The Empty City Read Free

rainbow colors. It gave off an odd smell that Lucky didn’t like, but he was too thirsty to care and lapped the water greedily, doing his best to ignore the foul taste. Beside him he saw Sweet’s reflection as she also drank.
    She was the first to lift her dripping muzzle, licking her pointed chops. “It’s too quiet,” she murmured. “We need to get out of this longpaw town.” Sweet’s fur lifted. “We should go to the hills. Find a wild place.”
    â€œWe’re as safe here as anywhere else,” said Lucky. “We can use the old longpaw houses—maybe find food. And there are plenty of hiding places, believe me.”
    â€œPlenty of places for other things to hide,” she retorted, bristling. “I don’t like it.”
    â€œWhat do you have to be scared of?” Her legs looked long enough to race through high grasses and her frame was slender and light. “I bet you can run faster than anything!”
    â€œNot around corners, I can’t.” She glanced nervously to left and right. “And a city has lots of corners. I need space to run. That’s where I can pick up speed.”
    Lucky scanned the area, too. She was right—the buildings crowded in on them. Maybe she had good reason to be edgy. “Let’s at least keep moving. Some of those longpaws might still be close by, whether we can see them or not. I don’t want to go back to the Trap House.”
    â€œMe neither,” Sweet agreed, her lip curling to show her strong white teeth. “We should start looking for more dogs. We need a good, strong Pack!”
    Lucky’s muzzle wrinkled in doubt. He was not a Pack Dog. He had never understood what there was to like about living with a big mob of dogs, all dependent on one another, and having to submit to an Alpha. He didn’t need anyone’s help, and the last thing he wanted was someone who needed his. Just the thought of relying on other dogs made his skin prickle.
    Obviously that isn’t how Sweet feels , he thought. She was enthusiastic now, rattling off stories. “You would have loved my Pack! We ran together, and hunted together, catching rabbits and chasing rats....” She became more subdued, and looked longingly toward the outskirts of the wrecked town. “Then the longpaws came and spoiled everything.”
    Lucky couldn’t help responding to the sadness in her voice. “What happened?”
    Sweet shook herself. “They rounded us up. So many of them, and all in the same brown fur! Staying together, that’s what got us trapped, but”—her growl grew fierce—“we wouldn’t leave a single dog behind. That’s Pack law. We stuck together, in good times and … bad.” Sweet paused, her dark eyes distant, unable to repress an unhappy whimper.
    â€œYour Pack was with you in the Trap House,” murmured Lucky sympathetically.
    â€œYes.” She came to an abrupt halt. “Wait, Lucky, we have to go back!”
    He darted in front of her as she spun around, blocking her way. “No, Sweet!”
    â€œWe have to!” Lucky scrambled sideways to stop her from slipping past him. “They’re my Packmates. I can’t leave until I find what’s happened to them! If any of them are still—”
    â€œNo, Sweet!” Lucky barked. “You saw how it was in that place!”
    â€œBut we might have missed—”
    â€œSweet.” He tried a gentler tone, tentatively licking her unhappy face. “Back there, it’s ruined. They’re all dead, gone to the Earth-Dog. And we can’t hang around here—the longpaws might come back....”
    That seemed to convince her. Sweet glanced over her shoulder once more, then turned away again. With a deep sigh she began to walk on.
    Lucky tried not to show his relief. He walked close beside her, their flanks brushing with every second step.
    â€œDid you have friends in