Page 23 of Endless
"Rori, stop."
She turned to look at me, dismay on her face. "But why? I want to keep walking."
"Hades senses danger, sweetie. Come back to us, both of you."
Daren grabbed her hand and started to pull her back when I heard it. Not a hissing sound like Jandro initially thought, but a rattling.
"Fuck. Guys, freeze! Don't move." Jandro and I both put our palms out. The kids stopped in place, their eyes widening in fear.
"Move up and get them behind us," I said under my breath.
"You got it, Pres." Jandro put on a smile, brightening his voice. "Hey, guys, it's okay. Just stay still and let your dads come to you. You're doing great."
The rattling grew louder as we approached. I spotted movement just beyond Hades' head and fuck, that snake looked big and close. If the dog hadn't jumped in front of the kids, they might have stepped right on it.
Hades was stiff as a board, hackles raised and low growl constant in his throat. The rattlesnake was giving a warning, and so was he—touch my tiny humans and you're a dead snake.
"Easy, Hades. That's a good boy." Jandro and I made our way closer slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements and provoke the snake to become any more aggressive.
"Dad, I'm scared." Rori's lip wobbled, her eyes darting around fearfully until Daren pulled her into a hug, placing her head on his shoulder so she wouldn't look at the snake.
"You're okay,mijita." Jandro forced calm into his voice, but I could hear how tense he was. "Just hold on to your brother, he's got you."
We reached the kids in one more step, then with an exchanged look and a nod, directed them behind us. Air whooshed out of my lungs with relief. I didn't even realize how tense I'd been.
Jandro and I kept our eyes forward, and one hand reached behind us to make sure our children stayed near.
"Start walking backwards," I instructed. "Slow."
Once we were a good twenty feet or so away from the snake, all four of us were able to relax.
Jandro swept Rori up into his arms, her expression still shaken as he hugged her tightly and planted kisses on her face. "Hey, you did great." He smiled exuberantly at her. "You did exactly as we said, even though you were scared. You're so brave."
With relief filling my chest, I picked up Daren, who only made a small grunt of protest, but otherwise leaned into me and hugged around my neck.
"You're a hero, kid," I told him. "That was a great thing you did, making your sister look away. It kept her calm, which was exactly what we needed."
Daren shrugged like it was no big thing, but I saw his face brighten at being called a hero. "I just didn't want her to get more scared."
It floored me how much he was exactly like his namesake, my brother. When my siblings and I were kids, I was always the asshole who scared Noelle and did stuff to make her cry. She'd run to Daren, who hugged her until she was calm. Likewise, as we got older, and his seizures got worse, Noelle always took care of him.
"You did all that and more." I kissed my Daren's temple. "I love you, son."
"Love you, Dad," he muttered, promptly wiping at where I kissed him. "Can you put me down now?"
"Alright," I groaned, bending to set his feet on the ground.
I looked over at Jandro who was gently rocking a now very tired-looking Rori. He caught my eye and smirked in my direction. "Enough adventure for one day, you think?"
"I'd say so." I ruffled Daren's hair. "You want to go Tess and Drea's for a cupcake?"
"Cupcake!" That woke Rori right up.
"Just what we need, kids high on cupcakes," Jandro chuckled, heading toward the car. "Better call the dog back, I think he's still in a staring contest with that snake." "Go on ahead." I patted Daren's back to follow them, then re-entered the canyon with a long whistle. "Hades! Come on back, mutt." He was in a darker area of the canyon and harder to see at this distance with his black fur, but when his head turned at the sound of my voice, I swore I saw...
"Hades?" I squinted across the distance, the hairs on my arms standing straight up. It couldn't be, but I thought for a second those weren't dog eyes looking back at me. They looked almost human and eerily intelligent.
"Hades." I somehow broke out of my stupor and patted my thigh. "Come here, boy."
