Dust and smoke were thick in the air. I knew which way was up and started digging quickly without caving myself in more. Each rock moved was one inch closer to fresh air and freedom from this coffin of rubble. The smoke and rocks weren’t the only things I was worried about. A hot liquid rose behind me and burned my tail, increasing my need to dig faster. When I saw the light breaking in, I forced through the small hole, almost crushing myself in haste.

I lost some hair on my way out, but ultimately, it was a small price to pay to no longer be choking on smoke. Unfortunately, the open air wasn’t much better. Loud sirens were now bombarding my ears, and lights nearly blinded me. I ran away from the hole I dug out of, wondering where to go.

Eventually, I saw a large group of people standing in front of the collapsed museum building. I ran towards the crowd, hoping to find my people. I searched each face, person after person, giving me strange looks until I could see the ones that had brought me to this place.

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Finally, I saw her. Clean bandages covered one of her eyes, a blanket wrapped around her, and she was blankly staring at the ground. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. I rested my head on her lap, and it was the one thing she reacted to. Before tears could fall from her eyes, someone screamed over the noise to look at the building.

From the museum’s ground floor, liquid gold flowed down what remained of the stairs. It was the same yellow stuff that now stuck to me. Both the sight and the smell forever burned into my mind.

My name is Harper, the Australian Cattle Dog, and on this day, I swear to protect this one-eyed orphan, Kylie Chambers.