Sam turned around three times to get his tail lined up just right. Then he curled up and immediately fell asleep on the soft floor of the dark hall. Lily sat down on the soft ground, leaning against his warm body. Sleep was the last thing on her mind. It was too creepy in the pitch dark. Squinting her eyes as she searched for even a pinprick of light, Lily imagined that the color in front of her wasn’t really black; maybe it was navy blue, or maybe just the color of her fear. Lily heard Sam’s breathing which had fallen into a calm rhythm. She tried to follow the in and out swishing of her own breath to slow down her heart’s rapid thumping.
The stale air smelled like leftovers from an overstuffed airplane cabin. Lily’s mouth was dry and she swallowed the metallic taste in the back of her throat. She reached out her hands. She remembered the hall being narrow, so she should have felt a wall, but she only felt dead air. To explore further meant getting up and moving away from Sam. Even though death stalked from behind and beckoned them down the hall, Lily felt safe as long as she could feel Sam next to her.
Lily wondered if she had started to take Sam for granted. She absolutely trusted him to take care of her. Of course she trusted her parents, but they were 2000 years away. Besides, parents really don’t count. They had no choice but to protect and defend their children. Lily’s father had said that he would throw his body under a train if it was headed towards her. She had wondered why she might have been in front of a train, but she didn’t interrupt her dad to find out. Similarly, her mother had said that she would give her life to save Lily. She and Josh trusted each other too. None of this made any difference now since she was stuck in 4009.
So what does this feel like, these feelings she has towards Sam? He clearly is devoted to her. When he was injured in the battle with Mort, she had been terrified that she might lose Sam. She loved him but wasn’t sure how to relate to him since he was more than just a sweet, kind, big cute dog. Sam was more like a person than a dog. And it wasn’t just because he was telepathic, could change his shape and had numerous other super powers. She thought how her relationship with Sam was like her friendship with Josh. Maybe that’s it, she thought as she petted his silky mane, Sam and I are friends.
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What I especially like about this one is the way you really get inside Lily's thoughts. It's difficult to do this kind of reflective writing and keep it interesting, and you do a fabulous job with it here. You also never veer into sentimentality, which would have been very easy. I love also that Lily wondered why her father imagines her standing in front of a train - a perfect kid thought!
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