Hero Page 4

  “Hero, go,” Ben said, tilting his head in the direction of the backstop. He didn’t want Hero to get hit by a stray ball or foul tip. Hero ran behind the chain-link fence and watched as Ben prepared to swing again.

  Jack threw a few more pitches, and Ben got hits off them all. He was feeling pretty good. Noah rode up on his bike and stood behind the backstop with Hero.

  “Hey, Ben,” he said.

  “Hey, Noah,” Ben replied without turning around. He was trying to give Jack all his focus.

  “Hi, Jack,” Noah called out to the boy on the mound.

  Jack nodded at Noah but didn’t speak to him.

  “Let’s hit one more,” Ben said to Jack. “Then I’m going to practice with Noah, okay?”

  “Whatever you want,” Jack said. “You warmed up?”

  It seemed like a weird question to Ben. Hadn’t he just hit a whole bunch of balls? Obviously he was warmed up. Ben lowered his bat and looked at Jack for a minute. He was too far away to be sure, but Ben thought he saw an odd look on the other boy’s face. He almost looked . . . disappointed? Was it because Noah was there and Ben was going to practice with him instead?

  Ben shook his head. It’d just been a weird day—his mind was playing tricks on him.

  “All ready,” Ben said. Jack wound up and released the ball. Ben started to swing, but something was wrong. The ball was coming in too fast and too high. It was aimed right at his head.

  “Hit the dirt!” Noah yelled from behind him.

  Ben’s reflexes kicked in faster than his brain could process what was happening. He ducked. The ball was so close to his head that he heard it whiz past his ear and felt it ruffle his hair.

  The ball slammed into the chain-link fence behind him, and Hero raced around the front, barking angrily. Noah ran after him and grabbed him by the collar.

  Adrenaline shot through Ben’s body, followed closely by outrage. He threw the bat down on the ground.

  “What was that for?” he yelled at Jack.

  “That was lame, Jack!” Noah yelled at the same time. He stood next to Ben, still holding on to Hero. A low growl rumbled in Hero’s throat.

  “I guess my aim just sucks. Sorry, man.” Jack shrugged.

  Ben clenched his hands into fists. “Your aim does not suck, dude,” he shouted. “Did you just do that on purpose?”

  Noah gripped his shoulder with a firm hand.

  “You know what, Ben,” Noah said, his voice forced into sounding calm. “He’s not worth it. Ignore him.”

  Noah was right. Ben clamped his mouth shut, which wasn’t easy. Hero stood close to Ben’s side, protecting him. He was still growling.

  “Quiet, Hero,” Ben said soothingly, resting a hand on his dog’s head. “Thanks for looking out for me, pal. Good dog.”

  “Let’s go,” Noah said, turning his back on Jack. “I need to meet Scout anyway.”

  “Okay.” Ben picked up his bat. He started to leave, Hero shadowing him.

  “Aw, come on—we were just getting started,” Jack yelled from the mound. “Let’s hit some more. That is, if your dog says it’s okay.”

  Ben shook his head and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. What was this kid’s problem?

  “Nah, I’m good, thanks,” Ben said through gritted teeth. “I think you’ve done enough for one day.”

  “Tell you what,” Jack went on. “One more at bat. If I strike you out, I get your dog.”

  Ben didn’t even bother to respond. That was a ridiculous thing for Jack to say. He would never bet Hero for anything—what kind of a person would do something like that?

  Without a backward glance, Ben tucked his bat and mitt under his arm and walked off the field with Noah and Hero at his side.

  6

  BEN TRIED TO PUSH JACK OUT of his mind as he and Noah rode their bikes back to his house. Hero ran next to him.

  From the driveway, Ben heard barking and whimpering from inside his house. Hero’s ears pricked straight up. Was Scout hurt? Ben raced for the door and opened it. Before he could step through it, Hero squeezed past his legs and ran inside.

  Ben froze in the doorway.

  “No—no, no, no, no, no,” he said, his hands on either side of his head in horror. Ben couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  His house had been trashed.

  All the couch cushions were on the floor. A roll of paper towels had been completely chewed to bits, cardboard tube and all, and spread across the room. Tiny shreds of paper littered every open surface. One of the chairs from the dining room table had been knocked over. A twenty-pound bag of kibble had been chewed open. Hard little crumbs were everywhere. The tall kitchen garbage can had been tipped over, and its smelly, wet contents strewn across the floor. Several pairs of Ben’s shoes lay askew in the middle of the wreckage.

  And worst of all, Scout’s crate lay on its side, the door hanging open. It was empty.

  “Scout?!” Ben called.

  Noah stuck his head through the door frame beside him and sucked in his breath.

  “Youch,” Noah said. “What the heck happened?”

  “Scout, did you do this?” Ben demanded, scanning the rubble for the puppy. Scout cowered under the table, shaking. His big, scared eyes looked up at Ben. “Scout!” Anger rose in Ben’s chest. Positive reinforcement, the dog training book had said. Don’t talk to your dog in anger. Ben took a couple of deep breaths and tried to figure out how to handle this. What could possibly be positive about this?

  Hero click-clacked across the kitchen floor and sniffed at the mess. In control of his emotions now, Ben crossed the room and picked up Scout. He held the puppy’s nose close to his own.

  “Scout, man, what happened? Are you okay?” Ben said softly to the puppy.

  Scout licked Ben on the nose tentatively. The dog still seemed miserable. Ben could relate.

  Noah walked over to them and checked out the puppy.

  “What’s up, Scout?” he said. “Nice to meet you.” He turned to Ben and shook his head. “He’s cute all right. But he’s tiny. How could he possibly have done this much damage?”

  “I don’t know,” Ben replied.

  “And why?” Noah said.

  It was a good question. Ben tried to envision Scout running around, knocking things over and dragging pillows across the floor. The whole thing was weird—Scout wasn’t a hyper dog. He was more scared than anything else.

  That was it.

  “He must have gotten spooked,” Ben said. “He wouldn’t have done this otherwise. He’s a good dog.”

  “Spooked? By what?” Noah wondered.

  “I have no idea. But whatever it was, he definitely overreacted.” Scout was whimpering and wiggling in Ben’s arms. Ben looked down and saw that Scout was looking at Hero. He was desperate to get down and go over to the bigger dog.

  “He was scared without Hero here,” Ben said. “That’s why he did this.” He put Scout down, and the puppy scuttled across the floor and right under Hero’s front legs. He cowered under Hero’s chest while Hero surveyed the damage all around them.

  Ben looked at the clock on the stove and dropped his head into his hands. “My parents . . . they’re going to be home in an hour, and if they see this, there’s no way Scout can stay.” He looked at Noah pleadingly. “Can you help me? Please? I’m sorry, I know this is, like, seriously gross. But I’ll never get it done in time by myself.”

  Noah laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Ben asked. He really didn’t see anything amusing about all this.

  “Your face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so freaked out before.”

  Ben started laughing too. “I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this freaked out before.”

  “Of course I’ll help you, stupid,” Noah said.

  They got to work. Ben tried not to gag as he used a wad of paper towels to scoop up a sopping wet pile of kibble mixed with coffee grounds and banana peel.

  “Gross,” Ben muttered.

  “It looks l
ike the world’s worst smoothie,” Noah said over his shoulder. He was busy picking up the last few tiny fluffs of paper, which floated away from him just as he reached for them. “Come on,” he cursed at the scraps. “By the way, where did Scout get all your shoes?”

  Ben looked at the pile of his sneakers, then at Scout, who watched them from his safe spot by Hero. “From my closet. Seriously—these were all upstairs. He must have dragged them down one by one.”

  “That’s dedication,” Noah said. He snatched a scrap of paper that floated by. “Gotcha.”

  Ben got out the mop and did a quick pass over the kitchen floor. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. They heard the sound of the front door opening. Noah plopped down on the couch. Ben quickly stashed the mop back in the closet and sat down at the table. He pulled a notebook from his backpack and adopted an expression of serious concentration. Noah pulled his math book onto his lap just as Ben’s mom and sister stepped into the room.

  “Hi, boys!” Ben’s mom said.

  “Hi, Noah. Hi, Benny,” Erin said. She headed straight for Noah and gave him a hug.

  “How about a high five?” Noah said, poking Erin in the belly. Erin giggled and slapped his hand.

  “How was your day?” Ben’s mom said to them.

  “Interesting,” Ben replied, pretending to be struggling with a math problem.

  “Interesting, huh? You’ll have to fill me in on that later.” His mom turned to Noah. “Can you stay for dinner?”

  “Oh, thanks, Mrs. Landry.” Noah smiled. “I’d love to, but my mom needs me to help her with some stuff tonight. Something about getting music to play on her phone.”

  Ben’s mom rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, you know us parents and technology.”

  She started poking through the fridge and pulling things out for dinner. As she turned to throw something in the trash can, she froze. Ben and Noah exchanged a nervous glance.

  “Well, how did that get over there?” Ben’s mom said to herself.

  She nudged the tall pail over a few inches, then turned back to the food on the counter. Ben exhaled in relief. Noah stifled a laugh.

  “I’d better get home,” Noah said brightly. “Bye, Erin! Nice to see you, Mrs. Landry.”

  “You too, dear,” Ben’s mom said. “Say hi to your mom for me.”

  “I will.” Noah turned to Ben. “Ben, if you have any more trouble with that . . . uh . . . math problem”—Ben rolled his eyes—“just give me a call later.”

  “I will. Actually, I think Hero and Scout need to go out. Mom, I’ll be right back.”

  Ben followed Noah out the front door and shut it behind them. Hero and Scout bounded across the front lawn.

  “Seriously, dude, thank you so much. There’s no way I could have done that without you.”

  “I know you couldn’t have,” Noah replied, punching Ben on the shoulder. “And it was disgusting. You owe me big.”

  Scout snorted and rolled around on the grass. He swatted at something in the air and tipped himself over by accident. Hero sniffed his way across the lawn, following the scent of a long-gone squirrel or chipmunk.

  Something caught Ben’s eye in the street. It was a black SUV with tinted windows, moving very slowly down the block. It stopped in front of his house. Ben felt like someone was looking at them, but he couldn’t see inside.

  “Who’s that?” Noah asked.

  “No idea,” Ben said.

  Before Ben had a chance to think much about the car, Scout jumped two feet straight up in the air and let out a loud yelp. Ben ran over to where Scout was staring intensely at the grass. A cricket hopped out, and Scout startled again.

  “Shhhh, boy. It’s just a bug. Sit.” Scout sat down, then lay on his side. Ben gave him a tummy rub. “You know, for a dog, you’re a real scaredy-cat, Scout.” Ben looked up at Noah with a worried expression.

  “Give him some time,” Noah said, reading his mind.

  Beyond him, Ben saw the SUV pulling away. He noticed that it had a dented back bumper. He turned his attention back to Noah.

  “I know,” Ben said, unconvinced.

  “Okay, see you tomorrow,” Noah said as he jumped onto his bike.

  “See you tomorrow,” Ben called after him.

  Ben watched as Noah headed off down the street on his bike. He reached the end of the block and turned the corner. A moment later, the black SUV turned after him and disappeared.

  7

  “WATCH THIS ONE, NOAH!” BEN SHOUTED. “Hero, go.” Hero headed off down a row of cars, sniffing the ground as he went.

  It was the weekend, and Ben and Noah were working in the used car lot that Noah’s dad owned. But Ben wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing. Instead of picking up the trash that had collected in the scrap yard, he was training Hero. He couldn’t help himself. It was just too cool to give Hero commands in a new environment. Noah, on the other hand, was trying hard to do his work, but Ben kept distracting him.

  Ben held the broom in one hand and gave Hero a hand signal with the other.

  “Okay, Hero,” Ben called out. “Stop!” Hero stopped instantly and turned his gaze to Ben. Without a word, Ben held his hand out to his side and gave Hero the hand signal for come. Hero dashed back to Ben’s side.

  “Good boy!” Ben praised him.

  “Nice,” Noah said.

  “Maybe Scout will be able to do all this one day,” Ben said. At the sound of his name, Scout bounced over to Ben. He sat down at Ben’s feet, next to Hero, and looked up at him, his eyes round with anticipation. “You’re looking for a treat, huh, Scout?” Ben laughed. “You have to earn it! You can’t just get it for being cute.”

  Customers wandered around the lot, poking their noses into the different cars, kicking the tires as if that would tell them anything useful. On the far side of the lot, Noah’s dad stood talking to a woman next to a gleaming sports car. Ben, Noah, and the dogs were in a quiet area off to the side, where some cars were dismantled for parts. There was a row of metal shelving units lined with carburetors and bumpers and other various spare parts from what seemed like every car ever driven.

  Hero’s thick coat glistened in the early spring sunlight as he waited patiently for his next command. Scout, on the other hand, wriggled and whined excitedly. His soft, fuzzy fur was covered in dust.

  “Okay, Scout, time to learn from the master. Watch this, okay?”

  Ben snatched Noah’s baseball cap from his head. Noah tried to grab it back but wasn’t fast enough. “Hey,” he groaned, rubbing his matted blond hair.

  Ben held the hat under Hero’s nose. “Hero, sniff.”

  Hero gave the hat a series of quick little snorts. Ben knew from his reading that Hero could smell tens of thousands of times better than any human. Hero was sorting out all the different odors on the hat and, in a way, committing them to memory. He was also prioritizing them—Noah’s scent would be the strongest. A trained rescue dog like Hero would be able to track the hat—or a person, or whatever it was they needed him to track—for miles and days, just from smelling an object with the matching scent on it.

  “Hero, stay.” Ben gave him the hand signal and stepped away. Hero stayed put. He let out one short whimper, excited to start the game.

  “I feel you, Hero,” Noah said, rolling his eyes. “But you know how Ben gets.”

  “Very funny, you two,” Ben shot back over his shoulder. He walked down a row of mismatched cars in varying states of repair, then turned left near a huge pickup truck. Ben was out of Hero’s sight now. He walked several cars farther and stashed the cap on the ground beneath a minivan.

  As he walked back toward the dogs, Ben noticed that Scout had started to put on a little weight. It had been only a few days since he and Hero had found him, but already the pup looked much healthier. Ben felt relieved that they’d found Scout when they did.

  “You watching?” Ben asked. Noah nodded. Scout yipped. “Hero, search!”

  Hero was off like a shot, racing down the long r
ow of cars and disappearing around the corner. He was back in seconds, Noah’s cap dangling from his mouth.

  “Attaboy, Hero!” Ben gave the dog a treat. Hero kicked up dust with his tail. “Drop it, Hero,” Ben said. Hero released Noah’s cap onto the ground. Ben picked it up and handed it back to his friend.

  Noah grimaced and tried to wipe off the slobber and dirt that had collected on the brim, then gave up and put it back on his head. “Impressive,” Noah said. “I guess it’s Hero’s lucky hat too.”

  “That’s nothing for Hero,” Ben said, grinning. “That’s like a warm-up exercise for him.”

  Scout started yipping like crazy. He ran in a wide circle around Hero, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, his ears flapping in the breeze as he moved. He barked playfully at Hero until Hero hopped up and chased the puppy. His tail sticking straight up in the air, Scout bolted off as fast as he could—which was pretty fast, but not speedy enough to outrun Hero. Hero caught up to Scout, then passed him, and suddenly Scout was chasing Hero, his short legs pumping hard.

  For the first time since Ben had found him, Scout looked happy and free, not anxious at all.

  “Those are some great dogs you’ve got there,” said a deep, scratchy voice behind him.

  Ben and Noah spun around. A man stood behind them, squinting at Scout running in the distance. The man held a used rearview mirror in his hand, which he’d taken from the spare parts shelf. “The big one’s got a good nose. And the puppy’s quick.”

  Ben grinned with pride. “Thanks,” he said. “Hero’s a natural. And Scout—the puppy—is learning fast.”

  “Scout, huh?” the man said. “That what you call him?”

  Ben nodded.

  “I see,” the man said simply. He was tall and thin, with piercing blue eyes. His face was lined with deep creases. He watched Scout prance back toward them.

  “He sure does look familiar,” the man said as he inched closer to Scout.

  Before Ben had a chance to reply, Scout suddenly went berserk. He let out a loud and desperate wail and crouched down as low as he could, like he was trying to hide in plain sight. He barked fiercely and his whole body shook in terror.