Storytime in parts

--Part IV--

Teddy was unsure about why everybody was yelling but he was sure he did not want another kick so he stayed a little way off even from Marilyn. He was not scared of her at all but afraid to get too close so even though she called him, he felt safer just hanging back for awhile. Marilyn had started to cry now as the adults discussed the situation. The judge was stomping around saying he would kill the dog if he came closer to his daughter. Officer Blunt, with his hand on his holstered revolver, was walking toward Teddy talking baby-talk but Marilyn feared the worst as Teddy looked like he was about to believe Blunt's flattery.

Marilyn took off running, looking back and yelling, "Run, Teddy! C'mon! C'mon boy!"

Teddy needed no further encouragement and ran after Marilyn with his ears back and tail down and the two of them kept on running for several hundred yards. The two men were hollering at her to come back and that it would be alright but Marilyn knew better than to believe them. She knew she was going to be in trouble now but she kept on running until she could run no further. Teddy ran along beside her enjoying the brisk run and glad to get away from the others. He slowed to a trot now as Marilyn continued at a fast walk. She glanced behind her from time to time expecting the whole town to be after her and her best friend and she promised Teddy as they continued that nobody would ever take him from her. What Marilyn failed to know was that Ike was keeping both officer and judge busy with what would turn out to be larger matters.

Unaware of what was happening at the crime scene, Marilyn and Teddy hiked towards the horizon. Thoughts of home and family flew across the child's mind as she went. Quite sure she would never see them again, she padded on, determined to remove Teddy from harm no matter the consequences. Her heart was still racing as she remembered how this trip started and she wondered how long it would take until her mother came looking for her, interrogating her with questions about milk, Teddy, and...candy bars! She realized to her horror that she had accidentally run out of Ike's with a candy bar in each hand and had not thought about them since she first heard the commotion start when she was inside trying to decide which one to buy. She had slammed one into each pocket as the fracas ensued and now it dawned on her that not only was she running away with a wanted dog but she, too, was a wanted outlaw; a common thief on the run.

Her choices were clear. There was only one way out of this.