Fallout

They were right, the winter had gone on for too long. It was late-March in Mt. Vernon, New York, and the storms weren’t stopping, the snow wasn’t melting. The squirrels had run out of food two weeks ago and they were scrambling to keep it together until spring decided to turn the land green again.

Alistair and Gwendolyn, Apollo’s closest squirrel friends who lived in the large oak in Violet’s backyard, had lost eight of their fifteen children over the last two years. A widower squirrel in Denise’s yard, refused to talk about how her son vanished during the nor’easter in late January. The birds had it just as bad. With the five inches of snow and barren trees, their usual diet—a range of seeds and small insects—was in short supply. They were relegated to scrounging through human trash for food—a reality that incensed the proud species. The descendants of Earth’s most powerful predators were now dependent on the ones who both usurped their throne and polluted the planet. What made things worse was that even trash became a luxury as wayward bands of skunks and raccoons passing through the neighborhood monopolized the resource. The elderly humans who sat on park benches, those who—at one time—only the pigeons were brazen enough to solicit from, became a popular source of sustenance. However, the supply never matched the demand, and many birds were left wanting.

Apollo had tried to do his best to help. He saved portions of his own meals and deposited them behind the bushes in the backyard for the various wildlife families that lived in the area. At the risk of being scolded by Violet, he even stole unguarded slices of pizza or scrounged through the trash and found bits of uneaten bread, meat, and vegetables that he would add to daily donations. But, every day the food would run out before the hungry mouths and a pang of sadness resonated through him every time he saw a child leave his yard with an empty stomach.

It was eleven months ago, in April of last year, when an unfamiliar sparrow had flown into Kilner Street calling to all who would listen about a newly formed organization: SABLE (Squirrels and Birds for the Liberation of Earth). All non-human vertebrates were welcome, the little bird had told Denise and Apollo as they lounged on the damp grass in Violet’s backyard after a long rainstorm. At the time, Apollo had been too interested in Denise’s intricate plot to eat Polly—the white cockatiel that Bill and Marsha (Denise’s owners) had recently adopted—to listen, but soon it was the talk of the town.

All non-human vertebrates, Apollo understood the stipulation. Usurpers and polluters, the birds weren’t the only ones who saw it this way. Most animals classified as “wildlife” and/or forced to exist in the margins of human society saw them as a greedy and overreaching species—they took up too much space and claimed too much of Earth’s natural resources for themselves. Then, with all this space and all these materials—in the name of civilization—humanity polluted the Earth destroyed natural habitats, caused prolonged winters and sweltering summers that hurt all living beings.

Animals under the care of humans, the Domesticated, were seen as traitors to the natural order. That is how most of the wildlife reacted to Apollo and Denise at first. However, after they both began to leave food for the local wildlife three years ago, the squirrels, birds, and even lizards could not deny that they were doing what they could to help. Even then, it took a long time for Alistair and Gwendolyn to trust them and let them come close to their nesting grounds or sit in out their community meetings.

Seeing the wildlife fight over nesting territory and dwindling food stores while humans sat in their houses and let food go to waste was something Apollo could not deny. However, even knowing that she was a contributor and beneficiary of a corrupt system, Apollo could not bring himself to hate Violet—he didn’t want to think that Violet, even if she was a human, was capable of such thoughtlessness. She was the one who feed him, walked him, and hugged him when they slept in her bed. A year ago, when Apollo came down with the flu, she took a week off of work and spent the entire time nursing him back to health. Apollo love Violet and he knew that she loved him too.

This is why, Apollo could not fully condemn the humans and, when Tera—the oldest of the hummingbirds in the area from a prominent hummingbird bloodline—and other SABLE members began to opine their views about the humans at community gatherings, Apollo felt they sounded radical, maybe even dangerous. However, Apollo also couldn’t shake the feeling that he might feel the same if he wasn’t Violet’s dog, if he were one of those stray dogs without human owners.

Apollo naturally felt distrust and suspicion towards SABLE but their impact on the community was undeniable. Through their food drives and relocation services hundreds of homeless and displaced wildlife were now safe and partially fed, living in communal tree hollows. When Janice, Violet’s friend from Rhode Island, visited for a week, her German Shepherd—Boomer—told Apollo that SABLE had spread across the country like wildfire. Meetings were being held in every county in every state and their ranks did not exclusively include squirrels and birds; cats, dogs, skunks, raccoons, lizards, and even horses around the world had joined their cause. That was five months ago. Now, there was a meeting of the Kilner Street SABLE branch every week, and members of the organization had taken up a communal residence in the giant oak tree in the far field of the nearby middle school.

—   —

“Then, when I’m not looking, the damn thing is crawling over to the knife rack,” Denise said. She was complaining about Owen again, Bill and Marsha’s new baby. “Ever since that little shit was born, he’s been a pain in my ass.”

“He was probably just curious,” Apollo said.

“Or he was trying to stab himself with a kitchen knife. Do you know how fucking fragile these things are?” Denise asked. “I can’t believe humans willingly have kids. They can’t even walk when they’re born.”

“Mabel was there, she wouldn’t have let anything bad happen, right?"

“You mean the 89-year-old deaf woman who always has whiskey on her breath?”

“She’s Bill’s grandmother,” Apollo said.

“She’s a liability,” Denise said, “just like Owen. You know, before he was born, the house was quiet, calm. I could sleep-in or watch R-rated movies on HBO whenever I wanted, but—”

“You were always here, hanging out with me,” Apollo said.

Denise turned her head away from him with a dissatisfied “Hmph!”

“Look, you’ve been complaining about Owen for six months straight, maybe—”

“Well, he’s been alive for six months straight,” Denise said. She always got this way about Owen, critical and defensive. Apollo had narrowed it down to two options: either Denise hated Owen with a passion and was looking for the easiest way to dispose of the toddler, or she loved him and was beside herself with worry for the seemingly accident-prone child. Apollo had met Owen twice while on walks around the neighborhood and, besides having put Apollo’s tail in his mouth the first time they met, Apollo thought the kid was cute.

“Fucking humans, I don’t know why I even bother. Who knows, maybe if they all disappeared from the face of the Earth, I’d have a better life. I probably wouldn’t have to eat that mushy crap every day.”

Apollo scrounged around Violet’s drawers looking for the clothes she would make him wear on special occasions. Suddenly, a thought came to him. “You don’t think it’s gonna come to that, right?”

“What?” Denise asked, batting Apollo’s tennis ball between her paws.

“You know, what Alistair and Gwendolyn were talking about.”

“You mean the nukes?”

“Yeah, do you think they can really pull it off?”

“Who knows,” the grey cat said as she lost control of the ball and hit it off the bed. “Fuck.”

“I’ll get it,” the black Labrador retriever said, lumbering after the ball. “Do you think it’s even possible?” Apollo placed the ball next to Denise.

“Don’t the humans have security protocols in place to prevent that kind of stuff?” Denise said as she started up with the ball again. “Special codes, keys, retinal scans, fingerprint I.D. and what not. Plus, there are like, maybe five people who can order a nuclear strike, right?”

“I…don’t know…” Apollo said. “Violet doesn’t really talk about it,” he walked back over to the drawers and sniffed around, “and she never watches the news.”

“Bill and Marsha talk about it every once in a while,” Denise said as she turned onto her back, bouncing the ball between her front paws. “Especially now, since that new president happened.”

“Ha, found it,” Apollo said as he pulled a necktie collar out of Violet’s bottom drawer. It was red with small black print in the shape of Labrador Retrievers. “Hakim said their plan sounded like it might actually—”

“Don’t worry so much,” Denise said, she sat up on the bed. “We’ll know more once Allos and Tera get back from Cuba, there’s no point in thinking about it now.”

“You’re right,” Apollo said. He paused for a moment, then looked at Denise. “You’re right. Okay, I’ll go get this on and we can head over.” Apollo, necktie collar in mouth, trotted out of the bedroom, through the hallway, past the bathroom and the art studio, and into the living room where Violet sat on the couch eating cereal and watching TV before work.

“How’re you doin’ baby?” she said, rubbing the dog all over. “What’re you doin’ with this thing?”

Apollo barked and wagged his tail affectionately. He dropped the necktie collar into Violet’s lap and then laid his neck onto her thigh, panting with a smile, tail whipping about even though he was prostrate on the couch.

“So, you wanna wear this one today?” Violet said in the type of voice he had heard humans use when talking to babies. “You goin’ to a wedding I don’t know about?” She smiled as he sat up obediently and she unclipped his usual blue collar and replaced it with the more formal necktie. “There you go,” she said. “The handsomest dog at the ball.” She pulled out her phone and took a picture. Apollo licked her face before she got up, gave him a treat, and then left for work.

After listening to Violet’s car pull out of the driveway, he ran into the backyard and around the house to where Denise, sitting on the fence, waited to open the gate. She unhooked the door silently and then followed the fence a short distance over to her own backyard gate and opened that one as well. Apollo calmly trotted, through the open doors, into Bill and Marsha’s backyard.

“About time,” Hakim—the well-traveled gyrfalcon who had settled down in the giant redwood on the Wallace estate—said as he sat on a rusted push lawn mower. Apollo could see the bird of prey nervously preening his dark brown wings.

“Now that I’ve gotten the best man here,” Denise said. “I have to go tend to my other maid of honor duties.” Apollo watched as she deftly moved down the cement side yard and disappeared into the house. He could hear the chirping of birds gathered in the backyard mixed with the tittering of squirrels.

“She doesn’t trust me,” Hakim said as he watched Denise dash out of sight. “Thinks I’ll fly off and ditch Polly when I get bored.”

“Oh, don’t worry so much,” Apollo said. “Denise has always been super protective of Polly, especially after she stopped trying to eat her and they got to know each other.”

Hakim sighed.

“She likes you, she’s just too proud to admit it.”

Hakim preened his feathers a bit more and nodded his head the way birds do, furiously moving their heads up and down without changing the angle at which the head is positioned. “Did you get them? Could you find any?” Hakim asked.

“I dug all night last night,” Apollo said. “Nothing’s bloomed yet.”

“Great, the universe can’t even give me two fucking flowers on my wedding day.” He went back to grooming his feathers, paying close attention to the few black dots that naturally decorated his otherwise brown wings.

“Don’t worry about it,” Apollo said. “You look handsome, all your feathers are so straight and full. Polly loves you. Everything is gonna go great.”

“Yeah, yeah, as long as that nut jobs doesn’t start evangelizing and we can get through dinner without someone making a scene,” Hakim said.

“Tyranus can be a bit much,” Apollo admitted, “but Polly’s known him ever since she moved here. The old crow’s seen a lot, especially these last few years.”

“Has he always been such a crackpot, or was it just after he joined SABLE?”

“He’s always been a little eccentric,” Apollo said, “but don’t worry so much. The SABLE people are all waiting for Tera to come back from Cuba, so they don’t have much to talk about at the moment.”

“You’d think so,” the gyrfalcon said. “Some of the guests tried to talk to me about it this morning. Apparently, Tera wanted them to recruit me to some mission in D.C., said I’d be a good asset.”

“All you need to think about today is Polly,” Apollo said. “After today, you two will be just like me and Violet.”

“I still don’t understand your love for humans,” Hakim said. “That’s one of the points where I actually agree with SABLE. If it wasn’t for humans, Polly and I could fly off wherever we wanted. We could raise kids upstate and I could hunt all the rabbits and chipmunks we needed. But the humans clipped her wings, a bird’s wings. How’d I’d love to meet the person who did it. I’d gladly burn them alive.” He spit. “They don’t think twice about maiming us, as long as it’s more convenient for them.”

“Not all humans are bad,” Apollo said. “Violet’s been good to me.”

“Oh poor naïve pup,” Hakim sighed. “I’m sorry to break it to you, but humans are all the same. She might love you in some twisted way, maybe, but she doesn’t respect you. Humans never do.”

Apollo knew where Hakim’s reticence about humanity came from—he had seen much in his travels and more than a few of his friends and family had been shot down by human firearms. Not only that, but Polly’s first owners, two children, treated her like a toy—poking her with stick and jostling her cage—at times they even failed to feed her (both as a form of punishment and out of simple neglect). Violet was different, Apollo reassured himself. The only time she had ever knowingly caused him pain was when she got him neutered, but Apollo assumed that was for some sort of health reason.

“You boys ready?” Denise called from the other end of the side yard.

Apollo’s tailed began to wag and he looked over at Hakim. “You ready?”

“Of course I am, pup,” Hakim said before he spread his wings in an overly dramatic fashion and flew over to the wedding ceremony. Apollo joined Denise and they walked through the center of Bill and Marsha’s backyard—like they had practiced—to their designated spots. He looked up at the huge wooden awning that Bill installed four years ago. He and Marsha had hung various dangling perches along the awning so that Polly could sit outside whenever they were lounging in the backyard. Today, the awning and the perches were loaded with various crows, sparrows, pigeons, and hummingbirds. On the patio table—a large metal frame with reinforced glass surface—various squirrels as well as Mosa the duck gathered, sitting neatly in four rows. Among the guests, Apollo noted Julius and Morgan (the squirrel representatives of the Kilner Street branch of SABLE), Alistair and Gwendolyn, who seemed at their happiest despite burying a daughter last week, and Utah, the parrot who lived on the other side of Violet’s house, whom had befriended Polly the moment she moved here.

Suddenly, as the late winter sun began to shine through the clouds, the sparrows sitting in the front of the awning all began to sing in unison and Polly, her wings pure white and the feathered crest on her head in full plume, calmly flapped her wings across the backyard and met Hakim on a perch at the front of the ceremony.

Tyranus standing on the awning above them, cawed three times and then began: “Dearly beloved—”

—   —

“Apollo,” Polly landed in front of where he and Denise were sitting at the reception as Hakim dumped the contents of a Ziploc bag onto the ground (oats and bird feed that Polly and Hakim had stolen from the big container near her cage as well as some food scraps that Apollo and Denise had provided) for their guests to eat. “So,” she did a small spin. “How do I look?”

“You look absolutely beautiful, Polly, congratulations!” Apollo said, wagging his tail.

“Why of course I do,” the cockatiel said, with a wide smile. “I also wanted to thank you again for everything you did for our wedding, for helping with the catering, and agreeing to be Hakim’s best man. I know it isn’t easy for you to leave the house or gather food…you or Denise.”

“You definitely don’t have to keep thanking me,” Apollo said as kindly as he could. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find the flowers today, this weather—”

“Oh, never mind those flowers,” Polly said. “You’ve done more than enough for us. And I know Hakim is too embarrassed to say it, but you were the only one he wanted as his best man.” Apollo couldn’t hold back his open-mouthed, tongue-out smile. “He really values your friendship, as do I.”

“Denise,” Polly turned to her best friend.

“I told you, if you thank me one more time, I’m going to actually eat you.”

“I know,” the cockatiel said lovingly as she gently nestled her head into the fur under Denise’s face. “I just wanted to let you know that I love and appreciate you.”

Denise reciprocated the gesture by resting her head on top of Polly’s for just a moment before pushing her off and telling her to go tend to the rest of her guests.

“That was a beautiful moment—” Apollo said.

“Shut up,” Denise said, in the cold tone she used when trying to mask her emotions.

As the reception was hitting peak frenzy and the birds and squirrels overpopulated the dance floor—the patio table where the squirrels had been seated during the ceremony—a sudden hush came over the crowd. Whispers rose up: Allos and Tera were back from Cuba.

The rest of the wedding played out in between hushed murmurs: “they weren’t supposed to be back until Thursday”, “I guess the summit ended early”, “they both seem awfully calm”. Allos and Tera paid their respects to the newlyweds and kept relatively quiet. One of the animals asked about the summit and Tera replied simply with: “there will be time to discuss the summit later, tonight is a time for celebration.”

—   —

A special meeting of the Kilner Street SABLE branch was called the next day. Apollo couldn’t travel that far on his own, so he stayed at home running worst-case scenarios in his head. Denise had told him not to worry, that things would be alright, and that she would tell him all about it when she got home.

As the sun went down and Violet headed off to bed, Denise was still nowhere to be found and Apollo felt something deep in his chest lurching against his ribcage, trying to escape. He couldn’t sleep that night and stayed at the backyard patio door, staring out at the fence, looking for signs of Denise or Hakim.

Violet walked over to him after waking up in the middle of the night and discovering that he wasn’t sleeping next to her. “You need to go pee-pee?” Violet patted his head. “Apollo, you’re shaking all over, what’s wrong?” Apollo responded by whining a bit and then licking her face. She kissed him on the nose and rubbed his belly. “Good boy! Who’s my good boy!” Apollo’s tail wagged for the first time that night. “Don’t worry, see, I’m here. C’mon.” Violet led Apollo to the couch and they cuddled up while watching Batman Begins on TV.

Around midnight, a small knock came at the backyard patio door. Violet had dozed off on the couch, so Apollo gently disengaged himself from their cuddle and crept over to the door—it was Denise. He nudged the door open, ever so slightly with his nose, then followed the cat over to the side yard—next to the Stewartstonian Azalea shrubs—where they could talk away from the animal-housing trees and inquisitive ears.

“So,” Apollo said nervously. “What happened?”

“They’re doing it,” Denise said, Apollo could see the shock in her eyes. “The nukes, the decision was unanimous.”

“No—no,” Apollo said. “That’s not possible, what about…”

“They’re doing it, Apollo, launching nukes at the US,” Denise said. “I heard Tera say it myself. Gwendolyn, Alistair, and Utah were chosen to go down and help with the Pentagon operation. Everyone else is to cross the border into Canada or Mexico.”

“Canada or Mexico?”

“Allos said that they brokered a deal with the other North American SABLE branches and that there will be groups ready at the borders to take in any and all US refugees. They’ve already found housing and have begun rationing food to span the next year. It’s happening Apollo, we have two weeks to evacuate the US or else we’ll die with the humans.”

“But how? You said the humans had precautions, security in place to prevent something like this.”

“They have it all, eyes and ears everywhere. Birds following the Secretary of Defense. Squirrels tracking the president’s every move. Parrots are learning voices. They know everyone’s schedule, their private lives, they know where the missiles are, who has the launch codes, when the codes will change, everything,” Denise said, she looked more affected than Apollo had ever seen her. “This is happening, Apollo.” Denise glanced over at Violet, sleeping on the couch. “I’m sorry.”

“But…But Violet, and Bill and Marsha and Owen,” Apollo said. “What are they supposed to…what are we supposed to do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. They…They’re dead.”

“We need to save them, we need to stop this.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Denise said, more firmly this time. “They want the humans to die, to ‘make up for their sins,’ in Tera’s words.”

“But…but…”

“I’m sorry Apollo,” Denise said. “I know how much Violet means to you.” After a small pause, she turned around and began to walk back to Bill and Marsha’s house.

“And what about Bill? Marsha? Owen?” Apollo called after her. “What…”

“What about them?” Denise said, her tone had hardened, it felt blunt and frozen, but Apollo had known her long enough to see the anger underneath. “What do you want me to do? I’m a cat. They can’t even understand what I’m saying.”

“I…I’m sorry, Denise, I—”

“Don’t be sorry, Apollo,” Denise said. “I don’t have what you have. All they do is feed me. I can find food somewhere else.” She jumped the fence and disappeared.

Apollo walked back inside, he felt sick. Like fingers were crawling through his stomach from the inside, pulling at the fleshy layers in order to get to the esophagus and strangle him from the inside. He jumped onto the couch and stared at Violet, studied her face. She slept so peacefully. He wondered what she dreamed about, if he was there.

—   —

“Alistair! Gwendolyn!” Apollo called out to the oak tree in the backyard. “Can I talk to you guys?”

“Apollo?” Alistair called back, popping his head out of the hollow where they lived. “Oh, hey buddy! Missed you at the meeting last night.”

“Ah yeah,” Apollo said. “Violet came home a bit early and I couldn’t sneak away.”

“Oh, we understand,” Alistair said.

“Is that Apollo?” Gwendolyn called from inside their home.

“Yeah babe,” Alistair called back, “He’s right here.”

“Can ya thank him for those wheat bread scraps that he put in the yard two days ago? Absolutely delicious.”

“It really wasn’t mu—”

“You can do it yerself if you want,” Alistair said. “We ain’t in that much’a hurry.”

“Oh, well,” Gwendolyn popped her head out of the tree. “Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Hi Gwendolyn,” Apollo said.

“Thank ya for those food scraps,” Gwendolyn said. “I know Violet don’t like you gettin’ up in the trash, but we appreciate it.”

“We sure do,” Alistair said. “I don’t even wanna think about this winter without ya.”

“It’s really no problem,” Apollo said. “Can I talk to you guys though?”

“What about dear?” Gwendolyn asked.

“Well,” Apollo said. He decided that he had to be careful. This was the happiest he had seen Alistair and Gwendolyn in months. “What happened at the meeting last night?”

Alistair and Gwendolyn climbed down the tree and met with Apollo on ground level. He had to bring his face all the way down to the ground to accommodate their size.

“We’re finally takin’ back the planet,” Alistair said, “that’s what’s happenin’.”

Gwendolyn chuckled at Alistair’s excitement. “They’ve decided to go ahead with the plan to stop the humans.”

“They want to nuke the country?” Apollo asked.

“That is correct,” Alistair enunciated. “Everything, every city, every industrial site, is gonna find themselves reduced to a pile o’ rubble.”

“Ya know,” Gwendolyn spoke in a soft tone. “We’ve been chosen for an important mission.”

“I heard,” Apollo said. “With Utah.”

“That parrot,” Alistair said. “Girl’s got a wicked attitude, but dammit if her vocal range ain’t a thing o’ beauty.” Apollo remembered his two interactions with Utah. Both ended with her recalling the age of the dinosaurs where her supposed ancestors, the dinosaur species: Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, ran in packs and could overpower anything that dared to threaten them. Apollo, Denise, and Hakim were given Utah’s history of the earth where her Jurassic ancestors commanded Tyrannosaurs Rexes and benevolently lorded over the land with their genetic superiority. Utah usually went on to say that, if the birds were in power, the earth would not be in such a state of disrepair and no animal would not have to hide away in trees and scrounge for worms and seeds. “Birds were born to eat meat,” Utah declared one morning two springs ago. “I still do,” Hakim had whispered to Apollo under his breath.

“Beautiful voice indeed,” Gwendolyn said. “You ever hear her sing ‘My Heart Will Go On’? It’s like Celine Dion is right there in the room with ya.” She sighed nostalgically.

“Them humans fucked the world, but they can make damn good music,” Alistair said. “I’ll give ‘em that.”

“Well,” Apollo said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you guys about.”

“Now Apollo,” Alistair said. “I’ll stop ya right there. We both know how much you love that human master o’ yours, and Violet, she never done us no wrong—”

“So then—” Apollo started.

“But,” Alistair gave him a stern, but caring look. “You can’t ignore the fact that she is a part of a system that…that downright oppresses the rest of us. She benefits from all that industrialization, those factories spewing out all those toxins into the air. That SUV parked out front burnin’ fossil fuels into the air. This winter has been the longest, most snow-heavy winter in generations. You can’t tell me she ain’t a part o’ this.”

“If I could just—”

“This isn’t planet human, Apollo,” Gwendolyn said, “now is it?”

“It’s not, but—”

“Apollo,” Alistair interrupted. “Now, not another word. There’s a group o’ squirrels and birds packin’ up and headin’ out to Ottawa in a couple o’ days. I suggest you go with ‘em.”

“But, nuclear weapons,” Apollo said. “Is that really the answer? These lands won’t be inhabitable for years.”

“We’ve tried takin’ down the factories one at a time, but the humans don’t care, they build faster’n we can hit ‘em and, I hear, they don’t even care about their own kind. Humans be sufferin’ all kinda problems just to keep this janky machine runnin’.”

“But…”

“They’ve left us no choice, son,” Alistair said. “There’s nothing else that’ll stop all their pollutin’ and destroyin’.”

“Are you—”

“They’re dead, Apollo,” Gwendolyn interrupted with a glowering tone. “Aldwyn, Alodia, Cecil, Guinevere, Moira, Pax, Rowan, and Willa. Some disappeared off in the storms, but Aldwyn, Cecil, Moira, Willa, Guinevere, I had to watch them die off from starvation and fever. I had to watch my children waste away into nothin’ because of what those humans been doin’ to our planet. So, don’t Apollo, just don’t.” Gwendolyn closed her eyes, took a deep breath and climbed back up into the oak tree. Apollo felt a heavy sourness spread across his body.

“Alistair, I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s alright Apollo,” Alistair said. “I can’t expect ya ta understand, ya don’t got kids; the way Violet turned ya out, ya never will, but they change things. And I don’t give a damn ‘bout this tree or this state or this country more’an those kids. The humans took ‘em away from us. Now, we takin’ sumthin’ away from them.” Alistair hopped over to Apollo and patted him on one of the front paw. “Take my advice kid, pack up an’ go.”

—   —

Apollo sat in his sulking spot in the backyard and pondered the implications of nukes. Alistair had said the main targets were cities and industrial sites. From what Apollo could tell, where they lived was neither, but he didn’t know about the fallout or blast radii. New York City was relatively close, was it not? Could SABLE be evacuating the animals just in case? Would the bombs even affect this area?

“Chernobyl was thirty years ago, and scientists say the nuclear radiation won’t clear for another couple hundred years,” Hakim’s voice came from above him. Apollo looked up and saw the proud bird sitting on the fence that divided Bill and Marsha’s back yard from Violet’s. “I saw what you were trying to do, over there, with Alistair and Gwendolyn. Even if you got an audience with Tera or any of the other high-ranking members of SABLE, you’ll get the same answer. They’re not going to stop, not now.”

“There must be a way,” Apollo said.

“I don’t know about that,” Hakim admitted, “but I do know you’d only be wasting your time going to those birds and squirrels.” The gyrfalcon stared into the distance. “Denise and I tried last night. We argued to the bitter end about the fallout poisoning the land, the death and destruction, lines that shouldn’t be crossed. They wouldn’t have any of it. Today, I see that they couldn’t. They’re past that.”

“Then…what? What do we do?” Apollo said.

“I don’t know, pup,” Hakim refused to make eye contact. “If I were you, I’d run for the closest border, hope to God you don’t cross paths with animal control on the way.”

“I’m not leaving Violet,” Apollo said. “I can’t.”

“Then you’d better hope you can get through that thick human skull and make her understand,” Hakim said, “cause they aren’t only going for the major cities.”

“What?”

“They’re angry, Apollo. They’ve calculated how to cause the most damage possible, the highest body count. Everything goes down. If you don’t clear the border in two weeks, you’re going to die.”

“But, Alistair said…”

“I know what he said, but I also know what I heard. It’s all going down pup, no one is safe.”

“Violet—I need to get Violet out of here,” Apollo rushed back into the house. He grabbed the leash from the bin next to the front door and charged into Violet’s bedroom.

“What’s up boy?” Violet asked. Apollo presented her the leash. “You wanna go out? It isn’t your usual walking time.” Apollo whined anxiously and wagged his tail. “Alright, alright,” She said. “I guess we can make this one exception.”

They started like normal. Apollo wanted to make Violet feel comfortable before veering away from the set path. He planned to wait until they got to the north-most point of their walk, the intersection of Washington and Homestead, before pulling her towards the border. She will understand, he told himself, she knows me.

“What are you doing?” Violet said as Apollo stood at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn so that they could safely cross the street. “We never go over there.” Apollo whined and sat down. “We gotta go home silly. That isn’t the way home.” Apollo shook his head and stared into Violet’s eyes. “What’s wrong boy?” Violet pulled on the leash. “What’s wrong? Why all the whining?” Apollo clawed at the ground as she pulled him back. “No, bad dog, bad dog. What are you doing?”

“We’re going to die if we don’t leave now,” Apollo tried to tell her. She recoiled, a bit surprised at the frantic barks.

“What’s wrong?” Violet asked, trying to soothe his fear with head scratches.

“We need to go,” Apollo cried.

“Apollo,” Violet said. “We need to go home.” Violet pulled on the leash, but Apollo stood his ground. He whined a bit, trying to get her to understand. “C’mon boy, there’s a nice dinner waiting for you at home.” Apollo barked and dug his claws into the cement. “Alright,” Violet said. “That’s enough of that.” She pulled harder on the leash, Apollo refused to yield. He began to pump his legs, creating a jumping motion that put more pressure on the leash in short, but strong bursts. The abrupt rhythm caught Violet by surprise and knocked her off balance. She tried to dig her heels in and catch herself, but it was too late. With another pull from Apollo, she tilted forward and crashed into the ground.

Apollo—eyes so focused on the road ahead—felt the leash give way and ran across the street, unaware that he was scrapping Violet against the gravely road. Her pained yelp was what turned Apollo around. He ran over to her in a panic, licking her face and wounds in apology. She got up quickly and edged away from Apollo. Apollo tried to follow, tried to help her, but she held out a blood-stained hand. “Stop!”

Apollo sat, thinking this would be the easiest way of showing his concern and his submission. She was trembling. There was red all over her skin. He stared into Violet’s eyes and there, he saw something he had never seen before, a look that other humans had given him, but never Violet, not her, she understood him, she knew he would never hurt her, not on purpose. But he had hurt her. The blood on her arms and legs proved it. He laid down on his belly and whimpered. At this, Violet approached Apollo somewhat cautiously and held a hand out to his face. He licked it slowly, gently, with no sudden movements. She sighed in relief and sat down next to him. “What’s gotten into you boy?” she asked, voice tender with pain. The upset feeling was back, thrashing through Apollo’s stomach stronger this time, tearing at him from the inside.

She scratched at his chin a bit and he licked her hands. He tried to clean her wounds, but she pulled away. “Can we go home now?” She asked. Apollo whined a bit, taking one last look across the street, but then stood up and started walking in the direction of home.

Over the next seven days, whenever Violet walked Apollo, he would try everything he could to save her. At the same intersection, every day, he would attempt to lead Violet up towards the Canadian border. He refused to resist her—to hurt her again—instead trying to sit down in peaceful protest rather than pull. But she didn’t understand and time was running out.

He tried other methods. He tried talking to her, but she only heard barks. He tried getting in the car with her, but she would just march him right back into the house. He tried explaining with various household items and dog toys, a diagram, but she would just laugh and take a picture. Just yesterday, she humored him by crossing Homestead road, he thought he had finally made a break-though, but after just a few minutes, she pulled him right back across the street. However, no matter what he did, nothing got through to her.

“Now, I don’t want any trouble from you,” Violet said as they approached Washington and Homestead one day. “We’re going straight home, no detours.”

Apollo whined in dissatisfaction and urgency, there were only six more days before the missiles launched, before Violet would either die from the initial blast or suffer from a plethora of equally terrifying after-effects that didn’t sound at all appealing when Hakim had listed them to Apollo a few nights before.

At the intersection, he tried again to lead her across the empty street, he refused to let her die, even if it caused her some discomfort. “No, Apollo, no!” The leash pulled tight, but Apollo resisted. His breath became strained as his collar rode up into his neck. “Apollo!” Suddenly, the leash came loose and, with no sound of Violet hitting the ground, Apollo dashed across the street. Violet had listened, he thought, even if she didn’t understand, she finally trusted him.

“Apollo!” Violet’s voice crushed his triumph. It was too far away. Apollo stopped and turned around. Violet was still stand at the southeast corner of Washington and Homestead. She had simply let go of the leash.

—   —

That night, Apollo sat on the grass in the backyard listening to the silence, the absence of wildlife. Gwendolyn and Alistair had left a day after the three of them had spoken, the rest of the squirrels, birds, lizards, as well as some of the other household pets followed quickly after. He looked back at Violet, watching TV on the couch. Apollo was still back there, watching her from across Homestead Road. Never before had he felt such a distance between dog and owner.

“I’m leaving,” Denise’s voice broke the silence. “Tonight, I’m going north.”

Apollo looked up at her as she climbed down from the fence and approached him. “Good luck,” he said. “Make sure to watch out for animal control.”

“Like they could catch me,” Denise scoffed. Apollo licked her furry face. He knew she hated it, but it was the most accurate way to show his affection. That night, she seemed to welcome it.

“I’ll miss you Denise,” Apollo said. She walked up against him so that their fur brushed together.

“So, she won’t listen,” Denise said as she stared at Violet through the glass door. “Typical human.”

“She’s gonna die, Denise. If I can’t find a way to save her, she’s gonna die.”

“You’ve tried everything, haven’t you?” Denise said. “That’s the only reason you’d be out here instead of in there.”

“There’s gotta be a way.”

“Sometimes, there just isn’t,” Denise said. “Sometimes, you’re just a pet and they’re just a human.”

“But…” Apollo’s face drooped and he slumped to the ground.

“I came over here to see if you wanted to come with me,” Denise said. “It’s about a four-day hike past the border, if we start now, we could get to Canada before the bombs start falling.”

“I can’t leave her,” Apollo said. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” Denise said, walking over and putting a paw on Apollo’s head. “I just thought I’d ask.”

“Take care, I hope you find a good life up there.”

“Thanks,” Denise said. “You were a good friend. You always let me play with your toys and listened when I complained about Owen. I hope…I hope I see you again.”

Apollo licked her face again and smiled. Denise patted his head one more time and then crept off into the night.

—   —

Two days later, Apollo still wracked his brain, trying to find a way to get through to Violet. By now, they wouldn’t be able to reach the border without the car, but even if they were to go on foot, they could still easily reach a place that would be less affected by the initial blasts.  He recalled a trip they had taken to a forest in Vermont, they didn’t pass a single city on the way there.

When the time for his nightly walk came, he resolved not to let Violet go home. The walk, the crossing of the street, the hike north, at this point, it was the only way, all others possibilities would require some sort of miracle. Violet approached him awkwardly. He could sense her reticence. He sniffed at her curiously. “It’s time for your walk,” she said. It was in her voice too. He licked her hand, thinking it might be a way to calm her, assure her that he was not trying to hurt her. He realized that, to her, he must have seemed crazy—all the barking and whining and atypical behavior.

She pulled her hand away and grabbed a new collar. It made the clinking rattle of metal against metal. Pronged spikes coated the inside of the chain necklace, each one looked longer and sharper than the last. Apollo backed away at first but quickly realized that this was not a negotiation. Violet pulled the collar around Apollo’s neck, the spikes rested ominously against his fur. He felt tense, but tried to understand, tried to remember that Violet loved him and would never hurt him for no reason. Five minutes into the walk, when the leash got caught awkwardly onto a bush, the collar closed in around his neck and the spikes punched into his skin. He yelped in surprise the first time. “I’m sorry,” Violet said in a stern voice. “I’m sorry, but this is for your own good.”

When they got to Washington and Homestead, Apollo stared out across the street for a moment. It was a four-day hike to the border, that’s what Denise had said. If they were going to try and reach a relatively safe place, it would have to happen today. He sat down at the intersection and tried to make eye contact with her, tried to somehow make her understand. “Oh, not this again,” Violet said. “Apollo, home is that way.” She tugged the chain lightly and reminded him of the prongs, ready to subdue him at any wrong move. He stared across the street, if only he could get them across those forty-eight feet of cement, they could figure out the rest after that. “Come on,” Violet said, tugging on the leash once more.

“There’s nothing for us back there,” Apollo barked at her. “The nukes are coming.”

Violet jerked back in a moment of panic. Apollo quieted. She crouched down and held his face between her hands. “I know this new collar is kinda lame, but you’re too strong. If you just ran around out here by yourself, you’d get hurt.”

“It’s not about the collar,” Apollo said as he covered his face with his paws and went from a whine into a bark. “If we stay, we die.”

“Alright, Apollo,” Violet said. “That’s enough, Bob’s Burgers is starting soon, we’re going home.” She pulled on the leash and the spikes stabbed into Apollo’s neck. Apollo sat down in protest. He had to get her to listen, there had to be a way. Violet frowned. “Apollo,” she said, “No. That’s enough. We’re going home.”

Apollo got up and attempted, once more, to walk across the road. Violet gave a tug on the leash, but he refused to yield. This was the only way to save her. He continued forward, letting the spikes burrow deeper into his neck.

“Apollo,” Violet said as she braced herself, leash secured in both hands. “I don’t want to do this.”

Apollo stifled a yelp as he felt the spikes break through his skin. Ignoring the pain, he continued to claw at the cement in front of him.

“Don’t make me do this,” she said.

Apollo shook his head. He refused to go back, there was only forward or death.

Violet stared at Apollo for a moment and then—in one swift motion—heaved the leash over her shoulder and jerked it down. All at once, the spikes tore into Apollo’s neck, forcing his  throat closed mid-breath and a searing pain tore into his body. Instinctively, he pulled away, but this only made the spike sink deeper into his flesh. Eventually, he lurched forward, caught a breath, and went into a coughing fit—harsh, hacking coughs. Violet, pulled at him again and Apollo collided with the asphalt—a blunted thump accented the fall. Violet crouched down and looked her dog in the eye. “We need to go home.

Apollo gazed back into Violet’s hazel eyes, and saw something that made him whine and back away from his owner. He told himself that she had no idea what was coming, she just wanted to go home and watch TV. But the sinking feeling refused to disappear and his body began to shake uncontrollably. He felt a wetness around his neck, as the pain resonated in a dull thump. Violet seemed to notice and reached a hand out, but before she could touch him, Apollo stood up and walked back home.

Apollo no longer had the energy to find his sulking spot, he collapsed the moment he hit the grass in the backyard. He played Violet’s actions over and over again. The leash went over her shoulders, the quick downward movement, then the spikes cut into him, choked him until he couldn’t breathe, bloodied his fur, then the look in her eyes. That look lingered in his mind and a thought rose to the surface of his mind—something that Hakim had said before the wedding.

The familiar flapping of wings pulled him out of his thoughts. He got up and walked over to the fence. “Hakim?” Apollo called out.

“Apollo,” Hakim’s sharp, strong voice rung out before the bird flew down and landed on the fence. “What are you still doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Apollo responded. “You and Polly—” The realization suddenly touched him on the shoulder and he felt shame in not thinking of it before.

Hakim nodded his head. “Clipped wings. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Didn’t anyone help? The other birds or…”

“The only person who offered was Denise,” Hakim said, “but she wasn’t strong enough to carry Polly on her back.”

“I…” Apollo began, but he stopped as a creeping feeling of guilt pulled his throat closed.

“No, Apollo,” Hakim said. “Do not offer something you cannot do. I may not agree with your love for Violet, but I understand the devotion.”

They were silent for a while and Apollo stared up at the clear night sky littered with small frozen dots, isolated by the black expanse. Suddenly, the moment dissolved amidst the sound of scrambling claws against hardwood. Apollo looked to the other side of the yard where he saw a familiar figure jump down from the fence.

“Apollo,” Denise called to him. “You fucking idiot, why are you still here?” Her voice was as outraged as it was unsurprised.

“I couldn’t save her,” Apollo said, motioning to Violet in the house. “I—"

“Forget her, we’re getting Polly and Owen and we’re leaving. Now.”

“Owen? Wait, no,” Apollo said. “I can’t leave Violet. She’s…she’s my—”

“You gave her enough chances, Apollo,” Denise said. “She wouldn’t listen. Now, you need to help me get all of our friends to safety.”

“But, I…I…”

“Apollo, I know what she means to you, I do. And I wanted to let you die with her, if that was truly what you wanted. But Polly, Hakim, and Owen—I can’t just let them die. But I can’t save them either, not by myself. I need you.” Apollo looked at Violet on the couch, so far away. Denise pawed him in the face. “You’re the only one who can save them.”

Apollo’s mind raced. His eyes darted from Denise to Hakim and then, he looked back into the house, at Violet. His neck ached and a slow, sharp pain rose up in his chest.

“Denise,” Hakim shook his head. “You can’t ask this of Apollo.”

“I am.”

A large black dog carrying a baby in his mouth, with a white cockatiel riding on his leather collar, being guided by a dark grey cat with black stripes and a gyrfalcon, trotted at a brisk pace towards the border that separated the state of New York and Canada. They reached the gravel-strewn banks of the Mohawk River just as the missiles hit their targets.

In that moment, too far from Canada, all sense of urgency seemed to fall away and they collectively turned to watch a giant molten marshmallows sprout up from the earth and turn the sky from a quiet blue to a prickly dark orange. The air rippled—the whispering echo of a boom carried through their ears—then there was silence, and Apollo thought of Violet.