Once again, 11:30 p.m. rolled around. I picked up my things and set out.
For the first time ever, I was glad that our town was in the middle of nowhere. If you tried to snatch a dog in a more populated area, you’d be reported on the spot. Previously, Chika had told me that she lived in a town with a lot of people. Apparently, the local flavor had nothing to do with the link we shared.
I urged my bike forward along a hilly road with a nice incline for training. The wind felt pleasant as I cruised downhill.
I purchased a water bottle from a vending machine I passed along the way, running mental simulations of what was about to occur in my head as I rode. Finally I arrived at my destination. There was no one around. I parked my bike a short distance away, careful to walk as quietly as possible as I approached the traditionally built home. At a quick glance, it didn’t look like there were lights on either the first or second floor. I made a quick lap around the house, stealing a glance through the front, but it was pitch-black inside. Still, that didn’t put me at ease. There were two cars present, likely belonging to Tanaka’s parents, which had not been there during the day. If Allumi raised any commotion, I would have to run immediately.
I slipped in through the back gate to find Allumi lying there prettily, gazing up at the sky. There was a full moon tonight. Before I could even call out, Allumi picked up on my scent, noticed me, and trotted over. There were no lights, but the bright moonlight was enough for Allumi to confirm who I was. I was glad the pup seemed well.
Now, the real trouble began. I had practiced this many times during the day, but it wouldn’t be surprising if my loosening the collar at night put Allumi on guard. Honestly, I could not even complain if I was barked at, being an intruder. Despite my worries, though, Allumi just sat there quietly and waited for me to loosen the collar. Even as I was refastening it to give the illusion that Allumi had run away on its own, it merely sat there, patient. This worried me for a different reason.
Honestly, in terms of executing my plan, I could not ask for a more favorable outcome. I picked Allumi up and slipped away from the house, placing the dog gently in my bike basket. It looked a bit cramped, but Allumi neatly folded up its legs and tucked right in. To keep the dog from fussing, I offered it a treat it would have to chew on for a while. Once it was occupied, I fastened the new collar and leashed it to the basket, straddled my bike, and started riding.
It was almost a letdown how smoothly the abduction had gone. I rode down a road with even fewer people than the one I had taken to get there, headed for my destination. I’d thought about taking Allumi somewhere far away, but I needed to know how much of an effect this would have on Chika’s world, so I decided to keep the operation close by. That said, sticking close to my home would raise too many suspicions, so I instead chose a place that I could stop by while I was out on my runs.
We entered a mountainous area that would have been a verdant green during the daytime but was now pitch dark. Going down a road it’d never seen before made Allumi understandably anxious, and it looked up at me and let out a small bark. Still, a creative part of my mind imagined this bark was more of a criticism—more of a “What do you think you’re doing?”—as though the two of us were partners in crime on the run.
I reached a steep slope and stood up in the saddle to put my weight into peddling up it. At the top of the hill was a bus stop. It was in shambles, darkness all around it, with an adjoining shelter that looked like it might crumble at any moment. I had found it recently when I was riding around looking for a place to stash the dog. Like my usual haunt, this stop was no longer in use. I’d run this way numerous times in the evening, but not once did I see any cars or people along the road. It was the perfect place to hide Allumi.
I opened the door of this new bus shelter and carried Allumi inside. The dog waited, patient as ever, for me to attach its collar to the bench inside.
“Sorry, this’ll just be for a little while.”
I put some treats into a deep plastic bowl I’d purchased at a convenience store, filled another with water from the plastic bottle, and placed them both before Allumi.
Now my goal had been achieved, and it was time for me to leave the shelter. I closed the door and started to climb back on my bike when I heard Allumi bark once more. I took off as quick as I could toward home. My initial plan had been to leave Allumi there for two days, but I recalled hearing that dogs experienced time differently from humans. It was probably best I return it home the next day. I considered altering my plans.
I went home and went right to sleep, and when dawn broke, it was Sunday.
I wondered if Tanaka was back yet. There would’ve probably been a big commotion when she got home and found Allumi gone. I didn’t intend to cause a classmate any needless suffering, but I was doing this to keep Chika safe.
Some sacrifices had to be made.
On the weekends, I always went running in the morning. Thus, I was able to go check in on Allumi without ruining my daily routine. I ran for about twenty minutes, food and water in hand. When I opened the door to the shelter where Allumi had been since the night before, I was relieved to feel comfortable air cling to my face, not much different from outside. One of the reasons I had chosen this lodging for Allumi was the thick canopy overhead, which shaded the roof from the sun.
Upon seeing me, Allumi stood up. I stooped down and scratched the dog on the head. I could see some dust clinging to the fur of its belly. I put some food in the dish and replenished the water supply, which Allumi happily began lapping up without a single complaint.
It occurred to me that Allumi would probably need a bit of exercise. It was a Sunday morning. Few people passed through here, and if anyone saw me from a car, it would just look like I was walking my dog. I detached the leash from the bench and set out with Allumi. I figured it might start immediately running for home, but that didn’t happen. We just walked around the surrounding area for a little bit before I returned the dog to the shelter.
I decided I would check in on Allumi again that evening and decide whether I should keep the dog for one more night. That settled, I left the bus stop behind.
That night, I set off on my bike toward the first bus stop.
“Evening, Kaya.”
While I had no way to determine any pattern to the situation and thus no way to predict her appearances, I was nonetheless kind of surprised to actually see Chika at the bus shelter that evening. When I mentioned this first thing upon seeing her, Chika began to seriously consider the implications.
“To be honest, I had planned on going to a different safe house today, but something came up—I had to go back near my house and ended up here. I wonder if it’s got anything to do with that.”
“Are you asking if my intentions have any effect on your plans? I wonder if it could really be that subtle.”
Even if it was, that didn’t seem very useful. The fact that I had even predicted this could’ve easily been a fabrication of my own mind after it happened.
“Even if that’s true, I’m not sure we can make anything useful of it, but if we really are connected down to the depths of your consciousness, that’s kind of heartening—if also a bit frightening.”
I understood her sentiment exactly. It would be terrifying to be linked to someone else’s consciousness. It was scary to think that I might not be my own person, regardless of what I felt about Chika or anything like that. At the same time, if she wasn’t her own solid individual, it made all of this much less meaningful.