Illustration for chapter 1 of my story

Exerpt
A half-hour’s drive outside of the sleepy southwestern town of New Branch, the sun was dipping over the edge of the Sedean desert, setting the sky alight with tails of red and gold. Mesas stretched out across the landscape, leaving rivers of darkness between, seemingly dancing in the haze of residual summer heat leaching back out of the rocks into the cooling atmosphere. No birds sounded; the only ones visible were riding thermals so high above they looked like pinpricks against the cloudless ceiling.

Below the tableau, observing the splendor in respectful quiet, were two teenaged canine boys—Chase and Nate. They sat on the front of Chase’s old, rusted car, sipping absently at large styrofoam cups of soda from the corner gas station back in town, wordlessly watching the countdown to the end of the summer.

Chase lounged casually, laying back against the windshield with a soccer ball tucked under his head as a makeshift pillow. The doberman looked thoughtfully into the middle distance, the low light catching his blue/brown fur coat in a way that highlighted the muscles built up in his slim frame. He was built like a runner, and his simple jean shorts and t-shirt matched his energy.

Beside him, his friend Nate sat cross-legged on the hood, the slightly shorter chocolate lab closely matched enough in frame that any observer could tell they shared a sport. The lab’s fur was shaggy and soft where his friend’s was sleek and close, but both were comfortable in the warmth of the evening as they sat in silence. Indeed, there was nothing to do and little to say, the best friends simply relaxing as the final daylight minutes of their summer freedom waned and slipped away.

Chase set his soda down and sighed, letting his blue eyes drift upwards to the bruised sky. “You ever get the feeling like you’re waiting on something? Like something big is gonna happen soon and everyone just forgot to tell you about it?” he asked, more to himself than to his friend. The labrador responded by snatching the soccer ball from behind his friend’s head, which fell against the glass with a dull thunk. “Ow,” Chase deadpanned. “Prick.”

Ignoring his friend’s lighthearted protest, Nate lay back against the windshield as well, tossing the ball into the air above his head and catching it. “Uh, yeah dumbass; school starts tomorrow. But I’m pretty sure someone did tell you about that.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “Puto. How the hell could I forget about that? That’s why we’ve been out the whole day today in the first place.” He waved a paw vaguely at the sky. “You know, ‘capturing misspent youth’ or something like that.”

Nate fumbled a catch and recovered the ball from his chest. “Senior year, bro. Class of ninety-fuckin-nine. You ready?”

“Hell no. I’m not even sure what ready would look like. I just want to get to soccer season already.” Chase’s ears pricked forward as though looking for a sound that should be there but wasn’t. “I don’t know, mano, I just feel... weird, I guess. Unsettled. Like something’s coming. Or, like... Like I’m in the right place at the wrong time.”

Nate just stared vacantly at his friend. “Dude, are you high or something? Since when do you go all philosophical on me?”

“You’d know if I were high, we’ve been together all day.” Chase shook his head. “I don’t know, dog, it’s weird. It’s like we’re in some kind of stage between times. Old enough to drive, but not old enough to have anywhere to go. Not adults who have to think about the future yet, but not really kids, either, you know?”

“Maybe,” the lab just shrugged, spinning the ball half-heartedly on a finger. “I might not be the best dog to recognize that feeling. I grew up in New Branch and this town has always felt like it’s been lost between times. It’s just sorta normal now. Nothing really changes—or it hasn’t until recently. Even that feels kinda different now. Maybe you’re kind of picking up on that?”

As if to prove the point, Chase’s gaze turned towards the old abandoned mine that originally helped put New Branch on the map; one of dozens out here in the hills around the area. Relics of the gold rush, they were the reason New Branch existed at all, back when it was a railroad hub to support the mining companies, and when the rush ended and the companies left with the profits it faded into obscurity just as quickly as it sprang up.

But as Nate had alluded to, the town that never managed to gain a population over five thousand was seeing an influx of late. There was new construction expanding near the town limits, and for the first time in over 70 years there was activity around the mine—new fencing being erected, pickup trucks emblazoned with “Entec Industries” on the doors parked around the entrance. To Chase it smelled like another gold rush, complete with exploitation, and he wondered if this was what it had been like for the people in the area back then.

“Or, I mean,” Nate continued, “maybe this is just what it’s like being a teenager?”

Chase sighed, shaking his head. “For as far as I would know, sure, dude. All I do know is that it feels like we’re just sitting here waiting for anything to happen. I feel stuck.”

“I’m just stuck to this damn windshield,” Nate quipped flatly. “Sure would be nice for this fucking heat to break. I’m so over summer, dude.” Chase reached over and snatched the ball mid-throw, leaving the lab with his shaggy brown paws in empty air over his face. “There’s plenty of things to look forward to, you know. Like getting out of this broke-ass town for starters.”

“We’re fuckin’ always looking forward, though. I’m not even sure it’s ever gonna happen at this rate.”

“Nah, we’re gonna do it,” Nate said, quiet confidence in his voice. “That ball is our ticket out of this dump.” Chase snorted, but Nate ignored him, “I’m fuckin serious, bro. The plan hasn’t changed: we’re gonna play college ball, get some looks, and then go overseas and play in Europe or something. You’ll make enough money that your mom won’t have to work two jobs anymore, and my siblings can have, like, a car and stuff when they grow up. Simple as that.”

A wry smile broke the edges of Chase’s muzzle as he watched a lone wispy cloud overhead, slowly turning purple in the fading light. “Shit, you make it sound so easy.”

“If you want it bad enough, why can’t it be that easy?”

Chase didn’t really have anything to say against that, so the two lapsed into an easy silence as the sky grew saturated and dark, with stars beginning to appear one at a time in the vast expanse.

“The one thing I will miss for sure when we leave is this view,” Nate admitted.

“Yeah...” Chase had to agree, still feeling a sense of awe at the natural beauty. The pair simply existed together until the silence was broken by the slurp of Chase’s straw running out of soda. “I guess we should head home,” he said, “kind of an early morning starting tomorrow.” Nate agreed, and the two climbed back into the old car—which started with a minimal amount of protesting—and they set off back into town proper.

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Full story can be read on my sofurry page at https://sofurry.com/s/naO4a4Oe