa Rose added the last kitten to the sling before turning his attention to the package. Pulling a knife from his boot, he opened the box, removed black foam packing, and pulled a tablet computer with a yellow sticky note from inside. “We’re waiting for you. Sergeant Major Dawson.” Gray light washed over Papa Rose’s face as he powered it on. “Hot damn. It’s a GPS with real time mapping.”

Still holding the dachshund, Manny scooped up the sleeping Chihuahua and stood.

“The colonel will be happy when he sees it.” Falcon adjusted the sling as he pushed himself to his feet. “Now we can map a path through the fires instead of being chased by them.”

Manny shook his head as a fissure of unease wrapped around his backbone. Henry needed to see the GPS, not this colonel vato . Henry knew where the soldiers were. He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the men and most of the animals. “I think you should give it to Henry. He’s our leader.”

Papa Rose scooped up the box and packaging before wrapping them in the parachute. “Henry Dobbins is the Colonel, kid.”

“He saved our asses when we came home from Kandahar.” Holding the sling with one hand, Falcon plucked the lantern up with the other. “Only a Vietnam Vet could understand what we went through, could talk us back from those dark places sucking us down.”

Manny followed him down the dirt ramp back into the wash. Soft pads sounded behind him. “I don’t understand. I thought he was retired.”

“The colonel volunteered at the VA seven days a week.” Papa Rose kept one eye on the GPS as he walked. “When he didn’t show up last Monday, we came to find him. We would have been there earlier, but…we got lost.”

Falcon snorted. “ He got lost. I was just the moron who followed him.”

“What does that make you, asshole?” Papa Rose smacked him on the back with the balled up parachute.

Manny shielded the animals with his body as they walked into the undergrowth.

“Why don’t you use that thing to find a pet store we can raid?” Falcon called back. “These guys look like they could use a good meal.”

“Already ahead of you.” Papa Rose emerged from the brush and stopped.

It took Manny a minute to realize he was counting the animals as they emerged.

Satisfied, he continued walking. “There’s one a couple of miles ahead and it’s on the way to the soldiers’ camp. We’ll have to race the fire to get there, though.”

“Always love a good race,” Falcon laughed.

“Manny!” Irina charged out of the camp and raced toward him. She drew up short at the sight of the animals and nearly fell. “You have dogs!”

“Cats, too.” Turning, he offered the sleeping Chihuahua to her.

Their arrival rippled through the camp. Children stirred from their blankets and stumbled out to pet the animals. Mildred returned with a blanket full of nuggets. “Goat food. Which is weird because I always thought goats would eat anything.”