Chapter 15
Alex tried to grab the dog closest to him. She twisted out of his grasp, her bark fast as a machine gun. His body was burning hot, freezing cold.
If the filthy thing ran off into the woods, they might never find Connor.
“No,” he said, stepping forward. “Let him go. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The bundle of filth and rags was small, barely past Alex’s chest. It had more than enough strength to hold his shrieking child just out of his reach.
“Please don’t hurt him. Can’t you hear how scared he is?”
The dogs circled, nipping at the creature grasping Connor, howling and barking. Alex smelled the stench of long-unwashed human, his own stinking sweat. He held up shaking hands.
“Get back! I’ll call them off if you let him go!”
The vaguely human shape took another step back. Fie
