Waterway *CHAPTER 2 UP*

Prologue 
Sarah swirled around in the clear water. She couldn't smell the scent of her owner, or the various scents of the other dogs that lived with her. Not even Bear, and last she remembered, he had been sitting next to her. He always sat next to her. Where was he? All she knew was that the water had come suddenly, and she had to get out. "Save me!" she yelped. But no one could hear her. Beside her, the oldest dog of her pack, Paperback, was struggling to swim and paddle. He was gagging and choking up water. She paddled over quickly, and put his head on top of hers. It pulled her head down, but she did get plenty of breaths. Enough not to drown, at least. She lead him to a window. There was no glass or screen on it. The water must have somehow pushed it out with strength. But thanks to this, she may be able to save some of the dogs and her owner. She knew she would be able to save Paperback, at least. Paperback's lean body seemed lifeless, but then she saw the slight up and down of his chest. She got a grip of the shingles and pulled Paperback by the scruff of his neck. He seemed so much heavier. She managed to pull him up to a window, which her owner must have opened. The screen was still on it, though. She pushed her paw, with made a rip through the window screen. She pulled Paperback through this. Next time, she would swim up the stairs. Paperback flickered his eyes, and stood up. It was if he had just woken up from a long slumber. She tore her eyes from Paperback, and went into the hallway. Water had spilled on the staircase. She bumped into a dog. It was...Bear? It was. Bear's long, golden hair stood out like a green balloon in a bunch of blue ones. The smallest of the dogs, Jade, was dragged up by him. "My pups? Where are my pups?" she grieved. Jade had given birth only a month ago, and her pups certainly had no idea how to swim, as Jade had no clue how to either. Without giving it a second thought, Sarah plunged into the water. She needed to find the pups! "Bandit! Silver!" she cried out the puppies' names.  She saw the brown and gray shapes, trying to float. It was the pups, for sure. For a second, one of the Silver's head went under, but it popped back up. "Climb on!" Sarah said, and puppies gripped and went onto her back. Sarah swam back to the staircase, where Paperback was sitting, the fourteen year-old greyhound wanting some rest after the flood. Jade was running around frantically. Sarah climbed, and the puppies both jumped off her back. Silver landed perfectly, but Bandit missed and fell in through the gaps. "No!" Jade panicked and jumped in. Sarah went in. Now she had two dogs to save. Bandit was closer. She instinctively went to
him first. He climbed on her back once more, and then Sarah let him step through the gaps in the railing. Jade was paddling and went down. She bobbed up, but the current was so strong, and it took her away. No one knew where she went. 
 Chapter 1
Silver and Bandit wailed. Sarah wasn't too happy either. If Jade was gone, what would the pups use to take care of them? How would the rest of the pack get food? Some fish had spilled in the house. Perhaps they could fish. Sarah knew how to this. Bear did too, and some of the other dogs as well. Lady, who had already been upstairs when the flood happened, was soon to have pups. But Silver and Bandit would be weaned by then. They were nearly fully weaned, but they still needed a mother. To keep them warm.  To teach them everything. She probably wouldn't be able to do it, as she'd be stuck fishing. "Who's going to keep them?" Bear asked. Sarah shrugged. Lady came up. Her belly swelled. Not too much, it was just bigger. "Perhaps we should all alternate. Sarah will have the least of the shift, as she'll be hunting, and I'll have the most of it, since I'm expecting pups soon. I'll take the shift right now. Even Paperback may take a shift, since he doesn't know what else to do. He can keep a pup warm, can't he?" 
Sarah nodded, and slipped into the water. The bigger fish would be in the center. The ones that could feed their pack of six. Some of the neighborhood dogs had to slip upstairs, since the house was huge, with three what her owner called "stories". Only the first story wasn't safe for the rest. She looked around. Some tables floated up, with dogs scrambling on and off. Some dogs went up the staircase, others went to hunt. Bear led them up the stairs. Sarah saw a bass. Why a bass, she wondered. With her doubts, she dove under and bit the fish. The dogs must have smelled the fresh spill of blood, and they followed Sarah. Once she got up stairs, she dropped the fish in a room with a tile floor. Her owner often referred to it as a bathroom. Sarah's kill stained the tiles with blood. "Do not touch this fish until I get more." she told the pups. As a result, she ordered one of the neighborhood dogs, named Max, to guard it. She slunk back into the now nicknamed "Lake House", and Bear followed close behind. "Why do you seem so pushy lately?" 
"Well, our owner is nowhere to be found, and we have barely a food supply. A few fish is a meal, not a store." she mumbled. She dove under and brought up a trout. 
"Looks like the lake flooded, or there wouldn't be so much river fish." Bear went down, and came up with a very small trout as well. It would make a good meal for a small litter of pups. 
Sarah nodded, but her reality was much worse: the dam had broken. Sarah knew very clearly what a dam was, and her owner talked about it often. She wished she could hear her owner's gentle whisper, the sound of a bag of treats, the long, blond hair and perfectly matched eyelashes of the mid-aged owner. Her scent still lingered upon the railing and walls. Sarah realized she was getting distracted. She could have easily dropped her fish. Bear laughed, dropping his fish. A small dog jumped in, but missed. "It'll fatten up the bass." Bear said, and he swam to the stairs again. A lake in my house. In my owner's house. Sarah felt thankful that the flood had swept many fish in the river, or they would be starving in a few days and could even die. Now the food supply grew a bit, large enough for the pups, mothers, older dogs, and some hunters could eat. Sarah wouldn't though. Her mind was on one thing: escape.
Chapter 2
Treehouses. Since flooding of the river and feet of snow were common, they were in between each of  the houses, so that they could meet in these houses or go there for supplies. Normally, these floods would cleared up in the matter of the few hours. This flood water had been here for a month. Luckily, the dogs had been able to break the windows one by one. Sarah groaned at the bloody paws that had to be wrapped in blankets and leaves. She hated the sight of blood.
Now, because of the tree houses, there was even more rooms. The tree houses were just a small portion. Not one house had a single floor, because these treehouses were only able to be accessed on the second floor. Bear had requested a room with Sarah, and Sarah only. Sarah wouldn't mind if a pup had to come into the tree house. Apparently, there were so many dogs, one of Lady and her pups had to move in to the room next to them, shared with three other dogs. Sarah would allow them to occasionally come into the tree house, when needed. But the treehouse they lived in was special. It had escape routes to every place in the neighborhood. It also had a wonderful view of the stars, which is probably why Bear had chosen it.
When she moved into the treehouse, it felt strange. It was night, and the bridge below it had large, plastic tubes to protect the humans. The window space in the treehouse was empty, but high, so any pups that entered would not be able to jump out. This was essential for Lady's current and future pups.
But, the bridges were no longer sturdy. Some boards and planks were missing from it, and if you walked on it, it creaked. Yet it was the only way to have enough room for the dogs of the neighborhood. Barely any cats lived in the town, only one or two, and they were on the other side of the flooded town.
Sarah looked around. The sun was setting at last. About time too, she thought. Bear came, his golden fur bouncy, over to the treehouse, each pawstep another creak. Sarah smiled. Bear rested his head on top of hers. But, this peaceful moment did not last long.
"Leo!" Sarah raised her head suddenly as a scream of terror came from where Lady slept. One of Lady's pups had tread on the bridge. The plank had fallen, leaving on rope, which the pup was trying bite as hard as
he could, but he was slipping. Sarah, panic-stricken, leaped after the pup, not realizing that the rope could not support both of them. She caught the rope, but her eyes widened with fear as she saw the rope start the break off, strand by strand. And suddenly, it broke...
Sarah felt a firm grasp on her scruff. Just barely, Bear had saved her, and the pup.He lifted her and Leo up. Sarah blushed. "Thanks."
"Your welcome, but it was brave of you to leap to save that pup." Bear said kindly.
"It wasn't brave. It was stupid. I didn't think for a second." Sarah said, clearly embarrassed, but Bear's eyes glowed with affection, stronger than the ones of her wolf mother's before she had died saving them. The memories of living in the forest were coming back to her...
She shook the thought out of her head, grateful her father had brought her here. Or else she wouldn't have found Bear.
"I'm hungry!" a shout interrupted the moment.
"That's Paperback." Sarah said. "I'll get it. You rest."
"Okay." Bear said, walking to the treehouse. Sarah picked up a fish and dragged it to Paperback.