Shifting, silvery rain curtains hid even the nearest trees of the forest in a mist so typical of mid-autumn in the Cascade Mountains. As he peered through the gloom ahead for sign of the human he hunted, the Truan failed to see the broken ground on the narrow trail, ready to peel away from the cliff side. The crack in the muddy trail split from the ledge with a slurp under his weight and the alien toppled, scrambling at the edge.
"Garras," Silver barked. She had been trotting two steps behind the Truan. When he fell, she backed away from the mudslide, paws digging for support.
The alien's pack caught on a bush and tore away from his shoulder. He fell. The pack stayed.
The Truan landed with a solid splash in the shallow rock-strewn creek bed ten meters below. He screamed in pain and rolled over in the water, white bone protruded through a bloody hole in his trousers just below the knee.
"Garras, are you all right? How can I help you?" Silver's tail flipped in agitation as she paced at the broken pathway edge. The rain pelted down in thunderous sheets and she had to shout. It hurt her throat. "Your pack came off. Do you need it?"
"Yes." The Truan puffed, face pale, as he replaced the jostled breathing tube into the corner of his mouth. He took in a few deep breaths, complexion returning to a normal mottled yellow. "Painpatch. In the pack. Toss it down."
In a moment, Silver held the pack in her teeth over the precipice, mud-caked paws braced against the slippery edge. With a grunt, she released it and it slipped down the steep embankment. It splashed into the surging stream a few centimeters from Garras.
Hands trembling, he lifted the pack from the water, opened a pouch and withdrew the med kit. He took out a painpatch and slapped it against his knee above the injury.
He sighed.
"What else can I do?" Silver had trotted to a more stable part of the rain-sodden trail a dozen meters back.
"I'll need you to come down and help set the fracture."
)
Silver is a good dog. The alien Truan have augmented her and others like her to replace the alien's beloved pet lom, not allowed on Earth. Silver speaks, and thinks. She helps Garras hunt a wild buck human in the Cascade Preserve. They find and corner one. It is clever. Treacherous. And it has a secret.
