Pepper's Grand Adventure

I lay on the cold kitchen tile floor like I did every morning, waiting for my humans to drop some food at my feet for me to dispose of. The smell of delicious honey bacon consumed the air and made me start drooling onto the floor. Some days I would get lucky and get extra food if my owner Christina was around to share some extra food with me. Her parents didn't like when she spoiled me with extra treats but of course I didn't mind.

I didn't really understand why my best friend Christina had to go to this place that was called "school". It didn't make sense to me. Why couldn't she stay home and play with me all day? Her parents stayed home so why couldn't she do the same? These questions and so many other questions wandered through my mind as I got up off the floor to follow Christina to the dining room.

"Here you go Pepper." Christina whispered to me quietly as she secretly dropped a piece of bacon onto the floor for me. "Get it while it's hot!"

I jumped at the opportunity as my mouth started to water and my stomach begged me for that taste of sweet delight. As soon as the bacon reached my tongue, nothing in the world mattered to me except the moment that I was currently in. It felt like pure ecstasy. One piece of that mouth-watering bacon wasn't enough to satisfy me but I wasn't a beggar.

As Christina finished up her breakfast and started taking her dishes to the kitchen, I realized that my morning would soon turn dull again once she left for that evil place known as school. No matter how much I whined and begged for her to stay, she wouldn't be able to. A dreaded eight hours of boredom without my best friend soon awaited me yet again.

"Don't worry, I'll be home before you know it!" Christina would say to me each day and I always knew that she was right but I just hated it so much. It felt like forever until she would be home for the weekend to spend all day with me.

Once her parents were back home after dropping Christina off at school, I decided to venture outside to see what new things there were that I could explore and investigate. We lived on a giant ranch so my backyard was literally miles and miles of unexplored land.

As that golden sun filled the sky with its warm comforting rays, I decided to soak in the sun on my shimmering midnight black and chocolate brown fur for a bit to figure out what I wanted to do next. No sooner had I begun to slowly close my eyes and think about my plan for the day, an orange and white tabby cat strolled into view a few feet in front of me. I've been after this creamsicle of a vermin for what felt like an eternity. Maybe it was because my dog instincts were kicking in that made me hate this cat but then again, dogs and cats just never got along. Its been a known fact for as long as I can remember that has been set by the ancient dog lords of Ancient Egypt. I learned about this from my birth parents before my human family adopted me and I went off to my forever home.

For some weird reason, the tabby cat didn't see me as he stretched and started to lay down in the sun to sunbathe, just as I had been doing a couple of minutes before I noticed his arrival. I wasn't much of a killer but I was sure annoyed with this Cheeto puff for always interrupting me when I was at my most relaxed state.

"Do you mind?!" I barked, getting a bit annoyed as he got up off the ground and started to wander into my yard getting closer and closer to my home where my parents were inside minding their own buisness.

He jumped at the sound of my voice, not realizing that I was watching his every move now. "It's a free country dog." He smirked and turned to continue moving into my territory.

This just made me even more upset as I was already feeling under the weather that my best friend Christina wasn't around for the day. It might've been past encounters with this monster but today I was just not having any of it. He was already ruining my perfect Friday afternoon plans and something inside me just snapped and I lost all my cool.

"You better leave now or I'll alert my masters of your presence." I growled, making my way towards him.

"You will do no such thing dog." He laughed, now approaching my outdoor dog house where my water and food bowl were placed right next to it.

"That does it!" I huffed under my breath and ran up to the front door to begin howling and barking loudly to get my human parents to come outside.

"Pepper, quiet! We're trying to watch the news." They yelled from inside the house.

I sighed in annoyance, this wouldn't happen if Christina was here. She would come over to see if everything was alright. I ran back down the stairs and turned the corner to where my outdoor dog house was to try and find that retched critter but he was nowhere in sight.

'Where in the world did he go?' I muttered angrily and began sniffing the ground to try and find his scent. I turned my head back and forth scanning my surroundings to try to see, smell, or hear anything cat related.

"FOUND YOU!!!" I barked loudly, spotting him hiding underneath my human dad's work truck.

"Aw, come on now. Leave me be dog. Don't you have better things to do with your day?" He hissed at me.

I could think of a couple other things that I would much rather be doing than spending my day trying to catch this cat but I honestly had enough of his nagging and rude attitude towards me and just wanted to settle this war with him. "I have all day cat. Try me."

The wind howled in the distance as if it was on my side, telling me to keep it up and capture the cat. I looked up at the sky, trying to decide what my next best move would be. Without a moment to lose, that darn cat bolted out from underneath the truck and raced down the dirt road towards the main street. Normally I wouldn't follow since I didn't want to be stuck on a busy street where possible dognappers and animal control roamed but today I just wasn't having it. I ran after him as fast as my legs would carry me. I knew that if I caught that cat I would have a serious talk with him and maybe teach him a lesson about venturing into other animals' properties.

"What is your deal?!" He yelled at me in an annoyed tone but before I could respond the 'woosh' from oncoming cars racing past scared me so much that I had to turn down an empty street into a calm and quiet neighborhood to catch my breath.

Never before had I ventured so far from home, these strange new surroundings made my head spin, I felt so lost but at the same time, I felt so free. Would my owners even notice that I was missing? Would they even care?

I slowly walked down this quiet unfamiliar street, taking in all the new sights and smells. Letting my mind and my nose get carried away and guide me further and further into the unknown.

* * * * *

I didn't realize how far I had gone till I came to my senses and realized it was nightfall and my stomach was growling. Christina was probably so worried about me by now. I wish I could tell her what I had gone through today, that I'm perfectly fine, and that I'm trying to find my way home.

I couldn't tell which way was what. All the streets looked the same to me and weird sounds made me jump and wish I was back home in my bed. Up ahead I could see a street lamp with a bench underneath it. Sitting on the bench was an elderly woman clutching a bag. I cautiously approached the woman on the bench and stopped just a few feet away.

"Oh, hi there sweetie." She said with a sweetness to her voice that drew me in. She smelled of pine needles, peppermint, and honeysuckle. An odd combination of smells but nonetheless comforting that I was curious about her. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I used to have a dog of my own. He recently passed a few months ago and I sure do miss him dearly."

I don't know why she was telling me all this, maybe she just needed someone to talk to. I approached the old lady and sat right in front of her, letting her pet my head. No sooner had I found the woman, a bus pulled up in front of where we sat. I didn't know if I should try going with her. If I did, maybe I would end up further from home than I would like.

"Would you like to come home with me sweet girl?" It's like she could read my mind somehow. I didn't question it but I followed her onto the bus. I also didn't know how she knew that I was a girl. Maybe because of my sweet personality towards her but it made me happy that for once I wasn't called a 'good boy'.

"Ma'am, dogs aren't allowed on the bus." The bus driver stated, looking at me and the lady in an annoyed tone like he dealt with this issue all the time.

"I know sir, I ride this bus all the time. However, I think this dog is lost and I just want to take her home. Try to figure out where she lives and hopefully reunite this sweet girl with her family." The old lady seemed so nice, she had a weird comforting demeanor about her. Should I trust her? Hopefully I can cause I was already on the bus and the doors of the bus had already closed behind us.

The bus driver nodded his approval, "Just this once ma'am." He turned his attention back to the road in front of us and drove off into the night.

* * * * *

Everyone on the bus had already gotten off and the old lady and I were the last two on the bus.

"I wish I knew your name, sweet girl," the old lady continued talking to me as if she had known me her whole life.

'My name is on my collar.' I said to no one but myself. If only people could understand dogs, what a crazy world that would be. I laughed in my head at the thought of how crazy that would be. Dogs telling their owners that they want to go outside, play, or get treats all the time.

"It's too bad you aren't wearing a collar." I got scared when she said that. Looking down at my fluffy mane, I realized that my humans had only put my choke chain on me and that my choke chain didn't have my nametag on it. This is bad. I started to panic, I didn't know what to do.

The bus came to a stop and the doors opened. "This is our stop." The old lady said to me and I followed her off the bus. Once the bus drove away, the old lady started walking down the dark street, barely lit up by the dimming street lamps that looked like they were about to go out. I followed her, not knowing what else to do at this point. I was hungry, thirsty, and tired and I just wanted to be back home with Christina. "Here we are," the lady turned to walk up a driveway up to a large two story mansion. This house was huge! "Come on now, it's okay." It's like she read my mind. I didn't realize that I had stopped in my tracks just starring at the giant house.

Regaining my senses, I proceeded to walk up the driveway and entered the lady's home. "I know it's not much, but you can sleep on old Milo's bed here. He was the dog of mine I was telling you about who passed away a few months ago. Hope that's alright with you." I admit that it was a bit weird but I didn't complain. A bed is a bed and I'm grateful for whatever I am provided with. She brought over a bowl of water and another bowl with some boiled chicken, rice, and dried dog food, and as soon as I was done eating I curled up on the dog bed and fell asleep.

* * * * *

The next morning I awoke with a start when a young toddler was yanking on my tail. I jumped up, stretched, and trotted over to the kitchen to see if there was anything yummy for me. The toddler laughed and followed me, thinking that I was playing a game with him. I tried ignoring the toddler the best I could while in search of that kind old lady who provided me with so much kindness and generosity in a time of need.

Cooking some breakfast in the kitchen was a young blonde-haired woman who must have been the toddler's mom. She didn't see me at first so I let out a quiet "woof". When that didn't work, I approached her legs and barked again. That made the lady jump and move backward away from me. I didn't understand why she was so scared of me. She called for the old lady who I'm guessing must have been her mom. The blonde-haired woman then ran over to a closet and grabbed a broom and returned only to start chasing me with the broom and tried to get me to leave. In the process, the toddler just laughed at me and then threw his sippy cup of apple juice at me. I was now covered in this apple juice mixed with saliva that got all over my face and back. I felt trapped in this house, what was wrong with these people? Never in my life had I experienced something so cruel and humiliating.

I saw the back door wide open and ran through as quickly as I could. When the blonde-haired woman got to the door, she locked it and I heard her calling for the old lady again. I wish I could have thanked the old lady for everything but I was now in escape mode. I found an opening in their fence in the backyard and quickly ran through it and up the hill to get away as fast as I could. When I reached the top of the hill I hid behind some bushes and looked back to see if anyone was following me. To my luck, she gave up chasing me but was on the phone with probably animal control. I had to get away. Before I left I saw the old lady trying to explain the situation to the blonde-haired woman but she was not having it. From what I could tell, they were yelling back and forth at each other and the poor old lady had a sad look on her face, a look that made me want to run down to her and comfort her.

It didn't even seem like more than five minutes before I could see a large white van pull up to the old lady's house and two men in uniform appeared with long poles that had loops at the end. Animal Control! I turned and ran down the opposite side of the hill to an abandoned train station.

I did not want to encounter any more people so I kept to the shadows and had an old thrown out hamburger I found in the dumpsters for my breakfast. It tasted of stale meat and dry paper but it was something to keep my stomach from announcing my presence to the world.

Continuing on my way, I only stopped for breaks here and there when necessary. A pack of stray dogs chased me away from their dumpster hideout and I barely escaped with minor scratches and scuffs of fur that they had torn off my back causing me to have patches of blood here and there. I had to get home before nightfall again, spending another dreaded night away from home seemed terrible to me. I walked along the side of the empty train tracks in hopes that I would come across a familiar sight or smell. I felt more exhausted than before and wanted nothing more than to see my family again. My paws were cracked and bleeding from the sharp dagger rocks and the heat from the sun was not helping my situation. I needed water desperately but I had no idea where to go.

The neverending train track finally showed signs of a dead end up ahead. Where there should have been more train tracks, it turned into all dirt and rocks, no other signs of life. I kept going, my mind lost in thought about what I was going to do. Afternoon came and went and I could see nightfall creeping over the horizon. Signs of life appeared before me as I approached a huge forest and heard a rushing river nearby. Limping over to the river, I walked into the shallow end to try to clean my wounds and rehydrate myself. Either my vision was off or my luck ran out, right as I had finished cleaning myself up, a huge wave charged at me, as if the mighty god Poseidon was at war with someone. I tried to make it to land but the powerful wave was too strong and pushed me underneath the roaring waves.

The water swallowed me whole and sent me further and further down into pitch-black oblivion. I gasped for air but it felt as though every time I emerged from the crashing waves I was sent back underneath again. At one point I lost consciousness, banging my head on a rock underneath the water somewhere far below. When I came to my senses, I had washed up onto a small riverbank further down the river.

"Hello? Is anyone around?" I called out, hoping to find some relief after going through this crazy experience. "Please, I need help!"

A full moon shone high in the sky, a ray of light shining down upon me. I slowly got up and started limping down the soggy moss-covered path to hopefully civilization.

"ROAAAARRRR!!!!" A ferocious booming voice echoed from behind me. I had no idea what that sound was but I did not want anything to do with it.

A giant shadow emerged from behind me, covering the entire path in front of me. I slowly turned and looked back, only to be face to face with a giant grizzly bear. His glowing yellow eyes starring me down.

The darkness around me made it difficult to see anything at all. I slowly started to back away, not knowing what to do as the bear got up on his hind legs and crept towards me. Before I could react, a giant paw swiped the air and just nearly missed my face. I saw his giant paw coming towards me again and ran to quickly hide inside an empty log. His long claws swiped the air and grazed the tip of my nose. I let out a yelp and turned to get out of the log. Just as the bear stuck his head inside the log to try and bite me, I escaped and tumbled down a hill, landing on a pile of leaves.

Bleeding, exhausted, and wondering why all this was happening to me, I lay on the pile of leaves to catch my breath for a minute.

* * * * *

I must have got lost in thought as I walked exhausted and physically fatigued because the next thing I knew, I somehow came to a clearing up ahead. The empty road looked somewhat familiar to me. Was this the busy road that I ran down earlier when I was chasing that stupid cat? I started to try and run but my scrawny legs were giving out on me. You can do it! Get back home to Christina! Come on! I tried to motivate myself best I could as I neared the side of the road. I knew that I was close, I could feel it throughout my body that I was almost back home.

Slowly limping along the dark road, flickering street lamps illuminated my path and I followed my nose back into familiar territory. Inching closer and closer to what I hoped was home. My only source of actual light was the shimmering moon shining high above me.

Soon the rubble road turned into a dirt road that smelled of all the familiar smells I knew and loved. My heart started pumping with excitement as I prepared myself for the brutal journey of attempting to climb up the long dirt path that went all the way up the mountainside.

"Pepper!!!" The familiar voice of my favorite person Christina cried out, not knowing that I was trying my best to make my way back to her.

'I'm almost there Christina, just hold on a bit longer!' I barked, not knowing if she could hear me.

My entire body was begging me to stop moving and I could feel myself shutting down. My only motivation was the sound of Christina's voice in the distance.

Finally nearing the top of the mountain, I could make out three blurry shadows walking around. All of them calling out "Pepper!"

It was my family! I made it! They were all looking for me! I tried to respond with a bark but my response came out as a hoarse muffled 'oof'.

I could see Christina's parents patting her on the shoulder and trying to get her to come back inside. Christina refusing to believe that I might be gone from her life forever. As she slowly turned her back towards me and walked with her parents back up to their house, I realized that now was my only chance to get their attention before I was stuck outside for another night yet again.

With all my might I limped as fast as I could to a patch of dirt where the moonlight shone brightly onto it, like a giant spotlight on a stage and I was the star. "WOOF!" I finally managed to blurt out, just loud enough that it made all three of their heads turn in my direction.

"PEPPER!!!! IT'S REALLY YOU!!!" Christina screamed as she ran over to me, tears of joy streaming down her pale face. "I knew you would come home! I just knew it! I put out flyers and searched for you day and night, I never gave up on you!" She hugged me tightly and I put my head on her shoulder. Her familiar sweet smell of roses and vanilla filled my nose and I felt like I was safe again. I felt . . . home.

As Christina helped me back over to her parents and they all helped me inside the small warm house I knew and loved, I knew that nothing bad was going to happen to me anymore. Christina helped tend to my wounds and brought me fresh water and food, something I definitely needed. After a long and exhausting journey, I curled up on my cozy dog bed in Christina's room, safe and sound. Never again would I venture that far from home, if I did, I would make sure that Christina accompanied me and that I had on my collar and name tag.

Home never felt so good and for once, I let out a sigh of relief falling asleep next to my best friend who now had the biggest smile on her face. Happy that I was back home and happy to be reunited once again.