I freeze and Duke gives a low bark and a growl. Conor comes over to me and slips a hand into mine. Max goes to the door and slowly opens it.

“Yes?” he says.

I can’t see the person on the other side but I can hear them.

“You are the ones that the military are looking for,” the person says. He sounds like a middle-aged male, and he smells human.

Max pauses and then nods.

“We will tell them but only after you leave. They say that you are like the zombies but you aren’t. You have a child and a dog.”

Max raises an eyebrow. “We do.”

“So we are letting you leave.”

“This is a trap?” Max asks.

“Yes, but not for you,” the voice sounds almost panicky. “It’s to find other survivors.”

Max nods. “We will leave soon. Can you tell them we are on foot?”

The scream dies leaving an intense silence. The dog has lunged forward but not to attack, instead he is planting puppy kisses all over Conor.

“What is it?” I ask.

The mutt is large, easily the size of a Rottweiler but he is covered in a thick mat of hair. His tail is a bushy creation and he seems to have a mane. He is mostly black and tan but there is a flash of white under his chin and on his chest. He is beautiful but very big.

“Some sort of large dog,” Max says.

He steps toward Conor and the dog gives a low growl. He stops.

“Conor, does he have a collar?” I ask.

“I’ll look,” comes the reply and I can hear the smile in his voice.

Max walks up to me and whispers in my ear. “Guess we have found a dog…”

“Yeah,” I say…

“Are they gone?” Max asks. They have come out of the shop and are watching me.

I scrub at my face to stop the tears and nod. “He has something…” I can’t finish.

“I heard,” Max says and puts his arms around me. Conor does the same and I feel loved and safe.

“He wants us to rescue him,” I whisper.

“We can’t, not now.”

I want to argue with him.

“He won’t leave Aaron and what do we do with Conor? Take him to war?” Max asks.

“I know, but I feel so helpless.”

Max gives me one last squeeze and releases me. “I know.” One look at his face and I realise that he feels the same.

“What if we are never able…” Max stops me with a kiss.

“We will try,” he says, and I know that is all we can promise, but it feels as if…

We are no longer moving silently. I know that I would be able to track us just from the sound of our feet on the road. Still, when Aaron calls out again I’m shocked that they haven’t moved.

I stop and look in the direction Max came from.

“Are you alone?” Aaron cries again.

Max and Conor have stopped a little away from me and both are gesturing me to join them. I hold up my hand as if to say wait a minute. Then I gesture them over. Leaning into Max I whisper into his ear.

“Tell them you are still alone.”

Max looks at me with some confusion but does as I ask. “Yes, I’m alone.”

“What’s that?” Aaron cries.

I gesture to Max to repeat it but louder. He does.

“So you have no Bitsy with you?”

I roll my eyes. As if he would admit to…

The first thing I notice as we near where Max fell behind are voices. I recognise them.

“I need to stay,” Max says.

I stand a street away, the gone in my hand forgotten, Conor next to me as we listen.

“I have to go back,” Colin says.

“Come with us,” Aaron says.

“Bitsy,” Max sighs my name.

“They might let her go if you come with us,” Aaron says, but I can hear the lie in his voice. I just hope Max can.

“Really?” he says and I can tell that he is still under the effects of the drugs. I start forward and Conor holds me back.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispers.

“Never,” I say.

“Come with us and they will be left,” Aaron says.

I wonder if he was on the other side all this time. I suppose we ought to have been suspicious, finding a pilot…