The day pressed on. I sprawled out on Winter's woven rug, watching her as she laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The mid-morning sun traveled through the window and lit up the room, casting a fake cheerfulness with it. There was nothing cheerful about Winter or me.

It was a bit comical, in a dark way. There we were, two totally separate beings, a dog and a human, both struggling with the fact that Sheldon was a murderer. My thoughts grew heavier as I remembered how easily he'd overpowered me. I was a fool to think that I could protect Winter. Sheldon could come in her room at anytime and all I could do was cower in a corner.

A sudden knock on the door sent me to my feet, my heart jerking in my chest. I cursed myself for even thinking that last thought, as if somehow I'd willed it to happen.

"Who is it?" Winter muttered, obviously less frightened than me.

"It's Lance. Open the door. I've got a surprise for you!"

My ears turned forward suspiciously. I was not a big fan of surprises, especially in our current predicament. Winter swung her legs off her bed, sighing as she stepped past me to the door. She grabbed the handle and opened it half-way—a pair of blue eyes centered on mine.

Winnie! I nearly somersaulted to the door, tripping over my own feet, my tongue dangling out of my mouth as I burst with pure joy. Oh god, Winnie! You don't know how happy I am to see you!

Her eyes gleamed back at mine, happiness reflected in them. I see you've done well protecting her, Pickle.

She took a step forward through the doorway, her body looking frail and weak. Our noses touched.

"She's okay?" Winter beamed down at Winnie, the sadness momentarily wiped from her face. "They're so happy to see each other! Look at that!"

Lance smiled at her. He leaned against the doorway, watching the two of us. "The Veterinary Hospital called us an hour ago to tell us she was ready to come home," he said."They'd tried calling Dawson but couldn't get a hold of him." He laughed. " The old man's probably out on a boat fishing right now."

Winter's brow wrinkled for a moment. "He was supposed to be taking care of a sparrow for me. In fact—I kind of expected to hear from him this morning."

Bastion's been hurt?  Winnie searched my eyes.

I nodded. A broken wing—nothing more.

"I'll ask Dad to get a hold of him," Lance said. His eyes rested on the two of us and he cleared his throat. "These two have always been really close, haven't they?"

"Yes." Winter said smiling. It faded slightly as if a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"What?" asked Lance.

Winter shook her head and looked down.

"Winter." Lance said, waiting for her to look at him. "Do you remember when I said that a lot the of the animals around here were acting strange? Everybody just kinda laughed and brushed it off, but I was serious." He rubbed his neck. " I guess what I'm trying to say is—I know you, Winter. You don't lie, you don't make things up. I know you and Sheldon were close." He shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. "I believe you. Yeah, the whole thing sounds crazy, but I believe you. If you say the dog told you, then the dog told you."

Winter sprang forward and threw her arms around him. Her tears were soon muffled on his chest. He stood there, surprised at first by her reaction, then gradually wrapped his arms around her, a little awkwardly.

"Thank–you." She breathed into his shirt.

You talked to her? Winnie gave me a confused look.

I spelled it out for her. I gestured to the wooden letters still scattered on the floor.

She raised an eyebrow. And you were worried about me getting us carried off to the circus!

I huffed. I had no other choice. Then I looked at her, my face serious. He knows about us, Winnie. The evil one told him. He tried to kill us when he burned down the refuge. The police are on to him, but he's not going down without a fight.

Winnie put her paw to my face gently. You've done well, Pickle. Better than I ever expected. Because of you, so many lives will be changed.

My mood darkened at the thought. It was because of me that so many lives changed in the first place.

It wasn't you. Winnie argued. It was your evil side.

Suddenly feeling ashamed, I turned away from Winnie. I hoped she couldn't read my next thoughts. She might not be so proud if she knew the truth—that my evil side still controlled me even after we were separated.

Above us, Winter and Lance parted from their awkward sibling embrace.

"I'll bring them outside," Winter said, seeming rejuvenated.

Lance patted her on the head and shot off, trotting down the stairs to find their father.

***

Hank and Boon were brimming with excitement as we made our way over to the barn with Winter. In his usual style, Boon came barreling over and tackled me, sending me sprawling on the grass. I struggled to breathe under his crushing weight. After he was certain he'd proved he was the bigger of us two, he and Hank went to Winnie and circled around her, sniffing her and licking her gently. They seemed to understand that she was in a fragile state. She nudged them playfully, and for a small fraction of a second, I found myself feeling like we really were a real family—until I reminded myself how silly that was.

Old Earl whinnied above us and stuck his head over the wooden fence, looking annoyed with all the noise going on below him. Dogs are much louder than horses, he projected, stomping his hoof. The barn is much too loud now that the dogs have come.

He reminded me of a crotchety, old man. I felt sorry for the old horse, Hank and Boon must have been driving him crazy. It was hard to know how long it would take until the refuge was rebuilt, but it seemed there was no end in sight for the Old Earl yet.

Hank and Boon can help protect the barn from bad creatures, like wolves. I said, trying to give the old horse something positive to chew on.

Old Earl's eyes grew big and he snorted. Dogs can't help protect from the evil ones. The evil ones kill dogs.

The old horse had a point there. Have you seen the evil one today?

Earl sniffed. He went towards the woods. I watched until he grew very small—too small to see.

I blew out a breath, relieved. Maybe he'd decided he was too close to getting caught. I silently prayed he'd run away.

The sound of an engine echoed from below and the detective's car sped up the gravel road. Winnie positioned herself in the grass beside me, her ears alert. Terrence jumped out of the car, a cell phone pressed tightly to his ear. He seemed agitated as he paced back and forth, grinding his shoes into the gravel road.

Winnie stiffened at the sight of him, her paw raising. He isn't supposed to be here, she said.

I turned to her, a questioning look in my eyes. You don't remember him from your past?

Her eyes narrowed as she studied the man below. Not my past.

His name's Terrence. He's the detective they've assigned to this case, I explained.

There was no detective before, only the officer. Winnie glanced sideways at me. They never solved the case. They never found Jose. They never found who killed me.

The detective stopped pacing and ran his hand over his hair, his face twisted. He stared up the hill towards us. Winter had just come out of the barn, brushing the hay from her jeans.

Something's wrong. Winnie's crystal blue eyes locked on the detective as he made his way up the hill.

I looked from Winnie to Terrence, who had a tortured look on his face. What is it? I questioned.

It's bad. Winnie said, watching him as he stepped up to us.

"Winter, do you know where your father is?" he asked. His eyes squinted in the sun, sweat on his brow. 

"His truck is gone," she said. " Lance told me he was going to ask him to check on Dawson. He might have headed there."  She stopped when she saw the expression on his face change. "Why? What's wrong?"

He ran his hand over the slight stubble on his chin, biting his lip. "Does your father have a cell phone?"

"No, he doesn't carry one," Winter said.

Terrence frowned. "Did Lance go with him?"

Winter's eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know. Are you purposely not telling me something because you think I can't handle it? If there's something I need to know, tell me."

Terrence cursed under his breath. He took a deep breath before his eyes met hers. "Dawson passed away sometime last night. They think it was a heart attack."

Winter's mouth dropped open. "Oh god." Her hand trembled violently as she brought it up to her mouth.

Terrence stepped closer and reached out, pulling her close to him. She didn't resist, caving into him, her face buried in his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I really didn't want to tell you."

She sobbed into his chest, wretched heaves flowing out of her, as if the flood gates had finally opened and there was no stopping them. After a few long moments she pulled herself away, and stared at the ground, her face red and puffy.

"How did you find out?" she managed to choke, her eyes swollen with tears.

"There was a phone call from the house." Terrence said. "No one said anything. All they could hear were animal sounds in the background. They sent an officer to check on him—but it was too late."

"He was such a sweet man. He loved animals," Winter said. "Can you please make sure the sparrow is okay? Dawson was taking care of him. I think he had a cat, too."

"I'll make sure the animals are taken care of," Terrence reassured her. "I'm going to head over there now. Hopefully, I'll catch your father."

There was something different in his eyes as he stepped away from her. "Are you going to be okay?"

Winter pushed the loose hair out of her face. She smiled weakly. "Don't worry about me."

His eyes searched her face one last time. "The officers are patrolling, but I think you should stay inside until we get back."

He gave her one last look before he took off jogging down the hill towards his car.

I glanced at Winnie. Her ears laid down flat, her eyes troubled. I could tell what she was thinking without pulling her thoughts—Dawson's death was no accident. I could physically feel the oozing dread that was spilling through her veins, the clawing guilt at the pit of her stomach.

Without meaning to, I ventured into her thoughts. She was blaming herself, realizing she'd sacrificed his life when she'd decided to send me back to change the past. She knew his future. He would have lived several more years, fishing in his favorite spot, eating at the Detour Dinner while chit chatting with his favorite waitress, Sandy—he hadn't even had a chance to retire.

Realizing I was intruding, I backtracked quickly. I was met with Winnie's anguished stare. Before I could react, she took off, running weakly in the direction of the woods.

Welcome back to Rose Family Refuge! Hope you're enjoying the ride. Sheldon's on the prowl, but Pickle and Winnie are reunited and ready to fight! Please vote if you enjoy it, it helps my motivation to create the next chapter lol.