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Betrayal

When that day started, it was like any other. There was no indication that anything could go wrong. It was warm, breezy and carefree. Carol played happily on the grass and the sun gently warmed her auburn curls. Penny, the family's nearly grown German Shepherd, watched vigilantly from behind the fence.

The dog had come into the family as a newly weaned pup, but even then she'd been protective of her new family. She watched cautiously as guests came and went. She kept strangers out of the house. Carol's parents had to put the dog outside whenever they planned to spank their daughter - Penny absolutely did not approve of such things. She was fiercely loyal and Daddy was pleased. 'God help anyone who lays a hand on my family with that dog around,' he'd said.

Under Penny's watchful eye, Carol gathered insects to feed to her pet frog. She'd developed a pattern of adopting hapless frogs, toads, caterpillars or spiders. Though the child couldn't keep such pets permanently, she loved and cared for them all the same. She planned to keep this pet for a few days before releasing it into the garden, confused but well-fed. Carol found a big juicy housefly dozing on the branch of her weeping willow tree. She carefully plucked it and ran back to the porch. She placed the fly inside the container and waited. The frog snapped up his snack and closed his eyes as if to sleep. Carol smiled and looked up from her container. When she did, her heart sank.

There at the foot of her steps were three of the worst boys she'd ever known. Her neighbour, Tony, called them bullies and had told her to ignore them. It was hard to do because they pushed, pinched, punched, pulled hair, called people bad names, stole your snacks and abused animals. Someone at school said that the youngest had bitten a cat once and Carol had seen them gut a toad while it was still alive. They kicked dogs, threw rocks at birds, pulled body parts off bugs and stepped on anything they considered small. Carol knew her pet was in danger and if she protected it, she would be hurt.

'Whatcha got there?' one of them asked in a snarky voice. Carol didn't answer. Maybe if she got away they wouldn't punch her like they had when she had protected Tony's puppy. That day she'd been in the back yard. She'd spied them putting something in the water dish; so she climbed her back fence and tipped the bowl over before the pup could drink it. As she started home they cornered her and punched her several times in the stomach before

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