The TALONS Files: the chronicles of telepathic agent Ryan Dart

Damon, What Happened to That Dog?

22

Ryan and his best friend were walking Damon's neighborhood, newer houses and duplexes sat on well trimmed lawns, as the warm temps allowed for T-shirts and shorts. The sun was making its retreat towards the horizon, drawing shadows from a small maple rising in a duplex's backyard.

"I'm budding like that maple." Ryan mused.

Ryan could hear Damon's thoughts as he snorted. 'Here we go." saying, "What? You're two hundred years old?"

"No, this tree hasn't been here that long."

"That would be a true statement." Damon politely laughed.

"No, I mean, I was alive, but only kind of. I don't know, I really didn't have a purpose. And I wasn't attractive.

"Now You're budding? There's all sorts of holes in that analogy."

"Like what?"

"What purpose does a tree have In summer?"

"Tons."

"Name one."
"You're not going to cut it down, are you?" Ryan teased.

"I don't know, if they don't serve a purpose, why leave them hang around?" Damon menacingly codded his friend.

"For starters, they change carbon dioxide to oxygen, they look nice, they provide shade, birds build nests in them..."

"Okay...I stand corrected." Damon heaved a defeated sigh.

Further down the road, they heard angry barks. A chubby man, with a tank top draped over Hanes Briefs, was apparently struggling with his dog. He was yelling loudly, commanding the pet, "Down Yoda! Down!"

Ryan shook his head "Yoda, I don't know how I feel about that name for a dog."

Damon did his best Yoda impression. "Good name, It is."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "That's horrible."

"If your parents let you get a dog, what would you name it?" Damon asked, but Ryan didn't hear the question. Instead, he was frozen in fear, as Yoda, the struggling man's Pit-bull, had squeezed himself through the door and streaked viciously towards the two boys.

Damon, however, just laughed as he brandished his watch, removing his darkened bangs from his eyes with a shake of his head. "Yoda apparently went towards the dark side."

Ryan glanced at the watch on his friend's slender arm, as the horrified owner yelled towards Yoda. Yoda didn't hear a word and, with bared teeth, used every muscle in his legs to propel himself to attack the two boys.

Ryan saw his friend going towards his watch, with a mischievous smile lighting his face. Ryan, with all his being, feared the dog's teeth tearing at his neck, yet he also feared Damon's laser severing the dog's head. "Damon, don't!"

The Dog lunged, sending him in the air towards the teenagers. Ryan cringed, with the thoughts of what the dog and Damon might do. However, no laser shot out of the watch, and the dog did not tear the teenagers apart. Yoda simply yelped, and fell harmlessly at their feet.

Ryan shot Damon a look of terror none the less. "What did you do?"

"Relax he'll be fine in about...."

The owner, seeing his dog laying lifelessly at the teenager's feet, sprinted almost as fast as Yoda had been. His flip flops clapped on the pavement, as he screamed, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY DOG?!"

Ryan's heart sank, as the chubby middle aged guy, who was already within ten feet, was glaring at Damon. Ryan didn't have to look at Damon to realize his friend had a satisfied smirk on his face. Ryan stepped in between the two. "Whoa! Hold on there, buddy!"

The man stopped. He smelled like cigarette smoke, as his angry, panic stricken face gasped for air. He was full of Tattoos and wore a straight brimmed Monster hat.

Ryan forced a loud and scolding voice. "By all means call the cops."

The man lowered his head, heaving mightily, and his expression changed. 'I can't, they'll take away my dogs.' A light then glinted in his eyes, as Ryan could see a flash of thought on the angry man's face. I don't have to tell them it attacked them. Nobody's going to believe two teenage boys.'

Ryan smiled. "Well, you'd have to explain why you're in your underwear and your dog is two-hundred feet away from your house, if you want to make the 'these boys attacked my dog' accusation. Damon said he'll be fine." Ryan turned towards his smirking friend. "How long till he comes to?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"See, now we can forget about the whole thing, or you can lose your dog."

The man looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel, as he was angered and still heaving from his sprint, however, he looked at his dog. 'I can call the cops later, after I find whatever they shot Yoda with.' "Fifteen minutes, huh? What's your names and addresses."

"Uh, uh" Ryan shook his head. "Not part of the deal. You're in the wrong. What if Damon hadn't stopped him?"
The man's face changed. He took a deep breath and looked defeated. 'I'd be looking at jail time.'

"That's right. You'd be in jail for a while. So, the fact that Damon's, somewhat, hair brained invention came to your saving grace is pretty damned fortunate. Take your dog and get out of our faces."

The man picked the dog up and headed towards the house. Several adults had peeked their heads out of doors to see what the commotion was about. They returned to their daily routine, as Damon and Ryan hadn't moved quite yet. The stood watching, as the man in his undies cradled his limp dog along.