Matt didn’t know how far the apartment he shared with Vic was from the spot on Hermitage where he ran off the road, but after an hour or two, he felt as if he’d been walking forever. The trees had fallen away from the yellow brick road, opening up the view as soft grasses stretched out toward the horizon. The road cut straight through the landscape, and each time he crested a small rise, he hoped he might be able to see his destination in the distance—he had a vivid memory of Dorothy spotting the Emerald City from afar—but it never appeared.
Most of the time, Sadie kept at his heel. Matt hadn’t thought to retrieve her leash from the car before starting out, but there seemed little danger in her occasional forays off the road. Unlike him, the dog didn’t seem bothered by the walk, and raced
