Always Go Back (Jack Reacher Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: Big Ring

The vehicle came to a creaking halt. Sage leaned forward and nearly snapped his head against the cage bars. Sage shook his head and yawned with his jaws stretched wide.

Beside him, Molly lifted her head and shook her head to clear it. "Did we stop," she mumbled softly.

"Don't worry," murmured Sage as he rose to his paws and pressed his forehead against the bars of the cage and gazed out. He sniffed the air, but he couldn't detect anything.

Suddenly, light poured in and Sage grimaced. He looked around to Moly and saw her creep forward. As the doors opened completely Sage saw another warehouse. It was as if they couldn't get creative where they moved. That was fine by Sage's sake. He just didn't want to have another fight.

Their crate started to move and Sage grimaced. He placed his paws firmly on the ground as he started to shift ever so slightly. Molly let out a yelp as she almost fell sideways. "It's okay, Molly," chided Sage. "I'm right here."

He had no idea why he was being so gentle. Molly wasn't fragile by any means, but there was just something about her that Sage responded to. He twitched his tail over his back and felt the cage continue to move.

A dog beneath them snarled and barked. The fur along Sage's spine stood on end as he kept his balance with Molly pressed against him in fear.

They were set in rows just like the other warehouse. The only different was that there were already dogs here. It appeared to be almost five times as large as the other ones. There were dogs of all sizes and breeds everywhere. Some of them were prized fighters and some of them were first timers. It seemed that they weren't only fighting, but also for selling and bidding on. This was a much larger operation than what Sage had expected.

"I think I know where we are," whispered Molly as they finally were set into their rows.

Sage let out a huff as he looked around. "You do? You mean besides an old warehouse with dogs crawling everywhere," Sage asked with his tail lashing against the ground.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Yes mister sarcasm," she muttered as she stuck her head through the bars as far as it would go without her getting stuck. "This is headquarters for all of the major dogfights. This is the big one that everyone's been waiting for."

"Meaning," pressed Sage.

"Meaning that this is the connection for all of them. All of the small rings come together and you get this," answered Molly with wide eyes.

Sage felt something stir in his heart as he leaned forward. "Molly, if Skylar would be still alive, would she be here?"

Molly tilted her head as she thought hard. "Well, I already told you that I didn't think that she could still be alive, but if there was even a tiny chance then she would be here," Molly replied.

Sage felt something that he hadn't felt in moons; hope. He hadn't seen Skylar in nearly ten years and he wasn't sure if she would remember him or if she even loved him anymore. But, he would do anything for her and he just hoped that he could find some good news.

He started to look around manically, prowling and circling the cage to the best of his abilities. He prowled back and forth with his claws etched into the ground so hard that blood was starting to drip from under his claws.

"Are you coming up with a master plan," questioned Molly with amusement glowing in her eyes.

Sage reared on his hind legs and pawed at the locks. He drew back with his ears plastered against his head. He couldn't find a weak spot like he had in the other crate. This one was more industrialized and much stronger.

"I have an idea."

"You," echoed Sage in disbelief.

Molly made a face. "I can come up with plans too you know. I survived for years here and that takes true talent." Her head gave a powerful nod before she marched forward.

"Fine, what's your plan," Sage asked impatiently. They were so close and he didn't want to loose this.

Molly crept along the bottom of the crate before she stretched out her paw. Sage looked at her in surprise before she managed to pull part of the cage up from the inside. That left just enough room for Sage to push his paw through and bust the door off it's hinges.

"How did you learn how to do that," inquired Sage in admiration.

Molly shrugged. "A Yellow Lab taught me that. These cages are made cheaply and they cut corners. Lucky for us they cut a literal corner and now we can get out, but we have to be quick."

Sage felt raw excitement surge through him. He really had no plan, but he had a goal. That was half the battle in his mind. He hated trailing Molly along since this was going to be dangerous, but he was pretty sure that they were in too deep to hang back. Besides, Molly looked actually excited.

"Molly, I'm not sure-"

"I'm coming," Molly broke in as if she could read Sage's thoughts. She rushed to pass him with her ears shoved forward. "And you can't stop me."

Sage's eyes glowed even though he knew that they shouldn't have. He was just too excited to pass it up. The familiarity was just too real. "You sound just like Skylar," he murmured as he padded at Molly's side.

Molly gazed at him quizzically. "Is that a good thing?"

"It's excellent. There's no one like Skylar, but you're pretty close," Sage joked as they ducked behind a few new cages with dogs making racket and snapping at them.

Sage made the mistake of keeping too close to a mutt and the creature shot out a paw toward him.

"Look out!"

Molly lunged forward and nearly shoved Sage forward. The two rolled a bit before while Molly helped him to his paws. "Keep alert. These dogs don't just fight in the ring."

Sage plastered his ears against his head and continued forward. He didn't know where he was going and it was making him sloppy by comparison.

Molly seemed to notice this as she ushered him behind one of the rows that was the quietest since it was nursing mothers or dogs that were too old to fight, but were still prize breeders. It would be a well enough place to hide and gather their thoughts for the time being.

"We need to focus," Molly murmured. "You're all over the place."

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't have all the answers right now," barked Sage as he thrust a paw against the ground with conviction.

Molly squeezed her eyes shut and let out a deep breath to calm herself down. "Okay, but we have to gather ourselves. You want to find this dog named Skylar, yes?"

"Yes," Sage muttered. He didn't see how this was going to get them anywhere.

"Well, then, we have to think like a human. You should be able to do that well. Skylar would've come from somewhere and been placed here, if she's here," Molly added since she saw Sage's eyes brighten.

Thinking quickly, Sage decided to change his focus. "The police!"

"What," Molly echoed as she rubbed a paw against the side of her muzzle. "Did you hit your head or something? Are you even listening to me?"

"We need to find the police so that they can bust this place. I can't spend all my time searching for her here and risking being spotted and thrown back int he ring," Sage pointed out with a snort.

Molly knew that Sage was a smart dog, but his mind was all over the pace. "Right and how are we going to do that? It's not like we can just call them like humans," pointed out Molly as she drummed her claws against the ground.

Sage lowered his head and Molly did the same to match. Their ears touched as Sage let out a deep breath. "I have a plan."