My Short Short for the Day

 “Stop Butters!  Come back!”  Alice sprinted after her little Corgi.  He sure could run fast when he wanted to.  “Butters!”

Butters raced across the wet sand.  The waves tumbled onto shore and occasionally reached his little feet as they kicked up sand and spray.  His tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his eyes twinkled.  He smelled so many things.  The salty, ocean air.  The damp, earthy sand.  The…the…he wasn’t sure what that smell was, so he was racing to find out.  He could hear Alice following him, so he raced on.  He must know what that new smell was.

“Butters!”  Alice knew it was futile to yell but did it anyway.  She tried to speed up, but he was just too fast to catch.

Butters stopped suddenly.  The wind had shifted and so did the smell.  Where was it coming from?  He turned his head, sniffing the air.  Searching for the smell.  Ah, there it is.  He bolted towards the cliffs.

“Oh, Butters.”  Alice had almost caught him.  She bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.  Well, all this running should wear him out at least.  Alice straightened and walked towards the cliffs.

Butters had reached a pile of seaweed hanging over some rocks.  He sniffed the rocks and seaweed. The smell was coming from in there.  He saw the smell and barked.  He stared at the smell and kept barking.

Alice started to run as soon as Butters barked.  She quickly reached him and grabbed his collar to pull him back.

 “What did you find, boy?”  She scratched his ears and peered down at the seaweed.

Butters struggled against her hold and kept barking.  Alice knelt and reached for the seaweed.  Butters used his head to shove her hand away.

“What is it Butters?”  Alice frowned at the Corgi.  He was acting weird.

This time, Alice leaned towards the seaweed without reaching out towards it.  Butters fidgeted but stopped barking.  She stared at the seaweed and slowly something started to come into view.  She gasped and fell back.  Butters licked her face reassuringly then moved back to face the seaweed, as if guarding what was there.

Alice pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“We’ve found something on the beach.”  Alice felt ice run through her veins.