Page 56 of Until Now
“Oh shit!” Bing says, rolling off to the side.
I yell my reaction. “Aaaaaaa!” Shit, it felt like the bat touched my head!
“What the fuck?” Bing says, laughing.
“It’s a BAT CAVE! Shit. Let’s get out of here before we get caught. If our moms get a call that we’re fucking with the protected bats, it’ll be bad! I amnotgoing to miss the dance tonight. Not for a fucking flower.”
“I don’t see any other bats coming out. We’re okay,” he says, ignoring my statement.
I look around. “Where are the dogs?”
Bing looks to the left, the right, he stands. “There’s Cali; she’s hiding under that fallen tree.”
I look that way and whistle. “Come on, girl, it’s all right.”
But Cali stays where she is, away from any flying creatures. She puts her head down and looks away from me.
“Where’s McFly?” Bing says. “I don’t see him. Shit.”
He stands and walks away from the cave. “Here, boy! McFly!”
He yells it like he’s gathering the troops for battle. Nothing. Now a loud whistle. “McFly!”
The muffled sound of an injured dog reaches our ears. It’s a groan or more like a moan. What the hell?
“Where is he?” Bing gets serious.
There’s no playfulness in his voice. He’s scared, and so am I.
“Let’s be really quiet after I call him. I think he’s hurt.”
Tears fill Bing’s eyes, and his voice is breaking.
“Okay.”
“McFly!”
We stay frozen in place, not making another sound. Only Cali changes position. She rises and listens with us. From within the cave comes McFly’s whine.
“He’s inside the cave!” I say, moving with Bing to the entry.
Cali runs to the cave and whines her message to her friend.
“Back, Cali!”
It takes me a minute to pull her back so we can look.
I let Bing peer in and shine the light first before taking my spot, lying next to him.
“There he is!” Bing starts to cry. Not sobs, but steady tears running down his face.
“We’ll get him. Don’t cry.”
He wipes the tears, but they are replaced as soon as he does.
“He must have gotten scared and ran under the barrier. How far down do you think he is?” I ask.
“Maybe six feet. But it looks like the cave opens to the left, right beyond where he’s lying. He’s hurt, Hunter. See how he’s sticking that back leg out?”
