PROLOGUE
It was that time of night when you’re not sure if it’s still nighttime or early morning. The sleepy town of Cottonwood Springs was so quiet you could almost hear the stars twinkling in the night sky. A slight breeze rustled through the trees, gently blowing their hair. With luck, they could pull their plan off without a hitch. At least, that was what they were hoping for. Any less, and it meant they hadn’t planned well enough, but as far as they were concerned, they had.
Their vehicle was parked just around the corner from a small house on a quiet street. Far enough away to be inconspicuous, but close enough so they didn’t have to walk too far. They were afraid if it was too far away, it might increase their chances of getting caught. With the help of light from the moon they could see storm clouds building in the distance, and they realized they hadn’t checked the weather to see if rain was in the forecast.
That small fact could be a big factor in the plan they’d made. What if someone noticed them when they looked out their window at the storm? After all, how many times had they opened their own window at night to watch a storm roll through? It was too late to check the weather report now. Anyway, they’d left their phone back in their car, not wanting it to make a noise and attract attention.
For what they were planning, they needed to make sure everything was as quiet as possible. Sneaking around town dressed in black wasn’t something they did every night, but they weren’t stupid. It was important to be careful and plan ahead so you didn’t get caught when you were doing something like this.
As they walked along the fence, they didn’t see Zeus and worried that perhaps he wasn’t outside tonight. They’d noticed that occasionally the dog slept inside the house, probably when the owners knew a storm was coming, which made sense. But the clouds were still in the distance, so it was doubtful he was inside. They nervously looked towards his doghouse and hoped he was there.
“Zeus,” they whispered, at the same time watching the windows of the house. They knew the dog’s name from hearing the boy that lived in the house use it. He and the dog would play fetch, and the kid often worked with the dog trying to train him. They’d noticed lately that the boy hadn’t been around as much, which was probably why Zeus had become friendly with the people who walked by, including them. “Zeus,” they repeated a little bit louder. The sound of their own voice made them feel as though they were yelling in the quiet of the night.
The wrinkly-skinned dog popped his head out from his doghouse in the far corner of the yard, shaking his head before stepping outside of the house and stretching. He was a beautiful dog and his golden color looked almost blue in the moonlight that crept through the clouds. Shar-Peis were such an interesting breed, full of intelligence and compassion, at least in their experience.
They had so many wrinkles and folds, it was as if they had enough skin to make two normal dogs, and this one was no exception. The dog looked around as he stepped away from his doghouse seemingly confused about why someone was calling him in the middle of the night.
“Hey, remember me?” they asked as they took off their glove and let the dog sniff their hand. It had become a habit for them to introduce themselves this way since they’d been working on gaining the dog’s trust over the last few days. Trust was important when dealing with a dog. After a moment, the dog began licking their fingers in recognition.
“Want to go for a little ride? I have snacks back at the car. It’ll be just you and me.” They’d made sure to have something stashed in the vehicle to keep the dog calm on the car ride away from the house. This wasn’t their first rodeo. They had been in the vehicle with a dog not used to traveling before and had learned the hard way that you need to keep them distracted. Tugging on their glove, they smiled down at the dog.
Walking along the chain link fence, they continued to watch their surroundings, but nothing stirred. It was a fairly quiet residential area and almost every house had its lights out for the night. Even the tire shop and post office down the street looked abandoned. It was quite a stark comparison from what things were like during the day in this area, with people constantly in motion. There was always someone going by, waving to neighbors, hurrying to the store, or just enjoying being outside.
As they moved towards the gate, they pulled a small can of lubricant from their jacket. They’d spent enough time casing the property to know that the gate was squeaky. It was the first thing they’d made note of that they needed to be aware of, right after befriending the dog, of course. It was much easier to make a dog disappear quietly when it trusted you. A dog that trusts someone would follow them anywhere, whereas a dog that didn’t like or know you could be a formidable adversary. The last thing they wanted to happen was to get bitten.
Zeus trotted along beside the fence and then watched as they sprayed the gate hinges with lubricant. They thoroughly coated each one, trying to make sure they got the lubricant in every crevice, nook, and cranny. One single squeak could get someone’s attention and then all their careful planning would be for nothing. Better to take the time to lubricate it well than to not give it enough and get caught.
Once they were certain it had been thoroughly sprayed, they gently lifted the latch. As they did, Zeus stood watching everything they did. They tucked the can of lubricant back in their pocket and pulled the gate open slowly. They waited for any resistance that might signal the metal gate would let out even a trace of noise, but it swung open, remaining perfectly silent.
When they were sure it was safe, they took the leash they’d brought with them out of their pocket. This was another part of their careful planning. It wouldn’t do any good to go through all of this and then have the dog run away from them.
“Hey, Zeus. You ready?” they whispered, doing their best to sound cheerful, even in a hushed voice. The dog slowly walked up to the gate and stood next to them, looking down the street. “Good boy,” they said as they clipped the leash on Zeus’ collar. “All right. Let’s get out of here,” they whispered. They slowly closed the gate and started walking back the way they’d come. So far, so good.
They’d only walked a few feet when they heard a slight jingle that seemed much louder in the quiet of the night. They paused and looked down at the dog whose metal bone-shaped dog tag was shining in the streetlight.
“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot,” they said as they pulled a pair of pliers from their jeans pocket. Unfolding them, they squatted down next to the dog and began to work on the small metal loop that held the tag to the dog’s collar. Zeus began sniffing at their jacket, smelling the jerky pieces they had in one of their pockets.
“You smell that, do you?” they asked as they undid the metal loop and removed Zeus’ tag. They let it fall to the ground, unworried about fingerprints since they were wearing gloves. “Okay, Zeus. You can have a piece of jerky, since you’re making this so easy on me.”
They pulled a chunk out and held it out to the dog who carefully took it from their hand. Zeus slowly began to chew on it as they tugged for him to keep walking. Plodding along, he continued to chew.
They were amazed at how smoothly it had gone. It seemed almost too easy, but they didn’t want to dwell on that. No need to jinx their plan. After all, they weren’t home free just yet. At any moment someone could look out of a window or drive by and spot them. Of course, unless they knew the dog, they would probably think they were his owner and they were out for a walk, even if it was a strange time to be taking a walk. They didn’t want to be spotted. It would just make things simpler if they weren’t.
Finally, they made it to their car and opened the rear door. The dog smelled the chicken nuggets which were in the back seat and quickly climbed in. While he was distracted by his new snack, they tossed his leash in the car behind him and shut the door. A wave of relief washed over them as they realized they’d almost accomplished what they’d set out to do. The hardest part was over. Now they just had to keep Zeus calm while they took him to his new home.
“That went easier than I’d planned,” they said happily. Quite honestly, they’d never expected things to go this smoothly. It was almost as if it was meant to happen. And perhaps it was. Perhaps this was some higher power’s way of letting them know that this was how things were supposed to be.
They walked around to the driver’s door, climbed in, and pulled the door closed. Now that nobody was likely to notice them, they pulled their gloves off and unzipped their jacket. Their body felt tight from the tension of stealing the dog. They rolled their shoulders and then circled their head first to the left and then to the right. Zeus was completely uninterested in what they were doing, his attention focused on the chicken nuggets.
As they pulled the keys from the glove box and slipped them into the ignition, they finally allowed themselves to take a regular breath. They were in the car. Nobody had seen them. There was no reason for anyone to suspect them of being the one who’d taken the dog. There was nothing to link them to the theft. After all, anyone could have seen the dog and come back to steal it.
“You ready to go for a ride, Zeus?” they asked as they buckled their seat belt. “You’re not going to be coming back here anymore.”
Zeus looked up for a moment when he heard his name, and they thought he looked like he was looking forward to going for a ride. He made himself comfortable as he laid down and continued to work on the rest of the chicken nuggets. They smiled, hoping that he knew they were doing this for the right reasons.
While what they’d done was technically illegal, it was for the greater good, or so they’d been telling themselves. Sometimes you needed to do a little bad to spread some good into people’s lives. A small voice tried to tell them that the only person this so called “good” would help was them, but they pushed that thought away. They started the car, put it in drive, pulled away from the curb, and drove off into the night, as a smile of satisfaction spread across their face.
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