She crouched low, keeping her distance, straining to hear. Silence, except for the dog’s heavy breaths. Then another squeak escaped—thin, and plaintive, if not quite a baby’s cry, it was eerily close. It wavered in her ears, refusing to settle into clarity.
Her pulse raced, confusion knotting in her chest. Was it possible her mind had twisted animal sounds into the cries of a child? She pressed a trembling hand against her chest, trying to calm the quake that rattled her from within.