Everything was blurry as tears stung at her eyes and as she prodded forward she ended up tripping and falling ungracefully on her face. She couldn't bring herself to care though as in the past few minutes her world had been turned upside down. And the worst part was that she couldn't even be there to comfort any of them at their end. A bitter taste was in her mouth and she was sure it had nothing to do with the blood and gunk from the first monster. It was stupid and hopeless, but she couldn't help but to crawl over and nudge the leg of her dad. There was no response, yet she didn't stop and started to whine. She wished for a miracle, that somehow some way he would get back up, that everything would become normal again.

He never even twitched. She lay with her body over his lap like it was yesterday when he was watching his magic square with the moving pictures. Her eyes closed as she nudged his hand over her head back and forth. Bella could almost pretend, imagine that he was petting her once more in the moment. If she could ignore how old and lifeless it was. It wasn't the same she admitted and she doubted anything ever would be again.

She couldn't waste any more time.

As she went down the stairs and washed her muzzle in her water bowl of the blood before she retrieved Sarah's pink bunny from its clever hiding spot of under the couch. She went out of the open door and proceeded through the dark city. She didn't know where Sarah was so she quickly ran towards a location she knew Sarah went too everyday. The local high school.

It had been mere minutes after she had left her former home that it suddenly happened. Screams echoed throughout the quiet night as the scent of rot became overwhelming. It was an all-consuming tidal wave and Bella felt as if she had been physically struck. She did her best to suppress her urge to gag, not wanting to dirty Sir Hops-A-Lot, and increased her pace. She had to reach her little girl before everything turned to chaos. Fueled by desperation and fear she sped by as fast as she could, the houses and trees quickly blurring as her vision narrowed to focus only on what was in front of her.

Which was the fastest route? How does she best get over those obstacles, how could she preserve the slightest bit more of momentum and speed? Her mind raced a mile a minute as she channeled everything she had into eating away at the distance between her and her goal.

Thankfully they didn't live far away from the school, and with her mad sprint faster than even a horse she reached it within minutes.

The door was locked. 

The door didn't survive 73 pounds of pure determination and fury as Bella kicked up a notch further and crashed straight through the glass. Glass fragments had made cuts into her body and small fragments bit into her skin even more with every step, but she didn't stop for a moment. Her nose sniffing out all hints of Sarah's scent as she went around the halls. It was incredibly difficult as there was simply so many scents mingling in the air. She raced through the halls peering into every classroom she passed by as a woman possessed. Her barks echoed through the empty hall in hopes that her little girl would hear her to no avail.

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Sometimes she opened a door in excitement of picking up a particularly strong trail of Sarah, but it always ended up being an empty seat or room. She didn't give up though and thoroughly check every location she could. This was her best bet of finding Sarah and she could hardly stop simply because she was tired or it hurts.

Yet even as the minutes ticked by and she had cleared all three floors, there was nobody to be found. 

She left the building and went towards Jay's Pizza and Ice cream parlor which was Sarah's favorite place to eat. Maybe she went out for a late night snack? Bella herself was prone to such eating habits. As she left the school's entrance through the hole she had made earlier a bright light suddenly lit up nearby. She was about to ignore it as she didn't have time to waste, Sarah could be in trouble right now waiting for her! It was no time to indulge in curiosities. Just as she started to get ready for another sprint two beams of light flashed towards her and momentarily blinded her. The familiar screeching of car tires got her attention and she darted to the side.

It was evidently a wise decision as a navy blue car crashed right next to where she was previously. Moments after, a panicked voice could be heard and someone had crawled out of the window of the car, the doors having been warped in the collision and unable to be opened. A young boy with bright red hair came tumbling out and fell limply on the ground. He was clearly injured and they had made eye contact. 

"W-what? A dog..?"

She didn't understand what he said, but she was sure he had referred to her. He passed out moments later. Bella was now conflicted. If it had happened somewhere else she could've just ignored him, but now that a hooman was clearly in a vulnerable state and right next to her she felt guilt eat at her if she just left him to die to the monsters. Her ears picked up faint groaning from inside the vehicle, the same sound she was growing increasingly disgusted with. He would die if she left him, but she couldn't bring him with her, nor could she stay and guard over him. Sarah was waiting.

It was no matter, Sarah was infinitely more important to her than some stranger, yet as she turned to start her journey again a flash of pink caught her eye. The black beady eyes of Sir Hops-A-Lot stared at her as if condemning her actions. One word described her thoughts at that moment. A phrase she had heard from her dad that seemed to fit the situation.

Shit

She didn't know what it meant but it seemed appropriate. Her sweet little girl wouldn't want her to just leave him for dead. So she gently placed the bunny down and went over to the boy. She sniffed him thoroughly and glanced all over him, even flipping him onto his stomach. He was still clean from the rot.

She bit onto the back of his jacket and carefully pulled him into the school, dropping him into a secure office she had found. Thankfully she had been trained to open doors. Turns out there were more ways to use her skills than sneaking into the kitchen and eating peanut butter, who knew?

She closed the door tight and then raced down the stairs, picking up the pink bunny as she went.