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But the feeling in my gut told me I was wrong and Audrey was in danger.
CHAPTER37
Audrey
Flipflops were not good hiking shoes, but at least I wasn’t in heels this time. My legs burned with the effort of rushing up the hill and I was glad I wasn’t completely out of shape or I’d have been on the ground gasping for air.
I pushed on, hoping to see or hear some sign of Max. I had no idea if I was on the right path or if he’d veered off in one direction or another. Or trotted back home, happily covered in dead animal stench. There was no way I could cover every possibility, so I kept climbing, hoping he’d hear me and come running.
That yelp had me worried. Especially because I didn’t hear anything now.
“Max!”
The ground was littered with dry pine needles. They kept getting caught in my shoes, poking and scratching my feet.
With all the squirrels in Tilikum, I really needed a yard with a fence. They were just too tempting for Max.
“Max! Where are you?”
I came to the top of the rise where the land leveled out. I slowed, pausing to catch my breath and get my bearings. If I remembered correctly, Josiah had found Max not too far from here the last time he’d run off.
“Max, come!”
I waited, hoping to hear the sound of him running through the pine needles.
Nothing.
Sweat dripped down my back and I swiped the moisture off my forehead. It was hot, even in the shade of the pine trees.
I pulled out my phone, wondering if Josiah was back yet. I could have used his help. No signal. Because of course there was no signal.
Stupid phone.
I slid it back in my pocket and kept going.
Instead of running headlong through the trees, I slowed my pace, listening for any hint of my dog. What I wouldn’t have given to have his sense of smell so I could follow his trail. I called for him every so often, pausing to see if he came running.
Still nothing.
The hill descended, then leveled out again. This was probably farther than I’d gone last time, but it was hard to be sure. I didn’t want to get myself lost in the process, but I couldn’t just turn around and go back without Max.
Not yet, at least. I’d go a little farther. He had to be around there somewhere.
“Max!”
This was the worst. I’d probably passed him already. Or he’d gone home and he was sitting at the front door, wondering where I was. Indecision gnawed at me as I made my way deeper into the woods, up another small rise. The trees were thicker, the shade darker.
I probably needed to go home before I got completely lost. I’d find Josiah and we’d go back out and search for Max together.
Another hill rose in front of me and it seemed like there might be a clearing at the top. I decided to forge ahead a little farther and if I didn’t see or hear anything, I’d turn back.
My stomach knotted with worry for my dog. He had a great nose but he was kind of derpy. What if he chased a squirrel in so many circles, he couldn’t find his way home? Or that yelp meant he was injured and couldn’t walk? People hunted around here, could there be traps or snares? What if he was caught in something, miserably hurt and wondering why his people weren’t rescuing him?
The trees opened at the top of the hill but there wasn’t much to see. It wasn’t high enough to get the lay of the land, just an unshaded spot, baking in the summer sun. My mouth was dry with thirst, I was drenched with sweat, and if the rest of me was even a fraction as dirty as my feet, I probably looked like a forest creature.
“Max?”
I shook my head, fairly certain that I’d gone too far and missed him.
