Mission in Paris

Rainy Days are the Worst

"Ugh. I hate rainy days," Cam grumbled as they trudged along the dirt road.

It wasn't just a rainy day. It was a full out thunderstorm and The Four were in the midst.

It was a small countryside area in the place of No Where, dotted with ranches here and there. Only about seven.

There were sheep, dogs, small, cozy houses, and rutty, beaten down trucks that the families drove.

The place wasn't very neat. Not usually and definitely not during a storm.

The rain made the dirt roads all muddy and the small rivers overflowed. And those dogs barked non-stop. Did they never rest?!

But despite the messiness, it was a very peaceful area. Raising the sheep was easy because of the many lush meadows and the families were all familiar with each other.

"I can't even ride Hovie. He's too scared," Holiday complained.

"What good is that metal tin can then?!" Adam snapped.

Hovie beeped fiercely.

"Don't hurt his feelings," Holiday stroked Hovie.

Adam only grunted.

Can looked at him nervously but Badger only sighed.

Adam wasn't usually so rude about such little things but the journey wasn't going very well and they were all a bit grumpy.

Wet, cold, lost, and annoyed, they travelled on until they reached another ranch.

"That makes eight," Holiday countered as they stopped to look at the empty sheep pen. They were probably in a closed up shed somewhere.

No smart farmer would leave them out right now.

And not just because of the rain, but because of the Sheep Stealer going around the small place of No Where.

The citizens of this small place thought it was an adult and maybe even more than one but little did they know.

"That's a really nice truck," Adam commented, clicking his tongue.

Three heads turned in the direction he was looking.

It was a small, gray, maybe blue, truck on the edge of another farmer's land.

It had a big 'For Sale' sign taped on the window beside a '$50'.

"That thing?" Cam looked on in disgust.

It had dents, peeling pain, and rust in many places.

"It's way better than what we've seen so far," Adam shrugged.

It was true. The other vehicles they'd seen in No Where were in much worse condition. How did they even still work?!

"I'm taking it," Adam looked in all directions to confirm they were alone.

"What?! No way. Stealing sheep is hard enough, how are we going to take an entire truck?!"

"We've done it before," Adam shrugged.

"I say yes," Badger butted in, shivering a bit.

"I don't know . . . . " Holiday trailed off.

"Come on. We'll get to Paris faster." Adam made his way to the truck and peeked through the window.

He shook his head and looked back at them. "Stupid humans. They just left the keys in there."

"Oh gosh," Cam groaned.

"Well at least that makes it easier for us," Adam opened the door and climbed in.

Cam hopped into the passenger's seat while Badger and Holiday climbed into the back.

Adam turned it on and checked the gas. "See now isn't this better?!"

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing them up in spikes.

Cam shoved her own sopping hair out of her face and leaned back, closing her eyes. "How long is this gonna take?"

"Eh, about six hours."

Holiday sighed and propped her feet up on the seat. "That's so long."

Badger shook his head, dog-style, to get rid of the water still clinging to his face and hair.

"Okay, go," Cam pointed towards the left.

Adam smirked and slammed in the gas pedal.

With wet clothes and tired thoughts, they shot off into the night.

A wolf lay huddled, not a hundred yards from that ranch. He lifted his furry head from his paws, blinking and looking around.

He howled at the moon, long and hard, and wolves nearby followed suit.

The dogs around the countryside stirred restlessly as they listened for any close threats to the ranch.

The sheep let out small, quiet bleats but the humans, tucked away in their cozy beds, lay fast alseep, unaware of the latest robbery.