The voice had caused Lucky pain, but that was nothing compared to the agony that he felt as he returned to consciousness. Girl groaned beneath him and Quick lay curled next to her head. He could hear Man shouting further into the basement, calling out to his daughter. “She’s here!” Lucky called back. He strained against the heavy beam that rested across his back.
“Lucky?” Girl mumbled as the weight left her chest. “Are we alive?”
“Man is alive too.” Lucky’s legs were trembling with the weight he was carrying.
**DA-DING!! You have gained +1 Strength!!**
He could feel the difference that the additional strength made, but it still wasn’t enough. Gritting his teeth against the pain he said, “Girl get out from under me, take Quick with you.”
Girl, her expression dazed, looked around. “Quick?”
“The squirrel!” His voice was almost a snap as his legs continued to tremble beneath him. “Hurry, Girl.” He growled. “I can’t hold this up much longer.”
Her motions were clumsy as she scooped up the terrified squirrel and squirmed out from under the dog. He braced his weakening muscles and lunged forward toward Girl and out from under his load. The beam scraped against his back and nearly caught his tail before he escaped.
**DA-DING!! You have met the requirements for a class. Dogged Protector is available. Do you choose to accept this as your primary class?**
“What is Dogged Protector?” He thought
As the grass-words flared to life before his eyes, he shook his head to clear them from his vision. “Is Quick still breathing?” His bones ached as he moved away from the beam and toward where Man’s voice had come from.
Girl stumbled after him, cuddling the terrified squirrel against her chest. “He’s scared. I can feel his poor body trembling. Can you tell him I won’t hurt him?”
Lucky called back to the squirrel over his shoulder, explaining. He was too focused on Man, there was a large pile of debris between them and the dog sniffed and poked at the mound. Eventually, he found a small tunnel through to the other side. It was just big enough for him to squirm his way through.
Man was on the ground, sheltered under a large shelving unit that had hung up on the wall. There was a small amount of blood running from a cut on his head, mostly congealed already. Lucky crawled closer and sniffed at Man’s face, he seemed to be doing alright, there was no sense of confusion coming from him. “Can you move?” Lucky nuzzled at Man’s cheek, offering comfort.
“I can.” Man swallowed heavily. The worry in his voice was clear to Lucky’s senses.
“The shelf is stable. Move carefully.” The dog crawled backward toward the pile of debris. “There is a tunnel through here.”
As a large dog, where Lucky could go, Man could follow. Man moved tentatively where Lucky, despite his injuries, moved with confidence. As soon as he was through the tunnel, Girl nearly threw herself into Man’s arm. There were tears in her eyes as she hugged her father tightly. Quick bounded from one shoulder to the other to get out of the way of the press of humanity, chattering disgruntledly before jumping down to burrow into the mane of fur around Lucky’s neck.
With a groan, the big, fluffy multicolored dog settled down on the dusty ground. The ache through his body seemed to get worse the longer he moved. Now that he had a moment, he tried to get the grass-words back.
He considered the abilities that would be made available if he chose this class. It sounded like a good option, but he didn’t want to make a hasty decision.
Even as he finished reading the last of the skills this class offered, he heard the voice in his head again.
**DA-DING!! You have met the requirements for a class. Holy Terrier is available. Do you choose to accept this as your primary class?**
Lucky’s eyebrows danced as he continued to read through the abilities. The more he thought about the two classes, the more he worried that he wasn’t the right dog to be making this decision.
Even as he opened his mouth to speak to Girl, to ask for her help in the decision making process, the voice spoke again.
**DA-DING!! You have met the requirements for a class. Howling Shepherd of the Flock is available. Do you choose to accept this as your primary class?**
This voice sounded different than either of the ones before.
These screens were sky colored instead of the usual grass and Lucky was even more confused as he read through them. He huffed out a sigh and laid his head on his paws for a moment. He was sore and exhausted, but there was no rest to be had at the moment. He needed to make a decision regarding his primary class and they needed to find more secure shelter. It was still early in the day, but night would come.
Once Girl stepped away from Man, comforted by his presence, Lucky looked up at her with a wag of his curling tail. “The grass-words have spoken again, Girl.” He said, getting her attention.
She crouched down next to him and wrapped her arms gently around his neck, dropping an affectionate kiss on his nose. Lucky’s tail wagged faster. “You saved my life.” She ignored his words for a moment and squeezed him tight. “You saved my life.” She repeated. “And Quick.” The squirrel was chittering in protest at her rough handling of Lucky. “Thank you.” She said at last, “Good boy, Lucky.” The dog’s tail was moving even faster now and he nuzzled at her cheek before slobbering kisses all over it.
She laughed.
That was the best sound in Lucky’s world, he decided as he watched the smile crinkle her face. “Good boy!” She said again. She ruffled the fur on his head and leaned back out of range of his tongue. “Now, what were you saying about grass-words?”
“I have qualified for my Primary Class.” He said slowly. “But I have to choose between three.”
“Hold on, I’ll…” She glanced around for her backpack and mumbled a mild curse. “I can’t write it down.” She sounded so dejected for a moment, before she pulled out her phone and gave him a half smile, “But I can make a note in my phone. Tell me all about your options.”
So Lucky did.
Kieran Pierce for the absolutely wonderful cover.
