The dog’s cries pierced the still morning, a desperate, keening sound that made the woman freeze. He wasn’t just barking, he was pleading, his body pressed tightly against a crumpled blanket in the ditch. Something shifted beneath the fabric, a fragile stir that made her heart seize.
Every time she inched closer, the dog snarled through its tears, trembling but unyielding. His chest rose and fell in frantic bursts, as though he was shielding something extremely precious, or too dangerous, to be touched. The blanket quivered again, and the faintest squeak slipped out, brittle and raw, like a newborn’s cry.
Her pulse hammered. It sounded almost like a…But no, that wasn’t possible, was it? Who would abandon a fragile life here on the side of the road, except for this dog’s stubborn guard? She fumbled for her phone, fingers clumsy with adrenaline. Whatever was under that blanket needed help—right now! And only an emergency call could bring it fast enough!