TRICKED

  Noticing there were no other vehicles in the parking lot, Emma appeared to be the only person at the park, but that didn’t surprise her. She didn’t think there were too many other nutty people who would be crazy enough to be out in weather like this. Shrugging her shoulders, used to being the odd man out or more accurately the odd woman out, she unloaded the bike and Cole, and started out on the route they generally followed.

 She felt like she was enveloped in a gigantic white cloud as she pedaled down a road that should have been as familiar to her as the back of her hand, but which now looked alien and somewhat forbidding. Cole seemed to be more aware, a little unsettled, sniffing the air, and looking to Emma every few minutes.

“It’s okay, big boy, just a little fog, nothing to be worried about. It just looks a little spooky.”

Cole turned his attention away from Emma as he trotted alongside the bike. He scanned the area as he moved, his body tensing, his senses on high alert. Emma noticed that he wasn’t relaxing and getting into the run as he normally did and she wondered what was making him so uneasy. They had been in fog before, and although this was a bit denser than what they had previously encountered, Cole had never been the least bit bothered by it.

Cole continued to be agitated as they traveled over their route and after another mile or so, Emma decided to cut the run short. She could see no benefit in continuing and would be acting irresponsibly in pushing Cole to go on. Maybe there was a coyote nearby; they were quite common in this part of the state, and perhaps that’s what was making Cole so uneasy. Not being able to see more than a few feet out in any direction, Emma was at a clear disadvantage. One coyote would be bad enough, but what if there was a whole pack? She u-turned to the other side of the road and started to make her way back. She strained her ears to hear any sound that might give a clue as to what was out there, but the fog muffled any telltale noise that could have given her a hint.

 Cole had increased his pace and was actually pulling ahead of the bike in an effort to make Emma go faster. He was clearly trying to get her back to the car and Emma decided to trust his instincts and increased her speed. Whatever it was, she hoped it would back off when it saw they were leaving.

 All of a sudden, Cole stopped dead in his tracks and a deep growl rumbled in his throat. Emma had to work fast not to end up in a pile, taken by surprise at the abruptness of his halt. Cole was staring at a fixed point in the fog, but for the life of her Emma couldn’t see a damn thing. They stood there for a few minutes, neither one of them moving. Cole continued a low growl, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Emma tensed and waited, but for what she didn’t know. After a few seconds, she gave it up.

“Geez, Cole. Let’s just get the hell out of here. Come on, let’s go…now!”

Cole snapped his attention back to Emma and started off as she began to pedal. He was still as diligent, but seemed a bit calmer, not quite so alarmed the closer they got to the car. Once they reached the SUV, Emma made short work of loading up, but instead of lying down like he usually did, Cole remained standing in the back of the vehicle looking out the window in the direction from which they’d come. Emma started the car, put it in gear, and headed out of the park. Cole, satisfied they were safe now, finally lay down; but Emma started to breathe easier only after they were back on Route 240, heading home.

 The fog was starting to lift just a little along the road and Emma lowered her foot on the gas pedal, her vision improved enough to warrant picking up some speed. Her only thought as she drove was to get back to the safety of her home. Whatever had been out there had given her enough of a scare that she needed to regroup. The surge of adrenalin that had fueled her fight or flight reflex was dissipating now and making her feel weak, her hand shaking when she lifted it off the steering wheel. She needed to eat something, preferably something full of sugar. She might even need a glass of wine. So what if it was only 10:30 in the morning, this was an emergency! Yeah, wine was exactly what she needed, and maybe a lot of it. Oh hell, she thought, I’m starting to sound and act just like Joanie. But right at that moment, she didn’t really care.

*   *   *   *

After they were certain she had left, the four men emerged from where they had been standing, silently watching their prey. They gathered around the vehicle they had parked behind the concession stand, which was located on one of the sidetracks that came off the two main roads. They were not happy and knew their boss wouldn’t be either. The dog had known they were out there and had alerted the woman. He must have caught their scent because they sure as hell hadn’t made any noise. Once alerted, the woman had known there was a threat, she just hadn’t known what kind. But the dog, they knew he recognized it for what it was right away. He’d caught their scent and he knew the threat was human, not animal, and their job had just gotten a whole lot harder