The Dog Read Free Page B

“or... I don't know. Something.”
    He pauses.
    “I'm sure it's nothing,” he continues, patting me again before setting off across the field. “We'll be laughing about this tomorrow. Julie'll show up tonight, I guarantee it, and then she can fill us in on whatever's been going on. I'm sure it'll be hilarious.” He glances back at me. “Come on, dude. Let's take the path back to the cabin. She's probably there already! I bet you a dog snack that Julie's on the porch, waiting for us!”
     
    ***
     
    As the rest of the day passes, Jon becomes more and more concerned, even if he's trying to act normal. He checks the black device a lot, while muttering to himself, and he keeps mentioning Julie's name as if he expects her to suddenly show up. He spends a lot of time on the porch, too, watching the dirt-road that leads up here, as if he's waiting for her to arrive.
    Usually we spend our afternoons exploring the area nearby, but this time Jon seems to want to stay close to the cabin.
    “In her last messages,” he says a little while later, as he taps at the black device in his hands, “Julie mentioned something about having to work a double shift at the hospital.”
    He runs his finger against the device. I don't know what it is, exactly, but that rectangular object really seems to absorb his attention sometimes.
    “She said something about people getting sick,” he adds. “I didn't really pay much attention at the time, and she didn't seem too worried, but...”
    He pauses.
    “So maybe that's it,” he continues, turning to me and forcing another nervous smile. “Maybe there was some kind of incident and everyone's having to pull double or even triple shifts in the ER. Meanwhile, there also happens to be a major power outage, which is making everything ten times harder. Seems like quite a coincidence, but...”
    His voice trails off, and finally he sets the black device aside and reaches over to rub the fur on top of my head.
    “Don't worry,” he tells me. “Everything's going to be okay. I promise. This isn't the end of the world. It just feels a little bit like it right now.”
    For the rest of the afternoon, however, he keeps checking the black device every few minutes. He reads for a while on the porch, then he plays guitar, then he reads again, and then he just sits and watches the trees. He talks to me a lot, too, although I only understand a few of the words. He mentions Julie several times, and I think he's a little more worried about her.
    Finally the sun starts to dip in the sky, and the fields and forest become darker. While Jon plays his guitar, I sit at the top of the steps and look toward the horizon above the city. Again, the stars are much easier to spot than usual, and once night falls it becomes clear that there's still no light glow in the distance. It's as if the entire city has suddenly disappeared. Or rather, the city is still there, but all the people are gone.
    “I guess she'll be here tomorrow, then,” Jon mutters finally. “Probably bright and early.”
    I stay awake again all night. This time, Jon doesn't sleep much either. At least there are no more loud bangs in the distance. In fact, I don't hear a single sound at all.

Chapter Five
     
    “Okay,” Jon mutters the following morning, as he takes the old piece of paper from the door and pins a new one in its place, this time with a completely different set of squiggly lines. “Just in case Julie shows up while we're gone. Which she probably will. We'll only be a few hours, but...”
    He pauses for a moment, clearly lost in thought. I can tell that he's really worried now, and he's not even trying to hide the fact that he thinks something is wrong. After a moment, he glances at me and forces a smile.
    “Fancy a ride in the car, Harry?” he asks, leaning down and ruffling the fur on the side of my neck. “Remember that gas station we passed on the way up here last week? It can't be more than ten miles away. How about we go touch