This is an original work by Zeb_Carter and is protected under (c) copyright by U.S. copyright law. It is only being submitted at Literotica.Com and any submission to any other site has not been authorized by the Author.
House Calls -- Part III
The darkness was absolute, no moon, no stars and no city lights to guide us on our way. We might as well have been blind as we crept along what was left of the city by the lake. Here and there crumbled buildings rose up out of the grey ash that covered the landscape. We had taken too long at the camp of survivors. We were now dependent on my internal compass to get us home. Michelle was with me. We had been on a wellness visit to the camp of survivors we had just left. There had been quite a few injured people there and Michelle had done her best to care for them.
She was a great general doctor, but some of the injuries needed someone with surgical skills. She had done what she could. She and Susan, along with the other doctors at Campus Du Page, had been reading up on a couple of dozen skills which none of them had prior to the disaster. They all could do some minor surgery, but major surgery was still beyond their experience. Plus they didn't have the right tools to accomplish a task such as amputation, which is what a few of the unfortunate ones needed back at the camp.
I was holding her hand as I led her through the darkness. She was shaking with anxiety, exhaustion and cold as we plodded through the chaos that had been our home. I was warm with the thought that we were finally doing some good in such a hostile environment and I had had a chance to rest before we had headed back. We could have stayed the night at the camp but she had insisted that we return post haste, so she could explore the text on amputation of a limb. Always the professional, she was a dedicated doctor.
This was our third patrol, Michelle and I. I had been on three with Susan also. In fact I had been on three patrols with each of the doctors that were residents of Campus Du Page. I was the only guardian there. Well the only guardian that was mobile. So it was left to me to protect the doctors and those survivors that resided at the Campus.
"Mike, I mean John, can we rest a minute?"
"Of course," I answered as we halted. Michelle collapsed to the ground behind me. "Are you alright Michelle?" I asked kneeling beside her.
"Yes, just tired. Do you have any water?"
I turned my flash light on dim, looking for my canteen, I handed her my canteen which was full. She took it, shaking it. She looked at me in the dim light of my flash as she unscrewed the top.
"Have you been drinking enough? I don't want you getting dehydrated."
"Yes. I filled that before we left Du Page. My camel sack is just about empty. That is the spare I always carry. So drink up." I told her as I took a sip from my camel sack. She took a deep draught from the canteen then handed it back to me. I put it back in its pouch making sure the top was tight.
"How much farther?" she asked wiping her brow with a cloth she pulled from her sleeve.
"About four klicks that way," I said pointing to the west.
"How long will that take us?"
"An hour and a half in this gloom." She groaned at that answer. We sat in silence for the next ten minutes, her, breathing shallowly with her head down, me, scanning our surroundings with my ears. As I listened, I heard what I thought was a scuffling coming our way. As I turned my head it stopped. Looking into the darkness that surrounded us, I sensed more than saw, two eyes glowing in the night. I knew we were safe as our shields kept both of us from harm.
The two eyes came closer and started to whine. It was a dog. As it neared the edge of our shield it stopped. I turned my light on just enough to see beyond the shield. It was a black dog, it was my dog. How the hell he had found me was beyond comprehension. Michelle moved close to me when she saw the dog.
"Hey Rudy, how did you get here, boy?" He started wagging his tail and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. I opened an entry point in the shield. Rudy sensed this and entered coming up to sit in front of me. I reach out to pet his head. Michelle stopped me.
"Stop, he may be contaminated," she whispered in my ear. She was right.
"Stay, Rudy," I told him as I took out my scanner. I turned it on and pointed it at Rudy. He was clean. "He's clean."
I reached out and ruffled his head. He was wagging his tail so hard that his backside was wagging. He was very happy to see me. He didn't look to worse for wear. A little thinner than he had been the last time I saw him. I took out my canteen and a cup and poured him some water. He licked it dry. I then took out a powerbar and gave it to him. He gobbled it up like he was starving, but he was always hungry.
"Good dog," I praised him. He tried to lick my face so I hugged him.
"What kind of dog is he?" Michelle asked. Rudy turned to her growling, his tail stopped and the hair on his back was up.
"Out," I said through clenched teeth. Rudy immediately stopped and sat looking at me. Michelle was trying to hide behind me. "Bad dog," I admonished him. "This is a friend of mine."
"I don't think he can understand you," Michelle whispered from behind me.
"I know, but he knows I'm displeased with him. Now come out from behind me. Sit next to me." She did as I asked and I put my arm around her. Rudy watched what I did and then started to wag his tail again. "See he knows you're my friend, so now you're his friend too."
"Sure he is. What kind of dog is he? He's so hard to see."
"He's a mixed breed, Rottweiler and pit-bull. He's a pussy cat once he gets to know you. Rudy say hello to Michelle." To Michelle's dismay, Rudy got up and went and licked her face, then sat down in front of her and tried to give her his paw. "Take it."
