THE YARD

Chapter 5

Pure fear had embedded itself into Flare's mind as the minutes ticked by. She counted the seconds by the beats of her own heart.

Jax didn't leave her side, and White Dog came right back after getting a drink from the water-bucket. A light mist soon began to fall, but it was meaningless to her. Flare gazed around the yard whilst unaware of her pelt becoming soaked. She sat there, developed in thought.

To escape the yard, she had to find a way out, under, or over. Easier said than done.

Out meant going through something, like the back door... But the man had come home from work just now, so he wasn't going to come back to the yard until after dark, if at all. He had rarely been fighting the dogs anyways, give or take once a few weeks or so- and feeding the dogs seemed like a chore, as he gruffly threw the food on the ground and left the animals without touching them each morning.

So Flare would have to keep the back door in mind, although it had a very slim chance of being a possible escape route.

Thinking of the back door reminded her of the back fence. It had a gate centered in the middle that led to the outside yard.

All Flare could see over the fence was the tip of a tree's branches and the slab of grey metal that made up the shed. This shed was only a few paces into the outside yard, and a few feet away from the fence itself.

But the back fence wouldn't be opened unless there was a dog-fight tonight... And that probably wasn't happening with the misty rain.

Her panic faded to a dull ache that made her determination of thought feel all the more worthwhile. She studied the fence, and everything that was near it. Which only consisted of a water-bucket, and the two black and rough-edged tires.

Obviously the fence was too tall for any dog to scale, and there was no boost over it unless a dog managed to leap sideways from the tire high enough to catch their paws on the side of the fence and then scramble over it. Flare knew that fence would probably stab at her ribs and scrape against her skin, but the wood didn't seem spiky enough to impale her.

The only problem with that is, other dogs are always laying on the tires...

The slabs of wooden fence appeared to be driven deep into the ground, since she could see a few half-hearted digging holes that just revealed more fence. Digging might be the only real option here, though. The dirt was softer next to the house, where shade sheltered it from sun during the day. So if she dug a hole through the fence along that edge, she may eventually make it through...

Can I really dig a deeper hole than the others have done, all by myself? Flare eyed the male dogs that were closest to her, who had thicker muscle along their chest and thighs. It was here that she realized the other dogs would be able to see and hear her digging, revealing her plans and probably make them dislike her more.

The panic spread to her head again, and brought with it adrenaline. She grasped and groped at any solution to her problem.

As the rain began to reach her skin and trickle down her back and shoulders, Flare finally thought of something else. To simply dart between the legs of either human and into their home, through the front door (which she hoped would be open), and out into freedom. It involved much less confrontation with the other dogs and more with the humans. Even if The Man didn't show up until tomorrow morning to feed her, she'd wait the night out with her rump on the ground. She'd ignore the male dogs just until she got her chance for freedom, and took it.

And perhaps a stroke of luck would fall upon her. The Man could have a dog fight tonight.

She kept her gaze and thoughts dedicated to listening, and watching the back door as much as she could. White Dog kept sneaking glances at her, and Jax paced restlessly. Several times now, he'd plodded over to her, smelled her all over, and then moved away again.