Chapter 26

David drove in an easterly direction away from Kyiv. He wondered what would happen to Nikita and how she’d be treated. He found an English radio station and listened to it until it faded into static. He listened to sevral accounts about the assassination attempt on President Zelinsky.

His first stop for Lady and Shadow was Zyhtomyr. The few minutes of rest seemed more for him than the dogs, as all they did was sniff the ground. He continued to Rivne for another stop, making a sandwich and sharing some of the bread with them.

He sat on the end of the open hatch, the dogs on either side of him with those pretty brown eyes. “Hey, I’m supposed to be the one doing the training, not the other way around,” he laughed lightly. One or the other would give a short chirp, wanting a scrap of food from him.

The weather wasn’t kind to them, as they encountered moderate snowfall. The GTI didn’t have snow tires, so David had to be extra cautious while still trying to maintain a decent speed. After nearly spinning out, he thought he wasn’t in a rush to kill himself and the dogs, so he kept to a safe speed.

Lady grew restless and climbed onto the armrest, placed her paws on his shoulder, and licked his cheek. He guided her onto the passenger seat, and she put her paws on the window sill, looking at the passing countryside. David lowered the window a little, and she sniffed the cold, fresh air, snorting several times. Soon, Shadow joined her, and he smiled, taking frequent glances at them and patting their heads or smoothing a hand down their backs.

They seemed content to be closer to him, curling up together on the passenger seat.

Their next stop was on the outskirts of Lviv to refuel the car and let the dogs do their business. The GPS was quite accurate, but he didn’t want the gas gauge to dip very far below half, plus it made him stop for them to have a short rest. He could feel the throbbing of his leg and the timing of his pulse. His bruised chest also made him feel uncomfortable while driving for extended periods of time.

David noticed a truck stop outside of Uzhtorod, not far from the Hungarian border. It was slightly warmer but damp, with the dash temperature showing six degrees Celsius. He decided to stay in the parking lot for the night, which has a restaurant and restroom facilities on site.

He looked at the GPS and calculated he could drive all the way through Hungary and stay the next night in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.

David spent more bonding time with Lady and Shadow, walking them around the large lot. People would look at the dogs, with a few coming over and patting them. He took them back to the car, then fed them.

“Be back soon. I need something hot to eat.”