Jacob stood at Sol’s side, staring at the small blond-haired girl in the clearing. She faced away from them, sitting cross-legged in the grass about twenty feet away. She was slumped over, resting her face in her hands. A white dress—or nightgown maybe, Jacob couldn’t tell—draped her body. The right shoulder strap of the dress was torn and dangled down her back, exposing most of her shoulder blade.
Sol whimpered and took a step forward.
“Nein,” Jacob whispered. He rested a hand on his dog’s big head.
Sol stepped back and sat on his haunches, whining, staring intensely at the girl. Jacob squatted down to Sol and rubbed his furry head,
“You’re a good boy, buddy. We’ll help her. Just give me a second to,” Jacob took in the thick woods around them, “…feel this out.”
A former combat medic in the Army, Jacob’s natural transition to civilian life had been to work as a paramedic. His passion for serving others combined with his lifelong love of everything canine led to his volunteering in canine search and rescue. Sol had been his partner for six years now. The dog had a hell of a nose, and this morning, about four miles up the trail on their morning hike, Sol had veered north off the trail and crashed through the woods.
When Jacob finally caught up to Sol, he’d found him sitting at the edge of the clearing, staring at the girl. Jacob had called out to the girl several times. She showed no indication of hearing him. She didn’t jump in surprise; she didn’t glance over her shoulder. It was possible she was deaf--and lost. Though it was uncommon, they’d been on searches in situations where deaf children had wandered away from parents on outings and camping trips. In most circumstances, though, the subject was found not far from the camping or picnic areas, and at present, they were far removed from public areas of this particular US Forest Preserve. Jacob figured Sol had led them more than a mile off trail. Through hilly, heavily wooded forest, a mile is a hell of a trek.
Jacob surveyed the scene. Not five feet behind him, dry tree branches quivered in the breeze; brittle, colorful leaves tumbled and swirled along the forest floor with light, infrequent bursts of cool, autumn wind. Along the perimeter of the clearing, however, almost nothing moved. The clearing itself appeared frozen in time.
“What the hell is this?” Jacob’s nerves hummed.
A shiver shimmied down his spine. At any other time, any other time, he would have simply crossed the field and approached the girl. When he finally came to the clearing’s edge after following Sol, though, he’d stopped short of the clearing and remained in the tree line next to his dog.
Jacob stroked Sol’s broad head. Sol looked up at him and whimpered. He wanted to go to the girl.
Jacob smiled down at his closest friend and massaged one furry ear. “I know, buddy,” he said. He looked out at the girl again. “What’s she doing out here?”
Against his thigh, Jacob felt Sol’s body quivering. Sol stepped forward again.
“Sol, nein,” Jacob said.
Jacob squatted on his haunches, bringing his lean, six-foot frame down to Sol. He ran his palm along Sol’s back. Jacob watched his big German Shepherd Dog stare at the girl, emitting a high-pitched whine. His brown eyes appeared moist, worried.
“Take it is easy, buddy,” Jacob said, standing, his eyes sliding back to the girl. “We’ll go. Just give it a sec.”
Sol took a second, indecisive step.
“Nein,” Jacob commanded, stressing the word.
He moved his hand from resting alongside Sol’s head to grab the dog’s harness handle. Before he gripped it, Sol sprinted into the clearing. Jacob gave chase.
“Stopp!” he yelled. The word sounded like “shtop,” his command to the dog to cease all activity, drop down, and stay.
Sol ignored him.
When Sol reached the girl, he whipped around and faced the western edge of the clearing, hackles up and teeth bared. A deep, rumbling growl emanated from his gullet. Not quite reaching the girl and Sol, Jacob slipped in the dewy grass, twisting to see what Sol was growling at. He stumbled forward, his torso twisted to his left, almost colliding with the girl. Narrowly avoiding her, he slipped and slid his way to a stop on the other side of her.
Jacob scanned the area. Sol was warning off the same unmoving trees and overgrowth they had been staring at for perhaps five minutes. The dog backed up, bringing himself astride the girl. His flank pressed protectively against her. He was braced, ready to spring, with teeth bared and ears flattened.
The girl appeared oblivious to all the activity and remained seated, staring into the nothingness along the tree line.
“Sol,” Jacob called, questioningly. What he really wanted to say was, “What the hell, man?”
He looked from Sol to the girl to the forest.
Finally, the girl stood and faced Jacob.
“Are you okay?” Jacob said, unconsciously taking a step backward, retreating into the comfort of his personal space.
Sol quieted his rumbling gullet; though, he remained sentry, four legs braced, penetrating the edge of the clearing with quiet ferocity. His only movement had been toward the girl when she had stood and moved toward Jacob. Sol had moved with her.
Jacob appraised this girl as she stood quietly facing him. Her face was dirty. Her cheeks were bruised, and her chin was split open in a diagonal gash that ran part way along her right jawbone. The cut was closed and scabbed over. Her blonde hair, crusted with dirt and grime, dangled to her waist in stringy clumps. Looking at her, Jacob estimated that she could not be much older than nine or ten. Her brilliant blue eyes stared into Jacob’s. Her lips, dry-cracked and crusted over with dirt, were downturned.
Jacob squatted down to her level. He rocked forward onto his knees into the wet grass.
“Honey, can you hear me?” Jacob said.
The girl didn’t even blink.
“My name’s Jacob. This is my dog, Sol,” Jacob said, reaching out and placing his palm on Sol’s back. “What’s your name?”
The girl’s eyes trailed to the western edge of the field, where Sol pointed. Jacob turned his head, following her gaze.
“Can you tell me what’s there?” Jacob said, turning back to the girl. Her eyes slid back to him, tear-filled.
“Honey, we’re here to help you.”
Jacob settled back, resting his backside on his heels. “Can you tell me what’s over there or…or what your name is?”
The girl’s lips parted. She mumbled something. Tears slipped down her cheeks, cleansing pale white streaks along her dirty, bruised skin.
“I didn’t understand that. Can you say it again?” Jacob said. He resisted the urge to reach out and touch her arm. If she was as traumatized as Jacob thought, and in shock, touching her could be a mistake.
She opened her mouth, wide. Jacob saw that most of her tongue was gone. His eyes tracked the uneven, healed edge of the stump. It wasn’t possible to have bitten it off that far back. Anger welled up through Jacob’s stomach and into his chest. All other evidence aside, the clear lack of medical attention to such a traumatic injury told Jacob all he needed to know at the moment.
Jacob stood and turned to Sol, following the sentinel dog’s line of sight. Someone must be watching this, he thought. The bastard who did this to her is out there.
The decision was instantaneous and easy. Jacob dropped back to his knees to look the little girl evenly in her eyes.
“Sol and I are going to get you out of here, okay?”
He was now in fight-or-flight mode, and while he wanted to fight, he knew they needed to fly. He felt eyes on him. Jacob wanted to scoop the girl up and start the trek back to the trailhead. She’s in shock. Touching her may drive her into hysteria. He inched his knees closer to the crying girl, closing the existing gap between them and gently told her they needed to go. He looked back to Sol, meaning to grab hold of his harness and command him to heal.
As Jacob reached for the harness, the girl screamed. The unexpected keening locked Jacob’s body. His throat and every muscle clenched. Jacob fell onto his side and covered his ears. He elbowed his way back to his knees and stood. The girl’s face was contorted in terror; she pulled at her hair, flailing, screaming. Fine puffs of blonde hair whirled about him. Sol was now frothing at his jowls in a rage, jumping to and fro, barking, and baring teeth. Jacob caught hold of the dog’s harness and yanked him backward, spinning to grab the girl, regardless of her shock.
A blow to Jacob’s back knocked him to the ground before he was able to scoop up the girl. Air fled his lungs as he landed face down on the cold, wet ground. Enormous weight crushed him, pressing him into the ground. His back popped; he thought he felt something, somewhere in his spine or ribcage crack. In the chaos, as consciousness faded to pinpoints and rushed back to him, then ebbed again, he heard Sol screeching. He struggled to get up, get to Sol, or at least call out to him, but he couldn’t breathe. Jacob craned his neck, searching for his companion.
He only saw the girl still tearing at herself, her fingernails opening wounds on her face.
And then the fracas faded completely.
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