Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 132649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
She would go out with not even a whimper.
Chapter Two
Iris felt hot, foul breath wash over her face, immediately followed by something warm and wet on her cheek.
Blood?
It turned out she had some breath left after all because she released it in a high-pitched scream. The creature above her stilled for a second before lowering its head again and this time the warm wetness stroked up from her open mouth to her forehead.
“Oh. Oh… ew, no… stop that!” Iris cried, her terror instantly turning to disgust as she realized that instead of being mauled, she was being licked to death. So gross. She pushed at the large shaggy head of what she now recognized as a massive dog and turned her face away from his tongue and wet nose. Ugh, she was almost certain he’d licked her gums while she’d been screaming.
How disgusting.
“Get away, Rover,” she commanded, feeling foolish for having thought he was a wolf. Were there even wolves in South Africa? The dog’s entire body was vibrating with the force of his tail wagging and he was still trying his best to lick every available surface of her skin. “No. Sit. Down!”
The last two commands yielded immediate results as the dog stepped away and, as far as she could tell in the darkness, sat obediently, before lowering himself into a down position.
“You’re a good dog,” she said automatically, and—now that her eyes were adjusting to the gloom—she could see the happy swipe of his tail at the obviously recognizable compliment. Iris sat up and reached for the gigantic floof, scratching the wiry fur around his perky ears, and moving her hand further down to discover a collar. “Do you belong to that horrible man in there? Does he just leave you out here at night? That doesn’t seem right.”
She felt around the front of the collar, looking for a tag of some sort, not that she’d be able to read it in the dark but…
Aah, there it was. A flat disk that Iris hoped was microchipped and tuned into an electronic pet door.
Fido over here was massive. Probably taller than Iris if he was to stand on his hind legs. If there was a pet entrance, it would be large enough for her to fit through.
“Where’s your doggy door, boy? Can you show me? Can you take me inside?”
The full moon broke through the clouds to reveal an endearing fuzzy face, with a lolling tongue. The pooch tilted his head at the sound of her voice, his ears pricking attentively. He was a lanky, scruffy looking gray boy, with shaggy hair, and lively golden eyes.
“Come on, boy, let’s go home,” Iris invited again, and the dog continued to stare at her quizzically.
“Uh…” Iris wracked her brain, trying to figure out what would make him go inside. “Ball?”
He jumped up, turned in a circle—immediately getting her hopes up—but, after one rotation, sat down to stare at her again.
“Right. Okay. What about food? Are you hungry?” His head cocked comically at the last word, and he whined and shifted excitedly from paw to paw. “Yes, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I am too. Let’s go and get some food!”
He nuzzled her hand with his big wet nose and then sat back with an expectant stare.
“Oh. No. I don’t have the food out here. But we can get some inside, can’t we?”
More staring.
“Come on, show me how you get into the house.”
This pup just wasn’t getting it. He gave Iris’s hand a sympathetic lick and she groaned in frustration. She scratched his head and wondered what to do next.
The moon disappeared again, leaving everything pitch black. The wind died down abruptly and, after a brief lull, the skies opened up.
Iris yelped as the icy deluge instantly drenched her. The dog got up and shook himself vigorously, adding some dog-scented moisture to Iris’s already soaked clothing. She sensed him moving away and Iris panicked, not wanting to lose her way into the house.
“Stay, boy,” she implored. “Come here.”
To her eternal gratitude she felt his big, furry body bump against her thigh reassuringly. He really was massive. She slid her hand up his narrow back toward his neck and lightly gripped his ruff. She didn’t want to take hold of his collar in case he considered it a prompt to stay.
“Let’s go.”
His muscles tensed and he started walking.
“I’m putting all my faith in you right now, boy,” she told him. “You could be leading me further into the woods only to abandon me there. Please don’t do that. Don’t be an arsehole like your owner. Be a better boy than him. Be the goodest boy ever.”
The dog continued to amble along lazily, seemingly unperturbed by the heavy rain. Finally, after what felt like an endless amount of walking, they rounded the huge dark house and the ground started to slope downward…