Ten minutes later, she found herself standing in front of the door, suited up. Lily braced herself, and opened the door, rushing out into the sunlight. The dog instantly took notice, running around from the side of the house and chasing her down. It was a foot race, but Lily was at a distinct disadvantage, having half as many feet! Half way to the car. Three quarters. She might actually outrun the dog! It was a short distance and she had a huge head start.

Reaching the car with the keys in her hands, she fumbled to get them inserted into the keyhole, when it happened. CHOMP. She felt the dog’s teeth bite down, and suddenly it was twisting and trying to pull her leg out from under her. Lily let out a scream! But, it was just a scream of terror. There was no pain.

The dog's teeth had sunk directly into the pillow she had duct taped around her leg! There was still a bit of a crushing squeezing discomfort, but the pillow had stopped the worst of it. Gathering herself, she continued fumbling with the keys desperately, when suddenly she realized she had already unlocked the door remotely! Cursing herself, she flung the door open and threw her rolling suitcase into the passenger seat. Carefully making sure she didn’t drop the keys outside she got into the driver’s seat. It was awkward and difficult with her bulky leg padding, but she managed.

She had to practically scrape the dog off of her leg with her other foot to keep it outside the car, but then she was sitting in the car, alone. “Oh god. Ooooooh god. That was awful.” Her breathless voice filled the car. “Please have gas. I’ll cry if you don’t have gas.”

Lily pushed the button that starts the car (how modern!) and it roared to life. She half screamed, half shouted for joy. Looking immediately to the dashboard… Full tank! Of course. These people with no junk drawer would have a full tank. Stupid Mr. and Mr. Perfect with their stupid protective and probably super sweet dog!

Taking a quick look around at her surroundings, Lily easily spotted the fire. It had gotten significantly closer. It must be licking at the very edges of her apartment complex already. “I hope it stops before burning my place down.” She let out a heavy breath, and flipped the car into reverse. “No sense in getting closer to the fire I think.” If there were emergency teams working on it, it probably wouldn’t be spreading so quickly. It was time to get some distance.

So decided, she backed the car out of the driveway, careful to make sure she didn’t run over the dog. Pulling into the street, she hit the gas and pulled away. The dog chased her for half a block, barking its head off before it stopped and turned around. She was thankful for that. Hopefully it will run from the fire.

She wasn’t sure where she was going, but for now away from the fire was probably enough.