I had somehow found my way out of state. A while out of state. I started driving and hadn't stopped for hours. I wasn't sure where I was going. I was just following...intuition? Was that it?
Left, right, left, forward, right.
Every stoplight, every stop sign, every turn, it was all a test of instinct. Where that instinct was bringing me, I guessed I would find out.
I'd driven into a decent-sized lake town, somewhere I'd never heard of before. It was a quaint little place. The buildings looked historic, but all manner of people walked the streets. Cars, buses, bikes, and taxis all shared the roadways. On one side of the road, there was greenery and a clear view of the lake in the distance. It was a unique town.
I found myself at another stoplight. I took in the sights around me. I wasn't happy, I wasn't sad. I was just...here. Present. Maybe Dr. Atwood hadn't been entirely wrong in her advice.
Just as I was starting to feel a bit better, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. There was an alleyway on the left side of the road, and I just barely saw a moving shape take off into it. I kept my eyes half on the alleyway entrance, half on the stoplight. Part of me thought it could be my own imagination, part of me thought it could be...a certain L-word coming back to play.
With all my might, I hoped not.
A few seconds passed. Again, I saw a whitish-colored shape slowly move toward the main street, then quickly dart back into the alley. It was too far away to make out what the shape was, but something was there. As cliche and horror movie-like as it sounds, I felt like I needed to go and figure out what was happening. With how the past few months had been, whatever it was could've been there for me. I pulled off the road and parked on the side before slowly approaching the alley.
When I looked between the buildings, there was nothing there.
"...Hello?" I called.
No response.
I cautiously took a step forward. Even though it was the middle of the day, something about this alleyway gave me a bad feeling.
"Is there anyone h-"
A low, quiet hum started to drone all around me. I stopped in my tracks.
"...No. I'm not putting up with you again," I commanded. "You...have no power over me."
The hum didn't change pitch or intensity. It kept its same sound. I worried I may have to face my worst fear a second time. I took another nervous step.
"Didn't you hear me? Leave me alone!"
The noise still didn't change. I looked around me for the source, and it was then that I noticed a generator on a building to my left was buzzing and humming. I felt a little embarrassed.
"Oh. I can put up with you."
Then, a couple of yards in front of me, an off-white appendage stuck out from behind a building.
"...Now, what are you?"
I approached slowly, trying not to anger or upset whatever it was. This had to be the shape I saw from the road. It shook slightly. I peered around the corner as carefully as I could from the opposite side of the alley.
...There was nothing threatening at all.
Instead, only a frightened stray dog cowered against the building. She backed up further into the corner when she saw me. She was dirty, and it looked like she hadn't eaten for a while. My heart sank.
I knelt on the ground and held my hand out for the dog to sniff. She tentatively came a few steps closer, but not close enough for me to reach.
"I wanna help you..." I reassured softly. "I wanna get you out of here."
The dog stayed just out of reach, watching me suspiciously.
I sighed and started back down the alley toward my car. At least all of my anxiety was caused by only a dog. I was expecting much worse. I was expecting...well, it doesn't matter now. I was almost to the street when I heard a sound behind me. Almost like...footsteps? But not human ones. This was a different sound. My heart rate elevated again. I turned around to see the dog standing in the middle of the alleyway. She was following me. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"You have to stop scaring me like that," I joked.
The dog wagged her short tail.
I continued toward my car with the dog in tow. I had been wanting a dog for ages, and now it seemed one had found me in the most unexpected place. This was certainly interesting, to say the least. She clambered into the back of the car and laid down as comfortably as she could. She seemed much happier than she was in that alley. I was a little glad I decided to venture down there.
I merged back in with traffic and kept driving. Signs around us pointed to exits for the Lake Greyson Landing and Boat Rental, and I started getting ideas. I looked at the dog in the rearview mirror.
"You ever been to the lake around here?"
She stared back at me.
I moved into the turn lane and within minutes, we were at the lake. Despite the nice weather, it was quiet today. Only a few other cars sat in the lot. I opened the back door and let the dog out of the car. She sniffed the air intensely. I guessed she hadn't been to the lake. In the distance, I could see a small cabin-like shack. A sign on top read "Bo's Boat Rental". It looked like a light was on inside. Next to the shack sat rowboats, kayaks, canoes, and other types of water transportation. I wandered over, the dog following behind.
Inside the shack was a grizzly, outdoorsy-looking man, probably in his fifties. He sat looking at a notebook for a few moments until he noticed me.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Are you Bo?" I responded.
"That would be me," He leaned on the counter. "What can I do you for?"
"Um..." I looked out at the lake. There seemed to be cars and houses on the other side. "What's on the other side of the lake?"
"The other side?" Bo reiterated, glancing at where I was looking. "That's Fortuna, another town. Similar to this one but a little smaller. You're not from around here, I take it?"
I shook my head. "I'm only here by chance."
Next to me, the dog began crying. I gave her a little pat on the head.
"You got a dog?" Bo asked.
"I...I guess so," I shrugged. "I found her in an alleyway in town...she's probably hungry."
"...An alley, huh?"
Bo leaned over the counter and took a look at the dog. She whined and looked up at him longingly.
"Poor kid," Bo shuffled around in his office for a moment before placing a bowl of what looked to be dog food on the counter.
"I keep some kibble in here from when the wife and I used to come up here with our dog," Bo remarked. "We lost her a few months ago, but sometimes fishermen or people like yourself come along."
I scoffed in surprise as I took the bowl and placed it on the ground for the dog. "Thank you...and I'm sorry about your dog."
Bo shook his head. "It's in the past."
The dog waved her tail happily in the air as she ate. I was glad to help her more.
"Does she have a name?"
"Huh?"
"Her," Bo nodded to the dog. "She got a name?"
"Oh..." I pursed my lips. "Not yet, no."
Bo looked back at his notebook, which seemed to help keep track of boat rentals. "We called our girl Shay, if it's anything to you."
Shay...
That's a nice name.
"Anyway," Bo said with a sigh "can I get you guys a boat?"
****
Bo let us rent a small rowboat for free, so long as we returned it. The lake wasn't overly large, and another landing was visible from where we were. I hoped I could get us there before my arms wore out.
The water was calm. Occasionally, a fish would pop up and leave its ripple on the surface of the lake. The light from the setting sun reflected all over the water. It was quite the sight.
"Ready?"
The dog panted as I pushed the boat into the water and hopped in just as it hit the surface. She stood a bit frightened, watching the water closely as the boat swayed back and forth.
"It's okay, I'll make sure you don't fall in...Shay."
I guessed the name did fit her rather nicely.
I let her get accustomed to the boat before I tried moving it. She sniffed around for a few seconds before sitting down between the seats. She still didn't seem fully comfortable, but she was better.
"We can move a little slower, just for starters," I reassured her.
I picked up the oars and moved us just a few feet. She seemed okay. She watched the birds on the shoreline with intrigue and barked at one that got a little too close to the boat. I set the oars back down and let us drift for a little bit.
"You know, it's strange..." I wondered out loud. "We both came from backgrounds that...aren't so great. You, wandering the streets. Me, with my past. And now we're both here. It's not so lonely anymore."
Shay stared at me and wagged her tail. I sighed.
"I know you don't know what I'm saying, but it's nice to pretend you can understand me."
I kept rowing, at a normal speed this time. Shay gradually got more comfortable the more time she spent in the boat. The entire time was just...therapeutic. Genuinely.
"You have any brothers or sisters?" I asked, partially knowing what the response would be.
Shay panted happily.
"I...used to." I shook my head. "I don't know where my brothers are. That's kinda why I'm out here. Maybe..." I hesitated, not wanting to instill too much hope in myself. "Maybe you'll get to meet them, if we ever find them..."
She placed her head on the seat in front of her. I chuckled and gave her a pet.
"No need to feel that sorry for me."
A fish jumped out of the water next to the boat, startling Shay. She growled at the ripples in the water and watched over the side of the boat for a few moments before returning to her spot.
The sun was getting lower in the sky now, but I still wanted to see what was on the other side of the lake. To my luck, we were almost at the landing. The front of the boat hit the concrete with a thud. I steadied it against the shore with one of the oars. Shay excitedly hopped out and splashed in the shallow water, soaking my clothes.
"At least you're having fun," I joked with a sigh.
I stepped onto the wet concrete gingerly. From the landing, I could see that it was only a short walk into town. I hoped there'd be a decent restaurant around. I was hungry, and I was sure Shay could probably go for something, too. For both of our sakes, we pressed forward into town, walking along the main road.
It was getting darker now, and thus a bit harder to see. The streetlamps were lit, but they weren't the most helpful. Light illuminated the road anytime a car passed by. It was almost unnerving. Shay jumped as a car honked its horn on a nearby street. I tried to calm her with a pet.
"Yeah, it spooked me too," I reassured. I shook my head. "Too many things spook me these days..."
I eventually saw a diner on the opposite side of the street and crossed over in the crosswalk. A sign on the front door read "Pets welcome on patio!" with an arrow pointing to a patio extension to the left of the front door. I guessed that would do. I followed the sign to the patio around the back of the building.
I was only a few paces into the restaurant when I heard something. Something...familiar.
Too familiar.
And too far gone...I had thought.