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The highway stretched out before them and Nick blinked a few times. They should be finding a hotel to sleep for the night, but Nick wondered if they’d ever find one where they’d allow pets like the two currently sitting in his backseat. Baylee had asked if they shouldn’t be taking a plane to Minnesota, but Nick had argued that customs wouldn’t probably allow a hybrid wolf dog to be transferred to another state, even if they could convince them that the dog was indeed a dog.

Nick didn’t blame them.

Looking in the rearview, he shivered again. The dog looked decidedly more like a wolf than a dog and its behaviour was very odd, to say the least. It didn’t bark, it didn’t get excited, it just stared out of the window, and sometimes, Nick could swear it stared back at him when he looked through the mirror. How did Baylee ever end up with this animal? He hadn’t been able to get much out of the young teenager about the dog’s history. Baylee had insisted he’d gotten it from a friend, but what kind of parents would let a child keep a dog like this? Sure, it wasn’t acting aggressively or anything, but it looked terrifying. If Nick would have seen it on its own, he would have surely called animal control, assuming it was a wild wolf, and not a dog. That was actually what he’d intended to do when he’d met up with Baylee, regardless of what the boy was trying to convince him of.

Because the dog didn’t act like a dog.

But then again, it didn’t act like a wolf either. It was silent and calm as it sat in the backseat, patiently waiting for them to get to wherever they needed to go. Not even the best trained dog in the world could sit still for such a long period of time and the way the dog watched him through the window every now and then confused Nick even more.

There was certainly something wrong with this dog, and Baylee seemed to know exactly what it was, but refused to say anything. Nick sighed and turned off the highway. “I guess we could sleep here in the car for the night.”

“We’re not even in Missouri yet,” Baylee mumbled.

“No, but I’m tired, and I don’t want to crash the car. Especially not with an exotic animal in it.”

“I already told you, he’s not an exotic animal. Just a dog.”

“Sure,” Nick grumbled, “He doesn’t even react to his name.”

“I didn’t say he listened very well.”

“At least the Maltese is sleeping. I think we should follow that example.”

“But I don’t want to sleep in the car,” Baylee muttered.

“Too bad, you brought the dogs; you deal with the consequences of not getting a place to sleep.” Nick replied sternly, looking around, trying to find a quiet parking spot between the trees. He shouldn’t have come.

He should have stayed home when he suspected that Baylee was messing with him. The boy really seemed to have a problem, but refused to let him in on that secret. What? Was he just using Nick as a driver?

Minnesota was a long drive, and at this rate, it would take them at least two days to get there. He should have just stayed home. His wife was pregnant, for crying out loud! She’d let him go when he told her he was going to help Baylee find his father, but couldn’t tell if she believed him or thought that he just needed an excuse to get away from the thought of pregnancy for a while.

Was that why he’d agreed to come so readily?

Nick shook his head, finally stopping the car at what looked like a silent picnic place in the woods. The dogs would love it here, he figured, although he wasn’t sure if the hybrid loved anything at this point. He suggested to let them out for a while and Baylee immediately agreed. The Maltese woke up upon opening the car door and instantly jumped out. The wolf dog looked at them first for a moment before sighing and getting out of the car much slower. Nick swore he could see it roll its eyes as it ventured after the much smaller dog. Baylee bit his lip, “Don’t go too far, Thom,” he called after the dogs, as if it would understand.

“You don’t need a leash or anything?” Nick mumbled as he watched the retreating animals. “It would sure be a shame to drive all the way just to lose the dogs here.”

“Nah,” Baylee said, “They’ll be back in a flash, just watch.”

Baylee seemed to be right. After just five minutes, the two canines appeared again. Nick recoiled when he saw the wolf dog trot over to them with what seemed to be a dead duck in its mouth. “Oh for God’s sake, he killed a duck.”

Baylee’s eyes darkened, “Yeah, he does that sometimes. It’s a bad habit.”

The dog seemed undisturbed as it went to lay next to a tree and carefully dropped the duck to the ground.

Nick’s stomach churned. “Baylee, come sit here for a minute,” he said, not taking his eyes off the wolf dog.

They sat down silently at the picnic table and Nick noticed his friend’s son avoiding any type of eye contact. “Bay,” he sighed, “What is going on here?”

“I already told you,” Baylee replied silently.

“I know, and I don’t believe you,” Nick said back in the same tone, still watching the dog, who was now carefully examining its caught prey, “There’s something very strange about that dog, and I have a feeling it somehow connects with your father missing, how am I doing so far?”

Baylee’s gaze dropped to the table and Nick assumed that the boy was contemplating telling the truth, or coming up with another lie. It took nearly two full minutes for the teenager to reply, but when he looked up, Nick could see desperation and tears in his eyes and knew it was the truth the boy had decided on, “It’s Dad.”

“What?” Nick’s brow furrowed and the wolf dog looked up at them immediately, seemingly startled.

Baylee looked down at the table again and licked his lips, steeling himself before continuing, “The dog, it’s Dad.”

“Are you okay?”

“No!” Baylee yelled, “I screwed everything up and now Dad’s cursed and a dog. Well, a wolf, technically. It’s not a hybrid, it’s an actual wolf.”

Nick blinked at the stream of information that was suddenly spewed at him. He could tell Baylee meant every word, but none of it made any sense. Something was definitely wrong with the boy. Maybe the thought of his father leaving had taken its toll on his mind? Poor child.

“Baylee, it’s okay,” Nick mumbled.

“No! You don’t understand!” Baylee cried, “I’m not lying, Nick! Dad’s cursed because of me! And we have to go to a certain forest in Minnesota to lift the curse and I hope we get there in time, because if we’re too late, he’ll actually be a wolf for real.”

Nick’s frown grew deeper as he observed the boy, then the dog that had silently come closer and watched them closely. The wolf dog’s eyes did look familiar now. No.

That couldn’t be. No way in hell. “Baylee, we can find help,” Nick pleaded.

“No!” Baylee yelled, in tears now, “Dad, just show him!”

Nick turned to the hybrid, who was throwing glances back and forth between him and Baylee, uncertain. A high pitched whine escaped its throat; then it started to swipe its paw over the ground.

“What the hell is he doing?” Nick asked, astonished.

Another high pitched whine; then the dog turned, grabbed the half eaten duck and threw it at Nick, before continuing to swipe at the ground. It took Nick a few seconds to realize the dog was actually writing something in the forest ground. His eyes widened at the realisation. Yes, it said when the dog was finished and stepped back to look at it.

“Oh my God,” Nick choked out, his stomach tightening, “Brian?”

The dog nodded excessively and jumped, but Nick recoiled. “This has to be a joke,” Nick brought out, his eyes wide as the dog looked at him with his head cocked to the side, “Baylee, did you train him to do this?”

“No,” Baylee replied, “Do I look like someone that can teach a dog how to write?”

“Oh my God,” Nick repeated, “How the fuck did this happen?”

“It’s all my fault,” Baylee sighed.