LATEST READ:

 

PUREHEART - 2/4 pages
~Rita Hsu Syers

Outside on the sidewalk, she breathed in the fresh spring air with relief. It was the beginning of April, still months away from the unbearable heat and humidity of New York City in the summer.

The timing was lucky for the Boston terrier, though. Because members of her breed lack the built-in cooling system of dogs with long snouts, they cannot live in extreme heat. She would have died of heat stroke in a short time.

As she trotted alone on the streets of Manhattan, no one stopped or questioned her. She would not be missed for hours, because her handler thought she would sleep until dinnertime.

She had no idea where she was going or why, but she trusted the voice. It directed her out of the city, north, always north.

The gentle voice would try to protect her as much as it could, but there were evil forces at work here as well as good ones, and night was approaching. The nights belonged to the dark and the demons. She had a long way to go, approximately 300 miles. Somehow she had to make her way to that far-off destination - a little town in upstate New York.

There were things abroad in the night that would do their best to see that she never made it.

* * *
Lucifer paced the ground in hell. Around him, his minions cowered in terror as the former archangel ranted and raved. "That female dog must not be allowed to live. Do you understand? She must be destroyed as soon as possible."

"It will be done. But I do not understand, Master. Why this dog? What can one small dog do against the Forces of Darkness?"
"Not her, you fool, do I care about such a creature? She is headed north to a small town and must be intercepted before she gets there. It is essential that she be killed before she gives birth. She is traveling alone, it should be easy to find and kill her."
"But why? Why?"
"YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!" Lucifer roared.

If he had that little dog here now he would bite off her head and drink the warm blood that spurted from her body.

"The answer is hidden from me...I cannot see it. But it does not signify. Nothing must interfere with my plan. She must die and it must be done NOW."

* * *

The Boston had been on her own for one week before she was set upon by demons.

Once she left the huge city, she made her way steadily north, driven by instinct and the voice. She felt no fear; in fact, she was enjoying herself, having never experienced such freedom. By day she walked or trotted contentedly through deep woods on paths made by woodland creatures. She was able to drink frequently from small streams that crisscrossed the woods and the water tasted wonderful, sweet and cold. At first she tired easily, since the life of a show dog does not include walking ten miles a day. But she grew used to it, and by the fifth day was feeling better and stronger than she had in a long time. She was able to catch a few mice and found them to be delicious. As she grew stronger and was able to walk for longer periods of time, her appetite also increased. A few mice were no longer enough.

She tried catching a rabbit, but as fast as she was, the rabbit was faster. She could not run it down, nor did she have the patience of the predator to sit and wait. More>>