.7.

Shadowy figures lurched towards Gene. "Get back! Stay away from me!" They began to speak, their voices running together. Two of the shadow figures began to come into focus – a red brindle Akita mix and a red and white Retriever. Their forms were wispy, and somewhere, deep in his mind, they were familiar – yet he didn't know why. More figures began to come into focus. A Great Dane. A Spaniel. Striped dogs of a breed he couldn't place. Several more Akitas and Akita mixes. Two German Shepherds. Mastiffs. An English Setter. Siberians and Malamutes.

"Who are you?! What do you want with me?!" Their voices shouted out to him in unison. "Get up, Gene! You're not supposed to die here!" The figures began to fade. "I don't understand! Who are you?!" "GET UP!" The same light from before englufed him and

he awakened as he went flying through the air, slamming down into the grass. He lay there, stunned, the breath knocked out of him.

"GODDAMNED COYOTES!" Sharp teeth dug into the top of his muzzle as the other dog picked him up and glared into his eyes. He was larger than Gene, dusty brown and white with angry silver eyes. He bit down harder, jaws digging into Gene's upper jaw. He struggled, trying to reason with the other dog. "P...please...I'm...I didn't..."

He was suddenly dropped as a red-and-white blur smashed into the other dog. "Valkyrie! What the hell are you doing?!" "I could ask you the same question, Argo." "I'm killin' coyotes, like I'm supposed to!"

Gene's vision swam as the two arguing dogs came into focus. The other dog was much larger than the one who had attacked him. They seemed genuinely pissed off at each other. All he could do is groan as his face throbbed, blood running freely from his bite wounds.

The large dog glanced over at Gene. "That's not a coyote, dipshit." "Like hell he's not! Look at him!" "Are you blind as well as stupid?! Wrong color! Wrong fur type! Wrong! Everything!" The dog named Argo grit his teeth. "Well, he shouldn't be out here!" "Neither should you! The sheep aren't even in this pasture!" Argo fell silent, seething with rage. She had him there.

"Fine!" Argo turned and stormed away. The other dog turned towards Gene. "Are you still alive?" He nodded weakly. "Can you walk?" "I...I don't think so..." Her expression softened slightly. "Fine. I'll carry you." She picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and he dangled there like a helpless puppy.

Valkyrie weaved though fields, taking him to a barn. She set him down in a pile of hay. "The sheep are all at pasture right now. My master and the ranch hands won't bother you here." She sat down, towering over him. "Now, you're definitly not a coyote, even if my idiot brother thinks otherwise. Let's start off simple. What's your name?"

"G...Gene..."

"Definitly not a coyote name. Where are you from?"

"I don't...remember."

For the first time, Valkyrie noticed the wound on the back of his head. "Does that have anything to do with it?" "I think...so..."

"Where are you going?"

"Detroit. I have...I have to find her..."

"Her? Did your mate run off on you or something?"

"No...She's still a kid...Her name is Gin..."

"You look awfully young to have kids."

"She's not mine. I rescued her...she was taken. Dogfighters have her..." Valkyrie was silent for a moment. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'll bring you food and water." "Wait! Tell me your name..." "It's Valkyrie. I go by Val." "Thank you, Val..." With that, he fell unconscious once more.

Val stared at him for a moment. How has he survived? This ridiculous quest of his will only result in death!

=====

Gene awoke with a start. Val was curled around him. A bucket of water and a tin pan of kibble sat nearby. He leaned into the big dog. She's warm. This is nice. She jumped away suddenly, and he tipped over. "Ow..." "Don't read too much into that. It gets cold here at night. I didn't want to come in here and deal with your frozen corpse."

She nudged the dish of kibble towards him. "You should eat. I have things to do."

That was a lie. She had nothing to do. She made her way to the front porch of the house, and flopped down besides a brown and white dog. The other dog stirred. "Hey, sis." "Hey, Mae." "So what's with that guy?" "Gene? He's an amnesiac lunatic on a quest for certain death."

Mae stretched. "You slept in there last night?" She raised her eyebrows. "He try anything?" "Shut it. I didn't want him to freeze last night." Val stared straight ahead. She could feel Mae's gaze boring into the side of her skull. "It was 75 degrees out last night." "I'm aware."

"You like him." It wasn't a question, merely a statement.

"I don't."

"You're lying. I can tell."

"It's just that I might feel slightly bad if he died." "Argo would flip his shit if he knew you spent the night in there." "What doesn't make Argo flip his shit?" "Good point."

=====

Gradually, Gene grew stronger, though he still stayed in and around the barn. Argo would occasionally wander by, scream out an insult, and be chased off by Val. His wounds closed – he'd gained a nasty scar across the top of his muzzle, but they all healed up.

Val still slept in the barn, allowing him to lean on her. She would never admit it, but it was something she'd come to enjoy.

She taught him to catch small animals, and he was soon relying on her less and less for food.

After a month, he was ready to move on. She and Mae stood side-by-side. Argo was off somewhere, sulking.

"You're leaving now?" "Yeah, thanks for taking care of me. I need to keep heading east. I've gotta go find Gin." He sprang up, and licked Val on the nose. She stiffened slightly in surprise.

The Akita mix turned away. "Good-bye...And thank you!" With that, he took off at a run, cutting through the pasture.

Val stood there, open-mouthed. "I...I..." Tears welled up in her eyes.

Mae turned to her. "Are you really gonna let him go?" "He had to..." "So you're just gonna stand here and watch him leave?"

"Mae, I..." "Look, you're not happy here. You've never been happy with this life, and all of a sudden someone shows up that can take you somewhere new, and you're just gonna let him go?!" Mae bumped her head into Val's shoulder with a grin. "Get outta here. Don't worry, I won't let Argo know for a couple hours."

Val smiled down at her sister. "You're really persistent, aren't you?" She looked off into the distant, where she could still see Gene running. "Alright. Wish me luck."

===

"Gene!"

He turned, tongue flopping out of his mouth as he skidded to a halt. "Val? What're you doing?" "I'm going with you." His eyes lit up. "Really?!" "Don't get any ideas! I put so much work into keeping you alive, and I don't wanna see it wasted!"

He smiled at her, before breaking back into a run. Val briefly looked back at her home before following.

Gene and Valkyrie. Thrown together by chance, the two young dogs must now traverse over 1,500 miles in hopes of locating Gin. But Gin is now living a much different life, a life full of death and destruction.