Silent Warriors

Chapter Two

                        Frantic barking from behind the barn had Melody running full sprint and skidding to a stop when she rounded the corner. "Coal, what did you do?!" Melody groaned as she looked at the bloody mess.

                     Coal just looked up at her smiling and wagging his tail like he had found the best present ever. Instead, Melody was staring down at a pile of fur and blood from what looked to be a squirrel of some sort. It was small and fat with grey fur but no tail and looked mouse like in what was left of the face. Looking back at Coal, Melody growled in frustration at seeing the blood flecked all over his silver coat. At six years old, Coal had had plenty of experience with wild animals and had never brought a dead animal to their doorstep. Melody chalked it up to the move and knowing sometimes dogs can act out in strange ways when faced with changes in life.

                     Melody took out her cell phone and snapped a quick picture to investigate later before shooing Coal away. Walking back to the house, she grabbed gloves and a plastic bag before returning to clean up the animal and area before tossing it into one of the outside trash barrels she had. Coal just followed her around, watching as she tossed the critter away.
                  "Coal, you cannot just go around eating animals. I feed you plenty and I don't even know what that was, or if it had rabies. Ugh!" Melody looked down at Coal who just stared up at her, continuing to wag his tail. She ushered him inside for a quick bath of warm water and Dawn dish soap, scrubbing all the bloody remnants from his coat before drying him off with a towel.

                           Melody had gotten most of the boxes unpacked over the weekend and now the house felt more like a home. She had ventured out for some interviews Monday and Tuesday without success and now would be heading out for another one for bar management.

"Alright, now stay out of trouble you little rascal. I have an interview today and cannot be late". Melody said as she threw her jacket and boots on before heading out the door.  Coal just sat wagging his tail as he watched her leave the house. 

               Unlocking her black, Dodge Ram,  Melody pulled herself into its raised cab and started the engine up before letting it idle.  The blue skies were bright today and she was still getting used to all the sunshine compared to the cloudy skies of New England. Placing her sunglasses over her eyes, she shifted the truck into gear and headed down to Denver for her interview.

                   Bumping down the road over the frost heaves, Melody took in the miles of trees and mountains she could see in passing before reaching her first neighbor. The tall, fenced in structure boasted a garage that could fix anything, by appointment only.  Trucking past the closed gate of the garage, Melody spied the sign hanging above, "Decker's Garage" and counted her blessings of having such a close vicinity to a place she may need to use. Tune-ups for her dad's car and the bikes were in order but for now, Melody had to focus on getting a job.

                 While her dad had left her money in his will, Melody had spent a large portion taking care of his affairs and left over debts before purchasing her new house in Colorado. Her dad had had an unfortunate gambling problem which he had hid from the rest of the family. It wasn't until a month after her dad's death did all the debtors come calling including a couple of shady bookies that her dad had used. She had been dumbfounded and since her brother was not as close to her dad as she was, he had been just as clueless.

                     She had been helping her dad run his small business of overseeing several rental properties at the time of his death and had been willed his business. Melody instead sold the business as the books were slowly on the decline from her dad's gambling and barely broke even.  The frustration and exhaustion from it all had led Melody down the path of wanting to get away from it all. When her brother moved to Tennessee with his wife quickly after their father's death, Melody had clung to the only person who she thought had had her best interests at heart. Bryce.