Eleven: Where Do We Go From Here?

Though the thought remained unspoken among them, the dog reminded all four of Wile E. Coyote, though it carried a more hunched gait. When the creature crossed the doorway, it let out a single bark that conveyed, most plausibly, a demand to know what these intruders were doing here. Its gaze swept over the room, never quite meeting the eyes of a particular person.

"Jim," said Nichelle, "have you got five dollars?"

"Sorry?" Jim uttered, clearly bewildered by this query.

"You're not suggesting we bribe this--"

"No, Elmer, shut up! Do you have the money, Jim?"

"Sure," he said.

"Take the car and go to a store, any store you can find, and get some... you know, dog treats."

"Uh huh."

"You don't like it?"

"Don't like what?"

"My idea about the dog treats."

"Honestly, I have no idea," Jim stammered. "On one hand, I'm glad somebody thought of something, but it seems like a very peculiar--"

"Well, I don't like it," interrupted Elmer.

"You don't like much of anything these days, do you?" snapped Nichelle.

"What do you think, Tott?" asked Jim, more out of courtesy than curiosity.

"Doesn't matter to me."

The dog waved one of its forelegs and barked again, perhaps as though indicating something. Upon close examination, the animal did not appear especially unpleasant. Besides walking on its rear legs, nothing seemed wrong with it. It was clearly some sort of mixed breed, perhaps part retriever and part terrier. And part human, some might have said.

"We don't actually seem to be under threat here, do we?" Jim asked.

"Not really," agreed Nichelle.

Suddenly, Tott clapped his hands and called the dog. The dog heeded in a machine-like manner, without resentment or alacrity, lowering its head as Tott patted it gently.

"I say we take the dog, go through the door, and see what's there. Otherwise, what's the point of making the trip? Anyone disagree?"

"Yes and no," said Elmer, cautiously. "I know I've been oppositional here, but it's... you know."

They did know. Maybe Tott hadn't made the connection, but the others had. Of the four, Elmer had choked up the most tangible hubris during the initial outbreak and, as a former member of the media, felt the most anxiety about investigating anything. There was no definite proof that a correlation existed between inquisitiveness and tangible hubris, no clear proof that hubris as a trait led directly to hubris as a periodically fatal condition, but there was circumstantial evidence. Nichelle and Jim realized this, but their difficulty with the ailment had been minimal; Elmer, however, had become very gun shy. Jim had as well, but only for a while. Nichelle's motivation seemed to snap him out of his complacency.

"Look, never mind," Elmer said, "We can't stay this way all our lives and we can't live forever, can we? Let's do it."

"Well said, Elmer," commended Jim.

They moved toward the door and the dog barked. When they stopped, it sauntered in front of them, not to prevent their entry, but to lead.

"So no dog treats?"

"No dog treats, Tott," said Nichelle.