Good Girl

Good Girl

Skipper stopped and went belly-down into the tall grass. Dani and Jody dropped to the ground when they saw the golden retriever stop.

"Did you hear that, Johnny?" asked a male voice from the direction of the campfire they'd spotted a few dozen yards off the trail.

"You been hearin' things all night, Bobby," said the other voice, presumably Johnny.

"Shush, lemme listen," said Bobby's voice.

The men remained quiet for a few minutes. The women stayed where they were, the dog lying next to Dani, hackles raised, a low growl emanating from her chest.

"Well," said Bobby, "I don't hear it now."

"I told you nothin' was there," responded Johnny.

"Somethin's there, all right," replied Bobby-voice, "I feel it."

Dani signaled Jody to slowly crawl away from the campfire. They crawled south, putting distance between themselves and the campfire. Before they got 20 feet, they heard:

"There!" Bobby exclaimed, accompanied by the sound of a shotgun being loaded. "There it is again. I'm telling you there's someone or something out there, Johnny."

"All right. All right, all ready! Let's go take a look."

Dani gave Skipper a hand signal, who took off running back the way they'd come. The dog ran away from the women, angling toward the campfire barking. The men saw the dog and ran toward it, away from the women. The women took the opportunity to run south, away from the camp. They ran until they reached a road and found another place to hide.

Dani pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew into it twice. The women crouched near the road and waited for the dog. After a few minutes, Skipper came running up, panting, tail wagging. She jumped on Dani, who tumbled backward, dog wrapped in her arms.