Welcome Home, Serial Killer

Chapter 3 - Welcome Home

Smile Dog wasn't sure what to expect.

It wasn't his plan to be put into a pound; then again, it hadn't been his plan to get hit by a car. Thankfully he had managed to avoid getting killed, but his back leg hadn't been so lucky. It was shortly after that, when he had been limping down the road, when the humans had found him.

Smile Dog would have killed them under normal circumstances, but he was hurt at the time. That was how he ended up inside of the cage, his back leg now limping with stitches that stung every time he tried to move too fast. It wasn't a good situation to be in, especially when he noticed a poster on the wall. If they weren't adopted in two weeks, they would be put down.

Great.

He decided to scare away anyone who tried to adopt him, giving them the usual smile that made the humans and monsters scurry for the hills. All he had to do was wait for help, his friend would break him out.

Until he didn't. Almost two weeks had passed, and his true owner had yet to find him. That wasn't a good sign, especially when the final few days were nearing. He couldn't chew through the bars, much less manage to run out of there. At most, he could do a speedy limp.

That's when the skeleton had come.

Smile Dog wasn't sure what to do, he was still going over possible plans when the skeletons arrived. Maybe if he managed to somehow break out himself and the other dog, he could use the mutt as a distraction. That sounded good.

Then the skeleton had blurted out that he would adopt the dog, and it threw the animal for a loop. Adopt him? Why would he even adopt him? And after he saw him, too. Did he feel that pitiful towards the dog?

The look he had given, though, was different. It wasn't a look of pity, not like the looks the other skeleton gave the shorter. The face he had given the dog was a look only to be described as utter desperation and fear. It had caught him off guard. He looked so desperate, so sad, like he felt that he needed to save Smile Dog. At first, he had figured it might have been out of a love of animals, probably a vegan idealist or something. Either way, it was an opening to escape, and he took it.

The car ride back was awkward. Driven by the other skeleton, who he had learned was called Papyrus. Sans, his 'owner', was Papyrus' brother, who oddly carried around a blanket. Instead of sitting in the front, Sans had sat in the back, blanket drawn over his body as he focused down at the floor. Papyrus blabbered on for most of the ride, yet Sans only replied in short and nervous sentences It honestly looked like the poor skeleton would break down at any moment, it was weird to watch. He looked so fragile.

"I'm glad you got a helpful buddy!" Papyrus had said, smiling back at Sans through the rear mirror. "A dog is a great companion! As long as it isn't Annoying Dog."

"Yeah," Sans said, glancing over at Smile Dog.

His voice was weak and timid, the guy looked like he was made of glass. What happened to him? There was no way he was this shy all of his life. He didn't even look shy, he just looked... sad.

When they got back to his house, it got worse.

How did he even live like this?

It was honestly a wreck.

The windows were covered with blankets, making the house more dark than it should be. A few rooms had lamps on the floor, plugged into nearby outlets even though there was empty tables right next to them. Extra blankets were thrown about random rooms, untouched food simply wasting away on counters. Sans seemed more at ease when he was indoors, finally looking up as he walked around more confident. But the blanket wasn't lost, Sans continued to shuffle around slowly with it wrapped around him.