The Play

He frowns. “Interesting.”


He doesn’t elaborate and keeps moving forward through the dark. I follow, matching his movements, even though I wonder how the hell we’re going to catch these dogs. They’re just going to keep running, it’s late at night, and the park is absolutely huge. Unless we corner them somewhere, we could keep running until dawn.

Not that I’m complaining. Even though it’s a bit creepy in this park at night, and despite what Lachlan says the dogs could be rabid, I still feel nothing but safe with him.

“Wait here,” he says to me. “Turn the flashlight off.”

I lift up my phone to do so just in time to see it turn off by itself. As in the battery just died. “Uh, it’s not going to come back on. Do you have your phone?”

He doesn’t answer me. I blink rapidly, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the dark. Thanks to the light pollution, it doesn’t take that long, and I can see him moving forward. The dog’s eyes in the distance have faded, and I’m not sure if I’m looking at them or something else.

Lachlan stops walking and kind of shuffles around, leaves crunching on the ground. I can’t see him anymore. I hear something crinkle, like he’s taking something out of his pocket. He begins talking in low, hushed murmurs and I can’t make out what he’s saying.

I want to call out after him but I don’t dare. I feel like he’s part dog whisperer and I have to stay as quiet and still as possible. So I stand there for what feels like an hour, though maybe it’s just minutes, while he does his thing.

Finally I hear him walking toward me. He stops a few feet away.

“Now we wait,” he whispers. I’m about to ask him what for, but he grabs my hand and leads me to a eucalyptus tree close by.

He sits down on the ground at the base of the tree and pulls me down beside him. For a moment I think he’s going to put his arm around me, but he doesn’t.

“So we just sit here?” I ask him, my shoulder pressed up against his. It’s starting to get cold and my flannel isn’t holding up very well. Still, I don’t dare complain. I don’t want him to think I’m not tough.

“Aye,” he says quietly. “They’ll come around. Eventually.”

“What did you do?”

He turns to face me. “I talked to them in dog speak.”

I’m not sure whether to laugh or not. Is he serious? I can’t tell in the dark—not that I could tell anyway. He doesn’t add anything to that statement, so that doesn’t help either.

We lapse into silence for a few moments. I think I can hear the dogs in the distance, eating something maybe, but I can’t be sure. The concert is over and though you can see the faint light of the venues through the forest, the music is gone. I really need to text Steph or Nicola and let them know I’m okay. They’re probably freaking out.

“Can I use your phone?” I whisper.

“I forgot it,” he says.

“Shit,” I say. “Mine’s dead. They’re probably worried about me.”

“Did you just take off?”

“Yeah. Well, Bram knew I was going after you. He told me not to bother.”

A pause. “I see.”

“Obviously I didn’t listen.”

His face comes closer to mine and I can feel his eyes on me. “And why is that?” he murmurs.

“I don’t know, I’m stubborn,” I tell him, folding my hands in my lap. “And I don’t like listening to Bram.”

“Neither do I,” Lachlan says lightly. “So that makes two of us.”

I try and swallow the butterflies in my throat. “And I was worried about you.”

“About me?” he repeats. “Whatever for?”

I shrug, wondering how much to reveal. “I don’t know. I just…I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well,” he says after a beat. “I’m okay.”

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