Uncollared

Jackson’s quilt was folded up and sitting at the foot of his bed. He had both of his pillows sitting on top. His laptop was in the duffle bag in the trunk of his car. The moment they’d been waiting for was finally happening and Jackson’s heart was caught in his throat.

So many things could happen. So many different outcomes were possible. His dad could realize they were gone too soon and call the cops before they were a safer distance away. They could be pulled over and a cop could notice the collars missing. The car could break down. He hated that they didn’t live closer to the border. “Wren? Are you ready?” Jackson was and wasn’t at the same time.

Jackson held the tool to remove the collar in his hand. Wren nodded and tilted his chin up. Jackson attached the tool on either side of the hidden catch of the collar. Five seconds later, the red light turned green, and the collar opened without a problem.

Wren’s skin w