Rescue Heroes Of Love

She turned around, but the fog made the trail look new. The bench was hard to see now. Lily looked left, then right. Her tail drooped.

“I thought I knew this park.”

A small bird chirped from a nearby branch. Lily listened to the sound. She also listened for voices, hoofbeats, or the soft steps of other rescue heroes.

“Hello?” she called. “Is anyone there?”

Only the pond answered with a gentle lap, lap, lap.

The siren sounded again, but now it came from behind her.

Lily took one step back and bumped into a tree. Her rescue bag swung around and tapped her side.

“Oof.”

She sat down for a moment. The fog felt cool on her nose. She could hear her own breathing, but she was safe. She placed one paw over her rescue bag.

“Jesus loves me,” she said softly. “I can ask for help.”

Lily lifted her rescue whistle and blew three short notes.

“Peep! Peep! Peep!”

At first, nothing happened. Then a bright voice called through the fog.

“Lily? Is that you?”

“Yes!” Lily called back. “I heard the rescue siren, but I cannot find the place.”

“We are coming!”

The sound of quick hoofbeats tapped along the trail. A warm yellow light appeared in the fog. It came from a small lantern carried by Nora, a lavender My Little Pony. Beside her walked Toby, a blue Care Bear with a round rescue pack.

Nora’s purple mane was tied back with a pink ribbon. Toby’s rescue pack had a large heart on it.

“Thank goodness we found you,” Nora said. “Are you all right?”

“I am safe,” Lily replied. “But the siren keeps moving. I do not know where the call is.”

Toby held up his paw. “Let us listen together.”

The three friends stood very still. The fog brushed against their faces. Somewhere near the pond, a bell chimed.

Then the siren cried again.

“Wooo-ooo!”

This time, all three heard it from the same direction.

“The old trail bridge,” said Nora.

Lily looked into the white fog. “Can we get there?”

“We can, one careful step at a time,” Toby said. “God guides us when we ask.”

Lily smiled. She was glad not to be alone. Nora held the lantern high, and Toby checked the path with a long walking stick. Lily walked between them, carrying her rescue bag.

The trail curved beside the pond. Water dripped from the reeds. A frog gave a quiet croak, and the fog made the trees look tall and soft.

“Watch the stones,” Nora said.

Lily placed her paw on a flat stone. It wobbled.

“Oh!”

Toby quickly placed his paw beside hers. “I have you.”

Lily stepped onto the next stone. “Thank you.”

They continued. The siren grew louder, but the fog grew thicker too. It covered the lower part of the old bridge. Lily could see only the first few wooden boards.

A little wooden sign leaned beside the trail.

OLD TRAIL BRIDGE, it said.

Nora lowered the lantern. “The sign says the bridge is closed for cleaning.”

Lily looked at the bridge. A soft blue light blinked on the other side. The rescue siren came from there.

“Someone may be waiting across the bridge,” Lily said.

Toby studied the boards. “We should not cross until we know it is safe.”

Lily felt a strong wish to rush ahead. Someone needed help. But Nora gently touched Lily’s shoulder with her nose.

“Being a rescue hero means caring for everyone,” Nora said. “That includes us.”

Lily nodded. She took a slow breath. “Then we need another way.”

Toby opened his rescue pack and pulled out a small hand bell. He rang it once.

Ding.

A second bell answered from deeper in the fog.

Ding.

“That is our team signal,” Toby said. “The Care Bears and My Little Ponys are nearby.”

Nora called, “Rescue team, follow the bells!”

Soon, hoofbeats and soft footsteps came from the trail behind them. More lanterns glowed through the mist. The rescue team had heard the siren too.

Lily felt relief spread through her chest. The park no longer seemed so empty.

She turned back toward the bridge. “The call is still across there. We need to see what is happening.”

Toby pointed toward a narrow path beside the reeds. “There may be a way around the bridge.”

The path was covered with tall grass. It bent close to the pond, where the ground was damp and soft. Nora tested it with one hoof.

“It is muddy,” she said, “but it looks firm near the fence.”

Lily followed the lantern light. Mud pressed between her toes. The smell of wet earth rose around her. She kept her eyes on Nora’s hoofprints and Toby’s pawprints.

“Wooo-ooo!”

The siren sounded very close now.

“There!” Lily cried.

They reached the end of the path. The fog opened just a little, revealing a small rescue zone beside the pond. Bright ribbons marked the safe area. A red rescue wagon stood near the reeds, its lights shining through the mist.

But no one was inside the wagon.

Lily looked around. A tiny backpack lay near the pond. A yellow rain hat rested beside it. A trail map had been blown into the grass.

“Someone was here,” Nora said.

Toby picked up the map. “The wind may have carried it from the trail table.”

Lily heard a small sound.

“Hello?” she called. “We are rescue heroes. You are safe with us.”

From behind a thick bush came a soft sniffle.

“I am here,” a little voice answered. “I cannot find my way back.”

Lily, Nora, and Toby looked at one another. The fog shifted around the rescue zone, and the siren gave another bright call.

“Wooo-ooo!”

Lily held her rescue bag close and stepped toward the bush. She could see a small shape curled beside the reeds. A tiny Care Bear was there, holding one wet paw over a missing trail badge.

“I found you,” Lily said gently. “We will help you.”

The little Care Bear looked up. “But my friend is still on the other side of the fog. I heard the siren, and then we got separated.”

Lily glanced toward the pond. The fog hid the bridge, the far trail, and everything beyond it.

The rescue team had reached the scene, but the call was bigger than Lily first thought. Someone still needed to be found.

Nora lifted her lantern. Toby opened his pack. Lily stood beside them, steady and ready.

“God is with us,” Lily said. “We will search with love.”

Together, the rescue heroes began to make a safe plan as the siren echoed over Cloudy Park.

End of chapter one. 39 more chapters in the full book.