Page 3 of Fight or Flight
A fter a hot shower, Katherine settled down with the book she wanted to read. Both dogs slept at the foot of her massive bed. She didn’t care if this was normal or not. She wanted them close to her, and they never bothered her when she slept. Engrossed in the story, she jerked her attention away from her book when both Sam and Sophie suddenly leapt off the bed. Sam’s bark was loud, continuous, and ear-piercing. He bolted out of the bedroom, Sophie trailing him. Katherine tossed the book aside and followed the shepherds downstairs.
“Hey, you two, calm down,” she called out as she walked across the living room into the kitchen. Their deep, frantic barking continued. “Quiet!” she commanded, raising her voice. Neither dog stopped, their deep guttural growls alarming her.
Wanting to make sure she’d armed the security system, Katherine checked the control panel in the kitchen. It read A RMED .
“Okay, nothing there,” she said to the dogs. They were now panting, running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, and still growling.
It was probably a rabbit or a deer, Katherine told herself. Possibly even a bear. She’d seen all kinds of wild animals on her property through the windows, though never a bear, and they had never bothered the dogs. Having had no problem with wildlife for seven years, why now? Was it the mating season? She should know this.
She flipped a switch, flooding the circumference of the house with bright light. Peering through the French doors, she didn’t see an animal of any kind, didn’t hear any wild pigs snorting, no buck bellowing. The dogs continued to emit a low growl, teeth displayed, drool dripping from their mouths.
“Sam, Sophie, down!” Katherine used her hand to indicate down , and both dogs sat, but she could see it was hard for them. She refilled their water bowls. “Drink your water.”
They reluctantly obeyed. They never acted this way. She checked the control panel again, ran upstairs to her bedroom, grabbed her cell phone, and then went back to the kitchen. Both dogs had settled, but their pupils were dilated, a glassy look she’d never seen before. Had they gotten into something when she’d let them out earlier? Wouldn’t they have had symptoms earlier? Alarmed enough by their actions, she accessed the outside surveillance cameras through her phone. She would be able to see if anything or anyone were still out there. Between the seven cameras, one at each entrance, she saw nothing unusual. Glancing at the time, she decided it wasn’t too late to send Doc Baker a text. Unsure of what was happening with her best friends, she wanted to ensure they were okay. She texted:
Dogs are a bit hysterical. I’m concerned. K.
Seconds later, her cell phone rang.
“Hey, kiddo, what’s up with those two ornery pooches?” Doc asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.” She explained how they’d jumped out of bed and their wild barking.
“Can you FaceTime me and let me have a look at them?”
The wonders of technology never ceased to amaze her. Without them, she’d probably be institutionalized.
“Sure,” she said. “Let me call you back.” She hit the camera icon on her phone, and a few seconds later, Doc Baker’s face filled her screen. “Hi, Doc. Sorry to be such a pain in the butt, but I’ve just never seen this behavior from either dog before. Here, have a look.” She reversed the camera’s view so he could see both dogs.
“Bring it a bit closer to their eyes, kiddo,” he said.
She held the phone close to Sam, then Sophie.
“You had any troubles at your place? Them big pupils make me think they might feel threatened or scared.”
“I didn’t think German shepherds scared that easily.”
“As a rule, they’re pretty darned courageous. I’m just guessing, but from what you say, and those pupils, I’d say they’re afraid. Now, I can’t be sure without actually seeing them in the flesh, or fur in their case, but I’m pretty good at this kinda thing. So let’s diagnose the pooches as scaredy cats . . . dogs. ” He chuckled.
“I trust you, so I’ll just . . .” Katherine looked at both animals. “I don’t know, keep a close eye on them.”
“Give ’em a treat and a good rub. That’ll calm ’em down. I’ll stop by in the morning, check them over, have a look around, see if I spot anything unusual.”
“I’d appreciate it,” she said. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You bet.”
Katherine observed both dogs. They were uneasy, to say the least. She took two beef sticks and gave one to each, but they didn’t seem to be as excited as they normally were when she gave them this special treat. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said, running her hand along their backs, between their ears. Sam whined while Sophie carried her beef stick to the bottom of the staircase, where she gobbled it up in a few bites.
Somewhat calmed, Katherine wondered what had caused them to behave so oddly. She’d never seen them act fearful. Though she didn’t go outside with them, she always kept the French doors open so she could watch out for them. Was it time she forced herself to go outside and watch them? The mere thought frightened her so much that her heart started racing. “Not now,” she said to herself. Sometimes talking helped calm her down. It didn’t matter that she spoke to the dogs, didn’t matter what words came out of her mouth; for whatever reason, it took her focus off the physical sensations she felt when stressed. Other times she would go so far as to pinch herself so hard it brought tears to her eyes. She’d bruised herself more than she cared to admit.
Checking the control panel in the kitchen yet again to ensure it was on, she shut the outside lights off. Most likely the dogs had heard a wild animal in distress or a bear close by. Being in the Great Smoky Mountains, bears were commonplace, despite her never spotting one. Either way, she was exhausted and hoped Doc Baker could figure things out in the morning. “Come on, you two—let’s go back upstairs.”
Having finished their treats, the dogs guzzled the rest of the water in their bowls before following her upstairs. Katherine found it hard to relax, even though both dogs were now calm, resting at the foot of her bed. She tried to pick up where she’d left off in her book but couldn’t concentrate, reading the same paragraph over and over. Tossing the book aside, she took her cell phone from the nightstand and clicked on the app for the security cameras. One by one, she viewed the videos that were automatically sent to a website every hour for backup. She saw nothing out of place. With a hundred plus acres, the surveillance cameras didn’t cover her entire property. Sam and Sophie rarely, if ever, ran too far from the house, not that she watched their every move. She clicked out of the app, satisfied no wild animals were close to her property line.
Restless, Katherine knew sleep was out of the question. She still kept a spiral notebook, though she didn’t have to hide it under the mattress now. Taking the red notebook from her nightstand and flipping through the pages, she read through a rough outline for the book she would start next. Disciplined, she could finish a rough draft in a month. Another week or two for an edit, then she was on to the next story. Satisfied with the outline, she glanced at the time and saw that it was after midnight.
She grabbed her phone, opened the Friendlink app, and went to her fan page. Maybe she’d find someone there to talk to. A message immediately popped up.
klcLUV/007: Hi! Can’t sleep either?
Katherine smiled and typed back:
Nope. Have a lot of homework tonight.
klcLUV/007: My dad makes me do homework the second I walk through the door!
Bigfan216: Wow! That’s not right! Why?
Katherine waited several seconds for an answer. Maybe klcLUV/007 had decided it was none of her business.
klcLUV/007: I dunno, he’s always been this way since my mom has been gone.
Bigfan216: Parents divorced?
Breaking her own rules by asking personal questions, she found she couldn’t help herself. She was curious.
klcLUV/007: No.
Bigfan216: Sorry, not my biz!
klcLUV/007: It’s okay. I lost my mom a while ago. I still miss her. Hope you don’t think I’m a big baby! I do miss her, though.
She knew exactly how losing a parent at a young age felt. No matter how absent her parents had been, she still felt their loss. They had been very different people, but you didn’t get to choose your parents, and she had tried to mourn them in her own way.
Bigfan216: I’m so sorry. I don’t think you’re a baby at all. Both of my parents are gone.
Too much info? Probably, yet for whatever reason, she truly felt bad for this girl.
klcLUV/007: OMG, I am so so sorry. It sucks, huh? Bigfan216: It was a long time ago. I don’t like to think about them much. Does that make me a horrible person?!?!
klcLUV/007: Absolutely not! Between us, I wish my dad had died instead of my mom. Does that make me a horrible person too?!?! I wasn’t even allowed to go to her funeral!!!
Bigfan216: Wow, that’s not right. Is your dad a jerk?
klcLUV/007: Beyond, especially now.
Bigfan216: How so?
klcLUV/007: Money. He’s got big ideas and thinks he’s about to hit the jackpot. He’s weird that way.
Bigfan216: So he has a lot of $$$?
klcLUV/007: He says he’s got an inheritance or some bull. I’m not sure I believe him!!!
Bigfan216: Send $$$ my way if he does! LOL
klcLUV/007: Maybe. LOL
Bigfan216: Not serious!
klcLUV/007: I kinda wish you were! Serious, I mean.
Katherine wasn’t sure what line she was about to cross. Too wired to worry about it, she decided Darby would straight out ask the question.
Bigfan216: What do you mean by serious?
klcLUV/007: I’m getting sleepy. I talk too much. I’ll TTYL.
Bigfan216: Wait, don’t go!
klcLUV/007: Sorry, I’m just looking for new friends. I love all the books for real, though I was hoping I could make a friend, ya know? One I could call, like if I needed to.
Bigfan216: Okay, I’m cool with that. I’m here a lot. We can be friends. klcLUV/007: I mean outside of here, the fan page.
She mentally kicked herself for getting too involved in this chat. She was a thirty-seven-year-old woman, and now she was concerned about this young girl who, it appeared, needed a friend. She knew how it felt; it’s what inspired her writing all those years ago when she was alone, possibly not unlike klcLUV/007.
Bigfan216: Depends.
klcLUV/007: ???
Bigfan216: Where we live!
klcLUV/007: Duh, that makes sense.
She would check her profile thoroughly later and see what, if anything, she could find out about this girl.
Bigfan216: No worries.
klcLUV/007: Where do you live?
Bigfan216: Utah.
Lying didn’t come easy for Katherine, but she could not reveal her location or true identity.
klcLUV/007: Wow! Far away from me! I’m in Texas.
Bigfan216: For sure. We can email.
klcLUV/007: Send pics!
She expected this at some point and had an iron-clad excuse prepared as to why she couldn’t send photos, or “pics,” to her new “friend.”
Bigfan216: camera on my crappy laptop is broken!
klcLUV/007: really? Don’t you have a cell phone?
Bigfan216: No $$$ for one. Foster parents can’t afford it.
klcLUV/007: Sorry. I didn’t know you were in foster care. Is it terrible?
Bigfan216: Not so bad. They’re friendly, just broke!
Lies seemingly rolled from her easily. She didn’t like this, but she had no one to blame but herself for stepping outside the boundaries she’d created when she formed this page. Though, in her defense, she’d never said that you couldn’t reveal your name or where you lived. It was only suggested that they only use their handles when they were on the page, as WHS524 had reminded them all earlier.
klcLUV/007: I can send you $$$? I have $$$ saved!
Bigfan216: No, but thanks. I have a part-time job. I’m saving up for the new iPhone that just came out.
klcLUV/007: Same here. I work at a hair salon on Saturdays. I want to open my own salon! Going to start cosmetology classes as soon as I graduate.
Bigfan216: Awesome!
klcLUV/007: What about you?
Bigfan216: Maybe a veterinarian? No $$$, but there’s always school loans!
Where had that come from? Possibly her earlier dealings with Doc Baker?
klcLUV/007: Wow! A doctor. You must be super smart. Any pets?
Bigfan216: LOL, still trying to figure that out! I have two dogs.
She didn’t see any harm in telling her she had two dogs. She didn’t have to reveal what breed of dog or their names.
klcLUV/007: Dad won’t let me have a pet.
Bigfan216: What a jerk!
klcLUV/007: Right! He’s not a nice guy. Really. If you only knew.
Bigfan216: What are you saying?
klcLUV/007: Just that he’s super mean to me, more since Mom died.
Fearing this young girl might be in a bad situation that technically was none of her business, Katherine decided she would keep up with her on Friendlink. One never knew what went on behind closed doors. She’d experienced it herself, though never any physical abuse. But she’d been mentally and emotionally abused as a child. Katherine often wondered if that was worse.
She wanted to end the conversation and tell klcLUV/007 she was tired. It was after one in the morning. But she held back, because she needed to ensure the girl wasn’t in actual danger. How she planned to do this, she hadn’t a clue.
Bigfan216: Are you, like, safe?
klcLUV/007: I think so! He’s strict as hell. He only gets mad when I don’t follow his rules.
Bigfan216: Does he hurt you?
It took so long for her to respond that Katherine thought she wouldn’t answer her question at all.
klcLUV/007: Sometimes.
Bigfan216: He hits you?
klcLUV/007: It’s not that bad. He’s just a jerk sometimes.
Bigfan216: Jerk or not, it’s against the law!
Katherine waited for a reply. Nothing. Five minutes later, she saw klcLUV/007—Karrie—had logged off. Fearing Karrie’s father had somehow read the comments about him and taken his anger out on her, Katherine quickly scanned klcLUV/007’s profile information. She hoped she’d broken the rules and included her phone number. But there was only an email address. Before she changed her mind, Katherine typed an email to Karrie.
To: [email protected] From: [email protected] It’s me, Bigfan216. Darby. Are you okay? I think I scared you off. Sorry. Just concerned. XOXO, Darby
It had been an eventful night. Katherine was about to close her laptop when her computer pinged, letting her know she’d received a new email. She logged back into her email account and saw she had a reply from Karrie.
To: [email protected] From: [email protected] I’m okay. No worries. TTYL, Karrie
Katherine wrote back immediately.
To: [email protected] From: [email protected] I am worried! Are you sure you’re not in immediate danger? I can call the police for you. XOXO, Darby
She knew she probably came across as an adult in her emails. It didn’t matter. If the girl was in trouble, she could at least alert the authorities. Waiting for a reply, she chewed her nails, a bad habit she should’ve outgrown by now. Her fingertips were always sore, as she bit her nails down to the quick and sometimes picked at her cuticles until they bled. Fifteen minutes passed. Sure that Karrie wouldn’t reply to her email, Katherine logged off and shut her laptop down. Her day hadn’t been this exhausting in a long time.
She lay in bed, troubled. Uneasy, she turned off the lamp, trying to fall asleep. A million thoughts raced through her head. With daylight approaching, she drifted off, only to be awakened by Sam and Sophie’s barking.