Chapter 2 - SIX INCHES
Titan moved before I did.
The snake launched from the leaves.
Titan jerked sideways and snapped his jaws through empty air, forcing the strike away from Emily’s face.
“Titan!”
His paws slipped off the girl.
I grabbed the back of Emily’s coat and dragged her toward me.
The rattlesnake recoiled instantly.
Titan lunged again.
“Leave it!”
This time, he obeyed.
Barely.
He backed away one step, teeth still exposed, growling at the snake.
I scooped Emily into my arms and turned.
“Move! Everybody move!”
The crowd finally understood.
People scattered backward.
Emily’s mother collapsed against me, grabbing her daughter.
“Oh my God. Emily. Baby, look at me.”
“I’m okay,” the girl sobbed.
I pointed toward the paved walkway.
“Take her away from the brush.”
The man holding the branch stared at Titan.
His face had gone white.
“That dog…”
“He saved her.”
Nobody answered.
Titan stood beside me, panting heavily.
Then his rear leg buckled.
My stomach tightened.
“Titan?”
He corrected himself immediately.
But I had seen it.
I crouched.
“Come here, buddy.”
He looked at me.
That was when I noticed two tiny beads of blood forming above his right front paw.
“No.”
My voice came out quietly.
I shoved my fingers into the fur.
There.
Two punctures.
“Damn it.”
The snake had missed Emily.
It hadn’t missed Titan.
I grabbed my radio.
“K9 Twelve requesting immediate veterinary transport assistance. Possible venomous snakebite. Centennial Park, northeast perimeter.”
Dispatch answered instantly.
“Copy, K9 Twelve.”
Emily’s mother looked at me.
“Is he going to die?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
Titan took another step.
Then collapsed.
I dropped beside him.
“Hey. Hey, no.”
His breathing had already changed.
Too fast.
I pulled off my jacket and slid it beneath his head.
“Stay with me, partner.”
Emily broke free from her mother and ran toward us.
“Titan!”
“Emily, stay back.”
“But he saved me!”
She fell to her knees several feet away.
Titan lifted his head at the sound of her voice.
His tail struck the ground once.
Just once.
Then his head dropped again.
The ambulance arrived first, followed minutes later by an animal-control officer and one of our patrol units.
I refused the ambulance crew’s offer to examine the burn on my hand.
“Help us clear a route.”
Officer Marcus Hale sprinted toward me.
“What happened?”
“Snakebite.”
“To the kid?”
“Titan.”
Marcus stared at him.
“Jesus.”
We loaded Titan into the back of his patrol SUV because waiting for specialized transport could cost him time.
I climbed in beside him.
Before Marcus closed the door, Emily appeared.
Tears streaked her face.
She reached through the gap and touched Titan’s ear.
“You have to be okay.”
Titan’s eyes opened.
Emily whispered, “Please.”
The door closed.
Marcus hit the lights.
We flew toward the emergency veterinary hospital.
Halfway there, Titan began shaking.
I pressed my hand against his chest.
“Come on, buddy.”
His breathing became shallow.
Then stopped for one terrifying second.
“Marcus!”
“I’m going as fast as I can!”
Titan’s body went limp.
May you like
And for the first time since I became a K9 handler, I thought I was about to watch my partner die in my arms.
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