"Aaaaaaahhhh!!!"
The car came to a screeching halt as Talia jerked forward. Her seatbelt held her back, preventing her face from banging into the steering wheel.
For a moment, Talia shut her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Her heart was beating so hard it was almost jumping out of her chest.
The car had skidded a bit on the wet tarmac but it dutifully stopped.
What the hell was that??? Her bright blue eyes widened. It looked like an animal crossing the road!
She put the car into park and stared through the windshield.
It was hard to see with the rain lashing onto the glass but the headlights picked up a small drenched critter in front of the car. Its bright yellow eyes reflected the car lights, glowing like a tiny feral animal.
Oh Lord, she hoped she didn't hit the poor thing.
Talia pushed opened the door and ran to the front, not knowing what to expect.
The car lights beamed into the pouring rain, shining its lights on a small light brown dog sitting in the middle of the road. It was drenched and looked scared out of its mind, but at least it didn't look injured.
She moved closer to it, slow and steady. She sank down onto her haunches and held out a hand.
It stared at her with pitiful amber eyes, whimpering.
CRACK!!! BOOM!!!
The dog yelped and jumped into her hands.
Talia exhaled with relief as she reached out with shaking hands to touch the puppy. She was driving very slowly and that was most likely the only reason why she was able to stop in time.
"Oh my God. Are you okay Sweetie?" Talia scooped up the wet whimpering dog. "Come here Honey."
It was a male puppy, no more than a few months old at most, with small pointy ears and a cute little pointy nose with some sharp canine puppy teeth.
CRACK!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
"Aaarghhhh!" He yelped and bit her arm with his small mouth, drawing blood.
Talia winced. Little puppies didn't have much jaw strength, but their teeth were razor sharp.
"I'm sorry Sweet Muffin…Awww, you must've been so scared, poor little thing…" She shifted him in her arm. He was so frightened that she could not blame him for biting her.
The pup shivered in her arms but did not struggle as she carried him back into the car.
Reaching into the back, she pulled out several thick towels and wrapped the shivering dog within its soft dry folds. Then with quick practiced fingers, she checked him all over.
"Looks like you're going to be just fine little guy." She cooed in a light gentle voice to calm him down.
"No blood anywhere. No broken bones. You're super lucky, you know that?"
CRACK!!! BOOOOM!!!
He whimpered again and tried to snuggle into her arms.
"Awww. It's okay little guy. It's just a bit of thunder and lightning." She murmured as she dried him with one of the towels.
He began to shiver so she wrapped him in one of the spare dry towels and placed him on the passenger seat. Then she belted back up and turned on the car heater.
CRACK!!! BOOM!!!
"Arroooooohhh!!!" The dog howled and jumped from the passenger seat onto her lap.
"It's okay baby." She muttered as she wrapped him back up in the towel. "It's just thunder. I know it sounds scary, but you're safe with me. I promise."
Talia shifted gears and started driving. She had to clear the area before the bulk of the hurricane hit.
To keep the puppy and herself from focusing on the roaring thunder and flashes of lightning, Talia turned the music back on.
Instantly, the sound of 'It's Raining Wolves' filled the car's interior.
Talia smiled and began singing again.
"It's raining wolves! Arooooooh it's raining wolves! Arooooooh! I'm gonna go grab a soaking wet wolf!"
The puppy looked up at the sound of her voice.
"Tall, blond, rough and large. Fangs and claws that's tough and hard !!! It's raining wolves, Yeah!"
"Aroooooooohhh!!!" He howled a clear beautiful sound, joining his dog voice in with her own vocals.
"Hahaha!!!" Talia laughed. "That's right Sweetheart. Sing along with me. That's how we get over being scared of all this thunder."
The bass pounded and the drums beat to the rhythm of the song.
"It's raining wolves! Arooooooh it's raining wolves! Arooooooh! I'm gonna go grab a soaking wet wolf!"
"Aroooooooohhh!!!" He joined in with her singing.
"It's raining wolves!!! Arooooooh!!!"
The loud music and singing drowned out all the scary sounds of the storm.
The car continued through the pouring rain until it eventually merged with a larger highway that took Talia and the puppy towards higher ground.
============
Cedric's eyes grew more troubled the further the scent trail took him away from the estate grounds.
The boy had traveled far. Very far.
He looked up into the turbulent skies. The drops of rain were getting fatter and more intense. If he could not find the boy soon, he would completely lose the scent.
He continued following the scent trail through the rough uneven ground, past the cypress trees and the weeping willows until it eventually led him to the edge of the road.
He ran along the small road until suddenly, the scent vanished.
In a panic, Cedric sniffed around the area where the scent trail had abruptly ended in the middle of the country lane.
This was an isolated area with little traffic. For him to have disappeared at this spot could only mean one thing.
Either he had been hit by a car or someone had picked him up.
He sniffed around, suddenly smelling the telltale scent of blood. He searched the ground, but there was none.
Suddenly, his nose twitched as he picked up another scent. It was commingling within the spot where the boy's scent had vanished—a faint but unmistakable scent of roses and lavender.
The blood scent was commingled with the floral scent, but it was so faint he could barely smell it.
His eyes grew fierce. That scent too, had also dissipated at that same spot.
Someone had taken the boy!
Cedric closed his eyes and threw his head back, howling with anguish into the pouring rain.
"AaarooooOOOOooooohhhhhh!!!"
From the mansion, Hubert Renfrey could hear the distressed howling of a male wolf. His heart sank to the pits of his stomach.
This was bad.
Very bad.
========
The puppy remained on her lap, staring up at her with his large amber eyes. His snout was wide open, showing all his tiny pointed baby teeth and his soft pink tongue.
His head was thrown back and he was howling along with the song as she continued driving through the rough terrain.
Talia laughed at his cute puppy face. She had to keep looping the song over and over because he was not happy with any other song that played after it.
After a short time, the warmth of the vent and the constant noise of the song did the trick. He yawned and fell asleep on her lap.
Once he was no longer awake, Talia turned the song down as they continued driving towards Mississippi.
As the two of them began to dry, the smell of wet dog fur began to lessen and eventually she could no longer smell it at all.
The pup's dry fur turned out to be pale blond with a wispy hairlike texture that was more like a very young child's hair than it was dog fur.
By the time she had almost reached state lines, Talia needed to stop for gas.
A quick glance showed the puppy was fast asleep and not looking distressed so she shifted him over to the passenger seat and went outside to fill her gas tank.
By the time she was done with the refuel, the sky had gotten even darker and the rain was wind-driven and flying horizontally at her.
She needed to keep moving away from this band of storm clouds.
Talia restarted the car and drove back onto the highway. 'It's Raining Men' started up again, playing on the same loop she'd been listening to the entire drive to Mississippi.
She had gotten so tired of the song, but it seemed to make the puppy happy so she kept it on for him.
As the sounds of the cheerful song began to play, she could hear the puppy waking up.
He was starting to sing along to it with his little baby voice.
"Weee aaaawweooo waaeee wooo waaeen maaan."
The song sang along with his warbling.
"It's raining wolves! Arooooooh it's raining wolves! Arooooooh! I'm gonna go grab a soaking wet wolf!"
"Baaabaaa maaamaaa Waaeen wooo."
Wait a moment. Was she hearing right?
That most certainly did NOT sound like a dog!!! What kind of dog could say 'mama'???
Talia snuck a glance at the passenger side and nearly choked with fright, her heart just about jumping out of her chest!!!
There was no sign of the small puppy she had carried into the car.
In its place was a little two-year-old human child with pale ash blond hair and bright amber eyes!