Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "Where in the world are we?!" Merle gasped from behind the black mesh of the rolling pet carrier in the back seat of the rental car. In the seat directly in front of them, Ruben inched slowly through afternoon traffic. "This isn't what I remember," Merle said. In fact, the modern city of Nazareth, with a human population of close to 70,000 people, bore almost no resemblance to the town of 400 Merle had grown up in. Although most likely the squirrel population remained about the same.

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As Merle marveled at the changes in the town of his youth, Pearl had managed to figure out an escape plan. If you've ever tried to keep squirrels from raiding a bird feeder, this won't come as a surprise. Squirrels are really good at solving problems, and Pearl was better than most. In his haste to get Merle and Pearl away from the little girl in the airport, Ruben had failed to zip the pet carrier completely closed. Pearl noticed some daylight peeking through and was able to squeeze one of her front paw toes into the gap between the top stop and the slider of the zipper. "Merle! Give me a push," she whispered. "I've almost got it."

"Got what?" Merle asked, distracted. "Our way out. Remember?" "Oh yeah! Sorry. Just reminiscing." Merle grabbed Pearl around the waist and pushed her forward. Pearl's toe also pushed forward, slowly unzipping the carrier until she created a gap large enough to slip through. Thankfully, the sounds of the city outside Ruben's open driver's-side window were loud enough to mask the sound of unzipping. Merle and Pearl, still dressed in their emotional support vests, crawled slowly out of the carrier, keeping an eye on Ruben. The car had picked up a little speed, but Merle spotted a stoplight up ahead. If they were going to escape, they needed to do it when the car was not moving. He nudged Pearl and pointed at the light. He then pointed to the automatic window opener on the rear passenger-side door. Merle had taken enough car rides with Michael to know how those worked. Pearl nodded, understanding the plan. The car rolled up to the red light, slowing down. Merle and Pearl tensed, ready to spring into action. Just then, Ruben turned to check on the squirrels. "AHHHHH!" Two squirrels and one human screamed at once, shocked to see each other eye to eye. Merle recovered first and dove for the electric window opener. "Jump!" he shouted, pressing the button.

Pearl squeezed through the opening window. Ruben reached to try and grab Merle as Pearl leaped from the window onto the sidewalk. "Get out, Merle!" she shouted. Merle made a mighty leap for the open window, avoiding Ruben's swatting hand. As Merle sailed through the opening, freedom milliseconds away, his emotional support vest snagged on the knob of the door lock. He snapped back and smacked the outside of the car door, hanging helplessly from his vest by his armpits. Ruben's hand reached out to grab Merle! "Merle!" Pearl shouted. "I'm really not a fan of this vest!" Merle yelled, trying desperately to wiggle free. Ruben stretched farther into the back seat to snag the escaping squirrel. However, Ruben had not brought the car to a complete stop. With his attention on Merle, he didn't notice a car in front of him. CRUNCH! The impact of the two cars colliding sent Merle sailing forward, screaming, out of his vest and head-over-tail into a street-side potted plant!