Her heartbeat jumped. The dog was trapped. It twisted and barked, trying to pull away, but the strap held firm. Maya glanced up at the sky—dark and heavy, the trees thrashing now. It didn’t have long out there before the storm came raining down.
She hurried to the kitchen to grab her phone, nearly knocking over a bowl of oranges in the process. Just as her fingers curled around the phone, the lights snapped off with a soft pop. The sudden darkness made her freeze in place. “Ah, crap,” she muttered under her breath.