Maybe It's Worth It

Jana-

"Jana..."

Hearing the guard's voice, Jana knew that he had to get up. For once, however, it wasn't because he just needed to eat or shower. Both of which he'd done very little of when in confinement. No. This time he got to go outside again, finally.

A rare excitement welled up in his chest as he sat up. An odd sensation and weight fell into his lap, drawing his attention downward. A golden dog stared up at him, one eye half-closed as its tongue lolled out to one side. His first thought was to throw it away, as he had never really liked dogs, but then he realized that he had two other pairs of eyes watching his every move and slowly closed his own eyes, trying to remember why exactly there was a dog anywhere near him.

It took him several moments, and thankfully, the other two males watching him were silent and didn't push for any kind of reaction. When his eyes finally opened to resume staring at the dog, he was slightly more comfortable with her being there. He remembered that it was indeed a her, its name something close to Tammy or Tabitha or whatever. The most important thing he remembered was that the thing was his ticket to the outside world. He craved being outside, and after weeks in solitary, he needed to get the hell out of the building. If picking up dog shit and throwing a ball for the mutt would accomplish that, then he'd do it.

Grunting to himself, he stood up. The dog dropped to the floor with the action but easily landed on her feet and hurried to sit next to Jana's right leg. He hadn't noticed earlier, but she still had her leash on, and as he was lead out of the cell, it dragged on the floor. The sound grated on his nerves, even though it wasn't very loud. It just didn't sound right. Instead of picking it up or unclipping it, he knelt down and grabbed the dog behind its front legs and pulled the collar off.

When he tossed it aside and stood back up, he could tell that Tommy wanted to say something, but wisely decided against it. Instead, he picked up the collar and leash, then continued to lead Jana toward the doors to the exercise yard. Leash or not, Tera followed right beside Jana. She stopped when he stopped. Moved when he moved.

The moment Tommy tapped in the code for the last door and the lock clicked, Jana shoved the heavy thing open easily and stepped outside. It was a crisp day, likely close to sixty degrees, if not a little colder. Wearing just pants, he felt the sting of the chill immediately, but cold day in hell, or anywhere else, he'd go back inside just to put a shirt on.

"Come on, Jana. We're going to the outer fields." Tommy said, drawing Jana's attention as he watched the guard walk toward another locked door built into the electric fence that surrounded the first exercise area that held the basketball and tennis courts, as well as a running track.

As most of those areas were in use, and quite overpopulated with people he didn't care to interact with, Jana quickly followed Tommy through the door. When it was locked behind him, Tommy turned and gestured to the large expanse of fenced-in green field before them. There was nothing to actually do when it came to sports or things of that sort in the area, but that was just fine with Jana. Just being outside made his body hum with a life he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Here. Take this bag. It's got a few poop bags, treats, tennis balls and a rope toy. You're free to do whatever you want out here as long as you keep an eye on Tera and clean up if she goes bathroom." Tommy said as Jana took the offered bag. He wasn't interested in hearing anything else, and started walking away, but when Tommy began to speak again, his bare foot halted in mid-air, before setting down slowly.

"The more you do with her, the longer you can stay out. You'll get thirty minutes from right now because, as the director and general supervisor have said, the dog needs the exercise and to relieve herself. After that, the amount of time you get depends completely on you."

Jana narrowed his eyes on the dog still standing beside him, then turned to glare at the guard.

"What does that mean?" He asked, honestly not wanting to waste what little time he was likely to get. He doubted he could anymore. It was more likely that he'd lose what he had before he even got to the full thirty minutes.

Tommy smiled at his question and walked closer, nodding to the bag Jana held. "The more you do with her, the more time you get. If you run with her and she looks happy and is enjoying it, you get an extra thirty minutes. If you work with her on tricks, you get another thirty minutes. Fetch, catch, and what not, will also add time. Granted, throwing the ball once doesn't count. At least half of that thirty minutes earned must be spent with the dog doing the activity, unless the dog becomes bored and you visibly tried to engage her."

Jana stared, having a hard time comprehending what the man was talking about completely. He got the whole 'spend time with dog equals more time outside' but since when did anyone want him outside? He knew the supervisors were extremely wary of him being anywhere besides locked behind steel bars or in the padded cell he'd frequented during his stay. How had they signed off on him possibly getting hours outside each day?

"I know it doesn't make much sense. I had to fight for a lot for this situation to happen and you can't earn more than two hours a day. It's as good as I could get it, though, so I hope it ends up working out for both you and Tera. She's not used to living in a small cell and needs to go out regularly. Granted, the extended time will only go toward mornings for now, but I can keep working on that depending on how well you handle yourself and Tera."

For the first time since meeting the man, Jana felt honest appreciation toward him. He had gone so far out of his way to get him the dog, which he really didn't like, but at the same time, that dog got him outside. Looking down, he noticed that Tera had wandered a bit as she sniffed grass. He hoped that she would relieve herself quickly so he could go about earning himself extra time, however, after at least ten minutes had passed and she only peed, he began to get frustrated.

"Why won't you shit?" He growled, making Tera look up at him. She wagged her tail twice, but when he just glared, she hurried to continue sniffing the grass. It almost looked like she was looking for something, but Jana had no idea what the hell that could be.

Ignoring her for a moment, he looked in the bag. There were the mentioned tennis balls and rope toy, along with some poop bags, but something was there that he hadn't been told about. Taking out the small yellow flag on a tiny thin wire, he held it in his fingers for a moment before hearing a cry. Looking down, he noticed that Tera was shuffling from paw to paw, staring at the flag like a little kid that had to go... Oh.

Rolling his eyes, Jana shoved the flag in the ground and watched as Tera scurried over and immediately squatted to defecate near it. Nice of him to tell me about that little detail. He thought, though looking over at Tommy, the guy seemed just as confused as he had been from the flag. Perhaps Emmet hadn't noted what it was for.

Just thinking of the man made Jana's jaw clench and he hurried to change his train of thought. Jerking out a plastic bag, he bent down and picked up the poop, then tied the bag closed. Once finished, he returned the little flag to the big bag and walked over to a small trashcan fastened to the ground and threw out the feces.

"There." He said, turning as he set the bag down. Tera was back to his right leg, her eyes shining up at him, attentive and happy. Crossing his arms, Jana went over the list that Tommy had mentioned to him. He really didn't want to just stand around, so fetch, tricks, and the rope toy were out for the moment.

Looking back down at the dog, he noticed that she was still completely focused on him. "Let's see how fast you can run, cause I need to move." He needed to start earning time fast, though, so he really hoped that her habit to stick by him continued and she ran with him.

With one last glance down at Tera, Jana took off. The field was easily two miles if he ran around the edge by the giant electric fence and guard outposts, but he wasn't sure how well Tera would handle that so he just cut straight across. He had always been hesitant to run in the outside areas, as he'd been shot at a few times when his behavior had gotten destructive. They had been warnings, but they were hard to forget. When no gunshots rang out and Tera remained by his side, running happily, he picked up his speed and turned right before getting to the fence.

He made sure that there was several feet between himself and the fence since Tera seemed to only want to be on his right side. He didn't want her to get hurt by mistake. As he felt the cold air pump in and out of his lungs and the strain of the pace he was keeping send shivers to his muscles, Jana couldn't help but relax. He'd had a terrible month, one his record likely now proved, but right then, all he cared about was being able to get up and move under the sun.

They ran for what felt like twenty minutes before he slowed to a jog. Tera had stayed with him the entire time. Her tail wagged as they slowed their pace, then sped up when she saw the bag Jana had left by the trash. He really didn't want to stop running, but he remembered that he needed to earn time. He'd run with her to earn some extra, but that time would be up soon if he didn't switch activities.

"Okay. What do you want to do?" He asked as he walked over and opened the bag for her. She immediately pulled out one of the new green tennis balls and Jana nodded, taking it in his hand. It had some dog spit on it, but eh, he didn't care. He could always just wash his hands, and he hadn't even showered yet.

Grasping the ball in his hand, he tightened his grip, then looked toward the far end of the field. He could throw it, sure, and he would, but that didn't do anything for the energy he still felt bubbling beneath his skin, begging to be released. It itched his muscles and made him shift his weight from foot to foot. A quiet bark brought his attention back to Tera, who was eagerly watching the ball, clearly waiting for it to be thrown for her.

"I know I know. It's yours and I should throw it for you." He told her.

Pursing his lips, he wound up and launched the tennis ball. Tera bolted after it, bounding over the mowed grass as fast as her body would take her. Jana, too, felt the pull to run and even darted a few steps after her, but then realized that he wasn't a dog and hit the brakes. Frustrated, he turned and stalked back toward the bag, fingers running through his dark red hair and tugging the strands to partially stand up.

Before he returned his attention to the ball, Tera had brought it back. When he turned to face her, she dropped it at his feet and backed up a few steps, clearly ready for the next toss. Jana picked it up, but he couldn't bring himself to throw it. He wanted to run, dammit.

When Tera barked at him again, he growled back, getting an odd head-tilt from the dog. She wagged her tail and walked over, pawing at his leg and looking out toward the field. He had no idea what the hell she wanted him to do, besides throw the ball, so after a moment, he wound up and did. Except, she didn't chase after it. She ran a few yards, then bounded back to him and barked before looking in the direction he'd tossed it.

"What? I threw it. Just go get it and bring it back so I can earn some more time." He said, a near-begging quality to his deep voice. He thought that the dog would easily play with her toys and do as told, but for some reason she wasn't going to get the ball anymore.

He sighed when she still refused to move more than a few yards away and began walking to pick the ball up himself. She followed, tail wagging as he jogged the distance to the ball and picked it up. He figured that she didn't want to play with it anymore and turned to return it to the bag, but she hurried to bounce around him, barking and making small jumps toward the ball in his hand.

Jana stopped, glaring at her incredulously. "Really? So now I'm the one who throws the ball and fetches it? Is that how this is going to work?" He said, frustrated. He needed more time, not to waste what little he had playing fetch with himself.

Still, Tera was unrelenting as she ran around him and barked. Eventually he gave up. If she wouldn't do anything else and just wanted him to throw the ball, then go get it, he'd do it. At least he'd get to run again and it would keep the dog busy if she followed him. Maybe it would get him more time, even if he was the one technically fetching the ball. With that in mind, he wound up and threw the ball as hard as he could, then bolted forward.

His body immediately tried to set a pace but he wasn't interested. Jana flew over the field, his bare feet easily eating up the distance between him and the ball. Right beside him, Tera darted forward. She kept pace until the last few seconds, when she bolted ahead and snagged the ball in between her teeth. Jana stopped abruptly when she grabbed the tennis ball, confused.

"You just refused to get it before and made me, now you made me run all the way here just for you to get it?"

As if answering, she ran over and dropped the ball, then barked and looked back out over the way they'd come. At first Jana was pissed, thinking that he wouldn't get his time but the dog would still get her game of fetch. He felt like an idiot being tricked by a dog when all he wanted to do was run off his energy and stay outside longer.

Resigned, he shook his head at the dog and then wound up to throw again. "You win, dog. I'll play your game." He said before letting the ball fly, then darting after it. Both him and Tera went all-out until she tripped slightly. Jana saw the chance and dove for the ball, ignoring the sting the ground had as it rasped against his body.

He jumped up a moment later, holding the ball as Tera hopped up and down in a circle around him, barking excitedly. It almost seemed like the dog was congratulating him. Dusting off some of the grass, though his skin was stained until he got a shower, Jana smirked at her and stuck his tongue out. The gesture was unfamiliar, but he felt that she deserved it... and he wasn't really paying attention to his actions at that moment, either. Instead, he threw the ball suddenly and ran, catching Tera by surprise. She barked, making Jana laugh as he pulled far ahead.

Tera ended up getting that ball, but it was close. Jana had dove for it but Tera swooped in at full speed and snatched it up, then jumped over his sliding body. She returned a moment later, proclaiming victory for a moment with a tail wag and woof, before dropping the ball for another round.

"Tricky thing. That one was mine." Jana growled, though there was actually a hint of playfulness in his voice instead of his usual hostility. Tera seemed to roll her eyes, likely because he had been the one to trick her. Of course, she didn't understand what he'd said, but Jana still cracked a smile at her.

Jumping up after grabbing the ball, he didn't bother brushing himself off again. He just wound up and threw. It went a good ways further than normal, as he'd gotten a particularly good wind up on it, but neither of them slowed down on their way to it until the dive or grab. Jana managed to get it that time, and the next, but Tera had her share of retrievals and ultimately beat him in number.

When Tommy blew his whistle, alerting Jana that he needed his attention and that it was likely time to go back inside, Jana actually found himself content. He'd had to have been running around for at least two hours... yet he hadn't technically done all of the different things Tommy had pointed out to try. Either way, he felt good and for once, his attitude was positive as he approached the man. Tera panted at his side, her breaths a little faster than his own as they retrieved her bag on the way to Tommy and returned the tennis ball to it.

"Great job. She'll definitely sleep well tonight." Tommy said with a smile Jana couldn't help but mirror with a slight one of his own. "Now then, you're an absolute mess. Let's drop Ter--- Actually, let's bring her with us. She needs a bath as much as you do."

Jana figured that he would be the one washing her, but as he looked down after stepping back through the door to the inside exercise area, he couldn't be annoyed at the thought. He could wash her. She had earned his cooperation after giving him so much time outside, away from the hell he lived in on a daily basis.

(This book is moving to Slow Update for awhile. I'm busy four days a week now and can't write those nights/days. That means this book will update once a month, or on any spare time I find around my other books. I won't pause it, but please no frustrated comments about this. I don't really have a choice.)