motionless for several minutes after she turned the two-way radio off. Her mind tried to process the horrific events that must have unfolded for her daughter to lose her map, lose her radio and to have shot someone.
During that time, her eyes closed and her mind tormented her reality.
She could see clearly the detail of what she was supposed to do in this situation. She could see the plan in her head. She could see the list and how she was supposed to follow it. She could see clearly what her husband was supposed to do when separated from the family. He was supposed to do whatever was necessary in order to get back to his family. She could see clearly that her daughter was doing what she had been trained to do and was shooting a man…
Leah awoke to a jump. Daisy was next to her, sitting and alert to their surroundings.
“How long was I out?” she asked the dog, trying to get her mind to focus. The stress of the events, the lack of sleep, and what was happening to her family were eating her up inside and playing tricks with her mind. She put her hands on the countertops and pulled herself up slowly.
“I must have fallen asleep,” she said aloud, before checking her watch. It was 10:25 AM. “Jesus! Daisy, I’ve been out for almost five hours!”
She turned the kitchen sink faucet on to splash water on her face, but the water didn’t flow. Instead, she was greeted to the gurgling air sounds of unpressurised water.
“Shit!”
Getting her wits about her, she turned the two-way radio back on and just listened as she found her bottle of water and poured some in her hand to splash on her face.
There was no noise on channel 25, so she put the radio on scanning mode to search for any activity on any channel. She set the radio on the table, found her cold tea and slugged the entire cup.
“Ok, Daisy, on me,” she said in a commanding voice to the dog.
Daisy responded like a switch had been flipped. She stopped wagging her tail and moved to a position a few inches from Leah’s leg.
“Good girl,” Leah praised. The command had effectively told the dog that there was work to be done. “Daisy, patrol,” she commanded.
The dog immediately went to the front door and scanned the area. She followed the action with a scan out the back door and any other window that she could see out of.
Daisy had been a gift from one of Leah and Ian’s friends who trained dogs for bomb service, police work and working with the disabled. Ian had confided in the friend about his desire to get a family pet. He also wanted a dog so that he could add a layer of protection to the family when he traveled.
Their friend, Lewis, had invited the family over to his kennel a few weeks after a new litter of Labradors had arrived. Grace fell apart for the runt of the litter, a black lab. She let it lick her face and tussled with it in the grass.
“Of course she likes that one,” Ian said to Lewis as he looked at the much larger puppies and at some of the German Shepard dogs in a nearby pen.
“The runts are often some of the smartest, but they’re never the ones taken for the serious jobs. If your family will come out and work with me to train her, that dog may be the best line of defense you ever add to your family,” Lewis suggested to Ian.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I’m telling you, with you all working with her, she will defend you to the end.”
“Really?”
“For sure! If you guys are onboard, she will be my gift to you, Leah and Grace.”
< >
Leah fought to focus. She opened the refrigerator; it was still cool. She plucked all of the eggs and threw them into a pot of water on the extra burner on the grill outside. She then went downstairs and gathered everything that was part of the plan for bugging out. She put them into three duffle bags and then checked her main pack for the essentials. Satisfied she was ready to go, she went back upstairs and
During that time, her eyes closed and her mind tormented her reality.
She could see clearly the detail of what she was supposed to do in this situation. She could see the plan in her head. She could see the list and how she was supposed to follow it. She could see clearly what her husband was supposed to do when separated from the family. He was supposed to do whatever was necessary in order to get back to his family. She could see clearly that her daughter was doing what she had been trained to do and was shooting a man…
Leah awoke to a jump. Daisy was next to her, sitting and alert to their surroundings.
“How long was I out?” she asked the dog, trying to get her mind to focus. The stress of the events, the lack of sleep, and what was happening to her family were eating her up inside and playing tricks with her mind. She put her hands on the countertops and pulled herself up slowly.
“I must have fallen asleep,” she said aloud, before checking her watch. It was 10:25 AM. “Jesus! Daisy, I’ve been out for almost five hours!”
She turned the kitchen sink faucet on to splash water on her face, but the water didn’t flow. Instead, she was greeted to the gurgling air sounds of unpressurised water.
“Shit!”
Getting her wits about her, she turned the two-way radio back on and just listened as she found her bottle of water and poured some in her hand to splash on her face.
There was no noise on channel 25, so she put the radio on scanning mode to search for any activity on any channel. She set the radio on the table, found her cold tea and slugged the entire cup.
“Ok, Daisy, on me,” she said in a commanding voice to the dog.
Daisy responded like a switch had been flipped. She stopped wagging her tail and moved to a position a few inches from Leah’s leg.
“Good girl,” Leah praised. The command had effectively told the dog that there was work to be done. “Daisy, patrol,” she commanded.
The dog immediately went to the front door and scanned the area. She followed the action with a scan out the back door and any other window that she could see out of.
Daisy had been a gift from one of Leah and Ian’s friends who trained dogs for bomb service, police work and working with the disabled. Ian had confided in the friend about his desire to get a family pet. He also wanted a dog so that he could add a layer of protection to the family when he traveled.
Their friend, Lewis, had invited the family over to his kennel a few weeks after a new litter of Labradors had arrived. Grace fell apart for the runt of the litter, a black lab. She let it lick her face and tussled with it in the grass.
“Of course she likes that one,” Ian said to Lewis as he looked at the much larger puppies and at some of the German Shepard dogs in a nearby pen.
“The runts are often some of the smartest, but they’re never the ones taken for the serious jobs. If your family will come out and work with me to train her, that dog may be the best line of defense you ever add to your family,” Lewis suggested to Ian.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I’m telling you, with you all working with her, she will defend you to the end.”
“Really?”
“For sure! If you guys are onboard, she will be my gift to you, Leah and Grace.”
< >
Leah fought to focus. She opened the refrigerator; it was still cool. She plucked all of the eggs and threw them into a pot of water on the extra burner on the grill outside. She then went downstairs and gathered everything that was part of the plan for bugging out. She put them into three duffle bags and then checked her main pack for the essentials. Satisfied she was ready to go, she went back upstairs and
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