Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

from Buster getting seen or eaten?”
    “Someone just puts Buster down on his leash, lets him bark his head off for a while, and then picks him up and runs away.”
    “Depending on what time of day it is, that could work,” I said, nodding appreciatively at Peter’s plan, feeling only a little guilty about putting Buster’s fuzzy butt in danger. “The only issue is getting him to stop barking. He’ll bark as the person tries to run away, and they’d be totally out in the open and vulnerable.”
    “Not if you used some meat,” said Trip.
    “Meat?” I asked, totally confused.
    “Buster likes snake meat more than anything. If you shove a piece of that stuff in his face, he’ll stop barking to eat it. He even quits licking to eat snake.”
    Everyone laughed.
    “Well, that must be some pretty powerful stuff,” I said, trying not to be too shocked over the fact that Trip knew my dog-partner better than I did. I really hadn’t been paying enough attention to either one of them.
    “Okay, so anyone have any other ideas about dog distraction?”
    “Poison,” said Winky, matter-of-factly.
    I shook my head at her, smiling slightly. “Damn, Winky.”
    She shrugged. “What? It’s us or them, right? I pick us . Besides, they have the taste for human meat themselves. Canner dogs can’t be allowed to live any more than their canner owners.”
    “If we kill their dogs, we might as well hang up a sign that says we’re coming. We can’t be that obvious,” said Coli, her tone making it clear she thought Winky was an idiot.
    “Well, I’m poisoning them when we go in for the search and destroy part of the mission,” said Winky, her chin jutting out.
    “Okay,” I said, using my best peacemaking voice, “so Winky’s going to off the killer dogs when it’s go-time. Who’s going to carry Buster to safety, with a pocketful of juicy snake meat?” I scanned the crowd, but no one responded. Eyes darted around, everyone looking to the other for an answer.
    Peter sighed. “I’ll do it. But I’m not putting any snake meat in my pocket. Someone will have to give me a baggie or something.”
    I shook my head. “No. No way. You’re not going.”
    “Why not?” he said indignantly. “Are you saying I can’t help rescue those kids? Because you aren’t the boss of me, Bryn. I do what I want.”
    I tried not to smile. He looked so cute when he was mad, his hair sticking out in all directions, his twiggy arms jutting out at his sides as he rested his hands on his hips.
    “I know you want to go, but you didn’t even enter the fight competition. And we all know it’s because you would have lost. Badly.” I didn’t mean to insult him, but even he knew it was the truth. There was no point in dancing around the issue.
    “I’m not planning on fighting. I’m planning on causing a distraction and sprinting my butt off. I’m fully capable of running scared. I’ve done it many times in my life.”
    That earned him a few laughs.
    I looked at Kowi and Trip. “What do you guys think?”
    Trip shrugged. “If he wants to put his ass on the line, let him. We are.”
    Peter nodded his approval, refusing to look at me.
    “I think we need to consider how anyone might slow us down or make us more vulnerable,” said Kowi in a low tone. It seemed like he was trying not to insult Peter.
    “I can take care of myself,” said Peter. “And if you need to, you can leave me behind.”
    I could practically see up his nose into his brain, his chin was so high in the air. “Okay, fine. Go with us if you want. But don’t call me to come in and save your scrawny butt if you get into trouble,” I said, a little irritated that he was going. I could see the value in it, but I also knew how easy he’d be to kill.
    “I know you say that out of love, Bryn, so I’m going to let it go,” said Peter, now looking down his nose at me. He’d gone from miffed martyr to scolding librarian in a flash.
    I stuck my tongue out at him and then looked away. I caught Bodo’s eye and he winked at me. Knowing Bodo would probably stay behind to save Peter if he were in trouble made me feel better about letting him go. With Bodo watching over him, he had a much better chance of making it back to the swamp, and I could hardly block him from going out of concern for his safety and not do the same for everyone else. We were all going to be in danger, because no matter how good we were at fighting, none of it could stop a well-aimed bullet. I made