When Alec panics over unemployment after college, Leif proposes a solution: finding a rock on a hiking path said to bring good fortune. 

Today’s story is “A Rock Among Millions” by Skunkbomb, who edited Give Yourself a Hand, a furry erotic anthology through Fanged Fiction, and has stories published in various editions of ROAR, FANG, and CLAW through FurPlanet, and you can find more of his stories on FurAffinity.

Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.

You’re listening to The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

and Today’s story is

“A Rock Among Millions”

by Skunkbomb, who edited Give Yourself a Hand,

a furry erotic anthology through Fanged Fiction,

and has stories published in various editions of ROAR,

FANG, and CLAW through FurPlanet,

and you can find more of his stories on FurAffinity.

“A Rock Among Millions”

by Skunkbomb I woke up to a text from my best friend saying, “Hiking.

You and me. DO IT.”

After sending out resumes all summer and getting no reply,

I figured I could be an outdoor cat for an afternoon.

Maybe some fresh air would clear my head or,

at the very least, distract me from my unemployment.

“Dude, this park is awesome,”

Leif said as he pulled into the parking lot of Oak Lake Park.

His tail thumped against his seat

as he pointed to the gathering of trees at the base of a rocky cliff.

A river curved its way to an oval lake.

“And we’re going to the top.”

I shielded my eyes from the sun’s glare.

“I thought we were just going to take a lap around the lake or something.”

The collie shook his head.

“We have to go to the top, Alec.

There’s this rock up there—” “There

are rocks all over this park.”

“No, but for real, there’s this rock,”

Leif said, holding his paws out wide.

“Huge rock. Legend says that whoever touches it gets good fortune.”

He grabbed my arms and leaned in closer to me.

He spoke to me in a whisper full of Taco Bell-y dog breath.

“And we’re gonna touch it.”

I fought to keep my claws from poking out.

Leif’s my best friend,

but his canine enthusiasm was a little overbearing.

“Rocks don’t have magic powers.” “Come

on, where’s your sense of adventure, mister

investigative reporter tabby?”

Leif had dubbed me that ever since I picked Journalism before I started my freshman year.

I don’t want to be the guy writing articles about a new grocery store opening.

I want to write about the unfair wages and hours the grocery stores give their employees.

“Can you at least get a little psyched for me?”

Leif said as we climbed out of the car.

“I’ve got a week of freedom before I start that insurance job.

By the way, how’d that interview go for you on Friday?”

“I woke up to an email saying the position was actually an internship,” I said.

It was getting harder not to extend my claws.

“They still offered me a spot, but I’ve done internships all through college.

I should at least have the experience for an entry-level position, right?”

Leif’s ears flattened.

“Shit, sorry bro. Something will pop up at some point.

Hey, maybe once you touch the rock, you’ll get that dream job.”

“Let’s just walk, okay?”

I said. I looked up at the signed with arrows pointing toward all the different paths.

“Which one of these leads up?” #

Once we entered the woodsy part of the trail, the shade provided enough protection to keep Leif from panting too much.

“Try not to mark any of the trees,” I said.

“That was one time!” Leif whined.

“Twice.” “Whatever!” Rocks jutted out of the ground,

so we had to step across them.

Well, Leif did. I had more of a graceful bounce.

Leif found a group of rocks overlooking the lake,

and he lay back against one like a lawn chair.

“Dude,” Leif said, placing his paws behind his head.

“Take my picture!” As he shifted his tail into the sunnier part of the rock,

he said, “Tag your sister in this. Show her

what she’s missing.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Never happening.”

“She still playing college soccer?”

I nodded. “Apparently some scout for the Olympic team watched their practice last week.”

“And your brother?”

Leif asked. “Is he still boring?”

“Kinda,” I said. “But he’s doing accounting for some big business.”

“Whatever it was, it gave him a sweet company car,” Leif said,

grasping the air in front of him like a steering wheel.

“I saw those pics online.”

I glanced at a shaggy caterpillar inching across the stone next to me.

“It’s not a company car. He bought that.”

It was if my brother had been handed the job as he walked off the stage with his diploma.

Actually, it was like half of his graduating class was already wearing business suits under their graduation gowns.

Had I missed some sort of requirement in college?

I took all the right classes,

but here I was walking to a park in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.

“This rock is actually super uncomfortable,” Leif said,

his smile faltering.

“Mind if we speed things up?”

I took out my phone and snapped a couple of quick shots of him.

“Okay, now give me ‘paint me like one of your French girls’.”

Leif slipped a finger between his belt and shorts.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,

but can you take the pic again, but with me naked?”

I lowered my phone.

“What the hell kind of way am I suppose to take a question like that?”

“You take it as ‘yes, Leif. I’d love to help you score a date with an outdoors-y artistic nude pic,”

Leif said. “You sure you don’t want to send it to your sister?”

“She has a boyfriend,”

I told him as I slipped my phone into my pocket.

“She’s had one for two years now.

Also, if you take your pants off, you’ll get bug bites on your ass.”

Leif thankfully took his paw away from his half-loosened belt

and stood up. “Somebody sounds bitter.

You get laid yet?”

“I’m focused on job searching,”

I grumbled. “Haven’t you been offered, like, three jobs since the summer started?”

“The right job.” Leif scratched his ear.

“If someone shows up offering you a job,

it’s the right job. Look

at my insurance job.

I wasn’t looking to work in insurance, but then I got the offer.

Seriously though,

do I look like the kind of guy who would sell insurance?”

I shrugged. “You’re friendly and you’re a smooth talker.

You could do it. Plus, ‘tail

insurance’ sounds just innuendo-y enough for your liking.”

“It’s totally real,

man,” Leif said. “You try walking around without a tail and see how many times you fall flat on your ass.”

As if to make a point,

he stood on one leg at the tip of another rock.

“Lots of pop stars and athletes get it.

Who knows, maybe I’ll do the insurance plan on some dog’s tail and he’ll get me a part in his next movie.”

“Looks like you’ve got it all figured out,” I said,

my paws shoved into my pockets.

I fell behind him so Leif wouldn’t see me scowl,

but he slowed to match my pace.

“Yeah, but I have to wear a suit,”

Leif said, wrinkling his muzzle.

“Don’t get me wrong, going classy like James Bond every now and then is cool,

but the whole week?” He shoved a hanging tree branch out of the way.

“And I have to work Saturdays,

dude. Saturdays! Okay, only, like, every other Saturday, but still!

Who starts the weekend by thinking, ‘Hey, let’s buy an insurance policy’?”

I curled my tail closer around my legs,

the fur standing on end.

“We’ve been walking for an hour.

How much longer?” “I’ll check the map,”

Leif said as he pulled out his phone.

I looked over his shoulder.

“Which path is this?”

“The Sunset Path,” Leif said.

The Sunset Path arced loosely until making a tight circle around the lake and back to the visitor center.

“This isn’t anywhere near the top of the park!”

“Oh shit!” Leif said, a hint of a laugh in his voice.

“I thought this was called “Sunset Path” because people looked out at the sunset at the top,

not at the lake. My bad!”

I glimpsed at the sinking sun.

“Whatever. Let’s just head back.”

“No way!” Leif said,

shoving his phone into his pocket.

“We have to get to the top!”

“But the park closes at dark,” I said,

already making my way back.

“Hold on!” Leif said, grabbing my arm.

He scanned the surroundings, sniffing the air like he could smell a shortcut.

“The rock’s not that far from here.

It’ll be a half hour tops to get there and that long to go back down.”

He loosened his grip. “Come

on. What’s another hour for an adventure?

We can find this rock.”

I folded my arms and turned back to him.

“It’s just a stupid rock.

What’s so important about it?

“You’re in a bad place, Alec,” Leif said.

“You get rejected enough and you’ll be all ‘why bother?’

Well, even if this rock isn’t magical or whatever,

I’m not leaving until we’ve both touched it.

Once we’ve touched that rock, we’ve succeeded.

If we keep going,

we haven’t failed.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

His tail wagged. It was like Leif was waiting for a treat.

“Fine.” # The overhanging trees blocked out the last bits of light the moon provided,

and a cricket chorus played on.

My thighs ached. The next pebble I stepped on, I was going to chuck it as far as I could.

“You’re sure we’re almost there?”

After a few seconds, Leif said,

“Pretty sure.” He panted,

a bit of saliva dripping off the tip of his tongue.

I pulled out my phone.

“If you won’t check the map, I will.”

“Come on, have some faith in my navigation skills.”

“Well excuse me for wanting to know where I’m going,”

I said. “Blind faith doesn’t always cut it.

The least you could do to help is pull up your flashlight app.”

“Checking the map earlier drained my battery,” Leif said.

“My bad.” “Okay, seriously,”

I said as I stopped. “Leif,

it’s dark, and we can barely see where we’re going.”

“But you’re a cat,” Leif said.

“Don’t you have night vision or something?”

“That’s not the point,”

I hissed. “Let’s—” “Dude.”

“What?” “Between those two trees,”

Leif said. He wasn’t smiling,

but the swishing of his tail spoke for him.

“What’s that look like?”

I squinted. There was certainly something with a thing sticking out of it.

Still, it was more than what I’d seen during our search.

Leif jabbed my shoulder, and we raced over to the something.

When we got there, I held up my phone and turned the flashlight app on.

A rectangular sign pointing downward diagonally read,

“Visitor Center: 1.5 miles.”

“I swore it was here,”

Leif said, looking around.

“I’m leaving,” I said, turning around.

“It has to be nearby,”

Leif said. “I bet we find it in five minutes. No, less than five minutes.

Then we can head back down.”

“No, here’s what’s going to happen,”

I said, my claws sliding out.

“I’m going back down,

I’m getting in my car, and whether or not you’re with me, I’m leaving.”

“Alec, don’t be like that.”

He put his paw on me, but I swatted it away.

“Look, this was fun at first, but I’m not sticking around to get another bug bite so you can touch a rock because it’s somehow more special

than the million other rocks here!”

“It brings good fortune,”

Leif growled. “Why the hell do you need good fortune?”

I said. “Your family’s loaded, you coasted your way through high school, still managed to get into a good college, and you’re starting a job soon.”

Leif shoved his face close to mine.

“What, you think once you’ve got money and a job that everything’s going to be fine?”

I wrinkled my nose at his dog breath.

“That does seem like the winning combination.”

“It’s not that simple!”

Leif barked, grabbing the front of my shirt.

“Well excuse me,” I scoffed, putting my paws up.

“You make it look easy. Now let go!”

It was supposed to be a push, but it surprised me how much strength I put into it.

The front of my shirt tore

and Leif staggered back.

Then he wasn’t there. “L

-Leif?” I called. I stepped forward and almost tumbled over the edge of the path.

I slipped into a crouch,

staring into the black beneath me.

“Leif!” Only crickets answered.

I grabbed my phone to pull up the flashlight app.

As I pulled the phone out of my pocket, it slipped from my hand

and was swallowed by a darkness my sight couldn’t penetrate.

I dug my fingers into the dirt

and opened my mouth,

but my throat was too tight.

Even my voice was gone.

I wondered what it’d be like covering a story like this and what the headline in tomorrow’s paper would read.

“Local Resident Kills Friend in Petty Argument Over Rock.”

I could see myself in handcuffs being led to an awaiting patrol car

and the reporters swarming me, asking me why I did it.

I wouldn’t give them a sensational story,

just the truth. I killed my best friend because I was an idiot who was scared of my future or lack of one.

“Asshole!” “Leif?” I said, my voice high and thick.

His voice was loud and blessedly close.

I slipped over the edge of the path,

hanging by my paws, and let go.

I fell into a crouch about a yard down.

Leif lay on his back on an earthy jut of land

hanging from the path.

I hopped down and knelt by his side.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it,

I swear! I’m going to pick you up and carry you back down.

I might drop you, but that’s because I don’t have any muscles.”

“Shut up,” Leif said,

his chest heaving.

“Just the wind … knocked out of me.”

I reached out, but he shook his head.

“Just give me … a few minutes …

to catch my breath.”

It’s awkward standing over someone, so I lay down next to him.

If a park ranger found us, it’d look like we were chilling and I didn’t just almost murder my best friend.

On this spit of land, the trees didn’t reach out far enough to block out the sky.

A spattering of stars freckled the night sky.

“My bad,” I said. “You could have killed me,”

Leif said dully. “I was freaked out.”

“I wasn’t going to punch you or anything.”

I sighed. “No, it wasn’t you.”

I rested my paws on my chest.

“I’ve applied to that journalism job more times than I can count,

but it’s like they don’t notice me.

I’m like a rock.” “You’re not a rock,”

Leif said, rolling onto his side.

“Your head’s just as hard as one sometimes.”

I snorted. “Thanks, but I feel like one.”

“Compared to your siblings?”

Leif added. I rolled over to face him.

“A master accountant and an Olympian to be.

I can’t compete.” “There’s something you need to know to get through life,”

Leif said. “When it comes to other people, especially your siblings,

don’t compare them to you or whatever.

Just do you and be awesome at it.”

I smirked. “I’ll try to squeeze that in between all the panicking.”

“Hell, I’m still panicking,”

Leif said. “I was going into my last semester and I realized I had no

clue what was after college.

I was, like, ‘now what?’

I threw my resume at everyone so someone could rescue me and give me that step.”

“Well, it worked out,”

I said, rolling onto my back.

“I don’t even know how I got this insurance job,”

Leif said, scratching his ear.

“I think they were at a job fair, but I don’t remember giving them my resume.

Then I got a phone call, which turned into an interview, which turned into a second interview, which turned into a job offer.

I didn’t even think.

All I knew was that someone gave me my next step and I took it.

“I was happy at first because I wasn’t panicking,”

Leif added. “But then the closer I got to my start date,

the more I realized when someone asks me what I do for a living,

I’d have to tell them I sell insurance.

What cub grows up wanting to sell insurance?”

“And touching a rock would have fixed that?” I asked.

“Well, it wouldn’t have hurt.”

I shrugged. “Fair enough.

Did you talk with your parents about the insurance job?”

“A little bit,” Leif said.

“I’ll just do this until I find my calling or I hate the hell out of it.

I mean, we’re in our early twenties.

That makes me feel super old, but compared to my parents, I’m still a cub.

We’ve got time to figure this out, right?”

“Don’t look at me. This is your motivational speech.”

I traced the crescent moon with my finger.

“The whole getting-my-shit-together thing still seems far away.”

“Yeah,” said Leif. “But until then,

we can panic together.”

He sighed. “Shit, it’s dark.”

I sat up and grabbed my phone from the ground.

There weren’t any new scratches on the screen.

“I’ve still got my cell phone light.”

Leif shook his head.

“I almost died once tonight.

Let’s not go deeper in the woods and find some chainsaw-wielding hermit.

You know what’d make this night better?

Pizza.” I stuck my paw out and pulled Leif up.

“Sounds good, if you’re buying.”

“You almost killed me tonight.

If that doesn’t earn me a free meal, I don’t know what does.”

I clicked my flashlight app.

“You’re going to hold that over me for life, aren’t you?”

Leif laughed and I found myself laughing too.

I gave him a little head butt because it was dark

and we were alive.

As we walked down the rocky path to the visitor center,

I was tempted to race up that mountain or drive anywhere.

Maybe it was the lack of light pollution or my eyes adjusting to the dark,

but my path seemed brighter tonight.

This was “A Rock Among Millions” by Skunkbomb,

read for you by Khaki,

your faithful fireside companion.

You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,

or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for listening

to The Voice of Dog.