Unfortunately, Jenny's dogs weren't the only casualties of late. There were reports of other animals getting torn apart - everything from the neighborhood dogs to deer; their carcasses were found in pieces, their insides spilled or missing altogether. Everyone, including Dahlia, figured it was either a bear or a mountain lion or something mundane like that. Besides, there'd been no attacks on humans yet, so while the reports said to be cautious, they insisted that no one should panic. That wasn't as easy for the Parry family, seeing as how they had more than one dog get mauled to death.
Dahlia wasn't much of an animal person to begin with, but she wasn't heartless. She looked sympathetically at Jenny, who was clearly taking this one hard on the chin, and then looked back at the empty kennel. "Maybe it was fast?" she offered, a hand finding its place at the slight curve of Jenny's lower back. Even with the added protection of Jason's letterman jacket, the autumn chill had her shivering. "There probably wasn't even any pain." Dahlia didn't know if there was or not, obviously, but it seemed like a good lie to tell, especially since Jenny was so distraught.
They stood there for longer than Dahlia would have liked. The more she thought about it, the sadder she become. Their dogs were sweet and happy, always prepared to meet a new person with a wagging tail and a drooping tongue, and they didn't deserve to be cornered and eaten alive. That's so fucked, she thought to herself, turning to answer Jenny's question. She didn't get the chance to say much of anything before the shorter blonde had her wrapped in a tight, fierce hug, and Dahlia didn't hesitate to return the gesture. Out of the two of them, Jenny was definitely the more sensitive, a trait the brunette had grown to both love and hate over the years. On one hand, she adored how sweet and attentive Jenny was. On the other, Dahlia's big mouth often got her in trouble with those sensitive feelings without even meaning to.
"Hey, c'mon," she urged softly, a hand running through the soft waves of blonde, silk-like hair. "Let's get outta here." They didn't have any plans to go anywhere in particular, and even if they did, Dahlia figured Jenny wouldn't feel like doing much of anything tonight. "We'll go driving or something." She doubted a drive would clear Jenny's head from visions of a sweet, innocent dog getting ripped to shreds, but it was a start. Better than standing here and looking at the kennels, at least. Gently, she tugged on Jenny's hand and led her to the Cadillac. A few minutes later, and they were coasting down the two lane highway, nothing but darkness and curtains of thick, dense woods on either side of them. It was a route they'd taken hundreds, maybe thousands, of times.
There was a low buzzing in the cup holder, where she always kept her phone, and she quickly hit the silence button on the side. It was Jason, no doubt, and though she liked to think of herself as an excellent girlfriend, her best friend (with benefits) needed her right now. Besides, Jason was probably hammered by now and wouldn't have anything important to say between the slurs. "How are your mom and sister handling this?" Their dad was a little more level headed when it came to such things, so she figured he was the one trying to keep his cool. "Dumb question, sorry."