The Alexandria Project, Chap. 1: Meet Frank

“On the morning of Sunday, December 12, a morbidly obese Corgi
named Lily was sniffing a tree on 16sh street, in the Columbia
Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. A cold, insistent drizzle
was falling, but Lily didn’t care, because Lily was sniffing
at her favorite tree. Indeed, the meager processing power of
Lily’s brain was wholly occupied with sampling the mysterious
scents wafting up from the damp earth, for this was the favorite
tree of every other dog in the neighborhood.

“Something more annoying than the rain was nagging at the edge
of her senses, though. At last the sounds began to penetrate.

” “C’mon, Lily! Hurry up!”

“Lily turned her head. The distraction was coming from the
individual at the other end of Lily’s leash. She eyed him
briefly, noting the sockless feet jammed into worn, black loafers.
Above the bare ankles, a pair of pajama-clad legs disappeared into
a rumpled raincoat, out of which came an arm holding an umbrella.
The umbrella sheltered a stubbly, forty-something face topped by
thinning black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Lily decided that
the face did not look happy.”

Complete Story