The first coherent thought he felt was pain-and a great deal of it. His head felt like a white blur. Other than pain, that was all he felt. There was something he needed to remember-somewhere he had to go. But every time he tried to remember, the white-hot pain in his head grew even worse.
"Do you see anything?" Buddy called to his brother.
"Not yet," Mark's voice replied from behind the building. Buddy frowned. He feared for the dog and his brother.
"Hey, I found him," Mark suddenly yelled. 'He's a BIG one."
"Is he hurt?" Buddy called back, worried. Mark frowned as he studied the dog. He wasn't bleeding, but he wasn't moving either. The animal let out another low whine-a plea for help.
"I think he'll be okay," Mark replied. "But he looks sick. He doesn't look hurt, but he's not moving."
"Not moving?" Buddy frowned. "Maybe he got hit on the head in the explosion."
"Maybe," Mark replied. That certainly seemed possible.
"We gotta get him outta there, Mark," Buddy yelled.
"Outta here?" Mark asked. "But how? He's too heavy for me to carry, and how am I gonna get him over the fence."
Buddy thought for a moment. "I got an idea," he told his brother. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Mark yelled, but Buddy had already left and didn't hear his brother.
Through the pain and haze he thought he saw a boy. He was blurry at first but as the pain started to dissipate he became clearer. He was about ten, with brown curly hair that fell over his dark eyes. Those eyes peered out from behind the shaggy mane with a concerned look.
The boy spoke to him in a low voice, calm and reassuring, but the pain made his words unintelligible. To show he understood, he let out a low whine, and the boy gently petted his head.
"Mark?" Buddy yelled. He had returned with a small red wagon and some rope. "I'm back."
"Buddy, what's the plan?" Mark called back.
"Can you drag the dog to the fence?" Buddy asked. Mark frowned. It was a big dog.
"I'll try," he replied. "But I ain't making any promises." Buddy nodded and waited for his brother to appear from behind the building.
It was a good five minutes before Buddy finally spotted Mark. He had lifted the heavy dog and was carrying him to the fence. The problem was that because the dog was so heavy, Mark had to stop every two or three steps and catch his breath.
When he finally reached the fence, he collapsed on the ground beside the dog, panting. "Whew!" he declared. "THat dog is HEAVY." Buddy grinned. "What's the plan for getting him outta here?" Mark asked, indicating the fence.
Buddy held up the rope. He tossed one end of it over the six foot fence. "Tie it around his stomach," he instructed, and Mark did so. The dog barely moved as he secured the rope.
"Now what?" he asked. Buddy grinned again.
"Now the hard part," he replied. "I'll pull on the other end of the rope and that'll heave him to the top of the fence. "
"Okay," Mark agreed. "But how do we get him down the other side?" Buddy just grinned again, his blue eyes smiling.
"You climb up to the top after him. Then when he gets to the top you've gotta get him to the other side and slowly lower him down to the other side by climbing back down," Buddy explained, proud of himself for his brilliant plan.
Mark thought a moment. "Sounds like a plan," he commented to his younger brother. I hope it works."
"Only one way to find out," Buddy replied as he lifted his end of the rope to begin pulling.
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